Playability: Production Cues vs Custom Cues

Bavafongoul said:
Nope, custom cues should and generally do "feel" better to the pool cue owner
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Yeah right....
A friend recently let me play his very cheap 10 year old McDermott.
I was blown away by how awesome a feel it had.
Much better than many custom cues I own, and I have a lot of them.
I used to own a Scruggs and Southwest.
Sold both because I didn't like how they played.
In a blind test both would have been considered factory cues compared to my friend's McD.
I'm not advocating McD in any way. I don't own one and have never owned one either.
But this cue was/is gold, and it's one of their cheap cues. No decoration of any kind.
 
this question cannot be answered as ask

not all production makers build the same quality cue, not all custom builders build the same quality cue,
then factor in which hits best, is the opinion of the hitter.

this is like asking how high is " UP "
 
I think old Dufferin Hi-run's play the best... Sometimes, I like a South West.

As far as playability goes, I honestly can't tell the difference between a Szamboti and a Schon, or a Balabushka and a Joss, and vice versa.
 
This topic has been beaten to death on here, but I will give an answer anyways.
I will start by saying that you will get different answers from people who have different bias on this topic. My most objective answer to your questions is as follows:
1. It doesn't matter what the pros play with because that is often more generally influenced by sponsorship than anything else, and they can play very well with any solid cue. Most custom makers don't have the money to sponsor players, so they often choose the production companies. Case in point-nobody thinks cuetec is the best production cue, but the best american player uses one, as have several other big name players due to their sponsorship.

2. Production cues and customs each have their own advantages, but the reality is that a good custom and a good production cue play equally as well as each other. Anyone who tells you different is probably selling one or the other, or has somehow developed a bias along the way. I can make the cb do he same thing with either type of cue without difference, especially since the influx of LD shafts that are on the end of all these cues.

3. Custom cues give you more ability to customize the look and feel of the cue. Assuming you actually know what different materials do for the feel of a cue, and what type of feel you want, this can be an advantage. Custom cues also hold their value better. That being said, you can usually get a good production cue for cheaper than a good custom, which is of course the main value of a production cue. I would, however, disagree with your original statement that a production cue will be better built, as a custom cue should have more attention to detail and be made more slowly with more quality control.

My overall take? I see value in both sides, however, my current budget dictates that I play a production cue. I would love to have a nice Gina cue, but I would only be getting it because I love the look, not because I think it wod play better than my current cue with its aftermarket LD shaft. If you have the money, buy whichever you feel hits more the way you like, makes you feel more confident, and you like better, just don't expect one to make you play better than the other.
 
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mantis99 said:
This topic has been beaten to death on here, but I will give an answer anyways.
I will start by saying that you will get different answers from people who have different bias on this topic. My most objective answer to your questions is as follows:
1. It doesn't matter what the pros play with because that is often more generally influenced by sponsorship than anything else, and they can play very well with any solid cue. Most custom makers don't have the money to sponsor players, so they often choose the production companies. Case in point-nobody thinks cuetec is the best production cue, but the best american player uses one, as have several other big name players due to their sponsorship.

2. Production cues and customs each have their own advantages, but the reality is that a good custom and a good production cue play equally as well as each other. Anyone who tells you different is probably selling one or the other, or has somehow developed a bias along the way. I can make the cb do he same thing with either type of cue without difference, especially since the influx of LD shafts that are on the end of all these cues.

3. Custom cues give you more ability to customize the look and feel of the cue. Assuming you actually know what different materials do for the feel of a cue, and what type of feel you want, this can be advantage. Custom cues also hold their value better. That being said, you can usually get a good production cue for cheaper than a good custom, which is of course he main value of a production cue. I would however disagree with your original statement that a production will be better built as a custom should have more attention to detail and be made more slowly with more quality control.

My overall take? I see value in both sides, however, my current budget dictates that I play a production cue. I would love to have a nice Gina cue, but I would only be getting it because I love the look, not because I think it wod play better than my current cue with its aftermarket LD shaft. If you have the money, buy whichever you feel hits more the way you like, makes you feel more confident, and you like better, just don't expect one to make you play better than the other.
Click to expand...
If we didn't periodically re-ask questions, we'd still think the Earth is flat.
 
mantis99 said:
This topic has been beaten to death on here, but I will give an answer anyways.
I will start by saying that you will get different answers from people who have different bias on this topic. My most objective answer to your questions is as follows:
1. It doesn't matter what the pros play with because that is often more generally influenced by sponsorship than anything else, and they can play very well with any solid cue. Most custom makers don't have the money to sponsor players, so they often choose the production companies. Case in point-nobody thinks cuetec is the best production cue, but the best american player uses one, as have several other big name players due to their sponsorship.
2. Production cues and customs each have their own advantages, but the reality is that a good custom and a good production cue play equally as well as each other. Anyone who tells you different is probably selling one or the other, or has somehow developed a bias along the way. I can make the cb do he same thing with either type of cue without difference, especially since the influx of LD shafts that are on the end of all these cues.
3. Custom cues give you more ability to customize the look and feel of the cue. Assuming you actually know what different materials do for the feel of a cue, and what type of feel you want, this can be an advantage. Custom cues also hold their value better. That being said, you can usually get a good production cue for cheaper than a good custom, which is of course the main value of a production cue. I would, however, disagree with your original statement that a production cue will be better built, as a custom cue should have more attention to detail and be made more slowly with more quality control.
My overall take? I see value in both sides, however, my current budget dictates that I play a production cue. I would love to have a nice Gina cue, but I would only be getting it because I love the look, not because I think it wod play better than my current cue with its aftermarket LD shaft. If you have the money, buy whichever you feel hits more the way you like, makes you feel more confident, and you like better, just don't expect one to make you play better than the other.
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It certainly does matter what the pros use. If it's good enough for a pro it is damn sure good enough for the bangers on this forum. And, by-the-way, out of all the pro level players in the world only a handful of them are sponsored.
Furthermore, speed of manufacturing has little to do with quality cue making. A one-man shop has to work slower for obvious reasons.
Buy what you can afford, but don't think that a custom cue is the answer to one's pool playing problems. I hate the cliche, but it is the Indian and not the arrow.
 
Tramp Steamer said:
It certainly does matter what the pros use. If it's good enough for a pro it is damn sure good enough for the bangers on this forum. And, by-the-way, out of all the pro level players in the world only a handful of them are sponsored.
Furthermore, speed of manufacturing has little to do with quality cue making. A one-man shop has to work slower for obvious reasons.
Buy what you can afford, but don't think that a custom cue is the answer to one's pool playing problems. I hate the cliche, but it is the Indian and not the arrow.
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You just try shooting an indian at someone and see what that does for you. LOL
 
One advantage of custom cues is wood selection. Custom makers find and hoard many species of exotic wood that aren't available in sufficient quantity for, or are just not practical for use in, production cues. In my experience, tulipwood, kingwood, pernambuco, bubinga, brazilian rosewood etc. make for some great playing cues. Especially when the cuemaker knows how to select the best pieces, and make the most of their unique qualities.
 
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That depends. Is the production balanced how you like? Ferrule material you like? Wrap you like? Tip you like? Taper you like? Weight you like?

If the answers are yes, then the production cue is going to play well for you. Myself, I've always liked schon and joss cues. They play well and are consistent from cue to cue.

Currently I play with a custom sneaky that was built for me.
 
flyvirginiaguy said:
Playability is subjective. And a good playing cue can be found in either custom or production (given a certain level of quality). The more important thing to be looking at is how each holds their value. And this also will depend on maker of both production and custom cues.
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Hold's their value ... So, the interest here is to making a profit or at least avoiding taking a loss. The thread started out by the OP saying ... generally speaking .. so I will ask this question in the same vein.

Which person ... generally speaking will make more money by totally liquidating his investment.

1. The guy that spends $2000 on a custom cue and sells it down the road,

or \

2. The guy that spends $200 on a production cue ... takes the other $1800 and invests it in gold.

Waddia think?
 
3andstop said:
Hold's their value ... So, the interest here is to making a profit or at least avoiding taking a loss. The thread started out by the OP saying ... generally speaking .. so I will ask this question in the same vein.

Which person ... generally speaking will make more money by totally liquidating his investment.

1. The guy that spends $2000 on a custom cue and sells it down the road,

or \

2. The guy that spends $200 on a production cue ... takes the other $1800 and invests it in gold.

Waddia think?
Click to expand...

That really depends on the gold market. If someone bought gold in the latter part of 2011 and are selling today, they're taking a hit! Gold peaked at $1890 and is now at $1163, so in that timeframe I'm taking the cue for investment. Plus I'd get the value of using an awesome cue during that time.


I think a production cue is capable of playing as good as anything. I think with custom cues you get finer attention to detail, often nicer wood (production cues can be nice too, but I'd say their consistency is probably not as high) and more fine tuning to your needs.

If all you care about is raw performance, then I think a $200 cue is capable of providing everything one needs. If you start mixing "feel" into the equation then things change a little. Many things make up "feel" and some of them may be imagined, but dosn't mean they don't have a very real effect.
 
If there is a definite difference in playability between production and custom cues I'm not good enough to detect it. I guess the people who routinely run 200 balls in straight pool may have such a fine touch that any tiny difference in balance point etc is a big deal, but I've asked all the top players I know what cue they use, and I've even gotten to shoot with most of them. They are mostly pretty "vanilla" production cues.

I've met a lot of people that put a lot of faith in the difference between cues. Some of them are better players than me, but the majority are worse. Most of the really good players are kind of neutral on the subject. There is a difference, but overall it's not that important to them. You certainly won't see many of them with 5k or 10k cues, even if they can afford them. A few of the great players change cues quite often, but their level of play stays pretty much the same...That goes for the terrible players as well...Give a great player a house cue, and he will run racks on you. Give a D player a house cue and he will continue to drive balls into the rail. There is no mystery to it. It's a decorated pointed stick. Pointed sticks came before the wheel was invented. Even monkeys use sticks.

I got my butt kicked today on the snooker table by a guy who routinely makes century breaks. He plays with a cheap cue, and he says there is no difference between it and more expensive ones. Since his stroke and touch by far exceed most peoples, including mine, who are they to overrule his judgement? He's tried every major snooker cue brand, btw.

I've tried some cues that were so terrible that it was difficult to make routine shots. Those usually have something seriously wrong with their construction. A loose ferrule, joint screw, joint collar etc can make a big difference, as well as a severely warped shaft or busted up tips etc, but 96% of cues with a good tip on them will pretty much do anything I'm capable of on the table. Some cues may feel "better", but that is purely subjective, at least I can't get any of the cue "experts" to agree on what cue is the best, and if you wait 2 months they will no longer be in agreement with themselves..

Deflection etc is just a matter of what you are used to. I'm used to ld shafts, so they play "better" for me. If I took the time to adjust, I'm sure I'd play equally well with a maple shaft. Some custom cues have unreasonably large deflection, and I have a hard time seeing what the upside to that may be, but overall it's not a big factor.

The custom cue guys are willing to pay 1000 dollars for a shaft of snow white or dark, flawless maple. I can understand why someone would be willing to pay extra for "perfection", or even brag about their ability to do so, but when they claim that the playability of their shafts exceed anything else on the market..well it's hard to take them seriously. I'd like to see someone try to prove that. And why is it that the people with 10k cues are not spamming the straight pool challenge or ghost challenge with their awesome runs? I guess they must be modest?:rolleyes:
 
3andstop said:
Hold's their value ... So, the interest here is to making a profit or at least avoiding taking a loss. The thread started out by the OP saying ... generally speaking .. so I will ask this question in the same vein.

Which person ... generally speaking will make more money by totally liquidating his investment.

1. The guy that spends $2000 on a custom cue and sells it down the road,

or \

2. The guy that spends $200 on a production cue ... takes the other $1800 and invests it in gold.

Waddia think?
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I think the guy that buys the $200 cue is gonna come out on top in 5 years :) Plus, it will make ANY shot that he custom cue will make. I've yet to see a shot my schmelke can't make that a Szamboti can make ? If someone thinks that is not true, just bring a LOT of money with ya ;)

With that being said, I have owned customs in the past, and will again in the future. But for tourneys, I'll bring my Schmelke, cause I never have to worry about it getting nicked, or stolen ;)
 
I don't think there are important differences in "physical" playability - the real differences are in "mental" playability: how the look, feel and "hit" of the cue suits the player. I don't think either production or custom cues have a corner on it.

A cue's feel is hard to define, you probably just have to find yours by chance. I think most players learn to love the one they're with.

pj
chgo
 
Patrick Johnson said:
I don't think there are important differences in "physical" playability - the real differences are in "mental" playability: how the look, feel and "hit" of the cue suits the player. I don't think either production or custom cues have a corner on it.
A cue's feel is hard to define, you probably just have to find yours by chance. I think most players learn to love the one they're with.
pj
chgo
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Agree 100%, although I'm not so sure about loving the one they're with. I've been married three times. :smile:
 
What's funny about the whole custom cue thing are the guys who buy a cue for
thousands of dollars because of the 'feel' then put LD shafts on them......lol
 
9Ballr said:
What's funny about the whole custom cue thing are the guys who buy a cue for
thousands of dollars because of the 'feel' then put LD shafts on them......lol
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Agree 100%

Be nice to see a poll of who does that and who doesn't.
 
buy a cheap production plain jane, never gets old.

LOL, the best part for me is a custom cue you buy for thousand plus, he sents it to you with a 35¢ tip. Mothafu kka, charge $1025 and sent it with a decent tip. lol. for real though.
 
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Mr. Bond said:
Playability = can of worms
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That is correct ,I have had a couple Mezz cues with Wd shafts and they play fantastict the Mezz joint fit is second to none of any cue production or otherwise
However that does not mean I play better with it , it's in my top 4 all of which however I put a LD shaft on ,
My choice is butt I like with a LD shaft some customs make thier own Lambross Black Boar to name a couple however you can get the same playability from some production cues

1
 
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