BB Melbourne Club

[BDAZ]

Kot and basil, where do you guys play that's under the lights? MIT? I know they have their lights on pretty late. Also, maybe I missed it in this thread somewhere, but how would you compare the Melbourne to the London? I know they're different weights and string patterns, but anything else you can offer would be appreciated.

[Kot_Bigemot]

Originally Posted by BDAZ

Kot and basil, where do you guys play that's under the lights? MIT? I know they have their lights on pretty late. Also, maybe I missed it in this thread somewhere, but how would you compare the Melbourne to the London? I know they're different weights and string patterns, but anything else you can offer would be appreciated.

I play at Reading HS, also they have lights at Lexington HS, North Reading MS, Brandeis has lights, TUFTS. Many places around have lights.
I play North of the City, know nothing about MIT courts. However, we play at MIT and Harvard during winter.

[Kot_Bigemot]

Originally Posted by BDAZ

Kot and basil, where do you guys play that's under the lights? MIT? I know they have their lights on pretty late. Also, maybe I missed it in this thread somewhere, but how would you compare the Melbourne to the London? I know they're different weights and string patterns, but anything else you can offer would be appreciated.

As for London. For some reason i really disliked that frame. Tried it twice and both times could not wait to throw it in the bag.

[sphinx780]

Originally Posted by Kot_Bigemot

As for London. For some reason i really disliked that frame. Tried it twice and both times could not wait to throw it in the bag.

I'm right there with you on the London. My wife ended up liking it but I was not remotely interested in keeping it on the court any longer than I needed to give it a fair shot.

I can't say what it was definitively, but I was not a fan.

[10SDad]

Well, after four sets yesterday I still was not getting the accustomed to this stick. Probably my lack of hand-eye, but any shots towards the top or bottom of the stringbed felt like miss hits, and it was tough for me to stay in the sweetspot. Power seemed to drop off as well in those areas, so I never knew how my shot was going to go. I’m not used to a full bed of multi, but it definitely was too powerful at times. While I had an occasional great shot, slices were often floating long and forehands were sporadic. Just didn’t like not knowing if the shot was going to feel solid or not, or how much power I was going to garner. Serves were much better than the 200T, and volleys and overheads were decent, but groundstrokes were frustrating. I’m guessing poly won’t do me much good as far as the sweetspot goes, but I need to see if I can tame some of the power so I’m going to do a full bed of poly at 50 to see what transpires. Not sure if this is just a matter of dialing in the right string/tension, or if the racquet is going to be a problem for me regardless. Yesterday there was just too much variation in how it felt.

[sphinx780]

FWIW-

Personally I felt that certain strings accentuated the loss of power in the upper hoop much more than others. Although I do tend to hit in the same spot on the racquet the majority of the time (based on wear patterns).

I also felt that with a full multi in this stick, the key for me is to keep my swing speed up and aggressive. When I slowed down and tried to guide or control the shot, I felt the response to be much more inconsistent.

Which multi did you load it up with?

[10SDad]

Originally Posted by sphinx780

FWIW-

I also felt that with a full multi in this stick, the key for me is to keep my swing speed up and aggressive. When I slowed down and tried to guide or control the shot, I felt the response to be much more inconsistent.

Which multi did you load it up with?

Thanks for the feedback. I typically like to take very aggressive swings, and the dilemma was: hit aggressively and there was too much power..ball long; take something off to not over hit and guide the ball as you mention, and then I dumped it in the net, or lost power on the return, or mis-hit it.

I used a new multi from a company called Tier One Sports. http://www.tieronesports.com/triumph/ It is a 16 ga., and I almost always use 17 ga. regardless of string type, so a couple of extra variables going on here. That's why I need to give it a fair shake by stringing up with something I'm more familiar with. I just found myself wondering on each stroke whether or not it was going to be solid, long, short, and kept wishing that the sweetspot was larger. It was all making me do too much thinking.

[sphinx780]

Originally Posted by 10SDad

It was all making me do too much thinking.

^That's always the biggest issue in my game

I found that if you have a softer multi, the cupping really adds to the control with full swings. I just adjusted my aim a bit (which I should have done with any racket in the past).

Here's my thought, commit to your normally aggressive play, muscle memory tends do to good things in adjusting the range when one loosens up.


Either the racquet just won't fit your game or you're having the opposite of the honeymoon effect

[basil J]

Full bed of poly at 50# won't resolve your issue. This is a fairly hot stringbed for a players frame and I found anything under 58# produced a lot of shots going long. Also make sure you use a dampener. For some reason I find this frame behaves much better with one one on. With a tight string, you can learn the nuances of the string bed and loosen tension accordingly. I have gut mains on all three of my frames and 60-62# works the best. When I used a full bed of 16g multi, 60# gave me plenty of control, power & spin. Also make sure that you are closing the racquet face in a deliberate fashion until you get grooved with the rectangular grip shape. i struggled with control on depth with every becker I have used until i Made a deliberate effort to close the face on my backswing. Now I don't even think about it. I'm on auto pilot and when I miss, it's because of me, not the frame. Give it a little bit longer. If you like the 200T, you will eventually love the melbourne.

[10SDad]

Switched strings to a full bed of 17 ga. Tier One Sports Duraflux @ 58/56, which is essentially Lux ALU BB. A very low-powered string.

The good news: It played much more predictably, with less variation in feel on the stringbed, very good spin, good control. I wasn't painting the lines, but could definitely hit into the zone I wanted. Volleyed well, served consistently, 1hbh was good, and if I prepped well my forehand stayed out of the net.

Neutral thoughts: I was surprised with that stringbed, at that tension, how much power the racquet was still generating. Controllable, but took an effort to be sure I was applying enough spin to keep it inside the baseline. The racquet also felt a lot stiffer.

The bad news: Even with a brace on, my elbow is sore today. And what's worse, it's not only sore in the normal TE location, it's also sore on the inside...which I've never had. In addition, mid-way in the first set my hand started hurting on the inside of my thumb down closer to the palm. I could feel it taking the impact every time I served. Not sure how much of that was the increased stiffness vs. the handle shape, but all I could do was try to loosen my grip to compensate.

Summary: The stringbed played much more solid with the all-poly, but even at 58/56 (which is tight for a poly for me) there was borderline too much power on groundstrokes. I could try incorporating a multi cross to soften the bed, but again, the power issue is a concern. Even moreso, I apparently can't handle the resulting stiffness of a tighter bed with this racquet, and the Volkl handle did not dampen it enough based upon how my arm feels today. I liked it a ton better with this setup, but it cost me. I haven't been this sore or had the same hand issue since the one time I hit with a Pure Drive.

I noticed on the TW site that the specs list this as a racquet with a Stroke rating of "compact" vs. "full" as found on other player's racquets. Hadn't noticed that before, but found it curious. Implies to me the inherent power in this stick. After last night I'd LIKE to keep playing with this for a while, just not sure I can afford to.

[basil J]

Do yourself a favor and try a full multi set up at 60#. You can always change the pallets to an attiva grip which is more traditional if you find the comfort. Ultimately this frame may not be for you. Don't inflame your arm for the sake of a racquet. My shoulder throbbed with poly mains on this stick and it is an option I will probably not consider again. Soft poly cross with gut mains has been working well for me and the few other guys I know who also use this frame do not use poly in it. I think Boris used full gut when he played. maybe it was designed around his game and string preferences?

[jhusein]

Originally Posted by 10SDad

Switched strings to a full bed of 17 ga. Tier One Sports Duraflux @ 58/56, which is essentially Lux ALU BB. A very low-powered string.

The good news: It played much more predictably, with less variation in feel on the stringbed, very good spin, good control. I wasn't painting the lines, but could definitely hit into the zone I wanted. Volleyed well, served consistently, 1hbh was good, and if I prepped well my forehand stayed out of the net.

Neutral thoughts: I was surprised with that stringbed, at that tension, how much power the racquet was still generating. Controllable, but took an effort to be sure I was applying enough spin to keep it inside the baseline. The racquet also felt a lot stiffer.

The bad news: Even with a brace on, my elbow is sore today. And what's worse, it's not only sore in the normal TE location, it's also sore on the inside...which I've never had. In addition, mid-way in the first set my hand started hurting on the inside of my thumb down closer to the palm. I could feel it taking the impact every time I served. Not sure how much of that was the increased stiffness vs. the handle shape, but all I could do was try to loosen my grip to compensate.

Summary: The stringbed played much more solid with the all-poly, but even at 58/56 (which is tight for a poly for me) there was borderline too much power on groundstrokes. I could try incorporating a multi cross to soften the bed, but again, the power issue is a concern. Even moreso, I apparently can't handle the resulting stiffness of a tighter bed with this racquet, and the Volkl handle did not dampen it enough based upon how my arm feels today. I liked it a ton better with this setup, but it cost me. I haven't been this sore or had the same hand issue since the one time I hit with a Pure Drive.

I noticed on the TW site that the specs list this as a racquet with a Stroke rating of "compact" vs. "full" as found on other player's racquets. Hadn't noticed that before, but found it curious. Implies to me the inherent power in this stick. After last night I'd LIKE to keep playing with this for a while, just not sure I can afford to.

I agree with you. I tried different set ups and none seems to work. I will give it one more try with a full Multi at mid tension before they go to the boards FS/T.

[sphinx780]

10sDad:

Ouch, a full bed of poly at that tension makes my shoulder ache just thinking about it. I'm with Basil on the full multi but I'd suggest a counterintuitive approach on tension. I'd go lower, closer to a 50/48 or even 48/46 string bed.

Here's why: When I was doing a lot of tension testing with this racquet I found that going above a string bed of 55 would significantly reduce the cupping action that leads to control for me. I ran into control issues with a full multi strung anywhere from 55-64 lbs. Essentially low enough to offset the higher power threshold of lower tensions. I love those tensions for groundies but needed a little more pop on my serve which got me to a 54/51 sweet spot for me.

I have a very full stroke but when this racquet is strung low enough with a soft string, it's a control stick, pure and simple and it'd be the only way I'd suggest it based on your results and your protesting elbow.

[jhusein]

Originally Posted by sphinx780

10sDad:

Ouch, a full bed of poly at that tension makes my shoulder ache just thinking about it. I'm with Basil on the full multi but I'd suggest a counterintuitive approach on tension. I'd go lower, closer to a 50/48 or even 48/46 string bed.

Here's why: When I was doing a lot of tension testing with this racquet I found that going above a string bed of 55 would significantly reduce the cupping action that leads to control for me. I ran into control issues with a full multi strung anywhere from 55-64 lbs. Essentially low enough to offset the higher power threshold of lower tensions. I love those tensions for groundies but needed a little more pop on my serve which got me to a 54/51 sweet spot for me.

I have a very full stroke but when this racquet is strung low enough with a soft string, it's a control stick, pure and simple and it'd be the only way I'd suggest it based on your results and your protesting elbow.

sphinx780, is that tension (54/51) using a drop weight machine and which multi are you using? Thanks.

[sphinx780]

I'm assuming you're asking me instead of 10sdad

Currently using Volkl Gripper 16g on a drop weight. Although, I'd venture up that if you want a little less lively string bed and don't need a super spinny multi, then discho microfibre 16g is also an excellent choice.

[jhusein]

Originally Posted by sphinx780

I'm assuming you're asking me instead of 10sdad

Currently using Volkl Gripper 16g on a drop weight. Although, I'd venture up that if you want a little less lively string bed and don't need a super spinny multi, then discho microfibre 16g is also an excellent choice.

Indeed I was.
For now, I only have Fiber II 17g and MCS so I will give it a try and string one today with the Fiber II at the tensions you suggested. I play with the pb10 mid and even though it is tension sensitive, it is no near the Melbourne in that department! Thanks for the quick response.

[sphinx780]

The Melly is the most tension sensitive racquet I've ever played with but after screwing around with tensions from low 40s to mid 60s, I find it to be a pretty customizable hit. From low powered to high powered, soft to stiff string beds.

Let us know how you fare!

[djNEiGht]

How would one compare the Melbourne to the pb10 mp? The chatter in the pb10 thread is gear mostly towards the "mid". I demo'd a Melbourne but then got a screaming deal on a MP about a year ago. Maybe with the sale price I'll pick one up...but for now I am looking for a thread to piggy back on.

[10SDad]

Originally Posted by jhusein

Indeed I was.
For now, I only have Fiber II 17g and MCS so I will give it a try and string one today with the Fiber II at the tensions you suggested. I play with the pb10 mid and even though it is tension sensitive, it is no near the Melbourne in that department! Thanks for the quick response.

I'd love to hear how this trial goes for you, so please post back when you have a chance after running through the paces.

The only multi I have at the moment to try is NXT 17 ga. That's a pretty soft string as it is, so with the lower tension I don't know what is going to happen.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I want to give the stick a fair chance, but have never had to change things up this much before.

Out of curiosity, has anyone tail-waited their Melbourne? Since the buttcap appears non-removable and I believe there is already silicone in the handle, a leather grip or lead under the grip are about the only methods.

[slowfox]

Originally Posted by sphinx780

The Melly is the most tension sensitive racquet I've ever played with but after screwing around with tensions from low 40s to mid 60s, I find it to be a pretty customizable hit. From low powered to high powered, soft to stiff string beds.

Let us know how you fare!

Hey Sphinx, what is a good set up for low power with this frame? Since you've experimented a lot, you probably have some good advice. Thanks.