The Nittaku Acoustic is renowned as one of the best table tennis blades on the market. With its unique combination of power and speed, it offers exceptional control to enhance performance.
In our previous blogs, we have never mentioned any blade from the Nittaku Company. But actually, this table tennis giant has released a bunch of classic blades and rubbers.
Nittaku Acoustic blade is suitable for those offensive players who pursue great speed with control, as well as clear feeling and feedback from every single stroke. The blade is made from wood used for musical instruments, ensuring players have a solid feel for close-to-table topspin rallies.
Who uses Nittaku Acoustic?
The reason why Nittaku Acoustic becomes well-known is perhaps because of the use of two superstar players: Ma Long and Ai Fukuhara. What? Yeah, sounds surprising, right? Ma Long used Nittaku Acoustic for a long time when he was young until the DHS company made Long 5 and W968 for him.
Actually, many young Chinese players use Nittaku like Ma Long as this is quite a top blade in the market even nowadays. Ma Long himself has switched many blades and finally, he chose DHS Hurricane Long 5 as this blade is customized for him.
Another star user is Japanese female player Ai Fukuhara, which is super popular in China and other countries. People love her because of her great table tennis skill and her beauty. Fukuhara has used this blade for quite a long time in her career.
Unfortunately, Fukuhara announced her retirement on 21, October 2018 and now she is the mother of two children. We no longer have the chance to see this legendary player using Nittaku Acoustic playing the games.
Review of Nittaku Acoustic
Appearance and construction
The Nittaku Acoustic is famous for its material which is the same as the music instrument. Thus, on the surface of the blade, it can be observed that there is a drawing of a guitar. The overall design and workmanship make this blade looks elegant and exquisite.
Nittaku Acoustic is a 5-ply all-wood blade. There are two layers of limba outside and the core is tung tree material. The blade is well-known for its gluing and infiltration technique, making the blade a superb feeling and delivering an unsurpassed performance both in the hand and in actual play.
The weight of Nittaku Acoustic is 85g, which is a standard weight for all wood blades. The blade is quite thin and the handle has an amazing feeling when I hold it in my hand. Perhaps that is why loads of Chinese players are fond of it, as the thinner handle fits Asian players better.
It’s worth mentioning that Acoustic is only available for FL and ST versions. Some European players are keen on thicker AN handles, which might be a little bit inconvenient for them. However, there are both shakehand and penhold versions, so basically speaking, it can satisfy the need of the majority.
Speed
When I first used Nittaku Acoustic, the blade itself gave me an amazing feel and feedback on the strokes. The sounds of hitting the ball are crispy. Especially when I played near the table, the ball has great initial speed and maintains the speed after falling onto the table. It’s proper for near-to-table looping, driving, and smashing.
After I took several steps back, it can be noticed that the speed is slightly slower than the carbon blade. It’s quite normal that all wood blades can’t have the same absolute speed and generate the same powerful strokes as well as the carbon blades. But equipped with energy 64, I find that it’s definitely sufficient for me and for the majority of players.
There is an easy solution for this problem which is to match the blade with a super-fast rubber with great catapult effect, like the Tenergy series or Donic Bluefire Series.
Spin
As we mentioned before, the ability to generate spinny balls mainly depends on the deformation of the blade and the grab of the ball. When playing with topspins, it can be clearly felt that the blade has great deformation. Its impact range extends farther, allowing more control and adding more spins to the shots you make.
With this paddle, you can perform monstrous spins from near to far distances and generate even more power by angling your shots in order to outwit your opponents. The Acoustic also helps improve efficiency since it has a larger sweet spot than other blades.
No matter whether you are in topspin rallies, or you want to lift up heavy backspin balls, this blade can have a great throw and help you improve a lot in the games.
Control
Control is the greatest feature of all wood blades. Considering its balance of control and speed, the Acoustic’s material construction offers an optimal level of resilience while still maintaining a reasonably brisk rate of play.
As the blade itself have a super clear feeling, players can place the ball easily at any zone they want. During the test, both my teammate and I are surprised by its precise placement for both long and short pushes. Especially playing with advanced players, we have to place the ball in the net zone as short as possible in order not to let our rivals lift up and attack easily.
Defense
Like all other wood blades, the defense of Nittaku Acoustic is quite satisfying as well. I test the blade with both short pips and inverted rubbers.
In the case of inverted rubbers, I feel that the passive block is quite easy with this blade. But for the active block, I have to block the ball with a smaller angle, otherwise, the ball might be outside of the table.
But what made me surprised is its performance with short pips. As one of my teammates use this blade with short pips on the backhand, I tried her blade for 30 minutes. Despite that, Acoustic is not a defensive blade, I could feel that the incoming power is absorbed and I could control the placement back easily. Sometimes I can do a counterattack with short pips against the heavy topspin balls!
Best rubber for Nittaku Acoustic
As we mentioned, for some offensive players, if speed and explosiveness at a far distance from the table is their preference and priority, then it’s better for them to choose a harder, faster rubber with a great catapult effect.
Here we recommend: Yasaka Rakza 7, Tenergy 64, Xiom Omega IV, DHS Hurricane NEO 3
For some players who desire great spin with proper control, then it is suggested to use softer but spinny rubber. Players can have the advantage in topspin rallies.
Here we recommend: Nittaku Narucross, Donic Bluefire m2, Donic Acuda S2
Pros and Cons of Nittaku Acoustic
Pros:
- Great Control
- Very clear feeling for every single stroke
- Great speed compared to other all-wood blades
Cons:
- Super expensive
- Sometimes lack enough speed at a far distance from the table compared with carbon blade
Nittaku Acoustic vs Viscaria
Nittaku Acoustic and Butterfly Viscaria have lots of common points. Both of them are top offensive blades. But as there are many versions of the Viscaria blade, here we make the comparison between Acoustic and Viscaria Super ALC.
In terms of construction, Acoustic is an all-wood blade while Viscaria has a 5-ply wood + 2 Super Arylate-Carbon structure. The 2-ply carbon makes Viscaria more powerful and has faster speed, no matter near or far from the table.
Besides, Viscaria is bouncier and violent, making it harder to control. From this point, Nittaku Acoustic is more friendly to beginners and intermediate-level players. The tender and clear feeling can help players improve their games gradually. But Viscaria is only suitable for advanced players that already have solid basic skills.
By the way, both these two blades are super expensive. So it’s better to protect them well after purchasing them. Imagine that you are using a table tennis blade that the wood is also for the manufacture of music instruments!
Conclusion
The Nittaku Acoustic blade is a great choice for anyone looking for an all-around table tennis racket. Its balanced construction helps with keeping shots steady and true to the line, making this blade suitable for both beginners and advanced players.
Featuring a moderate level of power output, it provides just the right amount of control and threat to pose a challenge while still being manageable and predictable.
With proper setup, Nittaku Acoustic can help you get great feedback on the strokes and realize your mistakes and drawbacks of yourself. Thus, your table tennis skill can be improved a lot.
Don’t forget that even Ma Long used this blade before he became the grand slam and full Hexagon warrior!
