I hated the new standard, and i hated the new standard two... so i was very hesitant about buying the black pearl since it had the same core. But decided to get it cause i got a good deal on it and drilled it the pin above fingers. man this ball is great. it seriously seems like it can find its way to the pocket from anywhere. the one problem is it leaving ten pins more than my other LM balls. But as long as i'm hitting the pocket on a sport shot thats the least of my concern. The coverstock is something that hopefully we'll see on other balls soon.

i did try new drillings with both balls.. after that i even talked to galen and johnnie jones. for some reason they just never reacted well for me after the redrills. at first it was pin below bridge then i did a more 'stable' drill like galen said and it still didnt respond well. on heavy oil the regular new standard was great most of the time. but once it dried a bit it was way over under. so i was only able to use it for 2 games max. of course i tried  polish and sanding it.. trust me i tried everything. BUT.. i love every other lane masters balls. at first i didnt like the buzz like i stated on another post.. but after redrilling it its one that i always have in my first bag. I talked to bill hoffman and saw him throw a NS2 with the pin at about 6 inches from his PAP. so maybe i'll pick another one up and try that drill on it for an inside shot.

Versatile Black Pearl.
Bowled in a local tourney where there a was 42 foot oil flat pattern.
Took my Black Pearl that was highly polished down to ruff buff or about 1000 grit.
Shot 919 for 4 games. 219, 222, 220, 258.
Now I now that with some surface the Black Pearl can be a beast of an oil ball.

Laybzz74

The Black Pearl is my favorite L/L ball now.
Have not shot under 600 since putting it in my hand.
The mid-lane read and control along with the high flare potential and big backend blend perfectly for my game.
Definately going to get a second one.