Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: JTtaylor145 on September 15, 2020, 06:42:20 AM
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First up and admission...
I really like Gunn and Moore as a company. Their branding is spot on, their pads and gloves are among the best I've ever used.
I decided recently to buy another GM bat (this time an Icon 808). I've previously bought a range of their bats from Diamond's to Noir's to Siren's and I've even had an Eclipse. I've bought a range of grades from Signature right up to Player Editions. I want to love their bats and if I could I would definitely be a GM FKW but why are their bats pressed so hard? Do their bats ever really feel soft? At what point do you really get that performance that we are all looking for?
The current bat I have is nice enough, 7 grains, 2lb 10ozs, high middle. I've only been knocking the bat in for an hour but it's like hitter a concrete post with the bat mallet. The bat is pressed so hard. We have some experienced GM uses on the forum so my question is this how much knocking and playing in does it really take for GM's to really get going performance wise. Should I be concerned that the bat is pressed so hard or should I give it time?
Am I being too picky (probably) I like the bat, I like the weight, I like the branding but I'd just like a bit more performance. Now I know I'm a rubbish third team player out in the wilds of Suffolk and I'm sure that better players would of course get better performance.
Maybe I'm just expecting a bit too much. What are people's thought's/views and opinions on when GM bats really start to get going?
Cheers
JT
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Going to be honest mate I was a huge fan of GM bats but they took a while to get really going. I always used to use mine for whole of winter nets to get it ready for the season once I had chosen which was going to be that seasons match bat. So for me that looks like 8 weeks indoor nets approx 30min per week so 4hrs roughly then plus a weekly 1:1 net session for a hour batting so for me was probably 12hours or so before when you tapped and old ball on the blade it felt soft.
Give one a chance and use all over winter, they are as good as anything Iv ever used when they get there mate.
The only exception is the Players edition I have from this season is in my opinion one of the best pressed and performing bats Iv ever had and that was basically from the off. It’s had about 4 net sessions and a single T20 game due to me starting my own and that’s just a superb stick.
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Cheers @SOULMAN1012 Chris, did you feel they were really rock hard when you first got them and before you played the bat in?
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Cheers @SOULMAN1012 Chris, did you feel they were really rock hard when you first got them and before you played the bat in?
They are certainly firmer than most off the shelf bats at the start, I don’t mean that they are planks but they feel and sound is a lot firmer than most, the middle was still responsive even when tapping up a new or old ball for the first few sessions but they become superb bats. They just take 3-4 times longer to reach that stage than GN for example which is the only other mainstream bats iv used a lot of to give a fair comparison
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I've got a bat that apparently belonged to James Vince (it's got JV on the binding under the grip!) - it came via Matt Coles when he was at Hampshire.
It is quite a hard feeling bat compared to the Newberys and Salix bats I've had before - but my word does it ping - so stick with it and I'm sure it will be a belter.
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My Laver took me about a year and a half to properly get going after feeling like a rock in the hands, and that was when i could hit 2000 balls a week, every week, on a BOLA.
It is now a stupendous bat. I have never felt like any GM I've used is in the same category when it comes to being hard, I've used them from pretty much new and enjoyed them.
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I guess part of it is the GM now thing - some people will just take it straight to a match and use with a brand new ball. Guess GM have to prepare them to repel most damage or they'd have to deal with more repairs/returns.
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I've only been knocking the bat in for an hour but it's like hitter a concrete post with the bat mallet. The bat is pressed so hard.
Which year's model is the bat? I thought they had improved their pressing!
Full disclosure: I have never owned a GM bat because of their pressing "reputation". However, a team mate of mine loved and owned them. He had a few 606s which he knocked diligently but also hit big sixes with. They did sound very hard; funnily enough, he also broke them faster than mine.
I have some top notch Laver's sitting in my closet but I can't be bothered to "knock" them when my CAs and Keeley-ies are performing like champs in such a short period of time!
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My Laver took me about a year and a half to properly get going after feeling like a rock in the hands, and that was when i could hit 2000 balls a week, every week, on a BOLA.
Wow! That's a lot of knocking.
I just can't see myself (or people I play with) spending this much effort on knocking a bat. Other brands open up so much sooner and better.
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I am using Mythos in signature grade. After 2 hrs of knocking played around 600-700 balls in nets so far. The bat did not open up yet. I will continue playing with it in nets for now and see how it goes.
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Had a 2020 GM Noir LE that I knocked in for 3 hours and used in some nets. Still felt rock hard - so I bought a new bat :D
Also had a Siren LE that was similar.
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I think many people confuse how nice and soft the “feel” is, with ping. I have had many “hard” Laver bats that feel bad when you tap a ball on the bat, but the actual ping (how far the ball flies off the bat) has been outstanding. If you knock in a bat beyond the point at which it is match-ready (ie can take a new ball without breaking), you’re effectively knocking runs out of the bat and limiting its lifespan.
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For me Zelos 606 was first GM, netted with it for solid year & then took off the scuff sheet and oiled the face liberally 3 times. More knocking followed and now it is maybe match ready. On zelos I have yet to see seam marks, even with bat breakers("cheap balls") it tore scuff sheet off on edges rather than leaving marks if that gives idea how hard the bat is pressed. On other hand Diamond 404 and Icon 606 are relatively soft pressed. Pinged right away and cheap balls left huge dent on side of the edge. So I stopped playing with cheap ball. Just my 2 cents, when it comes to pressing GM is hit or miss for 606 and below, but they will all perform just not when you want it.
https://imgur.com/a/wK2unJc
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I think many people confuse how nice and soft the “feel” is, with ping. I have had many “hard” Laver bats that feel bad when you tap a ball on the bat, but the actual ping (how far the ball flies off the bat) has been outstanding. If you knock in a bat beyond the point at which it is match-ready (ie can take a new ball without breaking), you’re effectively knocking runs out of the bat and limiting its lifespan.
Agreed. My preference is far a hard blade which produces a clean, sharp, crisp sound off the ball / mallet. I have always associated a soft feeling bat with one that is delamianting and the performance is going from the bat with the soft muffled noise being the bat absorbing and cushioning the ball rather than deflecting it. But then i ordered a Garrard and Flack last season which came as the softest bat I have ever used but the performance is superb. I think it showed to me that you can get caught up looking for specific qualities in a bat rather than just one that performs (whilst of course recognising the psychological benefit of using a bat which meets your subjective qualities as to what makes a great bat)
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Wow! That's a lot of knocking.
I just can't see myself (or people I play with) spending this much effort on knocking a bat. Other brands open up so much sooner and better.
This wasn’t specifically knocking in a bat, this was just access to a machine at work whenever I fancied
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This wasn’t specifically knocking in a bat, this was just access to a machine at work whenever I fancied
Rub it in some more why don't you...
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How can it be possible that repeatedly banging a piece of wood with a hard object can make it softer?
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I have had a few GM bats in the past and to be completely honest, they take a while to get going. More than most people have the patience to wait. I think its more to do with how stiff the handle is than the pressing itself. Someone like me who used to bat in the nets once a week for approximately 10-15 mins, it took about 7-8 months before i was confident i could use it in a game. My teammate wasnt as patient with his Neon Original. He had the handle modified with an extra rubber insert which apparently accelerated the process for him. He loves his GM now and wouldn't part with it
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I have had a few GM bats in the past and to be completely honest, they take a while to get going. More than most people have the patience to wait. I think its more to do with how stiff the handle is than the pressing itself. Someone like me who used to bat in the nets once a week for approximately 10-15 mins, it took about 7-8 months before i was confident i could use it in a game. My teammate wasnt as patient with his Neon Original. He had the handle modified with an extra rubber insert which apparently accelerated the process for him. He loves his GM now and wouldn't part with it
This is a very valid point and one i forgot to mention in my original comment, i also used to lay the bat at a very slight angle against a brick for example so the handle rested on the brick and toe on the floor so raised a couple of inches and used to with one foot put pressure on the handle, big like a video of Marcus that did the rounds last year with the aim of making the Handel in my Gm bats less stiff.
In a lot of occasions i think this is a reason for the hard feel. As has been said I don’t feel that they are as hard pressed as the sound would have you believe from most GM bats but its a mix of a very firm handle and the GM now pressing
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You mean it’s not the pressing it’s the handle??
If I hadn’t moved on all my GMs I’d test that theory.
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I’d agree with that. The use cork inserts which tend to be stiffer than rubber. I’m not usually a handle jumper but do it on any new GM’s or Lavers.
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Stiffer handles means more power through the shot. I would use the bat first before you start jumping on the handle.
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I think a lot of people are more concerned with having the 'right' sticker on their bat than anything else.
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Never owned a GM, but with other bats from makers with a reputation for hard pressing (Laver, B3, Aldred etc) I've found mucking around with a ball or mallet at home was very unrepresentative of the actual performance. Actually going and batting with it is the only way you can really find out if a bat pings! Messing with handles can make a bat feel better, but it doesn't make the ball go any further.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk07_tuSHkM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk07_tuSHkM)
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In my view that is a terrible idea to improve the performance of a bat. It might make it feel like you’re middling everything but it will have a drastically negative effect on the power.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk07_tuSHkM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk07_tuSHkM)
This is a brilliant way to kill your bat handle.
Just don't.
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Stiffer handles means more power through the shot. I would use the bat first before you start jumping on the handle.
Exactly.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk07_tuSHkM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk07_tuSHkM)
Why, just why?!! 😣
Please don't try this at home kids!
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This is a brilliant way to kill your bat handle.
Just don't.
Great excuse to buy yourself a new bat though ;) "yeah this one just isn't performing as I want"...
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk07_tuSHkM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk07_tuSHkM)
Jeez, that’s pretty major surgery! Have seen a few in for repair with bat grips in the middle split, always presumed it was just lazy/cheap manufacturers though.
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Its a very asian thing. Very common among asian pros as well. The aim is not to give the illusion of middling every ball, it is to get rid of that "sting" up your bottom hand when you dont middle it. That sting is very very hard in GM bats due to the stiff handles. And this is exactly what my teammate did to his handle. And he's happy with the results. Though i will say it will most definitely increase the risk of split shoulders and broken handles exponentially. And you can say goodbye to any or all warranty
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If Gunn & Moore bats don't do what you want them to do, couldn't you just try one thàt isn't Gunn & Moore?
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That sting is very very hard in GM bats due to the stiff handles.
I use a 1/2 or 1/3 second grip to reduce that recoil feeling for my bottom hand.