Production cues are just so damn consistent and easy to attain that it is hard to justify paying huge $$$ for a custom. Having said that, I am having a custom built a we speak. I have owned Scruggs, Carmelli, Jacoby, Shuriken, Nitti..the list goes on. The only one I liked was the Carmelli as far as playability goes. My main player is a bright green Schon, but I like to sample different cues as much as I can. The younger guys in my hall all play Cuetecs, Valhallas, Mcdermott Star, Kodas, etc. They like the fancy cues I bring around, but not enough to buy one on their own. At 38, I am a lot better off than i was at 25...No chance I would be having custom cues built then.