Same for me. I love the look of a Szam, or a Southwest. Could I afford to own one? Sure. But I don't see a 10x difference vs my $300 Lucasi. Or my Frey sneaky. In fact, I'm a little less cautious with a cue I can replace quite easily.
Has the quality difference between "custom" and "production" become negligible?
- Thread starter Shawn Armstrong
- Start date
Same for me. I love the look of a Szam, or a Southwest. Could I afford to own one? Sure. But I don't see a 10x difference vs my $300 Lucasi. Or my Frey sneaky. In fact, I'm a little less cautious with a cue I can replace quite easily.
I have shot with several HIGH DOLLAR cues made by world-reknown makers, and as "players" I don't think they were worth the extra THOUSANDS of dollars difference in "playability".
I have nothing against anybody spending their money and buying whatever they want, but, to me, the only thing I'm concerned with is quality and playability. Cue maker names and cue looks mean nothing to me. I'm not looking to gain any status by my cue. I'd rather be known for making a ball or two.
Aloha
Hit,balance are all pretty much subjective.
How a cue plays is also different from person to person.
The biggest difference I see between true custom and production cues is that most customs have better looking wood and more vibrant veneers.They just look better.
How a cue plays is also different from person to person.
The biggest difference I see between true custom and production cues is that most customs have better looking wood and more vibrant veneers.They just look better.
Do you mean something by 'balance' other than the point on the cue which has half the weight on either side of it? Because that isn't subjective.
Thank you kindly.
Some prefer different balance points.
First let me start by saying that you can can find good looking AND good hitting cues among production and custom cues.
That said, don't confuse how a person in general "perceives" hardness, softness, weight, balance..etc, as to their knowledge of how cues hit/play... Though those things play a role in how a cue "feels" they are only PART of what makes a cue hit GOOD.
My point is not everyone is qualified in "judging" the hit of cues. Does that mean they don't know what they like? NO. It just means that what they like doesn't mean the cue ACTUALLY "hits" good.... If you play with enough cues AND know what to feel and listen for you can separate the bad, good, and great playing cues...
The true "hit" of a cue is NOT subjective IMHO.....
So,it's official. Custom and Production cues can and sometimes do have great hitting cues. Some Custom and Production cues are not up to snuff. Enough said.
There's Kool Aide?
AMEN! :wink:
Did Shawn get banned twice on the same thread?
Gotta love Shawn.
He says he made about a dozen cues. Everyone still has them.
One requested another cue.
But, he plays with a Lucasi.
I think if the Canadians dominated the custom cue market, he might sing another tune. Or if his cues caught on.
Instead, he's just a knocker now.
Gotta love Shawn.
He says he made about a dozen cues. Everyone still has them.
One requested another cue.
But, he plays with a Lucasi.
I think if the Canadians dominated the custom cue market, he might sing another tune. Or if his cues caught on.
Instead, he's just a knocker now.
It's personal preference on balance points.
Some like forward balance some like rear balance.
All cues all not the same as to the balance point.
I
This is a pic of a cue made by Dan Dicola pics don't even come close to doing it justice the sterling silver is perfect inlaid no surrounding epoxy cored ebony with 270 of these silver dot inlays comes in just a tad over 18 , the moment I saw it I had to have it I knew it was something special , that fall when in Vegas I showed this cue to the younger Jacoby he called his dad over to look at it , I asked what's the deal , he looked at me and asked who made this cue , I said Dan Dicola and asked why ,, he said because we could never do that kind of work their machinery does not have that tight of tolerances to allow such precision
I told them Dan was a gun smith who retired and made cues
This is a example of something that looks simple but is anything but that ,, most people look at it and don't have a clue what thier looking at
Just thought I'd share ,,
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This is a pic of a cue made by Dan Dicola pics don't even come close to doing it justice the sterling silver is perfect inlaid no surrounding epoxy cored ebony with 270 of these silver dot inlays comes in just a tad over 18 , the moment I saw it I had to have it I knew it was something special , that fall when in Vegas I showed this cue to the younger Jacoby he called his dad over to look at it , I asked what's the deal , he looked at me and asked who made this cue , I said Dan Dicola and asked why ,, he said because we could never do that kind of work their machinery does not have that tight of tolerances to allow such precision
I told them Dan was a gun smith who retired and made cues
This is a example of something that looks simple but is anything but that ,, most people look at it and don't have a clue what thier looking at
Just thought I'd share ,,
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What I see is probably a .010 to .015 thousandths silver rod inlaid into ebony. This type of inlay is not very hard to do. The silver dots are actually silver rod ,NOT actually contoured inlays, that is pushed into a hole that was pocketed by the cutter of the same size then the excess rod cut off. We do this type of "inlay" all the time... The difference we only go down to a .020 rod.... It does not require tight tolerances but it does require a nice magnifying glass..
I do like dots though...
Skins ------------ knows what he's looking at
You'd think with his everknowing ability to determine what quality actually IS, he'd have been able to achieve it and he'd be playing with one of his own cues... But then again what do I know being just an every other street corner CNC programmer...
I don't know the size but I have not seen anything like it before and would hate to think how long under a magnified glass it took to put them inWhat I see is probably a .010 to .015 thousandths silver rod inlaid into ebony. This type of inlay is not very hard to do. The silver dots are actually silver rod ,NOT actually contoured inlays, that is pushed into a hole that was pocketed by the cutter of the same size then the excess rod cut off. We do this type of "inlay" all the time... The difference we only go down to a .020 rod.... It does not require tight tolerances but it does require a nice magnifying glass..
I do like dots though...
Skins ------------ knows what he's looking at
Dave told me the wobble on his equiptment would not allow this type work he said only high end machinery could accomplish it , couple other cue makes who I won't name told me the same thing ,, no doubt many cue makers have that equiptment ,,
The thing is this cue was on display at the SBE by a friend of mine I got it for 300 I've been offered several times that , cored ebony smooth leather wrap Ivory sleved over stainless radial pin joint , monster player
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If Dave has any "wobble" in his equipment it's time for some replacements...:thumbup:
The "equipment" needed is not rare and just includes a stable machine with no play, decent spindle, and good cutters which many makers have. I just think it's their eyes that would have a hard time doing the job..LOL
Everything about what people prefer in a cue is, by definition, subjective. I assume we are talking here about characteristics of cues themselves.
Thank you kindly.
If Dave has any "wobble" in his equipment it's time for some replacements...:thumbup:
The "equipment" needed is not rare and just includes a stable machine with no play, decent spindle, and good cutters which many makers have. I just think it's their eyes that would have a hard time doing the job..LOL
That may be true I don't know but I know several who said they can't do it I see many guys float inlays in epoxy leaving black around thier inlays so it must be a problem to some ,,I'm not speaking about the high end of the spectrum I know they have the equiptment to do such , but I doubt you will see this work in a production cue and that was the point really
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