PV Audio's Playtest Thread

pvaudio

Legend
do not hit at a specific club. I live on the southside and work on the northside. I do a clinic once a week with a local pro, USTA Flex league and hit with one or two others when I can.
Oh cool, where about on the northside? Nothing specific, just the area is fine :)
 

pvaudio

Legend
May I ask why the dislike of poly / poly hybrids?
Dislike it not the right word, rather it's closer to I don't bother. kiteboard got into this for like 5 pages once since he was all about poly/poly. I have tried a few, and have never found that a poly cross will ever come as close to matching what I want out of a frame as a synthetic or natty will. It's not a disdain so much as a preference. :)
 

pvaudio

Legend
To anyone new reading this, no, the table of contents is not up to date. That said, I have not exactly hit with any new setups.
 

Govnor

Professional
Out of interest, have you played at the Pike HS courts, are they good? I'm supposed to play a match there next week and I've never been there before.
 

pvaudio

Legend
Indeed, those are my go-to outdoor courts. They're quite good, although not quite as nice as North Central's. To be fair, however, NC's courts are kept up as though it's Indian Wells.
 

fgs

Hall of Fame
i hope that the freshly married pvaudio will be allowed to come back to the board and "hang out with the boys" prior to ten years of marriage passing.:)

best wishes to you and your wife pv!
 

ushynoti

Rookie
Quick question to pvaudio, great post, I've been following this and reading through the crazy number of posts in this thread! Why do you think that Weiss Cannon Scorpion 1.22 is better than 1.28, and does it last long or does 1.22 snap pretty fast? That's a really thin gauge, and I normally use 16g, maybe 17g at the thinnest. Thanks!
 

pvaudio

Legend
Honestly, I've never tried the 1.28. I have always liked the livelier feel of thinner gauges, so if I'm going to try a string, I'll always go for the 17 or 16L first. If we're talking mm, then always the 1.20 to 1.25 before anything thinner or thicker. In my top favorite polys, scorpion is 1.22, b53 is 1.23, tornado is 1.23, iontec is 1.20 and pro hurricane is 1.20. I've tried most of these at other gauges, but these have hit me as the best. Opinion, obviously and of course :)
 

ushynoti

Rookie
Honestly, I've never tried the 1.28. I have always liked the livelier feel of thinner gauges, so if I'm going to try a string, I'll always go for the 17 or 16L first. If we're talking mm, then always the 1.20 to 1.25 before anything thinner or thicker. In my top favorite polys, scorpion is 1.22, b53 is 1.23, tornado is 1.23, iontec is 1.20 and pro hurricane is 1.20. I've tried most of these at other gauges, but these have hit me as the best. Opinion, obviously and of course :)

Cool, so I'm thinking of getting a reel of Scorpion but don't know if I should be trying a gauge so thin. I was going to try the 1.28 but if the 1.22 is that great and you don't break it like in 3 hits of a ball, then I may be inclined to try that. I'm using it in a Wilson Prostaff BLX 90 (Federer) frame.
 

Doubles

Legend
Cool, so I'm thinking of getting a reel of Scorpion but don't know if I should be trying a gauge so thin. I was going to try the 1.28 but if the 1.22 is that great and you don't break it like in 3 hits of a ball, then I may be inclined to try that. I'm using it in a Wilson Prostaff BLX 90 (Federer) frame.

While I didn't personally care all that much for Scorpion, I found the 1.22 mm version to be plenty durable.
 

Doubles

Legend
Thanks Doubles, so why didn't you like Scorpion? What is your normal setup and racquet?

IG and YouTek Prestige Pro's. I use either a full bed of Pro Red Code, or a hybrid with OGSM.

As for Scorpion, it just seemed rather bland to me. However, what that really proves is how subjective strings can be. Look at PV, he loves it. Conversely, I don't.

I'm not sure whether or not you would consider not buying it because I happen to dislike the string, but I would still at least try it out, because you never know if you might like it.
 

ushynoti

Rookie
IG and YouTek Prestige Pro's. I use either a full bed of Pro Red Code, or a hybrid with OGSM.

As for Scorpion, it just seemed rather bland to me. However, what that really proves is how subjective strings can be. Look at PV, he loves it. Conversely, I don't.

I'm not sure whether or not you would consider not buying it because I happen to dislike the string, but I would still at least try it out, because you never know if you might like it.

Yes, that seems to be pretty true, what one person likes someone else may not. I guess there's only one way to find out! Thanks for the input, if anyone else has any input, I'd love to hear it. I use the Wilson Prostaff BLX 90 and string around 48 lbs with VS Touch mains/Luxilon ALU Power Fluoro cross, and I also string full bed Luxilon ALU Power Fluoro, both work for me, the gut one obviously is more cush, but I think I can play with both pretty well. I'm not as sensitive to string anymore now that there are co-polys. Before with just synthetic gut available, it was probably more noticeable.

Doubles, what color of OGSM do you use? I have the clear/white kind and the gold kind, and not sure how I feel about them in a hybrid but seems like it's a pretty popular hybrid, maybe because of the price?
 

Doubles

Legend
Yes, that seems to be pretty true, what one person likes someone else may not. I guess there's only one way to find out! Thanks for the input, if anyone else has any input, I'd love to hear it. I use the Wilson Prostaff BLX 90 and string around 48 lbs with VS Touch mains/Luxilon ALU Power Fluoro cross, and I also string full bed Luxilon ALU Power Fluoro, both work for me, the gut one obviously is more cush, but I think I can play with both pretty well. I'm not as sensitive to string anymore now that there are co-polys. Before with just synthetic gut available, it was probably more noticeable.

Doubles, what color of OGSM do you use? I have the clear/white kind and the gold kind, and not sure how I feel about them in a hybrid but seems like it's a pretty popular hybrid, maybe because of the price?

I have a reel of the natural color now. I've tried it in both natural and white, and in a hybrid there isn't much of a difference to me.
 

Teniludius

New User
I use the Wilson Prostaff BLX 90 and string around 48 lbs with VS Touch mains/Luxilon ALU Power Fluoro cross, and I also string full bed Luxilon ALU Power Fluoro, both work for me, the gut one obviously is more cush, but I think I can play with both pretty well.

I've used Scorpion 1.22 in a K90 strung around 51 (and strung by Mr. PV himself). After a short break-in period it feels plush and soft and you can just feel the ball sink into the bed. I let Mr. PV hit with it and he was amazed at how good it felt! Excellent control and good spin.
 

ushynoti

Rookie
I've used Scorpion 1.22 in a K90 strung around 51 (and strung by Mr. PV himself). After a short break-in period it feels plush and soft and you can just feel the ball sink into the bed. I let Mr. PV hit with it and he was amazed at how good it felt! Excellent control and good spin.

Teniludius, did you use a full bed of Scorpion 1.22, and how long did it last you before it broke?
 

Teniludius

New User
Yes, I used Scorpion 1.22 in a full bed, and I've never broken it, and I hit pretty hard with spin. I kept it until it went totally dead, which was a long time. I was amazed at how well it played even after a long period of time.
 

pvaudio

Legend
Ahhhhhhhhh feels so nice to be hitting again. B5E/Nvy is keeping me afloat. Being married definitely means less playtesting, but being back at my home club means more customers :D
 

djNEiGht

Legend
Being married ... :D

and may the honeymoon continue.

My wife gifted me recently with a monster-combi. she noticed me sewing the handle on my wilson bag some time ago. i picked up a pro's-pro bag but just kept it in storage since the stitch job was holding up.
 

nickarnold2000

Hall of Fame
Ahhhhhhhhh feels so nice to be hitting again. B5E/Nvy is keeping me afloat. Being married definitely means less playtesting, but being back at my home club means more customers :D
Pvaudio, have you ever tried using a multi as a cross instead of a syn gut cross with your poly mains. I'm just wondering what the differences are?
 

mikeler

Moderator
Pvaudio, have you ever tried using a multi as a cross instead of a syn gut cross with your poly mains. I'm just wondering what the differences are?

How dare you get his opinion on this after asking me. :)

He will give you a different perspective proving that string love is all subjective.
 

pvaudio

Legend
Pvaudio, have you ever tried using a multi as a cross instead of a syn gut cross with your poly mains. I'm just wondering what the differences are?
Hmm that's a beefy question. Yep, indeed I have. One of my favorite setups is Signum Pro Tornado / Babolat Xcel French Open. You can fine tune the overall feel you want when you choose a multi, whereas a syn gut is pretty straight forward. I chose Nvy because it doesn't really change the feel of the poly mains much, and allows them to do their work most efficiently. Multis and other syn guts start shredding which inhibits the poly's spin generation. That said, if I still could use natural gut with everything, I would.
 

rdis10093

Hall of Fame
hows it going man I assume you are no longer in heaven, but in the real world with a carer. hope everything is going well for you.

whats the word on poly, anything new or exciting?
 

pvaudio

Legend
Indeed he has! And haha it's still heaven, just on a different street. Real world is definitely a lot different, but it's definitely better in many ways. Still playing tennis frequently, but for sure not stringing as much. With that in mind, I have no idea what new stuff has come out recently, so I can't help you there. :)
 
Hey PVaudio I saw you mentioned you buy signum pro strings that get like damaged and stuff. I wanted to know if you could give me the american contact info.
p.s. I just wanted to talk to them about a problem with a product and where I could send it not trying to get the damaged strings
 

nickarnold2000

Hall of Fame
I was just wondering what the differences are between Sig Tornado and Black5Edge? How many hours of play are you getting out of each one? Thanks.
 

mikeler

Moderator
I was just wondering what the differences are between Sig Tornado and Black5Edge? How many hours of play are you getting out of each one? Thanks.

I'm sure Mr. PV will chime in but I use B5E as a main string (see my signature) and love it. I've also tried Tornado as a main string and was disappointed. Tornado looks like it should put massive spin on the ball but that was not what I experienced. See some reviews I did here:

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=373884
 

nickarnold2000

Hall of Fame
I'm sure Mr. PV will chime in but I use B5E as a main string (see my signature) and love it. I've also tried Tornado as a main string and was disappointed. Tornado looks like it should put massive spin on the ball but that was not what I experienced. See some reviews I did here:

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=373884
Thanks for posting. I've got B5E 17/Sweet 17 in at 45/42 with my previous
set up being Tornado 17 and Sweet 17 at the same tension. Playing in hot, humid conditions so this should be interesting.
 

pvaudio

Legend
B5E and Tornado are very opposite feeling strings. Regardless of its ludicrous profile, Tornado gives about as much spin as B5E. The difference is in the feel. Tornado has an uncanny responsive feel to it, while B5E is much more muted and lower powered. They are both baseliners strings for sure, but B5E can be crossed to be more of an all-court setup. I truly like both a very large amount, but for different reasons. I like crisp, responsive strings, and Tornado has that plus more. However! More than that, I like WeissCANNON poly strings for reasons I can't explain. They just...work for me. B5E and Scorpion, IMO, being their best. My Head favors B5E, while my Dunlop made the most of Tornado. You'll just have to try it and see :)

Do be warned: Tornado, regardless of spin, SHREDS crosses. You have been told in advance. :)
 

pvaudio

Legend
This is a TTW world first: posting a raw video where you know you look bad.

So I went out today, and unlike usual, I only videoed myself right at the end of my workout (about an hr and a half). I think this might turn out to be more useful as a metric of progress (especially stamina and endurance), because when you're gassed (and trust me, I am completely shot here!), your technique even from ball to ball just goes into the tank. Footwork goes straight into the tank. I fit this guideline like a glove. Video is straight rip from the camera. Never even saw a video editing program.

Backhands
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwZcuUPYgXs

Together
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2g9Mktbg0E
 

djNEiGht

Legend
This is a TTW world first: posting a raw video where you know you look bad.

gassed for sure...i could only imagine the pain. :twisted:
the BH at 2:34 for sure was the one that takes the cake!

Great work out. I try and do this as well with a couple of other players after a couple of sets have already been played. We do rallies (singles) where after the 5th ball hit the pace is ramped up and our legs and fundamentals are hanging by thread
 
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