I already bought the Di Base 2. I feel I may have upgraded too quickly.
Currently I have the old maverick and an old YYJ (not sure model, but an older unresponsive plastic yoyo, got for free from a fellow player) the maverick is fine for super basic tricks, but start doing stuff like the breakaway or man on a trapeze (still basic I know) and it goes sideways more often than not. never landed a trapeze, and when I get close, the second it touches the string it snaps back into my knuckles.
The older YYJ is nicer, I can land the trapeze fairly often (every couple attempts), and I am getting the bind down fairly decently. It’s spin time is awfully short. Off of a good solid throw, I get maybe 20-30 seconds when i just let it sit there. I’m sure the bearing could use a cleaning job.
anyways, my point is, I’m still pretty basic in my ability, but I wanted something that could perform better than my current throws. so I went with the highly recommended Di Base 2, and ignored all the plastics. did I make a mistake? should I shelf the Di Base 2 for a while and find a better plastic than I currently have to get better with? If so, what do you guys recommend?
The Di Base 2 is a fine yoyo to level up with. It’s good enough to get you through everything but not so pricey that you’ll have a heart attack when you inevitably ding it. If you’ve already got it, I say play it.
It sounds like you need to really work on improving your bind. I wouldn’t necessarily worry about upgrading too quick and trying to “correct” with another purchase. I still would recommend you get a decent plastic though, but that’s not absolutely necessary.
Some advice:
I would see about cleaning the bearing out properly. It’s become my routine to clean out all new yoyo bearings when they come in now. That can help a great deal. This may be all the help you need. I have had a marked improvement in performance from all my C3 yoyos after cleaning the bearing out.
As far as plastics, which I still recommend:
Of course, I’ve been pushing the Classic with an upgraded bearing and ether siliconing the response or using response pads in it. Cheap, rugged, reliable, good size, weight and shape for me.
At the same time, there’s so many other just as decent models. Let me rattle off a few, in no particular order for consideration. Please take into consideration I only recommend from that which I have.
Adegle YoYo PSG or Asteroid. PSG is more well rounded for more play styles(1A, 3A, 5A) while the Asteroid seems more of a 1A beast. If you go PSG, I have found I like the Gem series better.
YYF Stackless PSG, Protostar or Northstar. The only reason I don’t recommend the ONE or WHIP and ONEStar is they are too light for you for now and no other reason. Of those, I’d stay probably with the Protostar and Northstar. The Protostar is faster and lighter while the Northstar is slower and heavier. If you can’t make up your mind, despite me liking the Northtstar better, get the Protostar. Both are bad grinders but that shouldn’t be a concern for now.
YYJ Classic(with upgrades), Legacy II, Chaser, Trigger or DM2. There are others in the DM2 price range worth considering as well. These all have 2 bearings except the Trigger. The Legacy II is an all plastic DM2. The Chaser is odd but good because it’s heavy but FAST yet is light on the string, which says a lot for a yoyo in the 73 gram range. The Trigger is unresponsive only and for 1A is just fine but do note that many people(mostly 5A players) have busted these due to bad landings on the edge of the rims, causing the yoyo to crack and/or shatter. I still have two Triggers and I enjoy them a lot. The DM2 is the cop-out “go to” yoyo, but even so, it’s a fantastic yoyo worth having, great to play and the high-wall inside helps with learning. I have 4 DM2’s, so I guess it goes without saying how much I like these.
C3 YoYoDesign Alpha Crash: The only bad thing is the smooth surfaces are what makes this a bad grinder. Other than that, amazing!
Keep in mind the more you play, the longer your sleep times will be. I remember starting out with my DM2 and getting 22 seconds, and now I’m over 3 minutes with it. This can only be fixed by practice and hard work. It will come. Within a month, you could be over 45 seconds. Just don’t rush. Enjoy the journey.
Thanks for the input guys. I think I’ll be ok with my current plastic. Just did a time test, got just over a minute. I ordered some lube with the C3, so I think I’ll clean the bearing in both when it comes in.
It’s true I need to work on my bindings. I can get it to bind just fine, but i always get this 3 inch tail hanging out every time. so I’ll work on that. Again thanks for the input, both of you.
My suggestion is just practice practice practice. I went straight to a dv888 from a Duncan butterfly that I found from my childhood lol. I looked online and figured I would try these new yoyos and it was very frustrating. I was watching all these little kids explain how to bind a yoyo and it took me a few day to finally get it lol. I just stuck with it. You will get the hang of it. Keep at it
How are you doing your bind? Off a trapeze or an undermount? The undermount works better and has less snag issues.
Either way, you’re more likely to get a tail from a bind done from a throw off the break-away. You just have to figure out how much string to drop into that gap. This tail is normal and don’t worry about it TOO much for now. This will improve over time.
If you get a chance, find out what the plastic is.
I’ve tried to find out what plastic it is, but I have been unsuccessful. All it says on the side is yoyojam and a us patent number. I looked up the patent and it never gives the name of the yo yo.
I’m binding from a trapeze, but not from a breakaway (not good enough at landing it). I have been getting lots better at binding past couple days, and I can get a lot of practice in a day, a couple hours. I yo-yo while watching t.v. after work.
EDIT: studio 42: just reading your sig. My major in college is audio production. Excellent career choice you have there.
Anyhow, watch this video on binding, you’ll thank me later:
Ignore the patent on the yoyo, it’s more for how the rim is attached or something. Take a couple of pictures and show them here. That’s the best bet to get an answer.
I’ve done all that stuff: Theater, radio, television, major broadcast, live sound(reinforcement/FOH, monitor mix, live recording), post on films, you name it, I’ve probably done it.
The Speed Maker is a “hybrid response” yoyo. It should be starburst on one side and black rubber ring on the other. Sounds like you got a “traded halves” one. It’s also adjustable gap, and if you’ve got both sides with the ring or recess, you can silicone it and get a much nicer response out of it. I have a “normal” Speed Maker. It’s a fun yoyo. I should silicone that and my Kickside.
Don’t sweat “ugprading” too fast. Use it as a motivation to improve.
No such thing as upgrading too fast, unless the expense is a hardship for you or your family. If you had the money, to heck with it! DiBase2 is a very modest upgrade in that context! It’s not like you went and got a $180 YYR or something.
So yeah, good choice with the C3!
If you’re binding correctly with one of the conventional binds, there shouldn’t usually be a tail. This implies to me that your bind is off; either you’ve misunderstood how to do it or you’re not executing it properly.
That “tail” is very often formed by “throwing” the loop into the gap for a bind. You shouldn’t ever be throwing the loop; the action of pulling back or sideways with the throwhand grabs the loop and starts pulling it into the back-spinning yoyo. Then when it catches, the loop usually gets wrapped up with string. Even with this method, though, if your loop is too long for the speed of the yoyo, you could get a tail…
Practice! If you have a phone or a camera, show us how you’re doing it and we can give advice on correcting it.
Back to the original question: you didn’t upgrade too quickly at all. It won’t make you a better yoyoer, but it’ll be a great throw to learn on! Enjoy the DiBase2!
Well it came in today. Been practicing my bind for the past couple days. Was getting really good at it, then when I tried the di base 2, stated getting the tail again. I think I just need to get used to the speed. Anyways, here it is :
Probably. I don’t really care for the maverick is all. Definitely can feel the difference between the two now that I got the c3. Maverick had no rim weight.
Quick phone-camera video would help people identify why you’re getting such a tail.
Note: not claiming that the tail is always bad. With certain trick binds, they’re inevitable! But since you’re new to yoyo I can only imagine you’re doing standard front- or side-style bind. These shouldn’t be giving you much if any of a tail. A sidestyle bind from trapeze (instead of undermount) isn’t a true bind (you force the bind by jamming up the gap!) and will almost always result in a tail.
If you haven’t started already, it’s a good idea to “clear” your binds with a controlled throw followed by your most reliable bind, to “reset” the wind and avoid getting hit in the head when your yoyo bounces back from hitting a snag.
I think the issue with the tail on the bind is tied to not managing string tension. When throwing for a while, keep in mind that have twist that gets added on every throw adds up after a while. I know it’s early on, but when you feeel confident, learn some of the unresponsive methods for dealing with string tension. If you’re right handed, normally the string gets tighter I think. If you’re left handed using normal(right handed string), the string gets looser.
The issue was my technique. I was crossing the freehand over until it caught instead of dropping it into the groove. I’ve got it mostly sorted out now.
I know a lot of tutorials say “drop into the groove”, and this threw me off when I was first learning. I don’t know why anybody says that, since that’s a reliable way to bind, especially for beginners. Dropping it CAN lead to a bind (just as hitting a loop into the gap can cause a bind for some fancy trick binds!) but at this stage, you should be focusing on the super-reliable binds.
For front-style, in my opinion this video below shows the ONLY way to fly for your basic front-style bind. It would take nearly a miracle to convince me that any other style is better or more reliable than this. The video has a great camera angle showing exactly what’s happening during the bind:
Again thanks for all the help guys. I’m really getting some of the stuff down pretty good. I land trapeze most the time, even got a double or nothing today. My bind is coming along nicely. I picked up an alpha crash the other day as well, mainly for a carry around throw that I won’t mind others using. I like that it’s responsive, but not too responsive like my maverick is. Gives me opportunity to get my bind better, so it works better on my di base 2. I’ve also considered getting a dark magic 2, but ran out of cash to my next paycheck.
Any of you know a good video that shows cleaning the bearings?
Edit: just found the maintenance section, never mind on the beating cleaning.
