Nittaku acoustic blade - any good?

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Yea Violin is softer, Acoustic is faster, both great blades!

I keep hearing mixed reviews on violin vs. acoustic hardness. My impression is that the acoustic has a softer feel while the violin has a harder feel. I think overall, the violin has more flex though. This is all speculation as I’ve only had experience with my acoustic(s) and read a lot on the violin.

I guess you can say I’m addicted to the acoustic as I have two now (89 and 88g), as one went through some serious table wounds, I ended up with a back up. ;)

My total set up weights are different between the two (C. Pen) as the rubbers are slightly different:
-203 g H3PTO /G1
-193 g TG2 Neo/Skyline 3-60

I really love the feel and grab on passive play and the kick that I can generate on harder shots. That said, I’m really intrigued to try the violin or Virtuoso -, as I hear they have similar or even better feel.


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I keep hearing mixed reviews on violin vs. acoustic hardness. My impression is that the acoustic has a softer feel while the violin has a harder feel. I think overall, the violin has more flex though. This is all speculation as I’ve only had experience with my acoustic(s) and read a lot on the violin.

I guess you can say I’m addicted to the acoustic as I have two now (89 and 88g), as one went through some serious table wounds, I ended up with a back up. ;)

My total set up weights are different between the two (C. Pen) as the rubbers are slightly different:
-203 g H3PTO /G1
-193 g TG2 Neo/Skyline 3-60

I really love the feel and grab on passive play and the kick that I can generate on harder shots. That said, I’m really intrigued to try the violin or Virtuoso -, as I hear they have similar or even better feel.

The Violin is definitely softer and slower, more controllable. Hard to tell which has more flex, I'd say they're probably similar, but I felt it more in the Acoustic since you really feel the ball sink then spring out.

The Virtuoso is very similar to the Acoustic, great feel perhaps even better, it also packs more punch.
 
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I only have the Carbon Inner versions of Violin and Acoustic, so the comparison is a little different.
Would not be surprised if it doesn't translate 1:1 to the regular versions.

I have both with Rakza 7 FH and BH and tried them several times back to back.
They are bloody close. I would say the Acoustic have just a noticeable more amount of "feel". Then again, feel is super subjective. Maybe to someone else the "feel" of the Violin is preferable. Maybe due to Limba outer, I prefer it. Most of the blades I have are Limba. So for sure used to the Limba feel.

Regarding speed I can't say that one is that much faster than the other.

Absolutely love the blades though.
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I only have the Carbon Inner versions of Violin and Acoustic, so the comparison is a little different.
Would not be surprised if it doesn't translate 1:1 to the regular versions.

I have both with Rakza 7 FH and BH and tried them several times back to back.
They are bloody close. I would say the Acoustic have just a noticeable more amount of "feel". Then again, feel is super subjective. Maybe to someone else the "feel" of the Violin is preferable. Maybe due to Limba outer, I prefer it. Most of the blades I have are Limba. So for sure used to the Limba feel.

Regarding speed I can't say that one is that much faster than the other.

Absolutely love the blades though.
View attachment 19983
View attachment 19984

So you have both straight and flared. Which one do you like more? Are they the large handle version? If not do you think that they are too small?
 
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So you have both straight and flared. Which one do you like more? Are they the large handle version? If not do you think that they are too small?
Correct.
I prefer the straight one. As far as I'm aware the Violin is not available in the larger "LG Type" (Yet?) and my Acoustic is the normal smaller handle. I don't really enjoy large handles, so I don't mind the flared Acoustic handle at all. But I can see how others do.

The straight win by a few percent. But I like both. The straight handle feels a bit more "meaty".

Keep in mind that handles are highly personal. I have a female friend with quite small hands who prefer large handles and also friends with really big hands that prefer smaller handles such as the conical Stiga Kjell Johansson.

EDIT: I am actually not 100% sure that the Violin and Acoustic handles are identical. But I would assume so.
 
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I've been using my acoustic for about 4 years now thanks to Carl who suggested it to me and I like it a lot. Mine is a bit head heavy, but I haven't been able to justify switching. I get enough speed and short game feels better than anything else. Though I will say I have not tried much else. If you look back at that thread I made when I got the recommendation I was tempted to get something very quick.. I'm so glad I listened to the advice of people on this forum, especially Carl in this case.

I have tried another acoustic with the large handle as I wanted to have a backup blade, sadly it felt completely different.. even though it's supposed to be the same blade. I have also tried a viscaria, pretty different feeling. I felt like there was less arc with the viscaria, the ball goes down more. I felt like I had less margin of error and that I needed to do everything more perfectly.

Equipment may be somewhat important.. but not that important. Especially for us amateurs, we should just get used to something imo. A guy at my club is very good and can hit ridiculously hard and he uses a Maze Performance blade which weighs something like 165g including rubbers.

That said, of course you can experiment and try to find what you like.. but it is easy to get obsessed with equipment. My advice would be to find something that feels comfortable and then stick with that. Or if you find it enjoyable to try lots of things then do that. This is just my experience :)

I can't agree more! I bought an acoustic 10 years ago in Tokyo Japan that weighted 88g. When paired with MXP/Rakza 7, it feels very solid. Very little vibration (not hollow). The sound is very crisp. 10 years later (today), I bought a Large Handle acoustic from TT11 because I don't like the small handle. It weights 90g, paired with Fastarc G1 on both sides - it feels completely different! It feels hollow and lots of vibration. The sound is also hollow. It doesn't feel as powerful (solid) as the old one. I am so disappointed...

Happy to find someone who feels the same - others rarely mention/notice this. Do you think the vast difference is due to the rubbers I put? Or is the quality of acoustic becomes much worse over the course of 10 years?

Nittaku_Acoustics_jpeg.jpg

 
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The Violin is definitely softer and slower, more controllable. Hard to tell which has more flex, I'd say they're probably similar, but I felt it more in the Acoustic since you really feel the ball sink then spring out.

The Virtuoso is very similar to the Acoustic, great feel perhaps even better, it also packs more punch.
Isn't the White Ash top ply of the Violin notably harder than the Limba top ply of the Acoustic?

I know you posted this a while ago. But I know you are still around. So..... :)

Construction:

Acoustic: Limba-Limba-Tung Tree-Limba-Limba
Violin: White Ash-White Ash-Kiri-White Ash-White Ash

When I tried the Violin, I thought it was slower, but with a harder feel. Great flex though. It is years since I have tried either an Acoustic or a Violin though. So, memory.....it can be faulty.

 
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I'm thinking of purchasing this blade. I've seen a few reviews and it looks positive.

Anybody else using or tried it?

I also wanted to know if it has more control than Viscaria and Ma Long 3 blades.

Thanks

Yes I have tried it. One of my club-mate has it and he puts two sheets of Chinese tacky rubber; 729 brand IIRC on the blade. One rubber being hard for FH use and the other soft for BH use.

I played one game ( best of five ) with it and these are my thoughts:

1) Blocking is amazing as it is extremely controllable. Wonderful feeling she has.
2) It is not a fast blade and you have to work for it with proper technique if you want good speed. It does not do the work for you.
3) His set-up is probably over 200g from my feeling. It is very balance and has good feeling.
4) It is not the most powerful blade on its own, you rely must use your own power to bring out the best in the blade. Play with Gusto! I shall say.
Hope this help, friend.

 
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Yes I have tried it. One of my club-mate has it and he puts two sheets of Chinese tacky rubber; 729 brand IIRC on the blade. One rubber being hard for FH use and the other soft for BH use.

I played one game ( best of five ) with it and these are my thoughts:

1) Blocking is amazing as it is extremely controllable. Wonderful feeling she has.
2) It is not a fast blade and you have to work for it with proper technique if you want good speed. It does not do the work for you.
3) His set-up is probably over 200g from my feeling. It is very balance and has good feeling.
4) It is not the most powerful blade on its own, you rely must use your own power to bring out the best in the blade. Play with Gusto! I shall say.
Hope this help, friend.

If you think you are giving the OP info, you should look at the dates. This thread was started in 2018. Most likely, in the past 2.5 years, the OP has his answer. If you are posting for general info, that is fine. :)

 
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If you think you are giving the OP info, you should look at the dates. This thread was started in 2018. Most likely, in the past 2.5 years, the OP has his answer. If you are posting for general info, that is fine. :)

Ha ha ha... sorry. Didn't notice the date.

I just tried the blade not too long ago. So the feeling and memory is still fresh in my mind.

 
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I can't agree more! I bought an acoustic 10 years ago in Tokyo Japan that weighted 88g. When paired with MXP/Rakza 7, it feels very solid. Very little vibration (not hollow). The sound is very crisp. 10 years later (today), I bought a Large Handle acoustic from TT11 because I don't like the small handle. It weights 90g, paired with Fastarc G1 on both sides - it feels completely different! It feels hollow and lots of vibration. The sound is also hollow. It doesn't feel as powerful (solid) as the old one. I am so disappointed...

Happy to find someone who feels the same - others rarely mention/notice this. Do you think the vast difference is due to the rubbers I put? Or is the quality of acoustic becomes much worse over the course of 10 years?

Nittaku_Acoustics_jpeg.jpg


I would think the vast difference is with the rubber change.
I think G1 feels way different than MXP and R7.


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I would think the vast difference is with the rubber change.
I think G1 feels way different than MXP and R7.

I see. MXP was too fast for me, so I chose G1. I had never thought rubber can affect a blade's characteristic so much. I thought G1 and MXP are in the same category - hard tensor.

Anyway, despite the vast difference, the new acoustic is still a very good blade. It gave what I wanted: more stability by the G1, and by the large handle which allows me to swing with a relaxed palm without the racket moving around too much (which changes the racket angle and hinders stability). It still has notably more feel than my other Infinity VPS (with Razka Z and G1).

 
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Interesting to read this... The only Acoustic I have is the large handle so I can't really compare it to how it feels like relative to normal handle. It surprises me to read such difference in feel between two Acoustic with different handles. I love my large handle Acoustic and I own several other blades including Long 5, ZJK ALC, Mizutani ZLC, Treiber Z, etc. I have to say Acoustic is my favorite one out of all as it strikes the most optimal balance between control, speed and spin.

 
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I've never tried Acoustic and wonder how it behaves when flat hitting. I have and had quite a few 5ply OFF blades and all of them behave differently when I occasionally have to smash. Any input on the subject?

Not good for flat hitting, it is a looping blade.

 
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I am definitely a looper but from time to time smash some careless returns. Recently I found myself experimenting more and more with 5ply woods cause really enjoy the feeling, thus my curiosity about the Acoustic and maybe the Virtuoso+ .
I've got the impression that those two sit on the top of the mountain of wooden blades and rule the public opinion
 
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