Genesis Black Magic

[Torres]

B5E is deadish to begin with and definitely stiff, dead to finish. It is a string that's deceptively hard on the arm. Very little give to it. Ton of spin and grab on the ball but one dimensional playing characteristics.

BM blows it out of the water in terms of playability and performance.

[bad_call]

Originally Posted by Torres

B5E is deadish to begin with and definitely stiff, dead to finish. It is a string that's deceptively hard on the arm. Very little give to it.

BM blows it out of the water in terms of playability and performance.

not for this player...but i DO like BM when my opponents use it.

[ushynoti]

Originally Posted by Power Player

Yes, it plays great.

I figured it would play great, lol. But what tension do you string it at? I have been doing low tensions to test them out and so far no complaints. Do you think that stringing at 40 lbs or below for gut/poly blends will play well?

[Torres]

Originally Posted by bad_call

not for this player...but i DO like BM when my opponents use it.

If you're worried about what string your opponent does or does not use, then you're already in trouble.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by Torres

If you're worried about what string your opponent does or does not use, then you're already in trouble.

My opponents shake with fear when they hear I'm trying the latest and greatest string. I get at least 4 cheap games that way.

[Torres]

Originally Posted by mikeler

My opponents shake with fear when they hear I'm trying the latest and greatest string. I get at least 4 cheap games that way.

Mental midgets! Tell them that you're using a string invented by NASA next time.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by Torres

Mental midgets! Tell them that you're using a string invented by NASA next time.

I work fairly close to NASA so that is believable.

[bad_call]

Originally Posted by Torres

If you're worried about what string your opponent does or does not use, then you're already in trouble.

how did u manage to interpret that? jump to conclusions often?

[Torres]

Originally Posted by bad_call

how did u manage to interpret that? jump to conclusions often?

No, I just rely on your meaningless 10 minute playtest of a dead string in someone elses racquet, and inaccurate comments about it being 'boardy' at 40lbs.

[bad_call]

Originally Posted by Torres

No, I just rely on your meaningless 10 minute playtest of a dead string in someone elses racquet, and inaccurate comments about it being 'boardy' at 40lbs.

awww Mitt don't worry...lol

[lynnbart]

I strung up a set of Black Magic at 48x46 lbs after reading this thread and now have about 6 sets on it.

Last night the stringbed suddenly changed. It has played comfortably since fresh but I thought I could feel it getting loose, then last night it seemed to tighten up and played firmer and a little more solid.

Has anyone else experienced this with Black Magic ? I'm not sure if it has become "firmer" or if it has "settled" at a really low tension and that being a tension I haven't experienced before. Instead of cutting it I'm going to play it for awhile longer.

[Uvijek Argen]

Originally Posted by lynnbart

I strung up a set of Black Magic at 48x46 lbs after reading this thread and now have about 6 sets on it.

Last night the stringbed suddenly changed. It has played comfortably since fresh but I thought I could feel it getting loose, then last night it seemed to tighten up and played firmer and a little more solid.

Has anyone else experienced this with Black Magic ? I'm not sure if it has become "firmer" or if it has "settled" at a really low tension and that being a tension I haven't experienced before. Instead of cutting it I'm going to play it for awhile longer.

Did the weather got any colder compare to the other days you used it before?

[lynnbart]

I'm in Texas and the weather has actually been very nice the past several days. We are trying to play at least an hour every night before colder weather/wind sets in.

I was planning to cut it out until we played last night.

I'm thinking of going even lower on the initial tension. What kind of drop from 48lbs should I make ? Down to around 44 ?

I seemed to serve much better at a lower tension and it definately is more comfortable.

[Torres]

Originally Posted by lynnbart

I strung up a set of Black Magic at 48x46 lbs after reading this thread and now have about 6 sets on it.

Last night the stringbed suddenly changed. It has played comfortably since fresh but I thought I could feel it getting loose, then last night it seemed to tighten up and played firmer and a little more solid.

I wouldn't disagree with your experiences. BM does lose tension over time before settling and obviously with hitting, it will lose its elasticty and the string itself will feel stiffer on the way to going dead.

I tend to cut mine out around the 6 hour mark. It's still sort of playable but the performance just isn't there anymore IMO. And as the string stiffens, you lose a element of feel and forgiveness. That's my gripe with this string - plays great when fresh(ish) but performance is relatively short lived before the string starts losing its (Black) magic and goes dead.

Personally, I prefer it at 52lbs - that's the tension that works for me - but horses for courses really. Depends on how you play, what your equipment setup is etc.

[PKfan1]

I tried BM full bed @60 lbs on a YT IG prestige mid. Initially I thought it was a great string b/c of the comfort level but that soon changed after playing points. I couldn't feel the ball on the racquet so I couldn't tell how hard I was hitting the ball so I lost control of depth. Spin was good though. As a fan of softer poly's I thought this would be right up my alley with all of the comments, unfortunately (since the price is so good) I find it doesn't have the control I am looking for. One word I would you to describe it is "mushy" even @ 60 lbs.

[Torres]

60lbs in a mid is too much. The Prestige mid head size is also very close to a 90 rather than a 93. Throw in that closed pattern, and 60lbs just isn't going to jive.

[lynnbart]

Agree. 60 is very high.

[Power Player]

I had BM in a Pro Stock Prestige and a PC600 at 48. It was as sublime as you would imagine it to be.

[tlm]

I got a set of black magic today from string forum to test out. I have only hit once with it but I am very impressed with this string.

It has a great feel to it and very good spin, but the best part is the control. I am very picky about depth control, I hit a high looping ball and if I have just a little to much spring in my string bed I will hit to many balls long.

But I had no problem with BM, it has precision like control similar to my kevlar hybrid that I am using but with a much better feel.
I am trying to get away from the kevlar that I have been using and have tested out black widow and weiss cannon SS and other low powered poly strings to find a good controllable substitute, and so far none of them have worked well enough to make the change.

If this first hit performance of BM can last for a while it looks like I could have a winner. I was hitting around and switching back and forth between my kevlar hybrid and the 17 gauge BM and I had the same control with both, which I have not found with other poly strings.

I cannot wait to put some more hours on this string and try a few more sets of it.

[Power Player]

Anyone have this as a full job in an 18x20? I am thinking about going there since I have a set of 17 just sitting in my house.

I want a lot of control. Was thinking of going 50/48..never really knew which was better for control - higher crosses or mains..or does it matter much?