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Need help in setup: I am frustrated
- Thread starter Amitarora1319
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Thanks Ankit. I used Sriver in my tournament days on the backhand to have additional control as my backhand blocking was weak during those days.
I didn't like it too much as I could not finish the points with jabs and flicks.
I do not have problem handing the current setup. Its not like I am not able to control the speed.On the contrary I am happy to have more punch
since I am not a rally player.
Though I have upgraded after a long time, but its not really that fast for me to not to control it.
One of the users suggested that it could be the rubber as 05 fx is soft. I am suspecting that could be the issue.
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Hi,
I have been a viscaria user for a couple of years now and i think the blade is perfect for me with very good control and average speed.
I am using donic barracuda for my fh and xiom omega iv for my bh. I prefer a hard feeling rubber for my fh and a soft feeling rubber for bh.
Before this setup, ive been using h3 neo for a a couple of years too.
I have tried a lot of blades and different rubbers out there just to find the setup ive been looking for.
Recently, i thought of levelling up my setup to a faster wood and rubber. So, i tried my friends gergely alpha with t05 on it. The trajectory improved and the effort is less but the feel for me wasnt just right. I dont feel that i am generating spin on the ball unlike with my viscaria+barracuda setup. I also asked some friends to block my spins and had a feedback. They said that the viscaria+barracuda is netter for me.
I think i was on the same page as you when i tried the gergely a+t05 setup. I advise that you try some rubbers like h3 neo, barracuda, mx-p and see the difference. I suggest that you try some of your friends' racket if they use those and see for yourself.
Hope this helps.
I have been a viscaria user for a couple of years now and i think the blade is perfect for me with very good control and average speed.
I am using donic barracuda for my fh and xiom omega iv for my bh. I prefer a hard feeling rubber for my fh and a soft feeling rubber for bh.
Before this setup, ive been using h3 neo for a a couple of years too.
I have tried a lot of blades and different rubbers out there just to find the setup ive been looking for.
Recently, i thought of levelling up my setup to a faster wood and rubber. So, i tried my friends gergely alpha with t05 on it. The trajectory improved and the effort is less but the feel for me wasnt just right. I dont feel that i am generating spin on the ball unlike with my viscaria+barracuda setup. I also asked some friends to block my spins and had a feedback. They said that the viscaria+barracuda is netter for me.
I think i was on the same page as you when i tried the gergely a+t05 setup. I advise that you try some rubbers like h3 neo, barracuda, mx-p and see the difference. I suggest that you try some of your friends' racket if they use those and see for yourself.
Hope this helps.
says
ok, I will go back and make sure you have access.
Be...
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At least two things in this post are demonstrably not correct.
1. Pros often prefer heavier blades. This is well documented. In fact, among people I know who currently or in the past have made a living playing table tennis and who use Viscaria (quite a few people now), every one of them use blades around 90 grams or more. People have said Ma Long's blade is more than 96 grams.
2. Many non-pro players can use a Btfly ALC blade like a Viscaria effectively. In Houston there are just a whole bunch of players in the 1900-2200 range who use TB-ALC or Viscaria or even ZJK sZLC (which is faster).
In addition, the OP seems to be complaining that his Viscaria is not fast enough -- "lacks punch" was the phrase he used. Maybe the OP meant something else, maybe he meant that the overall feel was softer than he was used to. We have to try to dig into that phrase and figure out what he actually means.
Here is what I am guessing the OP may have meant by "Lacks punch": It may mean he had to reduce his swing speed to keep the ball on the table because he is used to much slower setups that require more open racket angle, so he doesn't feel the impact of the ball on the blade as much. In addition addition soft muted T05FX rubber and a blade with ALC (which has the main effect of reducing high frequency vibrations) made the ball impact seem remote and harder to detect. So he doesn't get the "thwack" he is used to when the ball hits the blade.
The cure to that could be any number of things. (1) stick with it for awhile and adjust technique, especially to close the racket angle, so you can use a stroke with higher racket speed and still keep the ball on the table (recommended). (2) Go to harder rubber and/or slower rubber. (3) give up on the entire idea of a composite blade and go back to slower all-wood that will vibrate more and that will allow the OP to use a fuller stroke and feel the impact. I'm not sure which one is best, couldn't possibly even begin to hazard a guess without seeing OP play with it or asking a lot more questions. (In fact maybe my attempt to desconstruct the phrase "lacks punch" is off-base).
These one-word critiques aren't always much use, for example I have no idea what that means when someone says a blade "lacks feel". What does that mean? Feel for what? Does that mean "doesn't vibrate as much as I'm used to"? Or maybe "a little faster than I am used to"? Who knows?
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HI Baal,
You got it bulls eye. My previous blade used to be heavy with an all wood feel. I had to apply force to it but itwould generate huge power and spin.
MY practice partners while doing the loop block drill would say that topspins are thunderbolt and they have to pay close atttention to block.
I definitely find viscaria way too soft for me. I don't know if its due to a soft rubber like tenergy 05fx or the fact that viscaria is a composite blade.
Infact, you have done a very good analysis of what I was trying to say. The "thwack" is definitely not there
.
More than adjusting my technique to the blade, i would like to have the right combination to take my game forward as some of the skills on the table I have are pretty much my USP which I would not like to change.
Picture Liu Guoliang serving, the way he used to serve, I am pretty much on the same lines.Tremendous amount of backspin/ sidespin on the serves followed by a loop to seal the point.
I am more than happy to change my setup as I can always sell this stuff online. I Have trained for three weeks and now its getting annoying for me.
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ok, I will go back and make sure you have access.
Be...
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OK now we are making progress!. Before giving up on a pricey and quite classic blade (it is a good blade make no mistake), try to break down what part you feel is coming from the rubber and what is blade. So go ahead and try your older rubber on the Viscaria and then see how it feels. Maybe now you will like it. One guy I know described a Viscaria with T05FX as like having sex wearing two condoms. So try to get the FX sponge out of the equation. If you wanted to be thorough, you could also try the T05FX on one of your old blades. Then come back with which you preferred.
(Or just do what I do and put two sheets of Karis M on your Viscaria).
(Or just do what I do and put two sheets of Karis M on your Viscaria
).
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OK now we are making progress!. Before giving up on a pricey and quite classic blade (it is a good blade make no mistake), try to break down what part you feel is coming from the rubber and what is blade. So go ahead and try your older rubber on the Viscaria and then see how it feels. Maybe now you will like it. One guy I know described a Viscaria with T05FX as like having sex wearing two condoms. So try to get the FX sponge out of the equation. If you wanted to be thorough, you could also try the T05FX on one of your old blades. Then come back with which you preferred.
(Or just do what I do and put two sheets of Karis M on your Viscaria
Thanks mate. You have been really kind. I Have ordered MX - P to see if that helps. I will also put tenergy rubber on my old blade to see where is the issue. I understand viscaris is a good blade as I researched before buying since I am upgrading after a way long time so would like to know whether its the blade or the rubber.
Perhaps I am still old school and a composite one is not for me...maybe !!
I will put pictures of my old blade tonight to give an idea of the blade type. Interestingly, its a cheap blade for sure but made me win tournaments and girls (lol).
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Very well phrased, Baal.
I am quite confused as well as to what OP tried to point out. In my own interpretation, OP's statement "lacks punch" means the feeling when the rubber surface is in contact with the ball or the grip the rubber has on the ball when it is hit. Of course, it could mean something else. This is one of the changes i felt when i tried the gergely Alpha blade + t05. I could not feel the rubber against the ball.
I hope OP can reply and clarify as to what he meant by "lacks punch".
Cheers
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Be...
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Definitely much harder feel from MX-P. I played with that combination for awhile. It is good. Occasionally a bit unpredictable. You will definitely have finishing power.
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To add more context to the discussion, I am attaching three pictures of my blade that I had a good feel of.
as it can be seen, the blade is pretty hard and stiff and is a 7 ply, probably all wood ( since its good 20 years old). Its by friendship though I am not sure of the model. Probably 8030 or some variant.
This blade has lot of power, punch and stability at the expense of low spin capabilities. With someone.s basics right on how to brush while looping, this blade could generate pretty good spin on loops, whether low arc or otherwise. Very good for finishing points and for backhand jabs and counter attacks. This blade has a really good wood feel to it.
Since it was top heavy, therefore it was difficult to use it for backhand flicks to launch an attack through backhand loops.
If I analyse , if a blade is heavy and relatively stiffer like this ( a bit lesser would do) but good for backhand attacks due to lighter top, I believe that should be it.
Another thing I would like to mention here, after playing with this blade type, I started hating Jonyer - H and its variants as the control on such blades was lesser and were too soft. I think I am feeling the same with viscaria also.
I just measured this blade on a weighing scale without rubbers. Its around 115.
as it can be seen, the blade is pretty hard and stiff and is a 7 ply, probably all wood ( since its good 20 years old). Its by friendship though I am not sure of the model. Probably 8030 or some variant.
This blade has lot of power, punch and stability at the expense of low spin capabilities. With someone.s basics right on how to brush while looping, this blade could generate pretty good spin on loops, whether low arc or otherwise. Very good for finishing points and for backhand jabs and counter attacks. This blade has a really good wood feel to it.
Since it was top heavy, therefore it was difficult to use it for backhand flicks to launch an attack through backhand loops.
If I analyse , if a blade is heavy and relatively stiffer like this ( a bit lesser would do) but good for backhand attacks due to lighter top, I believe that should be it.
Another thing I would like to mention here, after playing with this blade type, I started hating Jonyer - H and its variants as the control on such blades was lesser and were too soft. I think I am feeling the same with viscaria also.
I just measured this blade on a weighing scale without rubbers. Its around 115.
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Hi Amit. I play with timo boll alc and have played with my friend's viscaria. Both these blades have the same wood composition and play alike. Since viscaria has a koto outer layer, u shouldn't be playing with soft rubbers. Fx is a soft series and hence u r not getting that punch which u liked in 729. Yasaka rakza 7 plays amazing on backhand. I play with yasaka rakza 7 on backhand and just love it. In forehand I have used evolution mxp, xiom omega v Asia and v pro and loved them all. Viscaria is a top notch blade. I suggest u to change ur rubbers and I am sure u won't go back to any other blade
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I personally cannot stand Koto as an outer ply and dislike the Butterfly ALC-KOTO blades. I am more a Korbel/Inner force ALC/Primorac/Xiom Vega Pro guy. So when people say that the Viscaria is soft, I look at you all and wonder what is driving the insanity.
Just speaking honestly.
Just speaking honestly.
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That is fine. I believe the main issue is the lack of availability of blades to try as there are so many and each player has a different preference. So its mainly the reviews that a person can rely upon or their training buddies.
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The thing is That most amateur players (I am not telling you are the one) instead of training change their equipment all the time. The setup you bought is for pro players who train 5 days a week and play league or tournaments on weekends. If you want to develop your skills you should buy max off- blade with medium fast rubbers like Evo fxp
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He was to use his skills not develop then. He needs something with punch, not something with pillow.
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instead of going round in circles, I would say just change the rubbers and then see how you feel. You changed two things at the same time , change one at a time and you will know which is the one that is creating problem for you.
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Spin and more spin.
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Amitarora1319 said:
Okay. I think there has been some pretty decent posts and some that just confuse things.
I am guessing from what I have scanned in the posts I read, and I did not feel like reading everything, is that the difference from the old setup to the new one is just a big change.
These two things should help you figure out more of what is going on:
1) Take the T05fx rubbers off the Viscaria and try them on the old blade.
2) take the rubbers from the old blade and try them on the Viscaria.
This should give you an idea of how different the T05fx rubbers are from the ones you were using. And how different the Viscaria is from the blade you were using.
Then you may be able to figure out if you like the blade and not the rubbers or if you like the rubbers but not the blade.
My guess is that the biggest issue going on is that you had a blade that was all wood with a softer top ply and you had harder rubbers.
Now you have a harder blade that is carbon. I know someone in the thread said that a Viscaria is soft. But that is just a silly statement. Koto is a hard wood like NextLevel said and a Viscaria is not a soft blade. So you have a relatively hard Carbon blade with soft rubbers and you had a relatively soft all wood blade with harder rubbers before.
That is a totally weird adjustment to make. So adjusting to that will be hard.
You mentioned you had a Jonyer H as one of your previous blades. I can say that the Jonyer H is one of the softest blades I have ever tried. Hinoki is a soft soft wood. Unlike Koto. Hinoki also makes it very easy to grab and spin the ball.
Now, if you wanted to change the equipment to rectify the situation and you got yourself a softer blade with harder rubbers, that might work. I am not really sure. But it might. You could try something like a Darker 7p-2A if you wanted the soft grab of the Hinoki.
You could try a Petr Korbel, Liu Shiwen, Ai Fukahara or a Tibhar Stratus Power Wood if you want a soft blade with a Limba top ply.
All blades mentioned will help you generate massive spin.
OR, you can take the equipment you chose as an experiment. If you do a bunch of training and skip match play for a week or two, within a month to 2 months you should be used to it enough to feel how to use the new equipment.
To me it sounds like the main issue you are having has more to do with what you just got being SOOOOOOOO different from what you were previously using that it will be A BIG ADJUSTMENT.
But if you use it. And keep using it and really get used to it, in a few months, if you tried your old blade after really grooving things with the new blade, you will say to yourself when you try the old one: "I can't believe I liked this thing!" [emoji2]
Okay, that may take a year or three of using before that happens. But if you really got fully used to your new setup, it would happen.
Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy
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