Author Topic: Messenger Cherry Pearl (Read 10696 times)

admin · « **on:** December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM »

Ball NPS Score: Not Available
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Core Techology: Flip block with core body; Coverstock: FlexathaneTM by BASFÂ® - Factory Finish is a 600 Grit Sheen Finish; Hardness: 75 - 78;RG: 16 lb. - 2.525
15 lb. - 2.599; Differential: 16 lb. - 0.047; Hook Rating: 12
15 lb. - 0.039
14 lb. - 0.041; Track Flare: 4" - 6";
14 lb. - 2.621; Hook Potential: 14

LuckyLefty · « **Reply #1 on:** May 17, 2001, 08:35:45 AM »

Mess heads,

I've posted comments on this ball on the forum.

I've seen this ball used twice and been very impressed. Both bowlers had standard label leverage drillings. Pin 1/2 inch outside of the ring finger and CG under palm.

One bowler and a strong handed righty amateur had been averaging about 195 in our league, got this ball and averaged about 225. Clean thru the heads with big backend and this ball can turn the corner from inside. The second bowler a medium handed woman pro in a regional very similar results this ball could get down the lane and turn the corner.

As a big fan of balls with higher RGs (ie no titanium) these balls get down the lane better than say a titanium messenger or titanium messenger pearl. They have less midlane and a stronger looking backend since it comes farther down the lane. (Note another ball I'm a big fan of is the hawk vs the Ti Hawk - higher rg and more backend).

In addition I'm a big fan of holoflex(see my review of the Cuda 2000). This ball has less of it but the users of this ball are noting less over/under than the pure reactive pearl messenger flame and I think this is because of the addition of a light dose of holoflex.

Very impressed. PS a quick comparison. Our strong handed righty came in to league after a nice performance and wanted to use his trauma(drilled the same).
This ball hooked the lane while doing some beautiful high testosterone bowling,
lots of board coverage he shot 160. He switched back to his Messenger pearl and shot like 240, 260. Getting more head penetration and picking up a strong angular break past the 40 foot mark.

For light on the right this is a great ball. For lefties I always question the advisability of pearls. For now I'm still using my polished hawk solid for long with strong on the back. I'll try this pearl soon though.

Great Price,

Regards,

Luckylefty

Paul Meyer · « **Reply #2 on:** June 06, 2001, 12:42:11 PM »

First of all, this ball comes out of the box polished, not with a 600 grit sheen, that is the Blue messenger. Anyway, I drilled mine 5x5, ball had a high top weight to start. I ended up with zero side, and 1/2 oz. finger weight after drilling. Tried this ball on a variety of lane conditions, and I truly feel that this ball had the best results playing more down the lane than swinging the ball . I would have to compare the ball to the Cuda 2000 since the cover is simliar but this ball is much cleaner through the front part of the lane and its recovery is vertually the same. For the money this is an incredible ball that seems to work well on a variety of lanes. I just felt that my carry was better playing straighter with the ball. This is a good ball for a wide variety of players styles. Keep this ball in mind when you purchase your next ball.

mcarney · « **Reply #3 on:** June 19, 2001, 04:37:52 PM »

New cover, same old song and dance.

The Messenger is really a ton of ball for the money. I drilled it with a label twist. I put the pin under my ring finger and the CG 1/4" on the negative side.

The ball rolls up and hooks hard on the back end. It rolls too early though. It does get through the heads well but wants to start moving around 30 feet, even in the oil. I have to keep this one in a little oil to avoid skid-flip type reactions. It's a good ball for those with a straighter game. Those who swing the ball will experience problems. My Cuda 2000 makes a smoother transition from wet-dry. The Messenger is a bit too jumpy for my taste.

LuckyLefty · « **Reply #4 on:** October 07, 2001, 06:39:00 AM »

One of the sleeper balls of the year.

A friend of mine a top stroking senior pro had been complaining of lack of carry in later blocks. We'd noticed the strong backend on this ball and together we laid out this jewel to try to solve his problem.

Part of the problem is this great thrower has a 3 1/2 up 1/4 inch PAP.
Drillings that look like a normal leverage or 4 inch pin for him are all 2 to 3 inch or early roll pin. Our goal a long to the breakpoint inside ball with plenty of reaction and retained energy at the back.

Pin out 3 inches, top weight 3 3/4 ounces. Pin position is placed slighty over his middle finger with CG about 3/4 of an inch kicked out. A small weight hole straight out from the grip center at 6 3/4 inches to maintain Topweight as it was after punching fingers and thumb. Side weight now 2/3 of an ounce.

This ball is surpassing his expectations. With a pin position of 4 1/2 inches he is longer down the lane and retaining energy to the break point, then at the breakpoint this is supplying a strong angular move with explosive hitting power.

He can't believe his increased carry. This ball is the cheap man's version of the trauma. Slightly longer and mabe a little more sensitive to carrydown but extremely hard hitting. This ball is every bit as good as the battle zone bullet which I think is also one of the best balls on the market for long and strong. Maybe a little earlier than the bullet. Also compared to the classic Rock which we set up the same! Obviously the Classic moves a little earlier and has a smoother and more rounded move at the back with a little less energy at the back (due to particle load).

We're fully expecting this senior to go from one the regular qualifiers to contending in the later blocks.

Small price big hit!!!

Regards,

Luckylefty

LuckyLefty · « **Reply #5 on:** October 26, 2001, 07:20:28 AM »

I picked this ball up from a friend as a total surprise to me.

Drilled near label leverage pin to PAP 4 inches, CG 5 to pap.
A 4 X 5 drilling.

At our first practice session this ball was a semi dud!
Good hit but quite a bit over/under. It's funny that when I buy a ball from a righty it seems to take a couple of sessions before it gets a track on it on my side and starts performing right(especially pearls).

This ball is now looking to be just what I planned it to be. Slotted near the weaker part of my arsenal, it is stronger than my super beast pearl, weaker than my battle zone bullet, (one of the strongest backend balls in the game)slightly weaker than my eraser (the eraser has more midlane).

This appears to be a great arsenal ball, long(not a lot of midlane) and mostly a strong smooth backend when it hits the dry. In comparing this to the messenger ti pearl this ball has a lot less midlane and near equal backend.

On many league conditions I think this is a better ball than the Ti pearl, or on later tournament conditions. The ti pearl covers a broader range of mediums, but is too early when you really need length.

We'll see how this does on later tournament action if I can get it back from another lefty who loved it coupled with his lightly sanded blue red Ti Messenger.

Regards,

Luckylefty

BowlingFanatic300 · « **Reply #6 on:** May 08, 2002, 04:30:28 PM »

I've read the site the site for awhile now, and I figured since I try a lot of new equipment, I might as well post some reviews of my own. Here goes.

Got this Messenger for lighter oil conditions, set it up with a pin in 1", drilled shifted label for minimal reaction.

This ball is a very good conditional ball. When the condition is right, this ball will rip 'em up. However, it is not a fan of carrydown, as it will tend to skid 60 feet on you. If you have head oil, and just some, with crisp backends, then this ball will work. Otherwise, it tends to be over/under when you move around. Too much oil or not enough oil have a drastic effect on this ball. Good for bowlers looking for a ball on a crisp, beginning-of-the-day shot.

6/10 for this one.

Zach Cauthron · « **Reply #7 on:** June 09, 2002, 08:04:52 AM »

If you're a bowler who likes dry lanes this is the perfect dry lane ball. This ball has a pretty good hook

and it has an okay backend reaction but just enough to hit like a truck

. I won a major scholorship tournament with this ball. I am giving this ball a 10 and thanks Charlie's Pro Shoppe once again.

shimozukawa · « **Reply #8 on:** June 29, 2002, 05:33:28 PM »

I received this ball from another bowlers who felt it was rather useless since it only worked for him at one center.

What I've noticed about the ball is that it has a very controlled and readable finish on the back-end.

In a comparison of this ball to the Columbia Flip-Side Wicked, I noted the following:

1) The Wicked has a much more violent turn on the back-end.
2) The Messenger rolls up a little earlier and a little milder on the headpin.
However, both balls appeared to hook the same number of boards.

I am shocked with the results of the comparison, as they are somewhat counter-intuitive. The Pearlized Holo-Flex ball rolls earlier and tamer than the solid Super-Flex ball.

This led me to conclude the following about HoloFlex:

1) It does add length to the ball.
2) It causes the ball to give a particle read on the back-end.

However, since this is supposed to be a ball-review (and not a coverstock review), I'll get back to the ball.

The ball is drilled 5x4-1/2 with a 5/8x2(deep) hole on my axis.
I don't know the static weights because I only checked to see if the ball was legal when I drilled it.

Overall, the ball is a nice skid-roll ball. Because of its inability to really read the lane, it works very well on a variety of conditions.

If you encounter spotty conditions and just want a ball to get to the pocket, this is a good choice on a variety of conditions -- however, don't expect to use it if the condition is high scoring.

Overall: 18 cans out of a case. This is the primary ball that I choose when the lanes are toast (and I've forgotten my Pearl Groove at home).

Hmeeker · « **Reply #9 on:** January 17, 2003, 09:50:45 PM »

This was my favorite ball untill I busted the weight block after about 6 months.This ball can be used on a bunch of different lane conditions.It goes well threw the heads and has a strong reaction in the back end and it hits very hard.This ball opened up the lanes for me and gave me more room for error.my pin was placed imbetween and under the fingerholes with a weight hole for more finger weight.I would recommend this ball to anyone looking for an inexpensive good hooking med lane ball.

louie · « **Reply #10 on:** October 24, 2007, 04:51:04 AM »

16# ball
pin and cg on top of each other
2.5 oz of starting topweight

Drilled pin in palm with a weighthole on the val in the thumb quadrent to raise the bowtie.

I only have your typical wet dry house pattern to bowl on. I no thumb the ball, and I have resulting problems with over reaction off of all that dry.
I frequently have carry problems due to all that late hook. Lots of 4 and 9 pins.

I don't know if its the drill or the ball, but I get good carry due to a more sane entry angle. The ball is clean through the heads, has a lot of midlane, and a controllable backend. This is the first ball I've had in a while that will actually come up light when I pull the ball into the oil. I have miss room right due to the wall of dry, although I don't get quite as much recovery as most of my other balls.

I like the way this ball gives me area on a wall. Miss a little wide come back light. Miss into the oil come up light. My normal reaction is more miss into the dry and come up split high, and pulled shots also end up high.

Again, I don't know if it's the ball or the drill, but this ball matches up really well for me. The overall hook shape is clean through the heads with a lot of midlane and less backend than most other balls. Reminds me of my Visionary Blue Gryphon. I also had good success with that ball due to its controllable nature.
--------------------

Why does everyone laugh when I bowl?

louie

mr · « **Reply #11 on:** February 02, 2010, 03:11:19 PM »

If you can find this old ball get it. Best hitting ball I have ever thrown. My book is 217 and I have 2 300's the first one thrown with this bad boy. No ball hits harder especially if you are light in the pocket! Wow!