aperturI've owned 3 Shutters, and really it's just all preference between this and the Shutter. I think I would give the Shutter a little bit of an edge, just because I prefer the full blast on most models, and it's a bit bigger. They both play extremely well for the price though, I mean Gentry won Worlds with a Shutter, so there's that. If you want to make either of them responsive you'll need a slim C-bearing, rubber o-rings rather than the silicone response pads, super lube, and thick string. It's too much of a hassle to turn a unreponsive yoyo responsive in my opinion, I'd say grab something responsive off the bat like a YoYoJam Classic or something of the like.
SomunchyThanks for the detailed answer! I just got a YYJ Classic yesterday! I'm still on the fence with the April or Shutter... The colourway of the April is so hard to resist! And I'm having trouble finding a good deal for the Shutter in silver. I guess as a novice, a larger yoyo is easier to play? Thanks again.
aperturNot necessarily a larger YoYo, but one with a wider gap. But most wide gaps come with wide YoYos in general, so yeah I suppose one could say larger YoYos are easier to learn on. Two best places to check for a Shutter would be YoYo Bestbuy and YoYo Expert, there's a few other sites but those are the most likely to have it for a good price. But Shutters are always going to be more readily available than the April, so keep that in mind as well.
aperturOh no, I didn't mean to say that the April is a limited edition, just that the Shutter is produced by a much bigger company and can already be found all over, with reproductions coming out often enough, and I'm not quite sure when the April will begin to show up in other stores, or how easy it will be to find one. Either choice you make will be a good one though, and glad to be of help!