Balabushka - Is there any cue you could compare the hit to?
- Thread starter HaroldWilson
- Start date
AMEN!......:yes:
See, the Bushkas I've played with were anything but stiff.
From what I understand (and based on the cues I've played) many cues back then were much mushier hitting than cues today.
Today everybody says they want stiff hitting cues.
My impression of the old cues has been that they're not close to as stiff as the modern cues are.
In either case, comparing the two Bushkas I played I'd rather take any production cue today and play with it. Schon, Mezz etc.
However as to collectors value and that sort of thing, you can't go wrong...I guess.
I own some Richard Black, Carmelli, Lambros etc. and in my view they all run circles around the Bushkas I played.
Granted Balabushka had 'periods' just like any other cue maker. Maybe the ones I played were during some of his off years.
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Cuetec R360
We still often hear people compare other cues to them. In many ways they were the bar to meet and still are among the best IMHO.
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:thumbup:
It's the brown bumper.
But seriously, I have four shafts for my Joss. Two Stroud JW shafts, one original Joss shaft, and one Scruggs. All are excellent. But it is definitely more than the shafts that make the cue great.
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Bushka
I own a Tascarella cue. I had played a lot of pool, and owned a lot of cues prior to getting it. The night I took my first shot with it changed me. It ruined me for everything else. It had a very solid ping tone when I hit the cue ball with a good stroke. That's pretty addictive - believe it or not. The cue changed everything that I expected from future buys. It's the hit that I judge all other cues by. I cannot shoot with a Predator or any other low deflection shaft now - they all feel dead. It's like having one of your senses removed while you play. Now that I am building cues - I try to put that same solid feel and sound in them. If it's not there - I find out why, and fix it. I go around my shop dropping blanks on the floor on end from an inch or so - listening for the tone of the wood. I know it sounds crazy... the cores that I use need to have that tone - or I'm not satisfied. It's funny how an experience with one cue can change your, and your expectations...
I own a Tascarella cue. I had played a lot of pool, and owned a lot of cues prior to getting it. The night I took my first shot with it changed me. It ruined me for everything else. It had a very solid ping tone when I hit the cue ball with a good stroke. That's pretty addictive - believe it or not. The cue changed everything that I expected from future buys. It's the hit that I judge all other cues by. I cannot shoot with a Predator or any other low deflection shaft now - they all feel dead. It's like having one of your senses removed while you play. Now that I am building cues - I try to put that same solid feel and sound in them. If it's not there - I find out why, and fix it. I go around my shop dropping blanks on the floor on end from an inch or so - listening for the tone of the wood. I know it sounds crazy... the cores that I use need to have that tone - or I'm not satisfied. It's funny how an experience with one cue can change your, and your expectations...
I can relate to exactly what you are talking about regarding the tone. The Tascarella I had was a full spliced wrap-less previously owned by Ginki and had a white fibre joint and micarta ferrules. I sold 2 old school black boars before settling on the one in the aviator but selling this Tascarella was something I really regret because I have never found any other cue that hits like that sound. I sold the cue because the Australian dollar became really strong against the USD and I made about $1000 profit on the cue. The cue changed hands after I sold it and I contacted the new owner but he refused to let it go and I don't blame him. At the end of the day it was a stupid decision based on making a quick profit and the reason I am holding onto cues like the Boar I have now. I still think about that cue, the crisp hit and pitch stuck with me.
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Can I just ask, what does it matter what a cue sounds like?
Why would anyone miss a cue because it sounded a certain way?
Not being sarcastic.
I think the best way would be to try one and find out. Some people like the sound an engine makes when driving a car, watch the Bullitt car chase for example. Other people appreciate finer and more subtle nuances in things such as music, the arts, sports, wines, ales, cigars, wildlife, etc. I collect cues and can lean a Black Boar with 60+ ivory inlays against a chair and look at it for an hour and gain satisfaction from the workmanship, whereas others might just see it as a plain old pool cue.
I miss the sound of the cue and the way it hit the balls because it had a lasting affect on me.and have an appreciation of fine workmanship, particularly when the end result has been planned in advance by the maker .
Whatever floats your boat they say
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When I have the chance to play, I normally play with a Tasc. Over the years I have owned about every big name cue available, but I always go back to my Tasc. I can't describe why, but I absolutely just play better with it. It's not my imagination.
I also have a few Gus cues. Because of the value though, they are not my everyday cue. But when I do break one out, I play about the same as I do with my Tasc, maybe even a tad better.
My point is, many old school cues play every bit as good, maybe better, than the new cues with "improved" technology.
Lastly, I also have a Bushka made with a Gus blank. To me, it hits as good as anything I've ever played with. But the thicker butt is hard for me to get use to.
I also have a few Gus cues. Because of the value though, they are not my everyday cue. But when I do break one out, I play about the same as I do with my Tasc, maybe even a tad better.
My point is, many old school cues play every bit as good, maybe better, than the new cues with "improved" technology.
Lastly, I also have a Bushka made with a Gus blank. To me, it hits as good as anything I've ever played with. But the thicker butt is hard for me to get use to.
I had a relative that had several I grew up playing with. My first cue of my own, an early 70's Joss was very close. That cue got clipped while I was going to the bathroom one day, I still miss it.
The cue I got I got to replace the stolen one, an early Scruggs was also similar as are numerous other early Scruggs cues I've owned.
The cue I got I got to replace the stolen one, an early Scruggs was also similar as are numerous other early Scruggs cues I've owned.
sonny burnett
Registered
Good comparison on the Kepley cues. Dennis made cues that had the stainless joint sound, but much better feel. After seeing the time and care Dennis put in his leather tips, I think that had something to do with the touch. I still have a tip he put on in a David Howard Original. 25 years later it's still excellent. Kepley cue would get my vote.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
I love the sound myself. Besides a Tascarella, a steel jointed Szamboti will also have a nice ping. Something might be said for the le pro tips they both use. I don't know but I love the noisy ones best.
This is the most accurate post.
I wish people would stop talking about the "ping" if you're talking about a Balabushka. They didn't "ping."
Tips were softer in the 60s and 70s. I've posted pics of old Champion tips. They're not as hard as today's tips.
Some of you addicted to the "ping" may be thinking about current cues with either a hard Le Pro or hard layered tip.
George's cues did not have a "ping" sound. They had a solid, but quiet sound, as recounted by Bill.
I hope we're through with the "ping." But, I have a feeling, some recalcitrants may still want to cling, to the ping. Get over the ping, when talking Bushkas.
All the best,
WW
I've been playing with a Bushka for as long as I can remember, yet I don't remember any ping sound. Occasionally I'll let a tip get real compressed and thin, and then I might hear a louder noise, but otherwise the hit is quiet. When I read about pings in this thread I "chalked it up" to the tip they were using.
Sound
It's not just the sound - It's the vibrations that the sound makes through the cue. "Feedback "
It's not just the sound - It's the vibrations that the sound makes through the cue. "Feedback "
I believe the sound a cue makes can be as important to how comfortable you are playing with it as how it feels when you hit with it can be.
You can ask the same question you're asking about how a cue feels as well.