Ok....this cue came through my door last week. Its not mine but it was going to be here for a few days so what's a boy to do? Play with it quick sharp.
Just a few words on construction. The overall construction is something to behold. How clean and perfect Gus made his points with the tools he had at his disposal is truly an amazing thing. The inlays are also perfect, just think how old this cue is. Ivory joint? Like it was made yesterday. Its a pleasure to just look at it in the hand. How does it play? Read on.......
I have owned a lot of cues. I mean a lot of cues. I have played with all of them. Some have been good, some have been poor, some have been astounding. The one thing you have to be is honest with yourself. If the cue plays poor, it plays poor regardless of who made it. Its the only way to be and you can kid yourself all day long that the cue SHOULD play good but if it doesn't....then it doesn't. Now, I had heard many stories about this cue and its playability. The one thing that led credence to some of those stories is that Dennis Searing and John Showman both thought this particular Gus was a great player and Dennis went on to say he felt it was the best playing Gus he had ever used. The both of them know a thing or two about cues so it lends weight to the story. The hit of a cue, however, is still a subjective thing so I put all that behind me and headed off to the pool hall......
I use a relatively heavy cue these days...about 19.5oz, this felt heavier than that and my stroke felt a little strange at first because of this. Having said that, the balance of the cue with the original shafts is spot on, so that kind of cancels the weight thing. I also use Predator shafts normally....yes I know....but I do and there is nothing I can do about it...so playing with the original Gus shafts would be strange for me. I hit my first ball with the Gus and.........I get up in amazement. Never has a cue been in my hands that has hit like this. It is so positive, firm and yet you can feel the transfer and delivery as you should do. I keep things simple and play plain ball shots for now. I am in another world at this point. Bombs could have gone off and I wouldn't have known. I am captivated. I start to put a little draw on the cue ball and the white ball appears to be travelling further with the same effort. Then I start to do ridiculous draw shots and I can achieve at least half a table further than I have ever done. Up and down twice with a draw shot? Too cool for words. Small amounts of effort and effortless power transfer to the cue ball. I could go on, you understand what I am saying already though.
This cue is special. Very special. I know it was made by arguably one of the finest cue makers of all time but what does that really mean? This cue tells me why players flocked to Gus Szamboti for a cue. I have owned a few Gus Szamboti cues in my time and I loved them all, playability and construction (Where is my lime green veneer Gus anyone????) but this cue is in another league to everything else I have played with ever and it broke my heart to ship it out today.
The fact is, not many people will get to use an ivory jointed Gus Szamboti in their lifetime and I think thats a real shame because everyone who plays pool needs to experience what I experienced the other night....even if its just once.
I had to share.....thank you for reading.
Si
PS: Doesn't another site use the term 'Monster'? This cue is Godzilla on steroids.
PPS: This post isn't intended as a review, I was just sharing my experience....now look at the pics.
Just a few words on construction. The overall construction is something to behold. How clean and perfect Gus made his points with the tools he had at his disposal is truly an amazing thing. The inlays are also perfect, just think how old this cue is. Ivory joint? Like it was made yesterday. Its a pleasure to just look at it in the hand. How does it play? Read on.......
I have owned a lot of cues. I mean a lot of cues. I have played with all of them. Some have been good, some have been poor, some have been astounding. The one thing you have to be is honest with yourself. If the cue plays poor, it plays poor regardless of who made it. Its the only way to be and you can kid yourself all day long that the cue SHOULD play good but if it doesn't....then it doesn't. Now, I had heard many stories about this cue and its playability. The one thing that led credence to some of those stories is that Dennis Searing and John Showman both thought this particular Gus was a great player and Dennis went on to say he felt it was the best playing Gus he had ever used. The both of them know a thing or two about cues so it lends weight to the story. The hit of a cue, however, is still a subjective thing so I put all that behind me and headed off to the pool hall......
I use a relatively heavy cue these days...about 19.5oz, this felt heavier than that and my stroke felt a little strange at first because of this. Having said that, the balance of the cue with the original shafts is spot on, so that kind of cancels the weight thing. I also use Predator shafts normally....yes I know....but I do and there is nothing I can do about it...so playing with the original Gus shafts would be strange for me. I hit my first ball with the Gus and.........I get up in amazement. Never has a cue been in my hands that has hit like this. It is so positive, firm and yet you can feel the transfer and delivery as you should do. I keep things simple and play plain ball shots for now. I am in another world at this point. Bombs could have gone off and I wouldn't have known. I am captivated. I start to put a little draw on the cue ball and the white ball appears to be travelling further with the same effort. Then I start to do ridiculous draw shots and I can achieve at least half a table further than I have ever done. Up and down twice with a draw shot? Too cool for words. Small amounts of effort and effortless power transfer to the cue ball. I could go on, you understand what I am saying already though.
This cue is special. Very special. I know it was made by arguably one of the finest cue makers of all time but what does that really mean? This cue tells me why players flocked to Gus Szamboti for a cue. I have owned a few Gus Szamboti cues in my time and I loved them all, playability and construction (Where is my lime green veneer Gus anyone????) but this cue is in another league to everything else I have played with ever and it broke my heart to ship it out today.
The fact is, not many people will get to use an ivory jointed Gus Szamboti in their lifetime and I think thats a real shame because everyone who plays pool needs to experience what I experienced the other night....even if its just once.
I had to share.....thank you for reading.
Si
PS: Doesn't another site use the term 'Monster'? This cue is Godzilla on steroids.
PPS: This post isn't intended as a review, I was just sharing my experience....now look at the pics.
