I've been using my LM/Legends stuff on old wood and medium synthetics (AMF) for a while now and this weekend I had the opportunity to bowl on Brunswick pro-anvilane synthetics (US Open house). All of the balls are oob and all are drilled 4 1/4 x 3 1/2 55 to 60 degree(approx).
The "old" wood lanes - 9:30 second shift:
Generally these lanes have transitioned to drier heads with carrydown, with the middle of the lane being drier than the outside. On this shot I have had success with the World Class (believe it or not - as long as I can play the oil that has pushed to the outside)and the Masterpiece. The World Class seems to handle the carrydown much better than the Big Bang and the Big Kahuna. When the heads and outsides are drier than normal I am able to move more left and soften my hand up a bit a play much deeper with the Masterpiece. I find that the Satisfaxion is not strong enough on the back with carrydown to take out the corner.
The medium (THS) AMF synthetics:
These lanes are generally fresh with very strong backends. On this lane/pattern the Big Kahuna and Satisfaxion really shine. The World Class seems to start rolling at my feet and I can't get enough length to even try to make it playable. I can use the Big Bang but I have to get too deep for my own comfort level. I can get more length out of it than the WC but the backend is so much stronger. The MP can be played almost on the same line as the Satisfaxion but the stronger cover of the MP seems to lose too much energy and doesn't take out the corner. I very rarely leave a corner with the Satisfaxion; my problem is the solid 8 and 9 pins!
The US Open house (Brunswick synthetics):
I haven't bowled here in about 4 years but what I remembered was that these lanes always played much tighter and straighter for me. I went to practice the day before my tournament and the pair I got had carrydown from the days bowling and the heads/mids were just oiled. I watched as the oil machine went down, almost to the range finders. No stripping, just re-oiling. Here's what I saw: Satisfaxion and MP reacted like plastic balls, all length. NS2 tried to start rolling but couldn't make the turn on the back. The BB, WC and BK all were useable on this shot. If I had to pick 2 balls that I would use on this shot it would be the BB and BK. I know that this seems to contradict what I said above about the WC being better in carrydown but I couldn't get it to drive enough for me into the pocket to get good carry. Maybe was burning off too much energy up front?
The next day for the tournament the lanes were fresh with much stronger backends. I had hit the NS2 with a burgundy pad and that made it useless for this shot. Rolled way too soon. I was able to get both the WC and BK into the pocket but couldn't carry the corner. My best look was a deeper line with the BB but I found that to be very speed sensitive. If I didn't stay very firm with it the BB was always looking to jump early on me. Was only able to post 1260 for 6 games. I had wished I took my Kong with me. One note on the BB. When it was in or near the pocket (light) there was no question about any pins standing - they were GONE! My problem was not being able to control all that power and coming in high for a 4 pin.
Anyway, sorry for rambling so long. I am going to change the WC cover. I will try the 2000 grit that Robb tried to see if I can get a bit more length and energy retention out of it. It seems to me that the WC has replaced the NS2 as being a stronger "control" ball. My take on a good 3 ball arsenal would be either the BB or WC for your oilier lanes, the BK for mediums and the Satisfaxion for medium/lighter, depending on the condition of the backends. I haven't tried the Buzz so I don't know how that would compare to the Satisfaxion.
One other thought: These balls do hit hard (as most manufacturers equipt do) and they do have that crack sound at impact (very satisfying
). With that being said, sometimes I feel that they hit too hard and don't deflect enough. There is always that solid 8 or 9 pin that keeps costing me a Legends/LM single game honor score!