$5 for a set of strings

[Andrew Tanner]

A couple of years ago, when I was shopping for strings for my contrabass balalaika (another story, and shall be told another time) in Moscow, I noticed that the same company that was making the balalaika strings also did a line of double bass strings for the same price: 150 rubles a set. That works out at 50 rubles a string for the balalaika, but only 37.50 per double bass string.
150 rubles is about 5 bucks. Yes, you read correctly: $5 for a set of double bass strings.
I figured they can't really be any good, but at that price there's nothing to lose (except 150 rubles, obviously). The trouble is, I'm so sure that they'll be crap (the balalaika strings were awful) that 2 years later I haven't even gone to the effort of putting them on my bass, knowing that I'll probably just have to take them off again...
If ever there was a point where the bargain factor demanded that you buy crap, 150 rubles must be pretty close, but I just can't be bothered actually testing them...
The company is called "String", by the way. They don't have a website, and I couldn't find their products when I visited Moscow this year.

[JtheJazzMan]

Sounds like the kind of strings many companies ship with their mass produced double basses. Usually they arent even flatwound, awful quality with rust as standard.

Wouldnt even strangle someone with them.

[Mark Perna]

[Marcus Johnson]

That's nuthin'.... I have Evah Weichs on the E&A, and Gamut Lyons on the D&G, and none of them cost me a damn cent.

[dchan]

Originally Posted by Andrew Tanner

If ever there was a point where the bargain factor demanded that you buy crap, 150 rubles must be pretty close.......

I'm pretty sure that's the business model of the Five Below stores.