The ball: 15 pounds, 3-inch pin, unknown top weight before drilling
The drill: 4 x 2.75, pin over ring, CG kicked towards VAL, weight hole near P3 beyond the VAL. Ball surface at 4000 Abralon plus Storm ReactaShine
Me: PAP 4 over 3/8 up, tweener revs, good speed, preference for high axis rotation (75+ degrees) and low tilt but can adjust
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Bought this ball because it was a Visionary pour, and because I'd heard great things about its ability to get down the lane and snap. I usually avoid true skid/snap balls but bowling on a shorter, drier pattern this year convinced me I needed this option in my bag.
I know from experience that Visionary makes good stuff and pours tunable covers, which made the HFP that much more attractive. Plus I was able to get a used ball at a good price.
My experience with the ball in its current surface prep is that it's good for light or medium-light only. It did not offer the kind of backend snap I was expecting. Prior to using, I did a full resurface (ball had what appeared to be 30-40 games on it previously), so there shouldn't be any "death" issues here.
Other gear drilled in similar fashion from Visionary has tended to produce a very strong reaction in the latter half of the midlane and through the backends. This ball, however, makes more of a smooth move but appears to act more like a ball with a 5-inch pin than one with a 4-inch pin-to-PAP distance.
However, I can't complain about the scoring. The controlability of this ball is quite good. It is smooth and offers few surprises. It also offers limited recovery from shots either missed right or pulled. Shots pulled tend to hang up in the oil and hit flat, whereas a stronger ball might cross over.
The issue here is that I wasn't wanting a dry-lane ball. I was wanting a ball that, even at 4000 plus polish, would read better for medium-dry. This isn't a problem other than in the respect that it means the baseline performance of this ball is weaker than I would have expected I suspect taking the ball to 2000 plus polish would fix this.
The other issue is that you won't be able to find one. Banger is either on hiatus or (more likely) gone for good. That's sad, because this ball has a fairly unique look on the lanes, has shelf appeal and, because it's basically a Visionary ball, will be tunable, durable and long-lived. Let's hope Visionary finds a way to get this one back out on the shelves.
Positives: Typical Visionary quality, tunable cover, perfect for drier conditions.
Negatives: Anything over medium isn't in this ball's comfort zone, not as powerful on the backend as advertised, not available anymore
Overall: A nice bowling ball in general for medium-dry that Visionary would do well to produce under its own nameplate.
Jess