New OSP Virtuoso ALC blade

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says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
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Dec 2010
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It says Aramid/Carbon on the website. Arylate is a kind of Aramid. There are other Aramids. Kevlar, I believe is also an Aramid fiber. But there are companies like Xiom that use Arylate and call it Aramid. And most Aramid fibers have some similar properties. So, you could surmise that the Aramid/Carbon weave OSP will use will not be totally different from common ALC weaves.

OSP makes very good blades. So, I suspect this might be a nice blade to use.

I have Virtuoso Off-, Virtuoso Plus, V'King, and a custom blade from OSP with these plies: Limba-Spruce-Ayous-Spruce-Limba. I think they all feel great. But the one I like the most is the one I use: V+.
 
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Mr Palatinus said that he uses kevlar fiber
A french player received the blade in exclusivity and he tried it.
I can?t translate all the report because it’s too long but he said:

It?s like a classical virtuoso with 2 ac fiber. It have a larger sweet spot, much stability, firmer with magic touch of osp. Ultra polyvalent blade
 
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says Thanks for the suggestion Splasher! I was going to try...
says Thanks for the suggestion Splasher! I was going to try...
Member
Apr 2019
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Just when I felt I was happy with my blade, here comes one I want to buy just based on a photo, some specs, 3 letters and a name, virtuoso, that could not be a worse fit for my skills level.
Damn it never stops, does it? And I’m not even playing at the moment!
 
says Thanks for the suggestion Splasher! I was going to try...
says Thanks for the suggestion Splasher! I was going to try...
Member
Apr 2019
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70
236
I have one in my cart already. The only thing stopping me is - I wish I could say common sense - that on the website I can’t find a link to Palatinus email or a message button. I wanted to discuss a few details before hand. I might have to continue to not play with my current blades for now.
 
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says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
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Dec 2010
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Read 11 reviews
You have a Darker 7P-2a. Do you like the feel of Hinoki? Like, are you addicted to the feel of Hinoki? If you are, then a blade with a Limba top ply will not feel anywhere near as good when looping.

If not, then, you could play with it till you find what makes some people feel that; or you could just switch to something else. Not everyone does get Hinoki. But if you get it and have as good a blade as the 7P-2a, then no other blade would be needed.
 
says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
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Super Moderator
Dec 2010
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Read 11 reviews
Carl you are like the voice of my conscience!

The question is, does looping with the Hinoki blade make you think: "OMG, I love how that feels?"

If it does, stick with the Hinoki blade. If it doesn't, then where Limba shines (and OSP blades) is looping with deeper contact or drive-loops where you get to feel the crisp snap of ball contact rather than the amazing grab you feel with Hinoki.
 
says Thanks for the suggestion Splasher! I was going to try...
says Thanks for the suggestion Splasher! I was going to try...
Member
Apr 2019
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236
Ok the truth is, what I aspire to is to get very good at looping and make of looping my main game, I know I have a good blade and if I stick with it I will be fine. But, my natural shots are short and direct, and those feel slower and delayed with the Darker. When I play with my previous composite blade - sometimes I do- I like how those shots feel, much faster, and with my coach I’m playing very close to the table.

Bottom line as I admitted to many times before, I’m not good enough even for my current gear so buying a new blade would be totally down to wanting to own and try a new lovely object.
 
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says Spin and more spin.
says Spin and more spin.
Well-Known Member
Super Moderator
Dec 2010
16,140
17,681
54,733
Read 11 reviews
Ok the truth is, what I aspire to is to get very good at looping and make of looping my main game, I know I have a good blade and if I stick with it I will be fine. But, my natural shots are short and direct, and those feel slower and delayed with the Darker. When I play with my previous composite blade - sometimes I do- I like how those shots feel, much faster, and with my coach I’m playing very close to the table.

Bottom line as I admitted to many times before, I’m not good enough even for my current gear so buying a new blade would be totally down to wanting to own and try a new lovely object.

So, now, I will ask again, since you still have not answered: when you loop with the Hinoki blade, do you think: "OMG, that feels amazing"?

My guess based on your previous response is that you don't really feel what makes the Darker blade amazing.

And if that is the case, you should think about getting one of these blades:

1) Primorac Off-
2) Korbel
3) Xiom Offensive S
4) OSP Virtuoso Plus
5) Nittaku Acoustic
6) Tibhar Stratus Power Wood

And stick with that while you learn to loop. If that is where this goes, you put the Darker blade on the shelf for when you actually can benefit from what makes it amazing, and you use one of the blades above to learn to loop.

The reason? The blades above will help you learn to loop. But they also will perform well on the direct contact that it sounds like is how you "hit" the ball. In other words, they will perform fine with drive-contact and yet, they will still encourage you to learn to loop.

None of those blades are too expensive. But if you play as you described, a fancy, expensive, composite blade would not really be what you want.

I read recently, someone at a lower level saying they listened to people telling them not to get a fast blade and then finally someone gifted them one, and how nice it felt and how wrong everyone was. To understand how those blades help you develop, you sort of have to be at a decent enough level to understand how a composite blade can hold you back (even if it feels good). A composite blade can feel great when going loop/loop away from the table. But they hinder the ability to develop the touch and feel you need for the more refined contact that you need to get to higher levels. They also cause you to cut down your stroke as a result of their speed. So, you develop suboptimal strokes because the blade does a lot of the work for you and to get the ball to land, you need to cut down on power in your strokes, which can lead to flawed technique. So, even when someone does not realize why they should not use a blade that they think they can handle, that is not always what someone should use.

And, if you cannot feel what makes the Darker Hinoki blade have a "magical" quality, your development would be helped more by one of the blades on that list above. My recommendation: Xiom Offensive S. Inexpensive and excellent.
 
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