Next best alternative to tomastik strings?

[aniss1001]

It seems that almost everybody on this forum uses tomastik strings. So I've been looking for them here, but it turns out that they simply do not exist in Argentina Anyway what would be the next best alternative?

[bigdaddyguitar]

you can buy them on line.

[jorgemg1984]

Thomastik are very overpriced imo - and I found their flats OK but far from brilliant. People swear their rounds (bebop series) are great but I have never tried them.

I just love John Pearse rounds Jazz set on my archtop - quite cheap, last for a good time and sound and feel awesome. Peter Bernstein uses them so... I also like La Bella Jazz Rounds on my 335 a lot and feel they are much better than DAs for example - but they are a little more expensive although they bring an extra 1E and 2B strings.

I will try La Bella and John Pearse on my two acoustics also in the near future. Are you looking for flats or rounds? What brands are available there?

[AmundLauritzen]

It's much the same situation here in Norway. Stores only carry gear for rock musicians.
I order my Thomastiks online. When I buy a lot of them, it makes up for the international shipping cost.

Other brands that sound good? I'd say Benedetto strings or La Bella(I think this one is owned by Benedetto too), but if you can't get Thomastiks in Argentina, then it's unlikely that you're going to find any other jazz string brand.
But I'm just guessing from how the situation is over here.

[jorgemg1984]

La Bella is not owned by Benedetto I thinl - but I am almost positive they make Benedetto (and Sadowsky) strings.

I use juststrings.com The euro-dollar conversion, cheap prices and the amout of available strings make up for shipping, fees and VAT. I always order in big quantities and also a lot of 1E and 2B replacement strings to make the sets last much longer.

Also heard good things on Newtone strings.

[Tom Karol]

I also use juststrings.com for strings and picks: good selection, good prices, fast shipping.

[SamBooka]

If you dont want to order online maybe you could give us a list of what you can get and we will comment.

I am in Montreal Canada and my selection of strings isnt great so I order from juststrings.com or stringsandbeyond.com (both are excellent, but I have to choose the ones I want).

Also, what are you putting the strings on and what are you looking for for sounds?

On my Epi EmpReg (that i only play unplugged) I used Thomastiks for a while but I really loved the bright new string tone. That tone went away after a month so I was replacing the TIs too often. Newtones are also a great string (I tried them after the TIs ) but squeaky. Now I use LaBella black nylon wound flats.

On my ES165 (which I play plugged in) I use Chromes. I hated them for a long long time but on the ES165, for me, they work.

[aniss1001]

I'm afraid that ordering online is out of the question. The last time I did that the local customs charged me 110% on top of the price and held on to my items for like 6 weeks. Have heard many similar or worse stories (not receiving your items at all). So I just can't go there..

And well.. It's for a telecaster which I am planning to equip with a humbucker or p90. I just wan't it to sounds as jazzy and fat as posible. Dificult to say what sound I want. The guitarists whose sound I like the most tend to play hollowbodies (which for now I can't afford) and use really expensive amplifation, so I know I'll never get that sound.

Anyway I really dig Scofields sound in particular on albums such as Time on my hands and Meant to be. But I also dig older sounds. This sound for instance: Jimmy Smith's Trio - Days of wine and roses - YouTube Hmm.. hard to explain..

[mambosun]

Anyway I really dig Scofields sound in particular on albums such as Time on my hands and Meant to be. But I also dig older sounds. This sound for instance: Jimmy Smith's Trio - Days of wine and roses - YouTube Hmm.. hard to explain..

You should be able to come really close to that sort of tone with your telecaster, but not 100%, because of guitars design and construction differences, pickup, playing skill etc.... At least you can dig a tone you like.

Que aproveche....

For your info, I can obtain a good sens of jazz flavour with my 52 reissue Tele (maple neck, original single coil Pu's), plugged in my SF Twin Fender or a JC120.

[M-ster]

Given your description of the situation, you probably want to just look for whatever medium to heavy gauge nickel flat-wounds you can find locally. Try what's available. What else can you do (unless you make them yourself, of course)?

[FrankLearns]

In my opinion d'Addario Chromes are the next best alternative in terms of flatwounds. For a while they were my favorite strings on archtops and i still think they are great. I agree that the TI Benson strings are overpriced but they also sound fantastic.

The TI Bebop strings are fabulous too. It really depends on the guitar which ones fly better. In terms of cheaper alternative roundwounds some heavier d'Addario pure nickel strings sounds nice imho.

Good luck and i hope the situation in Argentina improves!

[jorgemg1984]

I agree that any medium flats should give you what you want - I know I have tried some brands I liked more than Chromes but I don't remeber which ones anymore.

[gianluca]

pyramid

they made some nickel flatwound strings that I found very similar to thomastick.

to me pyramid's sets are more balanced than TI.

[marcwhy]

Originally Posted by gianluca

pyramid

they made some nickel flatwound strings that I found very similar to thomastick.

to me pyramid's sets are more balanced than TI.

+1 on Pyramid. I also like Benedetto strings and Sadowsky strings.

But if Argentina Customs is so bad, others have already said the answer: buy whatever you can.

aniss, since you like Sco's sound, he uses fairly heavy strings on his Ibanez (13's, I believe), so experiment a little with different gauges.

Marc

[mambosun]

Originally Posted by gianluca

pyramid

they made some nickel flatwound strings that I found very similar to thomastick.

to me pyramid's sets are more balanced than TI.

A bit more pricey too...

[Peter C]

Originally Posted by aniss1001

I'm afraid that ordering online is out of the question. The last time I did that the local customs charged me 110% on top of the price and held on to my items for like 6 weeks. Have heard many similar or worse stories (not receiving your items at all). So I just can't go there..

Get someone you know abroad to send 2 or 3 sets to you, maybe with the word "gift" written on the envelope?

[Retroman1969]

I also buy according to local availability because I didn't want to mess with filling out forms and paying shipping costs, etc...
So I used D'addario flatwounds Chromes in .12s for the longest time and they worked just fine for me.
However, more recently, I've become fond of playing these:


They're more lively and easier on the fingers (less tension), but not too bright. They still have a nice thick jazzy sound.
They're very common in stores (well, here at least), and they're less than half the price of Chromes.... And about 1/4 the price of Thomastiks.

To tame a Tele though, you might be happier with the Chromes. They are incredibly dark sounding, and practically last forever.

[Jazz_175]

I used D'Addario EJ21 12-52 quite a lot in the past.
But now I am using mainly 11-49. On the 175 I put 11-49 and then replace the little E-string with 012.

[aniss1001]

Hey thanks a lot guys..

And yes eventually I will have to buy what I can get. Just trying to figure which strings others have used and liked for jazz. Then I'll go see what is available of the ones mentioned here, rather than trying out all the different flatwounds can find. Well over time I might do that anyway but for now I needed to know where to start.

Currently I'm using .012 roundwounds. I wanna start using .013 flatwounds (a bit unusual for a tele but let's see how that works).

BTW several mention TI string.. Is TI a brand or what? Dunno what it means?

Ah and yes Scofield uses .013. I read an interview where he said he uses .013 UNWOUND strings so that he can bend. I suppose he is refferring to the upper 3 strings? Never heard of unwound before. Only ROUNDWOUNDS and FLATOUNDS....

[jorgemg1984]

He is probably meaning his 3G string is plain steel like 1E and 2B - making it easier to bend. Usually 3G strings on heavy sets are wound - round or flat. I am almost positive he uses rounds not flats.

TI = Thomastik Infield.

[SamBooka]

ti = tomastik infeld (sic)

[aniss1001]

Originally Posted by jorgemg1984

He is probably meaning his 3G string is plain steel like 1E and 2B - making it easier to bend. Usually 3G strings on heavy sets are wound - round or flat. I am almost positive he uses rounds not flats.

Ah ok! That's what I thought too. So... If I go out and buy some D'Addario Chrome .013 I'll have to make sure that the "3G" strings (never heard that term before BTW) are unwound? I mean they come in both variants?

[EinarG]

I used to use TI, but I tried a set of 012 D'addario roundwounds, and I find them to be a lot better for my taste. A stronger tone, great feel. The TI strings sound sort of dead to me.

[Peter C]

I can sympathize with you because guitar stores in Spain do not generally stock string sets over 11 gauge and I have to order everything online. A friend from the USA occasionally sends me the odd set "as a gift".(Paypal!)

Anyway, depending on what you can find locally, these sets may be of interest to you:

-D'Addario Chromes (flatwounds), either 12 or 13 gauge. However, they seem to be a lot cheaper in the USA than elsewhere. Very smooth and mellow sounding, and I've had a good experience with these on both solid and hollow body guitars.

-GHS Nickel Rockers (Rollerwound Pure Nickel). There are 13 and, I believe, 12 gauge sets. They are sort of semi-flats. I didn't initially take to these strings, but they grew on me.

-Pure Nickel roundwounds in general are also maybe an interesting option because they have a warmer sound than the ubiquitous nickel PLATED roundwounds and less finger noise. They are made by several different manufacturers (Fender, for example) and in general seem to be reasonably priced.

Other sets which often get favourable reviews are: Gibson L5, GHS Brite Flats, DR Pure Blues...

Lastly, you may find 13s (13-56) a bit stiff on a Tele.


BTW, the D'Addario Chromes only come with a wound 3rd string. If you want a plain 3rd, you'll have to buy it separately, but bear in mind that in a 13 gauge set, you'd be looking at a very fat string to keep the balance. If you want to bend the 3rd string, stick with the 12 gauge set and try a 20 gauge plain.

I'm pretty sure Scofield doesn't use flatwounds.

[jorgemg1984]

Allmost all 13 sets will come with a wound G - even some 12s should do that. I buy a special La Bella Blues Hard set for my Les Paul because it has heavy first strings but a plain steel G stock.

You're only chance to replicate Scofiled set will be to either buy all strings custom or to buy a 13 set and then a replacement G. Is there any place there that sells bulk strings?

Here you have Scofiled's strings

John Scofield Guitars, Guitar Amps & Effects

A custom roundwound DA set with the first three strings plain I guess.

Pete C: A friend of mine can buy custom DA sets in Vigo, they have all the gauges available there (he uses pretty heavey strings). Where are you in Spain?

[Peter C]

Wow, so that would be a .022 plain string? Tanky! (No thanks!)

@jorge: vivo en la provincia de Valencia. I may be interested to see what the vendor in Vigo has to offer. Details?

[jorgemg1984]

Interview: John Scofield - Taking It Slow - Premier Guitar

This a more recent interview - he is using lighter strings but he doesn't give the thickness of the 3rd string (although he does confirm it's plain)

I may ask my friend trough facebook but he usually takes some time to reply - I think it's a small store, not sure they will ship to Valencia.

Do you always import from US? There are some EU online stores that have lots of strings - you would save VAT, fees and heavy shipping (unfortunatelly the strings I use must come from the US).

[Peter C]

Well, it wouldn't exactly be shipping, more like posting

If you know the name of the store/shop, I would contact them.

No, I don't import from the USA, LOL. I have a friend there who sends me one or two sets. If I ever get charged VAT for that, that's the end!
Yes, I have often purchased from a German site, but the mail charge is high unless you're buying bulk.

¡Saludos!

[aniss1001]

Buggar Things just got complicated again. So maybe I can't get .013 with a plain 3G string. Tommorrow I'll go check out what the stores offer and we'll see what can be done. But I seriously doubt that there are places here that sell strings separately like that.

And yes maybe it would feel stiff with .013's on a tele but I dunno. I really liked the difference when I changed from .010 to .011 and from .011 to .012. I no longer think the .012's feel stiff at all, so I am ready to increase the gauge. But if it means a wound 3G string I'm not sure actually. Have to think about that one.

Don't see the problem in having a TANKY .022 unwound 3G string (as Peter C does?).

Ah and thanks again for all the replies

[jorgemg1984]

Guitar strings, Bass Strings & Accessories

These guys have low shipping inside EU, I used them before I started importing from the US. I will try to know the name of the store - I think they only stock buld DAs... My friend uses rounds, don't know if they stock flats. As soon as I have any news I will PM you

Aniss I am already using 15 and 019 for the first two strings so the sky is the limit .