So I was wondering, there are so many methods of tracking on tamas right now, which one is the best (ex. half-split, stripe, multiple stripes, etc.)? Also do you prefer burn lines or painted tracking? Right now I'm liking my triple-split kusa.
I love natty's, so burn lines work well for me. I like tracking with emphasis on the bottom 1/3rd, like the craft tracking tama. I find those more helpful than if the marking is in the center of the tama, like a half split or stripe. I think my favorite painted tracking is the bottom 1/3rd ish white. While any 1/3 is great (the blue 1/3rd on my sourmash bird is solid), white really makes it pop. Some good examples are the krom pops and the DWI grayscale.
70/30 split (fade or scope), trip splits, low tracking stripes. Definitely works the best for tracking the tama hole.
Koto-dama inlay tracking is the best I've played with. The tracking into the hole actually helps a lot while rotating.
My favorite so far has been the Bday tama because it kinda has a lot going on, once you get use to it you know where it is going at all times. Would be good to have one with similar markings but in black and white.
Been running a Sweets Rasta Fade for a long time and it seems to be easy to see for me because of the colors and stripe combo. Also partial to just a color variation at the equator, either painted or contrasting wood. I haven't played burn lines but it seems they'd be kind of hard to see. I'm curious if anyone has found ken tracking to be helpful? I've seen colored spikes and cups and have tried different methods myself with varying success.
I want to know opinions on this, too, especially when different woods are used, such as the dave mateo mod.
I haven't noticed ken tracking to be very helpful. My craft slim has ken tracking burn lines and never felt it helped, although as I said I find burn lines great for tracking. I don't own one sadly but I've played an Analog PHC. It's beautiful, but didn't find the solid colored cup helped much with tracking either.
I'm going to have to find or make a burn line setup to test out. I found that different colors painted inside the cups helps but only certain colors. For example my eyes really pick up yellow but not red or black. Also painting the base cup works better for me than the sarado cups.
Does no one just use the string hole for tracking? If I can see the string hole I know that I need to spike directly opposite! Apart from that the Koto dama has been one of the best Ive played for tracking the hole s far.
A few years into kendama, i never really gave heed about tracking lines, and relied more on the string hole and feeling (a.k.a. practice) for tricks. Later on i owned my first Slaydawg and loved the three-step tracking (10/60/30) paint! But then i started using the Legaxis Monochrome with the 50/50 split, and i seem to gravitate to that almost exclusively, and also due to the bottom half being white.
70/30 mainly and sometimes trip splits are my tama tracking method of choice! Especially if the color on the bottom is "brighter" than the rest of the tama. Like, think of the recent Matt Sweets' mods with the bright green on the bottom or DWI Chiro mod: natty bottom but black on the rest. In the past, I've found base cup markings/art or a drilled base cup hole helped me with tracking for lighty flips, but i don't really use it nowadays.
Brightest color at the bottom is very helpful! As for natty, Kotodama terraced is wonderful. A simple stripe anywhere works for me.
As for what I have tried the best tracking for me is any 70/30 split with a bright bottom. I haven't tried one but from the looks of it the legaxis also seems pretty prime for tracking with the red bevel.
Here are some damas I have that have the best tracking. For those above who believe wood burning doesnt give as good a tracking ability as other ways of tracking, you’re wrong. Even simple lines whether it’s the single line like the Stodd mod tamas or multiple like Craft tracking tamas or GT san stripes, they are still totally trackable, especially lower and closer to the tama hole (Aynedter mod). Most tama customs I burn are low tracking stripes with deep and dark burns contrasting lighter and/or unburned areas that enhance the tama hole visibility and tracking. Just as good as wood inlays like the kotodama and PNW pro mods and other low section tracking (70/30 splits, triple splits, the Legaxis Japan w/ red bevel, Krom Slaydawgs/pro mods, Sweets pro mods and the Sol Vibe series among some of the notable examples).
Far right is a Mugen Musou Glacier Turquoise tama & cups on a beech Ozora spike. The other would be the Static Shock Sol Vibe tama. Paired it with a hickory GT-1.5 ken.
70/30s and burn stripes on the bottom half of the tama is nice. The ken I think it really doesn;t help much, but I really like my analog emp purp cup for tracking. It may be that I just like to think it helps. here are some excamples of what I am talking about. (Not mine, just using the interwebz)