Are vibrations a good thing or a bad thing

[Musaab]

I moved to an Innerforce blade after few years of playing wood blades. I actually liked it and found it controllable but also I can appreciate the reactivness which causes the unforgivness to increase. Yesterday, I put a new rubber on and used an overgrip Butterfly. The overgrip decreased the vibration and I swear it felt like playing with an allwood blade, I actually had to look at it to make sure it was indeed the Innerforce. However in Butterfly website for example they put vibration as a property of a blade and it seems like the more vibrations the better but my recent experience says the opposite, like we should prefer fast blades with lower vibrations I guess ?

 

[WingTT]

I think the vibration rating on the Butterfly charts is a rating of the damping of vibration, i'e the higher the number, the higher the damping and less it vibrates. How much felt vibration in a blade is preferred is very personal. I prefer a clear feeling of impact but a softer feel and to have it vibration damped out quickly. Composite layers tend to damp vibration but not always and all wood does not always mean unreasonable vibration but the worse vibrating blade I have that I like everything else about but can't use is an all wood Hinoki BTY Jonyer.

 

[Charbel]

I

I moved to an Innerforce blade after few years of playing wood blades. I actually liked it and found it controllable but also I can appreciate the reactivness which causes the unforgivness to increase. Yesterday, I put a new rubber on and used an overgrip Butterfly. The overgrip decreased the vibration and I swear it felt like playing with an allwood blade, I actually had to look at it to make sure it was indeed the Innerforce. However in Butterfly website for example they put vibration as a property of a blade and it seems like the more vibrations the better but my recent experience says the opposite, like we should prefer fast blades with lower vibrations I guess ?

It's only a matter of preference in my opinion

 

[Choosikick]

I moved to an Innerforce blade after few years of playing wood blades. I actually liked it and found it controllable but also I can appreciate the reactivness which causes the unforgivness to increase. Yesterday, I put a new rubber on and used an overgrip Butterfly. The overgrip decreased the vibration and I swear it felt like playing with an allwood blade, I actually had to look at it to make sure it was indeed the Innerforce. However in Butterfly website for example they put vibration as a property of a blade and it seems like the more vibrations the better but my recent experience says the opposite, like we should prefer fast blades with lower vibrations I guess ?

At the initial level of the game, vibrations help to play, the player feels the ball better. But the higher the level and the stronger the incoming and outgoing impacts, the more important it is to have a rigid blade with minimal vibrations. The fact that you started to like the absence of vibrations more indicates an increase in your level of play, congratulations

 

[brokenball]

Vibrating paddles have energy that is not returned to the ball.
Also, the frequency and amplitude of vibration are important.
Larger amplitudes and higher frequencies result in more energy that isn't returned to the ball.
So you decide.

 

[Musaab]

At the initial level of the game, vibrations help to play, the player feels the ball better. But the higher the level and the stronger the incoming and outgoing impacts, the more important it is to have a rigid blade with minimal vibrations. The fact that you started to like the absence of vibrations more indicates an increase in your level of play, congratulations

This seems plausible because I actually progressed a lot recently and it is the main reason why I thought it is time to move to faster blades, I'm saying this objectively because there is a ranking system and I'm winning many matches against ~300 points better players in terms of ranking

 

[BobFL]

Personally, I do not like vibrations transferred to my hand/wrist. I like vibe-free blades.
Some people call it feedback. No feedback for me, thanks

 

[Wakkibatty]

On a technical point, I would draw a distinction between vibration and feedback here. Both are forms of impact energy transfer, but only one of them is desirable.

There's no industry standard definition for these terms, but as a bladesmith, I personally classify 'feedback' as: amounts and frequencies of vibration that actually help the player determine how a blade is performing.

'Vibration' however is the transfer of impact energy down the blade that is:

• Excess to requirements;
• Occurs at the wrong frequency or amplitude, or;
• Which interferes with or 'drowns out' feedback.

In the simplest possible terms, feedback is "good" energy transfer from blade to hand, which actively improves performance.

Vibration however is "bad" energy transfer from blade to hand, which actively inhibits performance.

There is no real universally good or bad vibration in my book*. This is because every player is unique, both in their preferences, and in the performance of their various sensory and motor-control nervous systems.

In all respects, as a bladesmith, vibration and feedback -- regardless of the frequency or amplitude involved -- are ALWAYS features of a blade's performance you want to measure, control and/or influence as much as possible. You want to ensure the player is getting as much (or as little) feedback from the blade as they personally need in order to excel.

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[* NB: The one exception to this rule seems to be very high frequency vibration (aka: 'buzz') - this is the type of vibration that makes your hand tingle the more you experience it. I've yet to find a player who seeks out and enjoys that type of vibration in a blade... But hey -- to each their own 🙂]