Fullcourt, great thread.
Question for you:
I have 3 grams at 12 under the bumper, would you recommend counterbalancing with a leather grip or 5g at the top of the handle with synthetic grip?
So if i have a heavy racquet with a high swing weight, its SW2 (de-polarized?)
and if its a lighter racquet with a high swing weight its SW1 (polarized?)
Just curious, but when you say 3 grams at 3 and 9, for example, do you mean 3 grams on each side or 3 grams total (1.5 grams each side)? I use 4 grams on each side, 8 total, but I never know which one people mean when they talk about how much weight they add at 3 and 9. Granted I'm not a smart man. Thanks.Honestly, nothing on swingweight unless you have a Babolat RDC. And sadly, yes, swingweight is the key ingredient to making 2 rackets feel the same. But different people have different preferences. As you know, it's not always possible to match EVERY spec perfectly everytime, so pros generally have a list of which are more important to match compared to the others. Some like balance the most, some like mass, some like swingweight. Sampras was a tough guy to work for because he wanted all 3 the same. Good thing his rackets had so much lead added to them, otherwise it might have been a serious headache for Nate Ferguson.
I'd start off by trying to match them before I add weight, then I can add the same amount of weight to all of them. Or, if I know which racket I like, I'll treat any racket heavier as if it had a little weight already added somewhere. Then I just calculate how much less weight I have to put in a general location to have it come out about the same. And any racket that's lighter, I add weight so that the specs are matched. Sadly, it's tough to match the swingweight without a Babolat RDC machine unless you're Pete Sampras.
Depolarized frames are far better on volleys. Not even debatable. lol And for the high one handed backhand, the polarized frame is tricky to use because you need to be able to apply heavy spin to control the shot. However, I don't have a problem with that personally... I have no idea why. Polarized frames are overall better for me. But you can get some easy pop with a depolarized frame. The racket does all the work.
As for making a list of stock polarized and depolarized frames... The only ones I know are K90 being relatively polarized, and the n90 and PS90 being depolarized. I heard the Sampras racket is likely depolarized too, which makes sense since what he uses on court is a heavy, depolarized beatstick.
As for whether he played better with the ProStaff 6.0 Midsize than with his current racket(s), I have no idea. Never seen much of him at the time other than 2001 Wimbledon. He did hit some amazing backhands, but they weren't off high balls. Back then he sliced a lot of high balls if I remember correctly.
As for what Guga used, I'm not sure. I'd guess he used a polarized setup. But during his time, they were a rarity.
I can't find any pictures with any lead on his racket.Perhaps he went stock? :shock:
Depends on how much you want to improve stability. If only slightly, then 3 grams total is good. If you want something that's rock solid, then 5-7 is a good number. If you want something that's like a wall, then go into the double digits. Haha.
How long depends on how much you're adding. Some people like it longer to spread out the effects of stretching the sweetspot. I personally like it longer. Looks nicer, and it requires less layers.
/snap/
when someone says "add lead to the buttcap", does that mean that you have to open up the buttcap?
well im trying to increase the spin and power of my shots without adding too much weight to the stick,
i think i would go for a polarized set up, but i would like the balance to remain as it is.
i think i want to add at most 10 grams to the overall weight.
how do i spread out the weight evenly?
is it possible to not change the swing weight too much?
3g under the bumper guard, 3g right at the buttcap for a start?
hmmm so should just keep the weight at the top the same as the bottom?
cool i will give it a try thanks!
anyways can any youtek radical users tell me their set up of leading thanks! would like to try
Last night I was moving some lead tape on two of my racquets and one strip actually pulled a pretty large paint chip off one of my frames. I was not particularly happy. Not the end of the world -- it is a tennis racquet and not a piece of art or anything -- but I want to try and avoid this in the future. Anyone have tips to help prevent this.
By the way, it was just regular old Gamma lead tape from TW. 3" strips (1/4 wide) at 10 & 2 on the inside of the frame of my MG Rad. Paint chip was probably an inch long.
Last night I was moving some lead tape on two of my racquets and one strip actually pulled a pretty large paint chip off one of my frames. I was not particularly happy. Not the end of the world -- it is a tennis racquet and not a piece of art or anything -- but I want to try and avoid this in the future. Anyone have tips to help prevent this.
By the way, it was just regular old Gamma lead tape from TW. 3" strips (1/4 wide) at 10 & 2 on the inside of the frame of my MG Rad. Paint chip was probably an inch long.
Help is greatly appreciated
Just bought Gamma lead tape 1/4"
My biggest desire is additional control, followed by stability, followed by power.
I was thinking about adding lead tape at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions, but if it's geared more towards increasing the sweet spot, maybe I don't need that set-up if I'm looking for control over power.
In addition, does more head light necessarily mean more control? Because adding lead tape at 3 and 9 would make it more head heavy.
Thanks for the help in advance!
I see Federer had lead in the throat in his early days. This seems uncommon, what would be the effect of that?
yeah what does this do?
How do you find the balance of the racquet? I'm thinking about leading up my racquets for the first time.
I'm a baseliner with huge spin off both wings, so I'm probably going fo the depolarized setup with some weigh at 3 and 9 for stability (or 2 and 10?)
Also, what's the point of counterbalancing?
And where does the tape go inside the handle...
Since some lead tape adhesive can rip off the paint from the frame, which brands did this?
Which brands have a milder adhesive?
Babolat
Gamma
Unique
TW reels
Does anyone know how to place some lead at 7 inches above butt cap?
I'm trying to counterbalance my racquet to get closer to the stock balance but I don't quite understand some things about lead placement. To get the balance I desire, I will need to add about 8-10g to the head.
In my case it sounds like the OP advocates adding lead to 12 o'clock OR 3 and 9, but NOT both. Are there any reasons for this? Can you not add stability by adding at 3&9, and add more power by adding lead to 12 too?
Can anyone provide some advice for my situations?
what do i do when i want my racquets to weigh exactly the same?