Bongo and TI Flats

[Mongo]

Has anyone else tried TI flats on a Bongo?

I'm a flats player and I put on a set of old TI takeoffs I've had for years and all I can say is WOW!

 

[bovinehost]

Only on about twelve different Bongos!

 

[bassmonkeee]

Currently on the fretless Bongo, but they will probably get swapped out with some EB flats in the near future.

 

[bovinehost]

Hey Jason, those EB Flats are cool, aren't they?

They have a very URB vibey thump to 'em.

 

[Freddels]

How's the tension on the EB flats? About the same as TI's or more stiff like Chromes? I didn't like the TI's on my SR nor the Chromes (too stiff).

 

[bovinehost]

The EBs will put up a little bit of a fight if the TIs seem too loose.

It's been so long since I had Chromes that I really couldn't compare them to anything.

 

[bassmonkeee]

The Group III flats have a little less tension than the Chromes. I dig 'em. Especially on Bongos. That's what my HHp 5 is currently wearing--same set for about a year and a half now, in fact.

Don't forget that there are four different sets of EB flats, so you should be able to find a set you like.

https://www.shopatron.com/index/574.0.5908.23613.22560.5281.0


Later!

 

[Mongo]

I tried several brands of "medium" flats on my Bongo; Labella (104 E), Fender (100 E), Chromes (100 E), EBs (100 E) and TIs (100 E) and one set of light Labellas (96 E). So far the TIs are my favorite sounding set but not my favorite feeling, that was the Labellas for both tension and finish smoothness.

The tightest were the Fenders followed by the Chromes and EBs, which felt about the same to me, then the Labellas were a close third and the TIs are by far the "softest" feeling.

I'm in this for tone so the TIs won that shootout. I'll get used to their feel.

 

[Mongo]

Bovinehost, since you have considerable experience with the TIs, did you find they required your setup to be higher than with other strings to prevent fret rattle?

 

[bovinehost]

No, but I did have to reconsider my attack.

I tend to play hard, but I have to really think about that when using strings with lower tension - which is why I also like the EB flats (Group II).

Jack

 

[Aussie Mark]

My Bongos wear Chromes, my Stingrays wear TIs. Having said that, I do have a set of EB Flats sitting here to try when I get around to it.

 

[Mongo]

I revisited a couple of string sets on the Bongo and decided on the EB 100s for now. They don't sound quite like the TIs but I can get in the same city if not the same ballpark given the range of EQ on the Bongo.

The EBs don't limit my dynamic range like the TIs and feel better to boot. I think I'll keep them on for a while and see how they age.

 

[AnthonyD]

My Bongos wear both!

I like the TIs on my fretless where I tend to play softly and the Chromes on my fretted where I tend to play more aggressively.

 

[greitzer]

Bovinehost, since you have considerable experience with the TIs, did you find they required your setup to be higher than with other strings to prevent fret rattle?

Mongo, I think this is the problem I'm having with D'Addario XL Chrome flats on my MM bass (I posted this in another thread, but I'll add it here too). I get a lot of string-hitting-against-fret noise. Is that what you mean by fret rattle?

The D'Addarios are 50-70-85-105. I did raise the action pretty high, and it helped a bit but got too high for comfortable playing, so I'm wondering if I should go with a thinner guage set.

 

[Mongo]

Mongo, I think this is the problem I'm having with D'Addario XL Chrome flats on my MM bass (I posted this in another thread, but I'll add it here too). I get a lot of string-hitting-against-fret noise. Is that what you mean by fret rattle?

The D'Addarios are 50-70-85-105. I did raise the action pretty high, and it helped a bit but got too high for comfortable playing, so I'm wondering if I should go with a thinner guage set.

Yes, that's the fret rattle I was talking about. It's usually a function of string flexibility, setup, and technique.

I could minimize the fret rattle with the TIs and reasonable action by adjusting my technique (playing softer, changing my attack, etc.) but I found I lost a lot of my dynamic range and couldn't "dig in" as I felt necessary, which just wasn't what I was looking for.

You might want to check the relief on your bass and see if it's too flat for the string tension.

 

[bassmonkeee]

Mongo, I think this is the problem I'm having with D'Addario XL Chrome flats on my MM bass (I posted this in another thread, but I'll add it here too). I get a lot of string-hitting-against-fret noise. Is that what you mean by fret rattle?

The D'Addarios are 50-70-85-105. I did raise the action pretty high, and it helped a bit but got too high for comfortable playing, so I'm wondering if I should go with a thinner guage set.

If you are getting fret rattle with 50-105 Chromes, my guess is that you need to loosen your trussrod.

 

[greitzer]

Thanks for the replies. I did loosen the truss rod and it did help a little bit, but the action got so high that it wasn't comfortable to play any more. So at this point I'm not sure what to do.

 

[greitzer]

...You might want to check the relief on your bass and see if it's too flat for the string tension.

Mongo -- thanks. Is there somewhere I can get an explanation of how to check the relief? I'm not sure what this refers to.

 

[mynan]

Thanks for the replies. I did loosen the truss rod and it did help a little bit, but the action got so high that it wasn't comfortable to play any more. So at this point I'm not sure what to do.

Did you try lowering the bridge saddles after you loosened the truss rod?

 

[greitzer]

No, I haven't tried to adjust the bridge saddles. I've never done that before, so I'm reluctant to try it. Any advice on that?