Question on Vibration Dampeners
- Thread starter zorg
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zorg
Professional
Um, no. This was discussed many a time. Vibration dampeners dampen vibration. Sound is caused by waves, which vibrate. You cannot get sound without vibration. Does no one notice when you put a vibration dampener on there is less vibration. I HATE when people say that "it is for sound".
Zorg, you are forgetting that string vibration is not related to any noticable shock difference. That is, the ringing to hear from the strings being dampened is similiar to a guitar player "muting" strings during a song. The strings are still being hit, the shock is still being made, but the strings do not move in a way to create the sound we hear.
So a tiny piece of rubber does mute the strings, the same way fingers mute guitar strings. However, the playing characteristics of the string is not compromised. The same amount of shock is hitting your arm, no power is added or lost, and most everything should be the same. You may be able to percieve a different "feel" depending upon how large of a dampener you add - for example - the very large "worm" style dampeners often create a highly muted feeling as they cover many strings.
But I can assure you that that the characteristics of the string change so little, that any differences are in your head. Go with what feels rights comfortable (for me, a simple rubber band over 2 mains) but don't expect any changes at all in your racquet performance.
As much as you hate it, the primary effect is indeed sound.
So a tiny piece of rubber does mute the strings, the same way fingers mute guitar strings. However, the playing characteristics of the string is not compromised. The same amount of shock is hitting your arm, no power is added or lost, and most everything should be the same. You may be able to percieve a different "feel" depending upon how large of a dampener you add - for example - the very large "worm" style dampeners often create a highly muted feeling as they cover many strings.
But I can assure you that that the characteristics of the string change so little, that any differences are in your head. Go with what feels rights comfortable (for me, a simple rubber band over 2 mains) but don't expect any changes at all in your racquet performance.
As much as you hate it, the primary effect is indeed sound.
WW Volley said:
actually I don't agree. Want the proof? Take two racquets. Put 4 rubberbands in one of your racquets: one at 3, one at 6, one at 9 and one at 12. Then go hit a ball with the racquet towarding the ceiling and you tell me if all you perceive is a difference in sound...like it or not the racquet vibrates lots less. A vibradamp is effective toward vibrations. The real efficacy depends on the vibra dampener...which is its material, its contact with the strings and its thickness.
S
SageOfDeath
Guest
If you put a vibration dampener on a racquet I believe it changes the feel of the string, that can be positive or negative, I do not notice any more power or control. I actually don't care about sound unless its a ping but it also really varies from string to string I believe. Sometimes I like the sound because I can tell when I'm hitting with good spin, that sound is awsome.
However a racquet with a vibration dampener doesn't make your elbow hurt less, I believe a racquet is what transmits the shock, strings aren't in your hand so how can they? They would have to vibrate enough to make your racquet vibrate too wouldn't they?
However a racquet with a vibration dampener doesn't make your elbow hurt less, I believe a racquet is what transmits the shock, strings aren't in your hand so how can they? They would have to vibrate enough to make your racquet vibrate too wouldn't they?
I don't know what to tell you, fellas. I didn't make the laws of physics. This is a simple matter of shock, that your dampener is not going to remove. I don't care what it "feels" like when you hit bounce a ball to the ceiling, I can assure you science has this mystery covered.
As I said, you may feel a difference in terms of comfort, due to the strings not ringing. Playing charateristics do not change. Those include power, control, spin, and anything else you are hoping for.
As I said, you may feel a difference in terms of comfort, due to the strings not ringing. Playing charateristics do not change. Those include power, control, spin, and anything else you are hoping for.
D
Deleted member 6835
Guest
im kinda stuck between using, or not using, one. whenever i use one, it feels like i get more power. even though i probably dont, its just psychological. but when i dont use one, i get a lot more control. so u have to pick if you want more control, or more power. personally, i'd go for control, because power you can build through strength training
mind you, im gonna try something. putting a regular damp on the bottom of my strings, and a rubber band on the top of the strings... ill see how that goes
mind you, im gonna try something. putting a regular damp on the bottom of my strings, and a rubber band on the top of the strings... ill see how that goes
D
Deleted member 6835
Guest
whoa, i'd definetly recommend this: put a regular vibe damp on the bottom of your strings and a rubber band on the top strings. if it works really really well for me (i tried it a bit rite now, and its good), ill upload some pics. it might be misunderstood by what i mean, but i mean a vibe damp in the regular place, 1st row of string from the bottom of your frame, and then a rubber band on the top part, which would be something like 18th row from the bottom of the frame or whatever. hmm... i should get this idea attention... 
WW Volley said:
A sound wave (like any wave) is a phenomenon which transports energy from one location to another without transporting matter. So when you have a dampener, you reduce the energy by eliminating some of the sound waves. As sound wave move through a medium, each particle of the medium vibrates at the same frequency. Thus using a dampener reduces the vibration, which in fact dampens the object.
Good refresher course at http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/waves/tfl.html
PedrosCousin
Rookie
I tend to agree with Barry. The reduction of sound produced while using a dampener is an audible indication of a reduction of transfering energy (vibration) as its absorbed by a vibration dampener. I just doubt that the difference in vibration equals the difference between tennis elbow and a happy elbow. WW Volley's guitar analogy isn't exactly accurate. A palm muted guitar string produces a muted sound, yes, but the reason it's a muted sound is because the strings aren't vibrating as much as a result of your hand being being in contact with the strings. In regard to tennis, I do agree that the difference felt is very little between using a vibration dampener and not using one. The biggest noticeable difference is in the sound.
Hate to squash your great idea Nerd, but your rubber band at the top of your stringbed is illegal. You can't have anything on your strings above the first cross.
Hate to squash your great idea Nerd, but your rubber band at the top of your stringbed is illegal. You can't have anything on your strings above the first cross.
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Deleted member 6835
Guest
dam, its illegal... lol, thanks for the info pedros cousin
PedrosCousin
Rookie
Well as Ash Doyle says, it is legal to have a rubber band outside the crossed string pattern even at the top. Thanks Ash for the info and I'm sorry for my ignorance. I learned something new. Nerd, you said you tied your rubber band at about the 18th row? If your racquet has 18 crosses and you tied it above the 18th cross you are legal. Just make sure you tie it above the topmost cross string.
Midlife crisis
Hall of Fame
Ronaldo said:
What good is the "feel" of the racket? It's the aftermath of the ball colliding with your strings. There is nothing that the vibration can do to alter where the ball is going, because the ball has has long left. Also, there is nothing in the feel of the collision that can help you, because the nerve conduction speeds to are too slow for the feeling of the impact to even have reached your brain before the ball has left the strings.
I think that if most people get away from placing so much importance on the feel of the impact and concentrate more on how consistently the ball leaves the stringbed and goes where the stringbed aimed it, they'll play much better.
vibration dampeners = different feel.
rubber bands = different feel without added weight
typical vibration dampener = different feel with noticeable weight shift. racket feels a lot heavier cuz the center of the racket gets heavier.
anyways, my .02 wen i play with a rubber band i play good. wen i play without one i play good. wen i play with a typical vibration dampener, i play weird.
rubber bands = different feel without added weight
typical vibration dampener = different feel with noticeable weight shift. racket feels a lot heavier cuz the center of the racket gets heavier.
anyways, my .02 wen i play with a rubber band i play good. wen i play without one i play good. wen i play with a typical vibration dampener, i play weird.
John Zheng
Rookie
Midlife crisis said:
While what you say about the ball leaving the strings faster than we can react to is true, it ignores the human capacity for learning from previous experience. The "feel" of the ball leaving your racquet can have a similar effect as having a coach telling you what you did wrong, and what you need to do to correct it. A coach similarly cannot tell you quick enough for the shot you are hitting to have any effect on it. However, the coach can give you feedback that will help you hit the next shot better.
Similarly, the "feel" of the ball leaving the strings may not do any good for that shot. But it can give you feedback which you can use on subsequent shots that may help you improve your game. One case where this ought to be especially prevalent is when hitting drop volleys, where the movement of the strings can tell you a great deal about how precise your touch was to effect the backspin and speed reduction of the ball to make it drop just over the net. The feedback from the "feel" of the ball hitting the racquet may help you figure out exactly how to move your wrists precisely much quicker than if you are say, using a frying pan with no feedback at all.
Consequently, I tried hitting a tennis ball against the floor with a frying pan and a clay pot, and the ball bounces off them much better than I expected. The "sweet spot" of those devices is like the whole bottom! So when they say Wilander or Federer are so consistent they'd beat you love and love with a frying pan, it's no joke!
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Deleted member 6835
Guest
PedrosCousin said:
okey dokey m8
by the way, it works really well:mrgreen:Midlife crisis
Hall of Fame
John Zheng said:
While I may have been a little over the top on my previous post, I still stand by what I said. Undoubtedly we can learn from previous experience, and I think it's clear that the more different types of feedback we have the better, but there is no better feedback than SEEING where the ball goes.
Let me ask you this: If you hit a shot and it feels solid but goes out, and you hit another shot and it feels solid but goes in, what does feel tell you? Similarly, if you hit one shot solidly and it goes in and you hit another shot poorly (by mis-hitting it) and it goes in, how does the feel help?
In both cases, the feel if the impact is only confirmation for what other senses, like seeing where the ball has gone, is telling you. If you hit both shots equally solidly and one goes in and one goes out, or if you hit one solidly and another off the frame but they both go in, feel doesn't help you in any way with the next shot. It's all a matter of getting the racket to meet the ball with the stringbed at the correct angle, moving in the correct direction, and at the correct speed. You SEE where the ball goes and make adjustments. Feel only tells you whether or not you've hit the ball solidly and so determines whether or not you should use that past swing to recalibrate where you're trying to put the stringbed. For that use, any type of feel is adequate.
