How hard is it to learn to string?

socalmd123

socalmd123

Professional
Is it worth the frustration? I’m thinking of getting a stringer but am a bit nervous about the learning curve. Also my 10 year old wants to learn how to string. Any recs on a middle of the road stringing machine good for beginners? Thanks Right now I pay 25 dollars for each string job with technifibre tgv and Alu power hybrid. My 2 kids go through strings at least once per week.
 
ChrisG

ChrisG

Professional
I've learned during the first lockdown in my country, with a friend who showed once. For the next 10 racquets I kept on asking him tips whenever I was in trouble.
now, a few months later (but no so many racquets strung due to the current situation) I can say I'm quite confident on what I'm doing.
And therare a lot of good videos on youtube if any doubt arise
conclusion ? go buy yourself a machine, dropweight as thery are cheap and reliable. If you're lucky enough to have close to 1000$ to spend then buy an electric one. but not the 500-700$ cheap ones, then a dropweight is good enough.
 
graycrait

graycrait

Legend
I'm not going to recommend machines but I have Prince NEOS 1000 and got it used. It works fine but they are kind of expensive even used. I had never seen a racket strung when I strung my first racket at age 60. I just watched a video, then followed along that video a second time. I'm continuing to pick up tips here and there and look at this subforum nearly every day. Lots of advice available, just ask. You will get a load of info - wait and see:) I've had the NEOS 6 yrs now.
 
socalmd123

socalmd123

Professional
ChrisG said:
I've learned during the first lockdown in my country, with a friend who showed once. For the next 10 racquets I kept on asking him tips whenever I was in trouble.
now, a few months later (but no so many racquets strung due to the current situation) I can say I'm quite confident on what I'm doing.
And therare a lot of good videos on youtube if any doubt arise
conclusion ? go buy yourself a machine, dropweight as thery are cheap and reliable. If you're lucky enough to have close to 1000$ to spend then buy an electric one. but not the 500-700$ cheap ones, then a dropweight is good enough.
Click to expand...
Is there a good drop weight Machine u would rec for around 1000?
 
ChrisG

ChrisG

Professional
socalmd123 said:
Is there a good drop weight Machine u would rec for around 1000?
Click to expand...
I live in europe, some US brands are not available here. I think someone else could get you the right info. Something with the Wise 2086 tension head should be good in that price range
 
B

boulderchips

Rookie
I recently learned on a dropweight. There are lots of good resources on this forum and youtube. I definitely made some newbie mistakes, but I enjoyed the process and didn't find it too difficult to learn. I personally decided to save on cost with a used Gamma X-2, but if I were buying a new dropweight, I would have gone with an Alpha DC Pioneer Plus or a Gamma 602FC, both of which are well under your budget. If you'd rather have a crank, I've heard good things about the Gamma Progression ST II and Alpha Revo 4000. If you're willing to peruse listings for used machines, you might be able to snag a deal on something nice like a Prince NEOS.
 
Tennease

Tennease

Legend
socalmd123 said:
Is it worth the frustration? I’m thinking of getting a stringer but am a bit nervous about the learning curve. Also my 10 year old wants to learn how to string. Any recs on a middle of the road stringing machine good for beginners? Thanks Right now I pay 25 dollars for each string job with technifibre tgv and Alu power hybrid. My 2 kids go through strings at least once per week.
Click to expand...
I purchased an electric stringing machine last year. It was my first time ever to string. Luckily there are YouTube videos that show the stringing process from start to finish using exactly the same machine.

I followed that, and I also looked at my other strung racquet to guide me where to tie off the knots. Later on I found this website on this forum to guide me with the string pattern and where to tie off the knots and where to start the cross string:

klipperusa.com

Racquet Stringing Patterns

Find the racquet stringing pattern for your Tennis, Racquetball, Squash, or Badminton racquet and start stringing today.
klipperusa.com klipperusa.com

I also watched many other YouTube videos to guide me on how to tie the knots and I also browsed this forum for more tips.

My first stringing job was successful despite my worry of messing it up. I followed all the guides very carefully. It took me about 2 hours if I remember it correctly. Now I can string in 30-45 minutes, depending on my mood.
 
F

FIRETennis

Professional
Totally worth it.
First string job took about 2.5h then slowly worked at it now I can do it all in 45 minutes with natural gut mains which require you to be extra careful.
I find it very relaxing to do it. I usually listen to a podcast or some music.
I string once / twice per week.
It's great knowing the tension is how I want it in the frames compared to random results I used to get from various shops. I also don't trust them with natural gut.
During COVID-19 lockdown, tennis was open but all tennis shops and stringers were closed so I sort of had to learn.

I ended up going with the Easystringer but with metal clamps. I like the portability of it.
The other one I considered was a GAMMA X-6FC drop weight.
 
graycrait

graycrait

Legend
I lied I would recommend this machine: https://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Gamma_Progression_II_ELS_Stringing_Machine/descpageGAMMA-GPELS.html The local college has 2 of these and they get constant use with no down time. The players have to string their own rackets so these machines have at least 12 different people using them constantly, year in and year out. Lastly, don't overthink it, just get a reliable machine and start. You will find that it is really pretty easy. Sure, some folks make it seem that stringing a racket is akin to weaving a Persian rug by hand, it isn't.
 
Tennease

Tennease

Legend
FIRETennis said:
Totally worth it.
First string job took about 2.5h then slowly worked at it now I can do it all in 45 minutes with natural gut mains which require you to be extra careful.
I find it very relaxing to do it. I usually listen to a podcast or some music.
I string once / twice per week.
It's great knowing the tension is how I want it in the frames compared to random results I used to get from various shops. I also don't trust them with natural gut.
During COVID-19 lockdown, tennis was open but all tennis shops and stringers were closed so I sort of had to learn.
Click to expand...
I do not trust the shop that did my stringing. Some of their stringers sometimes tie off the knots on the wrong holes and the tension sometimes was too tight. Now I can make sure my stringing jobs have consistent tensions.
 
Tennease

Tennease

Legend
graycrait said:
I lied I would recommend this machine: https://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Gamma_Progression_II_ELS_Stringing_Machine/descpageGAMMA-GPELS.html The local college has 2 of these and they get constant use with no down time. The players have to string their own rackets so these machines have at least 12 different people using them constantly, year in and year out.
Click to expand...
I second this.

You do not need a science degree to string tennis racquet. I have seen a little kid in Vietnam stringing racquets very quickly like a real pro!!!!
 
Last edited:
S

shadow01

Professional
Agree with others here - not too bad to learn - if you are a little handy. Also I also agree that go with a lockout and wise add on later to limit the initial cost in case you don’t like stringing. Gamma x-stringer and alpha revo 4000 are both good options. I personally started with klippermate - quickly (10 racquets in) went to gamma x-stringer and then quickly added the wise.
 
SinneGOAT

SinneGOAT

Hall of Fame
It is not too difficult. I learned over the summer, well worth it. If you have the drive then you can learn very fast. It takes about 10 racquets before you have it down, and from there it is just time. It is very useful to learn and not extremely difficult to learn the fundamentals.
 
D

Deleted member 765152

Guest
I used to think it was too hard and too much hassle to string my own rackets, but after using cheap Klippermate, I've changed my mind.

 
2

2ndServe

Hall of Fame
socalmd123 said:
Is it worth the frustration? I’m thinking of getting a stringer but am a bit nervous about the learning curve. Also my 10 year old wants to learn how to string. Any recs on a middle of the road stringing machine good for beginners? Thanks Right now I pay 25 dollars for each string job with technifibre tgv and Alu power hybrid. My 2 kids go through strings at least once per week.
Click to expand...

you can find a used dropweight for next to nothing, your breakeven point is in a few rackets, also a very good skill for a 10 year old to have plus he can get a tennis job easily with this skill.

No brainer at the rate you're breaking strings at.

You can learn to do the first racket correctly in 1 hour with a youtube video
 
Rabbit

Rabbit

G.O.A.T.
esm said:
Do it, it will worth the effort!
@Wes @Irvin @esgee48 @Rabbit (apologies if I have missed anyone else.. lol) - these guys are great with knowledges on the how-to and tips.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the vote of confidence @esm, but I would have to defer to the Maven of Marietta, the Cecil B. DeMille of video instruction, the inventor of knot and pattern, the one who can take a twist tie off an old loaf of bread and use it as a pathfinder awl. I am but a hobbyist who has, admittedly, strung 10+ years for a WTA tournament but my depth of knowledge is like a water puddle against the mighty Atlantic which is near to the one who knows it all.

@am1899 @esgee48 @Wes @struggle @jim e @jwocky @g4driver @Richard Parnell @RJYU I'm sure you'd all agree.....
 
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socalmd123

socalmd123

Professional
Wow the number of stringing machines is overwhelming. Debating between prince neos1000 for 1399 vs alpha axis pro for 850. Or is it worth going all in for an alpha ghost?
 
TagUrIt

TagUrIt

Hall of Fame
Stringing can seem overwhelming and intimidating, I assure you that it’s not. My first string job took me 3 hours to do. I was using a 6 point drop weight machine with floating clamps. I now have a crank pull and string in less than 45 min. What type of stringing you get greatly depends on your budget. If you have $1000 to spend you options go up tremendously. Whichever machine you choose do some research and read the reviews. Choose a machine that has FIXED clamps, that alone will save you a lot of time and frustration. Any person who plans to have tennis in their life for the next 5-10 years should invest in a stringing machine.
 
P

PKorda

Professional
Learned recently watching you tube videos. Definitely made mistakes as I learned. If you can get someone to show even once will save a lot of time. But it's worth it, and wish I'd done it sooner. I enjoy it now and find it relaxing. Don't have to deal with hassle of dropping off and picking up racquet. And it's fun to play around with different string, hybrids, etc. which is a pain if you take it to a stringer.
 
J

jim e

Legend
socalmd123 said:
Wow the number of stringing machines is overwhelming. Debating between prince neos1000 for 1399 vs alpha axis pro for 850. Or is it worth going all in for an alpha ghost?
Click to expand...
If you know that you are going to string for a decent period of time, go for the Ghost. No one ever complains that they got too much of a machine, but just upgrade later. Skip the upgrade later and just get a good machine if you can afford it, as the better machine the more enjoyable the stringing is. You will not regret it.
 
Crashbaby

Crashbaby

Semi-Pro
Best decision ever, congrats!
Having your own stringer is life changing. Sounds like an exaggeration, until you get one. :)
The only negative is when a mate calls you at 10pm and is desperate to have his racquet done for the next morning.... Don’t ever be that mate, being the self empowered human being that can look after himself is way cooler!
I have a Stringway drop weight and love it, if I was wealthy I’d have an electric.
 
C

croissant92

New User
I recently learned how to string, have a gamma x-2 drop weight. Strung 8 racquets total so far, takes me about an hour to do the job. It's also nice because I can sort of watch/listen to TV while doing it, its not very difficult and doesn't require that much attention. So it can be relaxing. Quite easy to learn like the others have said. My only regret is that I didn't start doing this sooner.
 
tennisintheeighties

tennisintheeighties

Semi-Pro
Bought a stringing machine in 1992 in France (brand :Sportec - 100% manual )
My neighbour came to my place and showed me how it works during 2 hours.
A few weeks after, I was stringing all the members racquet of the club
 
Happi

Happi

Hall of Fame
Lots of good info, I will jus add a few things that I purchased and I have been glad for:

Wise 2086 tension head: https://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Wise_2086_Electronic_Pro_Head_Tensioner/descpageWISE-WISETH.html

ERT 300 tension meter, really helps in the long run to get the right tension dialed in, also good for your sons future clients: https://www.ert300.com/ert300/en/start.html

Babolat starting clamp is really a nice tool.

Good luck, I am currently teaching my son to string too, he will perhaps make some pocket money stringing for his friends.
 
Happi

Happi

Hall of Fame
Ares2323 said:
Which tension measuring device would you recommend?
Click to expand...

This one is great, I have seen pros using it too, used to be available on TW:

ERT 300 Tenniscomputer | Stringing

Der ERT 300 Tenniscomputer ist ein Mikroprozessor gesteuertes Messgert und bestimmt exakt und schnell die Besaitungs- und Spieleigenschaften Ihres Tennisrackets. So wird die Technologie der Weltklassespieler jedem engagierten Tennisspieler zugnglich - und das im Handy-Format. Das patentierte...
www.ert300.com
 
S

stapletonj

Hall of Fame
If you go in with the attitude that you are not going to make money by doing it and at most will recover (stringing for others) the cost of your string and eventually the cost of the machine, and will save a significant amount of money, then it is a good idea.

$25.00 a week, is that for string and labor or just labor? that is $1300 per year. you have 52 hours a year in labor plus the cost of the strings and machine over say 2 years, you are saving some money as long as your time (or that of your kid) is not a significant cost.

But then again, the actual kind of fun if it, the ability to lower the cost of experimentation, and the control you have over the product are all important things too.
 
taydbear7

taydbear7

Professional
I did my first string job. I played around with a syn gut because there's no sense in using a premium poly or any other strings until I get it right. It's not bad as I thought it would be. I got the Prince Neos 1000 machine.
 
WarrenMP

WarrenMP

Professional
It is worth it. I bought the gamma xstringer ELS for about $1,200 USD. I mostly string for myself and a few friends. It pays for it self within a year especially at the time when I was paying $120+ for restringing a month.
 
F

FIRETennis

Professional
Better yet, learn with your kids! It will serve them great for the rest of their tennis career and life to know how to do it plus save you a ton of $.
 
Happi

Happi

Hall of Fame
stapletonj said:
If you go in with the attitude that you are not going to make money by doing it and at most will recover (stringing for others) the cost of your string and eventually the cost of the machine, and will save a significant amount of money, then it is a good idea.

$25.00 a week, is that for string and labor or just labor? that is $1300 per year. you have 52 hours a year in labor plus the cost of the strings and machine over say 2 years, you are saving some money as long as your time (or that of your kid) is not a significant cost.

But then again, the actual kind of fun if it, the ability to lower the cost of experimentation, and the control you have over the product are all important things too.
Click to expand...

Remember it also takes time to bring the racquets to the stringer and collecting them again, my stringer was about 30-40 minutes away - I calculated it was about the same amount of time it would take to restring myself.
 
F

fuzz nation

G.O.A.T.
socalmd123 said:
Wow the number of stringing machines is overwhelming. Debating between prince neos1000 for 1399 vs alpha axis pro for 850. Or is it worth going all in for an alpha ghost?
Click to expand...

I started out with a drop weight machine that included two-point mounting and had floating clamps. Now I have a machine with six-point mounting, fixed clamps, and an electric tensioner (Gamma Prog. II ELS). While the electric tensioner is really nice when I'm stringing at higher volume during the warmer months, I can honestly say that the most essential features for me are the fixed clamps and six-point mounting. I'd look for those in any machine if I had to go shopping for a new one today.

Regardless of whether you're a beginner or a stringer with some experience, the machine is what it is. I recommend spending enough money to get a half-decent option that will do what you need over at least the next few years, especially if your kids are going to be stringing, too. If for any reason the stringing-at-home adventure doesn't work out for you, I'm positive that you'll be able to find a new home for your machine and get most of you money back rather quickly. There's always somebody looking for a machine.

There's probably more than one right answer for you among the options available out there. I haven't used many of them, but my experience with this Gamma has been nothing but positive. I've had mine for over seven years and not once have I needed to contact their customer service dept. even to answer a question about one thing or another with my rig. It's been easy to use and hasn't given me even the slightest hiccup of trouble.

Something like an Alpha Ghost is a premium machine that's typically what we'd see in a club's pro shop, tournament stringing room, etc., but some folks also like having something this "capable" at home and that's fine. I personally wanted a table top machine that would be out of the way on a spare desk when not in use. That made that Gamma Prog. II just right for me. A floor stand machine needs its own dedicated footprint somewhere all the time - something to consider.

Yes, you can learn to string. The guy who taught me was just about right when he told me that the first racquet or two that I string would be really slow and then after a half-dozen jobs, the light bulb would switch on in my head and I'd pretty much get it from there on. That's about how it went. You'll be surprised here and there with a certain racquet that perhaps has an odd pattern or perhaps a certain string that seems to fight you every step of the way as you try to install it. A little necessary experience will be your best teacher.
 
R

RickySpanish

New User
I'm really on the fence about learning to string. Money really isn't the issue for me. I'd spend 3k on a machine if it did it all for me. I just don't want to spend the time doing it. I break strings at a rate of about a racquet a week, 2 weeks tops. I have a bunch of racquets, most are identical or close enough (same model, different year) that it's not a big deal to switch to another racquet. Then after I have about 3-4 racquets to string, I bring them all in to my local shop and get it all done at once. It also feel like I'm doing my part by supporting the local small business.
 
bigserving

bigserving

Hall of Fame
Lots of good information above. The best tennis purchase that I ever made was my machine. It saves me money and time.

Right before I got my machine, my stringer was only about fifteen minutes away which seemed pretty convenient. Then it dawned on me that fifteen minutes to drop off, then fifteen minutes home. Fifteen minutes to pickup, then fifteen minutes home. I was spending an hour on the road for every string job. Now, I can easily string two frames in that amount of time.

Stringing is awkward, at first, but not difficult. Expect your first frame, with a drop weight machine to take two to three hours! You will see you stringing times getting shorter and shorter. The real art in stringing is consistency. In time, you will get to the point that you are consistent with whatever your own style and technique happens to be. Then you will be able to accurately string frames to the desired tension simply by changing the tension on whatever dial.

A loose benchmark for machine prices is that the more you pay for a machine, the easier the stringing.

If you are paying somebody else to string for you once per week, you are "wasting" a lot of money.
 
C

croissant92

New User
Happi said:
Remember it also takes time to bring the racquets to the stringer and collecting them again, my stringer was about 30-40 minutes away - I calculated it was about the same amount of time it would take to restring myself.
Click to expand...
Exactly this for me too. I'm 15min away from my stringer; I can either prebook an appointment and wait there for 30min for the job to be done (total 1h), or make two round trips to drop it off and then pick it up (total 1h), or I can stay at home to netflix and string. If you have 4 racquets that you can batch to drop off at the stringer like RickySpanish then the time efficiency swings the other way though of course.
 
C

croissant92

New User
croissant92 said:
Exactly this for me too. I'm 15min away from my stringer; I can either prebook an appointment and wait there for 30min for the job to be done (total 1h), or make two round trips to drop it off and then pick it up (total 1h), or I can stay at home to netflix and string. If you have 4 racquets that you can batch to drop off at the stringer like RickySpanish then the time efficiency swings the other way though of course.
Click to expand...
Oh oops I realized I said the exact same thing as the guy above me. Should remember to refresh my page before posting if its been sitting there a while..
 
M

myke232

Semi-Pro
There is a learning curve for sure, but it's well worth it. I learned a few years ago and have probably strung my raquets close to 70 times. Entry level Gamma dropweight stringer that thing is great.
 
V

VSK

Rookie
Covid helped with a lot of time in hand. Took me a couple of weeks to get used to the string. It helps to learn the strings and SBS, extra for learning arm and shoulder health. Eventually will lead to learn more on racquet tech customization work as well. It is a great hobby and saves money. I use Gamma Progression II stringing machine.
 
TennisTroll

TennisTroll

New User
It's easy to string and recommend trying to learn. I learned how when I was 12. It took me some time to become quick (maybe 10 racket strings?).
 
G

gutfeeling

Hall of Fame
socalmd123 said:
Wow the number of stringing machines is overwhelming. Debating between prince neos1000 for 1399 vs alpha axis pro for 850. Or is it worth going all in for an alpha ghost?
Click to expand...
If you view this purchase as a lifetime investment which you and your kids will benefit from, then spending $2-3k for a premium machine like the Ghost or a used Babolat/Wilson/Tecnifibre/Yonex constant pull is a no brainer.

Cheaper alternatives will get the job done but eventually you will realize they don’t do as good of a job and quite frankly they make the process more difficult.

I upgraded machines multiple times before ending up with my used Babolat Sensor which I could not be happier with. Although completely understandable if you want to cut your teeth on a cheaper machine before deciding to commit to a premium one. In that case you can’t go wrong with a Prince Neos 1000 especially if you can get a deal on a used one.
 
TagUrIt

TagUrIt

Hall of Fame
RickySpanish said:
I'm really on the fence about learning to string. Money really isn't the issue for me. I'd spend 3k on a machine if it did it all for me. I just don't want to spend the time doing it. I break strings at a rate of about a racquet a week, 2 weeks tops. I have a bunch of racquets, most are identical or close enough (same model, different year) that it's not a big deal to switch to another racquet. Then after I have about 3-4 racquets to string, I bring them all in to my local shop and get it all done at once. It also feel like I'm doing my part by supporting the local small business.
Click to expand...

I’m not trying to convince you to get a stringing machine. You do what’s best for you and your tennis. I will say that it’s VERY gratifying and most would even say therapeutic to string your own racquet. You get to try so many more string setups simply because you have access to a stringing machine. I tell everyone that plays, if you plan on playing tennis for the next 5-10 years, investing in a stringing machine is a smart choice. Worst that could happen is you try and don’t like it, you can always sell it.
 
Z

zipplock

Hall of Fame
Another thing I did when learning was just buy sets of the cheapest strings I could and a crappy racquet. I would string it, cut strings out, then string again. I practiced on a racquet I wasn't going to play with until I felt some consistency in the stringing.
 
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