Outside of end caps blowing off or visual clues of tampering, one of the leading concerns customers have of owning a shaved bat is "will the bat sound audibly different than a stock bat?"  The answer is yes and no.  There is a huge misconception any shaved bat sounds audibly different than a stock bat.  I have been in this business nearly 10 years, have shaved tens of thousands of bats in my day, have played slowpitch softball for almost 20 years and can tell you without any shadow of a doubt, a shaved bat can sound stock.  I have swung plenty to know and have seen my own products in action for many years.  2 variables come into play on sound change: 1) bat construction 2) level of shave.

Lets start with the easiest variable to explain, level of shave. The more you shave off the wall of a bat, the greater the chance you have of the bat beginning to sound audibly different.  Most all bats shaved to our Level 1 Standard Spec will be inaudibly different than a stock bat.  Most cases, a level 1 serviced bat will sound like a nicely broken in stock bat.  Once you get into the our level 2 and above service levels, this is where some sound change can occur.  Granted it depends on the bat, but generally speaking Level 2 will sound slightly different than stock and by slight, nothing to extreme in my opinion.  Someone with a trained ear could probably pick it out, but the more obvious reason why one may be called out would be how hot it is vs sound.  Level 3 will definitely sound audibly different and our Stadium Spec will no doubt sound audibly different.  Ever hear a bat sound a like a shotgun going off? Chances are it is shaved to a level 3 + or equivalent.  

The other variable that comes into play on sound change is the type of construction.  Take for example the  Louisville Slugger LXT or Louisville Slugger Xeno fastpitch bats.  These bats are called linear bats meaning the outer shell flexes to an inner fixture.  One of the benefits to bats like these is they require zero break in.  In this example, both the LXT and Xeno use a limiting collar to keep the outer wall from flexing more than the allowable limit.  These bats also sound like you are hitting with a frying pan.  The frying pan sound is caused by the wall bouncing off the disc assembly.  When you shave these bats, part of the process is removing the inner disc assembly.  The bat is reassembled less the disc and on impact, no more frying pan sound. The bat sounds like any other "normal" bat after service.  Funny thing is, the LXT and Xeno are our shops #1 and #2 best selling fastpitch bats!  Must not be that big of a deal.  Another example of a linear bat is the 2018+ Miken or Worth ASA 2 piece bats.  The Miken KP23 ASA,  Miken DC41 ASA, Miken Primo ASA, Worth Ryan Harvey ASA, Worth EST ASA, etc.......all these bats are linear bats as well, but get this, not a single one will sound audibly different shaved to any service level!  These bats bone stock sound like a shot gun going off or another slang term widely used, "like hitting glass".  No matter what shave you do to these bats, ZERO difference in sound. 

With all this said, I hope this clears up some misconceptions out there and leaves you more at piece with your purchase.  In terms of visual clues or end cap issues, you should not have any worry there if you choose our company for service.  Feel free to message or call if you have questions on if my bat will sound different.  We would be happy to discuss