In the last month or so I've been spending a lot of time of the Internet researching cues. I wanted to order one built specifically to my specs. I'd like to order a Scruggs, but as we all sadly know this is not possible.
I have what I would call "stout" hands, they're not small, but they are certainly not length/width/thick proportional. I've played with a lot of different cues, but none ever felt better to me than Joss. I started researching Joss exclusively. As with all other cue makers, I could never find any one design of that completely moved me. Don't get me wrong, Joss makes beautiful cues. I guess I'm just very difficult to please. I went into the cue archives section of their website https://josscues.com/photo-gallery/cue-archives/ and then, in the 2003 section of the archives, I saw it:
the Joss 03-30. A stunning cue. I was blown away. There wasn't one thing I'd change with the aesthetic design of the cue. I found it to be both bad@$$ & elegant at the same time. It's ornate & sophisticated yet also sleek & simple. Is it normal to be made smitten by a cue?
I sent Dan Janes, whom I spoke to on the phone a week earlier, an email asking him if the cue was still available. He responded quickly indicating that while the cue is retired, he'd be happy to make one just for me. We've since spoken about the details and I placed down a deposit on it.
Dan is a great guy to talk with on the phone. He was generous with his time, knowledge and expertise...and this was before I was certain I was going to even order a stick from him. At no time did he give anything even close to resembling pressure to buy from him. Dan has been around since Mosses shot pool I think. The number of awesome cue makers out there who can be directly traced back to him & Joss is staggering. If you're in the market for a production or custom cue, give Dan a call. You'll be glad you did. At the very least he will have educated you about considerations that go into ordering a cue you may have not known before or considered. His direct phone # is 410-821-0064. The Joss email address is info@josscues.com
Thanx for letting me share ;-) -Z-
DJSTEVE, that certainly is a beautiful cue sir! Also, I think your description of your cue was 1000% spot on as well. I've never been a fan of linen wraps so for me I think this cue would be awesome with some kind of black leather wrap or exotic but I do truly think it's beautiful just as it is!
I have not played with any Joss' made after maybe 1996 or so but I'd imagine the newer ones play just as good, even if not better. Being local there were always a fair amount of Joss' floating around and I got to play with a bunch of different ones and every last one of themy played great. Back in the day I had an '86 that I played with for the better part of a year. Joss was always one of my favorite builders, right behind Scruggs and Frey. One of my nest friends coming up had an absolutely GORGEOUS Joss that he was totally in love with. Unfortunately he got into an argument over a game and the guy took it from him and cracked him over the head with it and it shattered into like a hundred pieces.
Anyhow, DJ STEVE Congrats in your new cue and be sure to hit us with some pics when you get her!
