mikeler
Moderator
Ah, the mystery is solved. Glad it was not me. I took a pic of the gut right after stringing it and there were no kinks in the area of breakage. Already got her restrung so no biggie, at least I got to hit a few serves with it.
A couple string tests
- Thread starter Up&comer
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Ah, the mystery is solved. Glad it was not me. I took a pic of the gut right after stringing it and there were no kinks in the area of breakage. Already got her restrung so no biggie, at least I got to hit a few serves with it.
Agent Orynge
Professional
So, are you tempted to try power pads anyways?
UCSF2012
Hall of Fame
Did they all pop in the same area? Perhaps the lower grommets?
mikeler
Moderator
The lower grommets on six different rackets does not seem as likely to me as just a bad batch.
UCSF2012
Hall of Fame
It's your money. You believe what you choose. If you're right, you get the satisfaction of being right. If you're wrong, you get to play 5 minutes with a new stringjob.
No, actually. Scorpion crosses broke at the throat, B5E crosses in the center mains, right at the top of the hoop. Did Silverstring mains, cut crosses for another customer. Snapped on the 3rd cross down before he'd even hit with it. The other half set from that batch went into gut mains, NRG2 crosses. Broke at the throat.....on the first turn.
TaihtDuhShaat
Semi-Pro
Up&Comer - can you compare and contrast gut/silverstring to gut/scorpion in relation to which one has more spin overall and which one has an easier time putting away short balls?
gut/silverstring really suits the way I like to play - power style looking to move forward, but -
The only thing that silverstring lets me down on is hitting topspin winners off short low balls. The string is great for approaches and volleys, just sometimes I feel like I could put away some shots without the volley if I was on a different string, maybe scorpion?
gut/silverstring really suits the way I like to play - power style looking to move forward, but -
The only thing that silverstring lets me down on is hitting topspin winners off short low balls. The string is great for approaches and volleys, just sometimes I feel like I could put away some shots without the volley if I was on a different string, maybe scorpion?
UCSF2012
Hall of Fame
And to be absolutely honest, I've only strung up a couple hundred rackets, probably no more than 4 or 5 hundred. I don't string for hire, so I havn't broken the 1000 racket barrier yet.
From the description of the strings that broke, a great many of those strings probably snapped at the rim of the racket, where the string takes a sharp turn. Some of those strings that broke weren't gut but polyester. Polyester strings require one additional precaution when stringing to avoid snapping, when compared to multi's, syn gut, and gut. I'll let you professional stringers that know everything describe what that is, because they seem to be all-knowing. I've never had a string snap in the bag, but I've had a few snap while tensioning. They've all snapped at the grommets, not just at the lower grommets too.
UCSF2012
Hall of Fame
You probably should say more. That conversation said very little of value, and it was the move vague conversation ever. The buyer suggested a problem with a coating, and the seller said that the formulation changed (not that it was bad, just that it was different). Either ways, if there's a COATING problem, in order to explain problems with snapping, then you'd have to convince me the outer coating affects the elastic properties and/or the chemical composition of the natural gut under the coating.
With all due respect, are you just arguing for the sake of it? I honestly have no idea what you're trying to prove.
Up&comer
Hall of Fame
Well, scorpion is going to be lower powered and slightly more spin friendly. B5e would be alot lower powered and have more spin.
I'd start with scorpion. Then if you want lower power, try b5e.
UCSF2012
Hall of Fame
Regardless, the best way to determine whether it's the grommets or the strings is ...to put on power pads and see whether the strings still snap prematurely. If it STILL snaps where the power pads are installed, then you've convinced me it's probably the strings.
When natural gut snaps at a high stress point, I blame the stress point. That's just me.
When polyester breaks at a high stress point, I blame the stringer first.
When natural gut snaps at a high stress point, I blame the stress point. That's just me.
When polyester breaks at a high stress point, I blame the stringer first.
Oh my goodness, yes, you're arguing for the sake of it. Feel free to carry on then as this is going nowhere. U&C, I apologize for wasting space in your thread with this nonsense.
Oh, and just if you're curious, the two people in the conversation were myself and the manufacturer.
TaihtDuhShaat
Semi-Pro
thanks for that. I tried B5E a while ago, and again today with gut mains in an open pattern. It was great for topspin, and ironically had some sly touch at the net, but I lost control when I went for my shots. This is where I love the silverstring.
I'll try out the scorpion, or better yet, gut/ss in the open pattern.
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UCSF2012
Hall of Fame
I'm not arguing anything. I'm just talking. I just noticed that your strings are breaking all over the place. Even polyesters are snapping at random places. I'm not really convinced that it's the strings in the case.
fgs
Hall of Fame
the coating substance can influence the properties of the string. i once did a playtest of a multi with two different coatings. the multi itself was absolutely identical, the coatings were different. the one that played stiffer also made the multi itself a little brittle and durability was quite affected.
therefore i can imagine that that batch with the changed formula produced those unexpected snaps. nevertheless, i'd say that the 5th main on mikelers stick is a much more stressy angle to any string than the 3rd/4th where it snapped.
therefore i can imagine that that batch with the changed formula produced those unexpected snaps. nevertheless, i'd say that the 5th main on mikelers stick is a much more stressy angle to any string than the 3rd/4th where it snapped.
Agent Orynge
Professional
He's trying to prove that you need power pads, but despite his claim that he's strung hundreds of racquets, he admits to only having used gut a few times.
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Agent Orynge
Professional
Or he could just try stringing up an unspoiled batch of natural gut the way he always does, and if it doesn't break prematurely then you know he doesn't need power pads. As I've stated before, most experienced stringers say that power pads are only good for changing the feel of the string bed. Just do a TT search for "power pads" and see for yourself.
You need to re-read his OP. He was using polyester as a reference for which frames had premature gut breakage, not saying that the polyester itself was breaking. In the post preceding that he mentioned that he strings WT in the mains for himself and 4 customers. The post where he talks about the breakage themselves he's still talking about natural gut, but using crosses to identify which particular frame/customer suffered the breakage.
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.....What on earth are you talking about? I've never had any string break prematurely on me aside from the botched gut we're discussing.....I think you're mixing posters here, my friend. I wouldn't have quite a large clientele on a college campus if my stringjobs, let alone poly ones, are popping randomly. That has yet to happen once, so I honestly think you're just arguing for the sake of having fun.Thank you very much; I have said this openly as well. Having played gut mains now off and on for a few years, I think I know my way around stringing natural gut quite well by now.
Agent Orynge
Professional
It's OK, we understand where you're coming from.
Agent Orynge
Professional
mikeler
Moderator
I've had a few knots come undone when I first started out stringing for myself, but I've never had a string just randomly break in my bag unless I already had several hours of hitting on it. I believe it happened once or twice with MCS. I strung up full Polystar Energy once and it broke after 4 games on a shank, but I mishit a lot and poly gets most stressed near the grommets anyways. I have a feeling Power Pads would help but I believe this was just a bad batch of string or maybe those 40 serves I hit with it were just too much because I'm so manly and powerful.
mikeler
Moderator
Up&comer
Hall of Fame
Probably polystar energy. PS energy was probably a 6.0 on the scale, turbo twist is around a 5.5.
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Up&comer
Hall of Fame
51/49. It is nowhere close to as soft as x-one. I have used plenty of co polys and this is the softest, but again, not even close to a multi.
mikeler
Moderator
Up&comer
Hall of Fame
Up&comer
Hall of Fame
Doubles
Legend
What's left for you to playtest?
Well, its good to have it in mind for the future. Its unusual to find a very soft copoly with good tension maintenance. Polystar Energy and Polyfibre TCS are soft but have poor tension maintenance.
Up&comer
Hall of Fame
Up&comer
Hall of Fame
Full WeissCANNON Turbotwist 51/49
Stringing- Pretty easy. TT is really soft, so it's pretty easy to weave. It felt sort of greasy though, which made it slightly tougher.
Groundstrokes- Well, they're alright. It is definitely soft. I mean it is the softest poly I've ever used. It also reallly powerful. Again, one of the most powerful polys I've used. Spin was decent, control was ok, and it had a pretty consistent response. It didn't impress me too thoroughly in playability, though.
Overall- 8/10
Serves- This is where it really does well. Like I said, it has all kinds of free power, so really unleashing the howitzer was pretty easy with this setup. Kicks were heavy and slices skidded through. Really a good serving setup.
Overall- 9/10
Volleys- This is a tough one to rate for me. I've said multiple times that I like a lower powered setup for volleying, so when I first crashed the net, it was more of a "Yikes" moment than an impressive one. I can MAYBE understand someone liking the loads of power, but it just doesn't work for me. I actually had to control the depth to keep it from going long on low volleys. Overheads were sort of hit or miss, because if I got the timing right, they were slammed, but if I didn't, they could end up going a foot or two long.
Overall- 7.5/10
Durability- A little below average physically for a poly, and it dies the way all these new co-polys do. They become rocket launchers. It died at about the 7 hour mark. It's WeissCANNON, so tension maintenance is great.
Overall- 8/10
Softness- 1 being the softest, 10 being the stiffest. I'd like to add a note that this is nowhere near as soft as any multi I've ever used. It's softness is alot like black5edge mains with addiction crosses.
Overall- 5.5/10
This is a tough one for me to review because it is the exact opposite of the string I normally like. Its high powered and springy, so you need to be ready for that. I can't give it a bad score because I'm sure there are plenty of people that would love a poly that has lots of power. Regardless, it has a really nice feel and has all sorts of power. It's definitely a good choice if you really want a more arm friendly poly main.
Overall- 8(.5?)/10
Stringing- Pretty easy. TT is really soft, so it's pretty easy to weave. It felt sort of greasy though, which made it slightly tougher.
Groundstrokes- Well, they're alright. It is definitely soft. I mean it is the softest poly I've ever used. It also reallly powerful. Again, one of the most powerful polys I've used. Spin was decent, control was ok, and it had a pretty consistent response. It didn't impress me too thoroughly in playability, though.
Overall- 8/10
Serves- This is where it really does well. Like I said, it has all kinds of free power, so really unleashing the howitzer was pretty easy with this setup. Kicks were heavy and slices skidded through. Really a good serving setup.
Overall- 9/10
Volleys- This is a tough one to rate for me. I've said multiple times that I like a lower powered setup for volleying, so when I first crashed the net, it was more of a "Yikes" moment than an impressive one. I can MAYBE understand someone liking the loads of power, but it just doesn't work for me. I actually had to control the depth to keep it from going long on low volleys. Overheads were sort of hit or miss, because if I got the timing right, they were slammed, but if I didn't, they could end up going a foot or two long.
Overall- 7.5/10
Durability- A little below average physically for a poly, and it dies the way all these new co-polys do. They become rocket launchers. It died at about the 7 hour mark. It's WeissCANNON, so tension maintenance is great.
Overall- 8/10
Softness- 1 being the softest, 10 being the stiffest. I'd like to add a note that this is nowhere near as soft as any multi I've ever used. It's softness is alot like black5edge mains with addiction crosses.
Overall- 5.5/10
This is a tough one for me to review because it is the exact opposite of the string I normally like. Its high powered and springy, so you need to be ready for that. I can't give it a bad score because I'm sure there are plenty of people that would love a poly that has lots of power. Regardless, it has a really nice feel and has all sorts of power. It's definitely a good choice if you really want a more arm friendly poly main.
Overall- 8(.5?)/10
Up&comer
Hall of Fame
Yeah, it's tough to bridge the gap between what I like and what other people might like.
When I used it maybe a year ago I noticed its comfort as a full bed compared with B5E full bed. Unfortunately, I also noticed that the power level is high and that tends to affect contriol and precision over ones shots.
mikeler
Moderator
It is great having those high powered strings on serves. If you could only change sticks right after serving...
Up&comer
Hall of Fame
mikeler
Moderator
sure it is - you just practice enough to serve four aces each of your service game and next you go an get your return stick.
it's much easier though, but a lot less fun, to serve four double faults.
Brilliant strategy. I actually did serve 4 aces one game many years ago. The first 3 were on first serves. The last one was on a 2nd serve.
Up&comer
Hall of Fame
Whenever I'm up against a not rated to a weak 2 star, aces are pretty easy to come by for me. Anyone better and my serve just doesn't have the power to hit through them.
mikeler
Moderator
This was a lower level 4.5 I did it against so it was pretty satisfying. Most of the guys at my club are hard to ace, they always seem to get a little bit of stick on my serve unless I hit it perfect or they try to guess and end up going the wrong way.
Got any numbers? What's your go-to serve, flat? I've always found it interesting that most juniors I see rely almost entirely on flat first serves at breakneck speed. Then, when they play say a 4.5 S&V or 5.0 adult who serves just as fast, but with RPMs on the ball, it's jam city.
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