Full bed syn gut - first time experience!

pico

pico

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I have always used full poly or a hybrid of poly/multi or poly/syn gut now and then. So I decided to try a full bed if syn gut for the FIRST TIME in 10 years of playing tennis. I strung Babolat syn gut 1.25mm at 52lbs in my Angell TC97 18 x 20. I enjoyed it! It felt not too far off from a full poly setup. Prob not as firm but spin was great and comparable. One thing that surprised me was how it still felt low-powered. I was expecting to hit long more but not so. I would try 49lbs next time. I would like to hear from users of full syn gut. What syn gut and tensions have you settled on? How would a full bed of multi compare?
 
Congrats! As someone who grew up on synthetic, let me say the following. Syn gut feels great. It will encourage you to swing out and you will get great spin. The other thing about synthetic is that it will break - which is a good thing. It takes the abuse rather than your arm. Poly doesn’t break, it transfers the abuse to your arm. Synthetic plays very similar across brands which is also a good thing and it’s inexpensive so you can retiring often.
You can also try a hybrid with synthetic in the mains & a thin poly in the crosses. I’ve had great results with that.
 
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you would like a full bed of multi
should have a bit more comfort and power.
i am experimenting now and discovering that there are a lot more multi options than decades ago.

also a lot of people like OGSM for syn gut
 
pico said:
I have always used full poly or a hybrid of poly/multi or poly/syn gut now and then. So I decided to try a full bed if syn gut for the FIRST TIME in 10 years of playing tennis. I strung Babolat syn gut 1.25mm at 52lbs in my Angell TC97 18 x 20. I enjoyed it! It felt not too far off from a full poly setup. Prob not as firm but spin was great and comparable. One thing that surprised me was how it still felt low-powered. I was expecting to hit long more but not so. I would try 49lbs next time. I would like to hear from users of full syn gut. What syn gut and tensions have you settled on? How would a full bed of multi compare?
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Syn-guts and small headed 18x20s are quite enjoyable and consistent. But I do find that once I take the tension to a place I like in those 95-97s the sweet spot shrinks and launch angle drops quite a bit - especially on wristy pickups & short crosses. Heavy balls are effected the most... But again if the RHS is not there it really doesnt matter. Personally when I was using 18x20s I always had 2 x poly and 1 x syngut racket in the bag. Now that I am back to 16x19s I cant tolerate syngut as the consistency of synguts in 18x20 is gone and strings are heavily out of place as well (instead of just slightly in 18x20s) and quickish breakage. If you are someone who actually has the strokes to use poly properly then the syn-guts will break quickly as well.
 
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cant do fb of poly and can "just" get away with poly cross hybrid, so my long term option is fb of Syn Gut or Multi.
over the years, i have settled with Angell Halo Multi (used to be called Halo 3) on various racquets.
in the last few months i have dabbed into Wilson Syn Gut Power 16 - it felt more "sticky" and alittle firmer.
in the end, have gone back to Halo multi - currently back with a pair of 2021 VCore100 at 56/56 w/ fb or black Halo multi. (i have them in Blue/Red/Neon/Black, maybe Paul will release other colours in the future... lol)
 
esm said:
cant do fb of poly and can "just" get away with poly cross hybrid, so my long term option is fb of Syn Gut or Multi.
over the years, i have settled with Angell Halo Multi (used to be called Halo 3) on various racquets.
in the last few months i have dabbed into Wilson Syn Gut Power 16 - it felt more "sticky" and alittle firmer.
in the end, have gone back to Halo multi - currently back with a pair of 2021 VCore100 at 56/56 w/ fb or black Halo multi. (i have them in Blue/Red/Neon/Black, maybe Paul will release other colours in the future... lol)
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Which color halo multi is slickest? To use as cross so being firmer side also helps
 
For those who are thinking of going full-bed syn gut and want the longest-lasting snapback possible, try Prince Lightning Pro (very likely it's whitelabeled Gosen AK Pro, non-CX, as the construction is almost identical). With the two PET ribbon wraps, technically it's a "syn-gut-ester" but it's such a small percentage of poly, you'll never know it's there. Plays almost as soft as KBaum, but a hair more crisp and firm at contact, while still being very arm-friendly. It also resists locking up for at least a good few/several hours. I know @Brando, @Winners or Errors and others are on board. Also makes a great main or cross in a hybrid with a slick poly.
 
Tried full bed of multi today in my CX200+. GoldenSet Velvet 16g in mains and Multifeel 16g in crosses at 52lbs. My kick serve has never kicked as much as it did today. I am shocked at the spin generation!
 
Multifeel, especially Black, as a cross can allow for wicked snap, provided the main slides well enough against it. Sounds like a nice combo with Velvet mains. You don't hear a lot about Golden Set on TT. Under-the-radar string brand for sure.
 
synthetic gut is my default string these days (specifically ytex sintex). before the injuries i was stringing a full bed of it in a blade 104 at 58 lbs. after the injuries i've been stringing a full bed of it in a head gravity s at 47 lbs. the durability, playability and comfort are all pretty good. i personally think synthetic gut in general is criminally under-loved.
 
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pico said:
I would have thought that all racquets worked alright with syn gut/multi/nat gut?
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No of course not. Some racquets are designed for the modern game. When I switched to an 18/20 in 2021 my stringer said that we could maybe experiment with a synthetic/poly hybrid. Too unpredictable in a frame designed to take advantage of poly snap back
 
pico said:
I have always used full poly or a hybrid of poly/multi or poly/syn gut now and then. So I decided to try a full bed if syn gut for the FIRST TIME in 10 years of playing tennis. I strung Babolat syn gut 1.25mm at 52lbs in my Angell TC97 18 x 20. I enjoyed it! It felt not too far off from a full poly setup. Prob not as firm but spin was great and comparable. One thing that surprised me was how it still felt low-powered. I was expecting to hit long more but not so. I would try 49lbs next time. I would like to hear from users of full syn gut. What syn gut and tensions have you settled on? How would a full bed of multi compare?
Click to expand...
as far as a full multi bed, i had another gravity s frame strung with a full bed of multi (ytex microfiber-x) which is a pretty soft multi. those it was strung a couple of pounds tighter than the syn gut, the full multi string bed felt "softer" and more forgiving. the durability of the syn gut was better. i had a third gravity s frame with a multi hybrid string job (microfiber-x mains, ytex touch crosses). even though this string bed felt a bit more lively than a full bed of syn gut, there wasn't much difference. compared to other multis i've hit with in the past (wilson sensation control comes to mind immediately), i would rather have a full bed of syn gut.
 
Had a good test today. Played a hard-hitting 4.0 guy. I def felt my setup was overpowered. I couldnt keep first serves in without conscious spin apllication. Lost 6-4. I think i will try two options now.
1) stringing tighter
2) poly in cross
 
pico said:
Multi main too?
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Absolutely.

And Wasabi-X is nuclear as a hybrid cross. The permanent slickness that will keep many a main snapping back; the controlled pop that reigns in the would-be-launchyness, but doesn't kill the whole point of having the non-poly main to begin with. Just a supreme cross.
 
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Trip said:
Absolutely.

And Wasabi-X is nuclear as a hybrid cross. The permanent slickness that will keep many a main snapping back, nearly permanently; the controlled pop that reigns in the would-be-launchyness, but doesn't kill the whole point of having the non-poly main to begin with. Just a supreme cross.
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Have you used HyperG Round, Trip? Just wondering how they compare?
 
I haven't used HGR, no. I'm kind of luke-warm on Hyper-G in general, but I've heard HGR is more well-balanced and more slick, so I probably should get around to trying it at some point.
 
Trip said:
I haven't used HGR, no. I'm kind of luke-warm on Hyper-G in general, but I've heard HGR is more well-balanced and more slick, so I probably should get around to trying it at some point.
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I see Wasabi-X is only available in 1.23. I should still give it a go. I do have HGR on me right now.
 
I stick in some version of solid core syn gut which is softer than most any poly to hybrid with a shaped a poly in the winter then I usually go full poly in the summer. Syn gut is excellent string and pocketing is only bested by multi-core and natural gut. I string my cx 200 tour 18x20 at 54 lbs full syn gut in summer temps and blade 18x20 at 58 lbs full syn gut. I string lower in cooler temps and when I hybrid with poly.
 
pico said:
Had a good test today. Played a hard-hitting 4.0 guy. I def felt my setup was overpowered. I couldnt keep first serves in without conscious spin apllication. Lost 6-4. I think i will try two options now.
1) stringing tighter
2) poly in cross
Click to expand...
Update on this. I changed the grip on my racquet to a leather grip. This seemed to tame the power of this full-multi setup. Maybe it slowed down my swing or the RW was more in my spec (I dunno @Trip?). The string bed felt more "dampened". It allowed me to hit out a bit more with confidence especially on serve returns.
 
pico said:
Update on this. I changed the grip on my racquet to a leather grip. This seemed to tame the power of this full-multi setup. Maybe it slowed down my swing or the RW was more in my spec (I dunno @Trip?). The string bed felt more "dampened". It allowed me to hit out a bit more with confidence especially on serve returns.
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Maybe moving the BP to make it more HL had something to do with it.
 
For a long time, when i got back into tennis about 15 years ago.....all i had was a reel of Gosen OGSM 17.

I was happy as a clam.

Grew up on nylon/syngut in the 70/80s. I still won't PLAY poly, but a thin slick one works for me as a cross for NG (current setup).
 
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