Complete Catalog of Yamaha Releases?

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This is Yamaha proto EX select. 110 head, made in Singapore, 345 strung. Not sure if it’s same like ex110 but with different paint job.
 
I recall the Focus range in UK shops, usually nice department stores, which hardly exist anymore. I think they would have been similarly placed in Europe and Asia at least, if not the US too. Very much mid-range sticks. They play so nicely, I'm wondering if they work today with a poly for some extra control.
 
Yesterday i got YCR 130 and i could tell the racquet hits perfectly. The handle is 4 5/8, it's too big for me, but the rest is very good. The racquet is quite flex and when you hit with the center of sweet spot it hits with pinpoint accuracy, especially i like ohbh with it.
 
And a Focus 90 pops up on ukbay with the marble paint job like the Focus 70. Those paint jobs were just so good, I expect owners were very reluctant to play.
 
Hold the phone, we have a new Yamaha model popped up on the bay of Japan. Listed under the title “Yamaha Tennis Racket Hard 300G Right Hand Black Case With Inner Pocket Included”

Translated into useful text, it’s a Yamaha Classy! Part of a series called the Liquid Crystal Polymer. Naturally I’m trying to justify buying it.
 
To original poster, I've included Kuebler's (Siegfried Kubler book of tennis rackets) Yamaha pages. Also, another reference (weight, headsize, balance, etc.) would be World Tennis and Tennis magazine annual tennis racket reviews, old copies. I've tried the Secret 04 (noah) and Secret Ex (sabatini) models. Sweet sticks, but not to my swing style... Let me know if you have any questions about specs. I could cross reference if I knew year of production. Good luck on your quest, rc
https://flic.kr/p/2q83KX2
https://flic.kr/p/2q83mep
 
racquet collector said:
To original poster, I've included Kuebler's (Siegfried Kubler book of tennis rackets) Yamaha pages. Also, another reference (weight, headsize, balance, etc.) would be World Tennis and Tennis magazine annual tennis racket reviews, old copies. I've tried the Secret 04 (noah) and Secret Ex (sabatini) models. Sweet sticks, but not to my swing style... Let me know if you have any questions about specs. I could cross reference if I knew year of production. Good luck on your quest, rc
https://flic.kr/p/2q83KX2
https://flic.kr/p/2q83mep
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Nice annual ordering. Feel free to post the same lists for Dunlop & Slazenger, Head, Wilson and Prince. Perhaps in a thread called List of Classic Racquets by Year.
 
Grafil Injection said:
Nice annual ordering. Feel free to post the same lists for Dunlop & Slazenger, Head, Wilson and Prince. Perhaps in a thread called List of Classic Racquets by Year.
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I think that book is missing a few, particularly those later Taiwan sourced models, but it’s always a good starting point. I didn’t know it’s possible that they exited the US market after 1993. My hitting partner who bought a Secret X said he didn’t buy his until fall/winter 93 when he was in high school.
 
A new entry in the Admic series is in the Japanese bay. Called the EX-1. Looks a bit like my FX97 but just white and maybe thicker throat.
 
Seems like Kuebler's timeline doesn't make it up to the FX-TP's, the Light version was noted here already but there's also the red/yellow regular FX-TP thermoplastic, and the FX-TP 105. I feel like there was an FX-TP Tour as well? But that could just be a hallucination.

I've always been curious if there was ever a regular FX-97, or if they only came in S and S Tour variants? And what the S even stands for? Managed to track down an FX-97S last year -- it was hard to find and people talk them up but I can barely play with it lol ... at least to the extent of my own abilities it seems very unforgiving, and only sends away one of those flawless and pure EX-feeling shots if you get it square in the center. The EX110's are all rather businesslike and buttoned up on the best of days but they are all extremely comfy and forgiving compared to the 97S!

The graphic with the wood and fiberglass rackets puzzles me since I was sure there was a 66 wood frame but it's not listed there. It stuck in my mind because when I first saw it, I heard emperor palpatine's voice in my head going "execute order that racket"
 
wedge said:
Seems like Kuebler's timeline doesn't make it up to the FX-TP's, the Light version was noted here already but there's also the red/yellow regular FX-TP thermoplastic, and the FX-TP 105. I feel like there was an FX-TP Tour as well? But that could just be a hallucination.
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Do you happen to know how does FX TP play compared with EX110, or Proto FX, EX series ?
 
ongbenghui said:
Do you happen to know how does FX TP play compared with EX110, or Proto FX, EX series ?
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I'm as curious as you. I've been looking for a red/yellow FX-TP in reasonable condition for a really long time and they're just very difficult to find. You can find some beaters on Japanese auction sites but if you're importing from overseas it's a bummer to bring over a racket that's already been thrashed. I get the picture that the only people who really used the TP MP were pretty serious players who beat the rackets into the dust.

The 105's are much easier to find but they're lighter, wider-market variations "for all the ladies out there". But again they don't seem to show up outside of the professional (read: pricey) Japanese refurb shops. And none of these ever go on sale here in the US.

From Yamaha's own literature: "Aimed at intermediate players, the PROTO FX-TP featured Yamaha-unique TP (thermo-plastic) frame material on all surfaces. Vibration is absorbed throughout the racket, giving it a gentle hitting feel, and minimizing the effect on hands and elbows. It was 15 percent lighter than the FX-TP released in 1994, allowing even players who lack power to enjoy playing." I'd be interested to hear from someone who has the frames on whether it does what it promised.

In any case I take Yamaha's TP phase as a tacit acknowledgement on their part that the Protos to that point were just too harsh for a playing public that was starting to realize they didn't have to punish themselves to play tennis lol ... why play with an EX110 when you could play with a Radical Tour? The Proto is like sucking on a hard candy, whereas the Radical is like chewing on a soft caramel ... which would you prefer? I remember when I first got a green/purple EX110, my feeling was like, you and I are gonna be best friends. Then I hit with it and realized, this racket isn't my friend, it's the enemy of my enemy. Fantastic tool but above my pay grade, and the MP version feels like a stiffer Prestige, all the lack of forgiveness with none of the comfort. But what can you do, EX's and FX's are among the best looking rackets ever designed, it's hard to say no to them :love:
 
ongbenghui said:
Just acquired.

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Very, very interesting. I've never seen one in nice shape like that up close. Love it with the dark leather grip, I was sure they came with synthetic grips so perhaps a previous owner upgraded this one. Is this an SL weight frame?

Once you have it strung, please do report back with comparisons to the other EX and FX frames, if you could. In theory -- if Yamaha was serious about absorbing some vibration with this thermoplastic material, that would solve some of the main issues with those earlier frames. Wish these were easier to find, they look cool, and all these EX and FX frames swing so beautifully.
 
wedge said:
Very, very interesting. I've never seen one in nice shape like that up close. Love it with the dark leather grip, I was sure they came with synthetic grips so perhaps a previous owner upgraded this one. Is this an SL weight frame?

Once you have it strung, please do report back with comparisons to the other EX and FX frames, if you could. In theory -- if Yamaha was serious about absorbing some vibration with this thermoplastic material, that would solve some of the main issues with those earlier frames. Wish these were easier to find, they look cool, and all these EX and FX frames swing so beautifully.
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It come with some grip that was disintegrated. I will always fit them with a set of leather grip. Dark color is partly due to mink oil on it during that time of picture.
I strung it with Yonex polytour pro at 55lbs at the moment. Really excited to try them out but the bad weather season (rainy in Singapore) make it hard to play at the moment. Will update on this.

But I played with the EX110, they are generally fine with vibration. I do like a little bit of vibration, then totally muted. Unlike some modern tecnifibre.

Oh yeah, it is a SL3 frame, and the white silicone band is around 1g.
 
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Grafil Injection said:
Seems like the XAM 6 came with optional weighted grommets too, for tailoring the balance / sw:
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You know it's kinda funny Yamaha's preoccupation with all the adjustable side-gubbins ... first you had these add-ons on the XAMs, then the Ceramics series had the ones that you could then slide up and down, and then finally in the alphas they were just stuck on there like vestigial weights, which I'm sure Yamaha promoted as "side protection" or something.

In truth all these gimmicks change the swing feel only minutely, though you gotta love them for trying!! We're never gonna see such a thing again.
 
wedge said:
You know it's kinda funny Yamaha's preoccupation with all the adjustable side-gubbins ... first you had these add-ons on the XAMs, then the Ceramics series had the ones that you could then slide up and down, and then finally in the alphas they were just stuck on there like vestigial weights, which I'm sure Yamaha promoted as "side protection" or something.

In truth all these gimmicks change the swing feel only minutely, though you gotta love them for trying!! We're never gonna see such a thing again.
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Yeah, I think when Wilson got their PWS patented other companies became eager to suggest they had similar, when they would probably have been better just to say 'here's some lead tape'.
 
The original PWS plates on the patented Wilson "Ultra" were tungsten, and added up to more than 0.5 Oz (14.2g) total (4 plates), as stated in Wilson's patent claims. This was a a lot of mass on a sub-14 Oz frame, and quite a bit more than what is typically achieved using lead-taping (a 4" strip of lead tape weighs about 1g). The original tungsten PWS was definitely not a trivial detail! If other vendors wanted to put something there, they could have stayed clear of Wilson's patent by limiting the total weight of the add-on to under 0.5 Oz; which was probably what most of them did. Dunlop even managed to patent a user-adjustable version of this idea using ball bearings many years later.

No idea how much added mass was in the later molded-in-place PWS bumps though.
 
Thread needs bumping because we have another new model to add to the list. And of course it has a wonderfully odd name. It’s the Yamaha EX Ceramic Whisker. (not part of the secret line). Looks like one of the Admic series except the hoop beam is not beveled, just a box beam. Man if only this Japanese seller on the bay had a bit more realistic prices.
 
The ceramic whisker kum's is selling is really really nice, but even for one in nice condition, these are not rare rackets and it shouldn't be priced that high.

He's selling it on the Japanese auction site for a fraction of the US listing:

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The int'l shipping makes it still pretty expensive but if you really want it DM me! I'm not in Japan but I import tons of stuff all the time.
 
Just last month I came across an EOS RZ in a thrift store, and thought it was kind of an odd find. I remembered this thread where you guys were extolling its virtues. I left it there since it was more like one big racket-shaped scrape than an actual tennis racket but I admitted I was curious. It swung through the air pretty substantially for something so light. Seemed nice!
 
Ronin74 said:
Got any EX97? One of my all time favorites, just hit it this morning.
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Which EX97 do you have?

I don't understand why they seem to be so rare, it seems to be all 110's. I suppose it might be that OS frames were the rage when these were sold, but I have to think there were enough people playing with normal players frames back then.

Never hit with an EX97, though I have a Proto EX and an FX-97S that I would imagine are pretty similar. Both are too demanding for me, the 97S moreso than the EX. Honestly the 97S plays kind of like a Prestige with a bit more stiffness and power. Both are fun tho!

I actually didn't know the yellow tour came in a 97 headsize. I bet that's also a very tricky frame to handle. If I come across one I'll let you know and you can share a video of crushing someone with it lol
 
wedge said:
Which EX97 do you have?

I don't understand why they seem to be so rare, it seems to be all 110's. I suppose it might be that OS frames were the rage when these were sold, but I have to think there were enough people playing with normal players frames back then.

Never hit with an EX97, though I have a Proto EX and an FX-97S that I would imagine are pretty similar. Both are too demanding for me, the 97S moreso than the EX. Honestly the 97S plays kind of like a Prestige with a bit more stiffness and power. Both are fun tho!

I actually didn't know the yellow tour came in a 97 headsize. I bet that's also a very tricky frame to handle. If I come across one I'll let you know and you can share a video of crushing someone with it lol
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I think the 110 was the bigger seller as that’s what Sabatini endorsed. But yeah I really want that tour EX97, the yellow with blue/red highlights. There was a NOS one on the bay about a year ago but I wasn’t going to spend over $200USD to get it.
 
Was just browsing the Japanese sites for one, and came across this catalog that had the 110 in it

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Translated:

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Which is pretty much what the Yamaha press releases at the time said. Although I was interested to learn that boldness will not be defeated.

The bottom part gives us I think a little bit of new info:

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I find it super interesting that you could get a USL1, made to order. Imagine that!

The part on the right that Google couldn't translate says that the target player is TOPPU. I bet lol :laughing:
 
wedge said:
I find it super interesting that you could get a USL1, made to order. Imagine that!

The part on the right that Google couldn't translate says that the target player is TOPPU. I bet lol :laughing:
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USL is the ligher ones. I used to have a USL3 which is around 337g (including string and grip), but really prefer to play with the SL3 which is around 360g
 
wedge said:
Which EX97 do you have?

I don't understand why they seem to be so rare, it seems to be all 110's. I suppose it might be that OS frames were the rage when these were sold, but I have to think there were enough people playing with normal players frames back then.

Never hit with an EX97, though I have a Proto EX and an FX-97S that I would imagine are pretty similar. Both are too demanding for me, the 97S moreso than the EX. Honestly the 97S plays kind of like a Prestige with a bit more stiffness and power. Both are fun tho!

I actually didn't know the yellow tour came in a 97 headsize. I bet that's also a very tricky frame to handle. If I come across one I'll let you know and you can share a video of crushing someone with it lol
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I've got 2 of the EX97 , yellow, blue and coral. I was just playing them again over the last 2 weeks. Really one of my all time favorites. They sit at about 335g strung with overgrip. Would love to track down a couple more
 
I saw a pair of Secret EX97 on the bay for $250, white, green, red, but I dint know if these play the same so I've passed on them so far.
 
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