Full poly stringjob, instant notching

[Issle]

Hi. I'm using a Yonex Ezone DR98 with Yonex Poly Tour Pro 1.25 (21/20kg) and I'm in this part of a recreational tennis player's journely where he's always tampering with his strings. I was at the verge of buying a Gamma X-2 for that reason, but maybe I'll manage to avoid this.

The facts:

So anyway, This is my racquet of choice and string of choice currently. I string to two differnt stringers, one uses a dropweight the other uses an electronic machine. Both with fixed clamps. What I notice on both stringjobs is that both the mains and the crosses, when I receive the racquet are notched. Not so much that they can't move around, but clearly they can't move easily. This is especially right close to the sweetspot area where notching is present. The area close to the frame border has no nothing and the strings can slide.

Fast forward 3-4 hours of play, heavy notching on the string is present and the strings are practically locked to the point where pushing them with the fingers is not possible even if you excert a lot of strength.

Facts or maybe my imagination:

After 3-4 hours of play, I can hit no kick serves. The ball does not seem to have the pocketing feeling when hitting the racket and it feels the racquet is just sliding when I try to brush up. It results on kick serves going always out. Then I decided to take the 2nd racquet from my bag which had no play-hours on it. And voila, I could curve the ball. The ball felt it would stick on the stringbed and take spit from the brushing motion. Same happened with groundstrokes but was not so much noticeable. Also it feels that after 3-4 hours the stringbed is like a stonebat hitting on rock balls.

I don't know if I'm paranoid, but is this the right string behaviour and life expectancy ? Do strings always come out of the machine notched ? The racquet feels ok the first 3-4 hours and I can work magic on the court even if notching is present from before even playing. But after 3-4 hours it becomes unplayable. It takes a toll having to restring every two games especially when you play every single day.

 

[ba4x]

I use a full bed of Yonex PTP 1.20 in a (somewhat open) 18x20, I go mid to high 50s for tension. They lock up pretty fast. Honestly this is blasphemous to many poly players but I arrived here after experimentation and like it. Any lower in the tension, the strings will move more, and the launch angle creeps up and balls fly on me. I like the predictable locked in string bed. This is probably because I have a flatter game, like my shots to stay in without worrying about accidental depth, and I’m coming from years of playing as a kid with locked up syn gut which got changed once a year. It works for me. One day I will up the thickness and go lower in tension. I expect that to involve more launch angle but more spin to tame it. Just my experience.


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[Issle]

So it seems it's not just me that sees this happening. The thing though is that I really feel the playability changing for the worst after that time-frame. Would it work better if I put a 1.30 YPTP on mains and 1.20 YPTP on crosses ? I would assume since the crossing surface is smaller on the cross strings due to the gauge, they will not notch and instead the mains will take the notching (which is fine since I want the crosses healthy so as the mains can slide on them). Is this hypothesis correct or am I drawing wrong conclusions here ?

 

[ba4x]

I think lock up and notching certainly have to do with string material, but if that’s held constant, the tension in the cross is the biggest factor. A couple pounds higher can lock up a stringbed, a few less will open it up.


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[Issle]

Regarding the tension difference between mains and crosses I don't know what to believe. I've read somewhere that JayCee suggests having crosses at higher tension than the mains (about 4 lbs) while others suggest crosses to be on less tension than mains. Which one affects nothing levels more ?

 

[Louis33]

If your stringbed is locking up that quick you need to lower tension on the crosses.

 

[Issle]

Alright. Going even lower on crosses, it would make for a bigger diferential between crosses and mains since I"m already at 21/20 kg. That would mean I'd have to go to say 21/19 kg ?

 

[Louis33]

Regarding the tension difference between mains and crosses I don't know what to believe. I've read somewhere that JayCee suggests having crosses at higher tension than the mains (about 4 lbs) while others suggest crosses to be on less tension than mains. Which one affects nothing levels more ?

I could be wrong but I believe this was for poly mains with something like synthetic gut in the crosses. Stringing the poly mains lower because the the string is stiffer. I have tried this and don't care for it. Feels good the first couple hours then the stringbed locks up. I think it's all individual in what we like as players.

 

[MathieuR]

You can avoid (delay) a locked bed with a hybrid.
Use your favorite string in the mains, and a slick harder poly in the crosses.
(eg I use Kirschbaum max.power mains, a co-poly, and supersmash in the crosses)
The mains will notch, but not the crosses.

 

[amoeba]

It could also be because the stringer is not pulling the crosses through properly - i.e. pulling them through the mains directly, causing friction/heat/notching. The correct technique is to pull the crosses in a way to not cause this, but your standard sports shop stringer wont do this.

 

[Issle]

You mean by fanning them towards the throat of the racquet when pulling and let them gradually slip towards the head ? I would assume all stringers do this ? No ?

Anyway I decided to pair the YPTP 1.25 mains with Red Code Wax 1.25 in the crosses. Based on the string database, the strings seem similar and only the stifness changes. I hope the stiffer cross copoly will not notch easily.

 

[LOBALOT]

I am a fan of softer poly as I just cut them out when they die and restring. Volkl Cyclone Tour plays very nicely for an old guy like me. Polyfibre TCS is so so.

A bit ago, after seeing all the posts about a shaped main poly with a round cross poly I decided to mess around and restring a racquet with Volkl Cyclone Tour mains and Polyfibre TCS crosses. I was careful to fan the cross strings when installing.

I was expecting a comfortable / spin friendly end result and was very surprised at what a horrible result it produced.

It played much firmer than either string by itself as the crosses immediately notched and the string bed locked up due to the soft Polyfibre. I share others thoughts that maybe the cross string in this thread is too soft leading to the same end result.

 

[amoeba]

You mean by fanning them towards the throat of the racquet when pulling and let them gradually slip towards the head ? I would assume all stringers do this ? No ?

Yes. I think all good stringers do this, do you know if your stringer is good?

If it is already notched before you even play with it = bad stringer.

 

[Kimiko Yuuki]

I noticed PT Pro is very soft poly and is why I switched to PT Fire. It's a bit harder but tension losses are a lot lower, dramatically lower with 1.30mm, and it's extremely slippery so even a bad stringer wont be able to notch it. [emoji1]

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[pnw_hardcourt]

I've found that decreasing the cross tension helps keep the strings moving longer. You have 1kg difference but I'd try more to see if it helps. Otherwise it might just be one of those strings that notches too easily.

 

[TripleFault88]

Strings should not be notched when you receive the racket from the stringer.
Find a better stringer if you haven't already

 

[ba4x]

What's with everyone talking about a "bad stringer" like it's some magical answer to Issle's post? Do you think the stringer was in a bad mood and his bad jujus made it into the racket? This is a simple equation of string material, tension, stringbed density, etc. Chalking it up to a bad stringer doesn't help... the original poster already mentioned using TWO stringers and seeing the same problem. If the stringer isn't fanning the cross properly, it's possible the mains will have some scoring, but that won't account for the notching in the crosses we're talking about here.

If strings are notching too early, then tensions are too high, especially in the cross string. End of story. You can loosen the cross tension and see how it goes, but I guarantee the racket will play differently (more pop and launch angle). If you like that specific string and tension, maybe the notching and lifespan is something you have to live with. Or you could throw up your hands and blame the stringer, I guess...

 

[TripleFault88]

Im not disagreeing that tension should be lowered. My main point is that if a stringer is completing a string job and doesn't notice the notching or assumes that the notching is acceptable then that is not a good quality stringer. Im suggesting to find a better quality stringer who could then lower the tension in the crosses or come up with a better solution and not just hand back a poor quality string job.

 

[esgee48]

After reading all this, which strings are notching? I assume they are the mains, but posters are talking as if both mains and crosses are notching. I do not believe comments about crosses notching. The EZ DR 98 and 17 Ga poly may not be compatible with your spin game; not at 46/44 #. I would switch to a 16 Ga and see if this lasts longer before the mains start to lock up. IME, 17 Ga is only for tight string patterns like 18x20. If you change to 16 Ga [1.30 mm], start with the same ref tension. I suspect you will end up at 55/53#.

If both strings leave marks on the mains when the racquet is finished, I would also suspect the string is too fragile. That could also be why you can only get 4 hours of playable life out of the 17 Ga. The other factoid missing is whether the mains are notched or the polyester is DEAD. If if loses too much tension, it will no longer snap back either.

 

[travlerajm]

I notice that poly crosses often dent quickly, sometimes before playing with it. Using a softer material in the main will help. As will increasing main tension while lowering cross tension. Better yet, find a different material than poly for your crosses. There are superior options that will not go dead on you like poly does.

 

[LOBALOT]

Strings should not be notched when you receive the racket from the stringer.
Find a better stringer if you haven't already

I agree with that unless your stringer has a side gig demoing racquets!!!!

There is no way a racquet should come back with notched string.

 

[amoeba]

What's with everyone talking about a "bad stringer" like it's some magical answer to Issle's post? Do you think the stringer was in a bad mood and his bad jujus made it into the racket? This is a simple equation of string material, tension, stringbed density, etc. Chalking it up to a bad stringer doesn't help... the original poster already mentioned using TWO stringers and seeing the same problem. If the stringer isn't fanning the cross properly, it's possible the mains will have some scoring, but that won't account for the notching in the crosses we're talking about here.

If strings are notching too early, then tensions are too high, especially in the cross string. End of story. You can loosen the cross tension and see how it goes, but I guarantee the racket will play differently (more pop and launch angle). If you like that specific string and tension, maybe the notching and lifespan is something you have to live with. Or you could throw up your hands and blame the stringer, I guess...

Because if it came back from the stringer notched, the stringer must have caused the notching through bad technique.

 

[LOBALOT]

What's with everyone talking about a "bad stringer" like it's some magical answer to Issle's post? Do you think the stringer was in a bad mood and his bad jujus made it into the racket? This is a simple equation of string material, tension, stringbed density, etc. Chalking it up to a bad stringer doesn't help... the original poster already mentioned using TWO stringers and seeing the same problem. If the stringer isn't fanning the cross properly, it's possible the mains will have some scoring, but that won't account for the notching in the crosses we're talking about here.

If strings are notching too early, then tensions are too high, especially in the cross string. End of story. You can loosen the cross tension and see how it goes, but I guarantee the racket will play differently (more pop and launch angle). If you like that specific string and tension, maybe the notching and lifespan is something you have to live with. Or you could throw up your hands and blame the stringer, I guess...

I agree with Amoeba! If the stringer is not fanning the crosses when weaving the string then the mains will be notched This will especially be the case with softer string.

This is why we are saying it was poor string job. You should never get a racquet back from the stringer with notched string and in the initial post, Issle reports that the racquets come back from the stringer notched.

 

[ElMagoElGato]

It doesn’t sound like a problem with the stringers because notching occurs on crosses and it further develops during play. OP can test it by stringing it himself. It’ll be a good idea anyway because he needs to restring quite often.

 

[LOBALOT]

It doesn’t sound like a problem with the stringers because notching occurs on crosses and it further develops during play. OP can test it by stringing it himself. It’ll be a good idea anyway because he needs to restring quite often.

So how would you explain notched string on unused racquets coming from the stringer as he reports?

Are you saying you are good in receiving notched string on your racquets you get back from your stringer?

Moreover, notching should never occur on the crosses from the stringer that makes no sense unless they are stringing the crosses first and sawing the crosses with the mains when weaving the mains. That would be an interesting stringing technique.

Let me guess you string Issle's racquets, correct?

 

[ElMagoElGato]

One easy thing to do is that the OP watch the stringers. Is it not possible? The OP can report it if they're doing strange things. If not, forget about accusing the guys with imagination.

 

[alexmcnab]

ignore, wrong thread