So heres the deal, i have a dark magic 2 thats pretty beat, the rims have chips dings and dents and plays really bad, but even when i had it brand spanking new i just didnt like the feel of it, even with a thin lubed bearing in it it still plays responsive and vibes like crazy, how could this yoyo be their top seller? Even when it was brand new it was a pain the learn on. I bought a shutter and my god what a difference it was smooth, perfect weight, no vibe and it was Cheaper!!! Even now my shutter has lots of chips and dings it my most used yoyo i dont even touch my DM2 yet the shutter is still smoother. Not to mention the gap width is also terrible you have to use shims to get it to play fully unresponsive, centre track and koncave bearings are useless because the bearing wall is really high so it covers half the bearing meaning it plays the same as a flat.
Now this post is my opinion, i dont hate YYJ theres nothing wrong with them, and sure it could have been a lemon that i never picked up on because i was a noob when i got it.
Now i know what youre thinking “why didnt you just send it back”. Well as i said at the time i was a noob and didnt know what a smooth yoyo felt like i just thought that this was it. Anyone else feel the same?
the DM was great back in the early 2000’s. Compared to the budget metals of today the DM falls far short. There are tons of offerings in the high 30’s and low 40’s that just blow the DM away that there is no real reason to get 1, unless you are for nostalgia.
not the i hate it. but it is not one of my favorites. just never connected with me. i had other more modern yoyos at the time i bought it. but i am glad i have it and do occasionally throw it as well as all my other yos. i don’t think i have any yoyos that i never throw. they all get a little play over the course of a couple weeks. although recently i’ve been spending more time with spin tops so the yoyos are being neglected a bit.
I wont say the DM2 is good or bad, neither for it price nor its performance.
DM2 is a yoyo that archived so much in the world of competitive yoyoing, and modern yoyoing in general, a yoyo to own simply because of its milestones.
to my knowledge, all of YYJ metal plastic hybrid has its own signature vibe.
I could be wrong though.
The design of the DMII isn’t very different from the DM1 released all the way back in 2004. The Shutter came out in 2013 so it makes sense that it would be be more geared toward modern tricks. But I can still hammer out practically all of my tricks and combos on a DMII. And I don’t think of metal/plastic hybrids or even high-walled yoyos as being outdated, I think the right designs will always have a place.
Wheels, my experience is quite the opposite of yours, but then I prefer traditional shaped, legacy style yoyos. Never had a problem with response one way or the other. I can make it as responsive or unresponsive as I want simply by treating the bearing properly.
I am in the “Nat a fan” camp. I know there is mad love for YYJ but I just never threw anything outstanding from them. After so much hype for the DMII It was alright, but didnt click with me. I gave it back after a couple throws.
I feel that your yoyo just needed a good tuning. My dm2 has a lot of damage, but still plays insanely smooth. It’s not my favorite yoyo. It takes a bit more practice for me to get long tricks or combos down on it, but i feel my consistency on hitting the trick more smoothly is increased when using it for a while
Yeah, I have a nice collection of DMIIs, and it’s my first love yo-yo, so I think it’s great. It’s made to go from responsive to unresponsive, because it comes with 2 bearings, and versatile for the beginner. It’s solid, stable, spins long, and comes in so many different colors and cap designs.
What’s not to love? It’s my favorite player’s signature too. Word to the side burns and Dark Magic.
I got a DM 1 in a trade and I love that yoyo.
But I love it because it’s the one Andre used in all the trick videos I watched over and over and over when I was learning basic stuff.
It’s not be best performer in my collection, but I still use it sometimes when I want to test myself.
When I get cocky because I can do that trick that Andre did, I pull out the DM 1 and then I realize just how much I suck using it.
But really, you’re not comparing apples to apples here.
The DM series is over 15 years old at this point and a lot of progress has been made in the industry.
A lot of the style is different from what it was, and machining is a lot cheaper than it was back then.
You’re also comparing it to a Shutter which broke a serious price to performance barrier.
Metal throws were twice as expensive as the DM when it was in it’s prime and modern response systems where virtually non-existent.
Comparing the Shutter and the DM would only be useful in seeing how far the industry has come.
It would be like comparing my first car–an '84 station wagon–to the car I drive now.
While I appreciate the delicate diplomacy of your response, I feel that the point of this post is not being addressed. You make the important observation that the DM2 is a “Traditional shaped, legacy style yo-yo”. I agree. I might call the design “out of date”.
New yo-yo players often come to YoyoExpert as their first foray into yo-yo playing. What do they see when they come here for the first time? They see Andre shredding all the tricks on the trick-ladder using a Dark Magic. The YoyoExpert site has the Dark Magic plastered on the first page as the “Featured Product” for as long as I can remeber. What yo-yo do you think these new, uninitiated players will choose as their first yo-yo? Pretty good chance it will be a Dark Magic - I’ll wager.
If new players are to be “guided” into a first purchase, then shouldn’t that yo-yo be something that all can agree is a great playing, modern yo-yo?
This begs the question: Is the Dark Magic (1 or 2) actually a good “first yo-yo” in 2016?
I enjoyed using my dark magic 2 while I was learning basic tricks, now I hardly ever touch it. After I got my first full metal yoyo, it just didn’t seem as good.
To be fair, the Dark Magic shares the same page space as other feature products such as the One Star, Shutter, and a couple other “intro” throws. Plenty of information on yoyoexpert to explain why they are different and the thrower they best suit. It’s no secret when any of them came out, the pros who use(d) them, and what the feedback from the community is. I also really wouldn’t blame Andre for using his signature yoyo, which last I heard he genuinely likes, even in “today’s” market. Also, what’s out of date about an organic shaped hybrid plastic? It’s certainly not new, but far from out of date.
