Optima RB Flats: Why so overlooked?

[e-flat]

They're round core.

Could you take a pic of one of them at the ball-end loop, just so that the matter is settled? I do have some old Pyramid flats laying around myself, but I'll be darned if I remember wherever I put them.

I’m not able to get clear pics right now due to poor lighting, but I have a set of Pyramid Gold flats on my second P Bass so I Checked the core wire at ball end & they are indeed roundcore. I also have a second set (installed once but not currently on a bass) and can confirm that they are also round core.

 

[HaphAsSard]

I’m not able to get clear pics right now due to poor lighting, but I have a set of Pyramid Gold flats on my second P Bass so I Checked the core wire at ball end & they are indeed roundcore. I also have a second set (installed once but not currently on a bass) and can confirm that they are also round core.

Much appreciated.

 

[Root 5]

Could you take a pic of one of them at the ball-end loop, just so that the matter is settled? I do have some old Pyramid flats laying around myself, but I'll be darned if I remember wherever I put them.

All you have to do is email Pyramid. They'll tell you they're round core. They must be crimped because of it.

 

[HaphAsSard]

All you have to do is email Pyramid.

Don't need to anymore: @e-flat checked for me, and anyone interested, and I'm grateful he took the time to (in this and other instances).

 

[jj4001]

Just put a set of Optima RB 4440 flats on my '80 4001. They are just sick. I like dead flats but I don't want these to die. They sound KILLER on a 4001 right away. Not quite as complex as TI flats but retains the most important qualities of the sound. The feel is slightly looser than Fender 9050L flats but noticeably tighter than TI. The wrap feels more similar to Chromes or newer Fender flats than LaBella DTF. They are pretty much everything I hoped for. The craziest part is these seem to play nice with the Rickenbacker bridge mute. They don't seem to throw the intonation off into unuseableland while applying the right amount of pressure onto each string. I can't say that about any other strings. Seems too good to be true, I never considered this to even be realistically possible. Wow.

 

[woodyng2]

Just put a set of Optima RB 4440 flats on my '80 4001. They are just sick. I like dead flats but I don't want these to die. They sound KILLER on a 4001 right away. Not quite as complex as TI flats but retains the most important qualities of the sound. The feel is slightly looser than Fender 9050L flats but noticeably tighter than TI. The wrap feels more similar to Chromes or newer Fender flats than LaBella DTF. They are pretty much everything I hoped for. The craziest part is these seem to play nice with the Rickenbacker bridge mute. They don't seem to throw the intonation off into unuseableland while applying the right amount of pressure onto each string. I can't say that about any other strings. Seems too good to be true, I never considered this to even be realistically possible. Wow.

It’s almost like they were made for them.
Just kidding-i’ve used the original Rick/Maxima “red box” 4440 sets (whenever i could find them) for decades on various Rick basses i’ve owned, absolutely perfectly matched flatwounds,and the Optima RB set does a very good job of getting that same feel/tone,considering the 35 years difference in manufacturing dates.​

 

[jj4001]

It’s almost like they were made for them.
Just kidding-i’ve used the original Rick/Maxima “red box” 4440 sets (whenever i could find them) for decades on various Rick basses i’ve owned, absolutely perfectly matched flatwounds,and the Optima RB set does a very good job of getting that same feel/tone,considering the 35 years difference in manufacturing dates.​

Right?! Who knew??
These strings are likely never coming off this bass.

 

[e-flat]

Just put a set of Optima RB 4440 flats on my '80 4001. They are just sick. I like dead flats but I don't want these to die. They sound KILLER on a 4001 right away. Not quite as complex as TI flats but retains the most important qualities of the sound. The feel is slightly looser than Fender 9050L flats but noticeably tighter than TI. The wrap feels more similar to Chromes or newer Fender flats than LaBella DTF. They are pretty much everything I hoped for. The craziest part is these seem to play nice with the Rickenbacker bridge mute. They don't seem to throw the intonation off into unuseableland while applying the right amount of pressure onto each string. I can't say that about any other strings. Seems too good to be true, I never considered this to even be realistically possible. Wow.

Right?! Who knew??
These strings are likely never coming off this bass.

Yeah, but do you LIKE them?
JK, they’re the bee’s knees, alright. I started with them on a PBass and they’re awesome, but they’ve found their home on my stack knob Jazz Bass now. Once they age the top mellows and they are very full with a little midrange “vowely-ness” thrown in. And the feel (Tension, surface smoothness, all of it) is terrific.

 

[jj4001]

Yeah, but do you LIKE them?
JK, they’re the bee’s knees, alright. I started with them on a PBass and they’re awesome, but they’ve found their home on my stack knob Jazz Bass now. Once they age the top mellows and they are very full with a little midrange “vowely-ness” thrown in. And the feel (Tension, surface smoothness, all of it) is terrific.

“Vowely-ness” is a good way to put it. They share that characteristic with TI flats and it’s a really nice sound. I imagine they play very nice with the bridge pickup on your Jazz.

 

[GIBrat51]

I'm still liking the Optima RBs on my 4003. I put a set of the Optima Chromes on this monster a couple of weeks ago. They're not quite broken in yet, but.... oh, yeah; liking these strings a lot. The custom-wound-for-Kramer pickups in this '78 450B are not just hot; they're radioactive. A lot of strings I've tried on this thing weren't just bright (I hate bright); some of them were positively shrill. The Optima Chromes make it sound like a bass I want to play. Not thumpy at all, but there's no question that they're flats. Clear, articulate ones, with a strong mid-range, but a solid bottom, too. Now, if they could just get rid of the atrocious neck dive...

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

Pyramids are round core and must be crimped before winding to pitch. Or they'll go 'dead' and/or unravel.

Never done this, never had problems ..

 

[Emanuel]

A really focused midrange that sits a little lower than the mids of new TI Flats. I can run the tone wide open and still enjoy the sound.... Roll the tone back to 5 or 6 and you get a warm vowelly midrange presence. Roll the tone back to 1 and its fuller and tighter in the lows than TIs. Tension-wise the RBs are very nice.... taut enough to give good resistance but still bendable.

Wow, good to know about these flats and I’m going to try them!
I’ve loved IT’s for years but they are a little flabby tension wise.

 

[Root 5]

Never done this, never had problems ..

You're playing with fire!

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

You're playing with fire!

I shall see how it goes

 

[Petethebassman]

Nice, a parcel from Germany!

Let's take a peek inside.. Optima RB 4440 flatwounds!

Fully sealed plastic packaging which is nice, the strings are each in a separate paper envelope.

Installed and intonation adjusted! The RB's feel nice- not quite as smooth as the Pyramid Gold flats I use on my main P-Bass, but I expect these to feel smoother after they're played in a bit. Nice medium tension, balanced firm feel with some flexibility. Not that different feel-wise from the Pyramids, which is good. Tonally these are full and meaty, more lively than Pyramids but then, these are brand new. Good string-to-string balance, no dead E on this set.

 

[Petethebassman]

The next day I tightened the truss rod a half turn to get the neck relief to my specs, the bass had TI Jazz Flats on it before and those are very light tension strings. The G and E strings needed some further intonation adjustment, but now the setup is just right. The first full band rehearsal is on Saturday to see how the Optimas work in a band mix.

 

[iiipopes]

Just got a set from a fellow TB'er. I'm trying them out on my Ibby BTB845V. On my bass, they have an even tone that is definitely not scooped, but not nasally mid-rangy, either. They don't have the ping of a new LaBella, but not the thud of a dead D'A Chrome, either. They will probably be on the bass until well into 2021, due to no gigs due to COVID-19. Yes, I had my Ibby converted from "solo" E-C tuning to "conventional" B-G tuning. No, Optima does not make a 5-string RB set. So for 5-string basses, two options: 1) Optima makes, if you can get one, a .125 nickel flat that is essentially the same, and I was told in an email response from the factory a couple of years ago that it matches, and 2) if you can't get an Optima B string, then a GHS .126 Precision Flat coordinates nicely in both tone and silk color.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

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 (?)

100% agree. Optima RB flats are superb strings and your description is spot on! I love the hex core Optima Chrome flats too but they are more like halfway between Pyramids and Roto 77s.

I guess Optima are overlooked because they spend their resources on making top quality strings rather than expensive marketing campaigns for average quality strings.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

100% agree. Optima RB flats are superb strings and your description is spot on! I love the hex core Optima Chrome flats too but they are more like halfway between Pyramids and Roto 77s.

I guess Optima are overlooked because they spend their resources on making top quality strings rather than expensive marketing campaigns for average quality strings.

Gosh .. GAS is restarting ..

 

[Root 5]

Gosh .. GAS is restarting ..

They're excellent. Kind of like fine watches - few people know about Patek Philippe & Jaeger LeCoultre but they destroy all the better known brands.