I think it’s the diminished returns that people are talking about. But it’s a nice soundbite to say “It’s the player not the yoyo”. It’s not always true. There are yoyos that are better or worse at accomplishing certain tasks. But a dv888, as an example of a particular yoyo, should be able to get you through pretty much any trick you put your mind to.
A Butterfly with the response sanded off… not so much.
Stability certainly helps, too. Can a skilled player compete with a Token or Popstar? Probably! Someone not too long ago competed with a Token, presumably for the fun of it and “Let’s show the world” rather than “This is truly my yoyo of choice”, but I couldn’t say for sure. A new player could learn most tricks on those yoyos with some time and patience, so nobody’s saying it’s impossible. But you put a Berserker into that same player’s hands and his learning curve is going to ramp up.
I’ve heard the same glib line for guitars… “It’s the player.” But you can get guitars with high action, slippy tuners, snaggy bridge/nut, and poor intonation. The best player in the world could probably still pull off some impressive stuff with it, but they won’t have access to the full range of their chops, and no matter what it will be slightly out of tune. You need the right equipment to do the job properly.
(incidentally, the same reason I recommend getting at least a decent guitar instead of buying a $100 “beginner” model… the guitar itself will make you feel like you suck!!!)
To me plastic and metal are totally different (besides the obvious material difference) Spins different, plays different, feels different. but that doesnt mean they are better or worse than one another, its all a matter of what feels good to you, what puts you in that zone that just feels right.
Personally i have had many plastics and many metals and i perfer metal yoyos. i can do every trick i know on either a plastic or a metal but what makes me “Feel” right is metal thats the only way i can describe it… metal just feels right to me.
As far as you getting bored learning new tricks it may be time to tip your hat and move on to something else. Life is too short to waste your time being bored
I still think you need a bigger screen. I lose my patience trying to see stuff that small.
As for step-by step, if the tricks are breakdownable (that’s a word, right?) into sub-components, all the better.
learning Red Clover, and I’m pretty solidly up to the end of the Red Clover pop. But if I’m not working on that trick specifically, I can do a Mach Whip, or try the Mid-air Mach Whip (whatever that’s called), at which point in time I can practice the Red Clover pop again without necessarily going through all the other fairly easy stuff.
Once I’ve memorized the second half (which isn’t much), I’ll be able to just throw a Houdini Mount and practice the second half. Then when I feel like it, I can put them together.
Nobody says you have to go step-by-step. If the Red Clover pop had frustrated me too much, I would have just skipped it and done the “Houdini Mount until the end” part as a starting point, circling back around for the Red Clover pop later.
Oddly enough, I bought a Fender Strat for a friend(after trying all of them in the store) and it was great. A few years later he bought his kid a Squire Strat, one of those $100 beginner ones. Darn thing had better action and tone than the “real thing”.
Back to yoyos:
Unless you need specific features that if you don’t have it you can’t do the trick, such as as hub in the center of the yoyo outer rim that blocks gyro grinds, or a high wall that makes horizontal very difficult, or a smooth surface that makes grinds suck or whatever, then it’s really the player, not the yoyo for the post part.
I think the original poster needs a change in his practice routine and find motivation and focus.
Right now, I have motivation, but it’s not with yoyo or skill toys. I also have focus, and it’s not with yoyo or skill toys either.
With yoyo and skill toys, currently, I have no focus and very little motivation. After my gig tomorrow, that might be able to change a bit.
There are also plenty of $100 guitars that would have produced an awful experience. I’ve played plenty of them. They’re out there.
I’m not saying the price alone is the be-all end-all. I’m saying the equipment is important. Pretty hard to get something more capable than the MYY T5. Performance-wise, anything beyond that level is diminishing returns as well.
wth the Halo and Protostar are really good. Patience is what you are lacking and that’s all, no need to buy a $1000000 yoyo, the Protostar and Halo honestly could sustain you until the end of your yoyo career.
Snap starting takes practice over a long period of time. It’s like you said: you need time to not be interrupted and concentrate. I don’t even get 5 minutes anymore, but I ain’t gonna go into that. By the time I get that break, it’s 2AM and I just want to sleep. I may not really touch a yoyo for days.
Yoyo is a skill toy, and as such, it’s a discipline just to play. Therefore, there also needs to be a discipline to practice. I fall back on my musician background.
When it comes to doing sound, people think I run my company like the Marines. I lead from the front line and make it happen. It’s a different discipline.
Set aside time every day if you can. Something regular. Routine can be good. Organize your day around it.
A nice upgrade wouldn’t hurt, but I think the Halo is good enough, it used to be my go to throw until I sold it, but I liked it a lot, it’s a really nice Delrin and I could do all my tricks on it. But a decent metal YoYo would do, such as a Yelets, or a Theory, maybe even a Popstar (probably my favorite YYF, I just love the size, hate the death grip bearing seat). Just put that into consideration.
This one came direct from OD and is blasted and it grinds amazing. This was from the sale around Thanksgiving that OD did.
I prefer larger yoyos for my learning sessions. I then move smaller for my “refining”. Then I move back to full sized, which is where most of my play is.
I spent like 2 months looking for a OG Project and finally got one and traded it 2 weeks later. It’s a good yoyo but its not something your really see anymore. Undersized, compact, high wall. Just wasn’t my style. If you really want a great playing yoyo get a YYR there amazing <3
