Anyway, enough talking down on strings. That's not the point of this thread, nor do I want it to be.
I shall be stringing up Baseline/OGSM and AdrenalineR/850 this evening.
Here's my nomination: http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showpost.php?p=6254655&postcount=1696How bout a crappy string thread? "Worst strings of 2011"?
Honestly, I don't think that they do. I almost liken Luxilon to BMW. ALU is the M5, the BB derivatives (Original, TiMo, Fluoro, Ace) are the M3. You choose which one you want depending on your tastes, but all are top tier. Then you have Savage and Adrenaline which are the 535i and 325i depending on which one you want to take which spot. Point being, while they still hold the name, the only reason you're buying them is because ALU and Big Banger strings have such a reputation. In other words, while you know you're getting a high quality product, it's only because of the quality of the flagship marques that they'll even sell. While I haven't tried Adrenaline Rough (but obviously will momentarily), Savage and Adrenaline are just good strings with the Lux name on them. I do not think that they're bad at all, honestly. While Adrenaline is not, I do however strongly feel that Savage is overpriced. However, unlike with many other string brands (or hell even BMW) where even across the models, you can tell that it's made by the same people because of a certain trait, Adrenaline and Savage do not remind me of ALU or the BB strings in any way shape or form. ALU and the BB guys give the "Luxilon" feel. Adrenaline and Savage don't have that.
So just to make sure people aren't misunderstanding what I'm saying: I do NOT dislike Luxilon. I don't think their strings are crap at all. I DO think that Savage and Adrenaline were created for people who cannot afford to play with ALU or BB but still wanted to play with Luxilon string (brand loyalty, whatever you wish to call it). It's there though that I DO think that neither feels remotely similar to any other Luxilon offerings. And it's for that reason that if someone sees that I carry Adrenaline (which I do) and would like it because it's Lux, I would steer them towards an alternative. The strings themselves though, are fine, and Adrenaline is not an overpriced poly. It just bears no relation to its name.
I just ordered some alu. And some bhb7 for good measure.
I wanna go back to the sweetness of alu. I wanna see if I like it better than my beloved ltec... and bhb7 because everyone is crying about it so I figured why not.
I
Try ytex with bhb7. Another deadly combo is bhb7/bbo rough or bhb7/nrg2 for more feel. If you enjoy the feeling of the string "biting" into the ball, bhb7 will inspire you. If you enjoy power, the bbo cross is deadly power with bhb7. If you enjoy controlled spin, ytex quadro/bhb7, but the hybrids with bhb7 are all good due to the biting edgy grabby bite it puts on the ball, especially in a 16 x 19 open pattern.
What's bbo? Big banger original?
Also. Why not just use full bed bhb7?
2.18/set for the crosses and 2.42 for the mains. That comes to 4.60 for a full set of BOTH when you own a reel. Thus, you get: $2.30/stringjob. That's remarkable value.
Bbo is big bang. orig. Because it is more powerful as cross while the bhb7 bites for outrageous spin.
I don't know if I've ever mentioned this in this thread since it's mostly been mid to premium stuff, but as much as I like a good string, I like a bagain/value even more. I have high hopes for this because if it's good and linear, then I won't have to think about stringing and will always have something reliable to hit with for cheap. That means focusing solely on strokes which a good string only can help to improve once the ball leaves the racquet. BUT: just like the L-Tec which wasn't evaluated as being supposedly excellent, I will be evaluating as a stringbed, not as a cheap stringbed/value.
Ahh, Gamma Synthetic Gut w/ WearFaster
17. You'll rarely find me using a 16g poly
Nope, not going to either.Right now, I have a few parts of my game that I want to solidify, so even if I do continue to test strings, they need to be predictable.PV - have /would you ever try a spaghetti string job?
if so would you give us a review
Here's my nomination: http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showpost.php?p=6254655&postcount=1696
Yep, it's 7-10. The string has to do something actually wrong to be rated below that. Otherwise, if it does its job: hits a tennis ball, then it gets a minimum of 7. That stuff got the lowest rating because it was absolutely generic in every single way. It was just polyester string that you could put in a tennis racquet and nothing more. That doesn't make it overall bad. It just means it has zero redeeming qualities. Sort of like rating wines.PV, just curious how does the worst string of 2012 in your book earn a 7.5/10 rating? i playtested the string as well and i completely agree with your assessment, but i think i gave it a 4 or 5/10 rating because it played god awful. is your rating scale 7 to 7.9 = C, 8.0 to 8.9 = B, 9 to 10 = A?
I just ordered some alu. And some bhb7 for good measure.
I wanna go back to the sweetness of alu. I wanna see if I like it better than my beloved ltec... and bhb7 because everyone is crying about it so I figured why not.
I
Yep, it's 7-10. The string has to do something actually wrong to be rated below that. Otherwise, if it does its job: hits a tennis ball, then it gets a minimum of 7. That stuff got the lowest rating because it was absolutely generic in every single way. It was just polyester string that you could put in a tennis racquet and nothing more. That doesn't make it overall bad. It just means it has zero redeeming qualities. Sort of like rating wines.
Well, as long as I can get 5-6 hours out of the Isospeed/OGSM, then I'm switching permanently. I hinted at this before, but this setup meets my #2 need for a go-to setup. The #1 need is that it takes my strengths and makes them better, and takes my weaknesses and helps me out. That's been the majority of the strings tested thus far: the premium strings focused purely on playability. For me however, just as important is neutrality. What I mean is something that is consistent, predictable and does exactly what you expect it to BUT that's it. That's the reason why I love Silverstring. To me, Silverstring is one of the top overall polys (hence it was my first poly reel, IIRC) because it lets you hit your shots and exactly what you put into it is what you get out. Nothing more, nothing less. This hybrid is exactly the same. It feels very solid: not soft, not stiff, just solid and crisp. It lets me hit my forehand how I want, and since I'm working on my 2HBH, it lets me see easily how much spin pvaudio imparted on the ball rather than a spin string setup. That's more valuable to me. To put it another way: this is what I will use to improve my game, because it doesn't let me do anything I can't already, and doesn't make me unable to do what I can already. Silverstring is the poly version of this. For $2/racquet, it's a no-brainer.
That is possibly the most frustrating thing I have ever seen. The only place to buy it is from the UK for 40+ pounds. That's no bargain. Unless one pops up on the Bay, then I guess I won't be switching to this. The entire appeal was the price, but if the 1.20 can't be had anymore, then....Amen.
That's what I'm finding currently with the Bomber/OGSM. For the price point, I may buy a reel of Baseline. I've worked with it stringing for my school's club team and it was a breeze but I never took the time to try it out. Unfortunately, TW doesn't sell it anymore... hm. Can someone shoot me an e-mail with a US retailer?
like you, i'm not a fan of bhbr17. not enough control. but i like bhb7 17. predictable string that offers very good control and excellent spin capabilities. durability isn't great though.
good to know. I liked the spin of bhbr but sometimes the ball just did weird things. If bhb7 has the same spin characteristic but more control it can work well for me.
That is possibly the most frustrating thing I have ever seen. The only place to buy it is from the UK for 40+ pounds. That's no bargain. Unless one pops up on the Bay, then I guess I won't be switching to this. The entire appeal was the price, but if the 1.20 can't be had anymore, then....
I don't rate myself because it just causes too much "really??? in xxxxx you'd be a 3.0!" etc. type comments. But regardless, thank you for the commentPV, I liked your backhand technique, good preparation and anticipation, right leg up front, hitting through the ball, good follow through.
Your forehand was weird, I'm not sure if is the upper body rotation, or if you just hit with open stance at all time or too much of arm use, but it wasn't smooth as the BH, I don't know where the balls were going, but I figure the FHs weren't hit clean due the path.
However you must be a good player, what level you consider yourself?
You are a big dude man.
Take care!
I don't rate myself because it just causes too much "really??? in xxxxx you'd be a 3.0!" etc. type comments. But regardless, thank you for the comment
And why does everyone always say I'm huge? I USED to be huge lol. I used to be 240lbs at my same height. I'm only 5'10 and 160lbs!
This is a good point. It's impossible for me to find dress shirts because my size, 16.5 33/34, is for people much much larger than me. So yep, I have an abnormally thick neck and very long arms. Back in my boxing days, that was advantageous obviously. Now that I need to look like a professional and shop for clothes, it's not exactly a good traitMust be the long arms that make you look bigger on camera. I'd hate to see what my "alligator arms" make me look like. Also have been called TRex before so I'd trade for your build.
This is a good point. It's impossible for me to find dress shirts because my size, 16.5 33/34, is for people much much larger than me. So yep, I have an abnormally thick neck and very long arms. Back in my boxing days, that was advantageous obviously. Now that I need to look like a professional and shop for clothes, it's not exactly a good trait
PV how long have you been playing tennis?Took some video tonight to look at my backhand, so I figure I might as well post it. Using the Baseline/OGSM setup here. The first one is just some light rallying. The second one is drop-feed singles: drop feed, opponent must get the ball back, and only then can you start to play the point. If they don't get it back, you restart the point. As you can see by the state of my shirt, this was towards the end of our hour.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhDjJ3Zlm5U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hepmyzbIj4I
I first started playing tennis in 5th grad, but started playing "seriously" once high school started. Problem was that I was very overweight up until the beginning of college, so my actual skill couldn't be realized. When I got to college, specifically sophomore year, I decided that I wanted to "reset" my game. Instead of just playing to play, I wanted to actually be a good tennis player. So, I started taking lessons again and tried to play more(incidentally that was how I met my future wife because she was a student coach at the tennis complex). It's only been in this past year though that I've actually really been working hard at getting better. Slowly but surely, things are coming together. It's for the above reason that I decided to ditch my 1H and start working on 2H.PV how long have you been playing tennis?
For me is interesting how can you play with that swingweight that 200 tour has with so short swing from FH side. Wery nice wrist snap tough.
I got inspired from your videos and took camera with me today... result is secretly hidden
This is a good point. It's impossible for me to find dress shirts because my size, 16.5 33/34, is for people much much larger than me. So yep, I have an abnormally thick neck and very long arms. Back in my boxing days, that was advantageous obviously. Now that I need to look like a professional and shop for clothes, it's not exactly a good trait
It's interesting that you mention the short backswing. I used to have a huge loop for the longest time. I myself decided to make it far more compact. It forces me to use my body to accelerate the racquet instead of my arm like before.