personally i dun think the name has anything do with wat the design do. from wat i learned, the mp frame design is bumps that helps the strings to last longer in both life and tension. the round bumps gives the string a good smooth round corner to sit on instead of the old design where the is sitting at a sharp corner at the grommets....the rounded corner makes teh string last longer cos there's less friction since the strings are sitting on bumps, they will be able to absorb more pressure at the grommets(frame) therefore making the frame more durable due to less pressure on it...also the strings are no longer sitting in air, that makes less tension lost during play hope this helped you =)
My Theory I believe the bumps are just a way of shifting more weight to the head of the racquet, that way shots feel more solid. I saw yonex's theory about saving strings, but it doesn't help a hack like me. =P LL
MP Frames and String Breakage Harry, the explanation you gave makes sense initially, but I wonder if Yonex is just propogating it as a marketing gimmick. Now I have never broken a string before (I'm either a bit weak or BG-65 is indestructable), but it seems that most people break strings in the center of the racquet, where the main and cross strings cut and rub into each other, not near the grommet. Is this correct? If so, that would make the MP bumps rather useless for string preservation, wouldn't it? For anyone using a Muscle Power frame, do you find that your strings last longer without breaking than on non-MP racquets?
The Theory... In machanical terms, what Yonex claims the MP frame does for the string is actually very true. Another point to note is that, it allows the strings to be held at a more even tension throughout so that the consistancy of shots is better. Another aspect wich people have overlooked is that it allows Yonex to make the frames a lot stiffer as these little arcs in effect are acting like little ribs across the frame to stiffen it. But in my opinion, I think the real magic seems to be in the 'ultimum Ti ' shaft? They really did something to it. Its super-duper stiff yet the racket feels compliant when playing delicate shots !
Re: The Theory... mp frame is also on other racquets with no Ultimum Ti Shaft, like Ti-10, Carb 23 etc
Re: The Theory... The muscle power frame designs on the Ti-10, Cab 23, and even the MP77 and MP55 aren't exactly the same. Am I right to deduce the following: First generation MP frame design - Ti-10, Cab 23, Iso 750 Second generation MP frame design - MP100 Third generation MP frame design - MP77 and MP55
Re: The Theory... I took a closer look at the MP55 and MP77 the other day and realised that this MP frame thing looks like its starting to be a little over exaggerated (SP??). Esp on the bottom part of the frame.... big black bumps and shiny red glowing things....
Re: MP Frames and String Breakage Brett, i have seen strings breaking in a few different places: 1) as you mentioned, at the middle of the head, where string rubs each other. this fall into the category of natural wear and tear, and for a bg85 string strung reasonably tight (say, around 24lb), a string will last around 4 months for a once-twice a week player. 2) another place to break is right next to the frame. this happens on a mishit, where the shuttle hits the area right next to the grommet, where there are only main or cross strings. there are no other strings to support the force, and the string will snap. 3) at the corner contact point of the string and grommet. this is also quite common, the string stretches on impact with the shuttle, and it shifts a little bit with respect to the grommet, and you will soon see wear marks on the string covering. and i believe 3) is the part that Yonex is trying to address. by arching up the string a little bit, the string won't be pressing against the grommet too much. i am doubtful how much that actually helps though, as the MP bumps only raises the string by a couple of degrees.
Re: MP Frames and String Breakage both you and brett are right on your say like you said in 3) teh string breaks at teh corner contact point between teh string and the grommets easily cos that spot of the string withstand a lot of the pressure and impact and the muscle power bumps are designed to keep this from happening with a smooth corner and a bump for teh strings to sit on...before it was a 90 decree turn for the string but now the strings dun even have to turn, they just go along teh circular bumps brett, teh bg65 is made to be most indestructable out of the yones strings and i didn't get this information from a yonex catalog or sumthing, it was from my own experience with rackets, strings and stringers
Re: MP Frames and String Breakage Another place to break your strings is the top and bottom part of the racquet because on most iso modle and cabs the top don't have strings going across because theres no room so the main strings are left un supported so the string would break.
As kwun mentionned, I've experienced problem #3 and get this only on my mp-77 so far. It was bg80@21lbs. Maybe bg80 is extra susceptible to this problem, I don't know I've only tried bg65, 70 and 80. This is not to prove that the mp frame does not avoid the problem though, maybe the case would have been even worst on a non-mp frame. It just means that having an mp frame does not completely eliminate this problem.