I would like to put in that Dave's pro mod was designed for his style of play in mind. So with the lighter tama, it'll obviously play far differently than the more 'standard' kendamas where the weights are closer to within 10 grams between the tama and ken but perfect for a more flowy style of dance play like Dave's. That being said, I can understand the dissatisfaction with his pro mod. I absolutely love the ken and can't wait to cop it in the new 2.0 shape. As for the tama, I have a walnut ken that's light enough to match the Dream tama that's waiting for a new match (my other 2 Dave mod tamas are beat from yanks)
My first ken was a kusa, and I have tried the 2.0’s and pro mods but everytime I try them I am typically disappointed. I love the company and what they do for the scene but I feel like a overhaul would be beneficial. Other companies have shown that a budget can be extremely playable (sweets prime, krom pop). I have the utmost respect for the kusa affiliated companies though like Terra and GT that make excellent damas that I enjoy.
I completely understood where you were coming from. I don’t know, sometimes I also don’t find it too convincing when I see a lot of kusa players rocking krom dawgs on a craft ken. Kusa is such a big part of the game, I want to see them come out with a real killer!
What would you think of like a one-piece over haul? Push the cups down, bigger cups (heavier cups), maybe a base cup hole? I guess they are meant for people who are just getting into it, but for for less money you get a better kendama in a sweets prime solid-16$, tribute is 18$ minimum (exception 5 holes (13$) but c'mon don't do that to yourself).
Mine is a Momma kendama I found at a thrift store. First, I'd rather jam a one piece than this one, because the sarado DOES NOT FIT the ken! It's just a perfectly cylindrical hole in the sarado so that just the bottom of it fits on the ken. The bevel on the tama is so flat, it could almost be like they just cut off a piece of the tama to make it. The top of the tama is oddly flat, which feels wierd, paint is super slick, chips easy and has those signature black and white chips of a crap dama. And worst of all, and my pet peeve with any kendama, the spike hits the roof of the tama before it can touch the sarado! Another terrible ken was an unbranded birch I also found at a thrift store. Now this one wasn't too bad ken-wise, it could lunar pretty well. But what ruined it... the base cup was almost totally FLAT! What?! No base cups or lighthouses for you!