Need Some Opinions

[tennis&racquetball89]

Hey guys,

I previously posted that I'm about to buy the Alpha Revo 4000, but I changed my mind and decided to up the price range a little bit for a stand and other minor features.

Now I have 2 machines I'm considering:

1. Prince Neos 1000 Used (by a shop for 3-4 months) Good Condition $800
2. New Alpha Axis Pro $800

2 things I've been thinking about are New vs. Used (but I think the Prince is still under warranty also) and glide bar rails vs. fixed clamps.

I'll be stringing almost all tennis racquets with a few racquetball thrown in the mix.

As of right now not quite sure what to do. I'd appericiate any of your opinions. Thanks!

[barry]

Originally Posted by tennis&racquetball89

Hey guys,

I previously posted that I'm about to buy the Alpha Revo 4000, but I changed my mind and decided to up the price range a little bit for a stand and other minor features.

Now I have 2 machines I'm considering:

1. Prince Neos 1000 Used (by a shop for 3-4 months) Good Condition $800
2. New Alpha Axis Pro $800

2 things I've been thinking about are New vs. Used (but I think the Prince is still under warranty also) and glide bar rails vs. fixed clamps.

I'll be stringing almost all tennis racquets with a few racquetball thrown in the mix.

As of right now not quite sure what to do. I'd appericiate any of your opinions. Thanks!

Either machine will serve you well and both are a step up from the Revo 4000. The Revo 4000 mounting system has the 3 knobs per side and takes a little longer to mount a frame. The Apex has one knob which controls both of the mounting arms, and I think it is a better implementation. Plus both machines come with a stand. A friend has an Alpha Apex and he averages 80 rackets a month with only one issue (last year) which was a spring of all things in the crank!

The Price Neos is very easy to mount rackets, none of the 6 points mounting system arms get in your way, and is an excellent machine, but the glide bar system is a little dated. If you have a chance, string a racket on the Neos and then decide.

Both should last you 5 to 10 years, maybe replace clamps every 600 rackets or so, otherwise nothing to break.

The Neos is a solid machine, TW using them and I would say they string a few rackets every day.

[theace21]

The Neos will also have a better resale value...

[looseswing]

I currently have a Neos and think that it is a very good machine and quite easy to string raquets on. However, I have not used many other machines, so I don't have a large basis for comparison. I don't really mind the gliding bar system, it's pretty simple to use, only thing you have to do is to switch the bars when going from mains to crosses.

[Redflea]

Did you think about this option? Unless you're going to leave it in one place all the time, the machines on stands may be less convenient...harder to move around (most aren't on wheels).

You could get the Alpha Revo 4K ($550) and a separate wheeled stand for ~100 and have $150 left over for strings/racquets.

Lots of stand options/ideas here...

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=104833

Just a thought...

[T.J. Planas]

Both machines are great, but I much prefer the fixed swivel clamps(Alpha) to the glide bar clamps(Prince). Glide bar clamps have to be switched out to string the crosses. In addition, some advanced stringing techniques require that you switch back and forth from mains to crosses several times. This can be a pain with glidebar clamps.

Redflea has a good point. You can get a stand pretty cheap and that make sthe machine portable for tournament trips and such. Years ago, I had a table top machine and I bought a Craftsman (Sears) rolling work station with 3 drawers and a large storage bay. When I wasn't using the machine, I would store it in the bay and out of sight.

Hope this helps,

T.J. Planas
txtj79@hotmail.com

[Steve Huff]

While I think the Neos is a fine machine, the fact that you'll be doing some racquetball racquets would sway me toward the swivel clamps. Too many racquetball frames use a fan pattern, and this is one area where the slide bar clamps don't cope with very well.