Ebonite seems to have created some real confusion with this ball. They have taken Mission "technology", which was their high-end offering, and moved it down market to a lower price point. Then they change the name to Source...which is rather unexciting. You think they would have used a more familiar name such as Secret Mission, Mission Control, Rescue Mission, Mission Leader, or even Undercover Mission (which is what this ball really is...a Mission with a different name.) Why abandon/rename a successful franchise?
You mean, like doing what they did overseas, with the Secret Mission (pancake ball), Super Mission, Mission Realize, Mission Amazing, Mission Complete, etc.?
You really have to wonder why they didn't go down that line in the US.
I love my Ebonite Mission x, but I am having a hard time getting excited about this release. Rationally I know it is a Mission, but there is no emotional interest which I think is somewhat important to the psychological aspect of bowling. There is a huge difference between "I got a new ball and I can't wait to throw it!" and simply "I got this new ball, it is supposed to be decent, we'll see..."
True, but then again, it is really hard to get excited by equipment that:
1. you've rarely seen, and
2. gets released in the off season.
Exposure is the key here, and there hasn't really been much for this release outside of use in the JoG Tournament.
Every ball company has a latest and greatest weight block or a proven performer with a different cover stock that is moved into a different price range. Just because it's a mid priced ball with a past proven weight block that used to be a high performance price tag doesn't mean the ball will be a non seller or a bust. Maybe Ebonite is taking a proven winner and lowering the price to get more bowlers who aren't in the ball of the month club a chance to throw a ball that could offer better carry and higher scores!! What a novel idea by Ebonite!!
umm.. Good case in point of the OPPOSITE of what you're thinking of is the Hammer's Taboo. They stayed at the high performance range, despite having the Gas Mask core that the Black Widows had, and they were high performance balls as well.
BL.