Upgrading from YYF One (Recommendation)!

I owned a YYF One until it I broke it (Check story at the bottom if interested) I wanna move into something with more sleep time and maybe less response but I also wanna keep response as an option (maybe as a separate bearing). In the shop it says the Dark Magic II is recommended by Yoyoexpert, but I wanna know what the community thinks. I want to start improving my intermediate and then head on to advance 1A. I really liked the One’s weight but then again I barely know anything else.

Budget is 50$, maybe a little more.

Go to a hardware store and buy a M4 size nylon bolt.

I prefer the protostar over the dm 2. Just buy an extra responsive bearing.

Protostar or Dark Magic. Those are probably the best two options for you right now. I love my dark magic and my protostar. It is very hard to choose between the two so just go with whitchever seems right for you (or just your gut feeling), you can not go wrong with either yoyo.

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I agree, but I have a preference for the Dark Magic II over the Protostar. Either way, it’s a winner.

What concerns me the most is it sounds like the OP is having some issues with maintenance and car and I see the pattern repeating if he’s not carefully and wrecking another yoyo.

I stress to the OP, please learn some yoyo maintenance. All these problems could have been avoided with a few YouTube videos and/or the right tools. Without a bearing puller, the bearing can be removed using pliers, a drill bit, or a used string(using the string trick). In general, most of us should know how to remove bearings, clean bearings, lubricate our bearings(if we lube), dismantle and re-assembly our yoyos. These are just basic skills we all need to have.

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I would suggest the Dark Magic II. It is a well rounded yoyo, that is suitable for all kinds of players. From there, you can then decide the shape and size that you prefer, so that you know what yoyo to purchase in the future.

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Thanks for the recommendations! I fixed my one but I feel like I outgrew it… I can barely do a trapeze and his bro and then a double or nothing without it dying on me. Even a triple spin brain twister and I’m throwing pretty darn hard; I’m using cotton strings but tomorrow I’ll go pick up some poly’s.

Anyways, I wanted to know yet again, is the DM2 great for unresponsive play? I feel it’s kinda of unnecessary by now to have the option of responsiveness since I can bind well. I wanna move into advanced tricks, into comboing. Is the DM2 a good way to go, or shold I buy a dv888 for complete unresponsive play?

I feel that the DM2 has a less “advanced” feel to it even though it is a great yoyo. For a beginner i still recommend it, but the DV888 would probably be the better choice for what you want. Both are great still but in your case go DV888. Looks better IMO anyway :wink:

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My DM II isn’t completely unresponsive with a speed bearing (lubed with thin lube) and 50/50 string on it. Although those strings might be a problem in my case, I’d still say go with dv888 if you want completely unresponsive and a bit more advanced yoyo.

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I’m not going to say “no” to the recommendation of a dv888. I have a dv888 planned for a future purchase.

MyDM2 is completely dead unresponsive with the speed bearing(lubed with thin lube) and whatever string I choose to put on it. I did swap the bearing out with a Terrapin X wing-cut bearing. I don’t know the condition of your DM2. With mine, the response has been well broken in and the bearings are also well broken in. Both these things need to happen in any yoyo before they become completely not responsive.

If you want to speed up breaking in a response, you can rub it down with denim for a bit, say a minute or so. If you want to speed up breaking in a bearing, you can either “dremel it”, which involves spinning it at high RPM on a drill for a few minutes or you can buy a Terrapin X bearing, which do not have a break-in period.

However, I recommend the best way to break in response systems and bearings: just throw a alot. It’s way more fun and gives you an excuse to throw more. Plus, keep in mind if you lube a bearing, you have to break in the lube, which doesn’t take as long as that initial break-in.

Back to the DM2 in general:
If you ignore the fact it comes with the thin bearing pre-installed and that can be easily swapped out with the included Speed Bearing, it’s still a fantastic yoyo. It’s very balanced, stable and smooth. It’s designed to be use by both beginners and expert/advanced players as well, so you’re getting a good item if you choose to go that route. It’s popular, a lot of people have it and a lot of people like it. However, like anything else yoyo, you’ll have people who find it just wasn’t an ideal match for them, which can be said about any yoyo as well.

A note about the dv888 or really any new yoyo, including those that ship as unresponsive:
They can all be responsive right out of the package. See my comments about new bearings and new response pads.

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Man, it bothers me so much that people foret about the rest of the bi-metals. The SFX, the HitMan Pro, the Revolution, the X-con Pro, etc. are all up to par with the DM2 and offer a different feel and look.
The only thing that I have against the protostar is the spacers, they are really hard to remove, and it is impossible to remove them without damaging them at least a little bit. I am really tempted to send one off to get modded to accept spr. lol

I can agree with the Protostar for the spacers. I don’t have a need to remove mine yet, so all is good in my Protostar.

As far as YYJ’s bi-metals., I can’t really comment much. I have a DM2 and a Speeder 2 and I really like them. I have a Phenomizm bootleg that I also really like so I can’t wait to get a real Phenomizm. I have other YYJ models I want to get as well, plastic, bi-metal and metals. The only argument against your agrument FOR bi-metals is most people seem to want full metal yoyos. The Bi-metal is a good compromise without much real compromise. YYF is kind of approaching the plastic/metal market in a different manner, using metal rings instead of metal rims to try to achieve the same effect. Since the rings are INSIDE the rims, it kind of puts more weight in the center instead of to the edge.

I got plenty of fine metals. Code 1, Avalanche, Peak, 54, MMN, and other CLYW’s, HSPIN and RecRev and more. Yet, I keep going back to the bi-metal DM2. It does come down to preferences. There’s no right and there’s no wrong as far as recommending. All that matters is how the end user feels.

I feel going with some of the better YYF plastics such as the protostar and northstar are great on performance, good options and are good on the budget. The YYJ bi-metals are nice on the budget and offer fantastic preformance at decent prices below the OP’s stated budget. With full metals the options just roll off rapidly on the budget, it’s just the way it is.

The other route is Buy/Sell/Trade, where some great deals can be had on great items in great condition. Often, an unliked yoyo may be sold as close as new/mint as possible just because it wans’t a good fit for the seller. This is a great way to stretch your budget dollars on what is often a gently used yoyo that would normally sell new for much more. Chances are also that the bearing and response are broken in and it’s ready to go. Then again, there’s nothing that beats that “new yoyo in the package” thing. Although, some packages are kinda strange, like the pair of socks my H-Spin Corli Prototype comes in!

It’s a really hard choice between the DM2 and the DV888; the 888 is just 4 dollars more.

If you guys know, whats the difference between the DV888 2010 and the new DV888 2011?

I really wanna make sure I’m buying myself the perfect throw.

That’s where your problem is. There are so many good items out there that it makes narrowing it down to a single choice difficult. Then, once you’ve made your decision, it comes down to “is this yoyo a good match for you” issue.

I’ll tell you right now that by narrowing it down to the dv888 and the DM2, well, both are really good choices. But they are very different. The dv888 is undersized while the DM2 is oversized. One is big, one is small. Both have thousands of very satisfied users who are happy with their choices. If it hasn’t been made clear, I currently own and really love my DM2. I am also planning to get a 2011 dv888 fairly soon too. I can’t steer you based on the fact that you’re still learning. While the DM2 is meant to be a great learning and serious yoyo, the dv888 is very affordable as well and many beginners have them and use them with great success.

Then comes the downside. If you choose wrong, which most of us will do from time to time, you’re stuck with it until you sell or trade it off to get what else you want to try.

Of your choices, my recommendation is the DM2, but I have one and am partial to it. But I think either way, you’ve chosen two models with a history of happy users, so I’m sure either way you go, you’ll be fine and happy.

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I don’t know when 2012 version of dv888 is supposed to arrive but it might be worth waiting for it. Anyone have that info?

My guess would be 2012.

The dv888 might be an annual purchase thing for me. But, I’ll see how I like the 2011 version first.

Didn’t know if I should make a separate post for this but, can anyone post comparison pics between the YYF One, the DM2 and the DV888?

I wanna know what I’m dealing with size-wise.

Thanks for all your help guys.

The specs are online. I also have the specs in a database I use to tracking stuff I have and stuff I want.

It might help if you start with what you do have. This can serve as a starting point. If I am not too tired I might consider making a real bare-bones graphic.

Granted, we’re dealing with millimeters, which while isn’t a whole lot, but after a while, you start to get a feel for it and noticing the difference, even by sight. You might have to send a PM to remind me. I can get rather scatterbrained at night and anything that isn’t right in front of me may need a reminder.

also the raptor is a good choice

I’ve been asked to post comparison pics for this topic. This is kind of serving as a flag for me to come back to this tonight after I take comparison pictures. Chances are I’ll just add the comparison pictures as an edit to this message.

EDIT:
First, I apologize in advance for the pictures. I think I removed the user ID/password to this section. Also, today being November 16, 2011, my internet connection has been really bad today. There may be problems viewing this.

Here are the updates:
First, specs. People love specs:

YYF One:
Diameter: 53mm
Width: 40mm
Gap: varies depending on bearing used. Don’t have this spec. I suspect nearly the same as the DM2
Weight: 56.6grams

YYJ DM2:
Diameter: 56.13mm
Width: 41.1mm
Gap: 3.0/4.95mm. depending if you’re using the half spec or C bearing.
Weight: 69grams

YYF dv888 2011:
Diameter: 50.04mm
Width: 40.58mm
Gap: 4.65mm
Weight: 66grams

As we can see, the DM2 is the biggest of the 3 in weight and width and diameter.
The dv888 is slightly smaller than the ONE, which is also slightly smaller than the DM2.
We’re also comparing a plastic to a bi-metal to a full metal.
Despite the smaller dimensions of the dv888, the weight is good due to it being full metal.

Now for some pictures. Please keep in mind these were taking at 1 in the morning and I am an audio professional, NOT a photographer. I did NOT set up my photo lights, I was too tired and lazy and didn’t want a mess in the room when my wife came downstairs in the morning before she goes to work.

http://www.studio42.info/yoyo/images/1-DM2-dv88-Head-On.jpg
You can’t really see the way things step down in size because I put the DM2 in the middle.
This was actually the last shot I took, as I was playing with the manual settings of the camera. I did some color correction in Photoshop before generating the JPG.

http://www.studio42.info/yoyo/images/1-DM2-dv88-Angle.jpg
In this shot, we can see an angle shot. Please note that I keep my ONE responsive for now so it has the slimmer bearing installed.

http://www.studio42.info/yoyo/images/1-DM2-dv88-Profile.jpg
You can really see the gap differences in this one. Again, keep in mind the ONE has the smaller bearing installed. Believe it or not it’s still on the original factory string.

http://www.studio42.info/yoyo/images/1-DM2-dv88-Up.jpg
Standing up the differences in size become a bit more apparent. But as I realized, the ONE has the smaller bearing installed, which may make the height closer to the dv888.

Without doing a front/back stagger shot, you can’t really see the diameters all that well.

Studio42 pins are for sale. $5 plus $1 for shipping and handling. Twin posts, rubber packs, cloisonne black. Metal is aluminum. PM me regarding those. Paypal is fine.

Onto more subjective information:
I find for ME, the dv888 is a bit small. It’s great, but it takes a little getting used to as I like larger yoyos. The weight is fine for the size. It does not feel heavy on the string. It only comes with one bearing, but that’s fine.

The DM2 is of course my go-to yoyo, so I’m biased towards it. As it comes with 2 bearings, it can be as responsive or unresponsive as you want it or need it to be based on the bearing you want to use, lube and even the response pads. You can silicone this, but I think you can silicone all three of these. A double loop of the string with the slim bearing, combined with YYJ thick lube makes this compatible for looping tricks in the YYE tutorials section for beginners.

The ONE is a nice size, but being full plastic, it’s not really as heavy as I would like it. Yes, you can get tons of spin out of this, and like the DM2, you can make it as responsive or unresponsive as you want it. If you are going to buy this, do not waste your money on the DVD version with the slim bearing. Get the version with the full sized bearing included in the box. I find if you need it to be super tug responsive, the thin bearing and using a double loop makes it very responsive. I did this for my kids and it makes a world of difference. As I’ve stated before, I keep mine responsive, but I don’t have it double looped.

The ONE is very affordable, durable and a lot o fun. It’s great for beginners, but once you get past the intermediate tricks, the odds are you’re going to want something better. That’s normal and to be expected. You may wish to get the YYF Multi-Tool for cutting strings and removing the bearing though. It’s a handy tool most yoyo players should have anyways.

If you get the DM2, it can take you from beginning to as far as you want to go, making the price tag a lot more reasonable. The bearing swap is simple as the bearing isn’t tight to the bearing seat, which is normal with the YYJ Solid Spin Axle. But, you may want to get yourself some YYJ lube. In fact, I always recommend lubing your bearings. Opinions vary, and that’s fine(dry vs lubed). Find out what works best for you.

The only legitimate downside of the dv888 is that because it shops with a SPEC C bearing, it’s unresponsive out of the box, which you might think “Well, that’s not bad”. It is bad IF you’re a beginner who can’t bind because it will just be frustrating. Also, I feel this yoyo has limited life in it, as in perhaps once you get to expert tricks, you’ll end up upgrading to something in the $100 range. However, that’s not to say you don’t feel the same way about the DM2 either once you get to that point. But, I feel the dv888 has a lot of potential in it.

Regardless of what you get, you’re going to want to get something else anyways. Why? Reality, that’s why. I love my DM2, but yet, I have a ONE and a dv888, but I have plenty of Duncans, CLYW’s, other YYJ’s, other YYF’s, H-spin, RecRev and other stuff as well. We ALL want to try different things. Variety is good. Finding your preferences is good too.

Regardless, you know I’m going to recommend the DM2. Either are good, but the DM2 has the most potential in it, while the dv88 ain’t no slacker either. The ONE is limited as the weight will prevent super long spin times so you won’t have enough juice for the longer complex tricks. So, those are my thoughts.

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