Well here comes round 2 of my bad luck. The wise has yet again broken, making it the second break since I got it in march. I'm getting a new unit in again from Herb but it won't be here for several weeks. In the meantime, I'm now forced to thing of other options. One of them being the sp aria. Aria owners, do you have exp stringing poly or gut on the rotational gripper? Does it bend the string in any shape and form on the edge whear the small linear gripper finished and the round gripper starts? Also what do you think of the mounting and clamps? And lastly, have any of you done the $50 of string purchase which extends the warranty on the machine for another year? That seems like a bargain to keep the repair costs away incase something does happen. I'm still thinking of whether to give the wise unit another shot, or of I should just go with the aria. Input appreciated
SP ARIA OWNERS-Wise Owners
- Thread starter jj300
- Start date
Its a different problem now and the unit does not work after the error code 1 comes up. herb has offered me a refund, and I honestly think that I got a bad apple from the start. Others who strung many more rackets than I have, seem to have no problem with the unit. The sp place is also closer to my home state so in case of an emergency I can get the machine back sooner than shipping the wise to los angeles and then waiting a week for the return shipping. Flash9, any problems with your wise? how many rackets have you done on it so far?
I think the Aria would be a step up from the Revo. Clamps are better, plus you get 360 rotation. With your luck you probably should get the extra warranty period. Reliability is very important if you are running a stringing business, you might consider keeping the Revo for backup for a while.
To bad about the Wise 2086, if you decide on the Aria, I would put a quality Surge protector / power conditioner on it.
To bad about the Wise 2086, if you decide on the Aria, I would put a quality Surge protector / power conditioner on it.
Two Fister
Rookie
When I string poly, I can tell there is a mild bend in the string where the linear part of the gripper meets the round part of the drum. It's absolutely not an issue though. The string will get way more deformed in other aspects of stringing than this mild bend.
Easy for me to say to get an Aria, cuz I don't have $ already invested in the Wise head, etc. But anyone considering a sub $2K machine should take a good look at the Aria. I really like mine.
I am not associated with Silent Partner at all. Just a customer.
Good luck with whatever you choose.
Easy for me to say to get an Aria, cuz I don't have $ already invested in the Wise head, etc. But anyone considering a sub $2K machine should take a good look at the Aria. I really like mine.
I am not associated with Silent Partner at all. Just a customer.
Good luck with whatever you choose.
flash9
Semi-Pro
My WISE is OK
Once I got that straitened out and got a consistent set of parts, mine has been fine.
I have strung over 120 racquets as of this weekend.
FYI - I sent you a private message on the GGS board.
Barry - whatever happened to your WISE Tension Head?
I had some initial issues with the linear gripper. If you can picture that there are four major parts besides the roller bearings that makeup the linear gripper, two gripper plates, and the two outside plates that hold the roller bearings. It turned out that Herb went to two different machine shops to have these made and mixing these did not allow the grippers to close tight enough, and I had major string slippage.jj300 said:
Once I got that straitened out and got a consistent set of parts, mine has been fine. I have strung over 120 racquets as of this weekend.
FYI - I sent you a private message on the GGS board.
Barry - whatever happened to your WISE Tension Head?
flash9 said:I had some initial issues with the linear gripper. If you can picture that there are four major parts besides the roller bearings that makeup the linear gripper, two gripper plates, and the two outside plates that hold the roller bearings. It turned out that Herb went to two different machine shops to have these made and mixing these did not allow the grippers to close tight enough, and I had major string slippage.
I have strung over 120 racquets as of this weekend.
FYI - I sent you a private message on the GGS board.
Barry - whatever happened to your WISE Tension Head?
I sold the Wise 2086 a while back. It was a treat to string on, but my implementation was on a drop weight system, and could never get the unit parallel enough to the gripper to get consistent tension on the crosses. I made 2 different mounting brackets, neither worked as well as the drop weight. So gave up!
I really enjoyed the unit, but do to the mounting issue and distance between the racket and Wise 2086, tensions were off, most noticeably on crosses.
topknocker
Rookie
get aria
i don't have an aria but, what i do have is the maestro. the maestro and aria have the same turntable and clamps. they are the only two sp stringers that do. the clamps and mounting have got to be some of the best made. you are going to really be surprised at the difference between them and what you have now. after the luck with the 2086 you have had, i would say forget it! if you can get your money back, go with the aria!
i don't have an aria but, what i do have is the maestro. the maestro and aria have the same turntable and clamps. they are the only two sp stringers that do. the clamps and mounting have got to be some of the best made. you are going to really be surprised at the difference between them and what you have now. after the luck with the 2086 you have had, i would say forget it! if you can get your money back, go with the aria!
Can one of the aria owners take some close up pictures of the table, specifically the two knobs used to move the mounting system, as well as the v side supports that are attached to the side supports? Maestro pics would be fine too since its the same table. Can anyone take a close up pic of the gripper especially on the left side when the string goes against hte round part of the gripper? Thanks a lot
jamauss
Hall of Fame
I'll take pictures of mine tonight - I need to string one of my racquets anyway. In the meantime, you can look at this page, it has a few pics: http://www.sptennis.com/service/aria/index1265.html
jamauss
Hall of Fame
Aria Pics
Here are a bunch of links to pics of the Aria - they're fairly high res so I figured people would rather be able to click links than have their browser try to load 27 hi-res pics. Let me know if there are any other parts of the stringer you wanted pics of that I didn't capture.
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer1.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer2.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer3.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer4.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer5.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer6.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer7.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer8.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer9.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer10.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer11.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer12.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer13.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer14.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer15.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer16.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer17.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer18.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer19.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer20.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer21.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer22.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer23.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer24.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer25.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer26.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer27.jpg
Here are a bunch of links to pics of the Aria - they're fairly high res so I figured people would rather be able to click links than have their browser try to load 27 hi-res pics. Let me know if there are any other parts of the stringer you wanted pics of that I didn't capture.
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer1.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer2.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer3.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer4.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer5.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer6.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer7.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer8.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer9.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer10.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer11.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer12.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer13.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer14.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer15.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer16.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer17.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer18.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer19.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer20.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer21.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer22.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer23.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer24.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer25.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer26.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer27.jpg
Damn jamauss, thanks for all the great pictures. Two questions: are you addicted to sponge bob, and is that racket bag full of strings? Look's like its packed with sets of strings. Looks like the rotational head scraped your cover a little bit on the top right side of it. Also the gripper seems to be designed fairly well with a smooth transition between the lienar gripper and the drum of the rotational gripper. I was hoping it would be like that instead of a sharp edge between the two.
Mr. Blond
Professional
jj300 said:
jj300, I know your kind of worried that the rotational gripper will be tough with poly's, but I use a gamma with a rotational gripper, and it is as easy as cake. Sure, the rotational gripper is not as convienient as a linear, but they are much more dependable in the long run. The constant pull is nice to see it making minor adjustments when you are clamping and such.
topknocker
Rookie
i don't understand the scratching of the cover with the string gripper? i finally got to see a aria in person and the string gripper, if i remember, was at least quarter inch away from the cover.
jamauss
Hall of Fame
jj300 said:
1. I wouldn't say I'm "addicted" to SpongeBob, but it's my fav. cartoon and so anytime my kids see little SpongeBob toys/things they like to buy them for me.
2. Ya, that bag is full of string.
There's a couple of reels in there and a bunch of packages. I haven't bought string in a while and won't need to. As someone else mentioned - the original cover I received was cracked so SP sent me a replacement. The tensioner did rub against it at first, so I had to adjust it - it doesn't rub anymore.
jamauss
Hall of Fame
By the way, the distance of the tensioner from the case is adjustable. Here's a couple of pics I just snapped of the tensioner after I put more space between the two. I normally leave mine a little closer to the case but you can put about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch between if you want.
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer28.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer29.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer28.jpg
http://maussfamily.org/AriaStringer/AriaStringer29.jpg
jamauss, I'm always accepting donations of tennis string. Since you have so many. I just have 5 reels and about 25 sets that I know will get used soon. But your bag is string is HUGE. I'm waiting for sp to get a demo unit of aria in and I will order asap. Thanks again for all the great pics.
jj300 said:
It is discouraging to read of your bad luck with the Wise tensioner. I hope mine keeps working. Reading that you and another poster are having to wait a few weeks to get new units is also frustrating. Given that that they only sell one product in one configuration and now only sell it in one color I wonder if this is actually a business or a part time business. It is tempting to consider the SP Aria but $1,600.00 is a lot to spend when you already have sunk funds into your existing stringer and a Wise tensioner. I would probably give the Wise one more chance.
I have already spent about $1200 on my current setup and more because of the continued wise problems. I would get a demo unit from aria which should be a few hundred dollars less than the new unit. My stringing volume is slowly increasing and I can not keep switching customers from electric to crank and back and worth every time they string with me, its very frustrating not knowing if the machine will last one more string job or not. I spent money on the wise already so the aria deserves at least a shot, if not I can always order another wise unit. However, like you said, having to wait several weeks for a product, one that especially has had problems, adds to my frustration. I took the time to speak to several people in the industry, as well as people that do heavy volume stringing, and all recommend that I give the aria a shot at impressing me.
Jamauss, thanks for posting the great pictures. I'm leaning toward the Aria as you and the others seem to be having great experience with it. I know SP is coming out with a newer model in the $2700 range so I'm not going to wait for that one...too pricey for me as I only string from myself and friends at home.
JetFlyr
Rookie
JJ,
I bought my WISE from Barry. Don't know how many frames he did on it, but I've done 15 on it since I bought it and it's working just fine.
When I was looking to get a machine, I narrowed it down to the WISE or the ARIA. I chose the WISE mainly because of the linear string gripper, and because of the rave reviews on this website. Yours is about the only negative experience I have read about the WISE. I think you just got a lemon.
When it has been working, how have you liked it? Other than the reliablility problem, are there any other issues with the WISE that make you want to try the ARIA?
I bought my WISE from Barry. Don't know how many frames he did on it, but I've done 15 on it since I bought it and it's working just fine.
When I was looking to get a machine, I narrowed it down to the WISE or the ARIA. I chose the WISE mainly because of the linear string gripper, and because of the rave reviews on this website. Yours is about the only negative experience I have read about the WISE. I think you just got a lemon.
When it has been working, how have you liked it? Other than the reliablility problem, are there any other issues with the WISE that make you want to try the ARIA?
JetFlyr,
The reliability problem you mentioned is a HUGE problem, big enough to make me switch to a different machines. The wise issues were not discuessed much, but there have been many more than just mine. I heard from several people with issues, including multiple problems with units. E-mail me at gfinger32@yahoo.com if you want more info. Glad your machine is working. Its hard to choose because aria users describe the machine as nothing but a pleasure to use and I only found 2 small problems, both of which were taken care of by sp right away.
The reliability problem you mentioned is a HUGE problem, big enough to make me switch to a different machines. The wise issues were not discuessed much, but there have been many more than just mine. I heard from several people with issues, including multiple problems with units. E-mail me at gfinger32@yahoo.com if you want more info. Glad your machine is working. Its hard to choose because aria users describe the machine as nothing but a pleasure to use and I only found 2 small problems, both of which were taken care of by sp right away.
Mike Cottrill
Hall of Fame
Jamauss,jamauss said:
I noticed that this machine has Head and Throat designations. What are the differences in the two mounts/posts? Interesting.
Thanks
BTW, nice machine.
Mike
jj300 said:
I own an SP Aria and it is my understanding that the Head and Throat markings are irrelevant for tennis racquets. I don't see any difference in the posting mounts. One post does slide more than the other (I think it's the Throat) so that might account for the importance of the orientation of the small head of a badminton racquet.
I can say I have been very satisfied with the Aria and am glad I chose to go that route. I have had only two small problems with the machine. I had a defective clamp which Steve at SP replaced without a question and some calibration needed to be adjusted which they walked me through.
I can't imagine an electronic stringer at twice the money (Babolat, Tecnifibre, Gamma) being twice as good. Just my 2c.
JetFlyr said:
Glad to hear everything is working out. I did about 35 rackets total, and still believe the Wise 2086 is an excellent tensioner, just not as good mounted on a drop weight system. The Aria was very nice to string on, clamps, mounting system were excellent. It was also a little bit faster pulling the string than the Wise unit.
I have strung on both the Aria and Wise, and I still like the linear gripper is better. It is easier for me, but it is probably what you get use too.
Tough decision, maybe he can increase is stringing volume enough to justify both.
jj300 said:
If it were me, I would ask Herb for one more shot and if it fails, I expect a full refund. In my case, I own a drop weight system and plan on upgrading sometime, the Wise and a crank machine is about the same cost as the Aria. The Aria is a complete system and you only have to deal with a single supplier, but you do not have any backup. 360 rotations were a plus, but In general, I think the electronic components on any stringers are more maintenance intensive and not as simple to repair as the old spring units.
Only concern about the Aria is you only get 90 days on the refurbished unit. The Wise warranty is longer. The Aria gripper is a bit unique in that it has a linear gripper inside which grabs the string so you don’t have to wind it. I thought it worked well, but for me I still like the linear straight line one better.
jj300 said:
I sent them an email back 8 months ago, and ask about the one they were selling on the big auction site. At that time, I was told it was 3 months, glad to here it has been extended.
Here is the message Steve sent me!
"We sell all demos on THE BIG AUCTION SITE under the seller name "silentpartnerbyauction". We currently do not have anything listed. I will have an Aria available next week, it will be posted on THE BIG AUCTION SITE . We try to sell the machines at 25% off their regular price on ****. They come with a 3 month warranty.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005 3:20 PM
Good to hear the policy has changed!
jamauss,
check your hot mail e-mail or e-mail me at gfinger32@yahoo.com
check your hot mail e-mail or e-mail me at gfinger32@yahoo.com
ShooterMcMarco
Hall of Fame
I'll take you up on the sticker man, email sent.
