Yeah, I don't hear a lot of McDermott hate on here at all, actually, for a production company they seem to have retained a fair bit of respect from their older cue and most people seem to think that the current stuff is at least good for the money.
I have had experience with two McD cues and I have to say I wasn't impressed with either, both were brand new and neither was straight. But I can accept that those were likely just anomalies because most people seem to have decent experience with them.
I think if you are looking for a decently priced cue that will play nice McDermott or Viking is the way to go (I started with a Viking many years ago and I still have it and it's still reasonably straight after being in some pretty poor stoorage conditions. Have to image it would be straighter if it wasn't for the winter it spent in an unheated storage unit.
That being said it seems it takes $200 to get into any decent production cue these days and that is for a very base model. Once you get up to the fancier stuff you're in the entry level custom range. I would rather spend my money on an entry level PJ or SP custom than a production model. I believe they get more attention put on them during construction and more time spent selecting quality woods. Plus, I like supporting small craft builders like that in many things, not just cues.
I have had experience with two McD cues and I have to say I wasn't impressed with either, both were brand new and neither was straight. But I can accept that those were likely just anomalies because most people seem to have decent experience with them.
I think if you are looking for a decently priced cue that will play nice McDermott or Viking is the way to go (I started with a Viking many years ago and I still have it and it's still reasonably straight after being in some pretty poor stoorage conditions. Have to image it would be straighter if it wasn't for the winter it spent in an unheated storage unit.
That being said it seems it takes $200 to get into any decent production cue these days and that is for a very base model. Once you get up to the fancier stuff you're in the entry level custom range. I would rather spend my money on an entry level PJ or SP custom than a production model. I believe they get more attention put on them during construction and more time spent selecting quality woods. Plus, I like supporting small craft builders like that in many things, not just cues.