Base Balance
 

Basically speaking, when you tweak a base, you are breaking the base in to get the most performance out of it. The tweaker wants the bristles of the base to be as responsive as possible. He or she achieves that by smashing, melting, and pulling the prongs in an attempt to soften, shape, position, and align them.

In regards to base tweaking, it depends on what you are trying to achieve from a particular base. A total of 12 bases come on a single sprue. Believe it or not, although they are the same in appearance, each one of those bases has unique characteristics. To prove this theory, run the bases before tweaking any of them. Some bases will go; some may go slow. Others may not go at all.

The reason for this difference in performance is due to the manufacturing process. Materials such as resin and silicone are used to make plastic products. Just like a lot of plastic products, bases are shaped from a mold. The liquid materials that will make the base are poured into its mold, which will harden to form the finished product of a base. During that pour, the mixture of resin and silicone may or may not be balanced. This results in some of the bases getting or not getting the even balance of resin and silicone that they each need.

This balance or unbalance can exist throughout the base. The bristles or prongs are the most sensitive part of the base. One bristle or prong can have the right balance and the others may not. The balance of resin and silicone can be the difference between a base that response well to tweaking than a base that doesn’t. Resin gives the base structure. Silicone gives the base softness. Softer bases are more receptive to tweaking than harder bases.

Maurice

The Electric Coach

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