Thomastik Infeld Flat Wound Swing....oh my!

cyclistbrian · #1 02-10-2023, 07:11 PM

I like flat wound strings on electric guitars. I've generally been happy with D'Addario. Today I came across Thomastik Infeld Swings. I thought "why not"? To be sure, they're spendy at $30 a set but I'd read good things. All I can say is wow.! And I don't think it's confirmation bias. They feel much smoother and sound a good bit warmer yet livelier than anything I've tried to date. A set of 11s on my American Tele and my Sheraton Ii. A set of 10s on my Mexi Strat. Pure bliss all around. I console myself with the knowledge that flat wounds tend to last a good while and I've got three guitars in the rotation. Otherwise these would be an expensive habbit. Anyhow I'm sold. FWIW I play country swing, country, and standards in the style of artists like Billy Byrd. Lots of trebbly old school single note lead.

What is your experience with Thomastik vs other brands? What is your preference and why?

Livingston · #2 02-10-2023, 09:41 PM

I've played Thomastik Infeld Swing (flats) and Bebop (round) strings for more than 20 years. Great quality strings. I use Swings on my archtops and Bebops on my semi hollows.

Glad you are enjoying Thomastik Infeld. A little pricey but worth every penny in my opinion.

CASD57 · #3 02-10-2023, 10:27 PM

I used to use them back in the day on my Strat 13-56 Flats... I bought them for $5.99 a set....Those were the days Lol
I need to find a set for my ES339 probably 11-12's tho

FrankHudson · #4 02-11-2023, 11:23 AM

I agree they are fine strings, though pricey. You don't mention this, but the playing tension on the guitar strings has always seemed lower that other companies' sets with the same diameter. I think this is a plus too.

I always have one or two electrics with flats at hand. Currently digging a set of TI flats on my DeArmond X155 jumbo archtop and another set on a Tele.

Half my electric basses are strung with TI strings too. Again, pricey, but the feel and sound are available at a lower price.

David Eastwood · #5 02-11-2023, 01:25 PM

I think I need to try a set of these on my Eastman.

Aspiring · #6 02-11-2023, 01:52 PM

I really like the jazz flats. I currently run them on my collings i30lc in the 10 set.

They last a very long time which is great.

I just ordered my replacement set as mine are overdo but still sounding reasonable on my I30LC.

fpuhan · #7 02-11-2023, 07:38 PM

When I was having my custom archtop being built, there was no other string brand even suggested.

In my opinion, there's a reason Thomastik-Infeld strings are pricey. They're worth every penny!

Brent Hutto · #8 02-12-2023, 06:43 AM

Pretty soon after I got my mandolin I tried a set of the T-I flatwounds on it that was that. Never tried anything different, never wanted to. The bonus was, at least on mandolin, they last almost forever.

marciero · #9 02-12-2023, 06:48 AM

Have used T-I exclusively on my archtop, mostly only rounds, but this thread makes me want to revisit the flats.

mr. beaumont · #10 02-12-2023, 07:56 AM

I think they're great strings. I did not find them THAT much better than D'Addairo's Chromes in the long run, so with the price factor and the fact I can get the Chrome at 3 different places near me rather than ordering online, I remained a Chromes user.

rollypolly · #11 02-13-2023, 07:02 AM

I’m a recent convert to flat wounds on my electrics. They just feel right for electric playing. I have them on my 57 New Yorker too and they feel perfect for that guitar. My only regret is not trying them sooner. I typically order Chromes but I’ll order those fancy Thomastik next time.

ghostnote · #12 02-13-2023, 10:10 AM

I was in a Beatles cover band for several years, and I always used them on my Rickenbacker. They sounded great on those tunes.

BuddyO · #13 02-15-2023, 08:46 AM

My Comins thinline semi-hollow came with D'Addario EXL115s (plain 3rd) and they sounded good, but when I replaced them with Chrome ECG24s (11-50 with wound 3rd), the guitar really came to life. I had to make a minor intonation adjustment on the G string to account for the transition from plain to wound.

My next string change replaced the Chrome 11s with TI JS111s and the tone took another major leap forward. Since then, I've tried the Chrome 10s (ECG23) and those are my second favorite. I suspect the major difference is due to the hex core vs. round core.

Also swapping Chromes with TIs is not a 1-1 comparison since the string gauges are different.

For example

Chrome 10s: 10, 14, 20w, 28, 38, 48
Chrome 11s: 11, 15, 22w, 30, 40, 50
TI JS111: 11, 15, 19w, 25, 35, 47

The TIs match the Chromes for the treble strings, but have lower gauges for the rest.

nostatic · #14 02-17-2023, 11:32 AM

The TI Flats 12-50 showed up earlier this week, got them on the AR580CE. It's funny because you'd think they would have less treble but seems like the don't - just that the main frequencies have moved around and there are less high overtones. I tune a half step flat which makes them even more slinky but they have enough tension to work in that tuning.

Almost reminds me of rosewood (round wound) vs mahogany (flat would) in acoustics. Chimey vs focused. I think I'll keep round wounds on my AR603 as I like to get an acoustic vibe from that while also being able to do the electric thing - one advantage to fully carved and two pickups. For for a more dedicated jazz box that can pull off acoustic tunes, these flats seem spot-on.