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Donic Barracuda or Tibhar Genius sound
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Author:  Japsican [ 04 Apr 2014, 09:22 ]
Post subject:  Donic Barracuda or Tibhar Genius sound
Searched... but....

Any thoughts on a beginnerish Jpen player switching rubbers to either of these? Keep in mind that I have not been coached much and am not rated, but I beat guys who regularly compete beginner and intermediate tournaments... not sure if that is a clear picture of my level or not.

I am thinking of going with the Tibhar Genius Sound or the Donic Barracuda for my FH on the Jpen, which is the TSP Birmingham 77- ALL blade. Currently I run the XIOM Vega Elite. (802-40 SP on the backhand for RPB) Stylistically, I am a close to mid distance looper or blocker depending on the flow, and my loops have improved immensely; I just feel as if the lack of throw is holding me back from landing slower spinny loops with enough arc.

Don't get me wrong, I get plenty of spin with the current setup, but feel like I have to open my blade up too much and wait for the ball to dip slightly to compensate for the lack of throw angle in order to get a nice arc on my loops. Otherwise, the gears on the XIOM are quite nice and close to the table play, blocking and pushing/punching are really good.

So, which one of the mentioned rubbers are good for my level? Are these rubbers too advanced? Any others? I'd like to grow into the rubber is choose, and I'd like to avoid losing any touch in the short game.

Thanks in advance for your opinions!
Author:  Multispoke [ 04 Apr 2014, 21:16 ]
Post subject:  Re: Donic Barracuda or Tibhar Genius sound
Japsican wrote:
Searched... but....

Any thoughts on a beginnerish Jpen player switching rubbers to either of these? Keep in mind that I have not been coached much and am not rated, but I beat guys who regularly compete beginner and intermediate tournaments... not sure if that is a clear picture of my level or not.

I am thinking of going with the Tibhar Genius Sound or the Donic Barracuda for my FH on the Jpen, which is the TSP Birmingham 77- ALL blade. Currently I run the XIOM Vega Elite. (802-40 SP on the backhand for RPB) Stylistically, I am a close to mid distance looper or blocker depending on the flow, and my loops have improved immensely; I just feel as if the lack of throw is holding me back from landing slower spinny loops with enough arc.

Don't get me wrong, I get plenty of spin with the current setup, but feel like I have to open my blade up too much and wait for the ball to dip slightly to compensate for the lack of throw angle in order to get a nice arc on my loops. Otherwise, the gears on the XIOM are quite nice and close to the table play, blocking and pushing/punching are really good.

So, which one of the mentioned rubbers are good for my level? Are these rubbers too advanced? Any others? I'd like to grow into the rubber is choose, and I'd like to avoid losing any touch in the short game.

Thanks in advance for your opinions!


I had a little look through your posts and was quite impressed with your jpen blog. For someone who has had little or no coaching you seem to be putting the effort into looking at how to improve.

If you're dissatisfied with your FH rubber (I've no experience of jpen) you could consider sticking with the same rubber in a not so soft version - the Vega Europe.

The Baracuda I wouldn't recommend - it's essentially an old rubber but for the Spin & Speed it gives it's not great on control.
Genius Sound I know nothing about but it's rated at 37.5 degree compared to the 42.5 degree of the Baracuda. Genius Sound is supposedly a very good rubber but a more up to date version of it would the 5Q sound at the same 37.5 degree.
Haven't tried the 5Q sound but the 5Q is a super rubber but imagine it would be too advanced for you at this stage but it can work well for Shakehanders on both sides depending on the blade.
There's also the Joola Maxxx 400 which I haven't tried.

Safe option. Vega Europe
Tried and tested. Genius Sound / Omega IV series Europe
Up to date option. 5Q sound
Take a chance. Joola Maxxx 400
Author:  Japsican [ 04 Apr 2014, 22:04 ]
Post subject:  Re: Donic Barracuda or Tibhar Genius sound
Multispoke wrote:
I had a little look through your posts and was quite impressed with your jpen blog. For someone who has had little or no coaching you seem to be putting the effort into looking at how to improve.

Thanks! I'm trying. Coaching will be a big help, but the language barrier of the local TT center and the fact that I'm Jpen has me a bit cautious with the $ I invest.


Quote:
If you're dissatisfied with your FH rubber (I've no experience of jpen) you could consider sticking with the same rubber in a not so soft version - the Vega Europe
I had that on my radar as well! Many of the commenters on the TTDB mentioned the fact that it has a "Big Window Effect"...not sure what that means. Is that a way of saying that it gives you a lot of room for error due to the arc?

What turned me off to it is the relatively low throw angle rating. It's not much different than the Vega Pro Elite that I have now. Am I wrong in thinking that a higher throw angle results in a greater arc+spin, thus causing the ball to land sooner (And in turn further in from the edge of the table)?


Thank you so much for your input! :up:
Author:  Multispoke [ 04 Apr 2014, 22:42 ]
Post subject:  Re: Donic Barracuda or Tibhar Genius sound
I did a little search on your blade and it comes up as stiff and fast.

A high throw rubber compensates for the stiffness giving a better arc allowing one to land balls on the table more easily.
Problem with high throw rubbers is control. Most opt for medium throw on the BH for control reserving the high throw for the FH.

If you're starting off it's not recommended to have a stiff blade and a high throw rubber.

The little that I know of pips is that a stiff blade is beneficial. Personally I would compromise the stiffness for more flexibility allowing you to use medium to low throw rubbers so that you can get your technique right and learn to play more easily with looping etc.

So maybe another thread might be needed to see if you could use a less stiff jpen blade ?

Normally with a rubber the arc starts to flatten out the harder you hit - only exception that I've found is the Tenergy 05 which I would not recommend for you given the control issues with it.

So if you have a slightly harder sponge it tends to keep its arc and in practice is more consistent than a soft sponge. So depending how you hit the Vega Europe may prove better to play with than the Vega Elite despite having the same throw rating.

If you plan on sticking with your current stiff fast jpen blade I would be inclined to use a non tensor technology rubber for better control to allow better development.

I've recommended the Stiga Magna TC II before. Technically rated as a tensor and it seems it can be used / or was designed with speed glue in mind. Using normal glue it should be fine. With a sheet costing €18 it might be worth a bash. Could opt for a 2.0 This would be more lively than Vega Elite & Vega Europe. Has a medium throw.
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