Cheapo "Irin" and "Alice" strings - good or bad?
 

I'm leaning toward bad.

Formerly a steel-string player, I've mostly performed on a Cordoba electrified nylon-string lately - lower tension on my arthritic left-hand index finger. Using a pick, playing standards. All good, but I haven't settled on a string brand.

I bought some Irin and Alice nylon sets off eBay over the last couple years. Amazingly cheap, like two bucks or less per set. Black-colored 1-2-3 strings, silver-colored wound 4-5-6. Just put a set on the old Alvarez I play around the house. The wound strings seem OK but the hard-surfaced plastic strings seem extremely thin, and continue to stretch, and stretch, and stretch, more than any nylon string I've tried.

OK, I went too cheap. Anybody's experience similar to mine, and what low-priced brand should I be using?

Thanks!

Try a set of D'Addario EJ27 strings. They are geared for students and are around $5 a set. Personally, I like the EJ45's better, but up to you if you wish to save $3-4 a set and find the tone acceptable.

I've used Alice strings before. In my opinion They're ok...ish. I prefer D'addario but I mean for the price they are ok. I wouldn't use them for a performance. But for just doing some picking around the house they're fine. Just inspect them before you put them on. On one set I had the B string had a gash about halfway through the string.

Hope this helps!

I agree they are OK for practice. I use them on my beater guitars.