You have a ball you cannot use and you are questioning if you should trade it straight up for a ball you can use?  Do I have this correct?

You have a ball you cannot use and you are questioning if you should trade it straight up for a ball you can use?  Do I have this correct?

Sure, and if my aunt had a penis, she'd be my uncle.

I can use it, it's just not preferred. Who wouldn't want to use a ball which is a pound less, on dry lanes?

I like the strike king a lot more then the melee but I wouldn't change weights just to throw it. Make the trade. If you dont like the melee just sell it and buy the correct weight strike king.

Heading that direction-- I use 16/15lb equipment (a bit of mix throughout my arsenal); 14 "could" be done, but isn't optimal right now.

Melee was a ball that always interested me; I missed the versa-max, and though this is a little weaker overall, it should be a good complement to the shape I need on dryer lanes.

The Melee, for me, is a control piece.  It hooks less than most overall, but that's why I like it.  I can play straighter lines and close to friction and know where it's going.  Carry has been a pleasant surprise on the plus side. 

I agree.  I went pin under on the Melee and pin over on Strike King.  Because of the layout and the Strike King's cover that ball gets more length than the Melee.  But a little surface change and it gets much more on the backend.  Both are versatile pieces and can be used on light oil, although I prefer the Strike King for that.

In this case I think the important thing to focus on is consistency in weights.  Without that I think you are challenging your ability to make consistent shots!

I would second the consensus Here as all that your going to do with the 14lbs strike king is develop inconsistant timing issues. 

However be very careful with drilling that Melee.... I would definately shy away from anything other than strong layouts.... It was IMO falsely marketed as a new and improved versamax.... 

As far as layouts for the Melee go...  First remember its a symmetric ball (prior to being drilled)
Therfore, theres no such thing anymore as a strong or weak cg postion.... This is bc the PSA is almost ALWAYS gonna end up in or within a half of an inch away from the thumbhole.  So the drilling angle is used only to determine whether or not u want a weighthole in the drilled ball, or not...  In this case id try and position the cg so you end up with enough side and thumb weight to add a flare increasing hole. Simply bc of the lazy nature that most Melee's exhibit.

Are you speed dominant?  Rev dominant? Matched? Do you know youre axis of rotation? and axis tilt? 
Rev dominant usually have lower tilt (just my own observation. Dont take that for anything more than a grain of salt)

But what im getting at is, if you r a rev dom player, with about average axis rotaion, and lets say between 15-5* of tilt. A common favorite symmetricql layout for this type of bowler would be Something along the lines of xx/5/35 Assuming its a somewhat strong benchmark ball, however if i was going to layout and drill the same bowler a Melee (and u said you were going to be using polish) id go with a stronger earlier layout like a xx/4 1/4/40 that provided a decent amount of thumb and side for a nice deep P3 hole to add differential and diff ratio in order to help give the ball the extra backend punch and continuation that many have claimed was missing with their Melees.

I wouldn't really call a Track 300T as a dry lane ball, maybe a 300A! The cover on the "T" is fairly strong, even in the 300 series! Just my $.02, Bruce

Hey Bruce,

Thanks for the reply-- typically I wouldn't call the 300t a dry lane ball (yup, cover) but in my case, I took the surface up to 4k, but I hit it with Powerhouse Factory Polish, then hit it with Moon Shine from Storm. With the "T" cover, plus polish, I've created a ball that is extremely easy to read, and ultimately, control on dryer lanes, or lighter house shots where I'm trying to play up the boards. I'm still debating whether I should drill the 300a from Track (guess I should hurry up and decide, since they are discontinued) or if I should drill a Torrid Elite from Radical, with a low flare layout.

I tried to order a second Track 300T, just to leave at box finish, and use as a medium ball-- the cover is versatile, and the core is controllable. Great combo from Track, hope they bring back something similar.

Thank you for throwing in "your $.02"-- really is appreciated