Some Guidance needed - From Donic Barracuda to Yasaka Rakza 7

[J-fed]

In fact it seems like Baracuda is actually the spinnier of the two if you don't use the sponge as much.

That being said OP has been playing for a while, so it's probably okay to change it up and maybe find some blindspots in his game or technique. If he can make Rakza 7 work for him, he will probably learn something from it.

Absolutely what I'm saying to myself ATM.
I reckon we can adjust and get used to new equipment if we avoid getting frustrated and believe in the adjustments the we discover to be necessary.
In the process we understand more about the technical game I think.

 

[Der_Echte]

Slow spinny loops can happen, you just have to adjust your stroke so that the blade angle is closer and you contact the ball very thinly and increase the speed of your swing to compensate for the loss of forward momentum. You could also try using some Chinese tacky style rubbers like the popular Hurricane 3. If you can't get slow spinny loops with a clean sheet of H3 neo 40 or 39 degrees hardness, you are doing something wrong.

Also keep hand loose on the slow heavy, it means everything. Get tip down, use fingers too.

 

[Samir.thacker]

Wow! Thank you everyone! Having read so many tips and perspectives, I am overwhelmed!
But yes, I tried a few changes to how I play with it and found that sometimes, with the right contact, I am getting a lot of spin out of the Rakza 7 too... I will try and practice more... And yes, the H3 Neo is also in sight if I can get a hang of this one...

 

[Archo]

Wow! Thank you everyone! Having read so many tips and perspectives, I am overwhelmed!
But yes, I tried a few changes to how I play with it and found that sometimes, with the right contact, I am getting a lot of spin out of the Rakza 7 too... I will try and practice more... And yes, the H3 Neo is also in sight if I can get a hang of this one...

You should do that table drill I posted about, where you drop the ball and just hit it from your own feed. That'll teach you how to grab the ball.

The issue you'll run into with harder sponges eventually is that once your swing speed increases, the throw angle will reduce a lot, and it will follow the swing right into the ceiling. So then you need to learn how to activate the sponge more to make the throw angle larger and more towards the table. I would just tell you to "hit more forwards" but I think you'll find that there's more to it.