Optima Chrome Flatwound Electric Bass (45-100), Long Scale, Full Set

I've waited a while to try these, and while 3 strings sound great, the bass E was as dead as a dodo straight out of the pack! Not helped by the excessive amount of silk at the ball end which overlapped the bridge saddle by 1/2 inch! I trimmed and re-gled the silk to no avail. The A string came awfully close, but was still playable fortunately. I've had to order in a D'Addario Chrome 0.100 from a local store here in Australia, as no-one sells Optima strings "Down Under". Hopefully it will be close enough. Disappointing, especially after a 3 week wait for delivery (No fault of the store....just Fedex messing me around). BTW, the other 3 strings sound great on my old Yamaha BB414 :).

The Optima RB flats are on my Rick 4003 (where else?) and they sound like they should on there. Still not broken in yet, but I'm sure I'll be getting the vintage Rick Sound I'm after when they are. And - as usual - great service and quick shipping, too.

Caveat: I did not buy these strings via StringsByMail, but thought I'd give a review of this set of strings, since not too many places in North America sell Optima strings to begin with.

Yes, they're pricey. Are they worth it? In my opinion, yes they are.

They are zingy at first, almost annoyingly so (a lot of flatwounds are like that before they are broken in), but the E string already sounds fairly deep. After a couple of weeks' worth of playing, the zing goes away, and you are left with some versatile strings that can sound modern and vintage (especially when you foam mute them at the bridge).

Compared to other flatwounds, they have a very well-defined click in their top end, which help with cutting through. They sound slightly more scooped, and have almost a woody tone, especially when played with fingers. They are supple, and don't seem to be particularly stiff compared to some other flatwounds you could buy on here.

Compared to the more old school flats like Labellas and GHS, they are not quite as punchy or thumpy, although they will definitely give plenty of both. From out of the package, this set is probably the most tonally consistent string to string I have ever used -- something that is difficult to claim with other fresh new flatwounds before they break in.

The orange silks are dense and can take handling fine. If you want to hear them on a cheapo P-bass by a (very) amateur player, look on youtube under the username nerkoids, I have a couple of videos that demonstrate them.