Ladies and Gentlemen,
I appreciate your opinion in advance. Thank you.
I want a first cue. I have never been a professional player. In my own mind I was probably "good" but really I was probably terrible. I was never taught to play nor did I learn the fundamentals, I just had a natural understanding. And it was fun to me. I'm tired of going out to bars, so I'm getting a table for the house and a solid first cue.
Quickly: my first AR-15 build was $2,500. My first flashlight was $170. My first knife was $280. I don't do the "start here and see if you like it, etc." or the "why spend more than X for a first cue?" I buy quality first. I also don't do "exotics". Notice how everything above is in the enthusiast range. There are $8,000 AR's, $500 lights and $2,000 knives. I won't buy them.
I was DEAD SET on a Predator Sport 2 ICE no-wrap. $390-$450 is what I've seen it at. It's white. It's beautiful. And then I read it was made in China. We obviously all own things made in China, but if I can avoid it I will. I would say aesthetics matter. I am not interested in a sneaky pete. I found that the general consensus was that 300-600 would get you a solid, quality cue that would last and play well. After the predator China debacle, I found OB. And then I found multiple occasions where people said "if I had $xxx, it wouldn't be an OB.
I value the opinion of the people, especially those more experienced. This post differs from the rest because I had a baseline, the predator, I don't want a wrap, and I've searched the forums and done my own research. I will buy: Schon, McDermott, Mezz and MAYBE Predator/Lucasi. My holdback is would a $600 Predator/Lucasi be as good as the "lower end" of the other manufacturers? I don't want a custom cue, I'll take production.
TL
R and final question: since my budget seems to be on the lower end for Schon and Mezz, would a more expensive Predator or lucasi make sense? I'm iffy on China, I don't like wraps and it's not detrimental, but for $550 I should be able to look at my cue and know it's worth what I paid for it.
And then there's warranty. Lifetime warranty, including warping on Lucasi is kind of hard to turn your nose up at. Either they know it won't warp, or they're that confident in their product. I can afford $500 a year, so I'm trying not to let the "allure" of protection and Chinese manufacturing make my decision for me, so I'd like your thoughts.
No poll, no "best cue maker ever". Not asking you to make my decision for me. I may also be missing something. One of you may blow my mind and come up with a combo for $550 that would be excellent. I am not opposed to a little more money to make that happen. I also waited 3 days to be approved and searched and only found "make my decision for me" posts. So please, no hate if your search-fu is on a higher level.
I appreciate your opinion in advance. Thank you.
I want a first cue. I have never been a professional player. In my own mind I was probably "good" but really I was probably terrible. I was never taught to play nor did I learn the fundamentals, I just had a natural understanding. And it was fun to me. I'm tired of going out to bars, so I'm getting a table for the house and a solid first cue.
Quickly: my first AR-15 build was $2,500. My first flashlight was $170. My first knife was $280. I don't do the "start here and see if you like it, etc." or the "why spend more than X for a first cue?" I buy quality first. I also don't do "exotics". Notice how everything above is in the enthusiast range. There are $8,000 AR's, $500 lights and $2,000 knives. I won't buy them.
I was DEAD SET on a Predator Sport 2 ICE no-wrap. $390-$450 is what I've seen it at. It's white. It's beautiful. And then I read it was made in China. We obviously all own things made in China, but if I can avoid it I will. I would say aesthetics matter. I am not interested in a sneaky pete. I found that the general consensus was that 300-600 would get you a solid, quality cue that would last and play well. After the predator China debacle, I found OB. And then I found multiple occasions where people said "if I had $xxx, it wouldn't be an OB.
I value the opinion of the people, especially those more experienced. This post differs from the rest because I had a baseline, the predator, I don't want a wrap, and I've searched the forums and done my own research. I will buy: Schon, McDermott, Mezz and MAYBE Predator/Lucasi. My holdback is would a $600 Predator/Lucasi be as good as the "lower end" of the other manufacturers? I don't want a custom cue, I'll take production.
TL
R and final question: since my budget seems to be on the lower end for Schon and Mezz, would a more expensive Predator or lucasi make sense? I'm iffy on China, I don't like wraps and it's not detrimental, but for $550 I should be able to look at my cue and know it's worth what I paid for it. And then there's warranty. Lifetime warranty, including warping on Lucasi is kind of hard to turn your nose up at. Either they know it won't warp, or they're that confident in their product. I can afford $500 a year, so I'm trying not to let the "allure" of protection and Chinese manufacturing make my decision for me, so I'd like your thoughts.
No poll, no "best cue maker ever". Not asking you to make my decision for me. I may also be missing something. One of you may blow my mind and come up with a combo for $550 that would be excellent. I am not opposed to a little more money to make that happen. I also waited 3 days to be approved and searched and only found "make my decision for me" posts. So please, no hate if your search-fu is on a higher level.
