Wilson PSC 6.1 + Natural Gut/Syn Gut @ 35/33 lbs

I just cannot understand why there is so much vibrations in the fullbed natural gut stringbed (link). 

Thinking back, I recalled the Klip Legend did not even stretch much when I strung it at 32 lbs. It seems like natural gut needs to be stretched a little more before its true playing potential surfaces.

Having spent so much on this one set of strings, I am reluctant to cut it out. But neither am I enjoying it at all. 

So I thought I'll re-use the natural gut in the mains and convert this to a hybrid! Since gut does not lose its resiliency at all, even up to the point of breakage, this should work very well, isn't it?

As usual, I mounted the racket and carefully cut out only the cross strings. Then I loosened the mains and removed the power pads as well. The gut still feels very crispy to the touch.

I checked the mains for any serious notching or fraying. All seems fine despite more than 6 hours of play. So I started tensioning the mains.

I just cannot resist pinging the mains after it is done. The sound is just so melodious and pleasant!

Weaving the synthetic gut cross is very easy. It is lubricated with silicon and pulling it across the mains is almost effortless.

Playtest:
- Despite the re-used gut, the feel and pocketing is still plush, deep and nice! Plus, ALL the vibrations disappeared!
- Power levels have toned down significantly from the previous fullbed, but the stringbed is not dead. It still has the unmistakable feel and comfort of natural gut.
- Despite the drop in power, power levels are still higher than fullbed ELT syn gut or multi.
- Spin is good. Definitely more so than normal tensions but maybe slightly less or same as ELT syn gut. My bald balls may not provide sufficient fur for the strings to grab.
- Directional control is among the best ELT I've tried. No surprise considering I'm using very "pre-stretched" nat gut.
- Overall, this is a very pleasant surprise for me as I expected the gut to be much less lively and playable.
- Even my lady partner preferred this gut/syn gut feel compared to the previous fullbed. So I think this hybrid will be a very good cost-saving alternative for one to enjoy natural gut.
- The next question on my mind is durability. I'll continue to play with this and monitor. 

03Apr2013 update:
- Weather is finally dry enough to use this racket again.
- Tension holding is superb! It felt as stable as when I first used it.
- Comfort, power and pocketing are probably the best aspects of using natural gut and all three are still in abundance!
- Spin is good. To get more, I'll have to hit harder. When I feel the pocketing go deeper, I know that's also when the "bite" is stronger. A slightly steeper brush upwards and spin goes up.
- This gut would have clocked 8+ hours of use after today and there isn't any significant increase in fraying nor notching!

08Apr2013 update:
- The feel of natural gut is highly addictive! I just keep coming back to this racket because of the gut strings!
- While pocketing are both deep for ELT syn gut and ELT natural gut, I am beginning to understand the differences.
- With ELT natural gut, the stringbed feels tighter as the pocketing deepens. I can feel the strings "wrap around" the ball and then rebounds very powerfully and directed accurately at where I was aiming the ball to go.
- For ELT syn gut, I get a slight "hollow" and loose feeling as the pocketing deepens. It almost feels like a butterfly net. And when the ball departs the stringbed, I have a little less confidence whether the ball trajectory is going to match where I was aiming.
- Keep in mind I used the exact same racket for both stringjobs so the racket properties and flex are not in question.
- This session marks about 10 hours of use.


10Apr2013 update:
- No matter what racket I bring, I keep coming back to this stick when the going gets tough.
- Natural gut is just so comfortable, powerful and predictable. Nothing comes close.
- Huge chunks of ball fur keeps getting ripped off by the strings.
- Added another hour of hard hits to make 11.

15Apr2013 update:
- Just to add another 3 hours of play with the gut to total about 14 hours now.
- String movement remains less than ELT syn gut.
- There's a little extra fraying on the mains.

16Apr2013 update:
- The gut just completed its 15th hour of use.
- I can feel the stringbed start to get less powerful with less rebound.
- Since this is a hybrid, I cannot determine whether it is the gut or the syn gut "losing" its elasticity. But given natural gut's reputation for tension stability and playability till the it breaks, the more likely culprit could be the synthetic. 
- Let me ponder if I should re-do only the cross.
- Another ball's felt cover was ripped open with the amount of spin we are hitting using ELT.

Strings:

Klip Legend Natural Gut 1.30mm mains @ 35 lbs

Pro Supex Synthetic Gut Titan 1.25mm crosses @ 33 lbs

Wilson Hammer 5.8 + Multi @ 32/30 lbs (one-piece)

I did not enjoy the mystery string the last round (link) so I cut it out and decided to try ELT with full multi. Given multi's impressive vibration dampening properties and renown power, I suspect it may play pretty close to natural gut when strung at ELT.

Many online have commented that Pro Supex Maxim Touch is "downright oily". I think that comment is well deserved. No matter how much I clean the string jaws, clamps and wipe down the strings several times with an alcohol dabbed tissue, I still suffer from string slippage. This string is 16g. My clamps are calibrated to hold 17g strings and I'm only pulling tension at 32 lbs!

Initially, I thought that with ELT, any tension differential between the mains and crosses would be frivolous. However, after stringing several different rackets, I noticed that the stringbed feel can be dramatically different even when I use the same string and pull at the same tension.

Hence, I decided to continue my "unfinished business" with varied tension (link). Basically, I am stringing this racket one-piece but with the mains at 32 lbs and crosses at 30 lbs. 

For the mains, the short side is done as usual then tied off. On the long side, I completed 7 mains at 32 lbs then started on the second cross from the top at 30 lbs. After completing 18 crosses, I weaved the last main at 32 lbs and then filled the last cross string on top at 30 lbs before tying off on top.

Just to satisfy my curiousity whether the 2 lbs tension differential would even out, I marked out two main and cross string intersections where the differential is likely to cause string movement. 

The pic below should paint a clearer picture. I can see the red marks on the left has moved by about 1mm.

Playtest:

- Even with a similar frame size and shape as my PSC6.1 (link), with just one additional cross string in this racket makes the stringbed feel SO MUCH more tighter! That's why I like to skip crosses with this racket.

- Tightness, is purely with reference to the PSC6.1. Compare with normal tensions, this stringbed offer heaps of comfort and more. However, there are still very light hints that this is  a very stiff and arm-unfriendly racket. Afterall, it is a Wilson Hammer!
- Just for comparison, I can easily pass this stringbed off as something strung in the low 50s and I think few would doubt me. They'll probably just wonder what kind of special string it is that makes it SO comfortable...
- I cannot tell if it is because of the 16g thicker string or the additional cross string, but spin loses slightly to the PSC6.1.
- Directional control is excellent. 
- First serves were good and accurate. Second serves carried more than enough spin for my partner to stand back and play defensively.
- Between ELT full multi, full syn gut and multi/syn gut, I find the difference is very slight. It seems the differences between rackets still matters much more than the type of strings at ELT.
- Ball fur pic below.

29Mar2013 update:
- After a few sessions with this stringbed, the multi became very gummy. Naturally, since multi is held together using "glue". This is the part I dislike about multi.
- Once it turns gummy, string do not move. The mains and crosses get stuck together and serious notching begins.
- Spin levels are decreasing together with control.
- Power levels seem to be dropping too.
- Comfort remains slightly better than pure syn gut.
- I think it is still much better to hybrid multi mains with something else in the cross to mitigate this gummy problem.

Strings:

Pro Supex Maxim Touch 1.30mm @ 32/30 lbs

Pro Kennex Graphite Prophecy 2 + Syn Gut @ 30 lbs

ELT is addictive! Once I've tried it, I got hooked. The comfort is indescribable. The spin is seductive. Since 31st Jan, this is my eleventh consecutive racket that I'm stringing below 35 lbs! Simply amazing!

This Pro Kennex is an old racket. Weighing only about 310 grams strung, it's one of the lightest sticks I have. Stringbed is 16 by 20. As usual, I cannot find any information at all about this stick, so I'm going in "blind".

Someone mentioned on an online forum that with one piece stringing, about 35 ft of string would suffice for this 95 sq in frame. So I measured out the string to do this one piece.

Here's the mains...

I started the crosses after completing the second last main on the long side.

Somehow, while weaving the crosses, I got the feeling that there is not going to be enough string. It's just a gut feel from having done so many rackets.

When I got to the last few crosses, my fears were comfirmed! I had enough to fill the last cross but not enough to reach the string jaws to pull tension! And there's still one last main to fill!

Since this is my personal racket, I decided to bridge the last cross with a scrap string to pull tension. My floating clamp came in handy. Then I tied off the bottom cross at 10B. That took care of all the crosses.

For the last outstanding main, I cut out another 3 ft of string and tied a knot to 6B, weaved the single main, pulled tension, clamped and then tied off on 7T. Technically, I converted this to a two-piece job. 15 mains plus 20 crosses by the first string, and 1 single outer main using the other string. Unorthodox enough I guess?

Here's the completed pic.

Playtest:
- Just hitting against my palm, the stringbed felt very firm. It's unlike the other two rackets I did at 30 lbs. (link1)(link2)
- This string plays very crisp. It's not stiff at all, but it's also definitely not loose. 
- The stringbed feels tight enough to be passed off as in the low 50s. But the pocketing is deeper than being strung in the 50s.
- The signature comfort of ELT is still there. Distinctly. I really like this plushy soft pocketing, and yet crisp feeling!
- Spin is almost on par with my other ELT 30 lbs. Maybe this slightly denser string density, or slightly thicker 16g denied the racket of some spin? Nevertheless, spin is still way more than being strung at normal tensions.
- Directional control poses no problem at all. It's aim where go where. The dense stringbed makes a big difference here.
- Even with this very light racket, I had no problems sending the ball deep. The stringbed generates good power.
- Receiving hard flat shots are often punishing, especially when taken off-centre, but ELT softened the blow and absorbed most of the shock. The best part is, when the stringbed pocketing bounces back, my opponents energy is returned to be used against them!!!
- After almost 2 hours of use, there is zero string movement. The stringbed looked exactly like how it was when I started. Weird!
- Thinking back, it does seem to appear that string movement is less for denser stringbeds and thicker gauge strings. 

Strings:

Pro Supex Synthetic Gut Spiral Flex 1.30mm @ 30 lbs

Wilson PSC 6.1 + Natural Gut @ 32 lbs

My last experiment with ELT syn gut was very enjoyable (link). So I thought I'll try ELT with natural gut this round. It's a costly experiment but no venture no gain.

Even before I start, the bad news is, the package containing the natural gut was found folded and squashed into my letterbox. When I inspected the natural gut, there was already some white spots where the strings were folded. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

After cutting out and removing the old strings, I inspected each grommet hole carefully and felt for any rough edges. The few sharp corners I found were gently sanded down to make sure it posed no danger to the natural gut.

To remove some of the coil memory, I wrapped the gut around a pole and pulled gently. That made it so much easier to work with.

At only 32 lbs, I'm surprised that natural gut does not stretch much. It's very similar to poly. The only difference is when I "ping" the mains, the sound is so melodious! I can understand now why musicians like natural gut in their string instruments. The tune is totally different from syn gut and poly.

Here's a close-up look of Klip Legend Natural Gut. It's a beautiful string.

Weaving the crosses really slowly to avoid string burn.

To cushion the sharp grommet turn at the throat area, I inserted a few small pieces of leather.

Playtest:
- Ball impact is very soft and comfortable. It feels much more crisper than syn gut. However, I prefer the ELT syn gut feel more.
- The stringbed feels quite responsive and powerful but there are absolutely no hints of any trampoline.
- I noticed that when I really go after the ball for hard shots, I get a feeling of loss of control and then see the ball go long. With ELT syn gut, the harder swings are often well rewarded with extra spin and power with precision.
- The slightly "gummy" coating of the string really "grabbed" the ball very well for topspin shots. I can feel the "bite" during the upward brush motion and then see the ball kick up high and fast after bouncing.
- Spin levels clearly loses out to the previous 17g syn gut. Not by a lot, just slightly. Maybe 20-30% less?
- From the first hit, there is a strange vibration and pinging sound that could not be dampened. It remained even after about 45min of rallying.
- Volleys are good but felt a little too firm for my liking. I still preferred the ELT syn gut as it feels more consistent and predictable.
- Somehow, this stringbed feel reminds me of the Wilson Sensation NXT 16g multifilament that I used to prefer (in the late 1990s). I used to string that in this racket at 65-67lbs.
- I still don't understand how to maximise the potential of this stringbed. I'll let the string settle-in and try it again.
- Below pic shows how little string movement there is after play.

19Mar2013 update:
- Took this out for a spin again...
- I can feel the stringbed has softened a bit. The pocketing feels much deeper than the last session. In fact, the pocketing is probably the deepest among all the ELT strings I have tried.
- The thing I don't like about such deep pocketing is that sometimes I clip the frame on the inside when hitting topspin shots. Also, I noticed with deeper pocketing, the ball tend to depart from the stringbed on a higher trajectory than with shallow pocketing. So I have to aim much lower with this.
- Power is in abundance. No surprise since it's natural gut. My lady playing partner totally LOVED this stringbed. With normal tensions, she always had problems hitting it deep. But with this, the stringbed and racket did all the work for her! At the receiving end, most of her shots landed low and deep, just before the baseline.
- Spin and directional control seems to still lose out to ELT syn gut.
- Unfortunately, the vibrations are still there.
- There's not much string movement but the natural gut is starting to fray very very slightly.

23Mar2013 update:
- My partner liked these strings very much so I let her use this racket almost the entire two hour rally session.
- With the few hits I tried, the vibrations seem to have reduced very significantly.
- Strangely, the stringbed felt a little firmer and tighter and gave me better directional control this time.
- Spin is almost the same as ELT syn gut.
- If I were to try this same string at this tension again, I'll most likely prestretch it a fair bit, or maybe pull tension twice for every string. That will probably help the string to settle-in faster considering how low I am tensioning it.
- Compared with ELT syn gut, I still think the difference is marginal, with natural gut offering slightly more pocketing and power but less spin.
- After this session, the strings would have clocked about 6 hours of use.

29Mar2013 update:
- The vibrations are still there and I do not like it at all.
- I can see the main strings starting to fray.

Strings:

Klip Legend Natural Gut 1.30mm @ 32 lbs

Oldie: Wilson XT-80-L2 + Syn Gut @ 30 lbs

After getting no reply from Wilson, I decided not to wait anymore. I have no information on the specs of this frame. Not even the frame size! (link) Whatever it is, I decided to string this up with full synthetic gut at 30 lbs.

Here's some pics if anyone has seen or used this stick before...

There a marking "KAR" on the buttcap just above the "W" logo.

The inside of the above racket cover has a tag indicating it was made in Taiwan for Wilson.

 Since there is no tension differential, I used one-piece stringing.

I used the Wilson Hammer 5.8 which is a 95 sq inch frame as comparison. The XT-80 is only slightly smaller.

The strung outer frame width and length are respectively 25.9cm and 33cm.

It weighed close to 380g initially. I removed the original grip and wrapped two layers of overgrip to try to bring down some weight.

Frame size: 90-92 sq inch ?
Length: 27"
Flex: ?
Strung weight: 369g
Balance: 33.5cm (strung + 1 layer overgrip, no lead tape)
Recommended Tension: 50-60lbs
Grip Size: 4 1/4
Material: Unknown
Stringing Pattern: 16x19

Stringing Instructions (T=top B=bottom):
Mains Skip 7, 9, T-B
No Shared holes
Mains Tie 6B, Start Cross 7T, Cross Tie 5T-5B


Playtest:
- This racket played beautifully!
- Power level is very good. No problems hitting it deep with heavy topspin at all.
- Compared to my initial ELT PSC6.1 (link), this stringbed feels much tighter. Pocketing is not as deep and spin is slightly less. Now I am quite sure 30 lbs may be a tad low for the PSC6.1.
- This racket does not feel stiff. It is so comfortable I suspect it is foam filled. There is excellent vibration dampening built-in. Even frame-hits are not harsh. It's like a muted version of the Pro Staff 6.0.
- Directional control is excellent. It's as good as, if not better than hitting with my PSC6.1 strung at 60+ lbs.
- Volleys are very good, even slight off-center hits are placed quite accurately.
- I played a few games with this. The high balance point generates a lot of natural power during serves. I did not have to swing hard and I could see some good pace on both flat and spin serves. I got two aces serving at only 30%.
- The only downside of this frame is my wrist and forearm are totally exhausted after about an hour.
- Ball fur pic below.

16Mar2012 update:
- Played a set with this racket again.
- The stringbed still feels nice and tight. Absolutely no trampoline at all. Just plush softness!
- Control and spin remains excellent.
- What really excelled this session were spin serves. Slice serves were really wicked. When I hit the sidelines, the ball literally bounced then kicked sideways almost 90 degrees!
- Quite a few slice serves kicked off at a weird angle off the receiving party's racket face and flew out the sidelines.
- Topspin serves kicked up very high. I managed to kick some serves above the receiving party's ears. And it was still rising when they tapped the ball meekly back over to me.
- I was feeling off-form this session and my timing was just bizarre. Baseline shots where I got my timing well were totally punishing to the receiver as I watch the topspin kick the ball right towards their face!


19Mar2013 update:
- Control, spin and power remains the same. I cannot feel any loss of tension, control nor power.
- Spin serves were very good. Both my partner and myself can see the ball curl so much in the air even before the ball hit the ground. It has a psychological impact to my partner as I could see him mutter some expletives before attempting to return my serve.
- I was standing at the net feeding balls to another partner who wanted to practise some shots. With ELT, it is extremely easy to feed balls and volley them back. Total pleasure.
- There is just so much spin that my tennis balls get bald very fast. The top ball is new while the bottom two have had a few sessions.

- String movement is not that bad, even with my third hitting session with this racket. Ball fur pic below.

23Mar2013 update:
- Played with this racket again. After this session, I would probably have clocked about 6-7 hours with this strings.
- Tension holding is quite impressive. Stringbed remains tight and firm, yet very soft and comfortable.
- Directional control and spin remains excellent!
- The usual "surprise kick" from my topspin shots happened quite a lot in this rallying session. It's still fun to see my partner's shocked face at how high and fast the ball kicked after bouncing off the ground!
- I noticed some minor notching near the sweetspot.
- Power and pocketing is still very good.
- This setup could become permanent for this racket, or maybe I'll use a thinner gauge syn gut.

26Mar2013 update:
- Going into my 8th hour play with this racket and the stringbed still feels nice and tight. Tension loss so negligible I cannot feel any difference.
- The monster spin is still there.
- I can clearly see the sweet spot with the darker coloured strings in the middle. That's the spot where the mains slide back and forth the crosses, creating that darker shade.

15Apr2013 update:
- Although I did not post any updates for a while, I have still been using this racket occasionally.
- Perhaps, due to the repeated exposure to intensive sunlight, the syn gut strings are starting to turn dry and "crispy".
- String movement is lesser compared to freshly strung but is still more than ELT natural gut.
- With more than 15+ hours of play, pocketing is still better than at normal tensions, but seems to be less deep than freshly strung.
- The "rebound" power of the syn gut has dropped quite a bit as well but it remains very playable.

Strings:

Pro Supex Synthetic Gut Titan 1.25mm @ 30 lbs

Wilson Hammer 5.8 + Mystery String @ 32 lbs (16x18)

I was handed a pack of unmarked strings to test. The only thing I'm told is that the string's gauge is 1.25mm. 

From my observation, there is a slight rough texture on the string. It is also coated with silicon to ease stringing. Here's how the string looks like...

With blind tests, we can eliminate any biasness from brands or materials, so I happily accepted that pack and  strung up my Wilson Hammer 5.8. There is no special reason for using this racket as it is the only unstrung stick I have at the moment.

While pulling tension, the string feels quite stretchy, like a multifilament. It also snaps back quickly when tension is removed. I know this string is either a multi or syn gut.

As usual, I skipped the bottom cross since I felt there is no purpose to stringing it. Instead of 16x19, this is now 16x18.

Playtest:
- Just hitting against my palm, the stringbed feels very tight even though it is only 32 lbs.
- The strings have no problems sliding freely with the rough surface.
- Power level is very low. I had to do full loopy swings to drive the ball deep from my baseline. Only sweet spot impacts feel very powerful.
- Spin is very good. I can see topspin shots kick up high and sidespin shots curling left or right. Slices are wicked and really threw my partner's timing off.
- Accuracy is very good. I could aim for corners with heavy topspin. I could also hit flat and aim to clear the net by mere inches confidently.
- It feels very comfortable even with a very stiff frame like the Hammer 5.8.
- While I experienced very deep pocketing with ELT syn gut, I did not feel it in this string. On impact, it feels as though the string has maxed out its stretchability. It's a bit like very soft poly. But it does not feel harsh at all!
- In my playing partner's words, "There is a plasticky feel to it". 
- After playing, I get the impression that I should have strung this quite a bit pounds looser.

19Mar2013 update:
- I played a short while with this racket again.
- The tension seems to have dropped slightly so the stringbed feels slightly softer.
- Sweet spot contacts were powerful, very soft and comfortable
- Off sweetspot hits were a bit harsh with slight vibrations.
- Directional control remains superb.
- This string feels like something between a syn gut and poly. It is soft but yet does not seem to stretch much. Very strange to me.
- Spin levels seem to have dipped slightly compared to the first session.
- I'll rate this string playable but not my cup of tea.

23Mar2013 update:
- I used this racket for about 30 minutes again. 
- The same strange "plasticky" feeling of the strings being "over-stretched" kept repeating.
- This is a very low power string. Despite full loopy swings, both my partner and myself struggle to send the ball from baseline to baseline.
- It is not an enjoyable string so its fate is sealed.

Strings:

Mystery String 1.25mm (strung one-piece) @ 32 lbs

(I'll update the string if I get to know what it is)

Oldie: Yonex R-10 + Syn Gut/Multi @ 35/33 lbs

Found another classic racket from the 80s. That was the era when manufacturers have had some initial success with graphite rackets. 

Everyone was jumping onto the graphite bandwagon and every brand was trying to differentiate themselves from the pack. It was a time of changes! (Check out the marketing brochure here! "Square heads for Smart Players!")

If my research is correct, the mid 80s was when Yonex first introduced their now famous "Isometric" shaped rackets. The R-10 should be the earlier or first batches with their signature "square frame" designs! In full graphite!

As usual, I could not find any info online. Not even stringing instructions! So I measured as many aspects as I could.

Frame size: 95 sq inch
Length: 27"
Strung weight: 361g
Balance: 32.1cm (strung + 1 layer overgrip, no lead tape)
Recommended Tension: 55-65lbs
Grip: Yonex Leather (Mine's still in very good condition!)
Grip Size: 4 1/4
Material: 100% Graphite
Stringing Pattern: 16x21 (Not too sure about this)

The racket was found strung but so many strings were broken and missing that I could not make out any useful pattern from it. So I thought I'll try to solve the puzzle myself as I string along. After all, this is done ELT, so any potential damage is minimised.

Stringing Instructions (T=top B=bottom):
Mains Skip 8T, 8B
Shared holes 9T, 7B, 9B
Mains Tie 6B, Cross Tie 7T, Start Cross 8T, Cross Tie 8B

(I appreciate help if anyone has better stringing instructions. Thanks!)

With more longer main strings, I decided to up the tension slightly to 35/33 lbs. This is to ensure I don't lose too much power or generate too much spin. Yes, if you have been following my ELT experiments, you'll know that you've read correctly. (link) Low power with too much spin! Yes, with synthetic gut!

Here's the pics...

Note the shared hole on the second cross (9T) in below pic.

After spending about 20 minutes trying to push the last cross into the last shared hole (7B), I had to give up. It just could not go in and I was running late for an appointment. So this racket is done 16x20 this round... heh... heh...

Playtest:
- It is a very comfortable strings setup with no harsh spots.
- Power level is very low. We had to swing the racket really hard to generate our own power. I suspect it could be due to the soft racket flex or the very dense stringbed.
- Spin is good. We can slice the ball backwards, kick the ball high with topspin and even curl the ball in mid-air. No problems!
- Accuracy did not pose any problems at all.
- As usual, volleys were extremely easy with ELT. I think other than the superb spin generation, volleys would be the next best thing with ELT.

Strings:

Pro Supex Synthetic Gut Spiral Flex 1.30mm mains @ 35 lbs

Pro Supex Maxim Touch 1.30mm cross @ 33 lbs