PV Audio's Playtest Thread

pvaudio

Legend
WeissCANNON Scorpion 1.22 / PerforMAXX WhisperTouch Natural Gut

scorpwtmacro.jpg


Final review of this combination. My switching of the mains and crosses ended prematurely: one frame broke at the grommet while the B5E frame broke in the bag near the throat. In either case, I still prefer the feel of super powerful but controlled poly mains, and the only way to get that is with the poly in the mains. Without further ado, my final review of this setup:

Serves: Nothing compares to the power that gut gives you for serving, and I mean absolutely nothing. Since the Scorpion is already a spin monster (assuming you don't just bomb flat serves all of the time and realize that a 105mph serve in the corner with action on it is >>>> 120mph serve to someone's forehand), the gut just ups the pace of the already incredible poly. Since I've been changing my serve, this is the frame I always use. I would never hesitate to use this setup, and I think now that I do prefer it to B5E. 10/10

Volleys:
Broken record: nothing compares to the feel that gut gives you at the net. Scorpion is already an incredibly responsive poly, but coupled with the touch that natty gives you, this setup is far beyond unbeatable. You can hit touch shots where you want them, when you want them. I played a 2 hour doubles match, and since my girlfriend prefers to play forehand (she was a top 5 state player as a junior, so it's not like her backhand is weak) and I prefer to hit my backhand since it's more consistent, this setup shines. The spin of the poly coupled with the pop of the gut gives deadly slice returns on the BH side allowing you to close the net and easily hit touch winners. I sliced three returns cross court in one game, and then in the same game, sliced one down the line...only to have it land 2 feet from the net and die as a drop shot. Touch is beyond belief. 10/10

Groundstrokes:
Cannot be beaten again. How much power you want is determined by YOU, and not by the string. Unlike a number of poly strings, I do not mean that swinging harder means that the ball goes faster. I mean that you know that the stringbed is so rich in potential energy (to use science terms when I hate to do so in sports as an engineer by education) that whenever you want to hit a strong spin shot off of either wing, you can. If you want to hit a deep, skidding slice that pushes into the opponent, you can. If you want to flatten out a bit and simply crack a winner, you can. If you want to up the spin a lot and hit a short angle passing shot well inside the service box, you can. This is the definition of feel: what you put into the shot in your head is what happens on the rebound. 10/10

Durability:
For this type of setup, the durability is also stupidly good. If you're not a yob and shank every ball, you can easily get 10 hours of of this string setup. I strung the racquet in question the last time that I posted I was stringing this setup. The tension has not dropped at all, the poly has not died, and the gut has not lost its elasticity. If you want to break this gut, you will have to shred it. Interestingly, I do agree with the seller's description. I strung this exact same setup for another player and he broke the MAINS after a single hitting session with no damage to the gut. There was 100% notching on the poly and after further discussion, he hits only flat eastern shots (and is a beginner and tends to hit off center rather frequently). So, if you're a topspin player, this setup will last as long as you need it to. 10/10

I would recommend this to anyone who has at least 3 racquets to switch between and is a self-stringer. Paying for the stringing can get expensive since the gut is going to fray after some hours, but the coating seriously helps to limit that. I stock now nearly 80 strings, and this combination is still to me the best that I have ever found. It's the combination of the wonderful poly AND the wonderful gut (and not vice versa as you can see from my gut mains review and the following review).

Overall: 10/10
 
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StanW

Rookie
Can't wait to try the hybrid in my next stringjob for my kbold. I'll be sure to reply or make a new thread of the review. ^_^
 

pvaudio

Legend
WeissCANNON Black5Edge / WeissCANNON 6Star Supercharged

b65starfull.jpg


b5e6star.jpg


My first time using this setup. Used it for the warmup and a fun only tiebreaker after the doubles match mentioned above. Looks absolutely hideous.

Stringing: Not even talking about the B5E since I've done it already. Stringing 6Star is like stringing a thick syn gut. Relatively stiff for a multifilament, and also relatively thick since it's pretty much a 16g string. Weaving it isn't even in my top 10 strings, but it's not even close to a poly as far as difficulty. Strung at 55/57 as usual.

Serves:
Lackluster. This setup does not provide much power at all. I've played with Mantis CS which is low powered, and this is pretty much the same power level but without the feel. Spin is not really its strong point, and nor is power. It feels like a more powerful version of the full bed of the string with less spin. 8/10

Volleys: Touch isn't very great here. The B5E is pretty soft as it is, and it's incredibly crisp. Unfortunately, the 6Star competes with that and you end up with a stringbed that seems confused. It wants to be a softened poly feel, but it can't be since 6Star isn't that soft. It then wants to be a crisp multi cross with a soft poly, which ends up ruining the feel of both strings. Touch isn't up there, and I would choose NRG2, Alpha Gut, or MCS over it in a second. 7/10

Groundstrokes: More of the same. You don't get much power at all and end up working far too hard to get the same power that you could have had otherwise. 6Star is very low powered even when strung at 57lbs. It takes away that lovely crispness of the B5E and leaves instead the worst possible attribute: death. The stringbed does not feel lively at all. I don't believe in ball pocketing anyway, but I can guarantee that you won't find it here. Spin is hard to come by too even with B5E being a great spin string. Wouldn't use again. 7/10

Durability: We're using two WeissCANNON strings. Are you even asking? 10/10

Will not string this setup again. It's too low powered off the ground, doesn't give you any feel at the net, spin is LESS than you're expecting when using B5E and the 6Star just isn't worth the time to string over a more powerful and softer multifilament. It's better than B5E / syn gut, but not by much. Seeing as 6Star is expensive, it's a complete waste of money.

Overall: 8/10
 

BigT

Professional
Don't know if it's been mentioned in the earlier posts...but what campus are you stringing at? What level are you playing?
 

pvaudio

Legend
Don't know if it's been mentioned in the earlier posts...but what campus are you stringing at? What level are you playing?
After an...incident regarding my stringing, I'll just say that I'm playing at an engineering heavy school in a town near Lafayette in Indiana. :)

As far as level, I have no idea since I've never played USTA nor have I ever been rated. This past summer, however, I trained with a D3 player and was easily competitive with him, winning some of our matches and drills. I've improved since then, so translate that to NTRP and there you go :)
 

Nojoke

Rookie
What exactly did you like about bhbr?

Great control, great spin, good power. Very comfortable in a full bed at 52 lbs. I like a poly that is good for spin, but responds well when you want to flatten the ball out as well. Volleys and touch were great too. I usually use turbo twist and I was very impressed with bhbr. Same great overall qualities, maybe not at tinny feeling as tt 1.18.
 

mikeler

Moderator
After an...incident regarding my stringing, I'll just say that I'm playing at an engineering heavy school in a town near Lafayette in Indiana. :)

As far as level, I have no idea since I've never played USTA nor have I ever been rated. This past summer, however, I trained with a D3 player and was easily competitive with him, winning some of our matches and drills. I've improved since then, so translate that to NTRP and there you go :)


So I'm guessing the school name rhymes with Har Tru? :)
 

pvaudio

Legend
At this point, I would like to mention/remind of a few things:

1. I am not endorsing any products here. All strings (assuming they were not samples) were purchased by me for my stringing and personal playing. While I DO often buy string in bulk, I'm not here to promote anyone's string.

2. After some interesting emails, let me make this plain: I am not a representative for WeissCANNON or PerforMAXX. I just gave my worst review of the entire thread to an all WC setup, and I absolutely hated Polyfibre Hexablade / WhisperTouch. Were I a representative, I wouldn't post pictures of premature breakage and state that a gut stringjob broke in my bag. I'm 100% objective.

3. These are just my opinions and my opinions alone. Your experience may vary due to numerous factors. I am not a pro or college player. I'm just a guy who loves tennis and loves the technical aspect of it and seeing how different technologies are either benefiting the game or are loads of hype (Silverstring, B5E, SP Tornado, NRG2 and PMAXX gut being the former, and Hexablade, Lux Ace, WC 6Star and Beast XP being the latter).

That's all :)
 

pvaudio

Legend
Two frames are empty, and if someone can't reply by the end of the day with suggestions, I'm stringing WT Pro in the crosses of both and most likely Scorpion and B5E mains as is usual. If not, let me know what you want to see!. I am 100% addicted to the feeling of gut crosses. 100% addicted :D
 

mikeler

Moderator
At this point, I would like to mention/remind of a few things:

1. I am not endorsing any products here. All strings (assuming they were not samples) were purchased by me for my stringing and personal playing. While I DO often buy string in bulk, I'm not here to promote anyone's string.

2. After some interesting emails, let me make this plain: I am not a representative for WeissCANNON or PerforMAXX. I just gave my worst review of the entire thread to an all WC setup, and I absolutely hated Polyfibre Hexablade / WhisperTouch. Were I a representative, I wouldn't post pictures of premature breakage and state that a gut stringjob broke in my bag. I'm 100% objective.

3. These are just my opinions and my opinions alone. Your experience may vary due to numerous factors. I am not a pro or college player. I'm just a guy who loves tennis and loves the technical aspect of it and seeing how different technologies are either benefiting the game or are loads of hype (Silverstring, B5E, SP Tornado, NRG2 and PMAXX gut being the former, and Hexablade, Lux Ace, WC 6Star and Beast XP being the latter).

That's all :)


This happens quite a bit on here when you post reviews. I'd love to see some of those e-mails though.
 

JT_2eighty

Hall of Fame
have u got mosquito bite. If so could u hybrid it -as a main, use whatever cross u like

First page he did MB/multi. And then later in the thread when the multi broke.

Two frames are empty, and if someone can't reply by the end of the day with suggestions, I'm stringing WT Pro in the crosses of both and most likely Scorpion and B5E mains as is usual. If not, let me know what you want to see!. I am 100% addicted to the feeling of gut crosses. 100% addicted :D

PV... I know you are addicted to gut cross now... but any thoughts on a B5E/Scorpion hybrid?

Otherwise I'm curious on a Polyfibre poly main (any of them-except hexa)/gut cross.
 
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JackB1

G.O.A.T.
Two frames are empty, and if someone can't reply by the end of the day with suggestions, I'm stringing WT Pro in the crosses of both and most likely Scorpion and B5E mains as is usual. If not, let me know what you want to see!. I am 100% addicted to the feeling of gut crosses. 100% addicted :D

PV, you should try some Polyfibre Black Venom. I actually prefer it to Scorpion.
 

finalfantasy7

Semi-Pro
pvaudio- have u got any of these 2 review polystar energy, kirchablum pro line 2, any mantis, rpm blast. Strings that aint talked about much
 

pvaudio

Legend
I don't own Energy, but I do own Turbo. I do own PL2, and own both MCS and MPS and RPM Blast. Turbo is just a decent poly which I will never play with again since it's just not my cup of tea. PL2 is a catapult, and the Mantis strings are actually pretty good (note that I tested MCS twice in this thread). RPM Blast is a waste of money and time. Offerings half the price play better.
 

BigT

Professional
Two frames are empty, and if someone can't reply by the end of the day with suggestions, I'm stringing WT Pro in the crosses of both and most likely Scorpion and B5E mains as is usual. If not, let me know what you want to see!. I am 100% addicted to the feeling of gut crosses. 100% addicted :D

have you used any Pro's Pro strings?
 

pvaudio

Legend
This happens quite a bit on here when you post reviews. I'd love to see some of those e-mails though.
People seem to think that I work for Fred Schwacke (the owner of PerforMAXX) or am sponsored by WeissCANNON. Neither is true. I do talk to Fred frequently about his strings and do test for him, but as he can confirm, I tell him straight up here and through email if I don't like them. WC is a completely international company making even that impossible. I am grateful, however, for being able to test so many strings. If I never did this, I would have never found the Scorpion and B5E setups to be out of this world. :)
 

mikeler

Moderator
People seem to think that I work for Fred Schwacke (the owner of PerforMAXX) or am sponsored by WeissCANNON. Neither is true. I do talk to Fred frequently about his strings and do test for him, but as he can confirm, I tell him straight up here and through email if I don't like them. WC is a completely international company making even that impossible. I am grateful, however, for being able to test so many strings. If I never did this, I would have never found the Scorpion and B5E setups to be out of this world. :)


Just keep on reviewing and don't worry about the haters. This thread is chock full of good info.
 

JT_2eighty

Hall of Fame
Let me see if I can find a mini or half reel of it for cheap so I can add it to my inventory :)

Sounds good. Do you have Tourna BHB? Or, have you already tried it? Curious what you may think of that one in a poly/gut setup. I have a set of BV and a reel of BHB if you are up for a trade to get a set of each for sampling purposes first...
 

JT_2eighty

Hall of Fame
Have you tried Hyperion 1.18?

I picked up a used racquet with 1 month old Hyperion in it. As I usually hybrid my strings, this full job of Hyperion was comfy, controlled, with very nice power. I was expecting the strings to be dead and stiff, but it was not the case at all.
 

pvaudio

Legend
Sounds good. Do you have Tourna BHB? Or, have you already tried it? Curious what you may think of that one in a poly/gut setup. I have a set of BV and a reel of BHB if you are up for a trade to get a set of each for sampling purposes first...
I do have it, but I have not played with it myself I have to admit. I'm still considering the BV, but I'll let you know :)
 

pvaudio

Legend
PV have you tested performaxx new string, as you said you got his new one which aint on sale yet?
Nope, but if I remember correctly, that gut is on sale anyway. I could be wrong.
Have you tried Hyperion 1.18?

I picked up a used racquet with 1 month old Hyperion in it. As I usually hybrid my strings, this full job of Hyperion was comfy, controlled, with very nice power. I was expecting the strings to be dead and stiff, but it was not the case at all.
Never used Hyperion, but obviously used Tornado.
 

pvaudio

Legend
I think for my next string jobs, I'll stick with the WC vein. I'm thinking Silverstring / WT Pro and Scorpion / WT Pro. Thinking about dropping the tension a bit to maybe like 53/55 instead of 55/57. What do you guys think about that? Silverstring is incredible, and so is Scorpion. Both are all-court strings whereas the B5E is best from the baseline. Ideas?
 

slice it

Rookie
This may have been mentioned before (I cant find it) but where does one purchase B5E being that TW doesnt carry it at the moment.
 

pvaudio

Legend
Alrighty, decision time: what about this head to head: B5E vs. Silverstring aka the heir vs. the flagship :D

Both strung the same, both crossed with WT. Sound good?
 

pvaudio

Legend
I'll be using WT Pro as the cross even though my last experience was not positive. I talked with the owner about the premature breakage of both sets of WT Pro, and he had initially thought that the strings were sent out too fresh (too much moisture). If you read earlier, I said the string resembled NRG2.

He sent me another set having allowed the gut to coalesce and the difference in feel is noticeable. It doesn't have that slightly spongy, gummy feeling that lots of multis do and instead feels just like natural gut. I'm hoping that was the problem. Won't know for sure since I'm using it as a cross string this time, but whatever, let's do it! :)
 

pvaudio

Legend
The reason I decided against the Scorpion frame is because I already have one strung up from weeks ago, so the tension will likely be similar by now anyway. I can compare their three best strings side by side :D
 

JT_2eighty

Hall of Fame
[moved question to diff thread, re: tension on full B5E; ~49/47 in my 18x20?]

Look forward to your comparisons! I'm about to string up some B5E, compare to my gut/MB setup!
 
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pvaudio

Legend
I dunno, I'm already stepping outside of my comfort zone. I used to string everything at 60. It took a quantum leap for me to even drop to 55! So yeah, based on what you've got, I'd do a 49/47.
 

pvaudio

Legend
God it's a pain to weave this uncoated gut. I think I'll be going back to the regular WT without having even hit with it yet. It just takes too long haha
 

pvaudio

Legend
WeissCANNON Silverstring / PerforMAXX WhisperTouch Pro

silvery.jpg


silverclose.jpg


Stringing: The Silverstring is one of the easiest polys to string in the world. Nothing to report there. The WT Pro, however, is a pain to weave. It's not the weaving itself that's a problem, it's pulling the string through. Friction burn is a SERIOUS possibility. Strung 53/55, 10% prestretch on gut.
 
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pvaudio

Legend
WeissCANNON Black5Edge / PerforMAXX WhisperTouch Pro

b5e.jpg


b5eclose.jpg


Stringing: I won't even bother talking about B5E since I've done it already. The black mains though show the light dusting that's on the string to make it easier to weave. You can see that on one of the mains in the close up picture above. Strung 53/55, 10% prestretch on gut.
 
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hoodjem

G.O.A.T.
Now I have to decide on tensions in 100 sq. in.?

I am thinking of 52/56 (B5E mains and gut crosses) in the Dunlop Dunlop AG500 Tour.

And 53/57 (B5E mains and gut crosses) in the Bab APDC+.
 

pvaudio

Legend
Now I have to decide on tensions in 100 sq. in.?

I am thinking of 52/56 (B5E mains and gut crosses) in the Dunlop Dunlop AG500 Tour.

And 53/57 (B5E mains and gut crosses) in the Bab APDC+.
Sounds like a good plan to me. I am wondering, how did you go from the AG100 to the AG500? :)
 
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