Hard/Soft blades and Hard/soft rubbers

[Silver]

Wrote this for something else and thought I would post it here too.

I've tested a lot of blades & rubbers with the faster blade/slower rubber and slower blade/faster rubber point in mind and after all that came to the following conclusion:

It's really about stiffer blade/softer rubber, softer blade/harder rubber Razz

Feel should be the primary concern.

I personally prefer a hard blade and a soft rubber. The fact that most hard blades are fast and most soft rubbers are slow is secondary.

The key point is:

-> A stiffer blade will cause the sponge to play a greater role and vice versa.

This leads to:

-> If the sponge plays a greater role, the bat will feel more bouncy & possibly corky with lower feedback.

-> If the blade plays a greater role, you will get more blade feedback feel on slow shots.

Now a couple of conclusions:

-> If the sponge plays a greater role, you will gain more mechanical grip.

-> If the blade plays a greater role, you require higher topsheet grip.

There are a few oddities, such as superfast soft blades (Joola Kool, TSP 8.5) and hard slow blades. These should be taken on a case by case basis as you can't really pidgeonhole them into soft/hard hard/soft. For example, I still maintain that the soft Tango rubbers work the best on the Kool for spin generation, control and speed. Some harder rubbers work on hard blades too, as they often have a great corky sponge that isn't revealed on soft blades until you really hit it - for example, Globe 999 National on a butterfly carbon laminate (tamca 5000) blade.

What if we choose a medium stiffness blade and medium hardness rubbers. Do we get the best of both worlds? I would say yes, but again, it's a matter of preference.

So when you want to increase your overall bat speed, what should you do? Faster rubbers or faster blades?

The easiest thing to do is increase blade speed (stiffer blade). This sort of increases the speed on everything in a linear sort of fashion. Higher bottom end speed, higher top end speed. If you increase rubber speed (meaning a harder rubber), you will have a lower increase in bottom end speed (with a drop in bottom end spin) and a larger increase in top end speed, with a top end spin increase. It will have a larger impact on touch (not feel) than a stiffer blade will have. This means to me that it takes less time to adjust to a new blade than a new rubber.

Obviously this isn't ideal - blades cost more than rubbers!

[Der Echte]

Silver, what you just wrote ought to be included in some TT publications. Nice job.

I recently gave up the Galaxy N-2 (ALL+? wood) with 35 degree Quattro/Venus for a Dawei GTS with 2X 40 deg Quattro. How do you feel this setup fits in with the hard blade/soft rubber theory over the previous N-2 setup?

After a couple weeks, I seem to have regained my consistancy, after hitting a lot of the loops long, with a perceived jump in power and maintained nearly similar control.

[speedplay]

Excellent post Silver!

I agree to almost everything in it but still I find it easier to adjust to a new rubber then a new blade... In most cases that is, the Yasaka MarkV M2 was a rubber I simply couldn't get used to, the Dawei Wavestone was a blade that felt right immediately, but most of the times I can handle a new rubber very fast but it may takes months before I get used to a new blade.

[priior]

how about the soft sponge, flexible blade combo? is the increase in feel and spin not worth the loss of speed?

also.. im not so sure about the stiffer blade increasing the bat speed linearly... my instinct says the speed of the blade should be negligeable in the slow game. at that pace it's all rubber... but i havent tested out 10million combos like you have.. so i could very well be wrong!

[RebornTTEvnglist]

Excellent post Silver!

I agree to almost everything in it but still I find it easier to adjust to a new rubber then a new blade... In most cases that is, the Yasaka MarkV M2 was a rubber I simply couldn't get used to, the Dawei Wavestone was a blade that felt right immediately, but most of the times I can handle a new rubber very fast but it may takes months before I get used to a new blade.

 :P  Isn't that the way to keep your opponents guessing what you're going to do, cos if you don't know, how can they?  :lol:  

[ckhugo]

reborn: u r funny

priior: Soft blade & soft rubber doesnt necessary makes spinnier shots, but it would certainly be more consistent as the control would be good.
And blade makes a lot of difference in speed, angle, spin, arc and length of the ball.
Say, with same rubber, on different blades, the aboves would be different, e.g. on softer more flexy blades, you will find lifting chop easier than stiff bricks while the more flexy a blade has, in general the longer the ball travels.

The principle difference of the composite blades especially carbon is that it reduce the height of the arc on topspin. So the same player hitting the same shot with the same rubbers, on a carbon blade, the ball will seem faster bcoz its flatter and the 1st pace (the pace of the ball leaving the blade and fly towards the opponent) would be faster.

[shagga]

Are softer rubbers moer controllable and which ones offer more spin?

[Der Echte]

How you generate spin depends on the type of stroke you do, your equipment, and how you do it. That leaves a lot of room for variation. On my opening medium loop close to the table, I would be a pissed off camper using Rob's favored tensor setups. I wouldn't get the spin I get from my setup on the same stroke. Rob would be pissed off fast looping at mid to long distance using my 999 on my TBS - the speed would be a tick below his expectations and the spin would be an utter failure to him. His stroke and tensors can deliver brutal topspin with a low arc in that situation. Those are only two examples.

[pingpongrob]

Are softer rubbers more controllable and which ones offer more spin?

It is a fact that Softer Sponge rubbers are more controllable, and most of the time more feeling.

[speedplay]

It is a fact that Softer Sponge rubbers are more controllable, and most of the time more feeling.

I disagree with this "fact" as I don't feel that softer rubbers give better control. As said in the other tread, softer sponge rubbers are easier to generate spin with, but they are also more susceptible to incoming spin. A harder sponge is easier to block with, and, according to me, it is also easier to control in the short game, since it gives pretty much the same response every time. A soft sponge is more versatile in the short game, as it gets penetrated easier, which results in two similar shots can act different because of how much the sponge was penetrated.

I do agree about the feeling though.

[priior]

depends what do you mean with control i guess...

softer rubbers block loops very nicely (control) probably cuz of the dwell time and the absorbed energy...

as for the short game... i tend to think like speedplay.. a hard non grippy slow rubber would put that ball anywhere you want!

[Der Echte]

It might work that way for Speedplay, but not for Der_Echte. I block just as well, if not better with Bryce and Venus, which run about 38 degrees, than I do with 999 on a 42 degree quattro sponge. However, these two rubbes are LOW throw ones that excell in that department. I certainly do not feel that way about Sriver FX, which is like a mushy marshmellow that need some treatment to wake it up. I DO loop WAY better with a mid soft sponge close to the table than with a rock hard sponge. The feel and control for that stroke of mine suits a mid soft sponged grippy or lightly tacky rubber. Away from the table I can generate spin with anything with more friction than anti. I prefer a more firm sponged rubber away from the table, but I can work with mid soft. Mid soft is less controlable away from the table for me.

Its only my sucky opinion that it can differ among players, but for most, a softer sponged rubber closer to the table is more controlable. Some will argue that a harder sponged rubber offers better control over the table and for flicking serves. I don't believe the rule is like concrete for everyone.