Should I change my blade or rubbers?

Yep. Get a new blade. Maybe get a Butterfly Primorac Off-. It is very similar to the Appelgren Allplay but a bit faster. It has the same ply construction as the Allplay.

Put whatever rubbers you feel comfortable with on it. You could put the rubbers from either of the previous rackets. Or you could just get new rubbers.

Waldner senso carbon is quite flexy and not too fast but if you feel it's too fast then definitely switch new rubbers to your appelgren.

Go with an all wood 5 ply blade. You do not need composite blades now. Control is still the most. Important factor.

Definitely go back to the Appelgren. You may want to try some slower rubbers but get them in Max thickness. Think Mark V or Sriver, rather than some of the faster tensors.

You can switch your rubbers from the WSC to the allplay, or you can buy:
-stiga offensive classic,
-Primorac
-Yinhe E3
-Donic senso v2
If you can afford it,

DWSC is a good blade but it's not a jack of all trades, may be doesn't suit your style, I tried several DWSC and definitively I didn't like it.

Stiga azalea all or Xiom all around S will not disappoint you too.

yogi_bear said:

Stiga azalea all or Xiom all around S will not disappoint you too.

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What differences are between those blades?

annykill1 said:

So you think the carbon blade I have currently is not useful, but could I not use my old blade instead?
The rubbers from my previous racket are very old, so I don't think they are re-usable. So you suggest I just keep using the 2mm thickness rubbers then, but with another blade.

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Yeah. The new rubbers on the old blade may be a good idea.

I would say Azalea has a better feel and All Around S is slightly faster.

Pound the hate button on me now and get it done with, but I'll be frank. If you feel like it, send the Goon Squad after my old, fat azz.

It really isn't gunna matter much right now. Play with whatever you feel good with. but take note, once you play with a setup for a spell and try someone else's bat, you may like it right away and maybe get it... then after a month, you are same or worse off. Why? The player's fundamental skills needed in the sport are likely not improved by this bat or that. (although an appropriate bat makes it easier to do most things)

Unless you are getting effective coaching for continuous years, you are not going to get a decent foundation to grow and grow as you can. Sure, you can improve just by playing better players and hearing this tip or the other and learn from TT forums. Yet, you are going to be deficient in so many ways it is gunna be silly.

There are arguments for and against faster gear or slower middle of the road gear. The pundits mostly say gear too fast will not encourage or reward you for proper strokes, but kinda reward crappy half-azz one. The pundits say that the slower stuff will force you to swing more proper to get the job done. Some people say it is easier to operate with faster equipment for some or most of what they do. If what they do is poke at the ball, sure. I mostly agree with the pundits on those points, but add on that it doesn't matter, since a player without effective coaching is gunna be so ate up on reading spin, judging depth, footwork, strike zone management, stroke mechanics, touch, serves, serve return, tactics, and whatever other metric you can measure... such a player without coaching is gunna be jacked up compared to the same player receiving effective coaching for years...

So, I say have at it and feel good, spend bucko bucks for months on end, the equipment sellers will love you. I also say you could keep what you have and simply start taking lessons from an effective coach if you are lucky to have a real club near you and even luckier to find a coach who can show you what is what.

annykill1 said:

BIG UPDATE

So one of the big differences I forgot to mention is that this new carbon blade of mine has a hollow handle, with 2 gaps. Making the bat heavier in the head relatively I think. Could this have big impact on my play also?

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To answer this we need a good picture of your grip from both sides.

If your old equipment was 6 years old then it really doesn't matter what you buy or don't buy. The difference between new and old is much bigger than between types of rubbers.
If you get your vega asia again, new rubber, it'll still be night and day difference prolly. Also plenty controllable and spinny.

annykill1 said:

Thanks for taking your time respond. Reading what you've just put down here was very insightful. You have a very holistic view on the matter at hand. I think things you stated, such as getting a one-on-one coach is not possible for me. I am not young enough any longer to be taking that route I'm afraid. The concepts you described speak of a high skill level when mastered, I might have to learn them on my own without coaching. Even if this is a hard road, I've been successful at other forms of competition before.
If we consider the problem at hand, I am looking for a way to resolve this issue without spending over 40 euro or so.
So preferably I was looking for a way to combine my blades / rubbers somehow to create something, or buy very cheap parts newly.
My main questions would be:
0) What part of the equipment do you think is mainly responsible for the uncontrolled feeling I have when playing with the bat?
1) Do you think it is beneficial to change up my equipment?
2) Do you think my equipment will deteriorate when re-used?
3) What do you think would be the best combination of equipment's I posses to try?
4) And lastly, if I would be buying new gear, what part do you recommend to buy newly?

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I think things you stated, such as getting a one-on-one coach is not possible for me. I might have to learn them on my own without coaching.

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I get it. I have worn your shoes also when I started TT. I was no where near a club, even further from a coach. All I had to go on was a book, forum posts, and my own judgment. Unfortunately, that didn't lead me to much improvement. TT requires a lot of fundamentals and going it alone never got me any progress. Sure, there are people who learn real good touch and control after 10-20 years if they play enough without coaching, but they are very few.

If we consider the problem at hand, I am looking for a way to resolve this issue without spending over 40 euro or so.
So preferably I was looking for a way to combine my blades / rubbers somehow to create something, or buy very cheap parts newly.

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I am frequently bashing TT players for being such cheapskate Scrooge misers... but sometimes, it is just a reality for some people that there will not be much of an economic commitment for various personal reasons and I gotta respect that.

One of the all time middle of the road bats I recommend over the years is the "Der_Echte Special".

Blade - NEW Yinhe 896 (15 Teuros)
FH Rubber - recycle a FH rubber you have
BH Rubber - NEW Dawei XP2008 Super Power (a mid firm non-tacky control rubber) (7 Teuros)

You could prolly get this from ebay or directly from a Chinese seller.

My main questions would be:
0) What part of the equipment do you think is mainly responsible for the uncontrolled feeling I have when playing with the bat?
Control is such an often used word many of us do not really use properly or comprehend. My own personal view of this in relation to equipment is equipment that makes it EASIER or VERY EASY to perform a certain shot with consistency and quality. That is a mouthful, isn't it? Having said that, control is going to mean different things for different situations. It is going to come down to your personal evaluation of what shots you need to perform the most and selecting equipment that makes it easy to do that. Middle of the road equipment USUALLY will make it easy to do most of the stuff you need to do... but none of that stuff feels powerful... so a lot of players shy away... bad idea. Error on the side of landing it on the table without inflicting wounds on your opponent or damaging the club walls with 40mm holes like a war zone.
1) Do you think it is beneficial to change up my equipment?
Yes, if the equipment is not making it easy to do what you need to do for the most frequent situations. No, if you already have equipment that makes it easier.
2) Do you think my equipment will deteriorate when re-used?
Rubbers will deteriorate, it is a matter of physics... but at 7 Euros a sheet, for a rubber you can easily use for 300 hours or more (that is 3-18 months depending on how often you play... you can afford a new sheet of a modern FH rubber you like every few months.
3) What do you think would be the best combination of equipment's I posses to try?
I think you are in a better position to judge this, unless I had a chance to see you play a few times. If you like to drive the ball without a lot of topspin, then these fast, solid, stiff OFF or OFF+ blades with a control rubber are in your zone. If you want to learn to spin the ball and feel the ball and learn touch, then those slower ALL, ALL+, or OFF- blades with flex and a modern control rubber are in your zone. You know better than me right now what is best for YOU, because You know you better than I know you.
4) And lastly, if I would be buying new gear, what part do you recommend to buy newly?
This will depend on your personal assessment of what makes it easy to do what you need to do or want to do... right now, YOU know this best. If you already have gear that fits the bill, keep using it, if not, trade it away and get equipment that fits what you are trying to do. Unless you are a fast drive monster, that ALL blade is just fine with new rubbers. 40 Euros is not a lot of money... but Euro vendors always have some kind of sale on a modern control rubber, so keep looking around. The trick is to get it in the softness/firmness you need. Firmer for more driving, softer for more spinning right now.

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