Kudos to McD for their attempts at innovation. I hope it works out for them. However, I doubt there will be too many buyers of VBT cues if they don't design some that are a lot less ugly than their first batch. I'll never understand the ugly gray washes, the new cues that look like they just came out of a puddle of mud, the finishes that make fine wood look like carnival-grade plastic, or the asymmetrical patterns that look like they have just been pulled from a dumpster and still have trash hanging off them.
Maybe someone else can finally buy an improvement in their game, but I doubt at my age I will be buying any new cues. I got some pretty cues, good shooters, too, over the years. I quit looking at custom cues years ago, both for their high prices and the many, many reported cases of dubious quality, long lead times, poor warranties, and in some cases complete failure to deliver after payment.
I found my favorite cue, both looks and feel, in the the McDermott M89A Cue of the Year 2008-09. Together with an additional matching I2 shaft, it cost under a thousand dollars. I haven't looked to buy any others since.
Along with the M89A I kept a couple of older cues, suitable for the less-genteel venues. I gave away four nice cues to my grandkids, for their parents to save until they grow into them. One of the kids just graduated from Fifth Grade, at 6'3" towering over his friends. Looks like he grew into the cue, and then some.
