Best way to dampen?

which is best a reducing vibration

  • worm dampener

    Votes: 21 17.5%

  • single standard dampener

    Votes: 43 35.8%

  • rubber band

    Votes: 44 36.7%

  • higher stringing tension

    Votes: 3 2.5%

  • other

    Votes: 9 7.5%
  • Total voters
    120
TheLambsheadrep

TheLambsheadrep

Professional
No matter what string I use, I like contact of the tennis ball to feel very crisp and make that nice pop sound. I try to get this feel by using worm dampeners, and they seem to do the trick. but is there another method that works better at drastically reducing vibration? please vote in the poll then explain in the forum. thanks


oh, one more thing. I was demoing a Head Flexpoint Radical OS, and contact felt very soft and cushiony, kinda the opposite of what I described I like. Except, I kinda did like it. how would you get a racket to feel like this?
 
Orion

Orion

Semi-Pro
Rubber bands do it for me. They take the "pingy" sound out of the stringbed.

I liked the Head UltraTour string that Head pre-strung the Agassi LE Tour with. Maybe someone can chime in on what demo string Head uses. Their strings are serviceable but you'll be hard-pressed to upgrade and start experimenting with hybrids. That being said, I still use prefer UltraTour in the Agassi LE.
 
S

Sizz

New User
Prince "The Silencer" hands down for these reasons:

1. $2.50
2. Will never break because it's solid rubber, no plastic hooks or liquid goop to ooze out.
3. O ring ends hold it in place between cross&main junctions. This keeps it in place and rarely pops out. Had one side pop off 2 times over the last 4 years. Even then it stays in place because it's woven in the strings.
4. Dampens well with minimal weight.
4. Looks better than a rubberband.
 
Marc C.

Marc C.

Rookie
Just because it sounds crisp doesn't mean it's good shot. A good player can produce that pop sound with no dampener in his strings at all. Try playing with no dampener and focus on your game and you'll be hitting that "pop" soon enough.
 
MuscleWeave

MuscleWeave

Semi-Pro
When I use a full bed of PU milti, I don't need a vibration dampener. But I've switched to poly (hybrid or full, I haven't decided yet) in my AG200. I tie a rubber band in a rectangle around 4 mains and 2 bottom crosses. It's cheap, effective, and I like the old school, hardcore style.
 
TheLambsheadrep

TheLambsheadrep

Professional
does everyone mean a single rubber band over just the two strings like a standard dampener in the middle or stretched out like a worm dampener?
 
TheLambsheadrep

TheLambsheadrep

Professional
anyone else want to comment on using a single rubber band over just the two strings like a standard dampener in the middle or stretched out like a worm dampener?

also, anyone know about what I was asking in regards to the Head Radical Flexpoint OS feel?
 
P

pvaudio

Legend
A stretched out rubber band across the mains won't do anything for you. The center two mains are all that are necessary.
 
L

LPShanet

Banned
TheLambsheadrep said:
so people really think the single dampener is better at dampening than the worm dampener?
Click to expand...

I think your original post is a bit confusing to some. You state that you like a crisp feel and describe liking responsiveness. Then you say you like the worm, and want the most dampening. These things are contradictory. To most players, crisp and responsive would be the opposite of extreme dampening. After all, the feeback, response and touch are all factors of vibration. By reducing it, you also reduce the crispness and feedback. Maybe you meant to describe the worm as making the racquet feel "solid"? That would be easier to understand in terms of what it does.

The worm is one of the most extreme dampeners in terms of reducing perceived vibration. (In reality, none of the dampeners reduce actual shock/vibration, which is why I used perceived.) There is nothing crisp or responsive about it. By contrast, something smaller, like a single ring or a rubber band, will be much crisper and offer more feedback on your shot, but won't stop the "ping" as much. Generally, size and string contact surface area will be a good indicator of how much vibration dampening you'll get, since these things are not magic. The real trick is going to be figuring out what you're really after. So to answer your question, no, a single dampener will not be better at dampening than the worm. But to many that is a good thing, as they would rather have the perceived feedback.
 
TheLambsheadrep

TheLambsheadrep

Professional
LPShanet said:
Maybe you meant to describe the worm as making the racquet feel "solid"? That would be easier to understand in terms of what it does.
Click to expand...

Solid does seem like a better word, but i think the less vibration there is, due to the worm, the crisper it sounds. at a tourney my worm shock broke, and i had to switch to a standard dampener. it was more ping-y and contact felt less "taught." so i interpret the more taught contact feel as crisper, is that incorrect?
 
R

richw56

New User
I experimented with different dampeners quite a bit last year, when I had a touch of tendonitis ('tennis elbow'). It seemed to me that the Forten worm was most effective at dampening vibration.
 
L

LPShanet

Banned
TheLambsheadrep said:
Solid does seem like a better word, but i think the less vibration there is, due to the worm, the crisper it sounds. at a tourney my worm shock broke, and i had to switch to a standard dampener. it was more ping-y and contact felt less "taught." so i interpret the more taught contact feel as crisper, is that incorrect?
Click to expand...

I suppose it's just semantics, but crisp is usually associated with sharpness, and the worm causes the sharp impact sound to become a lower, more thud-like sound. Crisp = biting into an apple. The worm is more like dropping the apple on the ground:)

At any rate, I don't know of any dampener that reduces the ping sound more than the worm. It (and others that contact multiple strings) seems to dampen the most. But there are quite a few versions of the horizontal worm-type dampener. If you want to experiment with others that feel similar, look for others that are long, and intertwine with multiple strings. Most companies make one of that type, such as the Babolat IG System or RVS, the various Forten worms (there are a few versions), the Gamma shockbuster and shockbuster II, the Head Smartsorb, and Prince Silencer. Pretty sure Wilson makes one, too.
 
Last edited:
TheLambsheadrep

TheLambsheadrep

Professional
ok, what creates a "crisp" sound then?

i meant crisp as in making a good pop sound from contact, like when hitting indoors. that sound alone makes me play better, i love that sound and so far the worm has been closest to allowing my hits to sound like that outside.
 
Last edited:
TheLambsheadrep

TheLambsheadrep

Professional
ok, what creates a "crisp" sound then?

i meant crisp as in making a good pop sound from contact, like when hitting indoors. that sound alone makes me play better, i love that sound and so far the worm has been closest to allowing my hits to sound like that outside.
 
SpinDog

SpinDog

Rookie
MuscleWeave said:
...I tie a rubber band in a rectangle around 4 mains and 2 bottom crosses. It's cheap, effective, and I like the old school, hardcore style.
Click to expand...

If you intend to play USTA league tennis they specify that "these devices may only be placed outside the pattern of the crossed strings"
 
TheLambsheadrep

TheLambsheadrep

Professional
hey, i hit with a rubber banded racket today, and it felt more like what i was describing with the Flexpoint Radical OS, more cushy. it felt ok, but there was a ping, and i switched back to the racket with the worm grip and used that the rest of the time (about 15min w/rubber band, at least 1 hour with the worm).

now, reviews for the Head Smartsorb worm grip, which I use, say that they plastic ends snap within a few months. that is not the case for me, and im assuming the breaking occurs only when contact between the plastic and the ball is made, right? theres no other reason why the ends would break?
 
drakulie

drakulie

Talk Tennis Guru
If you want the loudest sound, don't use a dampener. Dampeners not only take away that "ping" you speak of, but also mute the sound.
 
kato669

kato669

Rookie
Tennis_Crazed said:
i usually use just a rubber band. is a #64 a special type of rubber band? Excuse my ignorance
Click to expand...

#64 is a size/class of rubber band in the US. If you go to an office supply store and ask for #64 rubber bands, they'll know exactly what you're looking for.
 
Applesauceman

Applesauceman

Semi-Pro
Sizz said:
Prince "The Silencer" hands down for these reasons:

1. $2.50
2. Will never break because it's solid rubber, no plastic hooks or liquid goop to ooze out.
3. O ring ends hold it in place between cross&main junctions. This keeps it in place and rarely pops out. Had one side pop off 2 times over the last 4 years. Even then it stays in place because it's woven in the strings.
4. Dampens well with minimal weight.
4. Looks better than a rubberband.
Click to expand...

I second the Prince Silencer. It's my favorite dampener.
 
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