Author Topic: Suggest a ball for me... (Read 1323 times)

JessN16 · « **on:** February 25, 2008, 09:24:33 AM »

I'm asking for help since I'm absolutely lost as to what I need to be throwing if I'm going to throw Lane #1.

My first ball was a Buzzsaw C/2 Pearl. Loved it, absolutely loved it. I probably put 500+ games on it and then gave it to a guy who put another 500 on it.

Then, I drilled up a Gold Nugget and finally an Enriched Uranium. To be kind, neither ball matched up to me in the least.

Both the GN and EU were particle pearls, so let's throw out all particle pearls right off the top. Obviously I can't go there.

My specs are tweener, good speed, PAP 4 over 3/8 up, mid-tracker with good circumference coverage. I can adjust tilt and rotation fairly easily.

I tend to have great luck with polished solids. As for pearls, I either have to rough them up, or pray. I haven't had good luck with a true, shiny pearl since the Ebonite Ice first came out.

I bowl at a house that is medium-dry, without much of a crown in the middle. Good lateral blend of oil, and the shot varies between 37 feet and 42 feet (the house puts down different lengths from time to time). I don't have any problem hooking the ball.

The only Lane #1 I've thrown at this particular house was my EU. Pin was next to the ring and CG kicked out to the right a little. The diamond was pointed/angled left of 12 o'clock. The pin distance was about 1.5-2 inches from CG and pin and CG ended up being about 3.5 inches each from my PAP. That didn't work. The ball was too speed-sensitive and had severe problems kicking out corner pins, 4s, and just the whole back row in general. The problem occurred regardless of surface prep.

It will be late spring/early summer before I buy another ball, but I'd like to get this forum's opinion on what to drill. A super hook monster won't have a place in my bag, most likely, because I don't see oil heavy enough for that unless I go out of town for a tournament, which is rare.

The other issue here is that I believe Lane #1 is a good company and I'd hate to think I can't throw their stuff (especially if I once had great luck with the C/2), but this is kind of my "last chance" effort because otherwise, I can't justify the expense.

Opinions?

Jess

LaneHammer20 · « **Reply #1 on:** February 25, 2008, 05:30:12 PM »

I personally would suggest you getting the Supernova, it is a solid with a light load of particle, they say it is pretty lengthy for a light load part solid, with a good midlane and strong backend. Others like it , i am very interested in getting one myself.

I would say go with a stacked drill with pin above your fingers, Just my 2 cents though
--------------------

Arsenal:
-Big Bang
-Buzz
-Hawgzilla
-Spare Tire

FOR SALE:
Faball Black Hammer 16lb

Saw Mill · « **Reply #2 on:** February 25, 2008, 08:29:19 PM »

I too woould suggest the Super Nova or even the XP. I also like the Nebula or the Evolution. Keep reading for all the suggestions.

Dave
--------------------
Romans 1:15&16; "So much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to Greek!

F.O.S. Members, Our Assignment Should We Choose To Accept It, Polish and Sharpen Up Our Saws; Pins Have Been Spotted, and We Are To Saw 'Em Up!!

Bomb Squad Certified and Licensed Diamond Cutter

SprayNpray · « **Reply #3 on:** February 25, 2008, 09:19:47 PM »

The Tsunami is a great ball and is the polished solid you are looking for. It offers one of the smoothest and most predictable reactions I have ever seen out of a bowling ball. It for me is a get-out-of-jail piece. Best part is, you can probably get a great deal on one on eBay or elsewhere right now, so the expense part isn't quite as much of a problem.

I won't comment on anything I haven't thrown, so I can't say anything about the Supernovas.

You might also try the Solid Uranium or G-Force solid, though they don't come polished. Of the two, I prefer the Solid Uranium, but both balls are excellent, in my opinion. Even, strong reactions on both.
--------------------
~SprayNpray

-formerly known as SawFreak
-official house hack

kens101 · « **Reply #4 on:** February 25, 2008, 09:21:10 PM »

I would also suggest the Supernova. By your comments, I am probably a close match and have had a lot of good games from the Supernova. I have it drilled cg out by 2 and it is a very controlled move to the pocket.

Unfortunately other then the Buzzbomb and G-Force (both heavy oil), there is really no non pearl or particle ball in the current lineup.

T-GOD · « **Reply #5 on:** February 25, 2008, 09:47:07 PM »

I would go with the pin over the middle finger and the CG kicked out 1" from the center of your grip. This layout should work on almost any ball for you with the coverstock and core matching up to the amount of oil you'll see. If you see a lot of oil, a stronger ball will work. If the laes are a bit drier, then a weaker ball will be needed.

But, don't try to make the ball do what another ball does, just use it the way it rolls and line up accordingly. =:^D

JessN16 · « **Reply #6 on:** February 25, 2008, 09:57:39 PM »

quote:
I would go with the pin over the middle finger and the CG kicked out 1" from the center of your grip. This layout should work on almost any ball for you with the coverstock and core matching up to the amount of oil you'll see. If you see a lot of oil, a stronger ball will work. If the laes are a bit drier, then a weaker ball will be needed.

But, don't try to make the ball do what another ball does, just use it the way it rolls and line up accordingly. =:^D

Pins above the fingers/bridge tend to work a lot better for me than pins to the side or below.

However, a pin over the middle tends to make balls flare too little for me. I've had those drills on a DynoThane Element Au-79 (hated it, plus I clipped the thumb hole sometimes) and now on an Ebonite Matrix Conquest (stable ball, but for dry lanes only).

My Gold Nugget had the pin at 1:30 above and about an inch up from the ring finger. When the ball hooked up, it was fine. Perhaps I should say "IF" the ball hooked up. It was extremely touchy.

I use a pin-above-bridge, CG-in-palm drill on a lot of stuff and it's never let me down. Storm Thunder, Roto Retro Resurrection, Ebonite Ice, all have this drill, and I tend to really bowl well with it.

However, looking at Lane #1's drill sheets, I wasn't sure whether this would be applicable in the Lane #1 universe. I prefer to not pass judgment on what any ball company says does or doesn't work for them, and I do want everything to go "by the book." So if pin-over-bridge works differently on a Lane #1 piece, I don't want to drill it that way.

Comments?

Jess

p.s.: Thanks to all who have responded so far. Please keep them coming as you have time.

SprayNpray · « **Reply #7 on:** February 25, 2008, 10:19:30 PM »

Ok as far as layouts go, my experience is that with Diamond cores, WAS cores, and C2s, label works well. On Bomb cores, label is a turd; you have to stack or kick out the CG and use an X-hole on these. Again, this is MY experience.

Here are the balls I have used from Lane #1 with type of core and the layout I used:

Super Carbide Bomb- Bomb core- label
Super Carbide Bomb- Bomb core- CG out w/ x-hole
Blueberry- C2 core- label
Pearl Carbide- C2 core- don't remember the layout

Silver Diamond- /C core- CG out no hole
Emerald Pearl- C2 core- pin under middle finger CG in palm
Emerald Pearl- C2 core- label
Cranberry- raised nugget in diamond- label
Hybrid Dirty Bomb- Bomb core- stacked no hole
Dirty Bomb- Bomb core- stacked w/ hole
Cherry Bomb- Bomb core- label
Cherry Bomb- Bomb core- CG out w/ hole
Bullet- cut-off Diamond core- label
Uranium- Diamond- label
Solid Uranium- Diamond- label
Solid Uranium- Diamond- label
Pearl Carbide Bomb- Bomb- label
Tsunami- H20 (diamond) core- label
Solid Cobalt Bomb- Bomb- stacked no hole
Pearl Cobalt Bomb- Bomb- stacked no hole
Clear Buzzsaw- Diamond- pin in palm
G-Force- WAS- label
Buzzbomb- Bomb- label

As you can see I have thrown a lot of Saws and have tried different layouts on different types of cores. You can bet if you see a ball on this list that has some version of a Bomb core (there are many) and it was drilled label it was a turd. The Bomb cores that were stacked w/ holes worked the best for me, followed closely stacked w/ no hole, followed by Bomb cores w/ CG out layouts.

On a whole new level is any version of a Diamond core with a label layout- this has been pure gold for me; especially the Uraniums and the Tsunami. Hope this helps you decide what you want to do.

--------------------
~SprayNpray

-formerly known as SawFreak
-official house hack

Edited on 2/25/2008 11:21 PM

Edited on 2/25/2008 11:49 PM

novawagonmaster · « **Reply #8 on:** February 26, 2008, 09:01:06 AM »

If you like solids, the Cobalt Solid was a good piece, and I know you can still pick up new ones for a bargain. The Supernova is also a good ball, but may be too strong if you are truly playing a lighter pattern. I believe the XP would be a good fit for what you have described.
--------------------
Jon (in Ohio)

Playmaker · « **Reply #9 on:** February 26, 2008, 01:52:49 PM »

The Evolution is great for these conditions.......
--------------------
WILLIE G.
The Playmaker
Member of the F.O.S.

Lane #1:
G-Force
Evolution
Solid Cobalt Bomb
Blk Cherry Bomb
XXL
Tsunami (2)
H2O
Pro Purple
Crystal Diamond

JessN16 · « **Reply #10 on:** February 26, 2008, 02:33:37 PM »

I think I've got it down to these three:

1. G-Force Supernova
2. Tsunami H20
3. G-Force solid, plus polish (I like the looks of the pearls but I'm going to avoid pearls altogether for now).

Now, with those choices narrowed down, would anyone like to compare and contrast just those three, and describe what different drillings might do? (thanks, SprayNPray, for your comments on that last fact)

Jess

SprayNpray · « **Reply #11 on:** February 26, 2008, 10:36:14 PM »

Having seen a couple of your other posts, I think the G-Force with polish will not be quite what you are looking for. I have read your posts talking about liking the smoother, more predictable reactions as opposed to squirty or angular reactions. I haven't tried the G-Force polished, but OOB it is a beast. It is a very aggressive ball and even in box finish it actually has some pretty good angle in the reaction (I bowl on med-heavy usually).

It also sounds like you bowl on medium conditions based on the stuff that has worked for you. Again, I won't comment on the Supernova because I don't have the experience with it, but the Tsunami IS the choice here, IMO.

It comes factory polished, so that takes out the potential variables of polishing a G-Force for yourself. It has the Buzzsaw roll, and it is as predictable in reaction as any ball I have seen.

To me, based on what I have read, if ever there was a match-up that should be made, it is you and the Tsunami. Not trying to push you in any direction, but this is the choice that I think will meet your expectations and hopes the best.
--------------------
~SprayNpray

-formerly known as SawFreak
-official house hack

JessN16 · « **Reply #12 on:** February 26, 2008, 11:27:29 PM »

quote:
Having seen a couple of your other posts, I think the G-Force with polish will not be quite what you are looking for. I have read your posts talking about liking the smoother, more predictable reactions as opposed to squirty or angular reactions. I haven't tried the G-Force polished, but OOB it is a beast. It is a very aggressive ball and even in box finish it actually has some pretty good angle in the reaction (I bowl on med-heavy usually).

It also sounds like you bowl on medium conditions based on the stuff that has worked for you. Again, I won't comment on the Supernova because I don't have the experience with it, but the Tsunami IS the choice here, IMO.

It comes factory polished, so that takes out the potential variables of polishing a G-Force for yourself. It has the Buzzsaw roll, and it is as predictable in reaction as any ball I have seen.

To me, based on what I have read, if ever there was a match-up that should be made, it is you and the Tsunami. Not trying to push you in any direction, but this is the choice that I think will meet your expectations and hopes the best.
--------------------
~SprayNpray

-formerly known as SawFreak
-official house hack

That's kind of the way I'm leaning, anyway. The other two appear to have very aggressive coverstocks.

I actually bowl on medium-dry. The best ball in my bag right now is a MoRich Awesome Finish with a drill pattern that is medium-leaning-tame.

What I wanted to avoid was getting a Lane #1 piece that was *too* tame. My biggest problem with both the EU and the GN was over/under, specifically the under.

The only negative I've heard about the Tsunami is that in the hands of some bowlers I've come across, it was too sensitive to carrydown and perhaps was a little too mild overall. However, those experiences were at my last house, which was medium-heavy overall and very wet/dry.

Next step would be to select the drill pattern. SprayNPray, I noticed you are a fan of label on this particular ball. I believe my Buzzsaw C/2 Pearl was also a label drill and I liked it very much. I'm considering label or stacked -- comments/comparisons?

Jess

p.s.: On a completely unrelated note, what the blue heck is a "thumb leverage" drill? I'm looking at the drill sheet for a Tsunami on Lane #1's site right now.

crazyyankee · « **Reply #13 on:** February 27, 2008, 08:46:52 AM »

jess i drilled my tsunami 4x4 stacked and hit it with 1000 abralon and i have no over and under issues with it.drilled an enriched uranium the same way and like it too.when i first got the enriched i did not like it so i hit it with 360 abralon then brunswick factory polish.any lane 1 ball i bought that was factory polished i had to redo myself because of over and under.its like from the factory they had to much polish on them.

--------------------
Allen Greenberg

FOS lane 1 destroy's the pins.
cherry bomb
solid uranium
g-force
enriched uranium
tsunami
red xxxl buzzsaw

SprayNpray · « **Reply #14 on:** February 27, 2008, 11:04:12 AM »

I was surprised when I looked at the drill sheet and it recommended placing the Offset Nugget locater pin left of the thumb-hole. At the time I was looking for a 2nd shift ball that would be controllable when our medium-heavy shot started to break down, so I didn't want to go with the stacked drill, which seemed the most aggressive on the drill sheet.

I chose the label because it was slightly toned down from the stacked according to the numbers on the drill sheet, but would still give a strong reaction, in my estimation. It turned out to be the perfect choice. I could also use the ball on the fresh shot if I moved right a little bit, and I did that with great success many times when I couldn't find a consistent swing shot.

I would agree that it probably isn't a good choice for carry-down. The thing this ball does the best is control the breakpoint, not blow a hole in the pattern or ignore carry-down. Once you find a line, you'd be hard pressed to see the ball get too jumpy or surprise you with a through-the-nose split on what you thought was a good shot. I get that a lot with other balls.

Another suggestion which I have not tried is a semi-pin-axis drilling, which I have seen several users here try. Apparently this is another great layout for control, but I would imagine that you need a decent amount of hand for this. For me, label is the nutz on this ball.

The Thumb Leverage layout says "roll out" to me. I could be wrong since I haven't tried it, but I suppose it could be useful on the right shot.
--------------------
~SprayNpray

-formerly known as SawFreak
-official house hack

Edited on 2/27/2008 12:06 PM

Author Topic: Suggest a ball for me... (Read 1323 times)

JessN16

Suggest a ball for me...

LaneHammer20

Re: Suggest a ball for me...

Saw Mill

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SprayNpray

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kens101

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T-GOD

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JessN16

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SprayNpray

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novawagonmaster

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Playmaker

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JessN16

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SprayNpray

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JessN16

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crazyyankee

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SprayNpray

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