It's Not A Stradivarius It's A Stick

Johnnyt

Johnnyt

Burn all jump cues
Silver Member
You can have a $5000 cue that hits a ton:rolleyes:, the right glue on the tip, a 10th generation LDS, a super duper 27 layered tip, and any other of the bells and whistles on it/ in it and if you don't have a good smooth straight stroke it won't matter one bit. Some of the best feeling cues for me came off the poolroom wall. I just had to get that out. I feel better now. Thank you. Johnnyt
 
Johnnyt said:
You can have a $5000 cue that hits a ton:rolleyes:, the right glue on the tip, a 10th generation LDS, a super duper 27 layered tip, and any other of the bells and whistles on it/ in it and if you don't have a good smooth straight stroke it won't matter one bit. Some of the best feeling cues for me came off the poolroom wall. I just had to get that out. I feel better now. Thank you. Johnnyt
Click to expand...

First but I agree with you to some extent.:)
 
hard to get better Johnny

A decent house cue, maybe change the tip or tip and ferrule, and it is very hard to get a better hitting cue. Depending on who makes it you can get a great hitting cue for $400-$1200 with few exceptions. Pretty can cost a little more!

Hu
 
I've seen guys go into rooms with $3000+ cues and shoot 9 ball, and they could barely run 3 balls.

It doesnt matter how good you are, its how good you look.

Dont dog the banjo. My banjo costs more than a custom cue.
 
Most people here, like most golfers, believe their equipment makes them better. Same goes for musicians.


You can't buy skill, nor talent.
 
I knew many good players when I started who ran out quite well with a house stick.

In fact, I know a good player now who will only use a house stick. I've offered to let him use one of my extra cues and he prefers a house stick. If you can find a good one - they do hit great.
 
You got it Johnnyt. It is the indian, not the arrow, no doubt. I spent $500 on a tasteful, but not flashy cue, which I ended up selling here on AZB are year ago. I am currently playing with a random sneaky pete butt with a mismatched standard maple shaft and have been playing better, more consistent pool than I ever have in my 15 years of playing the game. My confidence has never been higher, and I'm enjoying the game as much as ever.

Better yet, I don't have to worry about anyone stealing my cue at the pool room - ha ha.
 
You're thread has a bit of irony. What is the difference between a Stradivarius and any other violin? Stradivari were said to have exceptional sound quality but it has been disproven in several blind tests. They are worth more because people believe they are better and of a better quality. Essentially, you are paying for the name when you buy a Stradivarius, often paying upwards of several million dollars.

Cues are exactly the same. Someone can spend $10,000 and not make a ball while someone else can run out with a house cue. That's not the point. I have an expensive cue because I like it. I play just as well with my $100 Joss production cue.

A shitty Ford Pinto will get you to the same place a Ferrari will (how many more analogies can I throw in here?).
 
Bola Ocho said:
Most people here, like most golfers, believe their equipment makes them better. Same goes for musicians.


You can't buy skill, nor talent.
Click to expand...

But you CAN buy good equipment.
When I knock a golf ball into the rough, I know who put it there...
..it was me, not a lousy golf club.
I've made games over the years based on a player's carelessness in
maintaining his equipment...and showed a profit.

I guess it's how serious you are about this game...
..can you imagine a gunfighter who's careless about his gun?...
..he aint gonna get to be an OLD gunfighter

Mind you, price doesn't always make it a good cue....
..had a $40 snooker cue 30 years ago...
...turned down a 1800 percent profit...cue was magic

I've let people hit with my playing cues and watched the looks
in their eyes when they see what they've been missing.
And I've backed players under the condition that they use one of
my cues instead of the 'driftwood' they owned.

Yeah, Johnny, I think there are Strads
 
IMO, the house cue and cheap cue argument is a masculinity thing more actual practicality. People want to feel manly & want folks to think they are special in some way because they can run racks with house cues. They use that as a means to belittle those who spend the cash on something nice. Either you can't or won't afford a nice cue so you instead try to diminish the significance of high quality cues. You do it with, "it's the indian not the arrow", or "i can run out with a house cue". The only reason to say things like that is to belittle those who buy nice stuff, and make them feel stupid for it. Why else say it? It's classic psychology 101.

Fact is, if it didn't bother folks that they didn't have nice cues, then they wouldn't preach the insignificance of it so strongly. If they didn't have insecurities about it then they wouldn't make up one liners to justify their point. Guys who buy & like nice cues don't spend time making fun of guys who don't have cues, or spend time trying to justify why they spend the money. No. They just live & let live. They are secure with themselves & the choices they make. Why try belittling them for talking about cues & cue related topics? They aren't bugging you or saying anything to make fun of you because you have trash cues or no cue at all. They leave you alone to do your own thing while they do theirs. Why is it so tough to give the same respect, if not for having the urge to justify why you don't have nice cues? Nobody asked you to justify it. Nobody asked you to explain why you don't have cues. Nobody said you suck because you don't have a nice cue. Not at all. See the difference here?
 
pt109 said:
But you CAN buy good equipment.
When I knock a golf ball into the rough, I know who put it there...
..it was me, not a lousy golf club.
Click to expand...

I use this same analogy whenever I take up a new hobby/endeavor. I realize that the equipment won't magically make me better, but at least if I have decent equipment, then I won't be able to use the equipment as an excuse as to why I fail. I don't have overly expensive cues, but I have nice, playable cues. If my game never improves, it won't be because I am using inferior equipment, and it's good to get that worry out of the way and just learn to play better.

Other than collecting/investing, I have never understood paying over a couple grand for ANY cue that is going to be used as a player.

Maniac
 
Switching to the voice of Tonto from the Lone Ranger

I don't want the worry of an expensive cue making me apprehensive while playing, that can interfere with my focus on shooting technique and stratety. Especially playing on bar tables that have metal scraping castings and edges. The best hitting cue I ever played with was an old ebony house cue that came with an awful 1950s Irving Kaye coin op. I played so well with it that a guy broke it in half and stuck the butt in the ground like a tombstone, trying to kill my game. That got him nowhere. But an expensive cue CAN play well. All pieces of wood are different, and they are unaware of their cost then they hit a ball. I really do like that old saying on the above post, "It's the Indian, not the arrow." But sometimes it's both. It sure was with that ebony house cue. I miss it.
 
Johnnyt said:
You can have a $5000 cue that hits a ton:rolleyes:, the right glue on the tip, a 10th generation LDS, a super duper 27 layered tip, and any other of the bells and whistles on it/ in it and if you don't have a good smooth straight stroke it won't matter one bit. Some of the best feeling cues for me came off the poolroom wall. I just had to get that out. I feel better now. Thank you. Johnnyt
Click to expand...


We all choose to spend our monies differently.

I like to wear a good looking watch, so I've got the Bvgari on. I like nice looking, comfortable shoes, hence the Bruno Magli loafers. And I enjoy playing pool with a pretty cue stick, so I'll be pulling the custom Gina out of the custom alligator Whitten later today. On the other hand, I don't care much about cars so I drive a Nissan.

It's whatever floats your boat and my choice in cues does not make me blind to the issues of stroke and the playability of different cues. But it does make me happy, so go pound sand :-)

Lou Figueroa
 
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