Before I ever bought my bike (used) Windsor Tourist I had read it was subject to spoke problems. I went with a wait and see approach. Well 2 spokes went last year and when I broke a few more this spring I went to the LBS I trust for advice with some lofty idea of buying new 48 count wheels. After the sticker shock on that one I asked the owner what he would advise. He said there is no telling with the generic spokes what the problem is if its assembly or quality of spokes and he said he didn’t really see any reason my hubs and rims were not of good enough quality to replace the spokes with something better. So I went with DT spokes in both wheels even though only the back was failing. they were 36 spoke wheels and it ran about 200 bucks and that came with a bring it back anytime you want and we will check it and adjust if needed verbal guarantee.
For what it's worth I asked for a few of the old spokes back and also a couple of the new ones, as I have a metal testing lab where I work I can use. I did a few simple tension pulls on each of the spokes and found that the no name spokes were the same strength as the DT spokes. They tested to be about 150,000 PSI or something like 750 pounds per spoke. I could see a difference in how the heads were formed and to be honest even though both types broke at 750# the DT spokes took a little longer to yield once they started going.
I am fairly convinced that the wheel building plays every bit as big or bigger part in this as do the spokes. As many others had told me prior to finding out on my own. I most likely could have had the spokes redone by a qualified person and never had a issue when I bought the bike. I most likely could have not had the front wheel spokes replaced and just re tensioned and been fine also.
But there is something to be said for peace of mind knowing what you have under you.