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Optima RB Flats: Why so overlooked?

e-flat

e-flat

Jun 15, 2009
887
1,331
Washington State
#1
I just installed some Optima RB nickel flats on my main P Bass and am pretty blown away. To me, they bridge the gap between Pyramid Gold flats and Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats - a little more low mid bump than TI but greater high mid focus than Pyramids.

Time will tell how they break in, but I usually don’t care for flats when new. That’s not the case with these; they have clarity but aren’t clanky or unbalanced.

I’m sort of scratching my head about why these are not more popular (?)
 
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#6
Coolhandjjl said:
Strings by Mail is an Optima dealer.

Those strings are a re-creation of the old Maxima's that came stock on Ricks in the '60s and '70s

Great strings! I have a set of NOS 4440 Red Box flats I bought a while back. Time to put them back on my poor man's RM1999!
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I've only had these for a couple days, but they are already in the running for my favorite flats. I'm not a "flat noob" either :D and have tried a silly number of sets over the past three years. I'm kicking myself for not giving these a fair shake earlier in my string quest (short version: I bought a set, didn't like what I was hearing from the E string and simply sold the set before installing the rest :rollno:)
The Optimas feel terrific, with a tension that gives me more resistance for my plucking hand than TIs- but the round core construction still gives a great feel for fretting which is kind of TI-like. The mids are definitely more low-mid focused than the TIs (which I love) and even when new they don't have the upper mid "honk" that I sometimes fight with a new set of TIs. They have a great attack, too, and I'll have to wait and see how they age... So far, I'm really impressed.
 
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#7
e-flat said:
I just installed some Optima RB nickel flats on my main P Bass and am pretty blown away. To me, they bridge the gap between Pyramid Gold flats and Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats - a little more low mid bump than TI but greater high mid focus than Pyramids.

Time will tell how they break in, but I usually don’t care for flats when new. That’s not the case with these; they have clarity but aren’t clanky or unbalanced.

I’m sort of scratching my head about why these are not more popular (?)
Click to expand...

Honestly I think it's cost. They're beautifully made strings but expensive. The Optima Chrome flats are superb too and ~ $5USD less expensive than the RBs.
 
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#8
e-flat said:
I just installed some Optima RB nickel flats on my main P Bass and am pretty blown away. To me, they bridge the gap between Pyramid Gold flats and Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats - a little more low mid bump than TI but greater high mid focus than Pyramids.

Time will tell how they break in, but I usually don’t care for flats when new. That’s not the case with these; they have clarity but aren’t clanky or unbalanced.

I’m sort of scratching my head about why these are not more popular (?)
Click to expand...
They ARE sort of niche string, being designed for a decided minority of Rickenbacker players who want the Macca/flat sound,instead of the more popular roundwound Chris Squire sound.
It’s cool to see someone using them on a different make bass and enjoying them.
I would’ve put my set on my GL JB2, had they not already been cut for a 2+2 headstock.
 
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#10
michael_t said:
Cost alone shouldn't keep them from being popular. Have you heard of TI Jazz Flats? ;)
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Thomastik-Infeld is a big name in orchestral strings; Optima is the heir company to Maxima, makers of flats for Rickenbacker, gold-plated strings for Brian May (and for John Entwistle for a while) and...fishing line: it would have taken them some pretty aggressive marketing in the US in decades past to be as well-known as T-I, even on TB.
 
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#13
4003 Ric 1.JPG I think it's probably because...
- They're not exactly mainstream, and it does take some effort to find a dealer. Also;
- sadly, the Rickenbacker connection might tend to turn some people off. Maybe because they think that's all they're meant for; sort of like how you have to put certain flats on a Hofner...:rolleyes:
I use them myself - on one of my Rick basses. But, I agree that they're good flats for other applications, too. I bought two sets of them; one for this thing, and the other for...? Haven't figured that out yet; they didn't give me what I want from my Gretsch Broadkaster, and most of my 24 basses already have the strings I think they should have. But, I'll find a good home for them eventually. Maybe I need another bass...:cool:
 
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#14
GIBrat51 said:
View attachment 3560146 Maybe I need another bass...:cool:
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Of course, this is the correct answer :smug:
I think it's an interesting take that people associate these so closely with Ricks that they may not consider them for other basses. This may be part of the reason they're not talked about more.

For those of you that have long-running experience with the RBs: Can you describe how they change tonally as they age?
 
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#15
michael_t said:
Cost alone shouldn't keep them from being popular. Have you heard of TI Jazz Flats? ;)
Click to expand...

What's a TI Jazz Flat? :roflmao:

Cost aside, I also think that it's general brand recognition. TI is very highly regarded in the violin family/jazz guitar markets and this exposure trickles down to electric bassists. Optima not so much. Optima also aren't in any store stock, they have to be ordered. They're great strings and deserve more love.
 
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#16
HaphAsSard said:
Thomastik-Infeld is a big name in orchestral strings; Optima is the heir company to Maxima, makers of flats for Rickenbacker, gold-plated strings for Brian May (and for John Entwistle for a while) and...fishing line: it would have taken them some pretty aggressive marketing in the US in decades past to be as well-known as T-I, even on TB.
Click to expand...

Thank you. You described it better than I have.
 
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#17
I never knew Optima made flats till I saw this thread. If you ask me they do a piss poor job of promotion, at least in America. But since they don't make them in my favorite wuss gauges, I'll be sitting them out anyway, so it's just as well, I guess :D
 
#18
JimmyM said:
I never knew Optima made flats till I saw this thread. If you ask me they do a piss poor job of promotion, at least in America. But since they don't make them in my favorite wuss gauges, I'll be sitting them out anyway, so it's just as well, I guess :D
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They make two kinds of flats: The RB = pure nickel wrap, round core
Chrome = pure nickel wrap and I believe hex core.
 
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#19
Root 5 said:
They make two kinds of flats: The RB = pure nickel wrap, round core
Chrome = pure nickel wrap and I believe hex core.
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The Chrome hex cores are on my short list to try, for sure.
JimmyM said:
I never knew Optima made flats till I saw this thread. If you ask me they do a piss poor job of promotion, at least in America.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I wonder why they don’t have a larger presence in the US? This is true of a couple other European string manufacturers as well, though (Dogal, Galli, Picato, etc)
 
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#20
e-flat said:
The Chrome hex cores are on my short list to try, for sure.

Yeah, I wonder why they don’t have a larger presence in the US? This is true of a couple other European string manufacturers as well, though (Dogal, Galli, Picato, etc)
Click to expand...

The Chrome hex core flats are very nice too. They have an attractive burnt orange silk. Optima deserve much more love in N/A, great strings.
 
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