spin (in-)sensitivity (esp. return)

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hi guys,

i do not get the concept of throw, spinsensitivity and topsheet/sponge hardness. In my head there is more spin => higher throw => more spinsensitivity. And it's kinda true for my main rubber Donic Baracuda.

I ask because i try to be a two-wing-looper. My signature shot is the underspin loopkill with the forehand.
recieves were my greatest weakness as a relative new player. with the plasic ball this became much better.
so to improve furthermore i need to work on my backhand, i want to be able to loopkill underspin (high spin, high throw, high spinsensitivity) aswell as improve my return quality, herefore i need a less sensitive rubber i guess.

so i think the first question is the important one, while the influence on my backhand play should be a side question.
 
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bump.
i consider to switch from baracuda to rasanter or vega tour (new style of thin sheet thick sponge)
 
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Get a high friction rubber that's spin sensitive. It's much better overall.
There's a cutoff point, for example, with lower friction (and old) rubbers, where there's a certain degree of backspin that they simply cannot lift.

Personally I have no trust in the new thin-topsheet style rubbers. I've tried a few and, in comparison, I find their topsheets to be trash compared to older ones like rakza7 etc and wear out very quickly. I wouldn't recommend any of those.
Try rakza7 soft for backhand if you want something to really seriously improve your backhand loop against backspin.
 
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I Do not think changing equipment Will give you very much. Try to look more at the technique.

For returns i recommend to first try to read the spin, then make a decision and go for it. Playing against alot of players Will really help your return game.

It is good that you try to develop your game, But it is interesting to think What to have focus at. Improving the weakness or making the strengths better and be better at creating plays where you could use your stregth.

Maybe it is better to improve the serve so they are forced to push long, work more on the short game so they push long first and work more on the footwork so you can play forehand from the backhand corner. But it is also good to be able to open well with the backhand.

I Do not know What is best to Do, But i think alot of players and coaching focus to much on making the weakness better and not making the strengths better and Maybe this is the wrong approach.
 
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hi guys,
thanks to your input.
i know equipment doesnt skill you up and improving technique is the only and most sustainable way to improve, thank you for that needful reminder.
right now i'm in a phase i like to try out things again after playing about a full year with the same EQ (Grubba ALL+ blade with Baracuda max on both sides). i like the setup because of it's wide and controllable usage. but now it's kinda mentally the time to try out some new stuff. i feel like the blade speed is giving me a lot of control thus i dont want to change it. rubber wise baracuda is really nice to play a wide variety of shots, but i have to put in a lot of effort to generate speed, spin wise i think the rubber is worn out and thus stagnate at a decent level.
some times i get stuck with an easy returnable ball which i have to attack but instead i just counter it under the net. also the high throw kinda hinder my backhand attacks which often are too wide. because i hit hard with a lot of acceleration i consider to go a harder sponge from mid (baracuda) to mid-hard (maybe G1?) there is also the new type of rubbers like Rasanter47 in that range. i expect to get more quality balls through the harder sponge and thus higher speed with my attacks, also a lower throw so my backhand attacks dont go wide that quick. G1 is my hottest favorit right now to try out.
 
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I Do not think changing equipment Will give you very much. Try to look more at the technique.

+1000

I think equiptment is so overhyped by most TT players looking for that magic elixir.

When I read the OP's comments, I could relate completely. I too prefer people give me underspin to my FH as looping that is my signature shot. On the BH, I can do it but it's far, far less consistent. Particularly on service receive. I'm working on it.

I can't answer the OP's question because I don't know if on service receive he's talking about short, long, what type of spin he's facing? etc. but I'll say this. If he's anything like me, sounds like at least in part he is, his best bet so to play his FH when he can but on service receive to the BH, just look to neutralize. Play a little more passive. Push more. Survive the serve. Don't give them an easy point so much because off their serve you're trying to be FZD flipping it and missing left & right. Just neutralize... Having said that, that's my match mindset. Meanwhile in practice, I try to work on my technique there and sometimes will play a pinch more aggressive so that I can get better there.

I'll leave you with this story.

I was hitting with the best player at our club. Actually the best player in our state. He's a 12 year old kid. No joke. Anyways, he was hitting so crisp and with so much power when we were practicing loop to loop rally. He was excited about his new blade. I asked to trade for a few hits so I could see the difference. His blade had a little more pop and his rubber was a pinch more lively but it wasn't leaps and bounds. I actually prefer more controlled setups as unforced errors is what usually gets me vs being overpowered. Anyways, after a few mins hitting you know what was my observation?.. He was still largely hitting more crisp and the same amount of power as before and my hits were about the same also. It's all technique folks.
 
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hi guys,
thanks to your input.
i know equipment doesnt skill you up and improving technique is the only and most sustainable way to improve, thank you for that needful reminder.
right now i'm in a phase i like to try out things again after playing about a full year with the same EQ (Grubba ALL+ blade with Baracuda max on both sides). i like the setup because of it's wide and controllable usage. but now it's kinda mentally the time to try out some new stuff. i feel like the blade speed is giving me a lot of control thus i dont want to change it. rubber wise baracuda is really nice to play a wide variety of shots, but i have to put in a lot of effort to generate speed, spin wise i think the rubber is worn out and thus stagnate at a decent level.
some times i get stuck with an easy returnable ball which i have to attack but instead i just counter it under the net. also the high throw kinda hinder my backhand attacks which often are too wide. because i hit hard with a lot of acceleration i consider to go a harder sponge from mid (baracuda) to mid-hard (maybe G1?) there is also the new type of rubbers like Rasanter47 in that range. i expect to get more quality balls through the harder sponge and thus higher speed with my attacks, also a lower throw so my backhand attacks dont go wide that quick. G1 is my hottest favorit right now to try out.

I think your blade is pretty soft and slow, so i think harder rubbers will suit this well since i think you already get an pretty good arch from the blade. I think you get more from what you give in with harder rubbers, but it is more control and maybe easier to get spin with softer rubbers. But then again, i do not know much about equipment. Maybe you can try to keep your equipment and adjust the techniqe, like try play more forward on the backhand if the ball go wide, or try to generate mor spin so the ball so it sink faster.
 
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+1000

I think equiptment is so overhyped by most TT players looking for that magic elixir.

Yes, i agree! Alot of focus on equipment on this forum, but not so much on the technique. I also think the change between different equipment is pretty small and that we need to play with one setup a longer period to be able to play well with it. I do not think it is good to focus to much on technique either. It is hard to become good at a shot if you change it all the time.
 
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I also agree with Lula that we need to play with the equipment longer.

This crap about playing a blade 1-4 weeks then rinse/repeat 12-50 times a year is really silly indeed.

It takes a few months to really develop touch and feel for a setup if it is appropriate... and even then those aspects are still getting better.

When you play model "B" blade normally, but on a certain day you messed around teting model "A" for 1-2 hours, then you do a match with your "B" blade... your swing timing is all shot to crap that night. Easy way to get rekt.
 
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thank you for all your replies. but please stop this generic advices after some time.
i had a specific question for minor adjustments after playing with the same equipment for about a year, thus stop changing the EQ after each week doesnt apply for me tho.
@Der_Echte: u wrote EQ helps to execute some tasks easier or more difficult. maybe u could wrote ur opinion about this in regard to blades and rubbers, specifically
- i currently play with Grubba All+ and consider to switch to either Xiom Offensive S or Andro Core Off+. i feel not that much difference between the grubba and the Xiom, while the Andro is really stiff and kinda feels more control due to it. on the other side i cant do a lazy executes shot which is commonly resulting in unforced errors. what is your opinion about it?
- about is your opinion about the new generation rubbers of thin topsheet thick sponge? i have the impression that the old generation ones still are in favor for the majority.
 
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