Thomastik-Infeld Electric Bass Nickel Flat Wound Roundcore 4 String, .043 - .100, JF344

I've played these for years and they continue to be the perfect bass string for me. The light tension makes them easy to play and the sound is perfection. They are a bit bright when new, but once broken in they stay consistent, seemingly forever. You'll likely need to do a setup on your bass if you're coming from a higher tension string, i.e. back off on the truss rod adjustment.

People rave about these strings! And don't get me wrong, I see why. The tone is incredible. My only complaint is that they are SO THIN! How do you people handle it? The low tension is something that one can get used to... but a .43-.100 gauge string is essentially useless for me as soon as the drummer comes in. (It's not like I'm playing heavy metal or anything... mostly Jazz, Funk, Latin styles) If TI made a heavier gauge of these (.50 .70 .85 .105), they'd be the perfect string, IMHO.

I have a Fender Custom Shop NOS 64 Jazz Bass. I have not been happy with any strings. No bottom and punch. I tried my first set of J344 strings last night at a gig and my bass finally came to life! We had to play for 2.5 hours without a break and my hands feel great! What a fantastic surprise. Even the other guys noticed the improved sound of the bass! I'm sold!!

Being on a tight budget I had a hard time justifying spending this much on strings. Got an email with a discount code for these and ordered them. They still were expensive but they are worth the money. The first song I played with them in the band, the guitar player commented on how good they sound. I love the sustain, tone, ease of playing, and they even seem to be louder than other strings. Had to loosen up the truss rod as the strings I had on had more tension. Also had to adjust the intonation. It was all worth it, these strings are my favorite so far. I'm using a Carvin LB70.

I had these on my Squire VM Jazz bass, and though they sounded nice, due to fret issues they buzzed too much. I took them off but saved them. A couple of months later, I put them on an SX Ursa 1 bass, and they are AWESOME! That bass has better frets if you can believe that .... no buzzes unless I dig in too much (I like low action). The D string sounds a bit dead, maybe because I took them off the other bass, but it's not too bad. I'll be ordering a single .056 very soon, and these strings are staying on this bass! Be sure to bend before you cut, though, to avoid killing your strings! And don't keep moving them from one bass to another :)

I have a Breedlove acoustic bass that has a pinless bridge that every string won't fit. It came with D'Addario acoustic bass phospher bronze strings and I hated them all the fret noise etc.... I just happened to have Thomastik JF344 I put them on so much nicer because I was looking for a upright bass sound. But I kept hearing about how great tapewound strings sound on the acoustic bass so it kept bugging me to try some out so I ordered the GHS tapes and they would not fit the bridge where the string meets the ball. So I was told that the LaBella tapes would fit so I got those and they did fit. I was disappointed some how I lost the upright sound and too bright for my liking so I put back on the Thomastik Jazz JF 344 and I'm so glad I did. I got back the rich warm sound to be honest in my opinion there was no comparison. The only downside is you do lose unplugged volume using the flats but I'll live with that cause I love these strings on my Breedlove bass and they fit through the bridge perfectly. I also had to put quite a bit of relieve in the neck do to the low tension these strings have but now it plays beautiful and sounds good. What I hear unplugged I hear plugged in and these strings are expensive but it should be along time before I need to change them. Thanks!

Have had these on a war moth all maple jazz for over six years. They are the most versatile string I've ever used. From blues to metal to punk to fuzzed out with envelope filters. They do it all well.

Killer fundamental if you play close to the fret board. You can get a great teaser type tone.

Oh and you can bend them like crazy.

Great vibrato as well.

Previously not a huge flatwound player, but owning both a slap & fretless bass spawned marked separation of tone & style. Of course, these are strung on the fretless resulting in good clean aural enhancement. The only other experience with flats were black nylon which sounded rubbery. These steel flats are not rubber, obviously, and being that Thomastik is pricey, presumably because of quality (although commerce has its influences), this could be as good as it gets.

I've never been a fan of flat wound bass strings...especially on fretted instruments. I gave these a try on my fretless Zon and loved them. On a whim I tried them on my fretted Zon Mosaic J bass and BOOM! All the crunch and character of a vintage instrument, but with exceptional clarity and response. I will use these for the rest of my life. I've tried countless different brands of strings over the years, and while there are noticeable differences between them, none provided a fundamental transformation in the way a bass sounds and feels like these do. You owe it to yourself to give them a try.

Fender deluxe jaguar bass - if u like to quiet the feedback monster and made it into a masterpiece. Invest a bit more. SWEET.

These strings sing beautifully on a J. Makes the tone knob about 20 times more useful: I'm able to dial in pure dub thumb to punchy rock growl. Highly recommended.

After 20 years of playing bass, I've found my absolute dream strings. I slapped a set on a MIA Jazz about a 2 years ago, after some really tight tension rounds and didn't bother to set my bass up correctly. I thought they were meh and ended up selling the bass with the TI's on it.

I recently put together a Warmoth Jazz with an alder body and ebony fingerboard and thought I'd give them another try (along with a good setup) and am so glad I did: I got the action nice and low across the neck with zero buzzing (and I'm an aggressive player) and the smooth, supple feel exudes the most buttery tone with a minimal amount of exertion.

Point being: Make sure you really dial in your setup when transitioning to these strings before kicking them to the curb (I ended up having to relieve the neck way more than I thought I'd ever have to). They can be a bit finicky at first, but are well, well worth the effort.

Best flat wound strings I've ever used.
I put them on all my basses. Nice bright tone for a flat wound and they last forever.
Love em!

Just awesome! Love 'em.

The only flatwound with a great singing sustain and an incredible fundamental.
Worth the price.

I've yet to find a better set of flats. Great voice, not too stiff, natural-feeling.

Wow these strings are fantastic! Very bright and they cut through any mix easily! Highly Recommended

Fantastic strings! These strings are so bright and clear! It can easily cut through any mix, and it's easy on the hands! Highly recommend.

Can't understand how these strings could have been rated poorly by anyone. Lively, smooth, well balanced. These strings have absolutely transformed by old Ric 4001!

These overly expensive strings were a tremendous disappointment. The feel is rough and they buzz horribly. I wish I hadn't taken a chance on these and bought the Pyramids instead.

I have two ratings for this:

5-Stars:

- I've been using the JF344 set for about 3 years now. The tone and feel are wonderful. Very smooth to the touch. They seem to last a very long time. I still have the original set and they are still going strong. You can get real close to the Jamerson/Babbit tones of the Motown days.

4-Stars:

- For me the only down side is that they feel floppy. It would be great if TI would release a set with .105-108 for the E-String. I would even buy a 5 or 6-String set if they had a larger string available. It seems they only offer .100's for all sets except for short scale.

Outside of this, I would still highly recommend them!

Everyone's review are so complimentary regarding the sound quality and performance that I had to try 'em. Stunning! I've tried the majority of string brands available over the past several decades. These DO Not Disappoint. Yeah, the price is high, but you'll know where that extra $$ went when you string 'em up and plug yerself in. On a Gibson Thunderbird, these are Killer!! If you've ever played or do play with a pick occasionally like I do, these will impress. The sound cuts through to the crowd. You don't get "muffled" by the rest of the band. These are not some "old-fogy" strings, they are precise tools to create the demanding criteria you'd dream of in a performance. Do it!

I've played bass for over 40 years, and am happiest with T-I Jazz Bass flats. I've had them on my Hofner violin bass and my Jack Casady bass. They have a beautifully rich, full tone, with a low tension highly polished feel. The articulation is very good, and being a polished flat, there is no annoying finger squeak. These are high-class, long-lasting strings for players who want their bass to sound like a bass.

A lot of people seem to love these strings, but I really didn't care for them . the lack of tension was something I couldn't get use to,The tone was not bad , could have had more bottom though, maybe a .105 would have had more.I haven't played a fretless in many years ,but I get the feeling these would be great for soloing on a fretless.

I have a 5 string set on my G&L L-2500 and a 4 string set on my P bass. No string I've ever used has endeared itself to me like TI Flats.

Great fundamental with enough top end to keep from sounding dead. The feel of the strings is icing on the cake. Silky smooth with low tension that make them play like butter, yet even the B string is thunderous.

My favorite flatwound string, period. they not only have the best tone, but their attack and sustain (bloom) is like no other string. perfectly balanced tone without the super stiff tension generally associated with flatwound bass strings. i have them on 5 of my fender basses, two for my ric basses and they are staying on them .

I tried for years to like flats and couldn't get used to them. A friend suggested I try these, and I'm glad I did!
They're much more flexible than other flats I tried with a much smoother, 'softer' feel. The flexibility is almost like rounds, which made the transition really easy.
The tone on a '51 P-bass reissue is really nice. Lots of fundamental thud, but enough upper partials so the detail isn't lost. They last a really long time, too. Excellent strings. Highly recommended.

Love these strings. After using nylon flats for years I now have these on both my Fender Jazz's

If you are concerned that flatwounds will kill the "brightness" of your instrument, stop worrying. The only thing you have to lose is the fret rattle, the finger squeak, and the high tension of rounds. These strings are everything everybody told me they'd be and more... easy and smooth to play, versatile, great sound, with incredible intonation. I won't use anything but TI's for foreseeable future. Worth every penny, and JustStrings's service was very good.

I found out about these strings on Talkbass a few years ago. I use them on both of my basses a J and a P/J and they sound great. Warm and depending on how much I roll off the treble on the bass articulate (for flats) to deep dark and mellow. They're not for everyone as they're fairly low tension, I don't know how well they'd do in a drop tuning and of course there are styles that are better suited to rounds. If you're looking for that mellow flat sound I'd highly recommend them. They're not cheap but with flats you don't have to change strings often. I play blues, all kinds, and they work great. My basses are set up with low action and I play with moderate plucking force.