The Famous Ric/Maxima S4440 Flatwound

[cjj]

Scott......while a set of stock flats would likely last years on one bass, cylcling them (taking them on and off) multiple times will kill them prematurely.

The constant straightening of the ends to get them to pass through the tailpiece would usher in metal fatigue very quickly.

Ah, there we go, you'll have to send the bass around from person to person...

[woodyng]

Have you thought about contacting Sir Macca's equipment manager? They might be very interested.

Yes and tell them you want......a million dollars,bwahaha!!!!


To the OP,Nice Score!

[woodyng]

Scott......while a set of stock flats would likely last years on one bass, cylcling them (taking them on and off) multiple times will kill them prematurely.

The constant straightening of the ends to get them to pass through the tailpiece would usher in metal fatigue very quickly.

Yes,unfortunately,i have found this to be true.....i managed to score a set from British ebay about 6 years ago,and have moved them around to about 4 different basses,and they still sound ok,but are not optimal for sure. I recently got another unopened box from Canadian ebay,and am waiting for my 72 4000 to have a refret before i install them.

[loveboatcaptain]

Ah.... Did you buy that set on Canadian eBay for $140 a couple weeks ago? I did see those. Nice one!!

I'm just trying to decide what to put some of these on... Definitely the C64S for sure! Can't wait to test run these

[woodyng]

Yep,that was I.....

[loveboatcaptain]

Haha... Awesome. I saw that set but only after it was sold and I was like DAMN!!! But then I found my stash and couldn't believe my luck.

Enjoy, I'd be interested to Know what you think of them?

[woodyng]

Haha... Awesome. I saw that set but only after it was sold and I was like DAMN!!! But then I found my stash and couldn't believe my luck.

Enjoy, I'd be interested to Know what you think of them?

I love them,they are far and away my favorite flatwound string for the Rick bass. (Hence paying a pretty outrageous sum for them).
I remember buying a set for a 4005 in the late 70's,and loving how it sounded like a Hofner on steroids. (The 4005 was equipped with higains,instead of toasters.)
The set i bought about 5 years ago has been installed on my 74 4000,which sounded fantastic that way,but i decided i needed that bass to grind,so i moved them to my Fretted Cii for a few years,again a really great sound combo. When i had that bass defretted,i replaced them with Labella tapewounds,and tried the flats on my cheyenne. Ultimately i found that combination not entirely to my liking,and put them back on the fretless Cii. The 3 heavier strings still sound great,but the G string seems pretty dead,almost completely lacking any mwah. It's not necessarily a bad sound,but i may have to put a different g string on it.
I think that on a fretted Rick bass,played with a pick,they have a fabtastic tone,and of course the feel is perfect.

[loveboatcaptain]

Amazing.

I've used TIs a lot in the past but last years or so I purchased a set of Optima 4099 flats as I had heard they were very similar in feel and tone to the original maximas. Well... When I put the Optimas on my 4003 I loved them, the sound was perfect, that E string was exactly as I wanted. They also felt very nice and not too tight at all, just a little tighter than TIs which wasn't a bad thing.

So then I purchased two more sets to put on my C64 and C64S but both of these sets are just different, so much so that I had to pull them off of the C64 as they were so stiff. When I've compared these newer sets (which came in the near black packaging, where as my first set can in the old packaging with the P-bass on the front) they just feel stiffer and no way near as floppy out of the packaging, I've help each set in my hands a lot and compared them and the first set in so much more flexible... So not sure what's going on there?!?! I thought I had found the perfect flat but the two newer sets seem rather tight and stiff.

[jps]

Round core vs. hex core?

[loveboatcaptain]

I don't know? Is that same set I purchased (Optima 4099), but my first set which are definitely more flexible, were in the older packaging so I was wondering if they changed the construction. Hope not. Unless the others were just bad sets but seems strange to get two sets the same.

Have any other optima players had this?

[Wiker]

I never noticed that before. I dug out and compared (only the E-strings) the sets I have in storage, and I think you might be right.
Btw, Optimas are hex core it says on the packing.

In the set of Maxima 4440 I have, the strings ends on the headstock side where different length. E-string shortest and G-sting longest as if they were cut for a Fender style headstock. The Maxima E-string is exceptionally soft.

The first three sets of Optima I bought came in a gray packing with a Fender bass on it, they are also different length just like my Maximas, and have no silk on the headstock end. The Optima E-string is stiffer than the Maxima.

Then I have two later sets in the same style of gray packing where all strings are equal length, and have silk on the headstock end. These feels slightly stiffer (I think), and when I hold the strings up side-by-side these seems to bend down a little less.

I also have two newer sets in black packing, where the strings are equal length and have silk on both ends. These seems to be a little bit stiffer again.

Maybe the new production sets are wrapped tighter/harder?
Or, maybe it’s a matter of cleaning them properly as polishing compound and residues might make a string stiffer (or?). The first sets I bought were to be clean, I didn’t clean them when I put them on, and didn’t get black fingers. The previous set I put on (which might have come from a black package) had to be cleaned, and I felt that now when I handled the strings that the newer sets are greasy.

[Wiker]

Have you tried the Maximas yet?

[iiipopes]

Scott......while a set of stock flats would likely last years on one bass, cycling them (taking them on and off) multiple times will kill them prematurely.

Yeah, probably so. But, hey, I'll be the first one to say that not all my ideas are good ideas. Thanks for being straight with me instead of sarcastic.

[Wiker]

...
Or, maybe it’s a matter of cleaning them properly as polishing compound and residues might make a string stiffer (or?). The first sets I bought were to be clean, I didn’t clean them when I put them on, and didn’t get black fingers. The previous set I put on (which might have come from a black package) had to be cleaned, and I felt that now when I handled the strings that the newer sets are greasy.

I’ve had my [Optima] strings soaked in denatured alcohol for 24 hours to remove polishing residues, but that didn't change anything

[ibal]

Does anyone know whether all sets of Maxima 4440's have purple silk on the ball end of each string? I have one set with purple silks, but I recently obtained a set of what we're supposed to be Maxima 4440's, but thy have no silk on the ball ends. Also, the strings are a dull gray color rather than shiney silver, and my luthier measured the E string at a whopping .120. I'm assuming I got ripped off when I bought the strings, but maybe the gauge and lack of silks are just part of a variation? Not sure how to explain the dark color, other than maybe they need to be cleaned.