synthetic gut=total package

[Fintft]

I'm not sure I'd say syns are for everyone, but I certainly agree with the strengths you cited.

Among monofilaments, 3 stand out from the rest for me:

1. Gosen OG-Sheep Micro Super JC (Jim Courier) 17 -- incredible combination of crisp response and liveliness (alas, discontinued...but none of us can understand why ).
2. Prince Original Synthetic Gut -- as TW says, "They're not kidding - this is the original synthetic gut. Despite all the years and advancements in technology, there's something unique about this string that's kept it going." I've come across racquets that are > 20 years old with POSG strings that play still play great.
3. Gosen OG-Sheep Micro Super 16L -- great combination of feel, pop, spin potential and comfort.

Just curious is syn gut the same with monofilament for you guys?

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/LC/StringReference.html

 

[Traffic]

Just curious is syn gut the same with monofilament for you guys?

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/LC/StringReference.html

Yes.

Nylon - synthetic gut or nylon? Truth be told, most synthetic guts are made with nylon (sometimes referred to as polyamides).

 

[fuzz nation]

So last week I ran out of my Kirsch PLII 18 I use for my mains so I strung the whole racket with my normal X OGSM 16. While lacking in a bit control and spin I LOVED how it felt overall, especially since I have this nagging GE (not caused by tennis but tennis doesn't help it get better). Zero twinge after hitting.

So I ordered a reel of OGSM 17 and will use it for the full bed for a while and see how it goes. I figure the thinner guage will get me a bit more bite while keeping the soft, powerful feel. I will go a bit tighter tension too for control.

With string savers I hope to get 10-ish hours out of a string job.

Going full syn really does remind you how dead and stiff poly is (even a 'soft' poly like PL II 18). I'm pretty stoked on my new adventure!

In the last year or so, I've seen one or two cases of golfer's elbow evaporate in rather short order after the ailing players switched away from poly into a softer setup (one went to multi, the other to a syn. gut). I think this string swap should definitely stack the odds in your favor for keeping your arm healthy, at least for now. Best of luck going forward.

 

[fjcamry]

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[fjcamry]

So last week I ran out of my Kirsch PLII 18 I use for my mains so I strung the whole racket with my normal X OGSM 16. While lacking in a bit control and spin I LOVED how it felt overall, especially since I have this nagging GE (not caused by tennis but tennis doesn't help it get better). Zero twinge after hitting.

So I ordered a reel of OGSM 17 and will use it for the full bed for a while and see how it goes. I figure the thinner guage will get me a bit more bite while keeping the soft, powerful feel. I will go a bit tighter tension too for control.

With string savers I hope to get 10-ish hours out of a string job.

Going full syn really does remind you how dead and stiff poly is (even a 'soft' poly like PL II 18). I'm pretty stoked on my new adventure!

I have the syngut 1.25 mains and proline ll 1.15 inthe crosses. At 55/51 lbs in a youtek speed pro 18x20 I'm still hitting great after 6 hrs. I'm hoping to go past 12 hrs. But I'm glad I didn't give up on this setup , strung original 6 weeks ago I put it down for a while then picked it up after not impressed with the feel of proline x / syngut hybrid due to lack of feel on the backhand and volleys . But the proline ll in crosses is much better with feel on backhand and volleys .



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[shamaho]

Ok syn gut is very versatile with tension and maintainence . Plus it has a lot of feel . That means more finesse in feeling the ball on the strings then knowing what I do with the ball . I grew up learning how to play tennis on syn gut then playing on the HS team and in tournaments. You have to work on mechanics and body motion more with syn gut . But this will help you in transitioning to hybrids later .
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I agree and also, if one's returning to Syn Gut after playing with polys some time, consider that launch angles are much much lower, so you'll have to compensate for that.

 

[markwillplay]

Well I have a new fav syngut...volkl classic green. No joke, I love this string. I have played several league matches with it in a prince tour 100 18x20. After two long singles matches and two doubles matches....still has not broken. Forten sweet 16 would have been long gone. This string is playing as good as it did when I put it on as far as I can tell. I have to move it some, but really does hold up and I have NO trouble getting good spin. I think I may like it better than the multi ppc. I am trying head velocity as a multi as well because that is pretty cheap..but that is a multi...the volkl classic is the best value in strings I have tried.

 

[ByeByePoly]

Well I have a new fav syngut...volkl classic green. No joke, I love this string. I have played several league matches with it in a prince tour 100 18x20. After two long singles matches and two doubles matches....still has not broken. Forten sweet 16 would have been long gone. This string is playing as good as it did when I put it on as far as I can tell. I have to move it some, but really does hold up and I have NO trouble getting good spin. I think I may like it better than the multi ppc. I am trying head velocity as a multi as well because that is pretty cheap..but that is a multi...the volkl classic is the best value in strings I have tried.

Did you already hit with velocity?

 

[markwillplay]

Not yet......

 

[togetheralone]

So this thread already references two of the four strings I am currently interested in:

Kirschbaum Premium
Volkl
Gamma Original (ie. not wearguard)
Dunlop S-Gut

Trying to determine where they fall on the soft-crisp spectrum. Everyone puts Forten on one end with OGSM/PSGD on the other. I assume POSG is sort of the median but correct me if I'm wrong.

Would also be interested to hear about durability and tension maintenance. I've tried and liked PPS and Spiral Flex for diff reasons. PPS in a closed pattern is controlled power but it doesn't seem stable over the life of the string. Spiral Flex OTH seems pretty stable, less power. I'm drawn to both of them though because they aren't as firm or harsh as either OGSM or PSGD.

 

[ccelis]

Gamma Original (ie. not wearguard) - Medium stiffness, similar to POSG
Dunlop S-Gut , Softer and decent power.

 

[fjcamry]

Also kirschbaum regular synthetic gut is soft , muted , and low to medium power which is good in firmer racquets / setups .


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[OKUSA]

Not sure what I am doing wrong but synthetic gut has always been terrible for me. I tried it again this year, I got two of my sticks strung at the same time. One with Luxilon Alu Soft and one with Gamma Syn Gut, since my arm has been giving me a little pain lately. I played 30 minutes hitting with the Alu soft and great control and accuracy. Switch over to the synthetic gut and my forehand is landing 1-2 feet behind the baseline, my backhand is barely traveling 3/4 the way up the net. The strings move so much on the racquet that I felt the need to adjust them every time the ball went out. The pure frustration I got from just 20 minutes of hitting with synthetic gut made me realize I'd rather my arm fall off from the poly Gods than play with that stuff again. I'm envious people can actually play with Syn Gut because it's cheap as hell and arm friendly

 

[beltsman]

Not sure what I am doing wrong but synthetic gut has always been terrible for me. I tried it again this year, I got two of my sticks strung at the same time. One with Luxilon Alu Soft and one with Gamma Syn Gut, since my arm has been giving me a little pain lately. I played 30 minutes hitting with the Alu soft and great control and accuracy. Switch over to the synthetic gut and my forehand is landing 1-2 feet behind the baseline, my backhand is barely traveling 3/4 the way up the net. The strings move so much on the racquet that I felt the need to adjust them every time the ball went out. The pure frustration I got from just 20 minutes of hitting with synthetic gut made me realize I'd rather my arm fall off from the poly Gods than play with that stuff again. I'm envious people can actually play with Syn Gut because it's cheap as hell and arm friendly

Have you tried sand-papering it down and spraying it with adhesives and WD40?

 

[OKUSA]

Have you tried sand-papering it down and spraying it with adhesives and WD40?

wouldn't the wd40 solubilize the adhesive making it a gooey mess?

 

[beltsman]

wouldn't the wd40 solubilize the adhesive making it a gooey mess?

You have to only apply the WD40 to the sliding areas of the mains and crosses. The adhesive should only go on the face.

 

[dmcb101]

Its just tennis strings. Sanding them down and lubricating them seems a bit over the top dont you think?

 

[Rabbit]

Not sure what I am doing wrong but synthetic gut has always been terrible for me. I tried it again this year, I got two of my sticks strung at the same time. One with Luxilon Alu Soft and one with Gamma Syn Gut, since my arm has been giving me a little pain lately. I played 30 minutes hitting with the Alu soft and great control and accuracy. Switch over to the synthetic gut and my forehand is landing 1-2 feet behind the baseline, my backhand is barely traveling 3/4 the way up the net. The strings move so much on the racquet that I felt the need to adjust them every time the ball went out. The pure frustration I got from just 20 minutes of hitting with synthetic gut made me realize I'd rather my arm fall off from the poly Gods than play with that stuff again. I'm envious people can actually play with Syn Gut because it's cheap as hell and arm friendly

You don't mention tension. There is an adjustment coming off poly to synthetic gut for sure. You'd have to invest some time in it. I do have a suggestion though, possibly a happy compromise. String your mains with the Lux and your crosses with the synthetic gut. It'll basically cut your cost in half and more importantly it'll help your arm. I've done it in the past and alot of the better players around here do it for that reason. You really don't notice that much of a drop off in performance either.

I personally love synthetic gut all over again! I've made the switch and adjusted to it with no problem.

 

[brianmch]

Its just tennis strings. Sanding them down and lubricating them seems a bit over the top dont you think?

That pesky thin line between normal and OCD.

Out of curiosity though, how much sanding and spraying are we talking about?

Are you running strings through sandpaper when stringing, taking a quick swipe across the stringbed after its done?

String movement is one of my pet peeves about both Sgut and Multi's and one my +'s for poly's. It is even worse in open pattern frames.

 

[Ignatz Tushwop]

Not sure what I am doing wrong but synthetic gut has always been terrible for me. I tried it again this year, I got two of my sticks strung at the same time. One with Luxilon Alu Soft and one with Gamma Syn Gut, since my arm has been giving me a little pain lately. I played 30 minutes hitting with the Alu soft and great control and accuracy. Switch over to the synthetic gut and my forehand is landing 1-2 feet behind the baseline, my backhand is barely traveling 3/4 the way up the net. The strings move so much on the racquet that I felt the need to adjust them every time the ball went out. The pure frustration I got from just 20 minutes of hitting with synthetic gut made me realize I'd rather my arm fall off from the poly Gods than play with that stuff again. I'm envious people can actually play with Syn Gut because it's cheap as hell and arm friendly

S

Not sure what I am doing wrong but synthetic gut has always been terrible for me. I tried it again this year, I got two of my sticks strung at the same time. One with Luxilon Alu Soft and one with Gamma Syn Gut, since my arm has been giving me a little pain lately. I played 30 minutes hitting with the Alu soft and great control and accuracy. Switch over to the synthetic gut and my forehand is landing 1-2 feet behind the baseline, my backhand is barely traveling 3/4 the way up the net. The strings move so much on the racquet that I felt the need to adjust them every time the ball went out. The pure frustration I got from just 20 minutes of hitting with synthetic gut made me realize I'd rather my arm fall off from the poly Gods than play with that stuff again. I'm envious people can actually play with Syn Gut because it's cheap as hell and arm friendly

Solution = hybrid

 

[FearlessAnimal]

Solution = hybrid

I was more than happy with spiraltek (m) / pro hurricane tour (c)...

 

[Champs990411]

Was loving the Volkl green today. First time out.


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[BeyondTheTape]

Was loving the Volkl green today. First time out.


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Highly Recommend this string. Played a reel of the Volkl classic syn gut Green. Not playing it anymore but that's a different story. One of the best VALUE strings out there.

 

[Muppet]

Not sure what I am doing wrong but synthetic gut has always been terrible for me. I tried it again this year, I got two of my sticks strung at the same time. One with Luxilon Alu Soft and one with Gamma Syn Gut, since my arm has been giving me a little pain lately. I played 30 minutes hitting with the Alu soft and great control and accuracy. Switch over to the synthetic gut and my forehand is landing 1-2 feet behind the baseline, my backhand is barely traveling 3/4 the way up the net. The strings move so much on the racquet that I felt the need to adjust them every time the ball went out. The pure frustration I got from just 20 minutes of hitting with synthetic gut made me realize I'd rather my arm fall off from the poly Gods than play with that stuff again. I'm envious people can actually play with Syn Gut because it's cheap as hell and arm friendly

The same thing often happens to me when I switch racquets. I become too eager to see where the ball is going and I pick my head up too soon. This lifts my whole upper body and lifts the racquet head enough to take the ball out of the sweet spot. I kept getting balls in the net or too long. It seemed my window for a clean shot had narrowed. By focusing hard on watching string-to-ball contact, then looking up at my shot and the court, and doing this for a couple dozen strokes, I was able to dial in with the new racquet.

I'm not sure this is what's happening with you. Just a possibility.

 

[togetheralone]

The launch angle off the racket face with poly really is a thing. I've known instructors to add post extensions on the net and string red yarn across to create target "clearance zones" when migrating a player from syn gut to poly. You end up aiming much lower with poly, esp as you lower the tension to preserve that poly snap back. So an initial period of burying the ball in the net when pivoting back to nylon isn't a complete cause for concern.

And most of that clearance adjustment is aimed at players with semi-western or more old school grips. Which is an entirely separate can of worms (ie. the question of whether players with eastern or semi-western grips are actually deriving most of the benefit of poly to begin with).

Spiral Flex doesn't move much. Neither does Kirschbaum Premium. The others I've tried, Head PPS (white or black), Dunlop S-Gut, Prince syn guts, Forten (white or gold), Tecnifibre, OGSM, they are all moving within first 2-3 hours.

I may still try Velociti Softflex, ProSupex Titan, Yonex Monopreme, Volkl Classic and Tourna's syn gut. My own vetting slowed down once I got to Kirschbaum Premium which seems to be my personal Goldilocks pref at the moment. Neither too much this nor too much that . . .

 

[TennisBoysCousin]

Highly Recommend this string. Played a reel of the Volkl classic syn gut Green. Not playing it anymore but that's a different story. One of the best VALUE strings out there.

What gauge of synthetic gut do you guys recommend? What is the difference in playabiliy of 16 v 17 gauge? I'm not a string breaker

 

[max]

Not sure what I am doing wrong but synthetic gut has always been terrible for me. I tried it again this year, I got two of my sticks strung at the same time. One with Luxilon Alu Soft and one with Gamma Syn Gut, since my arm has been giving me a little pain lately. I played 30 minutes hitting with the Alu soft and great control and accuracy. Switch over to the synthetic gut and my forehand is landing 1-2 feet behind the baseline, my backhand is barely traveling 3/4 the way up the net. The strings move so much on the racquet that I felt the need to adjust them every time the ball went out. The pure frustration I got from just 20 minutes of hitting with synthetic gut made me realize I'd rather my arm fall off from the poly Gods than play with that stuff again. I'm envious people can actually play with Syn Gut because it's cheap as hell and arm friendly

Interesting.

It may be the case that you are used to hitting with poly----a string that gives spin, but not necessarily much power. in fact, most players like poly because it's low power.

You might be unconsciously adjusting your swing here. . . do you feel that when you swing with the syngut you might be somewhat altering your stroke in order to keep the ball in?

The benefit of syngut is that it's less harsh on the body. . . so if this is the case, consider stringing the syngut tighter, so the ball has less power behind it and your stroke will not require much adjustment to keep it in.

 

[Rabbit]

What gauge of synthetic gut do you guys recommend? What is the difference in playabiliy of 16 v 17 gauge? I'm not a string breaker

It's personal preference, there is no right or wrong. Personally, I like 17. I string for quite a few people who like 16. The really nice thing about synthetic gut is you can experiment without having to take out a line of credit at the bank. In other words, try them both and see which one you like. From a measurement perspective, you're only talking .05 mm 1.30 (16) - 1.25 (17).

 

[fjcamry]

Also factor in the smaller 17 gauge will have more feel and spin vs the crisper , stiffer 16 . If I want to transition my 9yr old to poly I will string first from 17g to 16g full syngut. I played full 16g prince original synthetic gut with duraflex during my jr days on a head 600 elite pro 18x20. Now I'm using the 17g kirschbaum regular syngut in my mains with a kirschbaum poly 17L or 18g in crosses. I found the best setup for my racquets.


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[Muppet]

My first string was Prince Original 16. When 17 came out, I tried it but liked the 16 that I was used to better. This was on a 90" @52 from 1986 to 1990. What I noticed most was that the 16 pancaked the ball more and the 17 was a little more comfortable and deflected more.

 

[fjcamry]

The launch angle off the racket face with poly really is a thing. I've known instructors to add post extensions on the net and string red yarn across to create target "clearance zones" when migrating a player from syn gut to poly. You end up aiming much lower with poly, esp as you lower the tension to preserve that poly snap back. So an initial period of burying the ball in the net when pivoting back to nylon isn't a complete cause for concern.

And most of that clearance adjustment is aimed at players with semi-western or more old school grips. Which is an entirely separate can of worms (ie. the question of whether players with eastern or semi-western grips are actually deriving most of the benefit of poly to begin with).

Spiral Flex doesn't move much. Neither does Kirschbaum Premium. The others I've tried, Head PPS (white or black), Dunlop S-Gut, Prince syn guts, Forten (white or gold), Tecnifibre, OGSM, they are all moving within first 2-3 hours.

I may still try Velociti Softflex, ProSupex Titan, Yonex Monopreme, Volkl Classic and Tourna's syn gut. My own vetting slowed down once I got to Kirschbaum Premium which seems to be my personal Goldilocks pref at the moment. Neither too much this nor too much that . . .

I'm using the kirschbaum regular syngut. I'm happy with it as my full bed syngut and my mains in my hybrids. I feel it's good and accurate . I also feel it's neither too much this or too little that .

Factor in the price benefit when talking reels and I'm doing pretty well .


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[max]

Agree with 17 g. It's cheap, if it breaks, then restring. And if you like the durafiber/durawrap stuff, that helps for a string this size. In my case, I never have liked the Prince Syngot dura stuff. Gosen is good. POSG is good.

 

[el__zopilote]

What a great thread. Maybe it's time to go back to basics.

 

[mctennis]

If I see someone I'm playing oiling down their strings I am walking off the court, period. I see more and more people saying they do this. I'd say this is illegal to do that. It comes off on the ball.

 

[JetFlyr]

It comes off on the ball.

So does stencil ink, but it’s not illegal at any level of the game.

 

[IowaGuy]

If I see someone I'm playing oiling down their strings I am walking off the court, period. I see more and more people saying they do this. I'd say this is illegal to do that. It comes off on the ball.

Is oiling strings legal at the pro level?

 

[mctennis]

Is oiling strings legal at the pro level?

I have no idea.

 

[speedysteve]

I looked at the Gosen AK. Almost the same price as Klip Legend here in the UK.
That's not important though if it plays really nicely and of course handles damp / wet playing conditions, unlike nat gut..

Gamma TNT is half the price. What the difference between the two like?

 

[mctennis]

So does stencil ink, but it’s not illegal at any level of the game.

Ink doesn't make the ball oily. Also the people do not keep applying ink to their strings in between sets or every time they play.Again, if I see someone applying oil to their strings I'm not playing with them. Oil on the court is not a good thing either.

 

[Bender]

I would use synthetic gut, but (a) I'm a chronic string breaker (b) I find strings that I have to readjust after every point hugely distracting, to the point where it takes me out of the game.

 

[Bender]

Just curios.. do you already compare the time that syn gut last with you in compare with the playability life of poly?

I'm asking because when i compare this for me, syn gut works better... i do have some durability issues with the syn gut also, but when compared to the playability life of polys syn guts worth more for me...

I’m not quite sure I understand what you mean.

Are you asking me about how long synthetic gut is playable for me v how long Hyper G is playable?

Even when I was complete hack with 100% armed strokes swinging for the fences, I noticed synthetic gut would lose playability within two hours or so. Hyper G even with tension loss is playable for up to six hours.

So my issue with synthetic gut for me is twofold:

1. first, with certain polys, even when tension loss occurs it is more playable than synthetic gut, assuming that the poly retains some elasticity. The last time I played with synthetic gut it lost that elasticity quickly;
2. second, even if synthetic gut retained elasticity longer, its fragility compared to polys mean that I can’t see a set (whether full bed or in hybrids) lasting longer than a week. Not to mention synthetic gut would need to be strung at a higher tension making the whole fragility issue even worse. I’d rather have a multi mains + poly cross in hybrid to be honest, and those don’t last either.

 

[Bender]

Thanks for your detailed explanation about your experience.
I just moved to Gosen Ak Pro CX, because i felt they play great till breaks, about a week or week and a half for me, the tension loss is very low, have a great spin potential, and i was tired of when playing with polys and when reaching closer to the end of the week the strings was praticaly unplayable, because of the huge tension loss, and not just that, i don't know why but besides the tension loss the strings felt like it was dead...

No problem, it's why we (or most of us anyway, hopefully) post on these boards.

100% understand where you are coming from re: polys going dead by the end of its lifespan. I've found that every string has a nice sweet spot between ultra low and ultra high tensions, where the strings remain playable and not dead the longest, or at least until they break. With my current strings, 49-50 lbs seems to be the sweet spot. They break after about 4-5 hours, but thankfully they remain playable for about as long.

 

[mctennis]

Not sure what I am doing wrong but synthetic gut has always been terrible for me. I tried it again this year, I got two of my sticks strung at the same time. One with Luxilon Alu Soft and one with Gamma Syn Gut, since my arm has been giving me a little pain lately. I played 30 minutes hitting with the Alu soft and great control and accuracy. Switch over to the synthetic gut and my forehand is landing 1-2 feet behind the baseline, my backhand is barely traveling 3/4 the way up the net. The strings move so much on the racquet that I felt the need to adjust them every time the ball went out. The pure frustration I got from just 20 minutes of hitting with synthetic gut made me realize I'd rather my arm fall off from the poly Gods than play with that stuff again. I'm envious people can actually play with Syn Gut because it's cheap as hell and arm friendly

Good luck with your elbow surgery in a few years when you keep using poly.

 

[darklore009]

Found this Toalson Asterisk Metal Rainbow string at my local tennis store. Curious to see how it performs compared to my normal string of choice: Gosen ProTuff. Stringing it was very easy as its flexible and weaving it isnt a problem.

 

[mctennis]

No problem, it's why we (or most of us anyway, hopefully) post on these boards.

100% understand where you are coming from re: polys going dead by the end of its lifespan. I've found that every string has a nice sweet spot between ultra low and ultra high tensions, where the strings remain playable and not dead the longest, or at least until they break. With my current strings, 49-50 lbs seems to be the sweet spot. They break after about 4-5 hours, but thankfully they remain playable for about as long.

Good information. I would also like to add one more variable, the racquet. It makes a difference as well. In other words, each racquet has a tension sweet as far as the tension goes, IMO. So finding both the string sweet spot and the racquet tension sweet spot is key. Once you find both out then you should be able to play well with that combination. As long as your stroke mechanics are sound.
I have a few different brand of racquets that even though the tension ranges are the same the sweet spot string tensions are different for each racquet. Strange I know. However, for me it was what worked best.

 

[mctennis]

Found this Toalson Asterisk Metal Rainbow string at my local tennis store. Curious to see how it performs compared to my normal string of choice: Gosen ProTuff. Stringing it was very easy as its flexible and weaving it isnt a problem.

Cool looking strings. Looks good in that racquet.

 

[Champs990411]

Found this Toalson Asterisk Metal Rainbow string at my local tennis store. Curious to see how it performs compared to my normal string of choice: Gosen ProTuff. Stringing it was very easy as its flexible and weaving it isnt a problem.

What’d you think?


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[johnwah]

first of all this feels like AA... so im a relative old timer... and i too kept drifting back to syn gut.. i tried hybrids.. full poly.. regular gut... multi... nothing felt better and had a favorable price point than syn gut...

That being said.. i used to be a prince syn gut duraflex guy for a while... but decided to try wilson syn gut power because i heard they might be the same or very similar... does anybody on here have any experience with this string?? i tried it and it feels very similar... little less spin.. but overall a very good string for the price... i look around and I really cant find anything on this string..

ive tried all other syn guts and those two feel the most similar to each other...

 

[Dartagnan64]

Cool looking strings. Looks good in that racquet.

Needs a pink overgrip, then it'd be perfect.

 

[topspn]

What about OG sheep? I have a couple of packs on the recommendation of a friend when my arm felt sore. Still have them but curious on your thoughts and how much it moves around.