General Yo Majesty
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
December 23, 2012

Introduction

After so many incredible freshman yo-yo reviews I am taking a break and setting my sites on one of the big names in yo-yos… General Yo. Ernie dropped his latest creation on the community, the Majesty. It is another competition style design with heavy rim weight. It is very much a continuation if the design features he first introduced on the KLR. The Majesty is also the first General Yo run to use 7075 aluminum alloy instead of the more common 6061. There is a limited edition run of the Majesty in 6061 called the Purple Mountain Edition, which I have not thrown so I will not be able to compare the two for stability and speed. I am not expecting much of a difference in play, probably about similar to the GZR line from One Drop which also uses the same program for both alloys. When asked if he made any changes to compensate for the denser 7075 alloy Ernie came back and said he didn’t do a single thing differently in the design or the machining phase of the Majesty. This pretty much makes a point I have said in the past that the designer is the best tool a yo-yo can have… in Ernie’s own words on difference in alloys “we treat all aluminum the same. 2024, 6061 7075, 7050, its all the same to me. It’s true. 7075 might be a bit more dense, but the feeds and speeds on the machine are the same.” There you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth, if the horse happens to be a world-class yo-yo designer. All talks of alloys aside, now I need to see if the Majesty is new yo-yo royalty or if it needs to be locked up in the Tower of London.

Specs

• Diameter: 55.10 mm
• Width: 43 mm
• Gap: 4.35 mm
• Weight: 66.9 grams
• Bearing: Size C AIGR Bearing
• Response: General Yo Thick Hat Pads

Construction

The profile of the Majesty borrows heavily from the KLR. It is a melding of the classic butterfly at the rims with the more aggressive catch zone of a V-Shape design. Where the KLR and the Majesty profiles differ is the gap design. On the KLR it is a straight shot from the rim to the response while on the Majesty there is an extra step out near the response. The step out keeps the string farther away from the walls, reducing friction that can slow down the yo-yo during play. Cup design on the Majesty is slightly similar to the KLR but the changes are quite a bit more noticeable. The rim weight is recessed a little more, there is absolutely no IGR and the rim is much wider, shifting more weight away from the center of the yo-yo. The Majesty comes wrapped in General Yo’s signature blast, giving it a slick, velvety feel while holding it in your hand. Speaking of holding it in your hand, comfort level is quite high with the Majesty. There is not a single sharp edge or harsh angle to cause discomfort during play or while holding it in your hand. I found that the Majesty fit my hand better than the KLR. Some might think that Ernie is taking the easy way out design wise. I, on the other hand, could not be happier that the design is an extension on the KLR. When I reviewed the KLR six months ago I called it General Yo’s best yo-yo to date. Design wise, the Majesty improves on that already impressive design. If it plays as well as it looks then General Yo may have new best in show.

Weight

The Majesty is pretty much the same as the KLR while using the denser 7075 alloy. The weight is focused mostly in the rims giving the Majesty impressive spin times and quite a bit of stability. The speed is spot on for my play style, never feeling too fast for me. The Majesty can be pushed for those with a quicker style but feels right at home with players that prefer to relax and flow from trick to trick.

Response and Bearing

The stock response is the always-impressive General Hat Pad system. Hat Pads come in two sizes, thick and thin allowing for a little customization in feel. The Majesty comes with two thick pads giving a flush response. Hat Pads take a little time to break in before they hit their sweet spot. Once there, they last for quite a long time before needing to be replaced.

The bearing is General Yo’s own AIGR bearing. They can get a little louder than a 10-Ball which is to be expected from an 8-ball bearing but it gives just as smooth and trouble free performance as One Drop’s offering… and there is just something cool about being able to say that your yo-yo bearing is also used in U.S. military aircraft.

Playability

This feels like déjà vu all over again. As with the KLR I ripped this yo-yo from the box and immediately started throwing, and as with the KLR I found the Majesty to be simply amazing from the first throw onwards. Thanks to the extra step in the catch zone, loops stay open quite a bit longer on suicides. The masking around the step and the response area reduces the friction even more reducing string wear during play. The spin times are off the charts thanks to the increased rim weight. The trick I like to use to test the spin times and the amount of string I can throw in the gap is Guy Wright’s bunny rabbit picture trick. Quite a few of my yo-yos spin out before I can complete the trick unless I use an inordinate amount of force on the initial throw. The Majesty handled the trick like a champ, and on a normal throw no less. The stability of the Majesty was brilliant as well. After a couple of throws I was able to just trust that the yo-yo would be where I needed it in order to land tricks without looking, coming in quite useful for behind the back Ninja Vanishes and behind the head Eli Hops… a trick that personally makes me cringe because I smack my head more often than naught. Just about the only area the Majesty comes up short is with thumb grinds. Every other type of grind is perfect, not good mind you but absolutely perfect. Thumb grinds for me were next to impossible thanks to my rotund thumbs. On the plus side, the spikes are more than sharp enough to grab on a pop up allowing you to balance it on your finger. Over all the play is a step above anything General Yo has made in the past.

Final Thoughts

I could end this review by draining the entire thesaurus of synonyms for excellent and be done with it. I like the Majesty that much. This is an evolution of the design that Ernie started with the KLR. Not only does it surpass the KLR as my favorite General Yo, it knocks quite a few off my list of all time favorite yo-yos. Many have considered the Torrent to be one of the greatest yo-yos ever produced; this is my Torrent. I would love to give the Purple Mountain Edition a shot just to see if the alloy switch makes a vast difference. More to the point I need to find a regular Majesty to add to my collection. It is a MUST OWN for me and deserving of a second, third, and even a fourth run from Ernie.