~~~~Can someone tell me about Cue Perfect cues?~~~

[BradenK]

I found my way to the Cue Perfect web site yesterday, and was overwhelmed to say the least. I have never heard of these cues. They looked very nice, but I was shocked at how pricey they are. I was also very surprised at how much animosity the owner/maker has towards the Philippines, and AZ as well. I am not trying to bash this person, or his cues. Maybe he has good reason for his feelings, and maybe his cues are worth $5000 and up. I am wondering if anyone has any experience with this product and this cue maker. And if so, how are the cues? Do they play well? Is the construction top notch? I am not looking at buying one of these cues, I am really just very curious due to how strange I found the site to be. Thanks up front to any AZers who can give me some info.

Braden

 

[Chopdoc]

Animosity? I thought he bragged about his association with Efren Reyes.....

 

[Cuetips]

I noticed in his section of cue wraps he stated:
Linen wraps:

"I use Irish linen. It comes from a plant that grows in Ireland. It is worked and fashioned into the Irish linen wrap that I use. It is wound on the wrap area for the cue."

Anybody know what plant he is talking about??? LOL

 

[measureman]

I noticed in his section of cue wraps he stated:
Linen wraps:

"I use Irish linen. It comes from a plant that grows in Ireland. It is worked and fashioned into the Irish linen wrap that I use. It is wound on the wrap area for the cue."

Anybody know what plant he is talking about??? LOL

Linen ( /ˈlɪnɨn/) is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum

 

[Chopdoc]

Aw ya beat me to it....

So I will add that this plant based textile is a highly absorbant heat conductor that does not produce lint!

In other words an excellent grip surface for a pool cue. IMHO the best.

 

[BradenK]

Does anyone know about the cues themselves? How they play? Competence of construction? I did see the name dropping on the site. Does The Magician use one of his cues?

 

[acousticsguru]

Does anyone know about the cues themselves? How they play? Competence of construction? I did see the name dropping on the site. Does The Magician use one of his cues?

I have yet to see one of his cues, but I've done a little research for information on the subject, because like you, I'm curious. Open-minded, no prejudice - I'm reasonably good at that (having said that, everyone's subjective).

1. There appear to be quite a few people on this board who hate Ronnie Powell's guts. The flaming on either side is such it makes me shrug (I'm not one to take sides lacking information, plus I find it difficult to respect the "opinion" of people who behave aggressively).

2. The cues I'm still curious about. Given the amount of verbal abuse regarding the maker, it's surprising I have yet to find a negative remark on the cues. There are a few people on this board who own or used to own a QP cue, one of whom (a thoroughly satisfied customer) I've conversed with via PM - they all appear to love their cue, and some appear to have ordered more/own several.

3. According to the information I could glean from different, that is, including other sources, Efren didn't have that cue for long, and may never have used it in competition. Given that he appears to admire the playability (impossible to tell how far other sources merely relate to Ronnie's claim), consider the likelihood of politics being involved in what he'll end up endorsing.

That's pretty much all I could find out. Curiously little, eh? Hope some of the cue owners are going to jump in and add some real info…

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

 

[BradenK]

acousticsguru

Thank you very much for that information. I drew almost exactly the same conclusions as you from what I could uncover. I would really like to see on of the cues in person. My curiosity is very piqued at this point since there seem to be so many different factors surrounding this whole topic. I certainly do not have nearly enough information about any of this to take sides in any one of the different arguments. I do, however, find it all highly entertaining. Though, that probably says a lot more about me than it does anyone involved in these disputes.

How is Switzerland? I have been there a couple of times. It really might be the most beautiful place I have ever been. And, I have been to a fair number of places. I really enjoyed Geneva. Wish I could have done some skiing while I was there.'

Take care, and thank you again. Greetings from Pennsylvania!

Braden Kearney

 

[Mustang]

I owned one

I was the original owner of the EW-14 cue.

http://queperfect.biz/EW0414.htm

I can speak with you regarding this cue and Ronnie Powell's work.
Thanks

 

[poolplayer2093]

pm me snd ill answer any questions i can for u

 

[Wofgang144]

I have one...

Hi, and greetings from Germany,
I run over a QP Cue just yesterday (visited my Cuemaker to have a new shaft made). looking around his shop I found it and asked him some about it. It is this one: http://queperfect.biz/v0205.htm including the two origninal (slightly warped) 314 shafts.
I managed to let him take the stick with me for a close examin and some testing. (I'm not a Cuemaker or a craftsmen) but gained some knoledge over the time.

Here we go:
the inlays (about 150 in toto, incl 50 Ivory) seem all to be done with a pantograph, they are very fine at all the edges and corners and flush to the surface, the positioning of the smaller iv inlays is a tiny bit off center.
the base wood (forearm and handle) are of med. Quality Maple. the wrap (linnen) is done very well but looks a bit poor compared to the rest of the cue. the finish is in good conditions with only a few cracks at the rings (where the different woods meet)
the Shafts seem to be pred's 314's (at least they are pie-spliced and have the cat logo). The ferrule is 3/4 in LBM and definately not Pred's original.
The Cue is very slim at joint, handle and butt and has a very lively hit and feedback. The shafts are far away from LD (maybe due to the changes done to them they are the most deflecting 314 shafts I ever played) but the deliver a nice and soft (due to the sniper) but solid hit.

Overall it's a cue that doesn't really stand out of the crowd bc similar designs can be found on various asian lowcost cues. Craftmenship, quality and playabitlity are ok. Considering design, price and playability, I definately prefer something else.

By the way, QP is the only Cuemaker I know, offering and pricing his shafts by GPI (growthrings per inch) and the deflection grade.

greetz from ger, wolfgang

 

[cueman]

I noticed in his section of cue wraps he stated:
Linen wraps:

"I use Irish linen. It comes from a plant that grows in Ireland. It is worked and fashioned into the Irish linen wrap that I use. It is wound on the wrap area for the cue."

Anybody know what plant he is talking about??? LOL

I thought it was Cotton!

 

[acousticsguru]

[…]It is this one: http://queperfect.biz/v0205.htm including the two origninal (slightly warped) 314 shafts.

Hi there, and thanks for the review!

For what it's worth, the cue maker doesn't recommend Predator shafts for precisely this reason (he says they are or were unable to ship any reasonable quantity of straight shaft blanks). In all fairness, he's not the only cue maker to have had this problem, nor has been complaining about it either publicly or behind closed doors.

the Shafts seem to be pred's 314's (at least they are pie-spliced and have the cat logo). The ferrule is 3/4 in LBM and definately not Pred's original.

Second generation Predator shafts, meaning the cue isn't a new model? Hit and miss same as all of them since the pre-cat era: if one gets lucky and happens to get a straight one with somewhat denser wood, perfect lamination and a nice long taper, fine - if not…

Here we go:
the inlays (about 150 in toto, incl 50 Ivory) seem all to be done with a pantograph, they are very fine at all the edges and corners and flush to the surface, the positioning of the smaller iv inlays is a tiny bit off center.
the base wood (forearm and handle) are of med. Quality Maple. the wrap (linnen) is done very well but looks a bit poor compared to the rest of the cue. the finish is in good conditions with only a few cracks at the rings (where the different woods meet)

Thanks, this to me is the most informative part of your review, as well as the following:

The Cue is very slim at joint, handle and butt and has a very lively hit and feedback.

The cue maker prides himself in making low-deflection cues, thus a slimmer joint would seem to make sense. Having said that, the most interesting aspect (at least to me) about ordering from QP would seem to be Ronnie Powell's own so-called "Prodigy" super-LD shafts (after all, almost any off the shelf production cue can be had with 314-2 shafts, i.e. third generation, today).

The shafts are far away from LD (maybe due to the changes done to them they are the most deflecting 314 shafts I ever played) but the deliver a nice and soft (due to the sniper) but solid hit.

Interestingly, he uses extremely short ferrules (he claims he originally came up with the idea) on his own shafts - this all sounds very much as if someone special-ordered this cue this way, and in doing so groomed the cue maker against the grain.

Note also that he doesn't export cues with ivory inlays, in other words, this is a cue someone picked up in the Philippines in person, and given the generation of Predator shafts used, the cue must be fairly old.

By the way, QP is the only Cuemaker I know, offering and pricing his shafts by GPI (growthrings per inch) and the deflection grade.

Makes me wonder if this is a reflection of the market price for lakewood, or perhaps that one has to buy in quantity and sort it out?

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

 

[poolplayer2093]

Hi there, and thanks for the review!

For what it's worth, the cue maker doesn't recommend Predator shafts for precisely this reason (he says they are or were unable to ship any reasonable quantity of straight shaft blanks). In all fairness, he's not the only cue maker to have had this problem, nor has been complaining about it either publicly or behind closed doors.



Second generation Predator shafts, meaning, the cue isn't a? Hit and miss same as all of them since the pre-cat era: if one gets lucky and happens to get a straight one with somewhat denser wood, perfect lamination and a nice long taper, fine - if not…



Thanks, this to me is the most informative part of your review, as well as the following:



The cue maker prides himself in making low-deflection cues, thus a slimmer joint would seem to make sense. Having said that, the most interesting aspect (at least to me) about ordering from QP would seem to be Ronnie Powell's own so-called "Prodigy" super-LD shafts (after all, almost any off the shelf production cue can be had with 314-2 shafts, i.e. third generation, today).



Interestingly, he uses extremely short ferrules (he claims he originally came up with the idea) on his own shafts - this all sounds very much as if someone special-ordered this cue this way, and in doing so groomed the cue maker against the grain.

Note also that he doesn't export cues with ivory inlays, in other words, this is a cue someone picked up in the Philippines in person, and given the generation of Predator shafts used, the cue must be fairly old.



Makes me wonder if this is a reflection of the market price for lakewood, or perhaps that one has to buy in quantity and sort it out?

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

Ronnies shafts are more LD than predators easy!

 

[Wolven]

3. According to the information I could glean from different, that is, including other sources, Efren didn't have that cue for long, and may never have used it in competition. Given that he appears to admire the playability (impossible to tell how far other sources merely relate to Ronnie's claim), consider the likelihood of politics being involved in what he'll end up endorsing.

Efren used the cue in US Open match against Ronnie Alcano a while back.
In the commentary Jim Wych said that Efren liked the cue very much. JW also has QPQ and he thinks it is a great cue.

 

[StrokeAnalyzer]

I also have a QP cue. Great quality construction and finish. Low deflection. Super hit. Nuf said. Ronnie sells a lot of cues to asian buyers and collectors. Few pros use his cues as they all want for free and/or money for sponsorship.

 

[acousticsguru]

Efren used the cue in US Open match against Ronnie Alcano a while back.
In the commentary Jim Wych said that Efren liked the cue very much. JW also has QPQ and he thinks it is a great cue.

That definitely looks like a QP, albeit a different one than this:

http://queperfect.biz/erc1t.htm

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti