Author Topic: Buzzbomb first impressions (Read 2449 times)

SprayNpray · « **on:** February 15, 2008, 03:55:02 AM »

So the first thing I want to say is that I have tried a lot of equipment from lots of different companies, but I have always been a Saw guy at heart, so I was very excited to try this ball out based on everything I have read.

I started out in practice throwing my Black Widow Bite, with which I have been shooting the lights out the last 3 weeks since I got it. It gave me the normal reaction I am used to, so I felt like I could get a reasonable read of the Buzzbomb before we started the scoring.

I threw 3 or 4 shots in practice with the Buzzbomb, but for some reason I couldn't get comfortable with it right away, so I put it down and reached for the Bite to start the set. The first few shots in practice with the Buzzbomb told me that this ball is pretty grabby, but I was losing about 3-4 boards to the Bite, and one of the shots left a ringing 10, which is a rare leave for me in our house.

When we started the set, I was already disappointed. The Buzzbomb was supposed to blow the Bite away, but I didn't see that. I have seen the reaction the Buzzbomb gave me before, compliments of my Scorchin' Inferno. Now that is not really a bad thing; I killed with the Scorchin' for almost a full season and posted my highest season-ending average using that ball almost exclusively. Problem was that the Buzzbomb was supposed to be the Bite on steroids according to everyone here, and I didn't see that at all.

I have a basic label drill on my Buzzbomb, with a 3 3/8 x 4 1/2 layout on it, no x hole. This has been a money layout for me on most of my Saws, and I've had a lot of them. The ball flares a TON. I would say I was getting at least 5-6" in the oil, just by eyeballing the oil rings. I had left it in box condition, because balls with this finish (or close) work very well for me in our house- Solid Uranium, Scorchin', Strike Zone, Special Agent, Bite, etc.

This might be the first ball I have thrown that I will actually try putting a bit of polish on to see if I can get something closer to the Bite reaction-wise. To date, the Bite is the nuts and I am sorry to say that if I had to throw one shot for a million bucks, the Bite would be in my hands, no doubt. I need to throw the Buzzbomb WAY more than I did the other night to get a true impression of it- I think I only put around 6 frames on it, but so far it very much duplicates the reaction I have seen out of every other ball (very good balls) I have except my Widows.

Nothing I have said here is intended to mean that I don't like the Buzzbomb, it is just not what I was expecting and is therefore mildly disappointing. I am sure I will be able to go to this ball when I want a reaction like some of my other reliable stuff, or if my Bite starts to tone it down some.
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~SprayNpray

-formerly known as SawFreak
-official house hack

azus · « **Reply #1 on:** February 15, 2008, 12:01:57 PM »

Strong layout on an aggresive ball..It may use all energy before reaching the pins. Try it on a shot wich has some oil. And not THS oil, a real pattern with no dry boards.
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I like my coffee black, just like my metal.
What would Chuck Norris do?
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Cute Bunny! copy bunny into sig to help him achieve world domination

Rockbowler · « **Reply #2 on:** February 15, 2008, 03:09:44 PM »

I also have the Buzzbomb (drilled 5 X 3) and the BW Bite (drilled pin above ring and MB near the VAL). The Bite is a monster compared to the Buzzbomb. I threw the same line (20 to 7) with the Bite when I first practiced with the Buzzbomb last Wednesday night in our house shot with heavy oil in the heads and OB past the 5 board and it was washout city or 2-8-10. So the Buzzbomb was not a hook monster (in my experience) as some people say it to be (but that may be their experience). But it was a great ball once I get lined up (12 to 7) and carry was tremendous. It has the signature Lane 1 carry plus it is very controllable and predictable. And I would take power and control anytime as opposed to the biggest hooking monster around.

T-GOD · « **Reply #3 on:** February 15, 2008, 05:20:52 PM »

Spray, I would get away from the label leverage layout. It goes too long for bowlers trying to cross boards. Go with a 4 1/4 x 3 1/2, pin somewhere around the ring finger. You will see a total difference in reaction and what is expected from the ball. =:^D

Spider Ball Bowler · « **Reply #4 on:** February 15, 2008, 05:24:25 PM »

quote:
Strong layout on an aggresive ball..It may use all energy before reaching the pins. Try it on a shot wich has some oil. And not THS oil, a real pattern with no dry boards.
--------------------
I like my coffee black, just like my metal.
What would Chuck Norris do?
(\ /)
( . .)
c(')(')
Cute Bunny! copy bunny into sig to help him achieve world domination

A real pattern with no dry boards? Throw it non THS oil. Why buy a ball if you can't use it on what you normally bowl on? Sounds dumb to me.
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Formerly SGC300
"Never get into a pissing match with a skunk, cuz he'll piss all over you and like it."-Keyshawn Johnson on Terrell Owens

SprayNpray · « **Reply #5 on:** February 15, 2008, 05:24:42 PM »

I am probably going to mess with the cover before I try any other layouts. I'll post results once I have a chance to try the Buzzbomb with some polish.

On edit, this ball picked up a roll pretty well. I don't think putting a earlier-read type layout on it would do much to help cover more boards- seems counter-intuitive to me. Besides, I don't need to cover a ton of boards to be happy with a ball- this just wasn't the big bender I thought (hoped) it would be.

I also left the Bite in box condition, for what it's worth.
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~SprayNpray

-formerly known as SawFreak
-official house hack

Edited on 2/15/2008 6:34 PM

jkiser01 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 15, 2008, 05:32:46 PM »

T-God,

Are you saying to the right of the ring finger or above. Also, what about the CG?

I have one ready to drill up and want a strong reaction..

quote:
Spray, I would get away from the label leverage layout. It goes too long for bowlers trying to cross boards. Go with a 4 1/4 x 3 1/2, pin somewhere around the ring finger. You will see a total difference in reaction and what is expected from the ball. =:^D

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My first child.. Hannah Allison Kiser born 4/30/2007... My little angel..

T-GOD · « **Reply #7 on:** February 15, 2008, 10:34:20 PM »

jisker, I don't know you'r PAP, but generally speaking placing the pin just below the ring finger with the CG kicked out 1 - 1 1/2" more than the pin gives the ball a very strong reaction and works quite well. =:^D

Nicanor · « **Reply #8 on:** February 17, 2008, 09:35:33 AM »

I had the oppurtunity to throw the Buzzbomb and the Cell yesterday. The Buzzbomb was a dud as compared to the cell. I say that but will clarify why this happened I beleive.

The cell is box and the Buzzbomb was box. The Buzzbomb has no games on it and the cell probably 20. The Cell has the pin above the finger line MB in the strong position and the Buzzbomb has the pin below the finger line and the MB in the strong position. The shots thrown on a Christmas tree pattern whee the Bite was just shredding the rack (thrown by my 16 year old son). The Bite I believe is 4000 Ablaron the Cell at 2000 Ablaron and the Buzzbomb at 1000 Ablaron. So the surface preps are way different as are the drillings. I think is I adjusted the surface of the Buzzbomb it would playable on more conditions then in box condition. But I got the ball for heavier oil and drilled it for heavier oil and I'll wait to throw the ball on heavier oil before i do anything to the cover. I know I threw the Buzzbomb on a condition that it was not intended to be thrown on in box condition. I just wanted to make sure the ball fit. But I did order a Bite for myself after watching my Son throw the Bite, Attitud Shift and the Black Widow Solid (alternating shots).

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Nicanor (Ten On The Deck)

Brickguy221 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 17, 2008, 09:52:05 AM »

quote:
jisker, I don't know you'r PAP, but generally speaking placing the pin just below the ring finger with the CG kicked out 1 - 1 1/2" more than the pin gives the ball a very strong reaction and works quite well. =:^D

T-God, when you say...."placing the pin just below the ring finger with the CG kicked out 1 - 1 1/2" more than the pin", are you talking about the Pin being below the outside edge of RF or "under" RF or what?

When I tried Lane 1 balls 4-5 years ago, I didn't have a lot of good results with them other than the Emerald which worked pretty well with a label drill, so I sold all of them. Then upon trying them again with the first one about 18 months ago, I got away from pin beside RF and CG in palm or stacked under pin area and went to Pin under RF and also Pin almost all the way under bridge and CG kicked out as far as I could go with out having to have a weight hole, and "voila", Lane 1 balls suddenly came alive and became one of my favorite balls. I recently bought a Twisted Fury because the core is similar in some ways to Lane 1 cores and I felt due to that, if I drilled it in the area of Pin under RF that it might work well for me and it did.

So, my question is why does "under" RF area on Lane 1 cores work well for me, but the pin in the area of beside RF or beside and just below or above RF not work well for me? Yet this pin in the beside RF area works well for others. Again, why here also?
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"Whenever I feel the urge to exercise I lie down until the feeling passes away."

Brick

Edited on 2/17/2008 10:54 AM

T-GOD · « **Reply #10 on:** February 17, 2008, 10:21:05 AM »

brick, when I say under the ring, I mean directly under the ring figer hole. Why balls don't work that well with the pin next to the ring is probably because it's a stronger pin position and the ball maybe jerks too quick off the dry.
Spray,

quote:
Besides, I don't need to cover a ton of boards to be happy with a ball- this just wasn't the big bender I thought (hoped) it would be

You really aren't making much sense here. You're seemingly complaing the ball doesn't hook as much as the bite.

quote:
Problem was that the Buzzbomb was supposed to be the Bite on steroids according to everyone here, and I didn't see that at all.

You seemingly want more hook, but then you say...

quote:
I don't think putting a earlier-read type layout on it would do much to help cover more boards- seems counter-intuitive to me.

You my friend are talking in circles.

If you want to be happy with the ball, drill the ball with the pin directly just below the ring and kick the CG out 2". Drill a hole in the ball to bring it back to 1/2 side 1/4 finger and 3/4 top. You may want to take the surface up a bit to get more length and more backend. You will see how much more it hooks in the right places. =:^D

SprayNpray · « **Reply #11 on:** February 17, 2008, 11:15:24 AM »

T-God, I do appreciate you trying to help. I think Nicanor accounted for the difference in reaction I am seeing with his post- fact is that the 1000 grit finish on the Buzzbomb is probably causing the ball to burn too much energy, where the Bite at 4000 obviously has plenty left for the backend.

The point of my original post is that the hyperbole surrounding the Buzzbomb's ability to out-cover the Bite and every other ball was not what I experienced. HOWEVER, it does give a strong reaction and I have no doubt that I can be satisfied with it in current form.

When I go to buy a new ball, I try to get an idea of what I can expect before I buy it. I read EVERY post here that had anything to do with the Buzzbomb. I did not hear a single negative comment about it, and only how amazing it is, etc. I was naturally very excited to see for myself what everyone else was apparently seeing. When I didn't see anything I hadn't seen before, I was mildly disappointed, but then I remembered that what I have seen before isn't necessarily bad. Hope that makes more sense.

With the few shots I have put on the Buzzbomb, I can tell that it has a strong motor, and hits very hard. I didn't get totally comfortable with it, and haven't given it a real thorough look yet.

I normally don't like to alter OOB surfaces, because I like to use balls for what they were intended. Our house shot is pretty soupy, and balls in the 600-1000 grit range have worked extremely well for me in the past. However, after seeing what the Bite is capable of at 4000, my expectations have been somewhat altered.

My inclination at this point is to try a higher-grit surface and/or some polish, considering that I already have the reaction that the Buzzbomb currently gives me covered by about 5 other balls in my closet. I am hoping that with cover adjustments, I will be able to find that unique reaction that I was looking for when I bought it.

If that doesn't work, I'll try your suggestion on a new layout, and report back. I hope I haven't "talked in circles" this time.

One question also, was I wrong in my thinking that putting an earlier-read type layout like you suggested would not help me cover more boards? That was one of the reasons I chose label in the first place- to give the ball a little help getting down the lane and saving some energy for the back- has worked great for me on 2 different Solid Uraniums.
--------------------
~SprayNpray

-formerly known as SawFreak
-official house hack

T-GOD · « **Reply #12 on:** February 17, 2008, 04:47:52 PM »

Just because a ball comes with a certain finish oob, doesn't mean that it shouldn't be altered. Dull balls out of box are usually great when polished up. Don't be affraid to change the surface. It can easily be put back to 1000 grit using abralon.

An earlier read layout will not help you cover more board on a drier lane condition, but on an oilier one or deeper inside it will help you cover more boards. Hope this helps. =:^D

Author Topic: Buzzbomb first impressions (Read 2449 times)

SprayNpray

Buzzbomb first impressions

azus

Re: Buzzbomb first impressions

Rockbowler

Re: Buzzbomb first impressions

T-GOD

Re: Buzzbomb first impressions

Spider Ball Bowler

Re: Buzzbomb first impressions

SprayNpray

Re: Buzzbomb first impressions

jkiser01

Re: Buzzbomb first impressions

T-GOD

Re: Buzzbomb first impressions

Nicanor

Re: Buzzbomb first impressions

Brickguy221

Re: Buzzbomb first impressions

T-GOD

Re: Buzzbomb first impressions

SprayNpray

Re: Buzzbomb first impressions

T-GOD

Re: Buzzbomb first impressions