monologuist
Hall of Fame
I just posted some of this in a thread about "what was your first racquet?"...
For kicks, I decided to raise my "first racquet" from high school from the dead for an afternoon....the Prince Graphtech DB 90. I figured it might of interest to people interested in unearthing lesser-known classic racquets, people who have a penchant for graphite/fiberglass composite frames, or to those who have often complained that the POG Mid is just a little too stiff, and "why can't it be as buttery as the OS"?
It has a nice understated dark grey and gold paintjob, with a little sparkle to it, as was the fashion for Princes of the time (unlike the sad pj's from the TT line and on). It came out around 1988 or so I believe, around the time of the CTS series and the DB 26. I decided to go and demo a dozen or so racquets at the pro shop while at a Tennis summer camp when I was 16 or so, and fell in love with the soft, dampened feel of the Graphtech. I got the 90 instead of the 110, because OS racquets were for sissys back then, although it's funny in retrospect, because I play with 98 or 100 " heads now and I'm 10 times better a player! Of course, at the time, you didn't have the choice of a "midplus" yet.
It had either a 90 or 93" head like a POG mid (One would assume 90 from the model number, but I've heard that Prince midsize is actually closer to 93"), but was made of graphite and fiberglass, like the CTS frames, but it had an additional "Double Bridge" dampening system which later showed up in the Precision Response, TT Warrior, DB 850 etc. It also had the "Cushion Grip System", which resurfaced last year in the Turbo Shark model. It weighed about 12 oz., was about 6-8 pts. headlight, 14x18 pattern, standard length, and had a 20 or 21 mm. beam, but is not a constant taper design like the CTS models I believe. The flex was probably in the high 50's, low 60's. THe swingweight was probably somewhere between 320-330.
I strung this baby up with Tecnigibre X-One Biphase 17 at around 58 lbs. All I can say is, if Prince re-released this in a midplus 97-100 " head, I'd be playing it! The feel of the graphite/fiberglass + DB + Cushion Grip gives it the smoothest ride of any racquet I've played to date, and I've tried all the usual suspects out today. The balance and profile of it made one-handed backhands a dream, and I was able to generate just plain dumb spin on my forehands and serves. Of course with a 90-93" head, you have to be a very good ballstriker to hit the sweetspot consistently, but when you do, the accuracy is pinpoint, and the power is plentiful. It plays closest to some of the heavier current Volkl offerings, although I've never actually tried a Volkl in midsize, on midplus. I picked up another one as a backup on **** a little while back, and was surprised to find that it didn't have the "Cushion Grip". So I'm gonna assume that this might have been a technology that they added to later prodution runs of the Graphtech. It also plays simiarly to the Prince CTS Graduate 90 whcih came out around the same time, but without a constant taper beam, and with the dampening technologies added.
Anyway, if anyone is wondering what a POG mid would be like with no "crossbar", some flexible fiberglass thrown in the mix, and the DB and Cushion Grip to give it a more plush dampened ride, try to get your hands on one of these rare "Unknown Classics"! I think there's actually one on **** right now in a 4 5/8; I bet it'll go for under 30$ (I got my second one for like 15$ !). Actually I don't know if it is unknown or not, but it seems that references to it are few and far between anywhere online, and most people who have seen it have been like "whoah! what's that?!" Ironically, even though it's the racquet I basically learned Tennis on as a teenager, I don't think I'm gonna have the game to play with this beauty for a little while yet (that is if I want to beat anyone good!).
For kicks, I decided to raise my "first racquet" from high school from the dead for an afternoon....the Prince Graphtech DB 90. I figured it might of interest to people interested in unearthing lesser-known classic racquets, people who have a penchant for graphite/fiberglass composite frames, or to those who have often complained that the POG Mid is just a little too stiff, and "why can't it be as buttery as the OS"?
It has a nice understated dark grey and gold paintjob, with a little sparkle to it, as was the fashion for Princes of the time (unlike the sad pj's from the TT line and on). It came out around 1988 or so I believe, around the time of the CTS series and the DB 26. I decided to go and demo a dozen or so racquets at the pro shop while at a Tennis summer camp when I was 16 or so, and fell in love with the soft, dampened feel of the Graphtech. I got the 90 instead of the 110, because OS racquets were for sissys back then, although it's funny in retrospect, because I play with 98 or 100 " heads now and I'm 10 times better a player! Of course, at the time, you didn't have the choice of a "midplus" yet.
It had either a 90 or 93" head like a POG mid (One would assume 90 from the model number, but I've heard that Prince midsize is actually closer to 93"), but was made of graphite and fiberglass, like the CTS frames, but it had an additional "Double Bridge" dampening system which later showed up in the Precision Response, TT Warrior, DB 850 etc. It also had the "Cushion Grip System", which resurfaced last year in the Turbo Shark model. It weighed about 12 oz., was about 6-8 pts. headlight, 14x18 pattern, standard length, and had a 20 or 21 mm. beam, but is not a constant taper design like the CTS models I believe. The flex was probably in the high 50's, low 60's. THe swingweight was probably somewhere between 320-330.
I strung this baby up with Tecnigibre X-One Biphase 17 at around 58 lbs. All I can say is, if Prince re-released this in a midplus 97-100 " head, I'd be playing it! The feel of the graphite/fiberglass + DB + Cushion Grip gives it the smoothest ride of any racquet I've played to date, and I've tried all the usual suspects out today. The balance and profile of it made one-handed backhands a dream, and I was able to generate just plain dumb spin on my forehands and serves. Of course with a 90-93" head, you have to be a very good ballstriker to hit the sweetspot consistently, but when you do, the accuracy is pinpoint, and the power is plentiful. It plays closest to some of the heavier current Volkl offerings, although I've never actually tried a Volkl in midsize, on midplus. I picked up another one as a backup on **** a little while back, and was surprised to find that it didn't have the "Cushion Grip". So I'm gonna assume that this might have been a technology that they added to later prodution runs of the Graphtech. It also plays simiarly to the Prince CTS Graduate 90 whcih came out around the same time, but without a constant taper beam, and with the dampening technologies added.
Anyway, if anyone is wondering what a POG mid would be like with no "crossbar", some flexible fiberglass thrown in the mix, and the DB and Cushion Grip to give it a more plush dampened ride, try to get your hands on one of these rare "Unknown Classics"! I think there's actually one on **** right now in a 4 5/8; I bet it'll go for under 30$ (I got my second one for like 15$ !). Actually I don't know if it is unknown or not, but it seems that references to it are few and far between anywhere online, and most people who have seen it have been like "whoah! what's that?!" Ironically, even though it's the racquet I basically learned Tennis on as a teenager, I don't think I'm gonna have the game to play with this beauty for a little while yet (that is if I want to beat anyone good!).
