String Help for Head YT Prestige MP

YesTennis

Semi-Pro
Would appreciate some string help. Approaching 50 yo, NTRP 4.0. Only played with a demo for about 30 min, and bought this racquet on the recommendation of a pro. Had it strung mid tension with Lux Fluoro 17 (also recommended). Have now played with this racquet about 2 hours, and just not "feeling it." When I played the demo, it really felt great. I can't remember the string. In the past, I've only played with multifilament( most recently TF X One BiPhase 17, which I really like). I play an all around game, not extreme top spinner, one hand BH, and not a string breaker. Do you think I should just restring with a multi. I know that this is a real "players racquet," and I usually generate a fair amount of power. But the current setup just feels dead. Not getting any pop. Is it the string, or should I be looking at a different racquet. Maybe I'm not up for this racquet. Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions.
 

hrstrat57

Hall of Fame
Probably gonna get flamed by the poly crowd but my 2 YT Prestige MP's are strung at 57# with Head Intellitour 16, Babolat leather grip and lead tape 3/9 4".

They play amazing.

Describing your game as you do it sounds like the racquet should be a perfect fit......no question you can handle it.
 

hrstrat57

Hall of Fame
Thanks. Maybe I'm just not cut out for poly.

The racquet has a lot of pop and tho the sweet spot is a little smaller than my i Prestige MP's and i Radical MP's it is quick to dial in, no problemo.

Great frame, don't give up on it, strong recco you give my set up a try.

OBG:

"hrstrat Your sig made me laugh,...'specially the last part,... "

ha ha you have no idea, tho i have culled the herd a bit in the last couple years.....I have 9 Head 18x20 MP frames strung and tuned/ ready for action.....and a whole bunch of other sticks ready to go too....but really enjoying the 2 YT Prestige MP's and honestly, with the 18x20 pattern 2 frames is enough to take in the bag.....never break strings on the 18x20 frames.
 

OldButGame

Hall of Fame
My problem gets to be,...what do i want to play with that particular day,...and then....in indecision,....i'll bring 5 or 6,...."just in case",.... :lol: )
 

YesTennis

Semi-Pro
Thanks again. Guess I'll ditch the poly, and try your setup. The racquet just feels so good when you swing it. And you're correct, when you hit the sweet spot, it's a really nice feel.
 

drgchen

Rookie
I think that it may be the strings. With a nice multifilament string, there should be more feel, touch, and power. I have found that demos tend to be a bit more powerful because they are more broken in, i.e. the tension is lower because other people have hit using it. I play with both luxilon and synthetic, depending on the day and my mood, and the feel is totally different.
 

hrstrat57

Hall of Fame
Thanks again. Guess I'll ditch the poly, and try your setup. The racquet just feels so good when you swing it. And you're correct, when you hit the sweet spot, it's a really nice feel.

Let me know how it works out! (don't forget the sampras "o" dampener to seal the deal!)
 

dontran

New User
Glad I found this thread.. I just picked up this racket with the following strings and am having similar problem..

Head Sonic Pro in Mains at 50lbs
Head RIP Control in Crosses at 55lbs

the racket feels dead and just bad on my arm after a few games. I went back to my Flexpoint MP Prestige to recover..

I used to have two PC600 at 70lbs with prince synthetic gut and it felt great! until my wife left my racket on the windshield in the sun (cracked both rackets)...
 

mrmike

Semi-Pro
I switched recently to the Youtek Prestige MP and love the racquet. After browsing threads on Talk Tennis I have seen multiple people mention they had arm issues with this frame. I started out with the notion of avoiding poly altogether and used Prince synthetic gut original 16G on the first stringing. After starting to get few shoulder / elbow twinges here and there I put on a set of Tecnifibre Multifeel 17G also @ 60lbs. This is feeling quite good and provides good pop and spin. For a multi it has a nice crisp feeling and is not showing much tension loss. Just my opinion, but I think multis are a good option for the MP. From what I hear, the newer IG model is supposed to be a little more arm friendly, but I have no experience with that. I can say that my Microgel Prestige does feel easier on the arm.
 

Speed Kat

Semi-Pro
Would appreciate some string help. ... Have now played with this racquet about 2 hours, and just not "feeling it." ... I play an all around game, not extreme top spinner, one hand BH, and not a string breaker. Do you think I should just restring with a multi. I ...usually generate a fair amount of power. But the current setup just feels dead. Not getting any pop. Is it the string, or should I be looking at a different racquet. Maybe I'm not up for this racquet. Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions.

I think you should try a gut/poly or multi/poly hybrid. When I used this frame with a full poly set up, had to always maintain a very long, full and fast swing to get the most out of it otherwise it did feel dead and lacking in pop. Even so with the YTPMP in stock form, I felt that its a frame in which u need to put in 110% to get 100 out of it. But try a hybrid. If you would like a prepackaged one you can go for Wilsons Ultimate Duo with NXT tour and ALU Power. Or create your own combo with a gut or multifilament in the main and one of the popular poly offerings from Luxilon, Weisscannon, Tourna, or Signum.
 

dontran

New User
I may have to back to the factory recommended head fxp strings just to see how it does. Is 60 lbs a good tension for these rackets?
 

The Big Kahuna

Hall of Fame
I am going through the same thing at the moment with the same racquet. Given the stiffness of the frame, I like to string on the lower side for better pocketing and feel in general. I might suggest going down in tension a tad if your same set-up feels a bit boardy in the Head YEP 2.0.

I love the way a gut / poly hybrid plays. It payed great in my Head Radical Flexpoint Pro, it played great in my Head Youtek Prestige Pro, it plays great in my current racquet. You cannot go wrong with a gut / poly hybrid with the poly strung no higher than 48 lbs and the gut 10% higher in the mains.

There is not another set-up that I have found that compares with a properly tensioned gut / poly hybrid for a combination of comfort, power, control, feel, and spin - and I have play-tested dozens and researched string extensively for the last 2 years. It is the gold standard - ask Federer and Djokovic.
 

fortun8son

Hall of Fame
I am going through the same thing at the moment with the same racquet. Given the stiffness of the frame, I like to string on the lower side for better pocketing and feel in general. I might suggest going down in tension a tad if your same set-up feels a bit boardy in the Head YEP 2.0.

I love the way a gut / poly hybrid plays. It payed great in my Head Radical Flexpoint Pro, it played great in my Head Youtek Prestige Pro, it plays great in my current racquet. You cannot go wrong with a gut / poly hybrid with the poly strung no higher than 48 lbs and the gut 10% higher in the mains.

There is not another set-up that I have found that compares with a properly tensioned gut / poly hybrid for a combination of comfort, power, control, feel, and spin - and I have play-tested dozens and researched string extensively for the last 2 years. It is the gold standard - ask Federer and Djokovic.

Dude!
Why are you just pasting the same post on multiple threads?
 

Chotobaka

Hall of Fame
Thanks again. Guess I'll ditch the poly, and try your setup. The racquet just feels so good when you swing it. And you're correct, when you hit the sweet spot, it's a really nice feel.

Try this racquet with natural gut. I used Perfomaxx 17L on the YT IG Presitge MP and thought it was spectacular for this racquet after using multiple string set ups. The Performaxx looks identical to Bow Brand -- FWIW. Babolat does not OEM; no chance of the Performaxx owner getting anything out of Pacific, given their history; it looks like nothing that Klip produces, including their OEM work for Volkl and Becker.
 

JT_2eighty

Hall of Fame
For dense pattern Head MP racquets, you have to try gut/poly at least once.

My personal choice is ToughGut 17 / WC Mosquito Bite. If you're not a string breaker you can play this setup for months without feeling anything resembling 'poly death', as Mosquito Bite is thin, and the best 'feel' poly I have come across. Flat, slice, topspin, volleys, etc... it is THE all-court setup in my opinion. Perfect for 18x20s.

One of my PT280s I strung with this almost a year ago. Played it for a handful of matches, then put it aside for months as I was playtesting all kinds of other setups. Brought it back out of hiding and it had the same amazing feel it did when it was fresh. Every other poly cross I've used tends to take away the feel of the gut as well as become less playable over time & use; Mosquito Bite 1.16 just blends with gut amazingly, and remains playable for a long time in dense patterns.

Hmm, just realized this thread was resurrected from over a year ago... heh
 
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Torres

Banned
^ The thing with MB though, is it the case that its too thin / not stiff enough to really hold the gut in place and preventing from trampolining?

Stuff like Alu works well (initially at least) because its stiff, crisp, firm and not particularly bendy, thus complimenting the softer gut. Same reason why I don't generally like softer co-polys mixed in with gut. Or do you have different experiences?

WRT the OP's question, I've never considered the MP to be string sensitive, so whatever string you put in there will play with those characteristics. The MP for example became a spin monster when I put BHB7 17 in there. Became a flatter, control orientated setup with Scorpion 17. And so on and so on.
 
i am sticking with the Head Inteli Tour , very synth + soft poly feel. Very low powered , but control oriented. " though i am a big hitter"
I prefer maybe Multi in the mains with a soft poly on the cross with around low 50's?
depends on what surface and who are you playing against :)
 

JT_2eighty

Hall of Fame
^ The thing with MB though, is it the case that its too thin / not stiff enough to really hold the gut in place and preventing from trampolining?

Stuff like Alu works well (initially at least) because its stiff, crisp, firm and not particularly bendy, thus complimenting the softer gut. Same reason why I don't generally like softer co-polys mixed in with gut. Or do you have different experiences?


For me, MB works because it seems (at least to my experience), that the dense MP pattern does not easily trampoline, even with thin, soft strings.

My gut mains still snap back on the ToughGut/MB racquet. I also happen to be comparing it side by side with ToughGut/ALU right now. Talk about polar opposites. I'm only about 2-3 matches into the ALU cross setup... very crisp and firm, while MB crosses are very soft and flexy.

To me, the MB crosses 'blend' better with gut, so for those wanting a "full gut" feel and power with better control, I would say go for the MB. It is definitely soft and powerful, but not quite as powerful as full gut. Comfort and feel is the key to this setup; my choice for a dense, flexible frame. Control is good, but not a setup for open patterns or powerful frames. I have ample control from my frame, so I like the pocketing and comfort of MB crosses.

For those wanting the control, spin, and low power of poly, but with some added feel, the ALU cross is definitely a control-setup. Big spin is there, and the ALU tames the gut's power better than any other poly cross I have tried (I've been trying tons of them). The harder you swing, the better this setup seems to be. Control is king. Comfort, not so much.

I'm going to keep up comparing these two, it seems MB and ALU are pretty much the extremes when it comes to poly, each with clear advantages/disadvantages than the other.
 
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JT_2eighty

Hall of Fame
i am sticking with the Head Inteli Tour , very synth + soft poly feel. Very low powered , but control oriented. " though i am a big hitter"
I prefer maybe Multi in the mains with a soft poly on the cross with around low 50's?
depends on what surface and who are you playing against :)

Also a great choice. For a full multi, Intellitour has been my top choice on my Head MP racquets. I agree; low power with amazing control, yet amazing comfort (most low power, control strings are stiff with harsh feel), this one somehow blends control and comfort in a very unique way.

If you like the intellitour, I would not experiment with other things, nothing else has its unique mix of characteristics. Gut/poly has more spin and power, and honestly not as soft, with a more lively feel. Intellitour is very muted. For me, gut/poly just had a better feel and longevity that I preferred in the long run.
 
Also a great choice. For a full multi, Intellitour has been my top choice on my Head MP racquets. I agree; low power with amazing control, yet amazing comfort (most low power, control strings are stiff with harsh feel), this one somehow blends control and comfort in a very unique way.

If you like the intellitour, I would not experiment with other things, nothing else has its unique mix of characteristics. Gut/poly has more spin and power, and honestly not as soft, with a more lively feel. Intellitour is very muted. For me, gut/poly just had a better feel and longevity that I preferred in the long run.
I will try the setup of NXT 17 Mains and Alu power cross , probably during september...
 

dreamneedle

New User
I've found two main issues with YT Prestige MP:

1. Quality control. Some rackets do feel softer with lower power, that wet noodle feeling... (same weight/balance specs).
2. The racket is very string sensitive. I play with Tecnifibre Black Code 1.24 and it works for me. Luxilon Big Banger ALU Power is awesome but expensive, and seems to break faster.

The YT Prestige is very low powered , control-oriented, and poly might not work for you if you're not a string breaker.

Oh, X-Code might be worth a try, cheaper than X-One and it sort of feels like poly.
 
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