Viscaria vs Timo Boll ALC

[lasta]

Because SOMEONE WAS WRONG ON THE INTERNET!!!!!!!!!

Therefore the thread revivification is perfectly understandable. Think of all the people who failed to correct the wrongness back in 2017? It makes one fear for the future of humanity. But the necessary correction was made, belatedly, and we can all breathe a little easier as the Natursl Order has been restored.

Indeed.

But the comment goes against the n+1 rule. Everyone needs a Viscaria.

 

[Baal]

Actually the Spirit of Rule 20 says the OP should buy a TB-ALC and a Viscaria. He is simply not allowed to believe that either one will make him play better (Rule 27). The OP of course posted before the Revelation of the Rules.

Ba'al has spoken.

Bringing back dead threads is not against the Rules unless you use it to start a flame war that nobody cares about and it is your first month on the forum.

 

[UpSideDownCarl]

Yeah. As far as I am concerned, back when the thread was new a fresh, it did not need any more than Post #4 in the thread. That post by Baal sums up everything you need to know on this subject.

Viscaria or TB ALC is a good blade for anyone whose technique is decently acceptable. So the post by M Ngai that woke this thread back up really does not make much sense to me.

 

[Guybrush123]

Hello all, I was just wondering for anyone that has both of these blades what is the difference between the two in terms of speed, control, and spin. I know that the new Viscarias play a little different or thats what i have heard so if you could compare the new viscaria to the boll ALC that would be great

If possible as well, if anyone could compare the blades whilst using the Tenergy rubbers with them that would be great


Timo Boll ALC so much better, they are hard to compare. To me anyway, they are so far away from each other
Each stroke is pure joy on TB while Thrashcaria is nothing, feels dead when playing with Tenergyrubbers. Untuned, unspeedglued, unboosted, especially Viscaria feels like a Stiga Allround Classic...

 

[U871247]

I have owned a bunch of each.

The main difference is the handle shape and length (TB-ALC handle is a little longer, more square). TB-ALC on average is a little harder, I think because they do something to the outer ply, maybe UV light, that makes it slightly harder. On average (meaning if you examine several examples of each blade) you would not say that one model is systematically faster than another. Of course if you compared just one of each you could easily decide that one is faster than another (hence a lot of confusion and arguing about this on threads from people who have only ever tried one of each), but if you compare two Viscarias you might well conclude the same thing. These things are made of wood, each model comes in a weight range, and no two are identical. Some people say that Viscaria has a "better feel". I agree, at least most of the time, but I would be unable to tell you what I even mean by that, and so it is a pretty useless statement. Who knows if you feel things the way I do or would like the same thing?

Don't get one that is too light, for either one, they lose a lot of what makes them good if they are much below, say, 86 grams, and they are at their best right around 90-92. A lot of the newest ones are in that weight range and I think they are excellent. Light Viscaria blades tend to be more head-heavy (the weight loss is usually carved out of the handle I think) and that is less of an issue for TB-ALC because the handle is slightly longer.

The handle that works best for your game maybe should be the deciding factor. Viscaria only comes in FL, TB-ALC comes in ST also. It is definitely more squared and the wings are a little different. So your preference may depend a bit on your grip, how high or low you like to hold the paddle, how much you change your grip from FH to BH, and things like that. Only way to know is to hold them and kind of get a feeling for it that way, or better yet, hit with a clubmate's blade if possible.


Oh one last thing. Words like "control" are like "feel". Pretty much meaningless (or mean different things to different people). Control of what? Something that helps with one shot may be worse for another. Or do we just mean slower? But I can say this, there is no obvious advantage of one over the other in my experience in terms of being able to play short game, serve, or return.

Also, if you are lucky you will get one (of either model) that is truly amazing, but given sufficient weight, you will almost never get one (of either model) that is bad. They are meant for the same kind of player. Timo Boll started his career with Viscaria.

Hi, I read this review of yours 2 years ago back when i was just starting to play and back then I still don’t have any idea about feel and control until I developed my skills and improved in this game. Now, I’m at a level where I know the kind of things that I want from a blade, for my FH and BH. I have been playing with freitas alc since last year and even though it is an outer alc I noticed that it has more dwell time compared to my partners timo boll which immediately launches the ball off after contact, so I wondered why he likes that kind and of feeling. When he tried my blade, he said that it was too slow and told me that he doesn’t like it as well (probably bcoz he was already accustomed to how his blade feels) which makes sense coz it’s what I also felt towards his blade hahaha. Fast forward, I felt like I’m already so used to my blade and wanted to try a new one. TB alc came to my mind so I purchased it and slapped the same set of rubbers on. By the way, freitas an tb alc has different wood composition which I think why tb is more on the stiffer side compared to freitas since the later uses limba as an outerply wood. My thoughts on Tb alc. on my 1st week of playing with it I was so frustrated. Those slaps that I’ve been doing with freitas seems to be not working in TB. So I adjusted my strokes, I focused on spinning the ball and I slowly got the results I wanted. Even chiquitas contact and timing needed adjustments so I played more. Fast forward to a months of playing almost 3 hrs everyday I finally felt like I already understand and liked how this setup plays. Since it’s significantly faster, it allows me to do less effort playing away from the table specially in blocking and spinning at least 2-3 meters away. Now, my dillema is whether to decide which blade would benefit my playstyle more and I think it would be the crisp and direct feeling of timo boll. As my opponents are getting stronger I noticed that mid distance play/positioning is much better for me since the balls that I’m receiving are more faster and spinier. I just need to play safe anf be better in the short game since TB is not really forgiving in the receive game. Freitas alc is really good in chiquitas and since ut has more dwell time, I can control the short game easier but I feel like I need more effort when pkaying mid-far distance which really bring more toll in my body😅. I’m just so happy that I improved to a point where I can now give my insights in this topic😂😂😂

 

[steve888]

Great to have an update. A friend has the TimoBoll alc, and he uses the Razka z on the forehand so he has more control and it slows it down a bit. he has Tenergy 64 on backhand though. The Freitas - I am surprised your friend finds it slow - what rubbers do you use on it?

I have tried both blades from friends and find the Freitas has more control, the TB is great for looping away from table but short game I struggle with it especially against spin orientated players. I have just ordered a second hand Freitas. I usually use a Butterfly innerforce blade. I usually find rubbers make a big difference in speed and control too. I use Dignics 05 on the forehand which has made the innerforce significantly faster.
Which blade do you prefer overall? Thanks

 

[U871247]

Great to have an update. A friend has the TimoBoll alc, and he uses the Razka z on the forehand so he has more control and it slows it down a bit. he has Tenergy 64 on backhand though. The Freitas - I am surprised your friend finds it slow - what rubbers do you use on it?

I have tried both blades from friends and find the Freitas has more control, the TB is great for looping away from table but short game I struggle with it especially against spin orientated players. I have just ordered a second hand Freitas. I usually use a Butterfly innerforce blade. I usually find rubbers make a big difference in speed and control too. I use Dignics 05 on the forehand which has made the innerforce significantly faster.
Which blade do you prefer overall? Thanks

I used same set of rubber h3 neo national and d09c on Bh. I agree with freitas has having more control/dwell but the crisp feeling of tb is so good after u get used to it.

 

[Egon]

I will add my observations. The Viscaria specimens have significant differences in thickness, for example, in the photo there are two blades that came to us for repair, one of which is 5.6 mm thick and the second is 5.74 mm. Unfortunately, there is no photo with thickness measurements, but there is no point in me deceiving you about this.
An experienced player will be able to feel one tenth of a millimeter in the thickness of the blade, and any player can feel 1.4. Despite the same design, size and 2 grams of weight, these blades are very different from each other in the game. The first blade is more flexible, rotates better, is more sensitive on the index finger, but has less power.
As for the design of the Timo Boll blade, in my opinion, in addition to the differences in thickness, the design of the handle is also important. The fact is that handles in which the layers of veneer from which they are glued are located perpendicular to the plane of the blade, as is the case with Timo Boll handles, are more rigid than handles in which the layers of veneer are located parallel to the plane of the blade, as is the case with Viscaria. This also affects the overall feel of the blade.
Addition.
I don't know about others, but personally, I think the standard handle on the Viscaria is short, I'm missing 3 mm.

 

[Egon]

Hi, I read this review of yours 2 years ago back when i was just starting to play and back then I still don’t have any idea about feel and control until I developed my skills and improved in this game. Now, I’m at a level where I know the kind of things that I want from a blade, for my FH and BH. I have been playing with freitas alc since last year and even though it is an outer alc I noticed that it has more dwell time compared to my partners timo boll which immediately launches the ball off after contact, so I wondered why he likes that kind and of feeling. When he tried my blade, he said that it was too slow and told me that he doesn’t like it as well (probably bcoz he was already accustomed to how his blade feels) which makes sense coz it’s what I also felt towards his blade hahaha. Fast forward, I felt like I’m already so used to my blade and wanted to try a new one. TB alc came to my mind so I purchased it and slapped the same set of rubbers on. By the way, freitas an tb alc has different wood composition which I think why tb is more on the stiffer side compared to freitas since the later uses limba as an outerply wood. My thoughts on Tb alc. on my 1st week of playing with it I was so frustrated. Those slaps that I’ve been doing with freitas seems to be not working in TB. So I adjusted my strokes, I focused on spinning the ball and I slowly got the results I wanted. Even chiquitas contact and timing needed adjustments so I played more. Fast forward to a months of playing almost 3 hrs everyday I finally felt like I already understand and liked how this setup plays. Since it’s significantly faster, it allows me to do less effort playing away from the table specially in blocking and spinning at least 2-3 meters away. Now, my dillema is whether to decide which blade would benefit my playstyle more and I think it would be the crisp and direct feeling of timo boll. As my opponents are getting stronger I noticed that mid distance play/positioning is much better for me since the balls that I’m receiving are more faster and spinier. I just need to play safe anf be better in the short game since TB is not really forgiving in the receive game. Freitas alc is really good in chiquitas and since ut has more dwell time, I can control the short game easier but I feel like I need more effort when pkaying mid-far distance which really bring more toll in my body😅. I’m just so happy that I improved to a point where I can now give my insights in this topic😂😂😂

Hi! I also noticed that I now like faster blades more, which 2-3 years ago I couldn't play

 

[U871247]

Hi! I also noticed that I now like faster blades more, which 2-3 years ago I couldn't play

I thought I was the only one haha thank God😅.