Optima/Maxima strings

Big chicken · #1 06-17-2010, 08:02 AM

I am getting fed up with these Rotos,I love the sound and feel but they just dont last long. So does anybody have any expirence with optima/maxima gold plated strings,I hear they last a long time,and does anybody know where i can get them?
I am open to other strings that have a simmilar tone to Roto swing bass.

Meatrus · #2 06-17-2010, 12:28 PM

I personally hated the Optima Golds, very stiff and (sounded to me) quite dull, think broken in set of Rotos...but worse; again IMO. They are also suprisingly quite rough, even when compared to Rotos, though that doesent bother me, the sound did it for me.

You wont find any string which will sound like Rotos when they are new, they are very unique.

T. Alan Smith · #3 06-21-2010, 07:07 AM

Getting "that piano tone" out of Optimas is tough, but if your going after a more old skool-ish roundwound tone, they'll work ...and you ax will look pimpin' the whole time.

NecroticImbecil · #4 06-21-2010, 08:20 PM

I have used the rounds on one bass for several years now. Recently restrung it after 5 years with one set. I don't play this bass daily. Hard to describe any sound precisely with text. Not as bright as the Rotosounds I use on other basses, but deeper sounding while being bright enough for me (tend to like a bright, aggressive tone). After 5 years, I still wouldn't say they sounded bad or "dead," but that new set sure made the bass sound better, though it had sounded good with the old ones.

I've tried the flats also. I thought they sounded awesome, but that smooth mellow tone was not aggressive enough for the music I play so they came off quickly. For something other than hard rock, they would be superb.

They look amazing with gold hardware. There is no comparison visually between them and other colored strings I have seen. I have had no problems with them harming my fingers, but Rotos never gave me any problems either and from what I read around here Rotos make most people bleed and cry just from touching them.

kugelspot · #5 06-21-2010, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meatrus

I personally hated the Optima Golds, very stiff and (sounded to me) quite dull, think broken in set of Rotos...but worse; again IMO. They are also suprisingly quite rough, even when compared to Rotos, though that doesent bother me, the sound did it for me.

Optima golds are very stiff. They also aren't quite as bright as Rotos. However, I wouldn't call them dull, especially if you get lower gauge ones. I use their .100 set personally. They're also extremely crunchy. I think they sound amazing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meatrus

You wont find any string which will sound like Rotos when they are new, they are very unique.

2 words. Stadium Elites. Never used them, but they're supposed to be very similar to rotos, only better.

Meatrus · #6 06-22-2010, 05:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kugelspot

Optima golds are very stiff. They also aren't quite as bright as Rotos. However, I wouldn't call them dull, especially if you get lower gauge ones. I use their .100 set personally. They're also extremely crunchy. I think they sound amazing.

2 words. Stadium Elites. Never used them, but they're supposed to be very similar to rotos, only better.

Thats a difference in opinion, dull isnt the same thing to all of us. But I would call them quite dull compared to other stainless steel sets (which is what they are, stainless with a gold covering).

Recommending a string which you have never tried makes very little sense. I have actually tried the Elites (who would have thought it

), and they sound nothing like Rotos. Good strings, but no more like Rotos than any other.