i do indeed build one piece butts. I like using purpleheart, maple & shedua. The maple & shedua need a lot of weight added & positioned properly to get a nice balance. The purpleheart doesn't need much but still requires a lot of extra work beyond the simplistic theory of building a one piece butt.
A single piece of purpleheart would be too stiff & hard, like playing with a 2x4. A single piece of maple would feel like a dud. Combined with the correct proportion, they give a perfect medium.
Again, a one piece butt can be made to play great & feel great, but there's a lot of work to it that you don't see on the outside.
When i build a solid purpleheart cue, i have to be extra picky with shafts, choosing the shafts that have a little softer & lower tone, with a little more flex than my typical shafts.
I have to choose shafts by weight that can aid in reaching the desired balance point. Without correct balance, no cue will play well no matter how great it is or who built it. And without a ton of shafts in finish size to choose from, of different qualities & different sources, then it'll be very tough for a builder to pull off a one piece butt that compares well to a 3-piece. It's a science. It's complicated. This is barely scratching the surface.
The best way i can think of to explain it is that it's easier & more efficient to build a great hitting 3-piece butt than it is to build a solid one piece butt.
It's not difficult, and there's no parts to glue together in joinery, but it requires some experience & knowledge to make it comparable to a 3-piece butt.
