At what point do you stop caring about vibe? How often do you guys ding your yoyos and get them vibey?

General Yo-Yo
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So I started yoyoing back in October last year. I’m relatively new but once I got to know about yoyo vibe I got somewhat obsessed. Honestly, vibe doesn’t improve the performance of the yoyo in any way. A vibey yoyo doesn’t make tricks any less landable, but still, every now and then I just really enjoy the glass smooth feeling of a yoyo against my finger.

I got really good at tuning and I believe I can tune most yoyos to at least a 9/10 smoothness but it takes a lot of time. Also, as I tuned more and more yoyos, I realized how easy it is to get a yoyo to vibe.

Unscrewing a yoyo even once can make it vibe. It’s not like the axle has 0 clearance in the yoyo halves, so if the axles are even slightly off axis it makes it vibe. Even for a new yoyo it gets vibey once you unscrew and rescrew it. Of course a new yoyo is more consistent in its smoothness, retaining a 8-9/10 on an effortless rescrew but with tuning it can achieve a 10/10 smoothness.

I could tune most monometals to a 9-10/10 smoothness no matter how vibey they are, and I believe it is because as long as I align the axle straight I can get it pretty much perfectly smooth.

However, when it comes to bimetals it’s a different story. One ding makes it vibe unlike monometals which are pretty resistant to vibe. Also, if the steel rims are slightly dislodged, they often become permanently vibey as misaligned rims won’t be fixed with a straight axle. Even after hammering in the rims to be pretty much perfectly aligned visually, vibe is still present unfortunately.

As more time goes by, It’s rather natural to get tired of tuning out vibe I guess. Also, as I practice more and more difficult slack tricks and whips, it becomes easier to drop and ding the yoyo, and often times I knock my yoyo with my hand while whipping the string.

I dinged my Edge Infinity into oblivion today, and one of the rims got dislodged. I gently hammered it into place, and it is visually perfect in its alignment but vibe is still present. Hammering rims in worked for all of my other bimetals but it doesn’t seem to work for the edge infinity as I can’t tune the vibe out anymore. It most likely is the result of the rims being permanently dislodged in a micro scale or maybe the super thin aluminium walls being ever so slightly disfigured.

It’s still around a 7/10 smooth so I guess I don’t really care anymore. Actually, there is pretty much negligible string vibe. It’s just felt slightly on the finger when I do grinds and do the fingernail test but since that doesn’t really happen during normal play so I’m probably just gonna let it slide.

However, it’s kinda disheartening that my most expensive throw is vibey.

How often do you guys ding your throws? Do your bimetals have vibe after dinging them? Do you just let them slide or do they drive you crazy?

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for most yoyo is a hobby, and hobbies are fun (or suppose to be). if going OCD on your yoyo and tuning is fun for you go for it. it is a good feeling when there is no vibe.
but at the same time vibe will always be there. some acceptance required, don’t let it affect how you feel about yoyoing.

maybe you could make a YouTube to show your process, I know I could use the help

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I’m over a year in and love the hobby.
Yep! I get guud yo-yos because of sellers vibe.
Maybe the seller don’t like it- but I don’t care about it as much as others… unless it’s like sting tied to a washing machine😂

I ding em and get upset briefly, turning them, examining them, caressing them to see if it’s ok. It is disappointing, but it’s not the end of the throw for me.

In my fantasy world post covid maybe you run a tuning shop for yoyos, you sound pretty good at it :+1::+1:

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I don’t go waaaaay back in the history of yo-yos… but let’s go back about 24 years.

Back in the late 90’s, the ‘smoothest yoyo’ was the least ‘vibes’ yoyo. I honestly don’t recall having any miraculously vibe free yo-yos🤔.

Many of the most notable trick creators at the time, were using: Raiders, Renegades, Freehands, Saber Raiders etc…

If you had any of those yo-yos that was completely free of vibe, you were holding a Miracle.

The Famous Spindoctors (Big Dave, the Longoria Brothers, Gabe Lozano, Paul Escolar, Spencer Berry, Johnnie Delvalle, Nathan Crissey, etc.) were cranking out dozens of amazing yoyo tricks with $10 to $20 yo-yos.

When I started modding yo-yos back around 1997/98, I would ask a whole lot of questions to the ‘players’ tearing up the scene. I Never(like in never ever, never) heard a single player voice any concerns regarding vibe messing up their trick making flow.

I noticed over time that the vibe concern got stronger as the retail prices of newer yoyo releases got higher. There were a few $100 plus yo-yos back then. But most yo-yos cost less than $50.
As the prices went up, so did the expectation that yo-yos should be smoother because they cost more.

When yo-yos started crossing the $200+ territory, no doubt people wanted to get vibe free quality for their money. And the higher the cost, the greater the concern about losing money because you may have to sell a yoyo for ‘less’ because the potential buyers are more demanding than you🤓.

I am not saying I totally agree/understand or not. But I must admit, when the Dazzler first came out, of course I had to have one, lol. Still modding a lot at that time, I had to get one just to see how Amazing it might be? And I was certainly concerned that it was possible I could spend $600 on a yoyo that might shake my teeth loose. I just felt that if a $600 yoyo is that precise, they should make sure it floats vibe free like a feather on the wind. I still have that Dazzler. It is still amazing in my opinion. But I have $100 yo-yos that are technically smoother. But I accept the little Dazzler vibe. Because the yoyo is still a little beast.

Bottom line…? The Fantasy is that All yo-yos that roll off your hand are perfectly vibe free.

The reality is that absolute smoothness/to/various degrees of vibe can occur in any yoyo at most every price point.

Some designs are borderline weight powered and vibe because they are on the edge of the power band. They are beasts with a heartbeat.

Seems that vibe may be more critical when reselling than to the first buyer. I get that too. If I buy a yoyo for $300 and it plays great but has a tiny shake(vibe), I may still really enjoy it. But if I decide to sell it, I have to explain that it has a vibe(fingernail) or vibe(coming up the string) or both. A disadvantage, obviously to many.

All Makers should be committed to top shelf quality control to release ‘A’ grade yo-yos. And clearly state/mark b grade yo-yos.

And then of course there is the player induced vibe caused by smacking the yo-yos into whatever?

A little vibe is way overrated. Too much time is spent talking about vibe and not enough time spent on just throwing the yo-yos and learning tricks and having fun.

Too many yoyo enthusiasts live in fear of wasting money on yo-yos that aren’t Perfect.

Actual yoyo players get yo-yos and throw them.

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Wise words. I still have to admit to being a little averse to vibe in modern 0A play, and some yoyos that are loud and vibey (despite tuning) get less play than they otherwise should. But if im in the zone and trying to land tricks, none of that matters and those slight vibes don’t interfere in any noticeable manner. Though sometimes you just want high tuned modern precision and don’t want that old-school vibe. ‘Perfect’ yoyos have their aesthetic place.

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Like others, I have history and all yoyo’s vibed when I started, so grew with it. As such it doesn’t bother me at all. I don’t tend to smack my throws around that much but I’ve dinged a few. It’s initially annoying but if it still goes up and down without setting on fire then it’s fine by me.

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I stopped caring about dings and vibe about a year and a half to two years into yoyoing. It was when I became a better player and realized vibe doesn’t matter, and dings are just a sign that the yoyo is getting some good use. Sure dings and vibe hurt resale/trade value, but I appreciate the fact that I got more use out of a yoyo when I’m reading to sell or trade it.

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Get good vibes, play wood!

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Compared to 10 years ago or even longer than that everything is pretty damn smooth these days. I don’t mind a bit of vibe if the yoyo is mint. I do however get a little salty at making a yoyo vibe through damage. To me it’s hard to love it in the same way.

To me though the thing that really screws up a yoyo is the surface damage. I’d take a little bit of extra vibe over big gashes in the aluminum any day. I’m pretty good at not dinging stuff these days though. I have a few yo’s from back in the day with damage that would make anyone sad mainly my viszilla and magnum.

PXL_20210311_152900728
PXL_20210311_1529007283840×2160 1.6 MB

(visz is still dead smooth. Magnum… not so much.)

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I think this pretty generally holds true. As you progress you’ll start to focus more on other factors. I’ve been in the hobby since somewhere in the 90’s, and can vouch for what @yoyodoc said, vibe was not a topic of concern until relatively recently.

I don’t really notice or worry about vibe unless it is severe enough to harm the yoyo’s performance. I appreciate a little vibe since it helps me sense how much spin is left and tells me sooner if I get a bit off plane in the middle of a combo. I love the unique vibe that old yoyojam hybrids have, it’s nostalgic. It is a different matter if I’m paying top dollar for a new yoyo of fairly standard design and material where smoothness is the expectation.

It is very satisfying to throw a yoyo as hard as I can and have it dead smooth, but when I really get into playing whether or not it is dead smooth is not on my mind, learning and improving or relaxing and getting into the flow are there instead. Funny thing is the yoyos I most easily get into that relaxed flow state are the hitman and nightmoves, yoyos I’ve owned and played for about 20 years. Yeah they vibe quite a lot, but the feel and feedback they provide me is so hooked into my brain that I don’t have to focus on what the yoyo is doing, instead I just play. I’ve noticed that players who got into the hobby during the early days of CLYW feel the same way about their unique characteristics. Yoyos that play perfectly vibe free always feel like they demand a certain amount of attention from me.

It will always feel awful to damage an expensive yoyo to the point of vibe, there’s not much to do about that other than pick and choose when/where you throw certain yoyos. High performance bimetals can be rather fragile, as you’ve sadly learned. They push the limits of materials, manufacturing and physics and are much more sensitive to damage. The fact that they can be mass produced and made available while being smooth and defect free is an incredible feat.

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I must have a really tolerant nature. Vibe has never bothered me. It carries into other areas. I’m a musician. I know keyboardist that obsess about piano keyboards. They cannot play unless the height, key size and action is perfect. I know drummers who refuse to play electronic drums because the feel is different and they cannot tolerate that difference. My first drum set was a collection of plastic boxes spread around my bed. I’ll play piano on any keyboard as long as the keys do not stick. I’ll throw yoyo as long as it binds consistently and spins a long time. Spin time and bind consistency is much more important than a bit of vibe.

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I have so many examples in my collection of glass smooth yo-yos, I don’t tolerate vibe anymore just because I don’t have to.

For me, a modern yo-yo that vibes from the factory is a hallmark of inferior craftsmanship - period. While some may find vibe tolerable or even desirable, to me it’s like a calculator that occasionally gives you wrong answers – it shouldn’t do that.

So, if it vibes and I’m not emotionally attached to it, it’s adiós vibración. :wave:

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one cat’s fingernail vibe is another’s woodchipper…

a little bit doesn’t bug me, and generally i know when to expect it. don’t like visual woodchipper vibe though

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Same here. I’ve thrown one glass smooth throw in my life and eventually it got nail vibe. All my others, new or otherwise, have had some sort of vibe. I treat my throws with respect but I also expect to get some vibe down the line. I don’t expect my cars panels to not have a little vibration after 250,000 miles.

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I grew up Yoyoing in the era of vibe really not mattering at all, and nobody ever even tested for vibe when getting a new yoyo or throwing a new one.

As time has gone on people definitely seem to care more but overall for me I just don’t mind it. I actually like feeling a bit of vibe in my Yoyos as it has a more alive feel to me if that makes sense. I can appreciate the dead smooth Yoyos, but I also end up liking when it does develop a slight vibe due to a drop or ding.

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That’s a fair point. As yoyos get expensive, I guess it’s natural to expect something vibe free.

Actually, when I got my first yoyo back in October which wasn’t that long ago, I didn’t even know the concept of vibe so I just got my yoyos and threw them. I snapped a string on the first day of getting it, practicing breakaways and binds but I didn’t care and kept throwing.

I guess the most important thing is in the throwing aspect. Once I acknowledged what vibe is, I started obsessing about it but I’m getting tired and I think I’ll just end up living with it without caring. It’s not like I’m gonna sell my yoyos, as I only get yoyos I want to keep forever.

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I’ve seen a few videos of people intentionally dinging brand new yoyos to either give them vibe or prove a point…

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Where is that video of Steve Brown dragging a dozen or so yoyos across the ground?
Edit: going to try to summon @unklesteve to see if he still has it

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They must have a decent yoyo budget!

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I seem to remember that Jei did it to a counterfit high end yoyo, but I may be getting my videos confused.

I also recall someone dragging their brand new Theodore on concrete for a couple of minutes as soon as they got it.

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