synthetic gut or natural gut in hybrid with poly?

[Ramjet]

Hi there, what's the difference in playability with synthetic gut instead of natural gut in the main with poly hybrid.

I play with klip natural gut main and sppp poly cross in a pure strike 16x19 at 52/48 lbs. I enjoy the soft feel and spin with that set up. I'm just curious if it's worth paying extra for the natural gut and what the drop off would be if I used a synthetic gut instead.

 

[beltsman]

Hi there, what's the difference in playability with synthetic gut instead of natural gut in the main with poly hybrid.

I play with klip natural gut main and sppp poly cross in a pure strike 16x19 at 52/48 lbs. I enjoy the soft feel and spin with that set up. I'm just curious if it's worth paying extra for the natural gut and what the drop off would be if I used a synthetic gut instead.

Syn gut is super cheap. Try it out.

But worse feel, less spin, and likely breaks faster.

 

[esgee48]

Try Gamma Live Wire XP 16 or 17. The ZX multi will not get sawed thru by the poly cross. At the other end is Babolat SG or PSGD. Of these two, try the PSGD first. Live Wire plays very well as a full bed. Durability is not good because ZX rubbing against ZX breaks. ZX rubbing against polyester does not. If stifness of KLIP is ~120, then these strings will have stiffness ratings ~140-160., which are still on the soft side. The Bab SG < PSGD. Your SPPP will remain the same, so you probaly may want to try either 50/48 or 48/48. Suggested numbers are for the 1st trial. Since you are hybriding, you get 2 chances.

 

[Ramjet]

Thank you @beltsman and @esgee48. Appreciate the perspective. I don't string myself and pay for stringing. Is this worth it to try, or is it just a wild goose chase? (Weighing curiosity vs just sticking with a setup)

 

[esgee48]

Depends on your general playing climate. If damp or wet, synthetics are better. If you play in a dry climate, stay with what you have. Based on your tension, suspect colder clime.

 

[AmericanTwist]

In wet weather I play with full bed of syn gut. In dry weather I play with syn gut/natural gut. Best combo for me. Poly/natural gut sorta defeats purpose of natural gut. Plus poly loses tension quickly which syn gut does not. YMMV

 

[Maloya]

for me, the interest of SG or Naty depends on the poly used.
if a poly which has a good durability (tension maintenance) we can go to naty.
if we use a dead poly within 3 hours, it will waste naty!
with kirschbaum max power a natural gut will be exploited for more than 12 to 14 hours without difficulties.
with other poly that do not last 3 hours it is quite expensive to cut gut after such a short time.
my brother played with plasma and wilson SG for a while and cut off every 4 hours.

 

[esgee48]

SPPP is factory pre stretched tho not to the extent that 4G is. It is not as stiff and not as durable/hard. To take advantage of its elasticity, you need to pull tension at least 10 seconds for each string. When I trialed it, I found that doing it this way let me play with it for at least 16 hours with their "16 Ga". Thinner loses tension faster as you should expect. For my game, I would not hybrid NG mains with poly crosses. I would prefer NG mains and slippery SG crosses like Bab SG. KB MP was also tested and I found it too muted, similar to 4G.

 

[mctennis]

Nat gut lasts longer than sun gut and plays so much better, IMO.