The gut/poly thread

tennisbike

Professional
For some people this cannot be done. Some cannot accept the fact that acceleration of a tossed tennis ball stays the same when the ball stops momentarily when it reaches the top. cannot do it."

I cut out my cross strings in two different sticks, and removed crosses twice with racket mounted of course. The only problem I had was that I broke the Ashaway ZX cross that I was trying to reuse the third time.
 

Dartagnan64

G.O.A.T.
Some cannot accept the fact that acceleration of a tossed tennis ball stays the same when the ball stops momentarily when it reaches the top. cannot do it."

Pretty sure most people can accept the fact once you educate them about the difference between velocity and acceleration.

I think the best way to avoid cutting out crosses is finding smooth polys with good tension maintenance and gut mains that shred and break at the moment the poly goes dead. I try to time it around 15 hrs.
 

phanker

Semi-Pro
Was using Wilson Revolve 17 as a cross before but my new fav is now is Head Hawk Touch 17.
It's soft and has a gut feel to it so it complements the gut mains nicely. It works very well in a tight string pattern for added dwell time and comfort.

My current setup on a Babolat PS17 18x20:
Babolat Team nat gut 17 / Head Hawk Touch 17 (56/45lbs)
 

liftordie

Hall of Fame
Was using Wilson Revolve 17 as a cross before but my new fav is now is Head Hawk Touch 17.
It's soft and has a gut feel to it so it complements the gut mains nicely. It works very well in a tight string pattern for added dwell time and comfort.

My current setup on a Babolat PS17 18x20:
Babolat Team nat gut 17 / Head Hawk Touch 17 (56/45lbs)
Don't understand the interest of a "gut feeling" cross with gut main..... Really don't.
 

phanker

Semi-Pro
It's a bit of an oxymoron isn't it with a gut/poly setup.

So you put gut in the mains, a soft but highly resilience string with a high elasticity limit. To control its power and allow the mains to move freely, you cross it with a slick poly which is has a super low elasticity limit and low power relatively.
What's worse, the crosses are on average 2/3rd in length compared to the mains too. Even though it'll be lowered in tension once a stringbed is strung, it'll dominate the stringbed feel if it isn't strung low enough in tension as you'll hit the poly's elasticity limit way before you do the gut main's at ball impact.

To eliminate this issue and achieve a more consistent stringbed in terms of playability, I've been stringing the crosses some 15-20lbs less in tension than the gut mains on average. With the HHT17, I'm able to narrow the difference a bit while maintaining the gut feel, pocketing or dwell time that I love. I've tried other soft polys but most are usually too powerful or lose their playability too quickly. HHT17 so far has stay very consistent in playability for the duration of the stringbed. Since I can now string the crosses tighter than before, the gut mains are much more stable resulting in more consistent ball launch angles I've noticed.

So this "gut feel" I reference for a poly simply means that HHT17 seems to have a high elasticity limit for a poly. It's soft yet not high power somehow, a rarity when it comes to poly. And better yet, its playability is pretty consistent until the end.

Don't understand the interest of a "gut feeling" cross with gut main..... Really don't.
 

liftordie

Hall of Fame
Players that break strings frequently are just going to break them no matter what the set up. (Federer goes through Gut/poly in about 45min of practice) Will show you some hours that I got from Gut/poly. Try to avoid early morning, night play and clay courts with gut/poly. Use full poly at 52 in questionable conditions. Humidity is a big issue.
VS Touch/ Revolve 10-12hrs
VS Touch/ 4g 15+hrs
Klip Legend (uncoated)/ Max Power 5hrs
Klip Legend/ Max Power 8-10hrs

*Klip/ Max Power may be my best option at $18 a frame. VS/4g is about $28-$29 including shipping though the playability on VS/4g is unmatched. I’m thinking Klip/Max for practice and VS/4g for events.

OGSM/ Vel @ 55/53 is getting me through the winter nicely.
I play only on clay. And I will never change that.
If gut/poly lasted me minimum 10hours, I would stay with that fantastic setup forever...
But I'm sure that when I will get really older, I will not spin so much... And it would be the time to go for gut/poly! But not for the moment... :)
 

Syfo-Dias

Professional
Players that break strings frequently are just going to break them no matter what the set up. (Federer goes through Gut/poly in about 45min of practice) Will show you some hours that I got from Gut/poly. Try to avoid early morning, night play and clay courts with gut/poly. Use full poly at 52 in questionable conditions. Humidity is a big issue.
VS Touch/ Revolve 10-12hrs
VS Touch/ 4g 15+hrs
Klip Legend (uncoated)/ Max Power 5hrs
Klip Legend/ Max Power 8-10hrs

*Klip/ Max Power may be my best option at $18 a frame. VS/4g is about $28-$29 including shipping though the playability on VS/4g is unmatched. I’m thinking Klip/Max for practice and VS/4g for events.

OGSM/ Vel @ 55/53 is getting me through the winter nicely.

Does 4g Soft play as well as regular 4g? What about tension maintenance? I've wanted to try 4g crosses, but a little afraid of the stiffness.
 

ls206

Hall of Fame
Does 4g Soft play as well as regular 4g? What about tension maintenance? I've wanted to try 4g crosses, but a little afraid of the stiffness.
Interested in this too, Tennis warehouse university suggests that the 4G soft is slicker but the tension maintenance isn’t quite as good.
Comparing 4G soft to HyperG they seem very similar so I may try that first as I’m playing with full HyperG atm.
 

TripleB

Hall of Fame
Love reading through this thread!!!

I've got 1 set of natural gut I'm itching try out the gut/poly hybrid in but I'm getting ready to move to a new racquet and want to try a multi/poly hybrid first in order to compare two different round and slick poly's in the crosses...before I try it with the natural gut.

Wilson Revolve is one I know I want to try because it's known to be smooth and allows the multi/gut main to do its thing without notching.

What should be my 2nd smooth poly string to try out in the crosses with multi mains?

Both mains and poly's will probably be 1.30mm.

Thanks!!!

TripleB
 

Hmgraphite1

Hall of Fame
Love reading through this thread!!!

I've got 1 set of natural gut I'm itching try out the gut/poly hybrid in but I'm getting ready to move to a new racquet and want to try a multi/poly hybrid first in order to compare two different round and slick poly's in the crosses...before I try it with the natural gut.

Wilson Revolve is one I know I want to try because it's known to be smooth and allows the multi/gut main to do its thing without notching.

What should be my 2nd smooth poly string to try out in the crosses with multi mains?

Both mains and poly's will probably be 1.30mm.

Thanks!!!

TripleB
Based on what I've read i'm going to try
Revolve
Rs lyon
Cream
In poly/poly hybrids
Max power
Head hawk
Pro line ii
And first 3 with gut/ poly
 

djNEiGht

Legend
What should be my 2nd smooth poly string to try out in the crosses with multi mains?

Both mains and poly's will probably be 1.30mm.

Thanks!!!

TripleB

If you can find the old Prince Beast string, I think that works well. Also Yonex PTP I heard is nice and slick. There might be others but those are the two that come to mind.
 
Hey all im trying to decide between Alu Power Soft & YPTP 1.20 as a cross for gut. Which one would offer the best playability?

I'm thinking Poly Tour Fire may be the answer, but I don't like the color for my Blue DR 98. May have to get over that though...


Just got my Yonex VCORE Pro 97 310g string with Luxilon Natural Gut 1.25mm x YPT-Pro 1.20 and really liking it (around 3 hours of hitting so far)... a lot more than my previous set up (Babolat VS Touch 1.30mm x IsoSpeed Cream 1.28mm

Also got a second racquet strung with Luxilon Natural Gut 1.25mm x YPT-Fire 1.20 so will test both side by side tomorrow
 

tegg96

Semi-Pro
Kei Nishikori at super low tension in a gut/poly hybrid. 39lb gut mains, 37lb poly cross.
Any one else experiment with Gut at such low tension.



2gws6wy.jpg
 

ron schaap

Hall of Fame
I have obtained a few full sets of gut of unknown brand in plastic bags, but probably more than 10years old. I have no experience with stringing gut. Should i try using a half set for mains and some poly for the crosses or like Thiem reverse?
Is it possible this gut ll break premature? It would be for a 16x20 stringbed in 97inch headsize
 

Syfo-Dias

Professional
Has anyone tried using Babolat Origin as a cross for gut mains? I realize it's not a poly and is much more powerful, but according to TW it has a very slick surface of 0.066. There are some low powered frames in which I'd like to try it as full gut tends to move around too much for my liking. I always like the gut mains to snap back into their original position after every hit.
 

JustTennis76

Hall of Fame
What are your string gauges, racquet and string pattern?any suggestions for other types racquets and string patterns?
I am really enjoying VS Touch 15L and Prince Tour XC 15L in my prestige pro 16 x 19. The XC 15 L is on sale if you buy the 10 pack for only $25 on TW. So, that brings half set to $1.25 combined with VS, I am looking at a string job under $25 for me. I have put in about 20 hours on this setup and it still plays amazingly crisp like when it’s new.
 

Hmgraphite1

Hall of Fame
I am really enjoying VS Touch 15L and Prince Tour XC 15L in my prestige pro 16 x 19. The XC 15 L is on sale if you buy the 10 pack for only $25 on TW. So, that brings half set to $1.25 combined with VS, I am looking at a string job under $25 for me. I have put in about 20 hours on this setup and it still plays amazingly crisp like when it’s new.
I used the tour xc in the past when I first started testing strings, chose it due to the specs in the string database. Really liked it, but I had to go on a search. Will need to try it again.
 

tennisbike

Professional
Kei Nishikori at super low tension in a gut/poly hybrid. 39lb gut mains, 37lb poly cross.
Any one else experiment with Gut at such low tension.
The SM measurement on my Global Gut Wholesale 16 main @ 50#/Kirschbaum Max Power 1.25 cross @ 43# are around 35/33. (Prince TT Warrior OS). Easy power, good spin, decent control.
 
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ashridge

Semi-Pro
Anyone here try this yet? Low gut poly??? Before I ruin a set of gut? Lol.

I haven't tried it quite that low, but I have tried several Gut/Poly set-ups with the Gut in the 40-45 range and the poly in the 25-35 range. Spin was very good and therefore control was better than one might imagine at such a low tension, but ultimately the control ended up being not quite enough for me, so I cut out the Gut mains (will re-use them as crosses in a future set-up) and will try a Gut/Poly set-up again in the future, but strung up about 5-8 lbs. tighter.
 

rogerroger917

Hall of Fame
I haven't tried it quite that low, but I have tried several Gut/Poly set-ups with the Gut in the 40-45 range and the poly in the 25-35 range. Spin was very good and therefore control was better than one might imagine at such a low tension, but ultimately the control ended up being not quite enough for me, so I cut out the Gut mains (will re-use them as crosses in a future set-up) and will try a Gut/Poly set-up again in the future, but strung up about 5-8 lbs. tighter.
That's what I would think too. Thanks.
 

tennisbike

Professional
... I have tried several Gut/Poly set-ups with the Gut in the 40-45 range and the poly in the 25-35 range. Spin was very good and therefore control was better than one might imagine at such a low tension, but ultimately the control ended up being not quite enough for me, so I cut out the Gut mains (will re-use them as crosses in a future set-up) and will try a Gut/Poly set-up again in the future, but strung up about 5-8 lbs. tighter.
My suggestion is making a smaller step toward stiffer stringbed by bringing poly cross tension up a little. Instead of cutting out the gut main, cut out the poly cross and restring it at a higher reference tension. I hypothesize that 40/35 will play stiffer than 45/25.
 

hurworld

Hall of Fame
Would be curious as well. Personally have preference for either a high differential (10lb+) for gut/poly or full bed poly in the 40s
What differences did you notice between low differentials and high differentials? I would assume high differentials mean higher launch angles?
 

tennisbike

Professional
There is no way to clearly comparing hi and lo differential because both main and cross tension may be changed at the same time.

Same hi diff. can be 60/40 or 65/45. These two play differently.
Same low diff. can be 55/50 or 60/55. These two play differently.

A better question is how does 60/40 play compare to 60/50 or 60/55? Or if you choose to control cross ref. tension, 60/40 vs 55/40 vs 50/40?

If you change two or more variable at a time, you may get lucky and find what you want. Or you may not. But you do it systematic, then you will get closer to it in each iteration.
 

ashridge

Semi-Pro
My suggestion is making a smaller step toward stiffer stringbed by bringing poly cross tension up a little. Instead of cutting out the gut main, cut out the poly cross and restring it at a higher reference tension. I hypothesize that 40/35 will play stiffer than 45/25.

I did try that in one of the set-ups and strung the poly cross up 6-7 lbs. tighter, still wasn't tight enough for good control for very long. I'm going to experiment more, but because I have a sensitive elbow, I'm more inclined to go higher with the Gut mains than with the poly crosses, don't want them too tight because of my elbow.
 

tennisbike

Professional
I did try that in one of the set-ups and strung the poly cross up 6-7 lbs. tighter, still wasn't tight enough for good control for very long.
If you were able to have good control for a short time, perhaps your poly cross string is your culprit. Just cut out the cross and restring a couple of lbs higher. Or try Kirschbaum Max Power. I found that to hold tension pretty well. I did 50/47.
 

Syfo-Dias

Professional
What's the consensus for using a rough poly as a cross for gut mains? Does it shred the gut faster than a smooth round poly? Was thinking about trying either Max Power or Max Power Rough as my next poly cross.
 
What differences did you notice between low differentials and high differentials? I would assume high differentials mean higher launch angles?

Hard to say on higher launch angles because I have no precise way to measure other than “eyeballing”. Yes, it seems that a higher differential results in higher launch angles but the biggest thing I’ve noticed is that increased spin and increased comfort
 

Hmgraphite1

Hall of Fame
What's the consensus for using a rough poly as a cross for gut mains? Does it shred the gut faster than a smooth round poly? Was thinking about trying either Max Power or Max Power Rough as my next poly cross.
When string fb of mp rough I did notice it tougher to pull through the crosses. But the "rough" is "dents" so not sure if it would shred or not, I believe its softer though
 

hurworld

Hall of Fame
Hard to say on higher launch angles because I have no precise way to measure other than “eyeballing”. Yes, it seems that a higher differential results in higher launch angles but the biggest thing I’ve noticed is that increased spin and increased comfort
Precision not needed. I usually just look at my most consistent stroke (my 2hbh) and look at the comparative clearances over the net.
 
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