Silence your paddle and other mods ... how did you do it?

[ByeByePoly]

I thought we might want to post our attempts at quieting the "clack", and any other paddle mods (legal or illegal ) that you did with an explanation of how you did it.

My comments on paddles being the more likely path to Pickleball noise cohabitation ( https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/give-us-your-thoughts.702884/#post-16910652 )

The two things that I ran into first grabbing the paddle after years of the racquet:

1) noise/feel
2) paddle length

My first post will be my recent DIY regarding noise/feel ... hopefully soon someone will tell me how to easily extend our 15.5" paddles to the 17" limit. (And by "someone" ... thinking of our ttw scientists brothers @Shroud and @travlerajm )

@Shroud @travlerajm @louis netman @Lorenn

 

[ByeByePoly]

OK ... this was my recent cheap DIY paddle silencing hack. It worked ... although no idea how long it will hold up. Also note .... did not spend much on our paddles, so little risk if things went poorly.

First ... what thin and cheap "rubber" to try first. Some of the table tennis rubbers cost more than our starter paddles ... so let's call those potential future experiments.

Found this on Amazon ... passed the cheap ... so bought it.

https://imgur.com/HKRhxJt

One thing I liked in the description was it already had the sticky back ... so no glue. Also ... claimed it would leave no residue if you peeled it off. I was doubtful about that ... and no way I was going to risk hosing wife's "pretty" new red paddle. So I tested it on my paddle with a small piece, and peeled it off. Nothing ... didn't even need to wipe it off with a wet paper towel or something. I can't speak to once it's been on for a longer time.

The sheeting came in a roll ... so spread it out and put the paper side up so I could outline the paddle for cutting. If I stick to this ... I will come up with a better method to be more precise of matching inside the paddle edge guards.

https://imgur.com/QaCIZjN

Went ahead and cut out for both sides of both paddles ... knew this stuff wasn't going on that red paddle until we went and tested mine.

https://imgur.com/RBmREVe

https://imgur.com/hpILUC3

Need to do one more thing before you stick the Pickleskins on ... the sheet came in a roll. You need to take the coil memory out ... only took a few minutes and was good to go:

https://imgur.com/KqaIoXp

So off to test. On wife's side the annoying clack, and my side a most pleasant tennis-adjacent thwak/thunk. OK ok ... I know ... the rules man, the rules ... you just created a spin and power Picklegeddon. So I tried massive topspin. Nope ... I would say marginally more topspin, certainly not enough to **** of my wife, which I have to admit was a bit disappointing. So what about this new raw unleashed power imparted on Mr Wiffle. Nope ... perhaps even slightly less due to the "sponge" and insulating (this product advertised to dampen noise btw) part. I think the slight increase in paddle weight, but will probably a little less bounce off that paddle rocket science fiberglass surface was a wash ... about the same power. Meaning ... if one brand new Pickleballer first attempt at muffling the wiffle was successful, then the USAPA argument that it can't be done without vastly changing the game ... just might not be true. Just sayin ... come on Pballers ... keep on open mind. You don't want to be those annoying noisy people ... do you? Don't answer that.

Which brings us to the real critical test. If rules girl wife ... who already isn't to crazy about husbands paddle "cheating" ... what happens if we actually play with others and they don't like it. I told her when we get to the point we are playing for $, we can buy a second set of $37 paddles without the cheat sheets , and just pull out the legal ones. And ... I think this was @Lorenn 's great suggestion ... maybe also carry an extra paddle of two with the cheat sheets, and let them try it if they would like. It's a Quiet Mr Wiffle Ground up movement ... one park, one community center, one couple at a time. Has to start somewhere ... needs to happen.

Anyway ... where was I ... oh, the critical rules girl wife test. Let me put it this way ... I had a hard time getting my paddle back.

Wife's weapon with cheat sheet

One interesting thing was Mr Wiffle left a mark on the rubber. It was very clear where you hit the ball on the paddle face. It was at this point my thinking that I needed to extend the handle was confirmed. Tip hit paddle hits do not carry like the forgiving modern tennis racquet.

 

[travlerajm]

OK ... this was my recent cheap DIY paddle silencing hack. It worked ... although no idea how long it will hold up. Also note .... did not spend much on our paddles, so little risk if things went poorly.

First ... what thin and cheap "rubber" to try first. Some of the table tennis rubbers cost more than our starter paddles ... so let's call those potential future experiments.

Found this on Amazon ... passed the cheap ... so bought it.

https://imgur.com/HKRhxJt

One thing I liked in the description was it already had the sticky back ... so no glue. Also ... claimed it would lead no residue if you peeled it off. I was doubtful about that ... and no way I was going to risk hosing wife's "pretty" new red paddle. So I tested it on my paddle with a small piece, and peeled it off. Nothing ... didn't even need to wipe it off with a wet paper towel or something. I can't speak to once it's been on for a longer time.

The sheeting came in a roll ... so spread it out and put the paper side up so I could outline the paddle for cutting. If I stick to this ... I will come up with a better method to be more precise of matching inside the paddle edge guards.

https://imgur.com/QaCIZjN

Went ahead and cut out for both sides of both paddles ... knew this stuff wasn't going on that red paddle until we went and tested mine.

https://imgur.com/RBmREVe

https://imgur.com/hpILUC3

Need to do one more thing before you stick the Pickleskins on ... the sheet came in a roll. You need to take the memory coil out ... only took a few minutes and was good to go:

https://imgur.com/KqaIoXp

So off to test. On wife's side the annoying clack, and my side a most pleasant tennis-adjacent thwak/thunk. OK ok ... I know ... the rules man, the rules ... you just created a spin and power Picklegeddon. So I tried massive topspin. Nope ... I would say marginally more topspin, certainly not enough to **** of my wife, which I have to admit was a bit disappointing. So what about this new raw unleashed power imparted on Mr Wiffle. Nope ... perhaps even slightly less due to the "sponge" and insulating (this product advertised to dampen noise btw) part. I think the slight increase in paddle weight, but will probably a little less bounce off that paddle rocket science fiberglass surface was a wash ... about the same power. Meaning ... if one brand new Pickleballer first attempt at muffling the wiffle was successful, then the USAPA argument that it can't be done without vastly changing the game ... just might not be true. Just sayin ... come on Pballers ... keep on open mind. You don't want to be those annoying noisy people ... do you? Don't answer that.

Which brings us to the real critical test. If rules girl wife ... who already isn't to crazy about husbands paddle "cheating" ... what happens if we actually play with others and they don't like it. I told her when we get to the point we are playing for $, we can buy a second set of $37 paddles without the cheat sheets , and just pull out the legal ones. And ... I think this was @Lorenn 's great suggestion ... maybe also carry an extra paddle of two with the cheat sheets, and let them try it if they would like. It's a Quiet Mr Wiffle Ground up movement ... one park, one community center, one couple at a time. Has to start somewhere ... needs to happen.

Anyway ... where was I ... oh, the critical rules girl wife test. Let me put it this way ... I had a hard time getting my paddle back.

https://imgur.com/nJIa4Mi

https://i.imgur.com/nJIa4Mil.jpg

One interesting thing was Mr Wiffle left a mark on the rubber. It was very clear where you hit the ball on the paddle face. It was at this point my thinking that I needed to extend the handle was confirmed. Tip hit paddle hits do not carry like the forgiving modern tennis racquet.

Those tip hits will carry much further with a bit of perimeter weighting.

 

[ByeByePoly]

Those tip hits will carry much further with a bit of perimeter weighting.

Which reminds me ... I meant to post this for you and Shroud

7.8 oz / 221 g - orig
7.9 oz / 224 g - w/tournagrip
8.3 oz / 236 g - w/tournagrip + cheat sheets/Pickleskins

I would be suspect popping that edge guard off and hoping it would ever stay back on. I could see tennis racquet edge tape in the future with lead at the tip.

But ... you have to remember this is a 15-17" 8ish oz paddle ... not a 27" 12 oz racquet. Also no strokes ... so I'm thinking length of paddle and grip are going to be the bigger issue here. That said ... I can say I definitely liked 8.3 oz rather than 7.8 oz.

 

[travlerajm]

Which reminds me ... I meant to post this for you and Shroud

7.8 oz / 221 g - orig
7.9 oz / 224 g - w/tournagrip
8.3 oz / 236 g - w/tournagrip + cheat sheets/Pickleskins

I would be suspect popping that edge guard off and hoping it would ever stay back on. I could see tennis racquet edge tape in the future with lead at the tip.

But ... you have to remember this is a 15-17" 8ish oz paddle ... not a 27" 12 oz racquet. Also no strokes ... so I'm thinking length of paddle and grip are going to be the bigger issue here. That said ... I can say I definitely liked 8.3 oz rather than 7.8 oz.

I did not notice an increase in spin until my paddle hit the the 10-oz mark. Then it started to grip the ball even with the standard slippery plastic surface.

 

[ByeByePoly]

I did not notice an increase in spin until my paddle hit the the 10-oz mark. Then it started to grip the ball even with the standard slippery plastic surface.

interesting … now I wonder if there is a weight limit. We are on the court now …best we have hit in singles. I would not want to go back to slick… and I’m not hitting much spin to wife … just feels 100% better

 

[travlerajm]

interesting … now I wonder if there is a weight limit. We are on the court now …best we have hit in singles. I would not want to go back to slick… and I’m not hitting much spin to wife … just feels 100% better

The last time I was an active pickle baller was in the late ‘80s, when I was in high school. I played a couple of organized tourneys.

It was a time when the new expensive high-tech lightweight honeycomb paddles had come out. I tried them then, but I much preferred wood. I could feel that the extra mass gave me more control of the collision at impact, and better control, especially at net. I felt like the woodie gave me a tech edge in the tourneys.

Upon first testing recently, I found that taking an 8-oz hollow paddle and weighting it up to 10-oz (the weight of a woodie) but with extra advantage of perimeter and handle weighting, performs even better than a woodie.

 

[ByeByePoly]

The last time I was an active pickle baller was in the late ‘80s, when I was in high school. I played a couple of organized tourneys.

It was a time when the new expensive high-tech lightweight honeycomb paddles had come out. I tried them then, but I much preferred wood. I could feel that the extra mass gave me more control of the collision at impact, and better control, especially at net. I felt like the woodie gave me a tech edge in the tourneys.

Upon first testing recently, I found that taking an 8-oz hollow paddle and weighting it up to 10-oz (the weight of a woodie) but with extra advantage of perimeter and handle weighting, performs even better than a woodie.

Interesting. Seems heavier would be better for serving and returning the wiffle, also any volley with time. The only thing I wonder about watching the pros, is once you reach a level where there is the chess match and reflex deul at the kitchen, it looks like light with dinkfest might work to your advantage (particularly creating angles with wrist flick that the opponent didn’t/couldn’t read. The #1 male player uses a 9 oz I think.

We played our first game of doubles today. My observation and guess is most rec levels of pickleball doubles does not involve that prolonged kitchen duel and you are probably fine with a heavier paddle. But … your are hitting a 26g wiffle … almost anything will win that collision … and that is unfair to collisions everywhere.

So we played mixed doubles … and the guy had a $175 paddle. He hit my $20 paddle with foam rubber, and I hit his $175 paddle. We both liked the other’s paddle … and I came away thinking probably not much difference in paddles like tennis racquets. If you pay more for some minor surface friction … probably going to wear off back to slick pretty quick (I am guessing obviously … but did see someone say that in a paddle review youtube).

Had fun the entire two hours … talking to this couple who seems plugged into local Pickleball… I will have a hard time finding singles. Almost all doubles only.

 

[ByeByePoly]

The last time I was an active pickle baller was in the late ‘80s, when I was in high school. I played a couple of organized tourneys.

It was a time when the new expensive high-tech lightweight honeycomb paddles had come out. I tried them then, but I much preferred wood. I could feel that the extra mass gave me more control of the collision at impact, and better control, especially at net. I felt like the woodie gave me a tech edge in the tourneys.

Upon first testing recently, I found that taking an 8-oz hollow paddle and weighting it up to 10-oz (the weight of a woodie) but with extra advantage of perimeter and handle weighting, performs even better than a woodie.

You are a closeted Pickleballer … who knew?

So how do I add 1.5” to my handle?

 

[1HBHfanatic]

The last time I was an active pickle baller was in the late ‘80s, when I was in high school. I played a couple of organized tourneys.

It was a time when the new expensive high-tech lightweight honeycomb paddles had come out. I tried them then, but I much preferred wood. I could feel that the extra mass gave me more control of the collision at impact, and better control, especially at net. I felt like the woodie gave me a tech edge in the tourneys.

Upon first testing recently, I found that taking an 8-oz hollow paddle and weighting it up to 10-oz (the weight of a woodie) but with extra advantage of perimeter and handle weighting, performs even better than a woodie.

-haaaaa
-thats where im at now!
-i got 5' of 1/2" thick lead tape on my paddle now
-1' of lead on left/right, from 2/10- 4/8 oclock
-3' of lead on the handle

 

[1HBHfanatic]

Which reminds me ... I meant to post this for you and Shroud

7.8 oz / 221 g - orig
7.9 oz / 224 g - w/tournagrip
8.3 oz / 236 g - w/tournagrip + cheat sheets/Pickleskins

I would be suspect popping that edge guard off and hoping it would ever stay back on. I could see tennis racquet edge tape in the future with lead at the tip.

But ... you have to remember this is a 15-17" 8ish oz paddle ... not a 27" 12 oz racquet. Also no strokes ... so I'm thinking length of paddle and grip are going to be the bigger issue here. That said ... I can say I definitely liked 8.3 oz rather than 7.8 oz.

-great MOD!
-thanks for sharing
-i think i might give this a go at some point
-but,,, i dont think this will fly on the tournament/rules side of things
-they tend to frown on the surface of the paddle being modified
-i specifically considered the "RED long pimples out pingpong rubber sheets"

--but as you said, always carry a legit paddle for such times!

 

[ByeByePoly]

-great MOD!
-thanks for sharing
-i think i might give this a go at some point
-but,,, i dont think this will fly on the tournament/rules side of things
-they tend to frown on the surface of the paddle being modified
-i specifically considered the "RED long pimples out pingpong rubber sheets"

--but as you said, always carry a legit paddle for such times!

oh … it says specifically in the rules what I did is not allowed. They seem to know I was coming.

• 2.E.6.a. Anti-skid paint or any paint textured with sand, rubber particles, or any material that causes additional spin. (my emphasis, they really have it out for reducing spin)
• 2.E.6.b. Rubber and synthetic rubber.
• 2.E.6.c. Sandpaper characteristics.
• 2.E.6.d. Moving parts that can increase head momentum
• 2.E.6.e. Removable parts. No removable parts except for paddle grip adjustments and/or grip wraps and lead tape on the paddle edge.
• 2.E.6.f. Springs or spring-like material.
• 2.E.6.g. Flexible membranes or any compressible material that creates a trampoline effect.
• 2.E.6.h. Electrical, electronic, or mechanical assistance of any sort.

 

[ByeByePoly]

-great MOD!
-thanks for sharing
-i think i might give this a go at some point
-but,,, i dont think this will fly on the tournament/rules side of things
-they tend to frown on the surface of the paddle being modified
-i specifically considered the "RED long pimples out pingpong rubber sheets"

--but as you said, always carry a legit paddle for such times!

I thought of that too … but didn’t want to insulate/hide that interior honeycomb honeypot magic.

 

[ByeByePoly]

So … we played our first time with several “other people” … and not only did no one notice or care about our paddle liners, I got a compliment.

”Our Amazon paddles didn’t come with that nice surface“

 

[TripleB]

60 pairs of earplugs are $8...I carry a jar in my bag and hand them out to people who are overly sensitive about the sound of a pickleball hitting a paddle!

TripleB

 

[ByeByePoly]

60 pairs of earplugs are $8...I carry a jar in my bag and hand them out to people who are overly sensitive about the sound of a pickleball hitting a paddle!

TripleB

Now I know how your knee got hurt.

 

[ByeByePoly]

60 pairs of earplugs are $8...I carry a jar in my bag and hand them out to people who are overly sensitive about the sound of a pickleball hitting a paddle!

TripleB

I live in a red state. I don’t recommend handing those out in the neighborhood near the court. They all have guns.

 

[TripleB]

I live in a red state. I don’t recommend handing those out in the neighborhood near the court. They all have guns.

My state seems to go back and forth between red and blue so the neighbors may or may not have a gun...then again, I may or may not have a gun as well

TripleB

 

[ByeByePoly]

My state seems to go back and forth between red and blue so the neighbors may or may not have a gun...then again, I may or may not have a gun as well

TripleB

I’m sure your kitchen duels will prepare you.

 

[optic yellow]

Nope ... I would say marginally more topspin, certainly not enough to **** of my wife, which I have to admit was a bit disappointing.

 

[ByeByePoly]

pi.$.$ off my wife … jeeze

 

[StringGuruMRT]

I'd rather just silence the whiny people... I prefer the sound of pickleball compared to 2.5 tennis players grunting like Alcaraz

 

[treo]

There is a new paddle out called the Diadem Vice which is quieter with its foam core.

 

[ByeByePoly]

There is a new paddle out called the Diadem Vice which is quieter with its foam core.

My simple experiment here proved to me it is possible to change both noise and feel without much change to spin or power. If I could do it with cheap neoprene rubber sheeting intended for floor mats, etc … the big $ in the game certainly could. Perhaps they won’t change the noise and ignore complaints all over (just Google) … game is growing like crazy … but that is burying one’s head in the sand imo.

I think worrying so much about spin is misguided … unless they change the ball you will never get the current heavy baseline topspin game like tennis (Nadal). It’s a wiffle ... too much spin and you don’t have enough linear movement to pass someone.

Coming from tennis to wiffle … my first impression is “feel” is a much bigger issue than spin. And … not suggesting pickleball should become tennis … just sharing initial impressions from a tennis player‘s early wiffle days. Feel is a big deal to many tennis players … select strings according to preference, feel, etc. There is a brief moment of ball dwell time on the strings that gives you the since of feel. Can you do that with a hard surfaced paddle … grit or not … I doubt it. Can you do it with cheap neoprene rubber sheeting from Amazon. Yes … it surprised me how much dwell time feeling happened with my first cheap material attempt. I think it would be very interesting to have a bunch of higher level players playing with the most control/feel paddles (I hear many say Diadem Warrior) hit with my cheap paddles w/cheap rubber and tell us what they think. Table Tennis paddles were sandpaper at first … don’t think you would find many wanting to go back to that. Perhaps the paddles are currently in their sandpaper years.

All of that said … just starting out with wife playing open play doubles … had a blast last Monday. Our new legal Prince Response Pros just arrived yesterday … pink for her, black for me. We be ready for indoor Clackageddon.

 

[treo]

I hit for a while with this rubber practice baseball and it seems promising for quiet pickleball. The bounce is unpredictable, sometimes low and off the paddle it can go high. It's a good practice ball. I have some foam balls on order. I tried foam balls before and from what I remember the downside is lack of feel on dinks.

Impact Practice Baseballs - 12 PackOne Size

Constructed with proprietary pop-back material similar to the material used to make car bumpers, Impact Baseballs keep their shape and won’t crack like standard practice balls—even after thousands of swings. Built to provide instant feedback on contact, they help hitters tune their swings to...

sklz.ca

 

[ByeByePoly]

I hit for a while with this rubber practice baseball and it seems promising for quiet pickleball. The bounce is unpredictable, sometimes low and off the paddle it can go high. It's a good practice ball. I have some foam balls on order. I tried foam balls before and from what I remember the downside is lack of feel on dinks.

Impact Practice Baseballs - 12 PackOne Size

Constructed with proprietary pop-back material similar to the material used to make car bumpers, Impact Baseballs keep their shape and won’t crack like standard practice balls—even after thousands of swings. Built to provide instant feedback on contact, they help hitters tune their swings to...

sklz.ca

I gave up on my plan to try different balls … including foam balls. I did learn after playing with the tennis red dot ball it’s not just about bounce and softness, but also about weight. The pickleball is 26 g … kid tennis balls 50+ g … too much for the light paddles. When it’s just me and the wife, we now use the onix pure 2 ball which bounces good enough for two aging tennis players. Good enough … doesn’t mean we wouldn’t want more. Whatever indoor ball Lifetime is using … it hardly bounces compared to onix pure 2 … wish all indoor balls bounced just as good.

 

[sureshs]

My simple experiment here proved to me it is possible to change both noise and feel without much change to spin or power. If I could do it with cheap neoprene rubber sheeting intended for floor mats, etc … the big $ in the game certainly could.

The rule says no tape. A sheet can be viewed as a large tape. Though your sheet may actually do the opposite (i.e., make it less rough and so less amenable to spin), the blanket law will prohibit it I think. There is no way an umpire can tell what your intention is and he is not going to carry a roughness tester along.

2. E.2: Surface. There shall be no holes, indentations, rough texturing, tape, or any other objects or features on the paddle hitting surface that allow a player to impart additional spin on the ball. The Starrett SR 100 or its equivalent tests, such as the Starrett SR160 Surface Roughness Tester, are used to determine paddle roughness.

The following rule would also make your paddle illegal:

E.5.a. Edge guard tape, lead tape, modifications to the grip size or grip wrap, and name decals and/or other identification markers on the paddle face are the only tweaks or additions that may be added to a Commercially built paddle.

 

[ByeByePoly]

The rule says no tape. A sheet can be viewed as a large tape. Though your sheet may actually do the opposite (i.e., make it less rough and so less amenable to spin), the blanket law will prohibit it I think. There is no way an umpire can tell what your intention is and he is not going to carry a roughness tester along.

2. E.2: Surface. There shall be no holes, indentations, rough texturing, tape, or any other objects or features on the paddle hitting surface that allow a player to impart additional spin on the ball. The Starrett SR 100 or its equivalent tests, such as the Starrett SR160 Surface Roughness Tester, are used to determine paddle roughness.

The following rule would also make your paddle illegal:

E.5.a. Edge guard tape, lead tape, modifications to the grip size or grip wrap, and name decals and/or other identification markers on the paddle face are the only tweaks or additions that may be added to a Commercially built paddle.

Good afternoon sir

Yep … not legal (see post #12 above). I wasn’t trying to make a legal addition … just experimenting.

If you didn’t watch the video @jonestim posted yesterday, check it out (

). Diadem is introducing a “concept paddle” named Vice to start a discussion of what paddles could become. When other countries take up Pickleball it grows beyond USAP if you ever want it to become an olympic game/sport. Sounds like Diadem and Evan Specht are way past just rubber surface.

 

[sureshs]

Good afternoon sir

Yep … not legal (see post #12 above). I wasn’t trying to make a legal addition … just experimenting.

If you didn’t watch the video @jonestim posted yesterday, check it out (

). Diadem is introducing a “concept paddle” named Vice to start a discussion of what paddles could become. When other countries take up Pickleball it grows beyond USAP if you ever want it to become an olympic game/sport. Sounds like Diadem and Evan Specht are way past just rubber surface.

I have reported you to the Pickleball Equipment Regulation Commission (PERC) for using illegal paddles.

 

[ByeByePoly]

I have reported you to the Pickleball Equipment Regulation Commission (PERC) for using illegal paddles.

Thanks brother … you have the same bedside manner as @Azure.

We now have legal Prince paddles … wife 7.3 oz pink, BBP 8.2 oz (w/tournagrip) black. We are now legal … accept wife sometimes hits ball in air after serve.

We carry illegal paddles also in bag … not sure why.

 

[Azure]

Thanks brother … you have the same bedside manner as @Azure.

Correct, we are cut from the same cloth. Its just that he takes a much larger portion of the cloth.