Custom and High End Cues on the Decline?
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Brother Ron
Active member
I have been doing my own tips since 1976 and have never had an issue with damaging a ferrule.
Why would an idiot pay someone else to do a job he can do for free?
how many did you fk up before you got it right? not once? yeah right.
Brother Ron
Active member
Actually, I still have my original Eckes cue with the original ferrule on it.
The only marks are a few scuffs from accidently rubbing the chalk on the ferrule.
The only marks are a few scuffs from accidently rubbing the chalk on the ferrule.
I have a friend who does excellent repair work with all of the equipment. I can furnish the tip and he charges me 10 bucks. Perfect work and a no brainer for me.
Yes he was. And a good man.
In the 90s the top Players were playing with Cues Made and in many cases given to them by top Cue Makers. Today all the top Players are signed by the bigger Production Cue manufactuers. When the under 40 crowd see this , this is what they want. So you are correct .
I agree that customs will be on the decline. In the past, custom cues were top of the line and production cues were more looked down on. Even when guys like Bob Meucci and Dan Janes were producing cues in massive numbers they still came from a custom background. Meucci and Joss was doing sponsoring and putting cues into the hands of Pros. These are the cues I aspired to have as an older GenX because that is what the Pros were using. 1986 Color of Money was my first exposure to pool and the prestige of a custom cue. Times have changed and we can't blame the younger generation. Nostalgia belongs to the ones who have lived it. They are exposed to Predator, Cuetec, and other big Production companies spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to market their cues, Low deflection shafts, carbon fiber shafts and equipment to make you shoot like a pro. They see their favorite professional players using these online not realizing they are sponsored by these companies. Until custom cuemakers can compete with large cue manufacturers in terms of sponsorship and marketing it will continue to decline. I hate that is has went this way. I am old school and love a custom cue. It is more personal knowing it was made by a one man or small shop, the materials, the pride and craftsmanship. Especially if it is done by a lengendary cuemaker. Many of them now deceased. Sometimes a story behind them. Like i said more personal and a great conversational piece.
Contact the known top five makers in the U.S. and they will have long wait lists . There are less cue makers. Less people seeking customs as new, but there is still a core demand for the best makers. Only a deep economic depression would kill the industry.
Exactly .. but if you put the latest special edition fedor gorst cue in front of them they would lose their shit
I don't recall most younger players spending a lot of money on cues back in whatever good old days you are referring to but "under 40" cuts a pretty wide swath.
What was the demographic for what you believe are higher end cues now vs. say, 15 years ago, 25 years ago, 30 years ago? Maybe that really hasn't changed all that much.
Seems like there are more custom cue makers out there, readily found and more custom cues being sold in terms of volume, isn't that the answer?
Do you think putting a tip on is rocket science? I’ve done it in a pinch and never damaged anything. Watch a video..take your time.. it’s pretty simple lol
I’m 53 and when I was first playing 30 plus years ago there was a lot of custom cues being played with and now It’s pretty rare. A big one around here was joss cues. It’s only like a 30 min drive away. So many people played with one and now I never see one and if I do it’s a much older player who’s had it forever.
I don’t think the industry will die but it’s not what it used to be. What may skew that for me is we have no pool halls in my area so all you really see are your bar league players and that doesn’t seem to be their thing. Maybe if you’re fortunate enough to goto pool halls you see a different kind of player.
Yea- you don’t need much cue on a bar table - on fast 7 foot Diamonds you need a stroke that can deliver spin and kill -draw or inside- with accuracy on the shot itself.
Agree big time. Back in 80s-90s you'd go in any room of pool bar and you'd see everything from Joss to Gina. In Tulsa the main cues were semi-production stuff like Jane's Joss, Meucci, McD,Viking,etc. Custom stuff like Josswest (Billy was here for 4yrs), Schick, McDaniel,etc were pretty common too. Pool started really fading when the casinos opened and these days you rarely see a production Joss much less full customs. As i said earlier the only people ordering them are over 50. As time goes on that market is going to shrink, a lot.
WTH does that even mean? You need 'more cue' on a big table?? So you have to have different cues for different tables?? What you're trying to say makes zero sense. The difference in the longest shot on each table is about a foot or so. You don't need 'more cue'(still have no clue here) to play on a bigger table.
The thread is about high end custom cues. There is a marked decline in 9 foot table rooms and an increase in the bar table business. The word " bar cue" has been around for years- it is generally a less expensive non custom cue. Explains part of custom cue decline.
My comments on the ability to slow down the CB on fast 7 foot tables can be achieved with either cue- "bar cue" or custom cue-- no argument from me there----- just that one has to have that stroke ability or the CB is uncontrollable from rail to table surface and the smaller table surface on 7 foots demands even more CB braking ability as in putting on the brakes.
That’s because those cues were pretty affordable!
People would love to play with cool custom cues but they are not going to blow thousands of dollars on one when they can get a more durable Predator or Cuetec or Rhino that plays great for a fraction of the cost.
bigdaddydave
New member
How are they more durable? Plenty of cue makers have carbon fiber shaft options.That’s because those cues were pretty affordable!
People would love to play with cool custom cues but they are not going to blow thousands of dollars on one when they can get a more durable Predator or Cuetec or Rhino that plays great for a fraction of the cost.
A few months ago I was at the range qualifying for renewal of my CCW permit.
All of the guns on my permit are pretty standard versions and I chose my guns
on a variety of factors. One thingI hadn’t seriously considered was a custom gun.
There was a retired Highway Patrolman at the range the night I was there. He was
firing a Bill Wilson EDC X9 2.0 (9mm) - 3.25” custom 1911 design pistol. It is a $4k
gun when you add sales tax, registration, etc. it costs a lot more than my handguns.
Was it worth it? I had to find out and so I introduced myself and asked about the gun,
features, lead time, cost, accessories, accuracy and shootability. The owner said the
best way is to fire the gun and he handed me a couple of 15 rd. Mags and said here
ya go. Of course, I reciprocated and said he could try any of the handguns I had with
me. It turned out to be a enlightening experience. Yes, custom guns are built much better.
I walked away wondering why I hadn’t gotten one by now. I’ve spent more than that on
a pool cue and more than once. If a piece of wood built and adorned to look and play
the way you like, isn’t a gun that will last ad infinitem when cared for worth as much?
Besides, you don’t carry a pool cue to protect you from threat and harm but it’s exactly
why I carry a gun. I have it on my person every day but I don’t shoot pool every day. A
gun has a lot more significance and after firing the Bill Wilson custom 1911 design, I want
one badly, Better quality is easily discerned both in terms of a pool cue and a handgun.
IMO, the price difference is cost justifiable and the intrinsic value is always going to be high.
All of the guns on my permit are pretty standard versions and I chose my guns
on a variety of factors. One thingI hadn’t seriously considered was a custom gun.
There was a retired Highway Patrolman at the range the night I was there. He was
firing a Bill Wilson EDC X9 2.0 (9mm) - 3.25” custom 1911 design pistol. It is a $4k
gun when you add sales tax, registration, etc. it costs a lot more than my handguns.
Was it worth it? I had to find out and so I introduced myself and asked about the gun,
features, lead time, cost, accessories, accuracy and shootability. The owner said the
best way is to fire the gun and he handed me a couple of 15 rd. Mags and said here
ya go. Of course, I reciprocated and said he could try any of the handguns I had with
me. It turned out to be a enlightening experience. Yes, custom guns are built much better.
I walked away wondering why I hadn’t gotten one by now. I’ve spent more than that on
a pool cue and more than once. If a piece of wood built and adorned to look and play
the way you like, isn’t a gun that will last ad infinitem when cared for worth as much?
Besides, you don’t carry a pool cue to protect you from threat and harm but it’s exactly
why I carry a gun. I have it on my person every day but I don’t shoot pool every day. A
gun has a lot more significance and after firing the Bill Wilson custom 1911 design, I want
one badly, Better quality is easily discerned both in terms of a pool cue and a handgun.
IMO, the price difference is cost justifiable and the intrinsic value is always going to be high.