Silent Partner Swing vs Hip Hop

S

sstchur

Hall of Fame
I'm very close to buying a stringer, but I'm very indecisive.

I was initially considering very low-end like Klippermate or Gamma X-2.

Now I am thinking that maybe spending a bit more is wiser.

Background: This is just for me to string my own racquets (2 of them). I break strings about every 4 weeks or so.

Speed isn't /that/ important to me, but I do want to be sure I limit the chances that I would damage or distort the frame.

I could handle paying $200 for the Swing, but the cost bumps up pretty significantly for the Hip Hop.

What compelling reason would someone like me have for spending the extra money? Given that it's just for personal use and speed of stringing isn't a huge issue for me?

Would the Swing be adequate, or would I somehow be disappointed with it? Would you think I'd be less disappointed with the Hip Hop?

Owner of either, please feel free to chime in. There are no right or wrong answers; I'm just trying to gather good info and make an informed decision.

Thanks!
 
Hi,

I was in your exact position a little while ago. Although I do not have any experience on the Hip Hop, I love my Swing. It took a little while to get used to/learn how to string properly, but I'm really enjoying it and it doesn't take too long (maybe around an hour). The price is quite a difference and I don't string enough racquets to justify moving up to the Hip Hop so I got the Swing. You should send an email to Silent Partner because sometimes they have demo machines that are discounted but just as good as the new ones! Good luck with deciding.
 
I would prefer the hip hop due to a better mounting system, and the mounting would be quicker as well. Plus, fixed clamps are better than flying IMO.
 
I was in a similar situation and chose the Hip Hop and love it. I highly recommend it but I have never used the swing so I cant give you a good comparison but I can say that you cant go wrong with the Hip Hop.
 
Mansewerz said:
I would prefer the hip hop due to a better mounting system, and the mounting would be quicker as well. Plus, fixed clamps are better than flying IMO.
Click to expand...

This is good info. But can you elaborate? Why would I want the better mounting system? What does it do for me? Make stringing faster? It that all?

Speed is not the greatest concern to me, but perhaps there are other advantages.

What are the pros/cons of fixed vs flying clamps?

Cost matters to me. It's a big factor in my decision -- perhaps the biggest factor honestly. I'm willing to avoid going super super cheap, but $200 feels like a good amount to me. In other words, if cost is one of the most significant factors, and speed doesn't matter that much to me, is there a /really compelling/ reason to go to the next price up (which, as far as I can tell is about $380?)

Or are there other brand offerings between $200 and $380? I'm not dead set on Silent Partner, but I'm not that familiar with the various brands.
 
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To be honest, I think you'd be fine with a Klippermate. If you're only doing 1 or 2 rackets every month, speed won't be too much of an issue. The machine won't need to be really comfortable as you won't be stringing all day every day and as long as the build quality is reasonable, it'll last.

I've yet to find someone who had the Klippermate as a first machine and was disappointed by it. OK, fixed clamps would be nice but all in all, it's a good dropweight machine at a great price. I honestly don't think you need anything more than it.
 
Thanks Danstevens!

I appreciate the candid response. Other than cost, what would be the major difference between Klippermate and the Swing? From what I can tell, they're both entry level machines, both tabletop drop-weight, both flying clamps.

So what is the difference? Build quality of the machine?

Is one less likely to distort than the other? Doesn't the Swing have some sort of "pseudo" 6-point mounting system that is supposedly better?
 
sstchur said:
Thanks Danstevens!

I appreciate the candid response. Other than cost, what would be the major difference between Klippermate and the Swing? From what I can tell, they're both entry level machines, both tabletop drop-weight, both flying clamps.

So what is the difference? Build quality of the machine?

Is one less likely to distort than the other? Doesn't the Swing have some sort of "pseudo" 6-point mounting system that is supposedly better?
Click to expand...

To be honest, I don't buy in to that "pseudo 6 point mount system" as you put it (great way of describing it, actually). If you look at the Swing;
sp_swing.jpg


and then the Klippermate;
klippermate.jpg


and then any machine with true 6 point mounting, like this one:
REVO.JPG
.

You can clearly see that the Swing and Klippermate have fairly similar mounting systems. When comparing them to 6 point systems, we see that they lack the side supports - the big benefit in terms of preventing distortion that 6 point mounting offers. The Swing does have some extra support things inside but they're so close to the main 2 mount points I doubt they do a lot anyway. 6 point mounts are generally much more spread out so offer better support.

I suppose you pay a bit for the name of SP tennis as well. They do make some quality machines higher up their lines. The Klippermate offers excellent value and I can't think of anyone who has been disappointed with it. I haven't heard any Klippermate horror stories and there really isn't a lot that can go wrong with such a simple machine.

The Gamma X2 is another great machine that you should consider but as the Klippermate is cheaper, it would be my choice.
 
There are tons of similar older threads if you do a search which sums up quite a bit of experience from others. From what I gathered, Silent Partner has better quality floating clamps and a sturdier machine compared to the less expensive ones. It really seems that in your position, you wouldn't benefit from spending the extra money on the Hip Hop or anything above $200. Probably save that money and put it towards nice strings.
 
I'm really torn now and having a super hard time deciding.

I was learning towards the Swing, but the Klippermate is such a bargain of a price and you get a bunch of free strings with it (not the deciding factor, but not insignificant either, as it would be nice to have some free strings to practice on).

I know owner of the Klippermate really like it, and I know owners of the Swing really like it. And that's great, but it isn't that helpful to me actually.

Has anyone actually used both who can say "I've used both and I think the Klippermate is better b/c it's adequate and cheaper" or "I've used both and I think the Swing is better even though it costs more b/c it's easier to use"?

At this point, the things weighing on my decision are:

- Cost
- Included items (free strings, tools, etc...)
- Ease of use (not necessarily speed, but just overall ease of use and learning curve)
- Frame support

Any other advice, suggestions, comments?
 
I have some advice: pick one and buy it. I don't own one yet, however, after a little research I know what I'm going to get. The bottom line is whatever you get it'll be sufficient for your needs according to what you've stated here. If you keep waiting for someone to give you the answer you want, you could be waiting a while. They're all good machines according to the users who own them, so again, pick the one you can afford, watch a few videos on YouTube, do a little reading maybe, and enjoy stringing your own racquets.
 
I highly recommend the Swing. The HipHop is definitely a better machine but I was in a similar situation to you and couldn't justify the extra cash for the limited amount of frames I was doing.

For me take the Swing over the Klippermate for one reason, the
clutch gripper.

For me it's like this:
- Klipper - Great clamps, will never breakdown, amazing Klipper service.
- X-2 - Great gripper and clutch, clamps are so-so. Service also good.
- Swing - Better mounting than X-2 or Klipper. Not a huge difference but just feels more snug. Clamps about the same as Klipper. Gripper is good and clutch works well. Heavy and large though so if travelling is a concern get one of the others. Service excellent
 
Well there ya go - a ringing endorsement for the SP Swing with sound justification even. According to the site, it doesn't appear as though SP gives out free string, but for a mere $30 you can pick up 6 packages of this stuff to hone your skills with, and maybe have enough left over to string a couple of sticks for a few friends and get some (if not all) of that money back. ;)
 
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With regards to the string if you want to practice you can get a reel of Gosen OG from TW for $30. That's about 17 stringjobs give or take depending on your racquet. This is what I used initially.

Cheers, Orig
 
Thanks guys!

This has been really helpful. I've definitely ruled out the X-2 and the Hip Hop.

I'm definitely going to go with either the Klippermate or the Swing and plan on making my final decision sometime soon.

Thanks for all the feedback -- it really helped!
 
sstchur, Give the guys at Newtechtennis dot com (Alpha) a call. Ask Mark or Greg about the Alpha String Pal at $139. This machine falls in the same category as the Klippermate, SP Swing, and Gamma X2 and has a clutch and a linear string gripper, which I recommend (this is a dropweight requirement for me!). The Alpha/Newtech guys will not steer you wrong and their service and support is great, plus a great price and nice features.

I have not used their clamps, but there have been favorable comments with respect to them on this forum. Don't get caught up in free string. You are better off to get string that you would play with, the Gosen OG Micro is a good recommendation. Care and patience in mounting will allow all of the above machines to perform well, although the multipoint mounting supports are preferred by myself.

Request a copy of the klippermate instruction manual (ask on this forum), use Yulitle U-tube videos, the stringforum.net tutorial, the sptennis tutorials, and take time to search the discussion board threads (TW, Stringforum - go back 2 or 3 years!) and you will have good knowledge to put into action.

Goodluck!
 
Careful w/ the string pal. Some had issues w/ the turn-table
 
Mansewerz said:
Careful w/ the string pal. Some had issues w/ the turn-table
Click to expand...

You know, I've heard great things about Alpha and someone else did mention the String Pal, but I read a review from someone that its build quality was a little less? I can't quite remember the issue -- something about the painted numbers chipping off easily or something, plus a few other issues.

What issue did you have with the turn table? The String Pal has some things going for it, IIRC, a linear gripper (not sure what that means, but I hear it is a good thing) and a clutch?
 
Klippermate, great value for a personal stringer. Follow their simple directions and you will turn out a top notch string job, and the machine will last a long time.
 
I am upgrading from a swing to a revo 4k. If you want a swing then I can sell you mine. I strung maybe 20-30 times on it. It is a fine machine esp if money is an issue. I just found it hard to string more than one or two a day on that machine so I decided to upgrade. IMO the clutch is a big time saver early on.
 
dgoldman said:
I am upgrading from a swing to a revo 4k. If you want a swing then I can sell you mine. I strung maybe 20-30 times on it. It is a fine machine esp if money is an issue. I just found it hard to string more than one or two a day on that machine so I decided to upgrade. IMO the clutch is a big time saver early on.
Click to expand...

I'd certainly consider it. How much are you asking?
 
Depends where you live for shipping but id guess around 100. I still have all the original boxing etc. That is a little less than half what I paid.
 
origmarm said:
I highly recommend the Swing. The HipHop is definitely a better machine but I was in a similar situation to you and couldn't justify the extra cash for the limited amount of frames I was doing.

For me take the Swing over the Klippermate for one reason, the
clutch gripper.

For me it's like this:
- Klipper - Great clamps, will never breakdown, amazing Klipper service.
- X-2 - Great gripper and clutch, clamps are so-so. Service also good.
- Swing - Better mounting than X-2 or Klipper. Not a huge difference but just feels more snug. Clamps about the same as Klipper. Gripper is good and clutch works well. Heavy and large though so if travelling is a concern get one of the others. Service excellent
Click to expand...

I just want to say that I think this is one of the more balanced, objective, and succinct comparisons of these three low-cost machines I've seen on TW. Well done.
 
dgoldman said:
Depends where you live for shipping but id guess around 100. I still have all the original boxing etc. That is a little less than half what I paid.
Click to expand...

I'm near Seattle, WA. Can you email me: sstchur(at)gmail(dot)com, and we can discuss further?
 
dgoldman: if sstchur changes his mind, I'll take your swing. I'm looking to buy one for myself also.

Cheers !
 
i've used both the klipper and the swing, and honestly either would suffice to me. the swing felt a bit sturdier though. but if i were going to get a stringer i'd shell for a 6 point harness system.
 
beernutz said:
I just want to say that I think this is one of the more balanced, objective, and succinct comparisons of these three low-cost machines I've seen on TW. Well done.
Click to expand...

Thanks mate, I try :). My brother played at a pretty high level when I was younger so I used to travel with him sometimes and string his racquets for beer. I reckon I've used pretty much all the cheapo stringers out there. Unfortunately...

Would love to have the money to just have a big Babolat parked out in the garage.
 
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