I just got a YYF elec-tric top (my first top), and it’s blowing my mind how difficult this thing is to use…
So,
I cannot get this thing to land upright. Either on the ground or on my hand (boomerang)
I can sometimes land a successful boomerang, but I cannot
Spin tops are no joke! Haalp!
Try different string lengths. A little shorter seemed to be easier for me at first.
Also remember, kind of “push” the top. Don’t flick your wrist. Keep your arm like you’re swinging a tennis racket.
And lastly, get a YYF short circuit as well. Lots of tricks out there need to be done on a fixed tip.
How much shorter are you talking?
Hey, get ahold of Chris Neff. He knows things… Tell him Ted Mosby sent ya.
Just try incrementally shorter. [Edit: Chris just reminded me that YFF strings are already short. So scratch that]. As World Spin Top Champion Chris Neff says, “string length is based on the size and weight distribution of the top and the thickness of string being used”.
You honestly have to mess with it a bit until it feels right.
Here’s an awesome post he wrote a few years back:
Not shorter!!! YYF strings are too short already. In fact, they don’t work well at all without the plastic ring on. At work, more later.
This guy. Listen to this guy.
I’ve changed all the strings on my YYF tops. I didn’t remember until now that they come so short to begin with.
Until you get the proper length string, experiment with tilting the top tip away from vertical.
You can boil the variables down to how far up the barrel the string winds. Once you know this for a given top, you can go to a thicker or thinner string (within reason), and just cut it to the length that has it wrap to the sweet spot.
Might be cool if top makers marked this.
I had a problem at first with that top also. What I did was when I hold the top I hold it further back in my hand, and when I throw it I add a little wrist turn. So when I let go my palm is facing more to the ground. Give that a shot a few times and let me know how it goes.
So, did you get it? We’re all waiting to hear back!
One thought on tops not landing straight, if it is consistently falling in the same position, tilt the tip the opposite way in you hand when you release it to compensate. If it is random, you are not winding it tightly or you are putting some spin on it with your wrist or elbow to get it out of whack.
I eventually did learn the subtle finesse required to catch one in hand. That process included adjusting my string length just a tad. I am by no means a master, and it has been a few weeks since I attempted to throw one, but I do occasionally come back to them
Curious did you shorten or use longer?
A little shorter.
I was curious because I’ve read that longer is what’s normally needed. I also had to shorten it a bit to get the proper return. I’ve also read that there comes a point (if you stick to it) that you can throw a top with basically any length string.
