THIS WRITING finds a continued slow-down in new releases. Besides the ones we have checked out, there are more we have been asked to keep under our hat for now, but a break from a continual flood of new releases is pleasant.

Faball: Hammer Tour Offset

This Black Sable polished performer (with neon green core logo and dual red glow Hammer logos) uses the Microactive cover, Faball's new aggressive reactive cover with an infusion of Mica. Extensive testing allowed Faball to develop the Microactive cover with the right amount of Mica to provide recovery friction, but not so much as to allow the ball to over-react on the backend. This new highly aggressive cover can be sanded to offer earlier hook, or polished as needed.

This new cover is wrapped around a 3D Offset core, which uses Faball's Hammer Offset Technology. This particular 3D core is closest in design to the 3D core from the Super Flip, with reduced densities to give this medium Rg core less Rg differential for flare reduction and a smoother look on the backend. The neon green H.O.T. spot is still 63Ú4 inches from the emerald green pin to mark the offset portion of the core. This core design allows the polished aggressive cover to deliver great length and recover smoothly on the back end. The Tour Edition is cleaner up front than the Violet or Maxx 3D, with a fairly smooth continuous hook on the backend.

This medium/light oil ball will be available in 14, 15 and 16-pound weights, and any 3D offset drill may be applied for a specific lighter oil condition. Keep in mind this is a condition-specific, limited-use ball, and will work best when used on lighter patterns or when the bowler needs a handle on the lane. This ball is not in the flare/overall hook category of other 3D balls.

We got a pair of 3D Tours, which made it much quicker and easier to gauge both sides of the lane. One of them received a "sheet" drill for light oil/controlled backend and was used very successfully by Mr. Beach on the left (read: easy) side of the lane. On everything from a fresh wet/dry to "blown-up" heads, this Tour Model could be played tight in the head oil (with a smooth/sharp hook). As the heads went south, the ball could be played up the dry with great length and a playable recovery on the backend. As the backends tightened up, the ball still had a continuous move to the pocket with only a board or two move with the feet.

The other ball received our standard Offset Drill - pin 1 inch outside ring finger and H.O.T. spot 1 1/2 inches from grip center line. We could play this one up against the edge of the house "top hat," or move in the head oil and play up the boards. These old bones couldn't swing oil to dry, but the pups were impressed by how this one would skate the oil and turn the corner back to the hole without showing a hard jerk when it hit the dry. During league sets when the head oil did its normal disappearing act, the Tour Offset still sailed the heads very well and turned over right as expected. This one doesn't jump early as the heads toast out. On a recent scratch league night, we shared this one with a Hammer-head opponent the third game. The heads were gone and this pup ran the front eight with no effort. His comment: "The Tour takes the dry heads out of play and still blasts the backend." If not for operator error, we could've reported a perfecto the first night with the Tour Hammer.

The Tour Offset is a great addition to the Hammer line for late games, late shifts or scorched heads. Is it a boomer? No. Does it snap/hook? No. Is it very playable on wet/dry or fried heads? Yes! Faball offers a high-performance ball with length and hook with a handle for all players.

Storm: Blue Hot Flame

This new blue pearl, high Rg (very low Rg differential) uses the Storm reactive cover, Curelyon, with the Super Fleck Mica. This polished cover (with neon yellow logos and pin) sands easily, but with the length and small backend built into this ball, just leave it polished and save it for toast.

The core in this one is a four-part multi-density core from the Red Hot Flame Storm. This four-part core is used in 10-16-pound weights. The simple box drills are easy to follow, and if a power drill is applied, look for up to only 3 inches of flare. The new cover gives this ball a couple of boards (maybe) more than the Red Hot Flame.

A tip of the Riggins' Rig hat to the folks at Storm for a pair of Blue Hot Flames to use. We drilled one for left and one for right. Both pin-in 15-pound balls were drilled on-label. We used the balls and did an extensive pass-around with the instructions to go looking for toast. Strokers and tweeners were amazed at how these balls played long in the dry and hooked so smoothly on very dry conditions. The cranker pups loved the length, and were surprised that their heavy hands could get only moderate hook from the ball. The two main comments in our feedback sessions were: "Very long and smooth; nice to play up the lane in the dry," and, "This is like throwing a reactive White Dot."

If you are looking for a very moderately-priced performance ball for dry lane control, check out the Blue Hot Flame Storm.

Storm: El Nino

This newest high-performance entry from Storm features a new twist in the core: vertical dual density. The core is split lengthwise with a vertical specific gravity differential of nearly 40. This creates a symmetrical core with a defined core mass bias, without shifting the core off-center or adding arms or discs. This low Rg core (with a dense flip block on the bottom of the inverted bulb-shaped core) offers medium/high Rg differential. The side of this core with the mass bias is marked with a locator pin and MC2 (Motion Control Center) engraving to aid in ball layouts and precise drillings. Motion Control cores are used on 12- to 16-pound balls; use box drills for condition drills. The 10 and 11-pound models have multi-density cores; drill as three-piece.

This new core is encased in a new multi-color Curelyon reactive cover, which delivers a wider footprint for more surface contact on the lane. The color of the El Nino is unique, in that it looks like a swirled blend of the Meteor Storm and the Thunder Road Pearl. The El Nino is box-finished with a 1000-grit wet sand (very light polish); the ball sands and polishes easily and can deliver up to 6 inches of track flare. The neon green pin and neon green and yellow logos spark this one up.

We had a pair of El Ninos to drill and roll. The 5 inch pin-out was a puzzler, until Mr. Beach opted for a left-hand pin at PAP drill in an effort to create a smooth-rolling, heavy hitter. This layout (with light polish) produced a smooth ball for violent wet/dry house conditions and drier patterns. This no-flare drill does not deliver on oily-tight conditions, but works quite well out of the oil and into the dry.

The other El Nino had a power drill applied for use on the right side of the lane. This one stayed in box finish and delivered great performance until the heads blew. The El Nino delivered good length with a strong mid-lane roll and an aggressive hook to the pin deck. On fresh wet/dry, it gave the cranker pups a lot of area with a big hook, while these old bones saw a fairly smooth move on the backend. The El Nino is not in the monster "boomer" category of the Bolt et al, but it covers a lot of boards and wreaks as much havoc at the pin deck as any Storm. As the heads started to go, all you had to do was bump left to find a trace of oil, stay firm and play the consistent back-end move. This ball has less tendency to squirt or over-react than some other performance balls we have used. However, when the heads fry, the cover and power of the layout proved to be too much ball too early. With any trace of head oil, this is one strong, crisp-hitting ball.

The El Nino gives a strong, predictable hook with smashing hit. Power with control; nice job, Storm.

Visionary: Warlock D.C. Tour Edition

This newest Visionary release uses the core from the Purple Warlock D.C. (Directional Control). The Basic core looks like a cube with pucks added to the top, bottom and sides. The top of the core has a dense disc added, the bottom has a lighter disc, and one side (under the locator pin) uses the lightest-density disc of the three to build in a mass bias.

This core is surrounded by Visionary's newest and most aggressive reactive cover with a "hazed"-looking finish. This Magenta (almost hot pink) ball has a solid cover with a black pin and white logos. The surface is factory-polished and, given a light buff with a Scotch-Brite pad, produces a fine matte finish. When you see the sparkles on the ball, don't mistake them for mica; the sparkles are flecks of polish left from the Scotch-Brite buffing. This cover material sands or polishes easily for condition needs. Initial releases will be 14- to 16-pounds, with pin-in and pin-out construction.

Thanks to Visionary for a pair of new Warlocks to shake down. Unfortunately, the Warlock arrived the day before our deadline. We didn't get to shake these down much, but we will give you a little bit now and follow up next month with some additional conditions and surface work.

The right- and left-hand drills got a few practice games during a rare afternoon dead spot. We followed a ladies' league and a senior league, so we started with some chop in conditions and light carrydown. The Tour Edition delivered good length, and had a nice snap with excellent hit and carry. On this condition, the Tour Edition was more predictable than the Purple Pearl. The Purple had a tendency to squirt too far when it found oil down the lane, and jerk abruptly if it hit a dry spot. The Tour Edition was very clean up front and consistently smooth and continued on the backend. More next month as space allows.

What's the Big Deal about Mass Bias?

We have fielded several calls recently from shop operators and bowlers alike, asking about this new core mass bias stuff. Folks, core mass bias ain't new and it ain't magical. Mass bias has been around forever. Recently, it has been marketed, identified on balls and hyped as a marketing/merchandising tool. In laymen's terms, mass bias is a dynamic imbalance added to a ball, whether by adding extra "things" to a core, shifting a core in a ball, using an asymmetrical core or simply by drilling holes in a ball. Using the mass bias of a given ball is a "tool" for the pro shop professional to use in ball layout to fine-tune and "assist" the roll and motion potential of a given drill pattern.

In a ball with a marked/built-in mass bias or in a pin-out (3 inches or more symmetrical core ball), the ball driller can use the mass bias at different angles to the pin and PAP to give the same pin-position drill different reactions on the lane. Varying mass bias angles can be used to help the hook to be slightly stronger, help the ball roll slightly sooner, or deliver a smoother motion to the pocket... and these different motions can result with the pin in the same position. Note: mass bias is not your primary concern with the ball; ball surface is the key to when and where ball motion occurs. The ball surface must match the playing environment. Pin placement and ball Rg/Rg differential need to build the base for desired roll/reaction. Mass bias comes to the table to help "fine-tune" the roll/motion of the ball. It's nice to know the influence of mass bias, but don't out-think yourself. Mass bias is an item your professional pro shop operator (IBPSIA member or certified) should understand to assist your ball motion.