The ball: 15 pounds, unknown top weight before drilling, 2-inch pin
The drill: Stacked with pin about 1.5 inches right of ring and CG directly below. Works out to about a 2.25 x 1.5 drill for me.
Me: PAP 4 over 3/8 up, tweener revs, good speed, good circumference coverage
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Bought this ball used off a fellow BR.com member to test whether I would like the Bomb cores or not. I decided against redrilling even though the layout was going to end up giving me short pin-to-PAP and CG-to-PAP numbers because I was wanting to use this ball late in a shift when I needed a smooth roll, anyway.
After the first test of the ball yielded some odd behavior, the next step was to do a resurface on the ball and freshen its polish. I took it up to 2000 and applied Storm's ReactaShine. That seemed to help the ball get through the heads better before wanting to turn.
Still, either the drill itself was just way too tame, or there's something about the Bomb core that doesn't match up to my game the way I expected, because this ball is usable only from outside angles and straight up the boards.
To confirm it, I drilled up a Hybrid Dirty Bomb with much friendlier pin-to-PAP and CG-to-PAP specs, and noted similarities in ball roll and performance.
The Dirty Bomb rolls much differently than Lane #1's Diamond- and WAS-cored balls. Those balls are, virtually every one of them, rolly and controllable. They arc to the pocket and carry strongly on all manner of light hits.
I don't get that look from the Dirty Bomb. It is angular, similar in motion to some of Storm's older block-plus-flip-puck symmetrical balls, but its window of good carry is much smaller. This ball does not carry light hits well, whereas it is a hallmark of the Diamond core series. High hit carry is below average but better than light hits. If there's a point of benefit, it's that the Dirty Bomb never gets robbed when directly in the pocket. It carries those full hits with authority and leaves few back-row pins in those situations.
Judging from what I've seen now in two Bomb-cored balls, I don't think these balls are as versatile as the Diamond-core balls are. It also appears they would favor people who rev the ball less and/or like some angularity downlane, and/or need the ball to help them achieve a move to the pocket.
My Dirty Bomb has a spot in my bag, but it's the same spot already occupied by at least three other balls in my house, with a very narrow application: Straight up the lane, usually up 5 or outside, when the lanes get so messy in the middle that I'm forced back out near the gutter. This ball couldn't play deep inside without leaving corners.
I am sure that if I redrilled it with different specs, I would get some difference in the reaction, but again, my experience with its brother, the Hybrid Dirty Bomb, confirms the basics.
The summary:
Positives: Tuneable coverstock, good from outside angles, offers angularity off the breakpoint, never gets robbed on full hits, max revs not necessary for performance.
Negatives: MIA on light and heavy hits, can't play the middle of the lane easily, heavy-rev types might not get optimum performance.
Overall: A decent piece of equipment for certain situations, but don't buy this if you're thinking it will be the same as your trusty Buzzsaw or new WAS-cored balls.
Jess
