Good Blade for MX-P

Lermanator said:

Hi so I'm planning on switching from Hurricane to MX-P because I want to spin more on my forehand loop and my coach thinks I should get a slightly less stiff and softer blade. Right now I am a power player but I am trying to transition my game to more spin. I am a junior player with pretty decent technique and I still want to have a lot of power with the new blade as well as spin. Any recommendations? I've been considering the Timo Boll alc, zlf and zlc as well as the innerforce zlc.
Note: Please don't make this thread a battle about how there's no "best blade" I just want to see if anyone has anyone has any recommendations

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MX-P will be good on any of the blades you or others have listed, especially as a substitute for T05, since that's what you used before. It's about what you want from the blade. I've tried a lot of ALC blades and a few ZLC as you can see from my list. ZLC is stiffer and gives you more power than ALC which in comparison is softer and more bendy, easier to generate spin. ZLF will give you even less power but a lot more feel and control.

OP, MX-P works well even on an ALL+ or OFF- wood blade...

I wouldn't sweat too much about matching this rubber and blade so much, I would say be more concerned about what you do with the combo in a game... does it make it easy enough to do the shots you need control? (especially the middle game), will it HELP give you easy spin at the different speeds? Will it feel right to you and disturb your opponents enough?

A player without huge power should be concerned about ease of spin production and feel. A power player already knows what he wants and what feels right for him or here. A player without huge power will have huge power when the middle shots are good and gets easier balls. That carries more WEIGHT in my crappy opinion.

slevin said:

I play with H3 Neo now and have played with MX-P for years in the past. IMHO, MX-P plays good on blades like TB-ALC but plays sligthly better on composite blades with limba outers. Examples: Xiom Vega Pro, Tibhar Stratus Carbon, Mizutani ZLC or Super ZLC (but that might be too fast) or Innerforce Layer ALC.

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I completely agree! MX-P does seem to play better on composite blades with limba outers like my Acoustic Carbon or Mizutani ZLC rather than koto outers like TB ALC and Viscaria. I'm even thinking of switching from MX-P to EL-S for my TB ALC.

Lermanator said:

Are there any substantial differences between the spark and the zlf?

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the zlf is a little bit faster i think

Lermanator said:

Ive noticed a few pro players in europe use a TB ALC MX-P combo so it can't be that bad to use koto outer layer

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I'm not saying it's bad, it's definitely a great working combo, just like you see a lot of pros with either T05 or T64 (similar to Evo) on Viscarias and TB ALC. I just think the EL-S might be a better fit on koto for me, since I'm no pro and I get a better feeling from MX-P on limba than I do on koto, and want to see if EL-S might bring out a better feeling for me on my koto ALC's.

How about Tibhar Samsonov Force Pro Black Edition?

I'm a MX-P player and have been for a while. It's going to take a bit of getting used to. I'm a spin oriented player with power as well. And MX-P is probably one of the more dynamic rubbers around. It can spin like crazy once you've learned how to get into the sponge.

The reason I say is going to take a while to get used to is because, to me, there seems to be a slight delay when the ball interacts with the top sheet. Tenergy type rubbers immediately impart the spin your pitting on the ball. But MX-P allows the ball to sink slightly into the top sheet before the ball catapults from the racket. That slight delay at first can feel awkward. But don't worly, once you've played with MX-P for a month or so. You'll begin to see the potential. Great rubber!! Not my first choice any longer, as my primary blade likes 05 and victas v15 extra.

But MX-P will do just fine on most all+ to off+ blades.

Oh yeah, you'll probably have to get used to the weight as well. It's not the lightest rubber around. And as far as the boosting goes. After you've got used to the rubber a few months. Try one layer of Falco long booster. Nobody's going to block your drive.

Lermanator said:

Hi so I'm planning on switching from Hurricane to MX-P because I want to spin more on my forehand loop and my coach thinks I should get a slightly less stiff and softer blade.
Note: Please don't make this thread a battle about how there's no "best blade" I just want to see if anyone has anyone has any recommendations

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At this point in the discussion I feel like raising the "no best blade" concern is important. As the discussion makes clear, there is a wide range of blades that people appreciate with the MX-P. So long as the blade fits the play style that MX-P favors, it can work great.

Now, saying "no best blade" for the sake of it wouldn't be helpful. My point is instead that trying to fit the blade to the MX-P won't be as helpful as trying to fit the blade to your needs.

The blades you seem most interested in are all carbon + dampening material weave looping blades. Could you say more about what you're looking for from them vs the clipper CR - besides being less stiff? If you simply want something less stiff than the clipper CR WRB, tons of all wood blades could also fit the bill.

In other words, the benefits of ALC/ZLC/ZLF/etc vs all wood are quite specific, (same with inner vs outer layer; with koto vs limba outer; etc.) Do you want an enlarged sweet spot on top of more flex? Or is it more important for you to get more feedback from the ball impact? How much speed do you want relative to the CR? Do you like blades that feel sharp on impact (koto)? Do you mind the vibrations from all wood blades with more flex? Etc etc etc..

Which of those specific properties do you want from the blade?

Lermanator said:

I'd like something similar in speed to the cr with at least a tad more feeling and flex

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Depending on what you like, those composite blades will likely have less feeling than the clipper. If that's the priority you might want to consider 7 ply wood blades with more flex than clipper CR.

The truth is that you should ask your coach what blade he recommends. I would say simply use a conventional offensive Euro blade like a Boll ALC or Viscaria, but if those are still too stiff, then it means that your coach is asking you to really slow it down and go to something like an Innerforce ALCS or a Primorac or and Innerforce ZLC.

You come from a club with lots of good players and lots of people whose equipment you can test. I think you really should borrow blades from people around you rather than come to a forum like this.

So at the really reasonable all wood end - Primorac OFF-.

At a slightly higher wood end - A Korbel.

At a slower composite end - Innerforce ALCS or Innerforce ZLC.

At a faster composite end - Boll ALC or Boll ZLC or the ZOO equivalents if you prefer those handles or a classic Viscaria.

But you just have to hit with someone else's blade to get a feel for the speed and the feeling. Even if you think you play with power, playing with a slower blade will add spin automatically. A faster rubber like MX-P will reduce your swing output and let you focus on adding spin to the ball. This is probably what your coach is looking for.

Lermanator said:

Weight won't be an issue as my Hurricane is boosted a ridiculous amount

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Well then. Welcome to the MX-P family. Where loop drives totally crush balls and drive your opens crazy. Where the phrase, "what rubber is that" becomes another way of saying, "you can't be that good." A place where that click sound when you hit the ball makes your opponents turn and shield themselves. A place where... ah... you get the point! Lol

NL hit the nail on the head..

For fast all wood with more flex than CR there are tons of options besides the classics. e.g. Nexy + OSP (Martin? V+?) have tons of tempting options. But there are also promising, very affordable (sub 50$) options: Tibhar SFP Black Ed? Maybe even the new Sanwei Fextra?

If you don't think your coach can give you more specific pointers, besides trying rackets from people you play with, it might be wise to give a shot to one of the affordable, more flex 7 ply wood to start: it sounds like you might not need something entirely different from the CR, so these might fit the bill; staying in more familiar territory will allow you to focus more on adjusting to the MX-P; and if you still want a different blade after you are fully accustomed to the mx-p, you will be able to pinpoint what you want from the blade more easily.

Lermanator said:

My coach doesn't know much about equipment. He uses a blade that has been discontinued for probably about 10 years.

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Yes, but he coaches a lot of people who play the way you want to play. Which of them play like you? Which of them does he want you to play like? Questions like that take you in the right direction.

Even discontinued blades have modern day comparables in terms of spin and speed.

OhWell said:

NL hit the nail on the head..

For fast all wood with more flex than CR there are tons of options besides the classics. e.g. Nexy + OSP (Martin? V+?) have tons of tempting options. But there are also promising, very affordable (sub 50$) options: Tibhar SFP Black Ed? Maybe even the new Sanwei Fextra?

If you don't think your coach can give you more specific pointers, besides trying rackets from people you play with, it might be wise to give a shot to one of the affordable, more flex 7 ply wood to start: it sounds like you might not need something entirely different from the CR, so these might fit the bill; staying in more familiar territory will allow you to focus more on adjusting to the MX-P; and if you still want a different blade after you are fully accustomed to the mx-p, you will be able to pinpoint what you want from the blade more easily.

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The Samsonov Force Pro Blue Edition is a good start in this direction (I am the only person I know who dislikes the Black Edition). So is the Xiom Extreme S. But it all depends on what the OP is looking for, I actually know OP fairly well for a TT player and have seen him play, he is going to get better regardless of whatever he uses, his coach probably thinks that he is working too hard to get spin and power on his shots.

Lermanator said:

i dont think it will be too fast for me as i was just fine with tenergy 05 before switching to hurricane in january plus a lot of lower level players at my club with the same coach as me use mxp.

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T05 is slower. MX-P won't be too fast to play with it. But EL-S and MX-S has enough power to finish a point and if you train with them then you will have better mechanics and higher power. Many players use H3 for this reason: developing technique, as it doesn't have too much catapult. If you get used to execute high power shots with EL-S and then you changes to MX-P, your shots will be ridiculously fast, like a pro player. And, you will have a little more margin for error.

Your decision, but I still think that the speed of MX-P is unnecessary if you're in a good shape.

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