What does retool and pre-retool mean exactly?

I was looking at the comparison of cubes thread and saw that there was comparison between retooled and preretooled. Is this just referring to disassembling the cube (such as a 4x4 revenge) and messing with the core screws?

I have a rubiks 4x4 that I use at the moment, I am not very good, prolly in the 5 minute range but thats mostly because my 3x3 is 1:30. But what I was wondering, is my 4x4 is really slick, I can load a vid if neccesary, and if I should worry about retooling (once I get a definition)

I am so lost lol.

After the original release of the Rubik's revenge, they released a "re-tooled" one. The differences were in the inside "track" for the centers, and half of the plastic pieces outisde the "ball" were now secured to it from the inside. Basically, all that means is that you cannot change cores between an old "pre-tooled" 4x4 and a new "re-tooled" 4x4. Most belive that the pre-tooled one is better. You probably have a re-tooled one. Note: The mefferts 4x4 is just a copy of the pre-tooled rubik's Revenge.

Pre-tooled Rubik's Revenge:
The old kind of Rubik's Brand 4x4 made before 2008. Most people like this version.

Re-tooled Rubik's Revenge:
The new kind of Rubik's Brand 4x4. Most people don't like this kind of 4x4, because it's pretty stiff.

so a retooled one is a 4x4 with the center ball having the track laid out on which the center sit?

can I get a picture of what the difference is? I bought mine about 3 weeks ago, I can get a pic up if that helps

http://cubesmith.com/Parts.htm

Old core has screws visible on the surface. New one has little holes and no visible screws. If you bought yours recently it's most likely a retooled core, unless you bought it off someone on ebay or something.

ahh i get it now, whats the difference in performance?

From what I've heard, the pre-tooled ones are better, lock up less, and pop less. Don't quote me on that as I might not remember correctly. I have a re-tooled one.

alright, thanks for all the help guys!

Re-tooled studio is sweet

OK... Jcuber, you have your facts wrong.

In around August of 2007, rubiks started putting new versions of their cubes out into stores. this goes for 3x3, 4x4, and 5x5. For the 4x4, they made the puzzle lighter, and increased the strength of the puzzle, in order to prevent breakage. It's still the same basic mechanism as the previous version, but with some slight changes. In my opinion, the new ones are the worst 4x4 available, and I won't ever use it for speedsolving. After a bit of breaking in, they lock up and just get horrific. I much prefer the older model, except for that over time, they get too loose to solve.

Also, the mefferts 4x4 is a slight variation of the old mechanism. It's not the same as either modern era rubiks. I think it's actually a "retooling" of the original 1982 mechanism.