Genesis Black Magic

[rodrigoamaral]

I see TW finally has this amazing poly: https://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Genesis_Black_Magic_123_String/descpageACGEN-BM123S.html

I used to use this string for many years and remember it was a GREAT and soft poly and very popular too... Thinking about going back to it since it's a great bang for the buck.. For those that use Black Magic, what gauge and tension are you using?

I saw the RSI report from a while back and it doesnt really state what the optimal tension is for it as I have enjoyed lower tensions with many of the stiffer poly's out there but not sure what I should try now:
http://www.tennisindustrymag.com/articles/2011/08/15_playtest_genesis_black_magi.html

 

[Big Bagel]

Last time I used it in the 17 gauge at 48 pounds. Very solid string, great bang for your buck, although I wouldn't say it was a soft poly. Softer than traditional poly, but not soft compared to what you can get today.

 

[Chace]

Awesome! Good to see TW carrying black magic. It’s a good all around poly.

 

[darklore009]

I used to string my high school tennis team with it as my coach was promoting the hell out of it. Black Magic is in the middle of the road where it doesnt have something to good/bad about it. However, when he switched to Twisted Razer, I hated stringing it as it it goes out straight instead of staying in a circle. Also, the string tends to chew through the cross gromments whenever I pull it through the mains. End up taking much more time stringing than I normally would.

 

[tennistomcat]

I picked up a used 2015 Blade 16X19 strung with black magic 16. The racket felt awesome and solid - great pop and control. My only gripes was that it didn't give crazy/easy spin & it felt a harsh on full swing flat shots in the sweet spot - kind of like making a solid hit with an aluminum bat - wasn't sure if it was the racket or strings.
The string had several hours of hitting on it previously. I thought the occasional harshness on hard struck shots may be due to that it might be going dead but was unsure since I had no clue what it felt like fresh. It still played solid & I used it for the next 5 months.
With this string, my blade felt like a more controlled pure aero (1st edition) - solid feel on nearly every shot on contact but less spin & pop on shots - but much more control on where my shots would land. I still had no trouble flattening out my shots for mid-court putaways though - there was ample power in reserve when I wanted to take offense.

Over the Christmas break, I decided to cut it out & string it up with Luxilon Alu soft which had similar TWU testing attributes at the same tension of 50 lbs hoping to get better results. It's been a long time since I've used luxilon due to the costs.
In doing this, I lost all the great things I liked about hitting with my racket.
My shots were all landing short & sitting up. When I got mid-court floaters, I had trouble hitting winners. I had problems getting depth & penetration on my shots - my racket felt anemic. I occasionally switched to my tweener racket in my bag to avoid getting pushed around.

I recently had my racket restrung with Genesis black magic 17 @ 48 lbs & my blade has come to life again. I didn't know how this string would feel on a fresh job but it feels mostly the same. It has a perfect blend of good power and great control that I have rarely seen in a poly. It is surprisingly powerful for a poly - the difference was like night & day.
The spin is good - not exceptional but not lacking. I feel I get better feel & spin with the 17 gauge vs the 16 and don't notice the harshness when flattening out shots for winners like with the old strings (could be the thinner gauge or the old stings could have been on the dead side).
I feel like I can hang with my hitting partner again in rallies without having to resort to the 24-26 mm tweener frame.

I had very little experience with this string before but at this price point & the great power and control it provides. It has become my new go-to string.
I'm going to string up my blx blade 98 18X20 to see if it also gives it that extra juice on shots and makes me switch back to it again. I've got quite a few 19-22 mm player's frames that I think would get a much needed power boost with these strings.
This is an old sleeper string that is worth a try for those who like to flatten out their shots & don't like the trajectory/feel of the shaped strings.

 

[mctennis]

I picked up a used 2015 Blade 16X19 strung with black magic 16. The racket felt awesome and solid - great pop and control. My only gripes was that it didn't give crazy/easy spin & it felt a harsh on full swing flat shots in the sweet spot - kind of like making a solid hit with an aluminum bat - wasn't sure if it was the racket or strings.
The string had several hours of hitting on it previously. I thought the occasional harshness on hard struck shots may be due to that it might be going dead but was unsure since I had no clue what it felt like fresh. It still played solid & I used it for the next 5 months.
With this string, my blade felt like a more controlled pure aero (1st edition) - solid feel on nearly every shot on contact but less spin & pop on shots - but much more control on where my shots would land. I still had no trouble flattening out my shots for mid-court putaways though - there was ample power in reserve when I wanted to take offense.

Over the Christmas break, I decided to cut it out & string it up with Luxilon Alu soft which had similar TWU testing attributes at the same tension of 50 lbs hoping to get better results. It's been a long time since I've used luxilon due to the costs.
In doing this, I lost all the great things I liked about hitting with my racket.
My shots were all landing short & sitting up. When I got mid-court floaters, I had trouble hitting winners. I had problems getting depth & penetration on my shots - my racket felt anemic. I occasionally switched to my tweener racket in my bag to avoid getting pushed around.

I recently had my racket restrung with Genesis black magic 17 @ 48 lbs & my blade has come to life again. I didn't know how this string would feel on a fresh job but it feels mostly the same. It has a perfect blend of good power and great control that I have rarely seen in a poly. It is surprisingly powerful for a poly - the difference was like night & day.
The spin is good - not exceptional but not lacking. I feel I get better feel & spin with the 17 gauge vs the 16 and don't notice the harshness when flattening out shots for winners like with the old strings (could be the thinner gauge or the old stings could have been on the dead side).
I feel like I can hang with my hitting partner again in rallies without having to resort to the 24-26 mm tweener frame.

I had very little experience with this string before but at this price point & the great power and control it provides. It has become my new go-to string.
I'm going to string up my blx blade 98 18X20 to see if it also gives it that extra juice on shots and makes me switch back to it again. I've got quite a few 19-22 mm player's frames that I think would get a much needed power boost with these strings.
This is an old sleeper string that is worth a try for those who like to flatten out their shots & don't like the trajectory/feel of the shaped strings.

Just a quick question. How does it really last before it needs to be cut out? I am getting tired of strings only lasting me 8 or so hours before they need to be replaced.

 

[tennistomcat]

Just a quick question. How does it really last before it needs to be cut out? I am getting tired of strings only lasting me 8 or so hours before they need to be replaced.

My racket was strung by its previous owner in July. I continued to play well with it throughout December, but it varies for each person depending on their sensitivity to string changes. I felt that this string held its tension and playability well in my experience. I think that when it gets old it plays stiffer & less lively but was still quite playable for me.

Maybe someone else who regularly has to cut out strings due to dip in play may be able to give you a different perspective because I may be a bit unusual in that I can use poly strings for a very long time if it has good tension maintenance.
I only use rounded strings because it I don't like the extra loopy trajectory that I've encountered in shaped strings which also seem to loose their bite & play after their edges loose their sharpness.
This string fits my game which can described as an all-court player (counterpuncher or attacker depending on who I'm playing) who hits mild topspin and flattens the ball for drives/winners. I'm totally comfortable at net & hit on-the-rise alot (shaped polys make it a little tougher).
People who rely on a heavy topspin grinding game may find the ease of getting heavy spin a little less to their liking.

The only reason that I cut these strings out was because I was being a string snob. I've only used black magic once before & did not think much of it at the time because I was used to using more well-known brands like luxilon alu power, adrenaline, and rpm blast, hyper-G, tour bite, etc.
I thought that I could get rid of the slightly harsh/dead feeling when blasting flat balls while still maintaining the positive playing attributes of the blade with a fresh string bed of luxilon alu soft.
The string change humbled me & made me realize how surprisingly good the black magic string is. The frame lost its luster & I was looking for a power frame to help me hang again with my young hitting partner who blasts hard shots with his yonex sv 100.
He hits serves and groundies that blast through the chain-link fence to the other side pretty regularly. With this string I can hang with him & put him on defense much better.

Black magic put me in my place & taught me that just because a string costs less than others, it doesn't mean it's inferior.
Sorry about the long-winded response.

 

[mctennis]

My racket was strung by its previous owner in July. I continued to play well with it throughout December, but it varies for each person depending on their sensitivity to string changes. I felt that this string held its tension and playability well in my experience. I think that when it gets old it plays stiffer & less lively but was still quite playable for me.

Maybe someone else who regularly has to cut out strings due to dip in play may be able to give you a different perspective because I may be a bit unusual in that I can use poly strings for a very long time if it has good tension maintenance.
I only use rounded strings because it I don't like the extra loopy trajectory that I've encountered in shaped strings which also seem to loose their bite & play after their edges loose their sharpness.
This string fits my game which can described as an all-court player (counterpuncher or attacker depending on who I'm playing) who hits mild topspin and flattens the ball for drives/winners. I'm totally comfortable at net & hit on-the-rise alot (shaped polys make it a little tougher).
People who rely on a heavy topspin grinding game may find the ease of getting heavy spin a little less to their liking.

The only reason that I cut these strings out was because I was being a string snob. I've only used black magic once before & did not think much of it at the time because I was used to using more well-known brands like luxilon alu power, adrenaline, and rpm blast, hyper-G, tour bite, etc.
I thought that I could get rid of the slightly harsh/dead feeling when blasting flat balls while still maintaining the positive playing attributes of the blade with a fresh string bed of luxilon alu soft.
The string change humbled me & made me realize how surprisingly good the black magic string is. The frame lost its luster & I was looking for a power frame to help me hang again with my young hitting partner who blasts hard shots with his yonex sv 100.
He hits serves and groundies that blast through the chain-link fence to the other side pretty regularly. With this string I can hang with him & put him on defense much better.

Black magic put me in my place & taught me that just because a string costs less than others, it doesn't mean it's inferior.
Sorry about the long-winded response.

I appreciate you honest opinion of the string and exactly why you feel that way. I would rather get a long-winded response than a short non descript three word reply. I agree with you, finding what works over just a name is more important to me. I had used Black Magic some years back and I was not too impressed BUT that was some years back. Sounds like it may be time to revisit this string. I am like you in the fact as long as it does not lose a lot of tension I can still play with a string. I play with less spin than a lot of people I play against. Too much spin is a waste of energy to me. I am a more all court type player. Those baseline guys with all that spin are not comfortable coming close to the net. Thank you again for your answer.

 

[Rabbit]

I agree with @mctennis, I tried Black Magic based on @drakulie 's glowing recommendations. Ultimately, it wasn't for me, I found it middle of the road.

Has anyone tried White Magic from them?

P.S. - I am glad to see TW carry their line though.

 

[Big Bagel]

Just a quick question. How does it really last before it needs to be cut out? I am getting tired of strings only lasting me 8 or so hours before they need to be replaced.

Then you're going to have to stop using poly strings. Poly shouldn't be played for more than 8-10 hours in general. Some not even 8 hours, and a select few can be stretched to 12 hours assuming you're not a 5.0+.

 

[marsh]

I used to love Black Magic and recently tried White Magic. I found the white to be a softer version. It reminded me a lot of RS Lyon.

 

[tennistomcat]

I loused to love Black Magic and recently tried White Magic. I found the white to be a softer version. It reminded me a lot of RS Lyon.

Thanks for the feedback on white magic.
I like a softer string but RS Lyon was too underpowered for me - good control string for big hitters though.

 

[mctennis]

Then you're going to have to stop using poly strings. Poly shouldn't be played for more than 8-10 hours in general. Some not even 8 hours, and a select few can be stretched to 12 hours assuming you're not a 5.0+.

I agree. I normally only get about two weeks out of any poly I use as a cross. I just keep looking for one that perhaps will last longer. Even the string manufacturers say to change the polys out after 6-10 hours.