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Head to head

Gosen A.K. Control 16 vs Prince Premier Control 16

A.K. Control 16 leads on 3 of 6 measurements. The widest gap is tension loss, where Premier Control 16 is 16 percentile points ahead. Every figure is a testing-machine result at a fixed reference tension.

Measured, side by side

Gosen

A.K. Control 16

Nylon · 16 ga

Prince

Premier Control 16

Nylon · 16 ga

Stiffness lower = softer, kinder on the arm
15720th pct
15822nd pct
Tension loss lower = stays where you strung it
2227th pct
1811th pct
Energy return higher = livelier, more free power
9495th pct
9388th pct
Spin potential higher = more spin off the string bed
5.467th pct
5.467th pct
Ball bite higher = grabs the ball harder
0.49977th pct
0.47166th pct
String friction lower = strings slide and snap back
0.09353rd pct
0.08739th pct

Bars are percentile against all 791 strings, and the marked side is the one that measures better, which is not always the one you want. A firmer bed is worse for your elbow and better for your control, and no measurement knows which of those you came for.

Which one wins, by problem

Each string's standing on the site's rankings, out of every measured string in the database. This is where a comparison stops being arithmetic and starts being a decision.

Swapping between them: what tension?

Bed stiffness is published at one reference tension, so the only honest conversion is to scale it. These are starting points from 52 lb, not prescriptions. The calculator takes your own tension.

Coming from A.K. Control 16 at 52 lb

String Premier Control 16 at 51.4 lb 23.3 kg

Coming from Premier Control 16 at 52 lb

String A.K. Control 16 at 52.5 lb 23.8 kg

Hybrid: what if you used both?

Estimated, not measured. No hybrid combination has been tested as a bed. These figures are the two strings' own lab measurements weighted by how much of the bed each one actually is. Treat them as a guide to which way a pairing moves, never as lab data.

A.K. Control 16 mains / Premier Control 16 crosses

Stiffness20th pct · 1 measured
Tension loss21st pct · 1 measured
Energy return93rd pct · 1 measured
Spin potential67th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite75th pct · 1 measured
String friction48th pct · 1 measured

Premier Control 16 mains / A.K. Control 16 crosses

Stiffness21st pct · 1 measured
Tension loss16th pct · 1 measured
Energy return91st pct · 1 measured
Spin potential67th pct · 1 measured
Ball bite68th pct · 1 measured
String friction43rd pct · 1 measured

Open this in the hybrid builder

Which goes dead first?

Estimated from tension loss, which is the only thing the database measures about ageing. This is when the bed stops playing the way you strung it, not when the string breaks.

A.K. Control 16

~32 hours of play

Premier Control 16

~37 hours of play

Both strings in full

Every published measurement
StringGaugePriceStiff lb/inLoss %Power %SpinBite COFFriction COF
Gosen A.K. Control 16 Nylon16find15722945.40.4990.093
Prince Premier Control 16 Nylon16find15818935.40.4710.087

Add a third string A.K. Control 16 in full Premier Control 16 in full