How do you like Gut mains/Poly cross hybrid ?

fastdunn

Legend
I currently have natural gut mains and synthetic crosses on my
FXP prestige MP.

It's tempting to try Gut mains and Poly crosses to add a bit more
control.

But I've heard about poly's tension loss. I'd like to hear from people
who actually use hybrid of gut/poly.

I also like my current gut/synthetic combo for volleys.
I wonder gut/poly combo would affect the way gut works for volleys.

I'm still reluctant to try NBM's gut/isospeed combo because I didn't like
the muted feel of isospeed.... I'm a big fan of crisp feel.

Thanx
 
I have VS 16 mains and Pro Hurricane Tour 17 crosses in my FXP Prestige MP. It's no longer my main playing stick, but it still feels good and it's been in for a while. I would recommend it, as long as you use a poly that holds tension pretty well, because it can be a sweet setup.
 

Gellin

Rookie
It is something that I definitely want to try in the near future.
Some suggest stringing the crosses a bit tighter to counter act the tension lost of the polys but I have no personal experience to this setup as of this moment.
 

fastdunn

Legend
Trying a bump....

I want to know how bad th poly's tension loss would affect the playability.

Also I'm wondering how much poly would affect the ball pocketting
effect of natural gut...
 

jmk2888

Semi-Pro
I currently have natural gut mains and synthetic crosses on my
FXP prestige MP.

It's tempting to try Gut mains and Poly crosses to add a bit more
control.

But I've heard about poly's tension loss. I'd like to hear from people
who actually use hybrid of gut/poly.

I also like my current gut/synthetic combo for volleys.
I wonder gut/poly combo would affect the way gut works for volleys.

I'm still reluctant to try NBM's gut/isospeed combo because I didn't like
the muted feel of isospeed.... I'm a big fan of crisp feel.

Thanx

I'm using Tonic on main and ALU Rough on Crosses on my rackets. It feels great, I still get lots of feel and tough with the Nat. Gut but the ALU Rough tames the Gut so it's not too powerful.

But the Gut still frays quickly and break first, of course, but you can still use String Savers.

Great Combo, I have been playing with this for almost 2 years.
 
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jasonbourne

Professional
I'm using Tonic on main and ALU Rough on Crosses on my rackets. It feels great, I still get lots of feel and tough with the Nat. Gut but the ALU Rough tames the Gut so it's not too powerful.

But the Gut still frays quickly and break first, of course, but you can still use String Savers.

Great Combo, I have been playing with this for almost 2 years.

How many hours of play before the Tonic breaks?

Are you a baseliner or all-courter?
 

jackson vile

G.O.A.T.
Gut mains and poly cross is great, has a very very nice feel with all the control and spin, made the sweet spot bigger stringing the poly 3lbs lower.

I would simply pick a poly that does not lose tension so much I used Prokennex IQ 17g.

That is my favorite racket and I plan on string like this from now on, although I want to try putting 850feel in the mains to cut down on cost.

If I used a gut again, which I will, I will put legend in there Tonic sucks as it loses tension so fast
 

ps60

Professional
the poly can hold power down, keep the mains tension for longer, but the feel is not the same as SG X, kind of dull (low tension) i guess, if not stiff (with high tension).
 

bagung

Hall of Fame
klip armourpro is more durable n gut...
i can get 22 hrs of play time out of it , while the tonic is only 12 hrs
 

fastdunn

Legend
the poly can hold power down, keep the mains tension for longer, but the feel is not the same as SG X, kind of dull (low tension) i guess, if not stiff (with high tension).


Well, this was one of my concerns. But I ordered Tonic+ and Luxilon ALU Power
to try it out myself.

One of my other concerns is the effect of tension loss in polys.
Hoe does the feel change as time goes ??

Thanx
 

Radical Shot

Semi-Pro
Hey fastdunn,

I hear what you're saying. I also wonder about mixing a string that is known for it's tension maintenance (gut), with a string that is known for it's tension loss (poly).

At face value, I guess you could look at this equation and reason that the 2 characteristics would cancel each other out and you end up with a string job that has tension maintenance somewhere in the middle.

...however...

* Using gut as the main string seems to dominate the overall characteristic of the string job, so tension maintenance is better than average.

* Because the poly is in the cross, I suspect it won't be taking the brunt of the impact like it would if in the mains, therefore the tension loss as compared with normal tension loss of a poly would be reduced. If you use a good quality poly (Luxilon, Signum etc), the tension loss will be minimal anyway.

* Gut is a very powerful string. As it wears, particularly in it's final stages, the tension loss will cause it to become more powerful. However, because the poly by this stage has gone deadish (?), it works against the power increase of the gut and the racquet remains extremely playable.

At least this has been my experience. I play with gut main and poly crosses until the last drop of playability has been hit out of the frame. I never get to the point where tension loss is a concern. The quality of the gut keeps it all together. I use Klip Legend 16 and Cyberflash poly.

Hope this makes sense
 

fastdunn

Legend
Hey fastdunn,

I hear what you're saying. I also wonder about mixing a string that is known for it's tension maintenance (gut), with a string that is known for it's tension loss (poly).

At face value, I guess you could look at this equation and reason that the 2 characteristics would cancel each other out and you end up with a string job that has tension maintenance somewhere in the middle.

...however...

* Using gut as the main string seems to dominate the overall characteristic of the string job, so tension maintenance is better than average.

* Because the poly is in the cross, I suspect it won't be taking the brunt of the impact like it would if in the mains, therefore the tension loss as compared with normal tension loss of a poly would be reduced. If you use a good quality poly (Luxilon, Signum etc), the tension loss will be minimal anyway.

* Gut is a very powerful string. As it wears, particularly in it's final stages, the tension loss will cause it to become more powerful. However, because the poly by this stage has gone deadish (?), it works against the power increase of the gut and the racquet remains extremely playable.

At least this has been my experience. I play with gut main and poly crosses until the last drop of playability has been hit out of the frame. I never get to the point where tension loss is a concern. The quality of the gut keeps it all together. I use Klip Legend 16 and Cyberflash poly.

Hope this makes sense

Thanx for great input. It sounds like the combo might work in the way
I "hoped" for....
 

ps60

Professional
One of my other concerns is the effect of tension loss in polys.
Hoe does the feel change as time goes ??

i think it very much depends on which poly u use. use one with less tension loss, and string it a little lower. i don't have much experience in poly. Ultra tour is stiff, even when it lost most tension. Enduro tour i'm using is softer, and it lost ALL tension after a few days. Luckily, i guess poly is so stiff that they don't need tension to work :grin:

i guess Alu should serve your purpose, just find the right tension. Good luck !
 
Hey fastdunn,



* Using gut as the main string seems to dominate the overall characteristic of the string job, so tension maintenance is better than average.

* Because the poly is in the cross, I suspect it won't be taking the brunt of the impact like it would if in the mains, therefore the tension loss as compared with normal tension loss of a poly would be reduced. If you use a good quality poly (Luxilon, Signum etc), the tension loss will be minimal anyway.

* Gut is a very powerful string. As it wears, particularly in it's final stages, the tension loss will cause it to become more powerful. However, because the poly by this stage has gone deadish (?), it works against the power increase of the gut and the racquet remains extremely playable.

At least this has been my experience. I play with gut main and poly crosses until the last drop of playability has been hit out of the frame. I never get to the point where tension loss is a concern. The quality of the gut keeps it all together. I use Klip Legend 16 and Cyberflash poly.

Hope this makes sense

Have you tried the reverse of this, i.e. Poly mains and Gut crosses? Would the gut help the feel and spin potential with this setup?
 

Radical Shot

Semi-Pro
Have you tried the reverse of this, i.e. Poly mains and Gut crosses? Would the gut help the feel and spin potential with this setup?

Yes, I have tried the reverse of this. Didn't like it as much as gut in the mains, however it was better than just about every other string job I've ever used. Gut is definitely the way to do - either in the mains, or in the crosses.

Whatever way you string it, gut will always improve whatever string job you have. That's my opinion anyway. Read the review of the Klip X-plosive and read the comment from those who strung it in the mains and then the comments of those who strung it in the crosses.

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Reviews/KEXP17/KEXP17Review.html

Hope this helps.

Go gut!
 
Yes, I have tried the reverse of this. Didn't like it as much as gut in the mains, however it was better than just about every other string job I've ever used. Gut is definitely the way to do - either in the mains, or in the crosses.

Whatever way you string it, gut will always improve whatever string job you have. That's my opinion anyway. Read the review of the Klip X-plosive and read the comment from those who strung it in the mains and then the comments of those who strung it in the crosses.

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Reviews/KEXP17/KEXP17Review.html

Hope this helps.

Go gut!

Thanks for the comment and the review article.
It may seem silly, but one reason I may try gut in the crosses is that w my oversize racquet, it takes about 21' for the mains. If I buy one 40' set, I can either do a full job, or two hybrids with one in the mains and one in the crosses, but not two hybrids with gut in the mains on both. So maybe I'll try one of each and do my own comparison. :)
 

Buckeye10s

Banned
Would anyone be using this setup if Federer didn't? I'm thinking of trying it as well... but I don't want to be another pathetic sheep following the herd. Currently I've got Poly in the mains and gut in the crosses, and I like it... but I'm not blown away by the set up.
 

fastdunn

Legend
Would anyone be using this setup if Federer didn't? I'm thinking of trying it as well... but I don't want to be another pathetic sheep following the herd. Currently I've got Poly in the mains and gut in the crosses, and I like it... but I'm not blown away by the set up.

General guideline is that mains sttribute about 80 % of playing characteristics
and feel while crosses for 20%.

So you're not exactly following Federer crowd here. You're following
gut crowd. I'm basically trying out various crosses as a spice to
gut recipe..
 

Radical Shot

Semi-Pro
Would anyone be using this setup if Federer didn't? I'm thinking of trying it as well... but I don't want to be another pathetic sheep following the herd. Currently I've got Poly in the mains and gut in the crosses, and I like it... but I'm not blown away by the set up.

Well, I tried it because Federer uses it. The way I think, Federer could use any combo in the world. With his prestige, resources and position, he has probably gone through so many different setups and picked the best one. People who follow and like it are simply not re-inventing the wheel. It may not be right for them, but at least it's a proven combination at the professional level, so that must say something for it.
 

nickarnold2000

Hall of Fame
Hey, don't worry about being a sheep -go with what helps you win(plus, don't tell anybody). Gut as the main string makes much more sense than the other way around because the mains take the brunt of the force.
 
Would anyone be using this setup if Federer didn't? I'm thinking of trying it as well... but I don't want to be another pathetic sheep following the herd. Currently I've got Poly in the mains and gut in the crosses, and I like it... but I'm not blown away by the set up.

I just saw that Andy Murray does it too - ALU Big Banger mains, VS gut crosses, both at 60#. Of course with the pros, string breakage is a lot more of an issue.
 

bee

Semi-Pro
Use Klip Legend natural gut 17 in mains at 52# and ALU Power Rough 16 in crosses at 48# in crosses on my Liquid Metal Prestige Mid. Serves like a monster! Ground strokes are more muted and a little harsher than with all gut, but it's generally been good. Have only had this for 3 weeks or so but it's so good for my serving that I'll probably stick with it.
 

jkonecne

Rookie
Maybe try BB Ace for your crosses. It does well with holding tension. If the 18 gauge isn't too thin for you I'd say maybe give that a try.
 

fastdunn

Legend
I'm bumping this up to ask more question about tensions.

I now have Babolat Tonic+ 16g and Luxilon ALU Big Banger 16g (Ice Blue).

I had Tonic+ mains(at 63 lbs (68 lbs on lockout)) and
Ashaway Liberty synthetic crosses( at 60 lbs (65 lbs on lockout))
on my Head Flexpoint Prestige Mid Plus.
I liked it (in fact I had a zoning experience).

I'll be going 63 lbs on Tonic+ again but no idea on BB Ace.
I'm thinking 5% lower (of 60 lbs) at 57 lbs. Any thoughts?
 
Use Klip Legend natural gut 17 in mains at 52# and ALU Power Rough 16 in crosses at 48# in crosses on my Liquid Metal Prestige Mid. Serves like a monster! Ground strokes are more muted and a little harsher than with all gut, but it's generally been good. Have only had this for 3 weeks or so but it's so good for my serving that I'll probably stick with it.

That sounds like a nice setup.
 
Gut mains and poly cross is great, has a very very nice feel with all the control and spin, made the sweet spot bigger stringing the poly 3lbs lower.

I would simply pick a poly that does not lose tension so much I used Prokennex IQ 17g.

That is my favorite racket and I plan on string like this from now on,

WHAT KIND OF BAD ADVICE ARE YOU GIVING.

Let me see just "simply pick a Poly that does not lose tension"!!!!!!! 99% of ploys lose tension and yeah that goes to your favorite Iso Professional which loses tension just as much if not more and on top of that feels dead with no response.
 
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