As a follow up to my previous question, I started demoing a few rackets, which made me wonder--- how much of the feel is due to the racket frame itself vs the string type? I suppose the only way to know for sure would be to use the same string type on different frames for comparison. My old Prince thunderlite is strung with natural gut. Among the demos I've tried thus far, I seem to do best with the babolat pure aero lite-- nice crisp shots with more control than my thunderLite. But could I get the same level of control by just changing the strings on my old racket?
You might just need a re-string and you might benefit enough from a new racquet to make it worthwhile. Since you're asking, I think it's worth it to try new strings in the old racquet first.
Poly is stiffer and less elastic and less powerful than most other types of strings. It has to be strung around 10% looser than multis. They are designed with spin technique in mind. A faster stroke with a more glancing blow on the ball produces more spin and protects the arm from excessive shock.
Nylon based strings, multis and synthetic guts, are stretchier and more comfortable allowing more power and control at slower swing speeds. They are less durable than polys, but retain tension better if they don't break first. Weighing durability/comfort/performance helps one choose between nylon and poly.
Natural gut has the best tension retention of all, but can be unpredictable for breakage depending somewhat on the player's skill. It is the softest and provides a type of control where the ball pockets deeper into the stringed. Spin and comfort are enhanced compared to nylon strings.
Besides string types, different colors often make a difference as well.
Silver is usually a crisp string and won't contribute a feel of its own and works well with a racquet that has a dead or muted quality.
Red adds a bit more feel than silver and usually has a crisp response.
Blue is often powerful and muted.
Black is usually dead, meaning I would say that it's muted but it still is communicating some feel to my hand.
White is just plain muted, but crisp. Great if you don't like to feel the ball.
But these are just guidelines. It takes some guesswork to find your strings.