Evening all
With the season over I thought why not do a review of my latest purchases.
Some of you may have seen the eBay gamble I took on a matrrixx Venom Jazz for just under £30
http://custombats.co.uk/cbforum/index.php?topic=35564.0I will be comparing this to a GN Oblivion E41 LE that was repaired by the forum's very own Wayward_Hayward
Both these bats have had a thick layer of extra binding added to the bottom of the handle, and have a single thin grip applied.
The review provided is of the bats in their photographed state.
The specsThe Matrrixx
Edges 35mm
Spine 61mm
Weight 2lb9
GN Oblivion E41
Edges 39mm
Spine 60mm
Weight 2lb9 & 1/4
LooksThe Matrrixx is a munter basically! The blade is all sapwood, and there are 7 grains. They aren't particularly straight or evenly spaced. The face has several blemishes, mainly towards the top of the blade, bit a fair few in the hitting area! The back is a bit cleaner with only a few pinknots, but there is a dark mark running from the toe to about halfway up the blade.
By (rather unfair) comparison, the Oblivion has 9 evenly spaced grains, with a hint of heartwood on the right handlers inside edge. The blade is not perfectly clean, with a pinknot near the Oblivion sticker, and some graphing both above and below the single strip of tape. The back of the bat looks clean enough, but the stickers could be hiding something (you never know!)
profileThe swell on these two bats is rather similar, with the spine of the E41 running slightly further down the blade than the Matrrixx. The Matrrixx is slightly thinner at the top of the blade, with a more pronounced hump into the spine.
The Matrrixx has a fuller profile, with the E41 is fairly concaved.
pickup and feelWith the dead weights in mind, and the fact I have added extra binding to the handles (which weighs roughly 1oz) these are light bats.
The Matrrixx has a rather skinny handle (which I am not a big fan of). For the shape it feels surprisingly bottom heavy, but due to the light weight I feel I could comfortably wield this bat.
The E41 has a thicker handle, which (to me at least) feels nicer in the hands. It is a very nicely balanced bat, and due to toe extra wood up high and the concaved shape feels lighter than the Matrrixx despite the slightly heavier dead weight.
pingI have not used either bat yet (and will have a bit of a weight before I can!) I have spent a bit of time knocking in the Matrrixx which was very soft out of the packet.
Tapping up an old ball the LE has the Wow factor. It both sounds and feels lovely. I can tell this is going to be a lovely performer.
The Matrrixx, after a bit of knocking in, has started to respond better than straight out of the shrink wrap. It does not sound as nice as the GN, and was not hitting the ceiling as easily when tapping it up, but with a bit more knocking in I ink it will come good. It's no slouch at present, but isn't a rocket launcher either. For £30 it is a very nice bat and I am pleased with the performance.
final thoughtsAs nice as the LE is, the Matrrixx is a perfectly good bat in its own right. It may not look as nice or ping as well (yet) but the difference in performance isn't worlds apart.
I think comparing these two goes to show a few things:
1) I have too much time on my hands
2) looks do not guarantee performance
3) you don't need to spend a fortune to get a reasonable bat
4) the ugly ones always go better with less encouragement
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Topic: Matrrixx Venom Jazz vs GN Oblivion E41 LE (Read 2594 times)