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Post by Steelpriest on Jul 29, 2004 16:42:27 GMT -5
Recently I purchased a set of the often hard to find and almost rare Maxima Gold Strings. They are made of steel and coated with 24K gold. On the package it reads the gold covering should protect from corrosion and help to prolong the brilliance of the strings. Sounds reasonable... Well I applied one set in 009 - 042 on one of my LPs today which normally use 009 - 046. They look amazing, hehe, sound like ordinary steel strings and time will tell if they are really more durable. What I found was these these strings feel more stiff compared to regular steel/nickel alloy strings. Maybe because they are made of stainless steel with a gold coating. I´ll keep you updated. Anyone of you came across this strings? By the way, they are manufactured in Germany and are also known under the brand OPTIMA.  |
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Post by tekrek on Jul 29, 2004 17:27:34 GMT -5
Hi Steel! I've never heard of those strings,wow 24K gold  .....But I have tried DR Black Beauties along the same idea except with a black coating....I found them to be very stiff and a little hard to bend also.....Maybee the coating on the strings makes them stiff, or is it like you say stainless steel wire that does it?  ? However I loved the look of the black beauties but just couldn't stand the feel so I took them off about 2 weeks later and went back to my trusty GHS Boomers....I also found the coating to come off rather quick around the spots where you pick.....Hope that does not happen with the gold!!!!! Oh bye the way what was the price diff. in compairson to regular strings?The black beauties were about two and a half times the price!Wish we had thoes here the gold would look awsome with the gold hardware on my Zakk |
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Post by CAFeathers on Jul 29, 2004 17:31:16 GMT -5
If I'm not mistaken the Maxima Gold's are the strings Brian May used on his Red Special during the Queen years.
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Post by Steelpriest on Jul 29, 2004 17:44:08 GMT -5
Well, I don´t know actually if they are stainless or a steel/nickel alloy, at least they feel more stiff than regular strings. Concerning the price I have to say I got them from Ebay, must have been a special deal, obviously the brand´s name has changed into OPTIMA most recently. But I remember those strings were only slightly more expensive than regular brand strings... maybe + 20%... Of course the gold will come off after some time but what the heck... my guitar looks lovely now... at least for a couple of days.  If you check the URL given on the strings package you will have a good laugh... www.maxima-lines.com  It is indeed the same manufacturer... LMFAO Wooohooo, I fumbled with the URL and found the following www.maxima-lines.com/strings.htm Chet was right, as always! ;D |
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Post by Steelpriest on Jul 31, 2004 2:58:28 GMT -5
I found out something else: These strings seemingly have less output compared to regular steel strings. They sound very good, artificial harmonics can be created very easily, they sound really brilliant. But may it be that the gold coating (as gold is not magnetic, at least to my knowledge) takes away a small amount of the magnetic mass and thus the output is a bit less? Only my theory... Hmm, maybe not the best choice for high gain sounds... At least not with my preamp which is very traditional and more like a Marshall JCM800. |
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Post by chrisgrimes on Jul 31, 2004 11:24:18 GMT -5
Talking of strings
a couple of weeks ago, like a fool, I purchased 6 sets of D'Adario 11's over the net "saving" myself about 30% per set.
Of the 6 , 3 sets had a perfectly useless 5th (a) , crimped in the middle.
I really must heed my own advice and buy from the store !!
Chris
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Post by Steelpriest on Aug 2, 2004 1:12:14 GMT -5
 Nice amount of money "saved", Chris... Did you purchase the strings on Ebay from a private seller or from an Ebay shop? I always buy strings on Ebay and I have a favorite dealer who never let me down, I usually save about 50% on D´Addario, GHS and Dean Markley strings. By the way, I think I will change back to 009-042 strings for my LPs after years of playing 009-046... 
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Post by chrisgrimes on Aug 2, 2004 2:17:19 GMT -5
Hi Steel
I purchased these from a UK dealer over the net, got straps, leads etc from same place no problems, I hear that these places do get a lot of seconds and tend to relay on people not having time or inclination to follow up on problems with "small" purchases.
Well, their attitude on phone was such that I simply won't use them again !!
Chris
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Post by Steelpriest on Aug 4, 2004 2:21:54 GMT -5
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Post by chrisgrimes on Aug 4, 2004 2:55:35 GMT -5
Hi Steel
They look very interesting. I'll have to find out if they do 11's as I like them on the Dot.
Thanks again
Chris
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.....But I have tried DR Black Beauties along the same idea except with a black coating....I found them to be very stiff and a little hard to bend also.....Maybee the coating on the strings makes them stiff, or is it like you say stainless steel wire that does it?
? However I loved the look of the black beauties but just couldn't stand the feel so I took them off about 2 weeks later and went back to my trusty GHS Boomers....I also found the coating to come off rather quick around the spots where you pick.....Hope that does not happen with the gold!!!!! Oh bye the way what was the price diff. in compairson to regular strings?The black beauties were about two and a half times the price!Wish we had thoes here the gold would look awsome with the gold hardware on my Zakk
If you check the URL given on the strings package you will have a good laugh... 
Nice amount of money "saved", Chris... Did you purchase the strings on Ebay from a private seller or from an Ebay shop? I always buy strings on Ebay and I have a favorite dealer who never let me down, I usually save about 50% on D´Addario, GHS and Dean Markley strings. By the way, I think I will change back to 009-042 strings for my LPs after years of playing 009-046... 
