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Review by roundrobin (Publised with
permission):
Since the frictionless long pips ban, Dr. Neubauer has devoted his
time developing anti rubbers to recreate the frictionles style made
possible by his old pips. His first two attempts, the Gorilla and the
Grizzly were met with mostly negative reviews, as they couldn't quite
absorb the energy of strong attacking shots off-the-bounce. Last Friday
I finally received his newest invention, the Anti Special w/ 1.2mm
sponge, one sheet in black and one in red. Below is my thoughts after I
played a round robin Saturday and three matches with my Korean coach
last night.
-The black one is a bit more effective than the red one. For some reason
the red one has slightly more friction and less predictible. Spin
reversal for the black one is pretty decent on a Matsus#ita Special
blade, about 70% of Super Block and noticeably more than Insider or
Swing Back IF. On a Firewall Plus blade the reversal drops to about 50%
of Super Block, on par with TTMaster long pips. I feel this anti has to
be used on a fairly hard blade to be effective.
-Can this rubber be played like a Super Block? It's a resounding "yes",
but not quite as easily: The angle of contact has to be more precise
than ever or else the ball just slides off the paddle. Blocking strong
repeatitive loops to the same spot off-the-bounce is finally possible,
but once the ball changes direction it requires the user to move the
paddle to the right spot with a very precise angle. It's not a
plug-and-play version of old frictionless long pips. In terms of
effectiveness, it's the closest thing to Super Block but yet it's twice
as hard to use. This is a rubber that can finally absorb the energy of
the incoming ball well AND provide decent spin reversal. With all the
other antis it's either one or the other. So good job, Dr. Neubauer.
-I feel this rubber can be improved further by using a slightly thicker
sponge, maybe a 1.4mm? Also the friction level should be even lower,
especially on the red one. I think a thicker sponge would improve
control, and reducing friction even further will improve reversal. I
compared both black and red versions to a ten-year old Butterfly Super
Anti 1.9mm I have, and found that the Super Anti has even less friction
than either, so the Doctor can definitely improve on this aspect.
Otherwise, the Anti Special has much better touch in terms of linear
feedback (or known as "gears") than the very dead Super Anti. This is a
remarkable achievement, as I feel this is the first anti rubber that can
be used as a chopping rubber as well. I am cautiously optimistic at the
moment, and will report back more once I get to play some serious
loopers like Lu Guo Hui...
Review by David Pech (USA Technical
Representative- http://www.Pechnique.com)
Out of the packaging, the new Anti Special is
noticeably different than its predecessors, Grizzly and Gorilla. The
surface has a matte slick surface. Dragging a ball over the surface
gives little to no frictional resistance. The sponge is also very
different, in that it’s a light pink and will come in 1.2mm, 1.5mm, and
1.8mm. It is very hard and very dead. As for this review, I am using a
1.5mm black version. On a side note, I have found in testing this sponge
on other top sheets, the spin reversal between 1.2mm and 1.5mm is almost
indistinguishable, so my thinking is if one is using a fast blade
(off-), I would recommend using the 1.5 and the 1.8 on an (off) to
(off+) blade, as this sponge will slow down any blade. For those using
an (all+) and less, use the 1.2mm sponge. This new sponge comes with a
contact sheet. I would like to make some recommendations for adhering
the rubber to your blade. I am using a water-based voc-free glue by
Spintech Aqua Bond. This stuff is great. It has no affect on the sponge
or the top sheet, and it will pass the Enez test box at any tournament.
My suggestion is to first seal your blade, as this glue will hold almost
too well if you blade has not been sealed. To adhere your rubber to your
blade, you must first remove the protective white contact sheet
protector from the back of your sponge. Apply one coat of Aqua Bond glue
to both sponge and blade and let dry. One can use a blow dryer to speed
up the process, then simply place your new rubber on the blade and cut
to size.
OK- so now for the playing characteristics of this new
Anti Special from Neubauer… WOW!! It is much slower and vastly more
controlled. The top sheet seems to absorb the ball and allows one to
keep almost any loop on the table. The spin reversal is also great and
deceptive. Sampson Dubina, Ohio number one, said that he could not loop
the ball two times in a row, as there was too much spin reversal. On
power loops, I could pull the bat back slightly and absorb the energy of
the loop, and still keep the ball low and on the table. Loop blocking,
stayed low and short over the net with two bounces on my opponent’s side
of the table, not allowing him to re-loop. As for hitting, I was able to
attack many balls with success that stayed over the table from Sampson’s
push when he did not re-loop. Serve return is also much easier with more
control. Balls stayed low and I could push them very easily to a corner
of my choosing. This new combination of top sheet and sponge has also
seemed to help with return of top spin serves which always seemed to go
long and high, now the ball now stays low and with strong spin-reversal.
Pushing the no-spin balls is also no problem, so long as one has a soft
hand and keeps their racket angle set. Chopping with the new Anti
Special is also very easy and controlled. The ball stays low and keeps a
strong backspin on the ball. Due to the deadness of how this rubber
plays, one needs push forward on chopping balls.
In conclusion, I believe that this rubber is 35-40%
slower than Gorilla/Grizzly, with as much if not more spin reversal.
Balls are more unpredictable, and stay low, requiring your opponent to
have very good footwork to get in position to return the next ball. Some
ball will have no-spin and the next will be loaded. Attacking balls over
the net are easy and fast as the sponge is hard. Loop blocks now stay on
table and are loaded, requiring a push by your opponent on their next
shot. This rubber is a must try if you are still in the wasteland of
having nothing to replace you frictionless Long Pips. If you are looking
for a good blade for this new rubber, try the Gladiator by Neubauer, as
it is controlled and enhances the spin reversal.
Just got back from Koreatown for my second serious practice session.
I've found that the Anti Special is good enough to be my replacement for
legal LPs. It is easier for me to return powerful rips and spinny
openings than any legal LPs available in the market right now; at least
I felt more confident than ever with it than with Insider or Swing Back
IF on a fairly fast carbon-arylate blade like Matsus#ita Pro Special. I
love this blade and no legal LPs out there work well with it with the
off-the-bounce style. I didn't think I would adopt it to be my backhand
rubber of choice so soon, but hey, I am pleasantly surprised by its
"Super Blockiness". Returning tricky serves is superior to Insider and
Swing Back IF, in the way that I could really dig into the ball
regardless of spin and place it where I want it, just like I used to do
with Super Block or Inferno. This alone is worth 2-3 pts. per game. ;-)
If I successfully block super-spinny loops and drives off-the-bounce
with the correct angle, the spin reversal is there to cause my opponent
to dump the next one into the net a couple more time per match than with
Insider or Swing Back IF. Again this is extremely valuable in the
post-frictionless LPs era... The only thing I absolutely hate about anti
is the "deadness" (delayed feedback), but I am starting to adjust to it
a bit at a time.
For
further detailed discussion on this rubber, check out the
table tennis forum discussion on this rubber here.
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