Hello everyone. I have a small question regarding stringing. I recently got my MusclePower 99 strung with 25lbs This may be a stupid question but will i need to wait some time before playing with my newly strung racquet? I am asking this because i recently got a rare string here which can only be imported from japan, which i would like to use for the longest time possible. Thanks!
There's no real "danger" in playing a fresh racket (indeed, the racket will probably be at its best), but the string bed will not have settled down to an even tension until you've played with it for a while. When I play with a fresh racket I always pat the strings against the heel of my hand between rallies to help the strings shift into their natural position. I also do this for customers' rackets (time permitting). BTW, I'm also curious as to what this "rare" string is...
Well It's not really rare, only out in japan NBG98 haha. Will the tension drop dramatically if i play with it straight away? Should I wait a couple of days before playing with the racquet? Hmm.
I play with NBG98 and as soon as it is strung i play with it. I don't understand why you wouldn't want to play with it straight away since it is fresh.
The tension will drop over the first 2/3 days no matter what you do with the racket - 10% is the yardstick figure. Playing with the racket does not, in my experience, lead to more overall tension loss, but the tension will "bottom out" quicker - it's just the laws of physics. phan is right: get in there and start hitting with it.
Haha, that pack of NBG98 you bought off me ? I thought I already told you what to do. .. well, Jeff told me what to do: wait for two days or so for the strings to settle. Atleast, you won't be using it until saturday when you play at BBC so it's not much of a thing to worry about, is it ? NBG98 doesn't lose tension as fast as bg65 ( which you are used to ), so you wouldn't find tension dropping much a problem in reality. But you will find it a problem once those strings break, because you'd be back to using bg65 or something again .
Why do you wait for the string to settle? Is the something to do with tension loss if you play straight away?
When the racquet is freshly strung, those strings will perform at its best. But those strings have elastical properties. If we don't wait for them to settle to the tension, it can change quickly. All strings have elastic properties and they are most-elastic when they're freshly strung (flexes fast). Unless it's pre-stretched, the tension will drop rapidly if we play with it straight away. If the tension drops quickly, I believe that they won't perform as well as the same string with little or no tension drop, even with less elasticity. Just imagine playing with bg85 at 23lbs, and bg80 ( just a little bit less repulsion due to its thicker gauge ) at 25lbs. Which one would be better if you normally play at 26lbs ?
Don't know... Hmm... Maybe I should wait a while before playing it so the string tension maintains better?
A freshly strung string should play better than one that has to see through a "waiting" period of 2 days. The reason why some players feel that strings that are "worn-in" for a few days play better is because of uneven tension, usual with low to medium tensions and from poor stringing, which will take a few days of evening out. However, high tensions, provided they are not poorly strung, play best immediately after the strings are strung. Top players restring after a week or two, soley to get that fresh string crispness and punch.
