OOAK Table Tennis Forum

In unrelated news OOAK member Jaspican was causing MAJOR Trouble along with the local Goon Squad at the TT Center after hours...

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Goof-off chopping bat
Gambler All Rosewood
Aurus Soft / Gambler GXL .6 sponge

Status - Out of Business Janitor/Babysitter

I can see the Popeye connotations, but who's who?

Yes, I only recognise one Trouble Maker....

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

I just received my demo sheet of Troublemaker red OX from Carsten at Dr Neubauer. While I've yet to get a chance to try it, I wanted to post a pic and some relevant info.

This is an unusual LP to say the least! Pips are thin, tall, and wide-spaced; probably at the ITTF design limit for such 'racket coverings'. It's also one of the few LPs that comes from the factory with a pre-attached glue sheet. With Carsten's permission, I'm sharing my recent emails with him on this subject:

I think the instructions that came with it said to put glue on both the blade and the glue sheet that was on the rubber. I only put glue on the blade (two coats) and it stuck just fine. Obviously I haven't removed it yet, so I don't know what that will turn out like. The rubber was pretty "floppy", that is, constantly rolled around, so I can see what he means by how thin and soft it is. Like it's the opposite of Dr Evil.
I've got some sessions coming up this week so I might test out the 1.0 mm sponge version if I get to play anybody who is more defensive or more of a flat hitter. As has been noted here, the strength of the rubber is using active strokes against shots with spin. Against flat balls I struggled a little bit. It's not a common scenario, but if I know I can handle those hard, flat balls (like from short pips or hardbat) better with the 1.0, I might keep two set ups and use whichever is best against a type of opponent.

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"The greatest teacher, failure is"
USATT Rating: 1725
Blade: Stiga Cybershape Carbon
FH Rubber: Butterfly Tenergy 19 2.1
BH Rubber: Dr Neubauer ABS3 1.5

I just mounted mine without glue. The glue sheet's adhesive can release even when stuck to itself so I'm fairly confident I'll be able to remove it from the blade later without adverse effect. From the discarded portion I managed to remove some of the glue sheet which revealed an extremely sheer top sheet, almost see-through, with a textured back surface. I don't recommend removing the glue sheet as it required significant stretching of the top sheet to generate enough pull to get the adhesive to release. Hopefully, I'll get to try playing with it tomorrow night.

The attached glue sheet hasn't been a problem for me. I've moved Troublemaker around between several non-sealed blades and I'm happy to report no damage to the rubber or the blades.

Also my lift shot works really well with one of the blades but not the others, so I can say that the performance of this rubber is very blade dependent. Try it on different blades and you might be pleasantly surprised.

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My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

Had a great session with this rubber again last night in OX. As I'm learning the nuances of playing with it, it is becoming VERY effective for me. Perhaps the most effective OX long pips I've ever used. I beat a player last night rated about 300 rating points above me, had a lot of close games against a 2000 level two winged looper, and in doubles I was part of a team where we defeated a team that would be about 250 combined points higher rated. The punch shot against back spin is effective, defense is of course outstanding (I got a lot of weird looks from people, baffled at what the ball just did) and I've learned that against a slower dead ball, a soft roll type hit is quite useful, as the pace is so slow that it gets dumped into the net frequently. Combined with my learning of short pips on the forehand, after two months of testing, I feel quite confident that I now have the best setup for me and am looking forward to further refining my new style and getting more consistent.

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"The greatest teacher, failure is"
USATT Rating: 1725
Blade: Stiga Cybershape Carbon
FH Rubber: Butterfly Tenergy 19 2.1
BH Rubber: Dr Neubauer ABS3 1.5

Just back from my first practice session with Dr Neubauer Troublemaker OX red. Coming from 755 OX red I was almost immediately comfortable with TM despite it being softer and slower. TM is both easy to use and very effective against opponents. It's somehow able to generate big spin on serves and chops while simultaneously being resistant to incoming spin on serve. Reports of it being effective on chop-block were accurate! Many opponent balls went into the net on what appeared to be light backspin from TM. TM supports a very effective light backspin backhand serve to middle distance. It didn't look difficult to return but opponent after opponent dumped them into the net. Chopping off the table was effective but not devastatingly so, with spin not seeming to increase beyond the second exchange. BH topspin drives are rather easy with TM OX, and I didn't see any broken pips from the abuse. Returning short serves with the so-called Strawberry stroke was easy, consistent, and dangerous. I could dish the ball off the side of the table at will. When faced with deep fast balls to my BH, meeting the ball perfectly flat, with force, sent back a downward-angled ball that was almost impossible to return. The most common reaction from opponents tonight was abject confusion. TM is the master of spin manipulation, making a wide variety of defensive and offensive shots possible.

In summary, I'd say that TM OX is one of the easiest to use dangerous LPs I've ever tried, and I've literally tried dozens over the past ten years.

Probably not an issue if the first one doesn't come back.

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OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

I have to ask, what is the "Strawberry stroke"? I've been playing with pips for many years and have never heard that term!
I completely agree with your review, nathanso. I think this rubber is destined for the long pips hall of fame (if such a thing existed).

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"The greatest teacher, failure is"
USATT Rating: 1725
Blade: Stiga Cybershape Carbon
FH Rubber: Butterfly Tenergy 19 2.1
BH Rubber: Dr Neubauer ABS3 1.5

Banana vs Strawberry:
http://youtu.be/OOD3O8tt0xI

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Had 2nd session with this rubber against a similar ranked player,his comment was that the balls are considerably lower trajectory and difficult to kill, he uses short pips on b/h and tackiness on f/h he top spins both wings and flat hits with pips, had little problems adapting to loops both chop blok and close to table blok with very light grip pressure a must, chopping good, hard push good also, control good, serve return good with kill possibilities.This rubber has great potential with its quite unpredictable returns especially the low return that just clears the end of the table 2nd bounce. Think dr N is on to something here before they ban it,which undoubtably they will if the top men start winning with it.Looking forward to mastering it in the summer sessions ahead.As a comparison I used my old set up with illegal pips and the opponent said it was (the tm)just as difficult for him.
Just as an aside in the quatar mens single final in the second set ma long does a strong f/h loop and li returns with a strange brush stroke that creates backspin (reversal) that ma dumps in the net, cant work out if its a fluke or ma mistake, if its not then its a new shot in the game.

Oh wow, I've never seen that before. Thanks for the video. I will have to start working on this!!!

_________________
"The greatest teacher, failure is"
USATT Rating: 1725
Blade: Stiga Cybershape Carbon
FH Rubber: Butterfly Tenergy 19 2.1
BH Rubber: Dr Neubauer ABS3 1.5