I Tried My First Set of Thomastik Infeld strings (12 Jazz Swing)

**balthazar** · 08-30-2012, 01:41 PM

Originally Posted by ah.clem

How do the TI Swings sound acoustically? Most of my playing/practicing is acoustic fingerstyle with both carved and laminate guitars. I have considered trying TI Swings but didn't know if there would be much difference until plugged in.

Hi ah.clem,

hot ford coupe has gave his opinion in the first post. I switched from d'Addario Chromes 11-50 to Thomastik-Infeld Swing 12-50 and finally 13-53 and I agree with him.

**ah.clem** · 08-30-2012, 01:59 PM

Originally Posted by balthazar

Hi ah.clem,

hot ford coupe has gave his opinion in the first post. I switched from d'Addario Chromes 11-50 to Thomastik-Infeld Swing 12-50 and finally 13-53 and I agree with him.

Great, thanks. I was hoping for more than one opinion before spending that much for strings. I appreciate yours.

**MarkRhodes** · 08-30-2012, 02:03 PM

Originally Posted by PTChristopher

I still read your name as Marker Hodes. Sorry.

No need to apologize. As I mentioned before, my supervisor at the library (-where I volunteer) calls me that as a joke. I should consider changing it.

**Socalbill** · 08-30-2012, 02:18 PM

I might add that I get my TI strings from a great online source with which I have no affiliation; Strings, Instrument Strings, Music Strings for Guitar, Bass, Mandolin, Fiddle and More
I have found their prices to be great and customer service has always been excellent. Its a good site to compare and contrast strings as well. Most of you probably know about this source, but some may not.
Bill

**stevedenver** · 08-30-2012, 07:16 PM

Originally Posted by ah.clem

How do the TI Swings sound acoustically? Most of my playing/practicing is acoustic fingerstyle with both carved and laminate guitars. I have considered trying TI Swings but didn't know if there would be much difference until plugged in.

depends..i play fingerstyle too, and use TI rounds wounds-12s-because they seem to sound a bit brighter on my spruce top archtop, and have more sustain (or more decay time) it makes my archtop sound a bit more flat top...sorta-but thats the clsoest analogy i can use

- i used to have TI 12 flats and prefer the rounds for fingerstyle-but i love the flats too, they sound great, fell great, and sound much 'jazzier'

i prefer them both accoustically and amplified-but im looking for a bit more clarity, given my fingers and lack of finger nails so to speak-

hard to go wrong with either imho
the simple thing to do is buy a set of each -then youll know

one thing i think you will find, is they are simply 'softer' in feel, which is great , a bit less tension than comparably gauged strings from other makers ('cept la bella tape wounds-which are also very soft, and surprisingly lively, much more like a round wound in sound to me)

i use TIs flats exclusively on my mando because of the softness and the smoothness of a flat-

i also use them on my LP electrics -the power brights-also superb

TIs are very high quality and very consistent-

the best is they have a very long life, and are extremely stable regarding holding tuning

**.02$** · 08-30-2012, 07:35 PM

The guitar literlly came alive?

Really! What does it eat? Picks. Does it sleep?

**2bornot2bop** · 08-30-2012, 08:39 PM

Welcome to the TI club brother!

**ah.clem** · 08-30-2012, 09:55 PM

Originally Posted by stevedenver

depends..i play fingerstyle too, and use TI rounds wounds-12s-because they seem to sound a bit brighter on my spruce top archtop, and have more sustain (or more decay time) it makes my archtop sound a bit more flat top...sorta-but thats the clsoest analogy i can use

- i used to have TI 12 flats and prefer the rounds for fingerstyle-but i love the flats too, they sound great, fell great, and sound much 'jazzier'

i prefer them both accoustically and amplified-but im looking for a bit more clarity, given my fingers and lack of finger nails so to speak-

hard to go wrong with either imho
the simple thing to do is buy a set of each -then youll know

one thing i think you will find, is they are simply 'softer' in feel, which is great , a bit less tension than comparably gauged strings from other makers ('cept la bella tape wounds-which are also very soft, and surprisingly lively, much more like a round wound in sound to me)

i use TIs flats exclusively on my mando because of the softness and the smoothness of a flat-

i also use them on my LP electrics -the power brights-also superb

TIs are very high quality and very consistent-

the best is they have a very long life, and are extremely stable regarding holding tuning

This is great information, thanks! I ended up ordering a set of flat 12s to try out this week-end. Really looking forward to trying them after reading this.

**hot ford coupe** · 08-30-2012, 11:36 PM

I think you're going to like them. Tomorrow evening, I get to try them out on my gig. Hopefully, I'll have good things to say about the .012 TIs.

**Billnc** · 08-31-2012, 01:53 AM

I've only used TI's on archtops and basses for a while. The flats 'sit in the mix' better than any other string. I'm trying DR rounds on fretted bass, it seems you have to play harder to sit properly in the mix on rounds.

I have a set of TI's on one of my archtops, seems to be nice for four to the bar chord playing. Otherwise I prefer flats all the way.

The 5 year old set of TI flats is going back on fretted bass soon.

The problem with the guitar strings is the wound g gets flat spots after a few months so I change them about every 8 months on guitar.

**Gabe** · 08-31-2012, 07:04 AM

After this thread I thought I'd give them a go too. I've also decided to go to 11s, I was feeling that playing for many hours on 13s was leaving my hands fatigued.

**hot ford coupe** · 08-31-2012, 07:15 AM

Originally Posted by Gabe

After this thread I thought I'd give them a go too. I've also decided to go to 11s, I was feeling that playing for many hours on 13s was leaving my hands fatigued.

That's the main reason I dropped down to the .012s. When I went to my local guitar shop here in Louisville, (not Guitar Center. Some of the sales folk there never heard of TIs) the owner let me try some .011s on his Hofner archtop. They felt pretty good and sounded great but the .011s felt a little too light for me. The .012s don't make my hand cramp like the .013s do and I don't feel like I'm fighting the guitar. The sound didn't get thinner as I expected it would with a lighter string.

**hans halmackenreuter** · 08-31-2012, 07:53 AM

well I'm now experimenting with different strings for month and what I realized so far, is, that each guitar sounds different and rounds or flats can sound on one guitar great and on the other horrible.

My guess is that pickups do matter a lot, if you choose your strings. for sure evryone have preferences acording to the feel, but my headless works best with TI bebop 12, since my humbucker is realy creamy and chromes made this guitar far to muddy. but on the other hand my semi hollow sounds better with chromes and i believe that it has also something to do with the fact that this guitar has alnico V magnets and not alnico II like in my headless.

**ESCC** · 08-31-2012, 09:29 AM

Originally Posted by hot ford coupe

That's the main reason I dropped down to the .012s. When I went to my local guitar shop here in Louisville, (not Guitar Center. Some of the sales folk there never heard of TIs) the owner let me try some .011s on his Hofner archtop. They felt pretty good and sounded great but the .011s felt a little too light for me. The .012s don't make my hand cramp like the .013s do and I don't feel like I'm fighting the guitar. The sound didn't get thinner as I expected it would with a lighter string.

Interesting, I went from Chrome 12s to TI Swing 13s and found them comparable . . . dare I say even slightly easier to play due to the lower gauges TI uses on E&A.

**stevedenver** · 08-31-2012, 11:47 AM

Originally Posted by hans halmackenreuter

well I'm now experimenting with different strings for month and what I realized so far, is, that each guitar sounds different and rounds or flats can sound on one guitar great and on the other horrible.

My guess is that pickups do matter a lot, if you choose your strings. for sure evryone have preferences acording to the feel, but my headless works best with TI bebop 12, since my humbucker is realy creamy and chromes made this guitar far to muddy. but on the other hand my semi hollow sounds better with chromes and i believe that it has also something to do with the fact that this guitar has alnico V magnets and not alnico II like in my headless.

There is some truth to this. I use flats on both my LP recording guitar (low z pups and an LP Artist (active electronics-maple neck -ebony board)

Because both of thse guitars can be extremely bright, more so than a typical humbucker LP, by using flats, it seemed to balance or tame the treble a bit, while remaing very full in the mids and huge in the bass.

Also on my teles i tend to use nickle rounds because i think steel sounds too harsh and bright (and im not a country guy-if i were id probably love steel)

Strings can make a huge change-all you need to try is a monel and then a bronze, etc-and the gutiars character can change a great deal.

**hot ford coupe** · 08-31-2012, 12:08 PM

Originally Posted by ESCC

Interesting, I went from Chrome 12s to TI Swing 13s and found them comparable . . . dare I say even slightly easier to play due to the lower gauges TI uses on E&A.

That is interesting. I've never used the .013s. If they're lighter than the .013 chromes, it should help my hand stop te damn cramping. I like the sound of the thicker strings. I just hate to have my gig cut short because of the discomfort. Since I play as a volunteer and solo, I can leave early if I need to.

**mongrel** · 08-31-2012, 12:50 PM

Originally Posted by hot ford coupe

That is interesting. I've never used the .013s. If they're lighter than the .013 chromes, it should help my hand stop te damn cramping. I like the sound of the thicker strings. I just hate to have my gig cut short because of the discomfort. Since I play as a volunteer and solo, I can leave early if I need to.

Next time you're in the store, compare a pack of TI Swing Flats to a pack of Chromes of the same and different gauges and read the string tension figures. They are substantially lower for the TI's which makes them easier to play.

**hot ford coupe** · 08-31-2012, 08:58 PM

Thanks Mongrel, I'll do that. I went to my local shop today to prepay for the new strings and increased my order adding two sets of .013s to the three sets of .012s. Then I tried the .012s on my nursing home gig and I was very impressed by the sound. It wasn't muddy, shrill, harsh or thin. The sound was as good if not better than the D'A .013s and had more sustain. My hand cramped a little bit but no where near what it's done before. I was able to go from one song to another without stopping to rest the hand. I also didn't feel like I had to fight the guitar. Next week, I try the .013s.

**tedium** · 08-31-2012, 10:18 PM

I use TI swing flats 10's on my Ric 330 ,my comins and my Telecaster. I have found they have been the perfect balance of playability and sound. I tried a set of D'a 12's flats and I really didnt like them and they sounded dead to me but as soon as I put the TI 10's on and it just sounded and played better. I have tired heavier gauge strings but it totally messes up my wrists so the 10's fit the bill for me. They seem to last longer than other strings as well.

**David B** · 09-01-2012, 07:32 AM

Apart from a brief dalliance with another brand, I've been using Thomastik strings since taking up the guitar and for the last couple of years just their Bebop 13 set. The Thomastik strings seem to have a very consistent tension across the board and due to the guages, TI 13s feel like other brands' 12s.

**Gabe** · 09-01-2012, 08:35 AM

The TI Swing 11s I just put on my guitar are lovely. Really easy to play with the low tension. Also despite going down a couple of gauges I haven't noticed a whole lot of difference in tone.

**hot ford coupe** · 09-01-2012, 10:15 AM

Originally Posted by Gabe

The TI Swing 11s I just put on my guitar are lovely. Really easy to play with the low tension. Also despite going down a couple of gauges I haven't noticed a whole lot of difference in tone.

That's exact.y what I noticed with my dealer's Hofner guitar. The tone was really good even after coming down from the .013s. I was extremely surpised.

**zigzag** · 09-01-2012, 12:26 PM

I just put T-I Swing (FW) 11s on my ES-335 to replace D'A round wound Nickel 11s with a wound third. There seems to be a significant difference in sound, though the difference is hard to describe. Not sure that they are giving me the sound I'm after, so I'm going to play them for a while before I make a judgment. I can say for sure that I like them more than the Chrome 11s, and the string tension of the T-I strings will not affect the set-up like the Chrome 11s.

What I am going for is a more jazz box, hollow body, woody, resonant sound from my 335. After switching strings, pick, amp and guitar settings, and pickup height, the change that got me closer to my goal (by far) was lowering pickups.

**Kuz** · 09-01-2012, 12:42 PM

Originally Posted by hot ford coupe

That's the main reason I dropped down to the .012s. When I went to my local guitar shop here in Louisville, (not Guitar Center. Some of the sales folk there never heard of TIs) the owner let me try some .011s on his Hofner archtop. They felt pretty good and sounded great but the .011s felt a little too light for me. The .012s don't make my hand cramp like the .013s do and I don't feel like I'm fighting the guitar. The sound didn't get thinner as I expected it would with a lighter string.

+1

TI George Benson Flats 12s is all I use on my two archtops. INCREDIBLE strings and perfect tension, in my opinion YMMV

**hot ford coupe** · 09-05-2012, 01:02 AM

I tried an experiment today. I took off the .012 gauge TI Jazz Swing set and put on a .013 Jazz Swing set, same brand. I noticed that the two sets of strings (on my particular guitars) were not equivalent. The thicker strings, although not that much thicker gave a darker, louder acoustic sound and a smoother, more bassy electric sound than the .012s. To make the thicker strings sound closer to the thinner ones, I just dialed in some treble. It's not that one set sounds better than the other but they're like a tangerine and an orange; very similar but not exactly the same. The .012s do have a bit more sustain probably because of the decreased tension allowing the string to vibrate longer. The TIs still sound better than the D'Addario strings. I'll put a set of .013s on my 39 D'A and the .012s on the Guild AA. That should give me all the variety I need.