When people think of General Yo they think of a smaller, boutique manufacturer that specializes in super smooth and stable yo-yos. Many also consider it to be one of THE American brands in the yo-yo community; something that Ernie has cemented with his USA themed ano colorways. The thing is, most of that is correct but I would not necessarily consider General Yo “small”. Yes it is an independent company run by one man who is aided by his player team from time to time, but this is also a company that has released, as of this week with the Amplitude, 15 unique yo-yo designs. In my opinion that puts them square in the “Medium Size” yo-yo company category, if not a little larger. Today I am looking at that 15th release, The Amplitude, which is taking a little bit of a detour from Ernie’s more organic designs.
Great and thorough review as always!
Nice review! I’ve got mine ordered and it should be shipping out tomorrow! Your review totally confirmed my predictions based on the shape and specs haha! Definitely something that took my interest as soon as I saw it. It’s also nice to know that it grinds well, despite that shiny finish. Yoyo manufacturers are getting good at that aren’t they? 
Well thanks for the review! Although this one was a little quick, it wasn’t lacking on information at all. Quick read of all the stuff we need to hear and nothing more. I can’t wait till mine comes in!
Spot-on review. Loving the Amplitude so much!
The finish isn’t strictly a “polished” finish. It’s tumbled a la pyramatte. If you like the way pyramatte grinds, you will be at home with the finish of the Amplitude. Me, I’d like to see the Gen Yo blast make an appearance in a second run… but I absolutely love this yoyo as it is already. 
Just got mine yesterday and I’m loving it! My new favorite yoyo. It’s definitely best for fast tricks.
Seems like a pretty limited perspective. I have an Amplitude and I like it a lot but I have at least four yo-yos that are significantly “faster.” They’re all bi-metallic though, which allows the weight to be pushed to lower extremes. The Amplitude did a great job balancing weight with stability for an all aluminum yo-yo.
I think it all comes down to personal preferences of what you think is fast though. Of course a lighter yoyo should be faster but I’ve noticed that some bimetallic yoyos have a different feel to them even if they are technically faster.
He did not say “it is THE best yoyo (compared to all other yoyos)” for fast tricks. He said he loves it and it is “best for fast tricks”… in other words, it doesn’t seem to him to be a yoyo to pick up and chill out with or do stationary slacky stuff (although I’m sure it’d be fine for that, too). When he picks it up, he thinks, “This thing is great for fast tricks; that’s what I tend to want to use it for.”
There’s no debate to be had in the vibe a person feels for a certain yoyo.
In other words, the statement is a comparison to self, not a comparison to others. Imagining such a metric were even possible, you might have a graph of a particular yoyo’s abilities for certain styles:
-Chilled and relaxed: 3
-Fast combos: 9
-Multi-layered tech: 7
I would say, “This yoyo is great for tech, but best for speedy play.”
It’s all a made-up example so don’t think too deeply on it… such a scale doesn’t exist. I’m merely saying that, again, his language was a comparison to self, not a comparison to others.
I could have sworn I said the same thing in my review, it is best when going fast. This is not a chill out and relax yo-yo.
As far as the best yo-yo, I have the definitive answer that trumps ALL answers on that subject. Are your ready for this, it’ll blow your mind. Get ready… THERE ISN’T ONE! See… mind=blown. ;D
in all seriousness, there is not such thing as the best or the perfect yo-yo. It is all about personal preference. One of my absolute favorite yo-yos and the one I consider to be “the best” is the One Drop X Toxic T1… but that is because it fits my play style perfectly at the moment. I know for a fact that others will disagree and that is all good. Now, don’t get me wrong I play all sorts of yo-yo and enjoy many that are outside the style I usually play… like the Amplitude. I always recommend that players try new things, it is a sure fire way to keep yourself from getting in a rut.
That may be what he meant, but how can you know? He said “It’s definitely best for fast tricks” which can be interpreted in at least two ways. First, “The Amplitude is most suited for fast tricks” which is how you took it. Second, “The Amplitude is the best yo-yo in the category of fast yo-yos,” which is how I took it. People often omit article adjectives, and the previous statement, “My new favorite yoyo” provides support for the second interpretation because the writer did not use complete sentences and indicated the Amplitude was his favorite (therefore likely the “best”). There are other possible interpretations as well.
But yes, Greg, you’re probably right that I misinterpreted it, as I sometimes misinterpret vague statements. I didn’t mean any offense. I thought he was saying one thing, and I disagreed. I also don’t know how you are certain you made the correct interpretation, but I suppose you naturally have more intuition than I when it comes to deciphering what people mean from what they say or write. To me this process is a bit mysterious. I just make educated guesses.
Anyway, I really like the Amplitude, especially for the price. It plays fairly similarly to my favorite yo-yo, the Yoyomonster Agonist, but the Agonist is a bit lighter, faster, and more stable (in my opinion). It also costs twice as much and is impossible to find (and extra impossible to find in purple).
It’s not a matter of interpretation but language. It literally has no other interpretation beyond what I said. The missing article isn’t a matter of lazy or informal language… it’s a requirement.
If the original author meant it in a way other than “most suited for” (I like that phrase… you summarized my meaning very well!) it would be a grammatical error. I assumed the author meant it the way it was written, though I suppose there’s a chance it’s a false assumption. It seems silly to make an argument based on “If the author made an error…”
Great review as always. Are you doing a review on the Baseline 2? If so when do you think that will be out?
Like I said you’re probably correct, but it was a vague statement. People leave out article adjectives all the time, especially on the internet. And the fact that I even interpreted the statement in a way other than what was meant makes it vague, even if 90% of people would interpret it your way. A statement is non-vague if its semantic meaning can be readily understood from the syntax by virtually every native English speaker who possesses an adequate vocabulary. Otherwise it’s open to interpretation. You think it’s black/white, but it’s not. Language is fluid, and without inflection cues it is even more so.
Oh man, the T1 is so good.
goes to throw his T1
This is why we need a markup language for tone…
Turns out communicating via text only has definite limitations.
Ok, I just checked and the Amplitude is sold out here. I have never done this before and am kind of curious. Now that it has been out for a bit and is in the hands of many people what do you think of it?
My own personal views on the Amplitude itself have not changed and staying true to what I said about there not being a single “best” yo-yo is also proving to be quite correct. I should go and change my comment above because I have found that I am grabbing the Amplitude more and more when I leave the house. Play style is an ever evolving thing and I am finding that at the moment I am enjoying the heck out of the fast style of play that General Yo’s latest yo-yo affords me. I feel a little like Jeremy Clarkson at the moment yelling for more speed and power.
For me play style preferences are like a pendulum, and I am sure at some point it will swing back to wanting chilled out and relaxed throwing. What does this mean? It means that while there is no single “the best” it is good to have several personal “the best for…” in your yo-yo case for whatever floats your boat. The Amplitude is certainly filling one of those roles for me.
Use italics for upwards infliction, caps for yelling, and bold for slow (you need to hear this) talking.
@saintrobyn – as of right now, I just love it more as I play it. Instead of getting tired of it, I’m reaching for it a bunch.
I have to admit, it’s a giggle of a challenge to do horizontal rip-starts on it. The spikes just aren’t sharp enough for that, but you can do it if you’re verrrry careful… making it (like I said) a fun challenge. 
But yeah. It’s just a really nifty little fast V of a yoyo.
I did a crazy rip start with mine a couple days ago. I placed my thumb and middle finger in the cups with the yoyo resting on the nails of each finger. I then yanked hard straight down. I have only been able to get it to work once but I was able to get a very wobbly rip start out of it. LOL
My Hat Pads seem to have worn out rather quickly 
Binds are getting slippy and inconsistent… I have Gen Pads and it seems to be made of the same stuff so I probably got a bad pair or something… but anyways, the Amplitude itself is amazing! I’d play it more but I gotta get a tube of flowable 