Today, I changed strings on one of my basses or actually swapped them from another bass that had a new set put on recently. I had some well played-in Belcanto's on my Italian Marconcini and while practicing the last couple of days I felt they had become scratchy with the bow. After putting on the set for the other bass that were quite new, I noticed three main differences.
1, They has less tension which was welcomed as the old set felt tight.
2, They bowed easier with and with much less effort.
3, They sounded smoother under the bow with the scratchy sound gone.
Now, I seem to recall that I have been through this before with other string brands as well. When the strings get old or past their playing prime, they start to sound scratchy with the bow from slight to extreme depending on what you are playing as well as feeling tighter.
The two things that usually hold ME back from changing strings when I 'know' they need changing are the time and effort it takes putting strings on and off as well as their cost which is not so cheap to say the least. I don't know what bothers me more, the money of the pain.. lol
So, how long do your 'Orchestra' strings usually last before they get tight and scratchy?