Options? Need a little more power from MSV Focus Hex

I have been playing around with full beds of different co-polys lately and I really like the spin and control I get with a full bed of MSV Focus Hex 1.18 strung at 55lb mains/53lb crosses.

However, it is still not my holy grail of strings, as I would like to get just a bit more power out of it without sacrificing too much of its current playing characteristics.

I have tried and liked WC Turbo Twist, but found it to be a bit too powerful even stringing as high as I go with poly (58lb mains/56lb cross). So I am looking for something in between from a power stand point.

If I stick with MSV Focus Hex I figure I have 3 options -- (1) lower the tension, (2) lower the gage of the string to the 1.10, or (3) hybrid with a synthetic cross that is more powerful. The question is -- which is more likely to get the result that I want? Similar comfort, tension maintenance, firm/crisp feel, control, and spin potential with a little more power.

Or is there a different string that would offer that feel and performance -- WC Silverstring? SPPP? SP Tornado or Hyperion? Black Code?

Thanks!

Pro Supex BAM dude. Power is adjustable through the tension.

It is more powerful, offers more control, (my shots no longer scatter due to the hex profile), has less vibrations than the MSV Hex 1.18. Since it is more comfortable and gives good feel it plays much better at the net.

I'd hybrid it with gut. If just in the cross, one of the budget guts will be fine. It will maintain it's tension better than any synth or multi, and should give you the extra pop you need without sacrificing much, if any, control.

The VS Team is now 41.95 a set. I wont pay more than 8 bucks for a set of strings in a reel. Personal preference I guess.

I find MSV strings to work best in the low 50's.

Well looks like I need to start a shopping list for more string set ups. I keep hearing good thinks about Pro Supex strings, so I will try out the Micro. I prefer thinner polys, so that is a possibility.

I guess I should get a couple sets of budget gut to use as crosses as well to see what I think. I can't afford to put VS in my sticks every time the polys die on me, so that limits what I can do from a gut standpoint.

It looks like I also need to lower my tension just a bit to see how MSV plays in the low 50s. At least that is something I can do without waiting on my strings to come in. Guess I will try 52lb/50lb to see how it plays.

Just have to try these things one at a time to see what feels the best for me. Any other suggestions?

What frame?

Mansewerz said:

What frame?

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MG Rad OS

10 char

HitItHarder said:

MG Rad OS

10 char

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Oh, isn't that pretty flexy?

Regardless, 52/50 is pretty low for an OS (i string my AG100 w/ syn gut at that tension).

Is focus hex that low powered?

jazzyfunkybluesy said:

Pro Supex BAM dude. Power is adjustable through the tension.

It is more powerful, offers more control, (my shots no longer scatter due to the hex profile), has less vibrations than the MSV Hex 1.18. Since it is more comfortable and gives good feel it plays much better at the net.

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agree with jfb here. maybe try Hex mains and BAM crosses. that one will probably be my next setup to try.

Mansewerz said:

Oh, isn't that pretty flexy?

Regardless, 52/50 is pretty low for an OS (i string my AG100 w/ syn gut at that tension).

Is focus hex that low powered?

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The MG Rad OS is flexible and has a stiffness rating of 56. It also gets that trampoline effect with softer strings (multis and synthetic guts), breaks softer strings, and I have more control issues. I prefer a crisp string bed for control and co-polys seem to be the best of both worlds for me.

In terms of power (for me at least) I think of it as how hard I have to swing to generate a deep penetrating ground stroke with good topspin.

Part of the issue may be that I went from kevlar/synth. to Turbo Twist - and I was hitting lots of shots long. Big difference in power there and I had to dial down my strokes a good bit.

Then I went from Turbo Twist to Alu Rough/Synth and I liked it, but it lost a lot of its great playing characterists after about 3 hours.

So now I am using MSV Hex and it is a good compromise, but seems like I am having to overhit a little to get consistent depth on my shots. I want a little more power without sacrificing the other playing characteristics I like in the string.

Of course this may all be in my head. A tension drop may be the answer and is the quickest to test. I just worry about losing that crisp string bed in the process. So I was wondering about other options before I started experimenting.

jazzyfunkybluesy said:

The VS Team is now 41.95 a set. I wont pay more than 8 bucks for a set of strings in a reel. Personal preference I guess.

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That's why I said "budget gut". Even the cheapo guts you get decent tension maintenance, so try that gaucho that some people like (i've never tried) and for $7 a half-set should be an ok cross that lasts long enough for your purposes. If not, then yea, lowering tensions and all the other ideas work too.

Not sure how everyone got "VS" from "budget gut", since budget does not mean top of the line. Hmm

good luck

HitItHarder said:

Well looks like I need to start a shopping list for more string set ups. I keep hearing good thinks about Pro Supex strings, so I will try out the Micro. I prefer thinner polys, so that is a possibility.

I guess I should get a couple sets of budget gut to use as crosses as well to see what I think. I can't afford to put VS in my sticks every time the polys die on me, so that limits what I can do from a gut standpoint.

It looks like I also need to lower my tension just a bit to see how MSV plays in the low 50s. At least that is something I can do without waiting on my strings to come in. Guess I will try 52lb/50lb to see how it plays.

Just have to try these things one at a time to see what feels the best for me. Any other suggestions?

Click to expand...

My son has played a long time with MSV Focus Hex in the mains and Topspin Cyber Blue in the crosses. We've tried many other combinations of most of the various types of strings. About the only thing he's never tried is Kevlar. Until recently he always returned to the MSV Focus Hex/ Topspin Cyber Blue hybrid as his preferred strings. But he's become fond of a full set up of WC TurboTwist, because it's a bit more powerful than his hybrid set-up, while still generating decent topspin.

Since you want more power than a full Focus Hex set up, but less than a hybrid with TurboTwist, you might try pairing the Focus Hex with Cyber Blue. It should boost the power of the Focus Hex, but not as much as TurboTwist. It might be pretty close to what you are looking for. Cyber Blue costs about the same as the Focus Hex too.

I usually string his racquets in the 48 to 52 range for full poly. The low end tension recommendation for his racquet is 53. Some people think polys start to lose their elasticity when strung in the upper 50's or higher. So another thing you could try, is to back your tension off to 5 pounds lower than your racquets' low end recommendation. Do that with a full Focus Hex set up, and that alone may boost your power enough to get it to where you want it, without changing strings at all.

kmartin said:

My son has played a long time with MSV Focus Hex in the mains and Topspin Cyber Blue in the crosses. We've tried many other combinations of most of the various types of strings. About the only thing he's never tried is Kevlar. Until recently he always returned to the MSV Focus Hex/ Topspin Cyber Blue hybrid as his preferred strings. But he's become fond of a full set up of WC TurboTwist, because it's a bit more powerful than his hybrid set-up, while still generating decent topspin.

Since you want more power than a full Focus Hex set up, but less than a hybrid with TurboTwist, you might try pairing the Focus Hex with Cyber Blue. It should boost the power of the Focus Hex, but not as much as TurboTwist. It might be pretty close to what you are looking for. Cyber Blue costs about the same as the Focus Hex too.

I usually string his racquets in the 48 to 52 range for full poly. The low end tension recommendation for his racquet is 53. Some people think polys start to lose their elasticity when strung in the upper 50's or higher. So another thing you could try, is to back your tension off to 5 pounds lower than your racquets' low end recommendation. Do that with a full Focus Hex set up, and that alone may boost your power enough to get it to where you want it, without changing strings at all.

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I really hadn't considered hybriding MSV Hex with another co-poly in the cross to get a slightly more powerful setup, but since I am playing full co-poly jobs anyway, it is definately worth a try.

I don't have any Cyber Blue in my string collection, but I do think I may have a pack of Turbo Twist left. That definately qualifies as having more power than the MSV Hex. I will try that to see if it gets me the feeling that I am looking for. Thanks for the suggestion.

HitItHarder said:

I really hadn't considered hybriding MSV Hex with another co-poly in the cross to get a slightly more powerful setup, but since I am playing full co-poly jobs anyway, it is definately worth a try.

I don't have any Cyber Blue in my string collection, but I do think I may have a pack of Turbo Twist left. That definately qualifies as having more power than the MSV Hex. I will try that to see if it gets me the feeling that I am looking for. Thanks for the suggestion.

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posted that a while back. guess u didn't read it.

HitItHarder said:

I have been playing around with full beds of different co-polys lately and I really like the spin and control I get with a full bed of MSV Focus Hex 1.18 strung at 55lb mains/53lb crosses.

However, it is still not my holy grail of strings, as I would like to get just a bit more power out of it without sacrificing too much of its current playing characteristics.

I have tried and liked WC Turbo Twist, but found it to be a bit too powerful even stringing as high as I go with poly (58lb mains/56lb cross). So I am looking for something in between from a power stand point.

If I stick with MSV Focus Hex I figure I have 3 options -- (1) lower the tension, (2) lower the gage of the string to the 1.10, or (3) hybrid with a synthetic cross that is more powerful. The question is -- which is more likely to get the result that I want? Similar comfort, tension maintenance, firm/crisp feel, control, and spin potential with a little more power.

Or is there a different string that would offer that feel and performance -- WC Silverstring? SPPP? SP Tornado or Hyperion? Black Code?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I have been using MSV focus hex 17L gauge for a while on the mains and Prince Synthetic gut 16g crosses and I get the control, spin and power in a good combination. What's good about it is my arm doesn't hurt anymore. Maybe if you don't have arm issues, you could try a full bed of MSV focus hex 18g but still keep the tension in the mid-range.

bad_call said:

posted that a while back. guess u didn't read it.

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Sorry, wasn't what I meant. I saw your earlier comment and actually I am looking for a good deal on some Pro Supex BAM. For some reason the hybrid part didn't register the first time.

marantzbar said:

I have been using MSV focus hex 17L gauge for a while on the mains and Prince Synthetic gut 16g crosses and I get the control, spin and power in a good combination. What's good about it is my arm doesn't hurt anymore. Maybe if you don't have arm issues, you could try a full bed of MSV focus hex 18g but still keep the tension in the mid-range.

Click to expand...

Instead of putting in a Turbo Twist cross, I am going to put in some Forten Sweet 17 I have in stock. This MSV Hex plays pretty harsh in cold weather. The Forten Sweet is just so soft, I wonder how will hold up. If it doesn't hold up, I will have to try Gosen Micro or PSG.

My elbow had a very slight twinge this morning when I woke up. I played last night outdoors in 30 degree weather. Played two sets and then hit for another 45 minutes on my ball machine, which has Tretorn's in it. I used my stick with a full bed of MSV Hex 1.18. There are a whole lot of reasons (combonation of weather, ploy, Tretorn balls, hitting for 3 1/2 hours) that I could have tweaked my elbow, but I'm not taking any chances. I am going to take a couple days off and then try it out with the synthetic cross.

What about using X-One? a good multi right there but costly but 7 bucks half set so yah

Well in my search to find my "perfect" set up I have tried a few things that I thought I would mention in case anyone else is trying out MSV Focus Hex.

I have now tried both MSV Focus Hex 1.18 and 1.10 with Forten Sweet 17 and Gosen OG Micro 18 in different combonations. Of the group, my favorite synthetic gut hybrid seems to be the 1.10 Hex mains and the OG Micro 18 crosses. However, I just can't get the same performance out of the hybrid set up that I can get out of a full bed. There is a drop off in control. Also, this type of set up is not the most durable - but is is considerably more comfortable than the full bed. So the trade off at this point is performance (full bed) verses comfort with less durability (hybrid).

With a full bed of Hex, I solved the power problem by lowering the tension (currently trying 50lbs/48lbs and will stay in this range). I am also hoping that this will prove to be a more comfortable setup. So far it is better, but a full bed of Hex still plays a little harsh (at least in the current cold weather).

I prefer the MSV Hex 1.10 over the 1.18 - as it seems slightly more powerful and seems to hold tension similar to the 1.18. However, I am not a big string breaker and use a racquet with a 18x19 pattern - so that is not a big problem with me even using these small gauge strings.

I still have a couple co-polys to try as crosses (BAM, Hyperion, Tornado, and Tubo Twist) to see if there can be a little more comfort in a hybrid of two co-polys.

But so far the lower tension and the 1.10 version of the string seem to be a good combonation.

bad_call said:

agree with jfb here. maybe try Hex mains and BAM crosses. that one will probably be my next setup to try.

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FYI, this will have poor durability. If you hit with any kind of pace or spin, the BAM crosses saw through the mains (even if poly mains) very quickly.

nervermind...

HitItHarder said:

I have been playing around with full beds of different co-polys lately and I really like the spin and control I get with a full bed of MSV Focus Hex 1.18 strung at 55lb mains/53lb crosses.

However, it is still not my holy grail of strings, as I would like to get just a bit more power out of it without sacrificing too much of its current playing characteristics.

I have tried and liked WC Turbo Twist, but found it to be a bit too powerful even stringing as high as I go with poly (58lb mains/56lb cross). So I am looking for something in between from a power stand point.

If I stick with MSV Focus Hex I figure I have 3 options -- (1) lower the tension, (2) lower the gage of the string to the 1.10, or (3) hybrid with a synthetic cross that is more powerful. The question is -- which is more likely to get the result that I want? Similar comfort, tension maintenance, firm/crisp feel, control, and spin potential with a little more power.

Or is there a different string that would offer that feel and performance -- WC Silverstring? SPPP? SP Tornado or Hyperion? Black Code?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Use hex on the main and ace 18g on the cross, and string reg.tension. Much more pop, similar spin.