Mamba Premium Natural Gut - Review

mad dog1 · Jul 10, 2012

Say Chi Sin Lo said:
Alright, then tell me what am I missing out on if I'm perfectly happy with MPNG strung at low tension compared to the big daddy brand?

I understand the promise the brand name gut, they can be strung at higher tension. So for someone like me who cranks it at 55lbs, tell me what I'm missing out on as far as brand name's promise of higher tension.

If you say so and so gut plays softer/crisper/stiffer/durable and etc., that's a different story. But if you're coming at me regarding tension, I just don't get it.

i've not tried the mamba guts yet, but i have tried the early batches of Global and VS Team (non-BT7) in my PS 6.0 and VS Team without a doubt plays smoother, holds tension better and is more durable than the Global stuff. VS Team/Alu Power in my PS 6.0 feels so buttery, provides effortless yet controllable pop, while able to generate very good spin and great pace, all the while providing incredible control. the Global Gut/poly played NOTHING like the primo stuff. because the VS Team stuff holds tension much better, i was able to string it at 50/46 while i had to string up Global at 53/49 and within a few days the mains had lost so much tension it was time to restring.

from my experiences, primo gut performs far better than econogut.

Say Chi Sin Lo · Jul 10, 2012

mad dog1 said:
i've not tried the mamba guts yet, but i have tried the early batches of Global and VS Team (non-BT7) in my PS 6.0 and VS Team without a doubt plays smoother, holds tension better and is more durable than the Global stuff. VS Team/Alu Power in my PS 6.0 feels so buttery, provides effortless yet controllable pop, while able to generate very good spin and great pace, all the while providing incredible control. the Global Gut/poly played NOTHING like the primo stuff. because the VS Team stuff holds tension much better, i was able to string it at 50/46 while i had to string up Global at 53/49 and within a few days the mains had lost so much tension it was time to restring.

from my experiences, primo gut performs far better than econogut.

Now that's a valid argument. But at ~2-3x the price, I have no doubt big daddy brand guts will play better.

Power Player · Jul 10, 2012

2Hare said:
hey man, one thing I've learned from internet is: Don't feed the troll!

How the heck am I trolling or being self righteous? Wow you guys are sensitive. I am just saying in my experience quality gut plays incredibly well at higher tensions. In fact better than low.

I also said I can see why OP can get away with stringing it lower since he has a 90, but my problem with the supra is it lost tension from there. Good gut really doesn't ever lose tension, which is another major plus.

The reason I even bring any of this up is because I have stuck with the more expensive stuff for these reasons, even though I'd rather save money. But pacific classic is only 9$ more and for me it is worth paying that.

Power Player · Jul 10, 2012

2Hare said:
Hahaha that's funny. Thanks for the laugh.

Once again this makes no sense at all. It's funny that I stated gut plays incredible in the 60s? Really? Ok.

I think you misunderstood my post as being trolling or hostile. It is not. I was just speaking in my experience. Trust me, I would love to use $15 gut, and especially Mamba brand. It is a no brainer at that price. Unfortunately in my experience, I experienced tension loss and stringing the racquet took a lot of time.

I know this lower tension setup works for Fed but he uses lux crosses which really stiffen up the bed and basically this is a 3 hour setup. When I saw Say Chin was using it for 30 hours, I figured I'd chime in with my own experience.

mad dog1 · Jul 10, 2012

Power Player said:
How the heck am I trolling or being self righteous? Wow you guys are sensitive. I am just saying in my experience quality gut plays incredibly well at higher tensions. In fact better than low.

I also said I can see why OP can get away with stringing it lower since he has a 90, but my problem with the supra is it lost tension from there. Good gut really doesn't ever lose tension, which is another major plus.

The reason I even bring any of this up is because I have stuck with the more expensive stuff for these reasons, even though I'd rather save money. But pacific classic is only 9$ more and for me it is worth paying that.

while i wouldn't say good gut doesn't ever lose tension, it certainly doesn't lose tension anywhere near as fast as the global gut i have tried. i find that good gut loses a little bit of tension over a longer period of time for sure.

mad dog1 · Jul 10, 2012

Say Chi Sin Lo said:
Now that's a valid argument. But at ~2-3x the price, I have no doubt big daddy brand guts will play better.

yeah, i would have been very disappointed and upset if VS Team (non BT7) played like Global.

Global was harsh and only provided good playability (good control and spin) for the 2 or 3 hours max before it became a rocket launcher if i was lucky enough for the Global to last that long. sometimes it would snap before 3 hours because Global should not be strung over 50#s but i had to string it at 54 to get the desired control.

for my next order, i'll try a set of MPNG and Supra.

Say Chi Sin Lo · Jul 10, 2012

Power Player said:
Once again this makes no sense at all. It's funny that I stated gut plays incredible in the 60s? Really? Ok.

I think you misunderstood my post as being trolling or hostile. It is not. I was just speaking in my experience. Trust me, I would love to use $15 gut, and especially Mamba brand. It is a no brainer at that price. Unfortunately in my experience, I experienced tension loss and stringing the racquet took a lot of time.

I know this lower tension setup works for Fed but he uses lux crosses which really stiffen up the bed and basically this is a 3 hour setup. When I saw Say Chin was using it for 30 hours, I figured I'd chime in with my own experience.

To be honest, I know there are a lot of talks and evidence suggesting "dead polys" after so many hours, and I believe it. Maybe because I put the polys in the crosses, but for whatever reason I don't notice the decline in playability in my stringbed.

~20 - 30 hours into my frames, the stringbed is still predictable and highly playable to me.

As far as playing at such a low tension, it's a habit I developed from using the PC600. That frame is so soft, it can be easily warped so I started stringing at a lower tension.

Power Player · Jul 10, 2012

If that is the case you can ride out the mamba and enjoy the savings. I just love gut in the 60s because to me that is when it really starts to play magically.

The mamba was strung at 56 and continued to drop for me and I noticed my grip sliding more and more western to compensate during points.

I still have a half a set left and will probably use it as a cross.

gameboy · Jul 10, 2012

I have used global and VS. I have not noticed any difference in durability (once strung) or tension retension.

If you can find cheap natural gut string that does not break while stringing, they are hard to beat. Will definitely try Mamba next time around.

Say Chi Sin Lo · Jul 10, 2012

gameboy said:
I have used global and VS. I have not noticed any difference in durability (once strung) or tension retension.

If you can find cheap natural gut string that does not break while stringing, they are hard to beat. Will definitely try Mamba next time around.

Ha, you and me both man. Just make up for it with being patient on the machine.

I'm super slow on the mains that go into the throat. But after that, I just watch out for kinks and bends on the rest of the mains and go back to my normal speed of stringing.

2Hare · Jul 11, 2012

gameboy said:
I have used global and VS. I have not noticed any difference in durability (once strung) or tension retension.

If you can find cheap natural gut string that does not break while stringing, they are hard to beat. Will definitely try Mamba next time around.

What I do notice is that cheap gut has higher sliding tension when notched and they are more proned to attack from sun and moistures. They just need extra care like oil, wax, and lubricants compared to quality gut.

mad dog1 · Jul 11, 2012

2Hare said:
What I do notice is that cheap gut has higher sliding tension when notched and they are more proned to attack from sun and moistures. They just need extra care like oil, wax, and lubricants compared to quality gut.

true dat. i took my racquet strung w/ global out to hit w/ jgads who lives close to the beach on a night when it was pretty humid and the strings turned into spaghetti in a matter of minutes whereas the day before when i hit w/ them the first time immediately after stringing they felt fine.

i've gone through 6 hybrid jobs of Global gut. there's just no way it comes anywhere close to VS Team for me.

gameboy · Jul 11, 2012

I play mostly indoors so humidity is not a problem for me. I can buy that VS probably has better coating and stabilizers for humid conditions. Probably worthwhile if you are playing in humid conditions (though I did not notice any problems playing in Hawaii for a week).

Otherwise, you probably won't notice any difference in quality.

alidisperanza · Jul 11, 2012

The only place you might have issues is with crosses. Stringing mains is cake.

mctennis · Jul 15, 2012

Well, I believe I'm done with Mamba Premium 17g gut. I tried three sets. First set broke while stringing. The next two sets didn't even make it to the courts and broke while sitting on my desk. I strung them all at a low 50's tension. I strung them in late May but have not used them because of a knee injury. I was going to the courts today to try them out and both racquets have broken strings. Nice people to deal with but I don't see a financial advantage to buying gut strings that break this quickly. What a shame and what a waste of $$$. I use a professional stringer to string my racquets so I know it isn't his technique. He strung three other racquets using different gut and all of those aren't broken. I'm out the gut price plus the price and stringing and now the cost of new strings and restringing them, yet again.

tomseek · Jul 15, 2012

So I finally got to hit with the MPNG/CoFocus @ 59/50 b/c it's been raining every day here in Houston. I was able to play 2 sets, and rallied at the baseline for about 30 minutes.

I am comparing this setup with the Supra/Cofocus @ 54/50.

1) Appearance: MPNG is a bit drier than the Supra gut. I actually had to put baby lotion on the MPNG just to cinch down the knot.

2) Stringing: When tensioning, the MPNG gives much more than the Supra gut. MPNG is more elastic while Supra is firmer.

3) Power: Even at 59/50#, the MPNG is still a bit more powerful than the Supra at 54/50#. I'll probably need to string the MPNG/CoFocus next time @ 61/50.

4) Feel: The MPNG, to me, feels softer than the Supra setup. It is easier on the arm, but I must say that both setups are very soft. The Supra gives you more of a pocketing feel, and the ball coming off the racquet seems more consistent. That's not to say that MPNG is erratic. It plays extremely well, and at $15 for two half-sets, I would take that over any multi.

5) Spin: Both setups produce great spin, but certainly not as good as the Pacific Classic/CoFocus setup.

6) Volleys: Very similar b/t the two; lots of pop. What are usually defensive volleys can push opponents deep to the back of the court.

7) Serves: This is also the same b/t the two. Flat serves very powerful, and kick serves can produce wicked spin.

8) Durability: I've got about 10 hours on the Supra setup and the stringbed seems to have lost some tension. I can adjust my strokes to accommodate this change, but on defensive and reactive shots, balls tend to fly long. Time for a restring. The MPNG setup, ?

Hope this helps anyone who is using one and wants to try the other. Please keep in mind the difference in power b/t the two is with CoFocus at the same tension, 50#, in the cross.

Tom

MambaT · Jul 15, 2012

mctennis said:
Well, I believe I'm done with Mamba Premium 17g gut. I tried three sets. First set broke while stringing. The next two sets didn't even make it to the courts and broke while sitting on my desk. I strung them all at a low 50's tension. I strung them in late May but have not used them because of a knee injury. I was going to the courts today to try them out and both racquets have broken strings. Nice people to deal with but I don't see a financial advantage to buying gut strings that break this quickly. What a shame and what a waste of $$$. I use a professional stringer to string my racquets so I know it isn't his technique. He strung three other racquets using different gut and all of those aren't broken. I'm out the gut price plus the price and stringing and now the cost of new strings and restringing them, yet again.

Please contact me so that we can either replace the string, send you something else, or refund your purchase price.

mctennis · Jul 15, 2012

MambaT said:
Please contact me so that we can either replace the string, send you something else, or refund your purchase price.

Thank you for the post. I will contact you. I know your service has always been GREAT in all my past dealings with your company.

mctennis · Jul 16, 2012

MambaT said:
Please contact me so that we can either replace the string, send you something else, or refund your purchase price.

Email sent on the 16th to you. Thank you for taking care of this issue.

levy1 · Jul 21, 2012

Mamba premium 16ga natural gut

I had a order for natural gut mains and my go to is PMaxx for price and feel. I had previously strung this customers racket with PMaxx wisper touch 17/BHB 17 at 52/48. I had the same setup myself and liked it. I had two half sets of Mamba sitting in my string box. When I received it a month ago it looked just too ugly and I hadn't tried it yet. Also there was a few negative comments lately about Mamba gut. I needed to string a customers racket right away for a match, I am out of PMaxx so I pulled out the first Mamba half set, easy to feel the variances in the string diameter when you pull it through the grommets. I was stuck with the first half set as I could not pull it through the mains. I put that set away and went to the other half set. I decided to wax the strings. (I use candle wax for hybrid setups gut/poly on the gut mains.) Then I thought I might mess up the string puller with the wax on it but it was no problem and there was no slippage. I could see I needed to be very careful with this string and really there was no problem stringing it. Even threading a shared hole by using a needle nose pliers, working the tip in and the string tip held up. I used the Jet method and it was nice to see the gut turned to a nice gut color. Delivered the racket and to my surprise a few hours later received a text message from the customer saying WOW! this was the best setup he had ever played with.
Now this got me excited so I started measuring the bad spot in the second half set of gut and realized I could cut off about 8 inches and probably string it in my racket. I strung it up at 52/48 Mamba gut/BHB 17 and played with it this morning.
I have to back up my customer and say this delivered in performance as good as any gut I have played with and better the Klip and Global. Spin and power was excellent, control was pinpoint and my favorite, pocketing and feel was at the top. I don't know about durability yet. Will report further when I know. I really was not concerned about the blem in the second half as with the great customer service from Ray that is a non issue. As for some variations in the string diameter, again no problem for me as I only measure the performance. I give this string overall a 9.5 when you figure in the price. I will measure tension loss with my ERT 300 meter and watch the durability and post again.

levy1 · Jul 21, 2012

Can anyone report on the black premium gut?

tomseek · Jul 21, 2012

levy1 said:
Can anyone report on the black premium gut?

Say Chi already did, I believe, in this thread. Probably, no one else will 'cause no one can order any. Mamba guts, all flavors, have been out of stock forever. I need some more but I don't think I can wait. Think I'm just gonna stick with Pac Classic. A little more expensive, but the spin with CoFocus cross is crazy. However, I must say that I like the feel of Mamba Supra better than Pac Classic.

Tom

Say Chi Sin Lo · Jul 21, 2012

levy1 said:
Can anyone report on the black premium gut?

Go back a few pages and read my review.

Nostradamus · Jul 21, 2012

where can you buy this in internet ?

Nostradamus · Jul 21, 2012

HOw is the Supra natural gut 17 G ? Thinking about hybrid with pro hurr tour or proline evolution. $21.00 is not bad for natural gut as long as it is easy to string.

levy1 · Jul 21, 2012

tomseek said:
Say Chi already did, I believe, in this thread. Probably, no one else will 'cause no one can order any. Mamba guts, all flavors, have been out of stock forever. I need some more but I don't think I can wait. Think I'm just gonna stick with Pac Classic. A little more expensive, but the spin with CoFocus cross is crazy. However, I must say that I like the feel of Mamba Supra better than Pac Classic.

Tom

Ray told me today that a shipment would be in next week. I know he is straight up but last time I ordered it was two weeks more after notification.

levy1 · Jul 21, 2012

2Hare said:
hey man, one thing I've learned from internet is: Don't feed the troll!

I need to learn that lesson.

levy1 · Jul 21, 2012

tomseek said:
I agree with this. I do this all the times and have seen no ill effects to my racquets. I must have done this more than 50 times already. One set of my guts will last several CoPoly restrings. I bought a reel of MSV CoFocus and each restring, being only a half set, costs me less than $3. Every 4-5 restrings, I put in either a half set of Pacific Classic at $15 or a half set of Mamba Supra at $11. My arm thanks me for this.

Tom

Have you ever changed mains only?

Ashley D · Jul 21, 2012

Levy, I'm in love with your Avatar. That is all.

levy1 · Jul 21, 2012

Ashley D said:
Levy, I'm in love with your Avatar. That is all.

Me too Ashley.

Say Chi Sin Lo · Jul 21, 2012

levy1 said:
Have you ever changed mains only?

I will never do that.

So Mamba is going to get more Premium gut next week? Good, because I'm running out.

tomseek · Jul 21, 2012

levy1 said:
Have you ever changed mains only?

No, b/c my cross is MSV CoFocus & it's cheap as cheap can be.

Tom

tomseek · Jul 22, 2012

levy1 said:
Ray told me today that a shipment would be in next week. I know he is straight up but last time I ordered it was two weeks more after notification.

Great, b/c I was about to give up hope. Probably gonna stock up on the Supra gut.

Nostradamus said:
HOw is the Supra natural gut 17 G ? Thinking about hybrid with pro hurr tour or proline evolution. $21.00 is not bad for natural gut as long as it is easy to string.

Supra is great. It beats just about any $21 string out there. You're gonna love it with a poly cross. This string is dry and certainly not as elastic as most of the natural gut out there. You must be careful when you string and string it a bit lower tension than you would with other guts. If you've ever played with Pacific Classic, the power is very similar, so string it at the tension that you would string Pac Classic.

Tom

levy1 · Jul 22, 2012

tomseek said:
Great, b/c I was about to give up hope. Probably gonna stock up on the Supra gut.

Supra is great. It beats just about any $21 string out there. You're gonna love it with a poly cross. This string is dry and certainly not as elastic as most of the natural gut out there. You must be careful when you string and string it a bit lower tension than you would with other guts. If you've ever played with Pacific Classic, the power is very similar, so string it at the tension that you would string Pac Classic.

Tom

Can you compare it to Mamba Premium natural or black?

tomseek · Jul 23, 2012

levy1 said:
Can you compare it to Mamba Premium natural or black?

In this very same thread here (post #216):

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showpost.php?p=6728978&postcount=216

I compared the Supra with MPNG. I have not tried the black gut yet.

Tom

Centerforward71 · Oct 7, 2012

tomseek said:
In this very same thread here (post #216):

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showpost.php?p=6728978&postcount=216

I compared the Supra with MPNG. I have not tried the black gut yet.

Tom

Can MPNG be useful at around 40 maybe even 38lb with a poly cross near the same ? I play polys at low 30s now and has great spin, power and feel and have been experimenting with gut mains but 3 setups at 54,52,48 with poly crosses ionteca 2lbs looser and all setups have been very average at best. I am about to give up on the guts would appreciate some feedback.

I'm looking for hi spin and control, avg power.

filphil · Oct 7, 2012

Gut would probably cause your balls to go pretty long in the low 40s even with a poly cross. You could try it the other way and have the poly in the main.

Centerforward71 · Oct 7, 2012

filphil said:
Gut would probably cause your balls to go pretty long in the low 40s even with a poly cross. You could try it the other way and have the poly in the main.

That's what they said about poly at 35. I guess I may just have to try it.

filphil · Oct 7, 2012

Centerforward71 said:
That's what they said about poly at 35. I guess I may just have to try it.

I was lucky enough to have been introduced to poly at low tensions. So I can't agree with you there.

You're right though. You will have to try it and see for yourself. No harm in experimenting on string set ups

Centerforward71 · Oct 7, 2012

filphil said:
I was lucky enough to have been introduced to poly at low tensions. So I can't agree with you there.

You're right though. You will have to try it and see for yourself. No harm in experimenting on string set ups

I play poly at 35 and just saying that that's what everyone said about tpoly at that ension. I pretty much can't imagine gut at that tension, will probably feel like bubble gum. I may not try it unless I hear someone here say they have and get feedback.

AC Tennis · Oct 10, 2012

I've given up on Premium NG

I've tried three sets of Mamba Premium Natural Gut and have given up. 1st set was good. 2nd set snapped while stringing, both 1/2 sets. 3rd set was very dry and brittle with half unraveling so much I couldn't string it. See pics of that last set here: http://s496.photobucket.com/albums/rr321/ACTennis/Mamba gut/
Ray was good about replacing the 2nd set that snapped while stringing, but I e-mailed him the pics of the 3rd set and have not heard anything back in about a month. Oh well, I guess you get what you pay for. Perhaps the Supra is better quality.

levy1 · Oct 11, 2012

I had pretty much the same experience. I had a lot of trouble pulling through the grommets, snapped one set with only a few hours on it, and ruined one set pulling it through the grommets. I also sent a picture to Ray. I wasn't going to post up because Ray was taking care of everyone but I sent him the pic of the broken string about 3 weeks ago and never heard a word. I emailed him twice. I have found a good gut which is similar to PMaxx to me but I have to import it from India. At least I found something I can play with at a good price.

BlxTennis · Oct 13, 2012

levy1 said:
I had pretty much the same experience. I had a lot of trouble pulling through the grommets, snapped one set with only a few hours on it, and ruined one set pulling it through the grommets. I wasn't going to post up because Ray was taking care of everyone but I sent him the pic of the broken string about 3 weeks ago and never heard a word. I emailed him twice. I have found a good gut which is similar to PMaxx to me but I have to import it from India. At least I found something I can play with at a good price.

Fred, did you get my google email? I am interested trying out the string you mention.

BlxTennis · Oct 13, 2012

tomseek said:
... However, I must say that I like the feel of Mamba Supra better than Pac Classic.

Tom

I have a set of Pac Classic but have not try yet. But I really like Supra with Iontec. It plays great and feels great and very durable. So far I am at least 28hr and counting... Too bad it's out of stock forever.

levy1 · Oct 13, 2012

BlxTennis said:
Fred, did you get my google email? I am interested trying out the string you mention.

I sent you a PM

BlxTennis · Oct 13, 2012

levy1 said:
I sent you a PM

Fred, I just sent rely to you using my yahoo email instead of gmail.

levy1 · Oct 13, 2012

BlxTennis said:
I have a set of Pac Classic but have not try yet. But I really like Supra with Iontec. It plays great and feels great and very durable. So far I am at least 28hr and counting... Too bad it's out of stock forever.

What does out of stock forever mean

levy1 · Oct 13, 2012

BlxTennis said:
I have a set of Pac Classic but have not try yet. But I really like Supra with Iontec. It plays great and feels great and very durable. So far I am at least 28hr and counting... Too bad it's out of stock forever.

BlxTennis said:
Fred, I just sent rely to you using my yahoo email instead of gmail.

No did not get send me a ppm

BlxTennis · Oct 13, 2012

levy1 said:
No did not get send me a ppm

Very strange that you don't receive both of my emails after I sent you my address. In any case, don't worry about it then.

supernova · Oct 16, 2012

i just placed an order for the premium natural gut in natural color... hopefully it gets processed soon!

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