So where do you identify that point? Is there a dollar amount? A production company?
Like you can say that X player will play just as good with a Cuetec as he will with a Southwest... but there are many different grades of Cuetec, and the lower grades hit like absolute ass and deflect probably about a diamond when loading up with inside english, then there is a mid tier, then their are higher grades...
I agree, there is probably a threshold there somewhere but once you cross that threshold into decent equipment level you are still going to have more experienced players end up buying cues/having them made with standards that they like and have them modified to specs they prefer. They are not going to just get up there and play to their high level with whatever they pull off the wall. Will they play better then I ever will with it? Of course, but I'm terrible.
Take Johnny Archer for example. Used Scorpion cues. He didn't use one of their shafts though. He used a low def from another major production company from my understanding.
I personally have never thought of it as a dollar amount but a list of criteria.
- Cue is straight, not warped
- Tip is rounded and can hold chalk
As long as those hold true, it does not matter if the cue is $20 or $20,000 or made by Rage vs Southwest, that cue can be used at the highest level of competition provide the pro gets accustomed to it (practice makes perfect!).
Now, does this mean I believe that everything else is gimmicks? No, absolutely not! For better or worse, humans are very much flawed creatures. Different characteristics and even purely imaginary things can have great psychological impact on our performance in anything, even more so if the person is superstitious. In that sense, you are right. A pro can't just go to a wall, grab a cue, and pick whatever he wants and expect to play at an optimal level. I do completely believe 100% however, that if they put in the effort to become accustomed to the cue, that any cue off the wall meeting the above mentioned criteria can then be used by said pro with the same level of proficiency.
As for production vs custom, for me the difference is primarily in quality control. Production companies in general (across industries) usually use some type of batch testing as the sheer volume output makes it impossible to test each and every cue. Custom cue makers do not have that problem as usually 1-3 people maintain complete quality control over every part of the cue's production hence the much longer wait times and low volume output. This is the main advantage of buying a custom cue because even production cue companies offer personalization services. There is also the secondary difference that the custom cue can be a truly unique work of art and creative representation of the cue maker and/or their partnership with you.
Long story short, I do not believe custom cue makers make better cues in the sense that if you were to take the best McDermott cue of their assembly line and the best cue from any of the awesome folks in our custom cue making community, both will perform comparably at the highest of levels. I do believe however, that the stringent quality control and tolerances afforded by custom cue makers allow them to more reliably make a great cue consistently in addition to really tailoring a cue to one's personal preferences. It is the reason why I put down a deposit not too long ago for a Chris Nitti cue.