A week or so ago I broke down and finally started the process of getting new strings for my upright. Last time I bought new strings was probably 5 years ago. And that time I got Helicore Hybrids and they're... okay. Honestly I didn't really know what I was doing. I didn't even know what kind of strings I _had_.

Of course the additional catch is that I have a bass with a C extension meaning that the E-string that comes in a set is too short. Thus I never switched out the C/E string that was on the bass when I bought it.

So... I got off my tuchus this time, did some scrounging, and ordered a true C-extension string. I also decided to switch to the orchestral series since, ultimately, that's more where I want to go with this baby. The C string came in a couple days ago and I bought the full set that was at the store.

Well first things first. I noticed when I opened up the set that the strings were made Dec. 8, 2005. Great. They're already old... Ah well.

Then I switched out the C string. Ugh. This thing stinks. It's all high and nasal, thin and just plain ugly. My old Pirastro had an AMAZING punch to it even if I did have to _really_ work the articulation.

*sighs* I'll give it a little more time. Perhaps it just needs to break in a touch. But... I'm not optimistic. And at $115 for the set + extra string (and that's with a SIGNIFICANT employee discount) it's not a easy bill to swallow.