Poly, Multi/Syn Gut Hybrid
- Thread starter EasternRocks
- Start date
E
eaglesburg
Guest
gut/poly. 10char
E
eaglesburg
Guest
tonic/alu soft. For tension experiment but maybe start at 46/43
EasternRocks
Hall of Fame
Depends on what you're looking for honestly.
EasternRocks
Hall of Fame
If you want the highest amount of power and spin I think gut/poly would indeed be a good place to start. I am testing poly mains and smooth non-poly crosses (or as smooth as possible) to see if I prefer that over gut/poly.
Hansen
Professional
hello,
my experience is that the string friction numbers don´t transfer exactly into the real world. i too searched for a multi which allows maximum snapback, so i tried out prince premier control.
but with the cyclone tour mains, ppc crosses setup i didn´t get any more spin than with my cyclone tour mains and isospeed control crosses setup, despite the string friction numbers tell otherwise.
plus the later setup was way more comfortable
so in summary, i think that only a full poly setup behaves like a full poly setup, there is no shortcut.
the best solution in my opinion is to mix a structured poly with a soft multi. in this case you have at least enough grip from the stringbed and supreme comfort.
my experience is that the string friction numbers don´t transfer exactly into the real world. i too searched for a multi which allows maximum snapback, so i tried out prince premier control.
but with the cyclone tour mains, ppc crosses setup i didn´t get any more spin than with my cyclone tour mains and isospeed control crosses setup, despite the string friction numbers tell otherwise.
plus the later setup was way more comfortable
so in summary, i think that only a full poly setup behaves like a full poly setup, there is no shortcut.
the best solution in my opinion is to mix a structured poly with a soft multi. in this case you have at least enough grip from the stringbed and supreme comfort.
danbrenner
Legend
then if that is the case, you simply must try Origin 17 as a cross. Its as hard shelled as a poly, loses almost no tension like gut, and is as soft as a typical multi to the touch. just string your crosses a few pounds tighter than the mains.
anubis
Hall of Fame
I'm using gut/zx right now, I don't think it's lacking in the "feel" department, it just feels different. It's certainly soft, and makes a stiff Pure Drive incredibly playable.
As for spin, I get plenty. But whenever I feel like I'm not getting enough spin, I try to look at my technique first. Sometimes I have lapses in judgement and experiment with spin effect technologies, but I think they detract from control. Any racquet can generate plenty of spin with the proper technique: racquet head speed.
EasternRocks
Hall of Fame
Didn't love Origin. It did not soften the string bed like I wanted it to. Perhaps its the hard shelled coating that is preventing the Lux to feel softer.
I have a set of Premier Touch and OG-Sheep Micro. The 17 OG Sheep seems to be softer so I'll order that and use that instead of the 16 I have now.
Any other suggestions on the best cross for ALU mains? I am looking to soften up my string bed and get more power, feel, and touch. Heard that NXT hurts the spin of the string bed. If so then I might not be interested.
Some other strings that have caught my eye are -
Solinco Vanquish, Prince Premier Power
Should I still assume that syn gut's would work better or would some multi's be good? I know to avoid really sticky multi's like NRG and X-One because those would lock up the mains quickly.
I have a set of Premier Touch and OG-Sheep Micro. The 17 OG Sheep seems to be softer so I'll order that and use that instead of the 16 I have now.
Any other suggestions on the best cross for ALU mains? I am looking to soften up my string bed and get more power, feel, and touch. Heard that NXT hurts the spin of the string bed. If so then I might not be interested.
Some other strings that have caught my eye are -
Solinco Vanquish, Prince Premier Power
Should I still assume that syn gut's would work better or would some multi's be good? I know to avoid really sticky multi's like NRG and X-One because those would lock up the mains quickly.
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If you didn't think Origin was soft enough, then probably the only thing that will be significantly softer is some multi like NXT Tour or X-1 or NRG, but you don't like those, and then the only other option is gut really.
EasternRocks
Hall of Fame
The following strings are all softer than Origin. Has anyone messed around with any of these with polyester mains? Again, looking to add more power to the Luxilon mains and get more feel/touch. Hoping to lose as little spin as possible.
- Premier Touch 16
- OGSM 17
- Premier Power 16
- Vanquish 16
- NRG2 17
- Xcel Power 16
- Premier Touch 16
- OGSM 17
- Premier Power 16
- Vanquish 16
- NRG2 17
- Xcel Power 16
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danbrenner
Legend
Really. I am surprised. I used origin in the cross of a prestige side by side with another prestige with the same full ply. And I immmdiately out the full poly bed down. The origin I crissed at 55 and the poly mains at 50. And it was night and day difference. I could whack the ball with much more confidence with the hybrid. Because the impact shock was so much softer. And defensively my ***** were much deeper which made me much more effective on defense. I love this set up. I'll kep you posted on durability
EasternRocks
Hall of Fame
I used Origin 17 too, which is as thin as it gets for the string. It might not have been the stiffness, but instead the really high crisp feel. I found myself not enjoying the sound/feel of the setup at all. I definitely think I can try softer alternatives.
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danbrenner
Legend
I hear you brother. I used the 16 g for the cross. I whooped my reg partner in half tnite. It really upped my game to have a softer response. And to punch defensive shots deeper. But still have the sick bite and spin of tour bite in the mains to boot. I know a lot about strings at this point. And the only soft strings that j jkow work really well are gut, origin, and then things like bi phase. But origin has almost no tension loss kinda like gut. So when you think about it it's the best cross for a poly main. If I were using the softer string in the main I wiildnt use it. I would go gut. But for poly mains I can't think of a better alternative. I'm telling u it was night and day difference. Poly main 50 tour bite/origin 16 @ 55. It's great. But let's see how long it holds up.
EasternRocks
Hall of Fame
This is my final testing list. Comment if you have any experience with any of them.
- Premier Touch 16
- Premier Power 16
- Premier Control 16
- Xcel Power 16
- MAYBE OGSM 16. It is stiffer than Origin so that doesn't really convince me to try it. If all else fails, I will try it out.
- Premier Touch 16
- Premier Power 16
- Premier Control 16
- Xcel Power 16
- MAYBE OGSM 16. It is stiffer than Origin so that doesn't really convince me to try it. If all else fails, I will try it out.
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oble
Hall of Fame
I have had some experience with Premier Control 16 and OGSM 16.
Premier Control 16:
Full bed is slightly muted but has good feel. Slick surface and pretty good spin. Mains don't move much probably because it snaps back into place very well. Power is on the lower end of the scale for multis. I have also used it as a cross before with Lux TiMo in the mains. It did a good job at softening the string bed and dampen some of the TiMo's metallic feel although spin was pretty crappy. It did, however, do a decent job at resisting being notched by the poly mains for a bit longer than other multis and syngut, so it might fair a lot better with a more spin-friendly mains.
OGSM 16:
Full bed feels just like a typical run of the mill syngut, does everything decently whilst being dirt cheap at the same time. It does feel quite crisp and a hair on the firmer side of things compared to other synguts, and definitely firmer feeling than most multis. Also relatively more spin-friendly than other cheap synguts that I have tried. Worn-out OGSM can be uncomfortable to those with sensitive arms and shoulders, be it in full bed or as a cross to a poly main. I have also tried it with Topspin Cyberflash in the mains, which softened the stringbed a little, but adds nothing else to the stringbed. Spin was decent.
It was a whole different beast however, when OGSM was used in the mains with a smooth, low powered poly in the cross. Good controllable power in the first 15 hours or so, and good spin. Touch/feel was decent too, and comfy on the arms. Even when the stringbed was on its way out, it was still comfy, but it would start to spray some balls unexpectedly. In fact, this setup was what turned me away from sticking synguts/multis in the cross.
EasternRocks
Hall of Fame
Thank you so much!
I'm looking for some additional power from my setup so perhaps the Premier Control wouldn't be the best option?
Do you have any impressions or opinions on the other string? From your knowledge do you have any predisposed suggestion?
From your comments, I won't be trying OGSM at least until I go through all the others. It seems like it'll be like Origin and won't soften up the string bed as much as I'd like.
I'm looking for some additional power from my setup so perhaps the Premier Control wouldn't be the best option?
Do you have any impressions or opinions on the other string? From your knowledge do you have any predisposed suggestion?
From your comments, I won't be trying OGSM at least until I go through all the others. It seems like it'll be like Origin and won't soften up the string bed as much as I'd like.
anubis
Hall of Fame
I haven't read this entire thread, but has anyone yet suggested to you that a poly/multi hybrid is sort of a bad idea? You're not going to get any more power out of it, nor are you going to get more comfort. All you'll get is less spin. If you really want more comfort and power, then flip those strings: multi mains and poly cross. That will give you more power, comfort and spin than a poly mains and a multi or syn gut cross.
Or, something else you can try: poly main and Zyex cross. that will maintain spin potential.
EasternRocks
Hall of Fame
How would I not be getting more power or comfort? Spin I can understand.
anubis
Hall of Fame
The stiffness that you feel when the ball strikes the string bed is because of the main strings. if they are stiff, then it is a stiff stringbed. If the mains are soft, then it is a soft string bed.
This is exacerbated by the fact that the multi/nylon crosses pulling those stiff strings even tighter, and the fact that the multi/nylon crosses don't lose much tension, so they stay tighter for longer. That increases the stiffness.
Think of it this way: you string a poly @ 50 lbs in the mains and a poly @ 50 lbs in the crosses. The cross strings are going to lose around 20 to 25 lbs of tension over 24 hours, which loosens their grip on the mains. This makes the string bed a little softer over time.
However, replace the crosses with multis, you'll not only lose far less tension, they'll hold the mains tighter for longer.
In the end, you're still faced with a stiff string bed, which explains why it is not any more comfortable, and it is not any more powerful.
I think there might be a way to make a string bed softer and more powerful with a poly hybrid, but you'd have to use natural gut in the crosses and drop their tension 10% of what the mains are. So, string the mains @ 50 lbs and gut crosses @ 45 lbs. That might make for a more comfortable setup -- BUT it's expensive, and a waste of money (since the mains will die after a couple of hours but the natural gut will not).
oble
Hall of Fame
Can't really comment because I have since moved on to using either multi mains or full bed poly. If you're interested in trying multi mains, the Premier Control mains with poly cross should have more power than poly mains Premier Control cross. Otherwise, my favourite multi mains so far is the X1 Biphase.
I'm planning to try Xcel (not Xcel Power) in both full bed and as multi/poly hybrid over the next couple of months. The string looks promising on paper but cheaper and easier for me to get my hands on compared to the X1 Biphase.
bertrevert
Legend
Wow I've been recommended almost this exact combo.
I've been recommended RPM mains and Origin cross, with same tension differential as you - great recommendation!
How is the tension going???
