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New Dr Neubauer MATADOR blade
https://ooakforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=25703
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Author:  vietma [ 09 Jan 2017, 07:05 ]
Post subject:  Re: New Dr Neubauer MATADOR blade

The speed is almost the same for the Joo Sae Hyuk and the Matador.
The Matador is standard compact size and the Joo Sae Hyuk is oversized.

Author:  NoFootwork [ 07 Apr 2017, 03:26 ]
Post subject:  Re: New Dr Neubauer MATADOR blade

Matt Pimple wrote:
Bulldog, I am also very impressed with the Matador and agree with you.

So about a week and a half ago my coach (USATT about 2400) forgot to bring his bat to practice so he asked if I had s spare blade. I told him: "Yes, but it has anti on bh!" He said it was okay for doing drills and he could twiddle if he wanted to play backhands. So I gave him my spare Matador with Nittaku DHS H3N on fh, which he normally also uses on his Schlager Light. My coaches topspins had more rotation than normal and also had more kick off the bounce. It was much more difficult for me to block or counterloop than with his usual bat. In our next session my coach then played his Schlager Light setup side by side with my spare Matador and concluded his loops had more spin with Matador but he also liked the better feel and control. He then asked me if he could borrow my spare blade to play the tournament just replacing the anti on bh with his Vega Pro. So my coach played the tourney last weekend with my spare Matador and he won the "Open" event yesterday against a former Chilean national player who had just moved to Phoenix. A video of the final was recorded and I will post the link here as soon as it is published. You will be able to see that it is possible to play a powerful and variable attacking game at a high level with the Matador blade.


Has anyone played with the Matador with OX long pips. Even though the marketing says its good for anti and LP play, the dark color wood looks like it will show thru red OX LPs. Does anyone have this issue.

Also, is this a 2 speed, combination blade with a slow side and a faster (OFF, OFF-) side.

This is an older thread so I'm wondering if those that tried the Matador continue to play with it or have moved on to the next miracle blade ;)

Author:  Matt Pimple [ 07 Apr 2017, 03:51 ]
Post subject:  Re: New Dr Neubauer MATADOR blade

NoFootwork wrote:
Matt Pimple wrote:
Bulldog, I am also very impressed with the Matador and agree with you.

So about a week and a half ago my coach (USATT about 2400) forgot to bring his bat to practice so he asked if I had s spare blade. I told him: "Yes, but it has anti on bh!" He said it was okay for doing drills and he could twiddle if he wanted to play backhands. So I gave him my spare Matador with Nittaku DHS H3N on fh, which he normally also uses on his Schlager Light. My coaches topspins had more rotation than normal and also had more kick off the bounce. It was much more difficult for me to block or counterloop than with his usual bat. In our next session my coach then played his Schlager Light setup side by side with my spare Matador and concluded his loops had more spin with Matador but he also liked the better feel and control. He then asked me if he could borrow my spare blade to play the tournament just replacing the anti on bh with his Vega Pro. So my coach played the tourney last weekend with my spare Matador and he won the "Open" event yesterday against a former Chilean national player who had just moved to Phoenix. A video of the final was recorded and I will post the link here as soon as it is published. You will be able to see that it is possible to play a powerful and variable attacking game at a high level with the Matador blade.


Has anyone played with the Matador with OX long pips. Even though the marketing says its good for anti and LP play, the dark color wood looks like it will show thru red OX LPs. Does anyone have this issue.

Also, is this a 2 speed, combination blade with a slow side and a faster (OFF, OFF-) side.

This is an older thread so I'm wondering if those that tried the Matador continue to play with it or have moved on to the next miracle blade ;)

I myself did not play with LN ox on the Matador but only with frictionless anti and it works very well for it, low bounce and very good reversal. So I think it should work well with LN ox as well. The forum member kevgeomcc actually uses LN ox on Matador, the last time we met it was Viper, but that may have changed in the meantime. He is about my level I would say, and he played very well with the pips on the Matador. The outer ply is walnut so it's kind of a darker brown color. I can't really comment on the red LN ox but as far as I remember kev was using a red Viper and I don't recall it looking funny. This may depend on the thickness of the base though.
The Matador is not a combination blade, it does have s symmetrical structure so both sides have the same speed (I would say OFF- to OFF).

Author:  kevgeomcc [ 07 Apr 2017, 04:50 ]
Post subject:  Re: New Dr Neubauer MATADOR blade

Matt Pimple wrote:
NoFootwork wrote:
Matt Pimple wrote:
Bulldog, I am also very impressed with the Matador and agree with you.

So about a week and a half ago my coach (USATT about 2400) forgot to bring his bat to practice so he asked if I had s spare blade. I told him: "Yes, but it has anti on bh!" He said it was okay for doing drills and he could twiddle if he wanted to play backhands. So I gave him my spare Matador with Nittaku DHS H3N on fh, which he normally also uses on his Schlager Light. My coaches topspins had more rotation than normal and also had more kick off the bounce. It was much more difficult for me to block or counterloop than with his usual bat. In our next session my coach then played his Schlager Light setup side by side with my spare Matador and concluded his loops had more spin with Matador but he also liked the better feel and control. He then asked me if he could borrow my spare blade to play the tournament just replacing the anti on bh with his Vega Pro. So my coach played the tourney last weekend with my spare Matador and he won the "Open" event yesterday against a former Chilean national player who had just moved to Phoenix. A video of the final was recorded and I will post the link here as soon as it is published. You will be able to see that it is possible to play a powerful and variable attacking game at a high level with the Matador blade.


Has anyone played with the Matador with OX long pips. Even though the marketing says its good for anti and LP play, the dark color wood looks like it will show thru red OX LPs. Does anyone have this issue.

Also, is this a 2 speed, combination blade with a slow side and a faster (OFF, OFF-) side.

This is an older thread so I'm wondering if those that tried the Matador continue to play with it or have moved on to the next miracle blade ;)

I myself did not play with LN ox on the Matador but only with frictionless anti and it works very well for it, low bounce and very good reversal. So I think it should work well with LN ox as well. The forum member kevgeomcc actually uses LN ox on Matador, the last time we met it was Viper, but that may have changed in the meantime. He is about my level I would say, and he played very well with the pips on the Matador. The outer ply is walnut so it's kind of a darker brown color. I can't really comment on the red LN ox but as far as I remember kev was using a red Viper and I don't recall it looking funny. This may depend on the thickness of the base though.
The Matador is not a combination blade, it does have s symmetrical structure so both sides have the same speed (I would say OFF- to OFF).


Hi there, kevgeomcc checking in to confirm Matt's post. The Matador is great with OX LP's. I've used Viper, Dornenglanz, Palio Ck (slightly...umm...weathered?) and am now back to using Dragon Talent on it. It's blocks with great control as well as a really low, linear trajectory. The feeling and control is brilliant, having something to do with the hard, walnut outer plies and whatever softer wood beneath. As Matt says, it's not a combi blade yet is great for blocking with the pips as well as looping from close/mid distance. I occasionally wish it was slightly faster on the FH, a bit more power--and have flirted recently with my old Nexy Labyrinthos which is a combi-carbon rocket of a blade--but I always go back to the Matador. It's a blade that does exactly what you tell it to. Highly recommended for OX LPs. And having played against Matt Pimple, it's lethal with slick anti on it as well!

Author:  NoFootwork [ 07 Apr 2017, 07:23 ]
Post subject:  Re: New Dr Neubauer MATADOR blade

Thanks Matt Pimple and kevgeomcc for your prompt replies.

kevgeomcc - for one of LPs you have played with did you mean Giant Dragon Talon or Bomb Talent? I play with GD Talon OX LPs. Is there an issue with the dark walnut wood bleeding thru an red OX sheet?

I play with a Ma Long 5 blade and mostly use my OX LPs to chop block and setup my FH loop. With this setup I can chop block loops up to about 2200 level.

Beyond that level of incoming loop, the power and spin overwhelms my chop blocking skills and my returns invariably go long. That's why I got interested in the Matador to see it can better handle more power loops using OX LPs and have enough speed/dwell to support my own FH looping.

Author:  kevgeomcc [ 11 Apr 2017, 22:41 ]
Post subject:  Re: New Dr Neubauer MATADOR blade

Hi Nofootwork, yeah, the dark walnut is fine with the Giant Dragon Talon!!!! (sorry, not Talent :o ) the colour is not an issue the Matador does absorb the pace of very hard loops much better than many blades I've used, obviously with soft hands etc. I highly recommend it.

Author:  NoFootwork [ 24 Apr 2017, 11:32 ]
Post subject:  Re: New Dr Neubauer MATADOR blade

Thanks Matt Pimple and kevgeomcc for their feedback. Based on that I purchased the Matador blade from TT11. Very prompt service as usual and price was US$49.

The blade I received was 80g. I didn't specify the weight of the blade when ordered as the site had listed the blade as 86g. I prefer 85 to 87g blades so I thought this would be in my sweet spot. So I was a bit disappointed in receiving a 80g blade but it's my fault for not specifying the weight. The surface of the blade is very shiny (in fact the shiniest I've ever seen) but I didn't have any issue attaching my rubbers to the blade (tear mender for inverted, rubber cement for OX LP and putting blade under a heavy book overnight.) The quality of the blade build is very good.

I didn't know how I would feel playing a blade that's a little lighter than my preferred blade weight. I currently play with a DHS Ma Long 5 blade with Xiom Sigma Pro 2 on FH and Giant Dragon Talon OX LP on BH. My current playing level is an out of practice USATT 2000 (too busy, stopped playing for many months, started playing again a couple of months ago once per week about 3 hours.) I use LP on my BH to chop block close to the table and set up the ball for my FH loop to win points.

I played for the first time yesterday with the Matador - 4 hours total. I transferred the aforementioned rubbers from the Ma Long 5 to this blade. I think the good Doctor does not intend the Matador to be used with OX LPs as the dark Walnut grains do bleed thru the red OX Talon. It's not bad but maybe someone at a tournament may raise a stink especially if they don't like to play against LPs.

My impressions - I was already a little disappointed not getting a slightly heavier blade and with the dark wood grains showing thru the red OX LP. I forgot about this as soon as I started hitting with this blade. Very nice looping blade with good dwell. There's plenty of point finishing loop kill power as long as you are not too far back from the table. Not as fast as the Ma Long but plenty fast. Great control to vary spin/arc on your loops or to go for a loop kill. Very solid blocking with inverted. Very good touch for pushing short with inverted, serving short, etc. Probably not enough power to effectively counter loop from more than 6 feet from the table, maybe a heavier blade would help here.

My OX LP chop blocks had more spin reversal compared to the Ma Long 5. Balls stay low on chop blocks. Hitting with OX LP against backspin balls was very good, more consistent than with the Ma Long 5 although this isn't my strength. However, there isn't as much braking effect as I was expecting. Maybe I read too much into the blade's reviews provided earlier. You need a pretty quick chop block motion with soft hands to return very strong loops otherwise your return will go long off the table. It does absorb incoming loops some but maybe I was expecting more. I don't perform passive blocking with the LP so if you play this style, this blade may not be for you. You need an active stroke.

I played several matches against 1500 - 1980 rated players. Lost only 1 match 2-3 against an 1850 rated player who played with no spin into my LPs and looped my returns. It's my lack of play not the blade to be faulted here as I didn't handle the no spin balls into my LP well. I beat the highest rated opponent (1980) 3-0.

So the blade felt pretty natural to me, i.e., I felt pretty comfortable using it from the very first ball. Overall I was very happy with the blade and for $49 its a bargain.

Author:  PiZa [ 22 Oct 2017, 08:03 ]
Post subject:  Re: New Dr Neubauer MATADOR blade

Hello, can someone tell me head dimensions for this blade ?

Author:  Dusty054 [ 22 Oct 2017, 08:34 ]
Post subject:  Re: New Dr Neubauer MATADOR blade

PiZa wrote:
Hello, can someone tell me head dimensions for this blade ?


Mentions 157 x 150 in this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=43&p=321465

Author:  PiZa [ 22 Oct 2017, 17:54 ]
Post subject:  Re: New Dr Neubauer MATADOR blade

Thanks.

Author:  Soba [ 26 Apr 2018, 21:57 ]
Post subject:  Re: New Dr Neubauer MATADOR blade

Hi guys,

Has anyone played Matador with medium or short pimples? I mean like Keiler, 563,Pluto? I mean what sponge would be good for allround playing?

Soba

Author:  ChasFox [ 28 Apr 2018, 22:18 ]
Post subject:  Re: New Dr Neubauer MATADOR blade

I see Dr Neubaer now has two new Matador blades on their website,. The Texa and Texa balsa. The former a faster version of the Matador and the latter a softer more control orientated version with a balsa core. Interestingly they claim that the Texa balsa is a combination blade with a more disruptive back hand side.

Author:  Omut [ 08 Dec 2018, 04:10 ]
Post subject:  Re: New Dr Neubauer MATADOR blade

Have got a Matador Texa Balsa blade. Straight handle.
One side is heavily varnished, the other is bare wood. The blade looks like normal blade with single thick core ply and thin outer plies (not like triple core Clipper wood).

Unfortunately build quality is below average. Balsa core consists of several pieces. Handle halves have different length. Varnished surface had several sharp drops so I had to use sandpaper.

Total weight of racket with 1.8 Tibhar MX-S and 1.3 Dr.N. Aggressor is much heavier then my usual ox builds.

Author:  ChasFox [ 08 Dec 2018, 04:45 ]
Post subject:  Re: New Dr Neubauer MATADOR blade

You have got a heavy one as the web site says 86gm.

Is the varnished side the one with the lens insert i.e. the FH side. Dr N claim the back hand side has a special coating to improve the disruptive effect

Author:  Omut [ 08 Dec 2018, 05:00 ]
Post subject:  Re: New Dr Neubauer MATADOR blade

Decided to remove weights as my kitchen weighter is very bad. Side with lense is not varnished like in video about Texa Non-balsa blade.

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