What stringing machine should I get for under 2000$?

Risburk

New User
Hi! I have been doing some research but still can't decide which stringing machine I should get. I will be starting a stringing business and I'll be stringing around 10-15 racquets a week. I want an electric stringing machine to save time and have mainly been looking att the Pro's pro Tomcat MT-400 and TENNISMAN StringMaster Pro 50 LE Electronic. Are there any others I should consider? My budget is 2000$ but preferably less. This will be my first stringing machine.
 

fritzhimself

Professional
Well, if you want to do a stringing business, the best is just good enough.
Maybe invest a little more and buy a high-end machine.
If it doesn't work out, you can certainly sell the machine without losing much value.
If you're going on holiday, you're not going to take a Dacia taxi to the airport.
In most cases, whoever buys cheap buys expensive. Cheap is not always good and better is better.
 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
Starting a business with 1 machine is asking for trouble. Sooner or later you will have an issue with it. Think first about th options you want like clamps, bases, turntable, electronic, etc. Then think about how it will be repaired when / if it stops working. If you have to send the machine out of the country you’ll be out of business for a while.

I would buy either a DW, or LO only because they are mechanical and more dependable.
 

jim e

Legend
I would buy either a DW, or LO only because they are mechanical and more dependable.
This is poor advice! The poster said he would be stringing 10-15 racquets a week. With that amount right front the beginning, he would recoup all expenses in a short order of time. With 10-15 a week, I certainly would not want to fool with a drop weight, as a quality professional electronic would do the job, and make stringing more enjoyable, rather than a job. Yes an electronic can go down, mine did in past, and I contacted company in Australia to supply me replacement LCD screen, and I had it in 2 weeks. Bottom line he should get from reliable company with decent support and parts.
With the quantity of business he will have he should up his expense a little more for a quality electronic professional machine, as you never hear of someone saying they got too much of a machine. Get a good machine, as much as you can afford, you will not regret it.
 
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MathieuR

Hall of Fame

Buy a Stringway ML120-T92 (produced in the Netherlands). It is an automatic dropweight. 10 years warranty. Then after 4-5 month you have earned enough to make your next step to an eCP. And you have the Stringway as backup. (Or you like it that much you never go to another machine ;) )​

 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
@MathieuR advice is sound advice IMO. I would not limit my busin to 1 eCP machine if it could fail any day and you have to send it out of Sweden for repair.
 

Risburk

New User
This is poor advice! The poster said he would be stringing 10-15 racquets a week. With that amount right front the beginning, he would recoup all expenses in a short order of time. With 10-15 a week, I certainly would not want to fool with a drop weight, as a quality professional electronic would do the job, and make stringing more enjoyable, rather than a job. Yes an electronic can go down, mine did in past, and I contacted company in Australia to supply me replacement LCD screen, and I had it in 2 weeks. Bottom line he should get from reliable company with decent support and parts.
With the quantity of business he will have he should up his expense a little more for a quality electronic professional machine, as you never hear of someone saying they got too much of a machine. Get a good machine, as much as you can afford, you will not regret it.
What companies would you consider reliable? I've read that pros pro customer service is non existant, is that right?
 

Risburk

New User
I'm not going to buy more than one since I'm doing this alongside my studies. It wouldn't be the end of the world if it breaks and takes a few weeks to repair
 

Risburk

New User
You say I should get an quality electronic professional machine, do you have any examples that I can look into?
 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
I'm not going to buy more than one since I'm doing this alongside my studies. It wouldn't be the end of the world if it breaks and takes a few weeks to repair
it could take 2 weeks to ship the machine for repair each way plus shipping cost. All in all it could realistically take months depending on where you purchase it from
You say I should get a quality electronic professional machine, do you have any examples that I can look into?
If you’re looking For a quality eCP machine for $2K plus shipping you’re going to spend a long time looking. You may want to consider a (used) lockout machine with an after market electronic tensioner.
 

Rabbit

G.O.A.T.
@Risburk - I agree with others who've said 2 machines is bad advice. Given your parameters, 10-15 rackets a week and a sideline gig, you're fine with one machine. I string at home and do from 0 - 20 frames a week. I have one machine. In the 40 years I've been stringing, I've had one outage and that was due to a fuse - 2 days down. I use a 30 year old machine, Babolat (Mighty) Sensor, bought 2nd hand. With some folks, you ask them what time it is and they'll tell you how to build a clock.

As to your query, since you've done research, make sure you have local or regional support for the machine is my suggestion. I think @diredesire just bought a TennisMan Stringmaster and he's been happy with it. Maybe he'll chime in. I think you're on the right path. Just keep it simple and with the money you've got allocated, you're going to get a decent machine. If you get a lemon, a regional manufacturer will give you quicker turnaround.

Good luck and have fun with it.
 

Risburk

New User
I have found a company that sells Gamma X-els for 2380$ and Gamma progression 2 for 2280$. I've been interested in buying one of those aswell. Does anyone have any experience with them?
 
Of course we appreciate it a lot that our machines are advised so often, despite the fact that we do not make electronic machines anymore.
It will be difficult to spend up to $2000 with us. Even including a Stringlab stiffness tester our most complete machine is too cheap.

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My advise so that the choice becomes easier is:
Divide a stringing machine into qualities and functions and compare the total score with the price you pay:
Qualities: Accuracy, ease of use, durability, features.
Functions: Constant pull action, clamps, racquet protection,
 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
@Risburk with a Stringway you still have constant pull. You’re just dropping a weight instead of pressing a button. and It is all mechanical.
 

tjanev

Rookie
What companies would you consider reliable? I've read that pros pro customer service is non existant, is that right?
I just emailed prospro to ask about instructions on how to calibrate the mt400 seeing as there are no manuals online and they responded within a day and gave me instructions :)
 

Risburk

New User
I just emailed prospro to ask about instructions on how to calibrate the mt400 seeing as there are no manuals online and they responded within a day and gave me instructions :)
Oh okay, that's good to know! Are you happy with your MT-400?
 
UNDERSTANDABLE BUT UNLOGIC:
Stringing machines are often compared on their tension units.
That is a little unlogic because the clamps are much more important:
- The loss of tension depends on the movement and slipping of the clamps
- Clamps must hold the string easily without damaging the string.
- They should move around easily.
 

diredesire

Moderator
Hi! I have been doing some research but still can't decide which stringing machine I should get. I will be starting a stringing business and I'll be stringing around 10-15 racquets a week. I want an electric stringing machine to save time and have mainly been looking att the Pro's pro Tomcat MT-400 and TENNISMAN StringMaster Pro 50 LE Electronic. Are there any others I should consider? My budget is 2000$ but preferably less. This will be my first stringing machine.

I'm just curious how you came up with your numbers and the premise/business case for your business, but are also buying your first machine? Does this mean you have prior stringing experience, or you're going in cold? Have you thought carefully about your rates, and do you have this business lined up? I'm picturing a school/university environment and this being an informal business (i.e. not paying taxes, not registering your business, etc.)? I've actually avoided starting a business (meaning I don't seek clients) because it takes time and effort, and there's a lot of variability early on with how time efficient you can be with low(er) volumes. This is doubly true when you're in school. Having a trickle of a couple racquets a day is probably manageable, but being able to batch them and have enough to batch while keeping your turnaround times reasonable is also helpful. Your time is also nickel and dimed by deliveries/pickups, etc., and it also reduces your time-freedom if that's important to you. If you come up with an arrangement with, say, a school tennis center where you can pick up and drop off, then that solves a lot of problems!

The Tomcat MT-400 looks like a better machine than the StringMaster you linked. Quicker (better?) mounting system and what appears to be switch action bases on the clamps. I bought the StringMaster Deluxe LE V3, which is a better machine in pretty much every way (mounting, clamps, tensioner). It's a little bit above your price range, assuming USD.

My brief comments/advice would simply be that you picked a bad budget and you should re-evaluate that. You're going to be stuck mostly in consumer-grade territory, and in terms of reliability for a medium volume business, you're probably going to end up with some down time.

I'm not going to wade too far into the Stringway side of things, but I wouldn't recommend one as a machine used professionally. I say this as a big fan of Stringway machines, too. I'd also clarify that it's not that I don't find the Stringway machines reliable enough for higher volume use - I'd say that due to the simplicity and overall build, they'd actually be very reliable machines, but customers that have knowledge levels more than none will poo-poo any dropweights. I personally don't want to start out a customer interaction by trying to convince them that my setup and experience is legit. An investment into a "speaks for itself" machine may or may not be important to you, but it solves a lot of communication problems that you might not be aware exist. This all assumes your setup is customer facing, of course. If this was a pickup/dropoff scenario, I'd be happy with a Stringway, but I've had shoulder problems in the past, so my days of pumping a weight are (probably) behind me.

@Risburk - I agree with others who've said 2 machines is bad advice. Given your parameters, 10-15 rackets a week and a sideline gig, you're fine with one machine. I string at home and do from 0 - 20 frames a week. I have one machine. In the 40 years I've been stringing, I've had one outage and that was due to a fuse - 2 days down. I use a 30 year old machine, Babolat (Mighty) Sensor, bought 2nd hand. With some folks, you ask them what time it is and they'll tell you how to build a clock.

As to your query, since you've done research, make sure you have local or regional support for the machine is my suggestion. I think @diredesire just bought a TennisMan Stringmaster and he's been happy with it. Maybe he'll chime in. I think you're on the right path. Just keep it simple and with the money you've got allocated, you're going to get a decent machine. If you get a lemon, a regional manufacturer will give you quicker turnaround.

Good luck and have fun with it.
I dunno. I think those users have a point if this business is truly your livelihood. If you cannot afford to be "lines down" and are hand-to-mouth on the income, then I think some sort of an insurance policy is reasonable. If you come at the problem with the lens of a home stringer as only a side-gig, then yeah, I agree with you. Since OP said it's fine, yes, one machine is the way to go. As far as my StringMaster machine, I've made a thread about it, feel free to search and ask questions. I wouldn't buy the machine you linked, though, OP.

I have found a company that sells Gamma X-els for 2380$ and Gamma progression 2 for 2280$. I've been interested in buying one of those aswell. Does anyone have any experience with them?
Yes, I worked at higher volumes than you're anticipating on the Progression ELS (non digital). I would not recommend it for medium-high volume use. It required a lot of maintenance, and the tensioner (again, non digital) was not ultra precise. I haven't checked out the new electronics, but that tier of machine just isn't what you're looking for, IMO. The clamp bases tended to get sloppy over time, and required frequent tightening, and the fasteners in the side-arm mechanisms can strip and spin. It's just not built for heavy duty use, IMO. Clamp texture and tensioner texture (diamond plates) get gummed up quickly, too.
 

MaxSwing

New User
Very happy having upgraded to my TENNISMAN StringMaster Deluxe LE Electronic v3. Was on a very well used basic ProPro drop weight and the new machine is such a lovely upgrade, a little closer to your budget and comes from Germany so not sure on your importing but they do ship to any anywhere - Dirk is the contact and he is lovely.
 

pjv

Rookie
I have a Tomcat MT-400 which I’ve had for a couple years now. I string only for myself and a couple friends now and then which comes to something like half a dozen stringing jobs a month. This machine suits my needs but honestly if I were stringing as much as you plan to and making a business out of it, I’d want a better quality machine. Everything on the tomcat is OK, but really just OK. The clamps could be better, the tension head could be better, the turntable could be better (stiffer), and overall the machining on all the parts could be a lot better. It would also be nice to have a usable braking system.

Every once in a while, the little diamond coating insert will come un-glued from one or the other of the clamps while I’m in the middle of stringing. Then I have to scramble to kludge up holding tension with a starting clamp while i furiously take the clamp apart and re-super-glue the diamond dust insert back on. It’s not a showstopper but it’s a pretty big pain in the ass.

It’s totally possible that if I strung as much as you are projecting over the past couple years that the Tomcat would have handled it all fine, but my guess is that I’d have had something more troublesome come up than the little diamond thingies coming off. Lately I’ve been noticing a groan from the tension head while pulling tension. Probably I just need to open it up and lubricate but… it’s not like I’ve strung so many racquets.

Overall I am happy with the Tomcat for my needs. I’m not interested in stringing with a dropweight machine and the Tomcat was at the limit of what I felt ok spending given I’m not stringing as a business. If I were stringing as a business, I’d be looking to spend a minimum of 3X what I spent on the Tomcat and likely more.
 
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mad dog1

G.O.A.T.
I have found a company that sells Gamma X-els for 2380$ and Gamma progression 2 for 2280$. I've been interested in buying one of those aswell. Does anyone have any experience with them?
Having owned a gamma 6004, I would not recommend any gamma machine. As @diredesire detailed in his post, I found that my 6004 was not designed for high volume use.
 

ryohazuki222

Professional
i think one piece of advice I don’t see much here is the depreciation cost of the machine itself.

I bought a gamma x2 brand new to start stringing because that’s all I could afford. I actually sold it for more money than I bought it for. Very slight depreciation on the machine; but it came with free string that I sold on **** or charged customers for, saving me the price of buying a pack of string.


I lucked out one day and found a used revo 4000 on craigslist that had actually never been used. Was just in a tennis pros storage unit. Also came with a ton of free string. I made money on this when I sold it. Partially because I had it so long and inflation; but also the free reels of alpha string it came with.

I then could finally afford a neos and got one. Didn’t want to spend the money; but those things in good condition don’t really depreciate. If you buy used; there really isn’t much depreciation cost if you find something good.

Anyway — my point is just that for those reading this; you have your cash tied up in an asset that retains its value pretty well if you buy strategically up front. When I “grew up” stringing; I could have gonna nicer features with an eagnas (do they still make those) but the resale on those was pathetic; it would have cost me a lot more.

So netting it out; my recommendation would be anything under $2k that you see well loved by forum members here or that you see sold/completed listings for on **** at decent selling prices.

In that short list; just go get the one that speaks to you the most, that you will subjectively be happiest with… because you will spend hours with the machine as you string more and more rackets.
 

esm

Legend
Good info/advices here.
Don’t forget to also invest the time and effort to maintain the machine on regular basis
 

Tennisman.de

New User

Risburk

New User
In my opinion the Stringmaster Deluxe LE with the Ennoxx Motor is the highest quality machine on the market for machines up to 3000 Dollar:


Motor, clamp bases, clamps and so on have the same quality as 4000-5000 Dollar maschines from other Brands.
Yeah this is the one I'm most interested in. What's the difference between the versions though? The price doesn't differ much
 

MaxSwing

New User
That is how I started a couple of years ago, was bored of waiting a week or two for mine to come back and thought about stringing. I bought a second hand drop weight which served me very well until only a few weeks ago when I finally purchased the Tennisman machine mentioned in here a few times. I would recommend you start by just finding a solid basic second hand machine and teach yourself the basics, stringing is a weird thing and I love the patience I have to use and find it very calming - however having talked with others at the club they listen to what I say and really dont think they would want to try.

I learned on a couple of old racquets I had lying around, then started on my main racquets before offering to the teammates and eventually the whole club. We arent massive but its given me a steady stream of income that has effectively paid for the nicer machine now that I know I enjoy it - even silly things like cleaning the racquets, grips and even grommets for two customers. I know enough now to know I have so much to learn :-D

If you have money to burn then by all means get a good machine first, I have found that they seem to hold their value very well so worst case if you have to sell then its not going to end up costing too much.
 

diredesire

Moderator
Yeah this is the one I'm most interested in. What's the difference between the versions though? The price doesn't differ much
The difference in the various models of the Deluxe LE V3s are the stands. The StringMaster 4K may have a WISE tension head, may have older, non-pushdown clamps, different turntable. The 4K v3 has the ennox head, but different turntable/clamps. I'd recommend just going big up to the deluxe, but I'm biased, because that's what I did. Please be more specific when referring to model numbers, though - it's a little difficult to advise you when vaguely referring to "the versions."

I haven't strung before but I know a lot of people who doesn't like to wait 1 week for their rackets to be strung. It takes a week at the local club
Like I mentioned above, I'm curious how carefully you've thought through the (projected) volumes and how much work it may take to maintain said volumes. Stringing is relatively straightforward as a task, but it also isn't something that everyone's going to want to do. There's a practical upper limit of how much money you can make "per hour," and a lot of folks on this subforum are going to heavily discount the smaller tasks that nickel and dime your free time away. In my experience/talking with other stringers, the hours spent calculation tends to be N number of frames * average time of racquet strung, and never includes commute, delivery/dropoff, prepping frames, stenciling (if applicable), records keeping, billing (more important if a "legit" business), etc.

Would this be worth it to you if your projected volumes were less than half of what you are forecasting, and if you end up (effectively) netting job-cost per one hour spent of your time in total? If you end up getting (on average) a racquet a day, and you don't get your job times down below half an hour for the first, say, six months, then factor in coordination time... If you charge ~$15-20/job, that would be what you make on average an hour (or more)!

Don't get me wrong, I've been stringing since high school, and the calculus always made sense to me simply because I was breaking strings a lot. Everything after that was icing on the cake, and I was already going to be learning how to string for my own consumption. With that said, however, from an opportunity cost standpoint, there might be other/better on-campus jobs you could be doing that also allows you time to study if activity is low. An example would be a front desk staff member at said club...

Just giving you an oddball way of looking at the situation.
 

fuzz nation

G.O.A.T.
I have found a company that sells Gamma X-els for 2380$ and Gamma progression 2 for 2280$. I've been interested in buying one of those aswell. Does anyone have any experience with them?
I've been stringing on a Gamma Prog 2 ELS for a little over ten years. I coach local high school teams in both the spring and fall and also teach in the summers, so several locals use my services during the warmer months. My tempo isn't up at 10-15 string jobs per week on a regular basis, but I'll do 8-10 per week when I catch spikes in demand.

Some folks worry about the reliability of electric machines and I was wondering about that issue myself when I was first considering machines beyond entry level in terms of their features. But I got to use a "premium" floor-stand Gamma machine at the club where I work during one summer when my tabletop drop weight machine broke down. That drop weight machine was from LaserFibre, which was a US version of Stringway - a plastic piece of the mounting system cracked on it.

That first Gamma machine I tried (maybe the 6500?) had a rotational tensioner that worked fine for every string type, including natural gut. So that experience gave me the confidence to go ahead and get my Prog. 2 ELS. I already liked that Gamma's customer service had a stellar reputation at the time, but as it turns out, I've never needed to talk with them. I've never had a single issue, hiccup, or mystery that I've needed help with through my years with this machine.

I keep my machine covered to keep dust away - this has been a big help - and I've only cleaned my clamps here and there through the years when I thought that it would be a good idea to spruce them up. The tensioner (aside from a little cleaning of the "jaws" that grab the string) has needed nothing and the mounting system is in as good a shape now as it was the day I got it.

I can also note that when I switched from stringing with a tabletop drop-weight machine to an electric machine, I quickly noticed that it was much less tedious for me to string a bundle of racquets if I needed to get several done overnight. With my drop-weight machine, I never wanted to do more than one or two at a time, but when I started using my electric Gamma, I could get three or four racquets done without feeling like I needed a vacation once I was done.

I doubt that everybody who has bought one of these machines has had the same 100% trouble free ride that I've enjoyed for so many years, but based on my own experience as well as your budget, I can absolutely recommend the Prog. 2 ELS. I'm sure that there are other decent candidates out there, but this one has more than exceeded my hopes and expectations.
 

esm

Legend
I haven't strung before but I know a lot of people who doesn't like to wait 1 week for their rackets to be strung. It takes a week at the local club
Interesting. If you have not strung before, how are you planning on making sure you learnt the skills to provide the service to your customers? Do you have a plan on string stock you may need to carry? Where will you find the 10-15 customers per week? All genuine questions BTW.
 
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Risburk

New User
Thanks for all the answers! I now realize that maybe my plans were too grand hahah. I'll probably go for a drop weight instead and add a wise to it if I feel like it. What drop weight do you recommend in that case? It has to be possible to add the wise in the future. I live in Sweden so it has to be possible to buy it from here.
 

Wes

Hall of Fame
Thanks for all the answers! I now realize that maybe my plans were too grand hahah. I'll probably go for a drop weight instead and add a wise to it if I feel like it. What drop weight do you recommend in that case? It has to be possible to add the wise in the future. I live in Sweden so it has to be possible to buy it from here.

The Stringmaster Deluxe is available in four variants regarding the tensioning mechanism (not counting the options for having a stand).

- no tensioner at all
- drop-weight tensioner
- Wise 2086 tensioner
- Ennoxx tensioner

Take a look at the drop-weight version.
 

Risburk

New User
The Stringmaster Deluxe is available in four variants regarding the tensioning mechanism (not counting the options for having a stand).

- no tensioner at all
- drop-weight tensioner
- Wise 2086 tensioner
- Ennoxx tensioner

Take a look at the drop-weight version.
Do you mean this one when regering to the drop weight? https://www.tennisman.de/Weiteres/B...Master-Deluxe-Black-Edition.html?s=2&#suggest
Is lever arm the same as drop weight? Sorry if the answer is obvious, I'm new to this...
 

diredesire

Moderator
Great, thanks! Would you be going for that one as a first drop weight machine or would you get some other one?
Not to put words into Wes' mouth, but it's the same base platform as the stand-up deluxe LE V3. However, the turntable base looks a lot narrower than the electronic version. I'm not positive that it's upgradeable... although, there is this machine which appears to have the same table base. I'm not sure if the tension head would hit the mounting posts with a regular (tennis) setup. The Ennox tension head at the time of writing is ~$900 EUR, so just factor in upgrading down the road.

As it stands, though, overall that machine is a really good platform for starting, but if you're going with a dropweight and do have to replace the base table, and then buy a tensioner module on top of that, you might be better off with a Stringway, selling it, and then upgrading down the road. At least lately, stringing machines have held value exceedingly well, so that might be the lower overall hassle if you do decide to start with a lower end machine.

With all that said, if you're just looking for a less expensive machine to get started, you're back in the territory of just going with something like a Revo 4000, X-6 FC, X-ST, etc. Not sure what prices are like in Sweden, but if all of these machines are more expensive after currency considerations, I'd say that StringMaster machine is a great starting platform. Compare against a Stringway as well. I'm actually not sure which direction I'd lean if they were the same price, tbh.
 

Risburk

New User
After talking with Wes yesterday I've decided to go for the tennisman stringmaster Deluxe. Thanks again everyone and a special thanks to you Wes for the help yesterday, it's really appreciated!
 

diredesire

Moderator
Comes with awl, needle nose pliers, and diagonal cutters. Other misc hand tools like Allen keys, etc. They're kind of crappy throw ins... I didn't even bother trying them.

I'd recommend getting a starting clamp and stringbed cutters in addition.
 
An awl for stringing in modern thin walled racquets is not a good idea :((n)

It is much better to use a hook to get 2 strings through a double hole.

j8hookforknot2j

Something like this
po9kR5VQj
 

Jonny S&V

Hall of Fame
Comes with awl, needle nose pliers, and diagonal cutters. Other misc hand tools like Allen keys, etc. They're kind of crappy throw ins... I didn't even bother trying them.

I'd recommend getting a starting clamp and stringbed cutters in addition.

I come back to TT after an unintended hiatus (life) and you’re still around DD, good to see ya!

I’ve been in my own little rural world so I’m not quite up to date on current models of stringers, but with 15 years and 10s of 1000s of racquets strung (not hyperbole, I guesstimate 10,000 racquets isn’t a stretch) at the amateur - pro level, my Alpha Revo 4K hasn’t failed once and I’ve just done general maintenance on it (grease on the joints and clean the clamps and recalibrate the tension head a couple times a year).

So this somehow old codger in the stringing world (I’m only in my mid 30s) says get a quality LO tension head and take care of it, which you can upgrade to a Wise or something if the like down the road.
 
So this somehow old codger in the stringing world (I’m only in my mid 30s) says get a quality LO tension head and take care of it, which you can upgrade to a Wise or something if the like down the road.

Hi Jonny welcome back.

Mechanically your advise may be good.
But the big change in stringing is that the difference in string elongation properties is much bigger than 10 years ago.

So for accuracy it “may” be better to look for a constant pull machine.
 
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