Effectiveness of Vibration Dampeners

[prattle128]

I have been considering using a vibration dampener for a while, and whilst I notice that some pros use them, and some dont, i was curious what you guys had to say about them, since i really have no clue about their effectiveness or anything...

thanks for any input.

p.s. i purchased this vibe dampener when i was at *********, since it was just $3, so perhaps any input on that dampener as well would be nice, or at least to what look for in a vibration dampener if they are even worth it.

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpageACGAMMA-NOSHOCK.html

 

[edberger]

Effectiveness depends on what you are using them for. Vibration dampeners placed on strings only quiet the strings. They do next to nothing to reduce the shock from the ball impact. Personally, I use a rubber band because it does the same job as a dampener (i.e. muffles the "ping" sound) but is light enough not to affect the balance of the racquet, which some dampeners may do if large enough. Hope that helps.

 

[prattle128]

ah ok, thank you very much!

 

[Caloi]

I just found 'two packs' of chili peppers, four leaf clovers and US Open dampeners for $.50 this weekend at Wally World. Couldn't pass them up even though I too use rubber bands.

 

[Nanshiki]

I think I'm personally going to go back to rubber bands because I'm tired of my 'real' dampers flying off every 30 shots, even though they do work better for sound damping.

 

[MAX PLY]

Personally use them for the sound--I like the solid non-pingy sound produced when a dampener is on the strings. I use a Sampras-type dampener and it never flies off.

 

[Nanshiki]

Then consider yourself lucky. Either that or you aren't swinging very fast...

 

[COPEY]

I think I'm personally going to go back to rubber bands because I'm tired of my 'real' dampers flying off every 30 shots, even though they do work better for sound damping.

Try hitting the ball in the center of the strings instead of the lower half of the racquet lol. Seriously, if you're striking the ball in the center of the strings and you dampener is flying off, you either need a different type of dampener or a new string job.

 

[Nanshiki]

I'm not even trying to claim that I hit the ball in the center every time. But I still have a problem with the damper coming lose and eventually flying off.

 

[Swissv2]

Even the pros have their dampeners fly off. Unless you guys call Nadal a "noob"

 

[COPEY]

Even the pros have their dampeners fly off. Unless you guys call Nadal a "noob"

Understand, however his complaint was "...flying off every 30 shots..."

Nanshiki, just out of curiosity, what kind of dampener were you using?

 

[Haztrick]

I use it for the same reason that others have said, because I can't stand the "ping" sound. I spent $4AUD on a very nice little lightning bolt dampener, only to find a fluro yellow "target" dampener sitting near the net on one of the courts I was playing at. It looks great on my APDC and I have it sitting very low. It has never flown off.

 

[MAX PLY]

Then consider yourself lucky. Either that or you aren't swinging very fast...

LOL. I suspect my rankings support my swing speed. I just happen to hit virtually every ball in the sweet spot. Comes from learning to play with wood racquets in the dark ages. Having 18 mains helps. A severely miss-hit will knock it out but that's about it.

 

[shogun90]

I found that the addition of a vibration damper (rubber grommet from Lowe's) made a big difference in the vibration I felt in my Head Microgel Extreme Pro with Blue Gear 1.28/Cyberflash 1.25 @ #57. With other racquets it wasn't such a pronounced difference but it made a big difference with the Extreme Pro.

 

[OliverSimon]

I found that the addition of a vibration damper (rubber grommet from Lowe's) made a big difference in the vibration I felt in my Head Microgel Extreme Pro with Blue Gear 1.28/Cyberflash 1.25 @ #57. With other racquets it wasn't such a pronounced difference but it made a big difference with the Extreme Pro.

Hey shogun in what section of home depot or lowes do you find these rubber grommets that are able to fit in your tennis racquet? I am very interested to try one.

 

[OliverSimon]

Even the pros have their dampeners fly off. Unless you guys call Nadal a "noob"

Ya haha ive seen nadals fly off a couple times..

 

[COPEY]

I found that the addition of a vibration damper (rubber grommet from Lowe's) made a big difference in the vibration I felt in my Head Microgel Extreme Pro with Blue Gear 1.28/Cyberflash 1.25 @ #57. With other racquets it wasn't such a pronounced difference but it made a big difference with the Extreme Pro.

And therein lies the confusion with some players (rec level, that is) and vibration dampeners. You don't "feel" any vibration without it; you "hear" it. A dampener, regardless of type, is incapable of doing anything more than muffling high frequency vibration you hear in the strings.

 

[shogun90]

Hey shogun in what section of home depot or lowes do you find these rubber grommets that are able to fit in your tennis racquet? I am very interested to try one.

I found them in the "Hardware" section, the area where they have all the nuts, bolts, screws, washers, etc. They were in one of the little drawers, look for the rubber grommets, there were 2 sizes. The smaller size had 2 in a pack whereas the larger one had just 1. They were under $2/pack. The smaller size fit my Volkl Catapult V10 V-Engine because the 2 center strings were fairly close. The larger one fit the Head Microgel Extreme Pro nicely.

Good luck, hope it works for you.

 

[Nickk]

for the record, you cannot dampen vibration or shock since vibration and shock cannot get wet. You can however damp it.

 

[thetaxman]

Personally use them for the sound--I like the solid non-pingy sound produced when a dampener is on the strings. I use a Sampras-type dampener and it never flies off.

Yes, that one stays on all the time. The yonex ones are the most notorious for falling off unannounced.

 

[COPEY]

for the record, you cannot dampen vibration or shock since vibration and shock cannot get wet. You can however damp it.

Hehe always a psuedo-intellectual around trying to impress people.

For the record...
–verb (used with object) 1.to make damp; moisten: to dampen a sponge. 2.to dull or deaden; depress: to dampen one's spirits.

 

[Mikey Fresh]

I use one to get rid of that sound that it makes when the ball is hit

 

[MAX PLY]

Hehe always a psuedo-intellectual around trying to impress people.

For the record...
–verb (used with object) 1.to make damp; moisten: to dampen a sponge. 2.to dull or deaden; depress: to dampen one's spirits.

and depending on your dictionary and directly on point, "to diminish progressively in vibration or oscillation" (Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition)

. . . for the record

 

[COPEY]

Oh hey, I'm with ya, Max - it's Nickk that may need more convincing.

 

[Nanshiki]

The verb is dampen...but the noun is damper.

FWIW, "every 30 shots" is an exaggeration but it tends to come off a few times every two hours or so, and is very annoying.

I was using the Babolat damper (same type Nadal uses...). I've also seen it fly out on him. The problem goes away if you just tape it on though...

 

[MAX PLY]

Either "damper" or "dampener" are acceptable. The dictionary (same as my previous source) recognizes both as nouns. (damp·en·er; noun). Since most of the manufactures call their respective devices "dampeners" I think common usage trumps here (I am afraid I have now exhausted all my caring with respect to this issue).

As for flying off, I have not had a problem with my Sampras-dampener/damper (it may have come off a time or two on a severe miss hit). I used to have problems with the little Wilson "W". I suspect the perpensity to fly off is related to dampener/damper design and individual string pattern.

 

[Jaewonnie]

poor quality dampeners reduce feel and power in some cases. Some create even more vibration....

 

[Nanshiki]

Either "damper" or "dampener" are acceptable. The dictionary (same as my previous source) recognizes both as nouns. (damp·en·er; noun). Since most of the manufactures call their respective devices "dampeners" I think common usage trumps here (I am afraid I have now exhausted all my caring with respect to this issue).

As for flying off, I have not had a problem with my Sampras-dampener/damper (it may have come off a time or two on a severe miss hit). I used to have problems with the little Wilson "W". I suspect the perpensity to fly off is related to dampener/damper design and individual string pattern.

Except that damper (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/damper) is the only one that actually has it's own entry, and is the word used by every industry out of the tennis industry (who use the wrong word). Ie, "put a damper on things, or to "replace the car's rear dampers." But you never hear someone say "put a dampener" or anything except a tennis racquet (because tennis players are generally clueless about technology...that's why we believe textured strings and racquets with microchips actually work).

 

[MAX PLY]

Except that damper (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/damper) is the only one that actually has it's own entry, and is the word used by every industry out of the tennis industry (who use the wrong word). Ie, "put a damper on things, or to "replace the car's rear dampers." But you never hear someone say "put a dampener" or anything except a tennis racquet (because tennis players are generally clueless about technology...that's why we believe textured strings and racquets with microchips actually work).

While in part true, none of what you put forward is a rebuttal. Plenty of words, most adverbs for instance, do not have individual entries--they are, nonetheless, words. While "dampener" may not be the most common use in other contexts, it is not incorrect. It remains a word, it remains a noun, and the word is used correctly irrespective of whether a car has "dampers" or not (actually a piano would have been a better example of your argument since a piano's "dampers" are indeed the felted blocks used to stop the vibration of a piano string--while better, it also fails for the same reason--the existence of "damper" does not refute the existence of "dampener"). The combination strawman/ad hominem with respect to "clueless" tennis players and technology is at best a red herring and is really simply irrelevant and nonresponsive to the question at hand. (Caring Reserves now exhausted).

 

[Tennis_Maniac]

All dampeners are the same. No matter what the package says, they are the same. Plus they don't do anything, so it is not worth buying one. I personally don't play with one because I like the feel of my strings without one.

 

[Redflea]

Get a gamma worm dampener...will never fall off.

And those of you arguing over nouns, verbs, etc. Get a life.

 

[COPEY]

poor quality dampeners reduce feel and power in some cases. Some create even more vibration....

I'd lay money that particular phenomenon only occurs on your racquet lol.

 

[Nanshiki]

While in part true, none of what you put forward is a rebuttal. Plenty of words, most adverbs for instance, do not have individual entries--they are, nonetheless, words. While "dampener" may not be the most common use in other contexts, it is not incorrect. It remains a word, it remains a noun, and the word is used correctly irrespective of whether a car has "dampers" or not (actually a piano would have been a better example of your argument since a piano's "dampers" are indeed the felted blocks used to stop the vibration of a piano string--while better, it also fails for the same reason--the existence of "damper" does not refute the existence of "dampener"). The combination strawman/ad hominem with respect to "clueless" tennis players and technology is at best a red herring and is really simply irrelevant and nonresponsive to the question at hand. (Caring Reserves now exhausted).

Your argument is essentially "just because the correct word IS in the dictionary and the wrong word ISN'T doesn't mean I can't use the wrong word anyway," which makes about as much sense as saying "just because the word 'carburetor' IS in the dictionary doesn't mean I CAN'T call it a 'gas disperserator' instead."

It's called a damper. Dampener is a term that tennis players made up out of ignorance.

 

[Nanshiki]

All dampeners are the same. No matter what the package says, they are the same. Plus they don't do anything.

They remove the ping sound from the racquet. That's it. But that's all I want them to do... I hate the sound.

 

[prattle128]

ok, well thanks for the input on the dampeners/dampers or whatever you want to call them. i think ive decided that i probably wont use one, since i dont find the sound annoying at all, and it seems that the dampeners/dampers could just get in the way if i hit a real crappy shot, so not really worth it i suppose.

 

[prattle128]

crappy as in not in the center of the string bed/sweet spot

 

[MAX PLY]

Your argument is essentially "just because the correct word IS in the dictionary and the wrong word ISN'T doesn't mean I can't use the wrong word anyway," which makes about as much sense as saying "just because the word 'carburetor' IS in the dictionary doesn't mean I CAN'T call it a 'gas disperserator' instead."

It's called a damper. Dampener is a term that tennis players made up out of ignorance.

Nope--I do not admit it is the wrong word (and to refute the assumption in your argument, "dampener" (unlike "dipserserator"--see below) is in the dictionary as an alternative noun form of "dampen" (think of it like a gerund, but in reverse--i.e., the verb forms of nouns are often listed as alternative forms of the word in question yet not given separate listings)), simply not the most common usage (at least in non-tennis situations) and thus it is not "made up". You either misunderstand or misstate my contention and again use the strawman/ad hominem argument with no basis for the assertion and to irrelevant effect. I would also note that I could not find a listing or an alternative form indicating the existence of the word "disperserator" in the dictionary I have handy (MW's Collegiate)--but I will take your "word" for it (and might even give you credit for it in Scrabble). Perhaps that was your point -- you can use a word not in the dictionary--if so, it is non-responsive, as "dampener" is indeed in the dictionary as a noun form of dampen and as used, conveys the same meaning as "damper"--so it should not otherwise be disqualified from use.

Irrespective of its origins, manufacturers, marketers have managed to make "dampener" a real enough term to name their product, mercilessly taking advantage of ignorant tennis players; charging fifty cents more for a dampener than they could have for a damper (poor saps!). Now, seriously, this is the last I have to say on this amusing but quite insignificant detour from this thread.

Thus, I will return us back to our regular programming and agree that all the little vibration "thingies" do is change the sound of the impact of the ball to the strings, much to my personal joy. We do agree on that point.