Bazooka troubles...

[Alec_Benjamin]

So Skinmech was kind enough to give me a lend of his beloved Bazooka recently and despite everyone's rave reviews...I haven't been able to get on with it, but I really want to!
I set it up with a 13 curved mag, a slight bend at the bottom of the needle bar and used the needle tensioner.
I found that even the slightest adjustment in the tensioner made the cps drop dramatically, and finding the perfect tension was near impossible. I tried rubber bands but there is nowhere on the machine for them to sit correctly.
After I set the machine up as best I could, I couldn't get the thing to put black in, it seemed very soft, just making the skin red with little result.
I ran between 7-9 volts.
Any thoughts? I don't want to give up on it.

[asA]

Both my bazookas hit really soft too. But both of mine have give... Even the adjustable one on the hardest setting still has a lot of give.