Nittaku Violin for the modern game?

[po-stit]

The other day I tried a friends blade to test his Fastarc G1 and his blade was a Nittaku Violin.

For context I used to play a Primorac when I was a kid/teenager and did enjoy the blade very much. Recently I bought an another one to test, in fact I bought two, the European one that felt good but had a terrible slim handle and a Japanese one that felt like a wet noodle. Too flexy for the modern ball and I attributed that to the thinness of the blade. It's weird considering that they both were the "same" blade and had about the same weight (90gr).

I also had an Acoustic that felt much more rigid than the Primorac, faster but at the same time "pingy" or bouncy on the short game. It felt great but for some reason it didn't click with me.

I completely disregarded the Violin because I felt it would be similar to the Primorac and wouldn't be stable enough for the plastic ball but I was completely wrong but don't understand why. The blade is fast enough, stable for blocking and counter looping, not bouncy, really controlled but it shouldn't be that way. I would say it's as stable as my Hugo HAL despite being slower.

My friend had a Tenergy 05 on the Violin and even that felt fast but controllable, that for me was the biggest surprise considering I was testing it on the backhand and never felt the characteristic bounciness of the T05.

What am I missing? Is this some kind of unicorn my friend got or is the Violin that good? Why did the blade felt stable despite the thinness? Is this because the outer plies are from harder wood?

 

[po-stit]

No one? Can blade makers chime in?

@SDC @coreywong @bobpuls and other i might have forgotten ????

 

[victormanriquey]

Hey! Violin is my favourite blade of all times, I used it for almost 2 years and it's a fantastic intermediate blade you can use all the way until you need more power far from the table. It's made from white ash and kiri so very different from the typical limba/ayous blade like primorac. It also feels very different, I do love the vibration and touch.

So what else would you like to know about it? Happy to help!!

Ps. I had 2 acoustics also (now just one) and used a lot too, so I can help there too

 

[mightymouse]

I used to have Violin (not anymore) and 3 Acoustics (2 now).

I consider Violin is an All+/Off- blade with the best feel. It is supposed to be hard (with white ash as the top and second ply) but I did not feel that it is a hard blade. Although it is thin (5.3 - 5.4 mm if I recalled correctly) it is quite stable. Speed-wise, it is still good for an intermediate player. The reason for the stability despite being thin (my guess) is the head size of Violin is quite small (smaller than Primorac and Acoustic).

The reason I switched to Acoustic is that Acoustic is faster (Off- to Off depending on the weight) although feel-wise, I prefer Violin.

Primorac (and also Korbel) is actually more comparable to Acoustic, having limba as the top and second ply.

If you like the feel of Violin, I think you should get it. If you don't like it, it is relatively easy to sell the blade.

 

[victormanriquey]

I used to have Violin (not anymore) and 3 Acoustics (2 now).

I consider Violin is an All+/Off- blade with the best feel. It is supposed to be hard (with white ash as the top and second ply) but I did not feel that it is a hard blade. Although it is thin (5.3 - 5.4 mm if I recalled correctly) it is quite stable. Speed-wise, it is still good for an intermediate player. The reason for the stability despite being thin (my guess) is the head size of Violin is quite small (smaller than Primorac and Acoustic).

The reason I switched to Acoustic is that Acoustic is faster (Off- to Off depending on the weight) although feel-wise, I prefer Violin.

Primorac (and also Korbel) is actually more comparable to Acoustic, having limba as the top and second ply.

If you like the feel of Violin, I think you should get it. If you don't like it, it is relatively easy to sell the blade.

I agree with this @mightymouse , I think that even though white ash is a very hard wood, since the plies are super thin, you don't feel it much. Also, white ash is very flexible, so that gives the blade a certain feel and forgiveness that I love combined with the kiri core

Acoustic is indeed faster but many people including us prefer Violin's feel haha And agreed that Korbel is more similar to Acoustic in feeling.

Attached is the photo of my dear Violin, it looks gorgeous and the outer ply pattern is a bit hypnotic

 

[SDC]

No one? Can blade makers chime in?

@SDC @coreywong @bobpuls and other i might have forgotten ????

The stable feeling in a blade doesn't come from the outer ply, it comes from the medial ply and core. The Violin uses White Ash outer and medial layers, which is a fairly hard and stiff wood. The blade you tried probably had a nicely dense core too. This all adds up to what you described, but it's possible that the one you tried had something extra that made it more special.

 

[po-stit]

The stable feeling in a blade doesn't come from the outer ply, it comes from the medial ply and core. The Violin uses White Ash outer and medial layers, which is a fairly hard and stiff wood. The blade you tried probably had a nicely dense core too. This all adds up to what you described, but it's possible that the one you tried had something extra that made it more special.

Thank you for the reply. It makes sense.
Guess I needed to take matters into my own hands and decided to purchase a nice 89gr copy for myself with large handle. It feels as good as the one from my teammate.

Paired with Dignics 80 on the forehand and Hybrid Mk Pro on backhand it isn’t as slow as people make it to be.

Actually I’m enjoying it as much as my Hugo HAL and as added another layer of confidence to my game.

If for any reason you want to try it for your own research you are always welcome to train with your friends at Távola CC.

I agree with this @mightymouse , I think that even though white ash is a very hard wood, since the plies are super thin, you don't feel it much. Also, white ash is very flexible, so that gives the blade a certain feel and forgiveness that I love combined with the kiri core

Acoustic is indeed faster but many people including us prefer Violin's feel haha And agreed that Korbel is more similar to Acoustic in feeling.

Attached is the photo of my dear Violin, it looks gorgeous and the outer ply pattern is a bit hypnotic

The outer ply is indeed beautiful. Completely different from any other blade I’ve had.

 

[Chr75]

I'm waiting for a violin g-revision grip. When will Nittaku produce the violin g-rev?

 

[po-stit]

I'm waiting for a violin g-revision grip. When will Nittaku produce the violin g-rev?

Tha L-handle of my Violin is like a "fatter" version of the normal handle. So, it's like the handle is thicker in the middle but doesnt flare out in the same proportion.
It feels almost like a straight handle without much flare.