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10:34 am
February 15, 2011
Offline
I've finally decided to invest in a stringing machine so I'd like to test what strings/tension I prefer.
Has anyone else tried this and if so where did you start ?
Weapons of choice at the moment are BG65/BG66 Ultimax/BG80, the theory being they are soft/medium/hard feeling strings.
I was gonna start at 23lbs, then go up and down from there depending how I liked the feel.
Unless I get lucky, this could work out expensive so is it worth testing tensions with cheap string ?
It would be a difference of £3-4 against just over a quid but I'm not sure I'll get a decent read from the cheap stuff.
I'll be spending a couple of weeks practicing stringing old rackets until I'm confident I can do a decent job of it.
Basically, should I start with string type or tension first ?
I'd rather do it “right” than cost effective so any advice is appreciated as always.
12:37 pm
VIP Coaching Program Members
August 12, 2010
Offline 
Hi Simon,
I did exactly what you did two years ago, but I did it because I liked BG80, and I couldn't afford to have it redone every month when it snapped.
To my mind, I would be careful when making your decisions. I imagine that 23lbs is probably a good place to start if its similar (you believe) to what you are using now. If you are using factory strings at the moment, I suggest trying a little lower to begin with.
I want you to be careful about what you do when exploring, because there is no “correct” answer. I would recommend using reasonable strings the whole time. Even when practicing, using a string thats cheap and thick, can make restringing a real pain, whereas by comparison the thinner (more expensive) strings are in some ways easier to string with (but even then there are some tricky bits).
What I would be careful of is that the amount that each of those strings you mentioned stretches by when strung is completely different. This is what I call a finishing tension – the tension that the stringbed has settled at after a few hours of playing with it. It will remain roughly this tension for a period of time, and then it will lose more tension the closer it comes to breaking.
I willl give you an example:
Definition: strung at means “pulled at” – and I mean accurately pulled at – the machine has been recently calibrated to show it is pulling the tension it says. If I say pulled at tension X, I mean the mains were pulled at tension X, and the crosses pulled at X+2 (this is how I was taught).
Definition: stringbed tension – this is the dynamic tension/dynamic tension of the stringbed. This is basically a measure of how “tight” the strings are – it is not necessarily (and probably shouldn't be) the same as the tension it was pulled at. This is normally measured approximately by players hitting their strings and listening to the sound, or by pushing both thumbs onto the strings and seeing how far they give. The actual stringbed tension is measured, i believe, in how much force it would take, applied to the stringbed downwards, to move them downwards (flex them) by a certain amount. We shall say, arbitrarily, that stringbed tension is how tight the strings actually are.
Note : my finsihing tensions may be lower than ones produced by an electronic machine that has the prestretching option. My stringing machine is just a hand crank.
NOW AT LAST! On to the point I am trying to make.
String:
BG80/BG65/BG66UM
Strung At:
24lbs
Finishing (stringbed) Tension:
22lbs/21lbs/23.5lbs
I have given you an example (from my experience) of what tension these strings finish at when strung in the same way, on the same racket at the same tension. You will notice they all finish really quite differently e.g. a BG65 strung at 24lbs, finishes (it seems) like a BG80 would strung at 23lbs.Thus, when you find a tension you like for your racket, it is not a case of what you pulled at, but how it feels. To get that feel, you need to pull different amounts on different strings.
Because of this, I recommend you try and find the string you like most first, and THEN find the tension. Bearing in mind some strings are nicer at different tensions, it can be a very tricky business. I would reckon within 5 restrings you would probably know which string you liked most, and within another few know what tension you like on that string.
I apologise for the essay, but I hope you got the point. A useful note: write down every string job you do (date, racket serial number, string, tensions, result – good/bad, string cost etc) it helps keep track of savings and help you remember what you did on the rackets you did well!
Matt
1:21 pm
February 15, 2011
Offline Wow, I'm always impressed by the great answers I get on this forum but that's getting printed off and pinned to the wall.
I really couldn't have got a more in depth reply, thanks a lot.
I was working on the principle that all strings lose about 1lb of tension after a few games but I'll keep an eye on different one's.
I have 2 rackets at the moment, VT70 and VT80, I was going to keep stringing one of them but do you think doing both with different strings is worth it ?
The plan was to play with the new one for a week (6-7 hours) and see how I got on but perhaps I'd get a better perspective on the strings that way, maybe not tension so much.
As it stands I'm only planning to do my own stringing and perhaps a couple for friends until I can get the time/cash to go on the UKRSA course, so pin point accuracy isn't a priority just yet.
2:19 pm
May 25, 2010
Offline Well Matt doesn't leave me a lot to add to that but the plus 2 for the across is generally done if you are stringing 24lbs or upwards (so Yonex say). Anything below then the mains and the across strings are done at the same tension.
I would agree with Matt that stringing is very tricky business and everyone has their own view points on the best way to string. Liam Nolan does the Stringing courses and as far as I know, they are pretty good. However, I would recommend that you learn the basics before you go on a course otherwise you will blow you mind with information overload. I haven't been on a proper course (due to money and time) but I have attended a Stringing Workshop that Liam did a few years ago (or longer, you'd have to ask Paul!).
I would also say that BG65 will last about a month longer than BG65Ti, and the BG65Ti has a more of a ping sound when hit. BG80 is a completely differnet string altogeter as Matt says. With BG65 or 65Ti, they may need replacing before they break if you want to keep the tension about the same whereas the BG80 will hold the tension better until it breaks. The thing with that, is it breaks more quicker than the BG65 range. I have got some BG66 Ultimax to try but am waiting for my BG80 to go first. As well, if you try the Zymax range by Ashaway, it's another ball game altogether. I think you want to string to about 18lbs to achive the same tension as BG80 at 24lbs.
Would also like to add, if you get a crank machine (sping), you can't trust the dail too much as I have found if you move the spring round (some times is does it itself) then you get completely different tension. So I would highly recommend you buy a digital pressure machine (don't buy the black tube that pulls a stick out as it's very hard to see what tension it's at), and the best one to get is digital fishing scales which is what I have done. I use this to select the tension every time I string a racket and have found all my rackets to be consistant. The other thing you want to think about with a crank machine is that as soon as you pull the string it will start losing tension (unlike a electric machine which keeps pulling at that tension until you release it, as Matt mentioned). So I work out how long roughly it will take me to clamp the string, then time it so that it will be around the tension I want when I clamp it. So for example, to get 24lbs on BG80, when string first locks it will read 25lbs and but the time I clamp the string (3 seconds?) it will be just above 24lbs.
Hope this makes sense, probably doesn't but hey ho! 
I was going to do a stringing guide like my “Did you know guide to badminton stuff” guide but stringing is so difficult to explain some times and in a sense there is no right or wrong, just opinions.
Badminton Gives Me A Purpose In Life – To Serve Others
I'd Rather Be Playing Badminton…………..
2:49 pm
VIP Coaching Program Members
August 12, 2010
Offline Some great advice from Peter, I have not tried the Zymax range, and I don't see myself doing so any time soon. Just wanted to say that as far as I can tell, BG66UM lasts just as long as BG80 (if not more) but it keeps its tension higher for longer, and the hitting sound you get from it (and the power in general) is awesome. I see BG66UM as a more powerful version of BG80, without any drawbacks that I have seen so far (and they are all around the same price too).
With regard to stringing both your rackets – I would imagine that it is quite a good comparison if you string them both with different strings. The reason I say this, is that the string at a certain tension on one racket, will be nearly identical to doing it in the other. This is not always the case, but most yonex rackets seem pretty consistent e.g. my Arc8DX at 26lbs with BG80 feels the same as my VT80 at 26lbs with BG80, thus if I did one of them with a different string or different tension, I would be able to feel the difference quite easily.
With regard to the machine:
What I would say about my hand crank machine, is that although the dial READING is not very accurate, I actually get identical (seeming at least) tensions every time I use the machine (and I have done roughly 200 rackets with it). What I mean then, is that I have calibrated the machine, worked out how to get “24lbs”, wherever that may be on my machine. When I go to that place (with the dial) I get the same every time. The only way I can justify this claim, is that I know for a fact that when I string the same racket, with the same string, at the same tension (and most of the time across most yonex rackets) i get the same resulting tension in my rackets every time (or at least they are indistinguishable between each other). I have no doubt an electronic machine is more accurate, but then again mine was the cheapest available. However, it has done a great job for me so far.
Matt
4:20 pm
April 6, 2011
Offline Matthew Seeley said:
Some great advice from Peter, I have not tried the Zymax range, and I don't see myself doing so any time soon. Just wanted to say that as far as I can tell, BG66UM lasts just as long as BG80 (if not more) but it keeps its tension higher for longer, and the hitting sound you get from it (and the power in general) is awesome. I see BG66UM as a more powerful version of BG80, without any drawbacks that I have seen so far (and they are all around the same price too).
You should definitely try Zymax ZM62. It's exceptionally powerful, and has a really nice “hard” feel. As Peter was saying, it also feels a bit tighter than other strings at the same tension – although definitely not by 6lbs (more like 2-3lbs). Durability is the only issue, but if you can make BG66 last then it shouldn't be too much of a problem. With thin strings, it really just depends on how cleanly you hit – ZM62 can last me a couple of months (and holds tension well), but it can also break instantly if I mishit a power-shot (I use a Panda Power Ultra Pro, strung with ZM62 @ 24lbs).
If you want a thicker, more durable string, I'd recommend Ashaway Powergut 65 – it's very different from ZM62, but still really nice, and I much prefer it to BG65(Ti) / ZM70 which IMO are only suitable for big-hitters using super high tensions, who therefore need the maximum possible durability.
4:46 pm
February 15, 2011
Offline I think some of this may be a bit over my head at the moment.
I'm getting a stringing machine from a friend who has got a better one, although it's 2nd hand it's got a couple of years warranty left so it's fairly new.
He's gonna show me the basics and some tips he's picked up along the way.
I've got hold of 200m of cheap string to muck about with so I'll probably do an old racket 5-10 times to get the hang of it.
I guess if I'm using the same machine and technique my results will be consistent, even if that means consistently wrong as far as knowing the exact tension goes.
Regarding strings, I'm pretty sure I'll end up with BG80 (@23lbs) but I like the idea of knowing the pro's and con's of the other ones.
I'll stick with the Yonex stuff for now, it's all starting to get expensive and I don't want to run before I can walk
I'm thinking about dropping the ultimax and using 65ti, it seems like a more standard medium feeling string, I really can't remember the reasoning behind waiting a while to try the ultimax but I'm sure it made sense this morning.
As always, thanks for the superb advice guys
5:30 pm
VIP Coaching Program Members
August 12, 2010
Offline sorry simon, hijacked your topic for a bit there – got carried away again 😛 Would you mind private messaging me the price you are getting on a 200m reel of BG80 (or any other string), just for comparison to what I currently buy. I personally found that after 2 goes with old crappy string, I was consistently doing a good job with the nice strings. I made a mistake every so often, but who doesn't? You will be amazed at where the string gets caught… Keep us posted with your successes as a stringer 🙂
Sketchy: just to point out that I have never used BG66 as I feel it does not last. BG66UM is thinner but MORE durable (black magic…). I have found that, just like you said with the zymax, the BG66UM actually feels 2lbs tighter than my beloved BG80, which is very strange 🙂 One day, i will get around to trying out some of the others.
Matt
10:14 pm
February 15, 2011
Offline
Simon
I think you’re making a good decision. Hopefully you’ll be shown how to string your racquets correctly. There are still a few grey areas regards stringing badminton racquets. Some stringers disregard recommended patterns although this invalidates a manufacturers warranty so take care to learn the various patterns e.g. Yonex always recommend 2 piece stringing with mains strung at less tension than crosses (this mainly applies at higher tension, say over 22 lbs). Crosses are strung top down.
Once you know how to string properly and you have calibrated your stringing machine you are set to go. Matthew has given you some very good information in terms of the stringers jargon. Generally there are two types of stringing machine on the market these days, lockout and constant pull. There are many players who insist on their racquets being strung with a lock out machine because they generally know their racquet will play within tolerances.
A constant pull machine will continue pulling a string which basically is stretching. This means there is less stretch remaining in the string once completely strung.
Personally I would test each string until you decide which you prefer. My new favourite is BG66 Ultimax. You have chosen possibly the top three strings in the world so you’re off to a good start. Once you decide which string you prefer, then begin testing for your optimal tension. This is a great process because you begin to understand how tension effects a racquet and the response from the string in terms of power, control and touch. It becomes a lot easier to understand why certain types of player should not exceed 22lbs in tension and why certain strings may not be the best for them. You also have a better understanding of how different strings respond on your racquet.
Keep us informed on your discoveries. Who knows, you may just find a unique combination we haven’t tried and have us all scrambling for a set of pliers and yet another test on our stringing machines.
I’ll be testing a few strings over the coming months. I know I have more testing to do with BG66 Ultimax to find my optimum tension with this string. However, I’m not in a rush and as I want to change to VT80 for next season, it’s not worth testing on my current racquet.
If you get stuck or want some stringing advice then feel free to use the forum or email me.
Paul
12:06 am
February 15, 2011
Offline Bloody hell, never realised just how much was involved.
I tend to get a little obsessive with stuff like this (great for a sportsman, not so great for the girlfriend) so I can see this becoming a bit of a mission for me.
There's a couple of things I don't really understand but sound quite important.
Could you explain or show me a link to the digital pressure machine that you mentioned please Peter.
Also, what is meant by recommended patterns ?
From what I can gather, I don't think either of these will be an issue as I'll just be doing my rackets but I don't want to start voiding warranties and getting into bad habits from the start.
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