Appropriate Pairing of Rubbers with Blades

There's no appropriate or inappropriate pairing, such notions are only for EJ's. Just use whatever suits your game. 

from the palio.co website

We have a few principles to go by. 1. must know the effects of the blade 2. must know the effects of the rubber 3. must know what one needs for that particular playing style. If one has an understanding of the above, we can look at the following simple matches. 1. soft blade and soft rubber -- can’t go wrong. Soft blade’s whipping effect and its better hold of the ball can compensate for the short range and soft shots of the soft rubber. 2. soft blade and hard rubber –- acceptable. The small sweet spot may prove to be tiring while blocking and half-volley are difficult but the long range and strong spin will be advantages. 3. hard blade and soft rubber – unacceptable. Soft shots and poor control unless he is pips-out hitter, which is perfect for that style. 4. hard blade and hard rubber – can’t go wrong. Should be very allround. 5. hard blade and long pips or pips=out on the backhand –should get the best out of the pips-out rubber. There is no detail concerning the medium hard blade or rubber but the principles remain the same.

Pairing is a personal thing and there is no right or wrong answer.  I know two players with rating of around 2200. Both use Primorac Carbon.  One uses hard Hurricane 3 and the other likes any soft rubbers.

There is really no right or wrong combinations of blades and rubbers. You must determine what feels right and plays well for you 

racquetsforsale wrote: Based on the responses so far, can it then be said that most if not all the discussions and recommendations on this forum regarding what rubber to pair with what blade for which style and the like are essentially invalid and pointless? Say someone is seeking advice for a setup. He's 1500 and prefers to loop far away from the table and the setup he has in mind is a soft, stiff blade paired with hard, untuned Globe 999. Or someone at the same level who plays close to the table, prefers to dictate with his short game, and the setup he has in mind is a hard, stiff blade with a tensor.  No one who's responded so far would think those are probably not (not "definitely not" because there are exceptions) appropriate setups for the respective applications and recommend something different?

The Japanese magazine 卓球王国 has just the right info EJs and non-EJs alike here may deem useful.

Put in a nutshell, there are four basic categories of setup - Spin, Speed, Control and Sound.  Each category is broken down into two further groups, which are made up of combinations of blades and rubbers of varying stiffness and hardness.

For speedy setups, the respective groups are smashers under the "initial velocity faction" and drivers under the "acceleration faction".  The former aims for one-shot winners and wants the ball to launch as early as possible whereas the latter looks to sustained rallies and favors the catapult effect.  For flat-hitters, the transient resilience of a blade upon impact is a matter between winning and losing.  As for drivers, a blade with a certain amount of flex is necessary for the proper blend of speed and spin.  The best way to achieve those goals is with a combination of stiff blade and hard rubber and a combination of flexible blade and hard rubber, respectively.

When it comes to spinny setups, there are the "bite" camp and the "brush" camp.  The former usually has trouble with touchshots and is more suited for mid-range to away-from-table play.  Soft sponge rubber in theory bites into the ball more readily, however, power loopers may run into the scenario where the increased bite leads to a decrease of power[bottoming out].  Choose a soft rubber of moderate hardness to pair up with a bouncy blade to strike a balance between attack and defense.  On the other hand, the latter has excellent touch and performs best close to the table.  Use either tacky rubbers or highly elastic tensioned rubbers with high friction topsheets and relatively hard sponges on blades with modest bounce to achieve higher dwell time.

There are two kinds of players who value controlled setups - those who emphasize on attacking with drives or smashes, and those more inclined toward defending with chops or blocks, and yet the skill level of both are not solid enough.  Allround blades with mild flex and modest bounce are desirable for the former as those help to compensate for the lack of consistency, but in which case stiff and highly resilient blades are out of the picture.  To make up for the lack of firepower, the use of highly elastic rubbers is within reason, but only limited to the soft and thin.  Then again, blades that fit seamlessly into one's own game are far more important for the latter as those tend to put the players' minds at rest, but that does not necessarily mean just low-bounce blades.  As defense is the mainstay of this style, there is no reason to use bouncy rubbers.

Last but not least, loud setups.  The fascinating sound associated with gluing is long gone ever since the ban of speedglue, leaving many dismayed.  The latest wave of rubbers, however, crank it up to a level close to that of glue era which, when coupled with the right blades replicate that lovely sound.  On the rubber side, we have those who have a nostalgia for gluing, who yearn for the unsurpassed touch and who are obsessed with the metallic sound.  On the blade side, there are those who welcome the "go green" propaganda, who turn instead to the blades for that feel, and who seek that peculiar change in tone.  For rubber junkies, the German Tensor is second to nothing in reproducing the so-called "metallic sound" when glued without tuners which, when paired with stiff blades increases in intensity.  In particular, carbon blades with fiber layers placed closed to the top ply are recommended to take full advantage of the "cork" sound.  For blade junkies, composite blades by many manufacturers are too good to pass up.  Also try out blades of different composition.  And for those who love the changing sounds blades make upon impact, by all means go for thin and soft rubbers.

And some final checkpoints - how to get the ideal "feel"

Rubber-wise:
Topsheet  Sponge        Speed          Spin variation
Hard    + hard   ...... Excellent    / Weak
Hard    + soft   ...... Excellent    / Satisfactory
Soft    + hard   ...... Satisfactory / Excellent
Soft    + soft   ...... Weak         / Excellent

Blade-wise:
Properties of Wood and Composite Material
Too many to list, check with the catalog descriptions

Placement of fiber layers
The closer they are to the top plies the heavier their influence on the feel

Number of ply
The more the bouncier and the stiffer the feel

Overall thickness
The thicker, the higher the bounce and the faster the vibration in the hand dies down

Thanks, zeio!

zeio wrote: The Japanese magazine 卓球王国 has just the right info EJs and non-EJs alike here may deem useful.

Oh dear - that's the set-up I have used for 20 years.

I think any list of setups recommendations means nothing compared to my own experiences. 

DDreamer wrote: Oh dear - that's the set-up I have used for 20 years.UnhappyConfused

Imago wrote: BTY Grubba Pro (soft flexible ALL blade) + 2 x Evolution FX-P (soft-sponged medium-grippy) is a very professional combination to me.

Hmm...let me put it this way.  By basement game, I meant what's in the video below:



It shouldn't be too hard to notice quite a few players in that video have either basement techniques - be they form, stroke, footwork, and timing, or basement tactics - mainly capitalizing on opponents' mistakes through variation, or both, but surprisingly over the years they have honed their feel enough to turn their unorthodox style into quite a formidable weapon even against players with proper training.  Ultimately, most if not all of their setups come from a select few renowned manufacturers.  From that standpoint, there is not a clear line separating what's professional and what's not.  By the same token, basement games are not necessarily inferior.

Half the players in your video would beat the majority on this forum and easily. They are decent players

zeio wrote: Hmm...let me put it this way.  By basement game, I meant what's in the video below:

DDreamer wrote: So I gather a say 2400 orthodox power looper would not choose to use a soft-flexible ALL blade with soft medium-grippy rubber?

Not very likely, at least not at the top of the list of options.  If you check out the paragraphs for speedy and spinny setups, and then the "ideal feel checkpoints" for soft topsheet plus soft sponge, your given setup is considered too mushy for a power-looper game.

DDreamer wrote: bluebucket wrote: Half the players in your video would beat the majority on this forum and easily. They are decent players Perhaps, but they wouldn't beat the ones with the correct officially sanctioned rubber/blade pairings.

Decent players by the overall standard of this forum maybe, but not in the eyes of ambitious players in Asia.  Below is a match between Hung Ka Tak, current World U15's no.3, and former CNT first-string member as well as former singles, doubles and teams gold medalist at the World Youth Games.



Compare that to the current local top 30s and top 60s.  It turned out the higher the gap in ranking the better the results.  What gives?  If playing skill is the dictating factor, there is no way that would have happened.

p.s. fixed last link


Edited by zeio - 02/03/2013 at 5:38am