US$2500. looks pretty good. independent 6/12 and side supports, adjustable towers, gravity release clamps base. Available May 2012.
$2500 is way over budget. besides, it is tennis machine with little tweakability. what's the fun in that?
the side support aren't the biggest issue. it is the size of the whole thing and the distance to the gripper.
in case someone else has a deeper budget than me. or don't mind a bigger machine. afterall, most machines out there that people use are tennis machines, there are only the handful of us who are so picky about the size.
I am temped to post this machine looks just like Baiardo Just to piss off Mark G. Sory Mark. Anyway, It is a capable machine just like the Baiardo with much reasonable price. Trust me, I had to sell my car to pay for my new machine at that time. If you are not Master LSD who LOVES to torture racquet at high tension, both Baiardo and Ghost are great and can string up to 30 lb without any issue (I just did a VT-Zf at 29 lb last night and a AT900P at 30 lb last week. If you don't need the touch screen, this is a very reasonable priced machine that can do everything (except weaving)
How does this distance differ from the YONEX ES5 or Protech 8? Anybody please chime in as I'm contemplating getting this machine this year.
looked like maybe 8 1/4inches from diablo. I check Ghost later. 10 3/4 inches from gripper. This ES5 Pro
Why don't these pictures show up any longer? Kwun?? Fix this.....lolI'll measure the distance on my LiNing machine. Should be closer as it's a dedicated badminton only machine.
Just looking at the Alpha Ghost makes me want to sell my current WISE-mounted Gamma Progression II 602. After about a year I only made back 800, putting in another 800 to sell my setup, I'd still be 900 shy of this machine Damnit. I don't even want to think how much I'd need to string to make enough back for the ES5. I'll post pictures of my measurements when I get the chance, as I think the Gamma + WISE was a pretty awesome combination for an entry level ECP option, hopefully someone will benefit from it.
Your setup is very good. What you're getting back yearly will only get better as word of mouth spreads that you string and do it well. Just be patient and focus on technique and quality of your string jobs, this is what matters the most..not the machine. I started with a Laserfibre/Stringway drop weight machine and then moved to a Gamma 6004 + Wise + Chudek Supports + Foot pedal + Toyoz (yonex fixed clamps) on my machine. I've upgraded the Gamma 6004 machine over time. I highly recommend that a Gamma/Pro's Pro + Wise setup is a terrific bang for your buck machine.
Yes...I agree with DarthHowie. In fact, I still have that Gamma set up at home. At the shop, I use the incredible LiNing machine.
Thanks for the encouragement I'm lucky that people do come to me for stringing in part because of my availability and hopefully my quality of stringing. Then again, I only charge $15 for BG80s and throw in a free grip with every racket. I've been told a number of times to up my price, but we'll see. I string for the enjoyment of it. There's something satisfying about stringing a racket then being able to take it out for a test. It's probably a combination of being able to test out the racket, the strings, new string methods/techniques. I even got excited over the parnell knot. During exams, my 20 minute study break is usually mounting a racket and getting some stringing done and hitting it against the wall of the apartment; recently, measuring the stringbed frequency on my phone has become part of the routine. The satisfaction in stringing someone's racket, though is from operating the machinery of the WISE2086; there's something way more satisfying about it than a dropweight. I don't actually mind keeping my price that low (by Canadian standards). If it was my job though, I'd probably lose interest pretty quickly, since I wouldn't be playing as much, the repetition, and the cumulative skin damage from stringing (I wore a nitrile glove and the stringing tore it up halfway through one session not to mention the dye rubbing on). I appreciate the machinery and design of the Alpha Ghost, and for the money it's probably the best value electronic string machine for me. Too bad the shipping is 10% of the price at the moment and a probably 13-20% customs fees. Heck, I'd string for free at a local tournament if I got to try an Alpha Ghost, 10 tournaments if I could get a discount
