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precisionrotoguy
02-04-2011, 11:34 PM
Layout- Refer to story in my review, it’s a killer…



So this review comes with a story. I received my Rising Star last week (early might I add, hoooooooray). It came in via UPS, but the box had a notable gash in it. Unfortunately, after working in shipping for a minute, I know it can be messy to file a claim with a shipping company, so I decided to attempt to make due with it. After careful examination (and noting that my Infinite Theory was completely unharmed) I found a large (and completely unmissable) gash on the ball and determined that, no matter which of my favorite layouts I used, all that really changed was the part of my track in which the giant gash resided. Most unfortunate. After several minutes of mental anguish I decided to put my money where my mouth is and essentially ignore the CG. I’m a big believer in the USBC’s Ball Motion Study, which gives a pretty reliable indication that the CG is all but dynamically irrelevant. So, there I am, about to locate the CG on the negative side of the ball, even vertically with the pin, when I decide to take it a step further and put the X-hole where the gash is. I’m quite the mad scientist if I do say so myself. This layout also required me to drill the middle finger deeper in order to eliminate some finger weight and negative side. My X-hole resides waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay up over my fingers and only slightly to the positive side. Crazy part is that it was pretty easy to make legal and the pin is still in a pretty normal spot, right under and right of the ring.



Sooooooooooo, anyway, to the meat ant potatoes of the convo here, the review. For the record, I hate black and gold, mostly because of the Steelers, but this ball ACTUALLY pulls it off. For such a funky looking layout, this ball delivered a better-than-expected reaction. It was clean through the front, smooth on the back and pretty continuous. It should be an excellent match up on most house patterns for me and is a great compliment to the Dark Star (which is MY ball for the record, MY ball…. My idea anyway, I expect at least 1,000 emails thanking me- go! There probably will be at least a few dozen bashing me as well, but I digress). Definitely smoother than my Dark Stars, definitely more angular than my Riots, definitely a great ball for me and a great ball to put in the hands of all but the most speed dominant. Go get ‘em!

SenorRotoGrip
02-21-2011, 01:22 PM
The Rising Star matches the neutron core with the Ultimate Vision Hybrid coverstock found on the Rogue Cell. The cover is sanded to 1500 and machined polished. The medium Rg core (2.55) and med-low differential (.042) make the Rising Star a ball that can be used on a variety of light to medium oiled conditions.

I drilled mine with, box finish, pin above the fingers on my gripline, approximately 5" from my pap, Cg out, no hole. This layout allows me to get the ball down lane with a smooth arc finish at the pins. On a PBA experience, 40' Master's pattern, this ball really hooked off the friction on the newer AMF HPL surface. However, in the same house on a 42' house shot that had been bowled on by junior bowler's earlier, the Rising Star was excellent. The ball got down lane smoothly and reacted with a nice arc off the friction. Ball drive through the pins was excellent. I did see a little squirt if I got the ball into the oil rather than off the oil line and into the friction down lane.

An excellent mid priced ball for middle average bowlers and for advanced bowlers looking to fill in their arsenal with a medium rg, medium-low differential ball.