BallReviews
Equipment Boards => DV8 => Topic started by: LoganS on July 23, 2012, 02:39:50 AM
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Does somebody at BTM have something against DV8? It seems like their ratings are a bit low compared to everybody else especially on the sport shot.. I read nothing but rave reviews everywhere else but BTM..
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I wouldn't say it is a lack of love. I just don't think a lot of people are using them right now.
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From what I have seen with my personal use, dv8 has a lot of over under reactions, I agree with BTM
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Wonder if it has anything to do with who does and who doesn't advertise in BTM and I have no idea which ball companies do.
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Brunswick does advertise in BTM as does DV8, so it shouldn't be that.
Maybe the three bowlers do not match up well with the DV8 balls release so far. Overall, they don't seem to favor one company or another.
I have been a subscriber for 4 years.
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Wonder if it has anything to do with who does and who doesn't advertise in BTM and I have no idea which ball companies do.
That idea should have Bob Summerville turning over in his grave. He and his wife would rather have had ZERO advertisers than to have even a hint of that concept being even muttered in his presence.
I have been a subscriber since 1996.
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Agreed. I would hate to think that someone at BTM would bastardize the ideals of Bob. I remember reading his thoughts on the sport, and you're right, Charlest. He would be spinning. I hope that everyone at BTM remembers that.
Wonder if it has anything to do with who does and who doesn't advertise in BTM and I have no idea which ball companies do.
That idea should have Bob Summerville turning over in his grave. He and his wife would rather have had ZERO advertisers than to have even a hint of that concept being even muttered in his presence.
I have been a subscriber since 1996.
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I see a correlation between earlier, more even stuff rating better on sport than shinier, flippy gear. With most DV8 stuff coming out of the box shined to the teets its understandable why the testers would have trouble on sport if the balls are only used in box condition.
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Brandon hit it right on the head. It is all about surface prep. Box finish they will be a little harder to tame. I have a pin down terror at 2000 abralon and it has no over under issues. Went 300 over for 8 games on sunset strip and bowled a game after a league got finished on shark and shot 279.There is no issues with over under if you have the right surface which is the same case for any ball.
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Surface is the #1 factor in determining ball reaction. Over/under is used to describe ball reaction that is bad for what you are encountering at that very moment your on the lanes and seeing bad ball reaction on a particular condition. On other conditions, the ball could be just right. The first thing any player needs to figure out with a ball is where they will use it and how they will use it. Then it's a matter of using it at the right time. If you don't like the reaction, adjust surface to get the reaction you desire. Over/under reaction is a reaction that arises from using the wrong ball at the wrong time.
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The issue is that the majority of league bowlers either don't care enough or even know better to tinker with the surface of the bowling ball, we on these forums are the anomolies - we have learned the game and take bowling much more seriously
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I agree. And there are plenty of pro shops that take your money, drill a ball with no specific knowledge of the players game, and send them out the door. It's sad, because some pro shops in bowling centers are no better than going to Sports Authority and buying a pre-drilled plastic ball. And I think it negatively affects our game (bowling nationwide) when players spend hundreds of dollars on equipment and have no basis of understanding as to when and why to use it. It's like grabbing your wedge out of the bag on a Par 5 tee shot. No golfer would do that, but plenty of bowlers pull out the wrong ball for the wrong condition over and over and over again.
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I would like an opinion from other people than "staff players".
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theop879 - What information in these posts do you not trust? I would understand not trusting what is said if staffers were saying BTM has a bunch of hacks who don't know what they are doing. But what the staffers are saying is surface is important in how a ball will perform, especially on a sport shot. I doubt anyone would disagree with that.
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Thank you spmc that is exactly right. Even before I was fortunate enough to become a staff member I would have answered with same response for any ball companies equipment regarding the issue at hand.
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I am not a staff member but have been using Brunswick equipment for years. In todays game surface preparation is EVERYTHING. You cannot expect top performance from a bowling ball if the surface doesn't match the lane conditions you bowl on.
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I agree with the stock preparation. The topic is, why aren,t there any rave reviews in BTM. Who writes the reviews ? I don,t recieve BTM, for reviews i am stuck to this forum. To be honest, i scroll down on reviews when it says "staff member". I don,t read these reviews because they are always "good news shows"
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theop879 - I agree with you there. I understand staff members giving rave reviews for their brand. If I was a staff member, I would also. But to be honest, all companies are providing great equipment. I feel having a high quality pro shop is more important than reading reviews online. A good pro shop will have drilled numerous brands and types of balls and hopefully know how they perform. Sure, they may try to push you to there brand, but they will know your game better.
You can get any companies balls to do well on sport shots, it just takes time and experimentation. BTM can't possibly try all combinations. As one poster has stated, it seems to him DV8 prepares balls shinier than other companies, probably due to shelf appeal. Doesn't mean they suck for sport shots. I just watched Shannon O'Keefe bowl amazing this last weekend with her DV8 and Brunswick stuff. So it can work.
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In the current issue, BTM gave the Marauder a 9.5 by the Tweener and the Cranker for medium oil. That's pretty much a "rave" review by BTM.
Meanwhile remember that the numbers, 1 - 10, for DRY, Medium and Oil, given by the Stroker, Tweener and Cranker are their personal opinion of the ball's performance, when used on the oil determined by BTM and using only the drillings specified by BTM. The good thing is they do modify the surface (with sanding or with polish) for use on the conditions less favorable to the ball being tested.
They specifically state that they all prefer balls with significant backends, like the Arson Pearl, the Epidemic and the Marauder. So, while this implies that control ball such the Reckless will not high personal ratings from these testers, it does not imply that the Reckless is not a good ball nor that they don't like it. Remember they are testing on house patterns, with only an occasional try at a low oil volume sport shot.
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As far as being biased I understand your frustration there but I will be completely honest with my opinions. With my reckless and too reckless I placed the pin to far away from pap and couldn't get the reaction I wanted I then drilled the next ones much strong angles and closer pin placement to help the ball start up and they were much better. With the marauder you do not need to do this. I drilled my first one similar to the other two and it was not what I was hoping, it revved up much easier and just wanted to start hooking too early. The second I drilled further pin to pap and got exactly what I was looking for. And the first I plugged and redrilled and shot 793 with it last night once I moved the pin under and farther from pap.
As for the terror this isn't me being "biased" this is just me saying the ball is that good. Last four weeks of summer league bowling four game sets I have shot 985 1022 1033 1036 with it pin up and box finish. As for the other one I drilled for more sport patterns with 2000 abralon. Much more shot specific but the tournament I threw it I was leading by 80+ pins with a game to go in an 8 game sweeper. That's as honest as I can be about the equipment and my thoughts on them.
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I don't think anything I've personally said was particular to DV8 brand even though I represent them. If you want specifics, I used a Hellraiser Revenge out of the box and it hooked at my feet. So I adjusted the surface with some ruff buff and now it's a great ball for me. Very few balls of any brand I've ever thrown work well for me using the out of box finish. And I'm not sure why, but I have very little Axis Rotation and am fairly flat up the back of the ball with 375 REVS. So anything with surface tends to hook at my feet and requires some shine. This is particularly why the DV8 brand has worked well for me. Most of their equipment is designed to get downlane and hook and for me, this translates into a midlane reaction which is great for Sport conditions.