New GR XT Prestige Pro

vsbabolat said:
And that's why all the reviews so far have said the MP has felt very low powered compared to the Graphene. The swing weight is much lower. On the upside it will now be easier to customize.
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I didn't have a problem with the power level, as the "whippiness" of the frame allowed for more head speed. The bigger issue for me was the hollow feel.
 
We need some reviews on how they respond to modifications. In my experience, the Graphenes are hard to modify. Even so, the specs of the MP show it to be very HL, so I would imagine that with a little weight added to the hoop it would help with the low powered feel.
 
I really like the GPP when modified. I had 4 frames last year with varying levels of modification, but the all had silicone and lead. I'll add that these respond pretty well to lead around the hoop. It makes the flex more apparent and it eases some of the twangy feel that a lot of folks, including myself, just can't get comfortable with.
I think with a bit of lead, this racquet plays very nice. Good pop, decent spin terrible feel.
Swingweight around 350ish seems to be right as you can really feel the flex of the frame. Solid on volleys. Serves were very good.
 
themitchmann said:
I didn't have a problem with the power level, as the "whippiness" of the frame allowed for more head speed. The bigger issue for me was the hollow feel.
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Sounds like the same problem many of us had with the last Graphene Prestige MP. How and was there lots of vibration on the XT MP?
 
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teekaywhy said:
I really like the GPP when modified. I had 4 frames last year with varying levels of modification, but the all had silicone and lead. I'll add that these respond pretty well to lead around the hoop. It makes the flex more apparent and it eases some of the twangy feel that a lot of folks, including myself, just can't get comfortable with.
I think with a bit of lead, this racquet plays very nice. Good pop, decent spin terrible feel.
Swingweight around 350ish seems to be right as you can really feel the flex of the frame. Solid on volleys. Serves were very good.
Click to expand...
That's what I have said about the Graphene Prestige MP. Performance wise it was good. Just the feel is terrible.
 
vsbabolat said:
Sounds like the same problem many of us had with the last Graphene Prestige MP. How and was there lots of vibration on the XT MP?
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Without a dampener installed, it has a high pitched and buzzy ping. With a dampener, it wasn't bad. I liked the feel of the XT more than the original graphene, but that could because of the difference in strings (Hawk Touch in the XT and standard Hawk in the Graphene).
 
themitchmann said:
Without a dampener installed, it has a high pitched and buzzy ping. With a dampener, it wasn't bad. I liked the feel of the XT more than the original graphene, but that could because of the difference in strings (Hawk Touch in the XT and standard Hawk in the Graphene).
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That's what I was afraid of.
That's the thing I dont understand. HEAD knows how to make a good racquet. They have done it with the Prestige Classic, i.Prestige, Radical Tour 630, Pro Tour 630, MG Prestige, MG Radical, IG Prestige Mid, IG Radical, and yet HEAD choose not to make a that doesn't vibrate and buzz.
 
It seems that the general consensus in most reviews and comments is that the XT prestige pro seems to be the best one out of the bunch. Shame cause I still can't accept that they changed the mold and made the beam wider. Looks like a speed...
 
Tangi said:
Shame cause I still can't accept that they changed the mold and made the beam wider.
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It's the same mold and beam width as it's always been.

n8dawg6 said:
nope ... that reviewer just admitted the prestige was out of his league.
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The thing I find odd about that review is that they've given it to an Aeropro convert to review. Someone who likes that sort of racket isn't really going to be a in the market for a Prestige.
 
racket king said:
It's the same mold and beam width as it's always been.
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No? The Prestige Pro got the mold of the Prestige S (22mm straight beam) from the Graphene iteration onwards. Before (YT and YT IG) it was the Prestige MP mold (21mm straight beam) but with the more open string pattern. It didn't have that weird throat either.
 
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SpinToWin said:
No? The Prestige Pro got the mold of the Prestige S (22mm straight beam) from the Graphene iteration onwards. Before (YT and YT IG) it was the Prestige MP mold (21mm straight beam) but with the more open string pattern. It didn't have that weird throat either.
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Sorry, I thought he was comparing it to the first Graphene Prestige.

If you want 21mm beam, then I guess it's going to have to be from Custom Made (assuming they haven't changed anything) since they offer a 21mm 16x19 or wait for the Graphene Pro Stocks.
 
@Tangi: You need to understand how Head Custom Made can't respond any differently to your question: Head will not acknowledge they have "Pro Stock" frames. And that's (almost) correct. The pro stock frames they shell out to most of their pros (not the top names like Djokovic or Murray, but the hundreds or thousands of guys with a Head player contract) are the exact same thing as the retail sticks WITHOUT basic metal strips/chunks woven into the frame when it's baked in the mould. The layup of the graphite is the same!
All the customization is done on these light hair pins, be it for the pros or for the customers via "Custom Made". A "retail" stick you can buy in a third party shop is a customized version of this hair pin itself, but the "customization" is done at the factory and by using a way cruder method, and that's why the production tolerances (weight, balance, swing weight) are so high. Does that sound comprehensible?
So when you order from Custom Made, you'll get the same treatment as the vast majority of the Head pros. But it's really customized for YOU only by Head. If that's worth the money to you, noone else but you can say.

Edit: Case in point: The lightest Prestige you can configure has a weight of 282 grams (standard length, synthetic grip) - this is easy proof that ain't a retail Prestige MP...
 
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Alex78 said:
@Tangi: You need to understand how Head Custom Made can't respond any differently to your question: Head will not acknowledge they have "Pro Stock" frames. And that's (almost) correct. The pro stock frames they shell out to most of their pros (not the top names like Djokovic or Murray, but the hundreds or thousands of guys with a Head player contract) are the exact same thing as the retail sticks WITHOUT basic metal strips/chunks woven into the frame when it's baked in the mould. The layup of the graphite is the same!
All the customization is done on these light hair pins, be it for the pros or for the customers via "Custom Made". A "retail" stick you can buy in a third party shop is a customized version of this hair pin itself, but the "customization" is done at the factory and by using a way cruder method, and that's why the production tolerances (weight, balance, swing weight) are so high. Does that sound comprehensible?
So when you order from Custom Made, you'll get the same treatment as the vast majority of the Head pros. But it's really customized for YOU only by Head. If that's worth the money to you, noone else but you can say.

Edit: Case in point: The lightest Prestige you can configure has a weight of 282 grams (standard length, synthetic grip) - this is easy proof that ain't a retail Prestige MP...
Click to expand...

Thanks for your constructive post @Alex78 . It is completely comprehensible :) So let's say these Head Custom Made are pro stocks then, do the ones we would receive from the custom made have like a code on the hairpin (i.e. TGT or TGK something)? Since all pro stocks seem to have that. The flex must also be different right? And is this racquet going to be higher quality then or not? And Finally, we see now that pro players play with the high gloss paintjob of the new XT prestige. So this means that if Head provides us a racquet customised to us just like the pros, this racquet will come in the high gloss paint right? (assuming they change custom made to the XT prestige in the near future..).

And indeed I agree with you that as they let us have a 282grams prestige it must be built from the light hairpins (i.e. pro stocks).
 
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Tangi said:
Thanks for your constructive post @Alex78 . It is completely comprehensible :) So let's say these Head Custom Made are pro stocks then, do the ones we would receive from the custom made have like a code on the hairpin (i.e. TGT or TGK something)? Since all pro stocks seem to have that. The flex must also be different right? And is this racquet going to be higher quality then or not? And Finally, we see now that pro players play with the high gloss paintjob of the new XT prestige. So this means that if Head provides us a racquet customised to us just like the pros, this racquet will come in the high gloss paint right? (assuming they change custom made to the XT prestige in the near future..).

And indeed I agree with you that as they let us have a 282grams prestige it must be built from the light hairpins (i.e. pro stocks).
Click to expand...

1) Every Head racket (at least from the players' racket "silos", as they are now called by Head on their website) has a code. The code designates the mould that was engineered by Head. Obviously, not every mould Head engineers develop will be brought to market. The "TGK/TGT" designates, in all likelihood, the factory in China where the racket was made. When Head still produced their rackets in Austria, the factory code was "PT". So if you have, let's say, a LiquidMetal Radical MP made in China, you can look at the hair pin and it will say something like "TGK167.1-A TT" - that's what's on one of mine, which I have here on my desk right now.
2) The flex - Head will have a specified flex, but due to production tolerances, this will not be achieved 100% of the time. Don't assume that all pro stock frames of a given mould are exactly the same, they also suffer from that. - In fact, I have had pro stock frames made for one player and customized by Head which differed with regard to weight and balance even though they were supposed to be the same. It's not easy to be 100% accurate, and neither does it matter as much as people here want to believe. Back to the flex: It will vary dependent on weight, kind of grip, amout of silicone/other substance(s) added to the hair pin etc. But overall, assume that the flex is intended to be the same. Edit: It's also possible that there's a variant of the mould with different intended flex. This is marked by the digit after the mould: 231.1, for instance, which is the MicroGel Radical MP, and 231.2 is the same racket but with a stiffer flex. This also applies to the string pattern. Again, 231 is the mould, and .3 stands for a variant with a 16x19 string pattern.
3) Quality is subjective. The quality of the frame is generally the same, but if you do an individual customization job, that may enhance the "quality" in your eyes. Plus, Head pro stock frames may be equipped with their "finest calfskin leather" grips, which you can't buy officially (but they are available for the Custom Made rackets!).
4) Paint: Head can use any kind of paint they like. If they decide Custom Made rackets are glossy, they're glossy, if they decide they're matte, they're matte. Nothing behind that, really.
Hope that helps.
 
I just noticed that Yannick Hanfmann (formerly USC) won the $25k Long Beach Futures tournament yesterday playing with a Graphene Prestige.
 
Alex78 said:
1) Every Head racket (at least from the players' racket "silos", as they are now called by Head on their website) has a code. The code designates the mould that was engineered by Head. Obviously, not every mould Head engineers develop will be brought to market. The "TGK/TGT" designates, in all likelihood, the factory in China where the racket was made. When Head still produced their rackets in Austria, the factory code was "PT". So if you have, let's say, a LiquidMetal Radical MP made in China, you can look at the hair pin and it will say something like "TGK167.1-A TT" - that's what's on one of mine, which I have here on my desk right now.
2) The flex - Head will have a specified flex, but due to production tolerances, this will not be achieved 100% of the time. Don't assume that all pro stock frames of a given mould are exactly the same, they also suffer from that. - In fact, I have had pro stock frames made for one player and customized by Head which differed with regard to weight and balance even though they were supposed to be the same. It's not easy to be 100% accurate, and neither does it matter as much as people here want to believe. Back to the flex: It will vary dependent on weight, kind of grip, amout of silicone/other substance(s) added to the hair pin etc. But overall, assume that the flex is intended to be the same. Edit: It's also possible that there's a variant of the mould with different intended flex. This is marked by the digit after the mould: 231.1, for instance, which is the MicroGel Radical MP, and 231.2 is the same racket but with a stiffer flex. This also applies to the string pattern. Again, 231 is the mould, and .3 stands for a variant with a 16x19 string pattern.
3) Quality is subjective. The quality of the frame is generally the same, but if you do an individual customization job, that may enhance the "quality" in your eyes. Plus, Head pro stock frames may be equipped with their "finest calfskin leather" grips, which you can't buy officially (but they are available for the Custom Made rackets!).
4) Paint: Head can use any kind of paint they like. If they decide Custom Made rackets are glossy, they're glossy, if they decide they're matte, they're matte. Nothing behind that, really.
Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

Thanks Alex - i now feel slightly less intimidated by posts listing these long codes... I do find references to them off-putting - it feels as though one needs to be a member of some secret club to understand what is being discussed...
 
racket king said:
I just noticed that Yannick Hanfmann (formerly USC) won the $25k Long Beach Futures tournament yesterday playing with a Graphene Prestige.
Click to expand...
Just because he has a paint job of one does not mean he is really playing with one.

Which one of these is a real Graphene Prestige MP? Left or right?
image_zpsvefzgyqq.jpg
 
hey vsbabolat, this is not fair ;), so difficult actually.

I would guess the left one is the graphene and the right something else (a 57a)??:(
 
vsbabolat said:
Just because he has a paint job of one does not mean he is really playing with one.

Which one of these is a real Graphene Prestige MP? Left or right?
image_zpsvefzgyqq.jpg
Click to expand...
The racquet from the left is a Graphene Prestige
 
SpinToWin said:
No.

See:
Different throat design.
No CAP Grommets.
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Yep,

Also see:
Stringjob on New Prestige pro skips hole 9, skips 8 on his.

EDIT - actually nevermind, I miscounted, they seem the same. But I do see the space at the bottom of the throat is wider and rounder on Verdasco's frame
 
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racket king said:
Tennis.com have reviewed the Pro. Pretty interesting review, though I would have preferred John Levy to have reviewed it as his are probably the most accurate reviews out there (and more objective than the ones from TW and other retailers).

http://www.tennis.com/gear/head/racquets/head-graphene-xt-prestige-pro-3040/
Click to expand...
Lol, what a joke of a tester. Why are they having a over 65-70yo test out this racquet? They guy sounded like he could barely swing it without being injured. I counted 5 or 6 times that he mentioned either how heavy it was and hard it was to use. Is 11oz really that heavy? I'm sure his APD or PA is just as heavy when you try to swing 100" vs 95' (but it sounds like he uses the Team or Lite version). From the picture I couldn't tell if he was using a walker or not.
 
TennisHound said:
Lol, what a joke of a tester. Why are they having a over 65-70yo test out this racquet? They guy sounded like he could barely swing it without being injured. I counted 5 or 6 times that he mentioned either how heavy it was and hard it was to use. Is 11oz really that heavy? I'm sure his APD or PA is just as heavy when you try to swing 100" vs 95' (but it sounds like he uses the Team or Lite version). From the picture I couldn't tell if he was using a walker or not.
Click to expand...

He is 42, not 65. And it's 12oz not 11...but yea, sounds weaksauce.
 
I have hit with the XT Prestige Pro. Its the best one out of the group. Very disappointed in the MP........
 
It sounds like it my be the ideal weight for customizing. However, it also sounds like the new XTPP will be a better candidate.
 
TennisHound said:
Lol, what a joke of a tester. Why are they having a over 65-70yo test out this racquet? They guy sounded like he could barely swing it without being injured. I counted 5 or 6 times that he mentioned either how heavy it was and hard it was to use. Is 11oz really that heavy? I'm sure his APD or PA is just as heavy when you try to swing 100" vs 95' (but it sounds like he uses the Team or Lite version). From the picture I couldn't tell if he was using a walker or not.
Click to expand...
I know that play tester personally and have played agains him on several occasions and I am willing to buy you a brand new Prestige pro if you return 1 out of 10 of his serves lol.

He is simply being modest and realist at 40+
 
Okayyyyy, dear lord. Sorry for calling your personal tennis guru friend a wimp. He's the greatest person in the world and gives such wonderful reviews . . . . . . . my gosh
 
dgoran said:
I know that play tester personally and have played agains him on several occasions and I am willing to buy you a brand new Prestige pro if you return 1 out of 10 of his serves lol.

He is simply being modest and realist at 40+
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Are you still willing to do this (about returning one of his serves)? I may be willing to take you up on it, depending where you live. Seriously.
 
dgoran said:
I know that play tester personally and have played agains him on several occasions and I am willing to buy you a brand new Prestige pro if you return 1 out of 10 of his serves lol.

He is simply being modest and realist at 40+
Click to expand...
I'll take the bet.
 
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