OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I thought I'd add a few words comparing the above 3 blades as I doubt there are too many of us that have had the opportunity to hit with 3 of these uber-expensive all wood blades. The Tenor in particular seems to have very little written about it on forums.

I have been fortunate enough to be lent a Tenor and a Violin, the Acoustic being my main blade for over a year now.

My style is allround/offensive, primarily looping and hitting on forehand and less aggressively mixing it up on backhand; blocking, punching, chopping, driving. I tend to hold the table these days but am happy to trade big forehands with nearly anyone. Level? Well I have victories over top-100 UK players but I am definitely not top-100 standard. Generally top-10' ish in local top division league averages. Now a veteran, but still trying to run around the forehands.

All blades were tested with the rubbers in my sig; PME forehand and IQUL or similar B/H.

TENOR
FL handle. 96g. Online guide weight is listed as either 92 or 94g (+/-) so this is a bit over. I was told to expect a 'slightly faster Acoustic' and had read similar online. Frankly, that's BS. This is nothing like an Acoustic. For a start the feel is harder and the blade stiffer.

Head size needs mentioning. This feels large. It is listed as 158*151 (v Acoustic 157*150 and Violin 156*149) but that doesn't tell the whole story. The head is very wide at the bottom and therefore the surface area much large than an Acoustic. It also made the wood by handle wide and uncomfortable. If I had kept this blade (I'm not) then it would have received some customisation in this area.

This is a blade for away from the table play. Over the table the head size is clumsy and the overall weight (lots of rubber on an already heavy blade) too great.

Having said 'not for me' I can see merits in the blade. Chopping away from the table (with inverted) was absolutely excellent for such a fast blade - oversize head good here and the whole setup very stable indeed. It also had good power for attacking from distance. It might make an excellent pips blade (when I got it there was Hexer+ and D-Tecs OX on it, total setup 155g).

Little vibration.

In feel terms, I'd say think of it as a heavier, stiffer, thicker, faster Violin with an oversize head. It is not even related to the Acoustic except perhaps being similar in speed.

Violin
FL handle, 83g. Guide weight I've seen quoted at both 85g and 88g so this is a light one (although a quick search of 2 for sale threads shows 80g and 82g weights quoted, so maybe this one is typical).

Initial impressions - Flexier than I expected with quite a hard feel. A fair amount of vibration / feedback. The slowest of the 3 blades by a whole notch - I'd say OFF- v the acoustic / Tenor at OFF. I do suspect this will pair better with slightly softer rubbers than I'm currently using so I'm going to test Xiom Yanus on my BH and, when it arrives, a softer version of Moon for forehand.

The handle gets some criticism in some reviews. It is slim, yes, but I found it (with my average sized hands) to be very comfortable. Neck also slim (slimmer than acoustic as well) so the blade feels very maneuverable over the table.

Not sure if this is a keeper for me yet, but I can see why players like it. I will give it a few tries.

Acoustic
Terrible blade. Suggest you sell me yours cheaply.

Just kidding of course. Much already written about this blade so I'll be brief. 88g, ST handle, bang on the guide weight. Soft feel - actually very soft. Quite stiff. Very little vibration. Good put away power and good touch over the table. Can still hit bullets from distance. Feels lighter than it actually is. Neither specifically a hitter or looper's blade, but rather does both very competently. I am yet to use another blade with the same feel. Suited to hard(er) rubbers.

My setup is around 178g but is so well balanced it feels lighter. I have had several players pick up my bat and say how light it was compared to theirs only fo us to pop them on the scales and mine actually be heavier.

It goes without saying that the quality is top-notch on all of these blades.

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Timo Boll ALC ST
FH Tibhar Evolution MX-P Max
BH Tibhar Evolution FX-S 1.8
185g

Great comparison! You're right very few would have tried all 3 of these since they're quite pricey, so a comparison like this could save someone a lot of money!

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That's a typical feeling of a better balanced setup to an off-balance one.

Nice review So_Devo!

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I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
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I agree about your findings. Tenor indeed feels like an oversize blade. I was hoping it would be a nice upgrade on my Acoustic. But there's nothing similiar at all.

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Innerforce ALC, Bluefire M3, 802-1

I think i will have a lot to add about the violin. For now, suffice to say it comes alive with softer rubbers, in terms of feel, speed and spin. It clearly is a quality offering, but i would like to use it a little more before posting again.

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Timo Boll ALC ST
FH Tibhar Evolution MX-P Max
BH Tibhar Evolution FX-S 1.8
185g

As an aside, on sunday whilst trialing the blades i had the acoustic, violin and tenor- plus various other blades and rubbers- together on the raised stage near table one. Someone joked that it was the most expensive square metre the club had ever seen!

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Timo Boll ALC ST
FH Tibhar Evolution MX-P Max
BH Tibhar Evolution FX-S 1.8
185g

I have got a Acoustic ST and Violin FL.

I think that Acoustic is stiffer and faster that Violin.

Which blade (Acoustic or Violin) is most best seller?