Soft hitting cue

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sgengaro86

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
When people talk about “best hitting” cues, it seems like many mention stiffer, crisper hits like the Southwests. Are there cues people like that have a very soft hit? For example, I have a production Pechaeur with a stainless joint and I love the soft hit. I hate the weighting of the cue so I don’t play with it, but love the soft feeling. Does anyone have any favorite customer cues that have a solid but soft hit?
Thanks!
 
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DecentShot

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
sgengaro86 said:
When people talk about “best hitting” cues, it seems like many mention stiffer, crisper hits like the Southwests. Are there cues people like that have a very soft hit? For example, I have a production Pechaeur with a stainless joint and I love the soft hit. I hate the weighting of the cue so I don’t play with it, but love the soft feeling. Does anyone have any favorite customer cues that have a solid but soft hit?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

That verbiage is a throwback before we had low deflection and carbon fiber shafts. So "hits a ton" simply translates to stiff. Higher end cuemakers made it a race for stiffest hit.
Its a lot like (I know this analogy is a little left field but it works) surfboards. Sure a guy could work his whole life developing his own legendary style of shaping the boards, but Channel Islands uses a computer and makes a far superior board.
With that said, it comes down to two camps. The "give me the best equipment available" guys, and the "soul" guys. I have enough "soul", tyvm.
Often times with a pool cue the hit feel will depend on the type of tip. But to directly answer your question, Mcdermott has the "softest" hit of any cue I've ever played with.
 
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ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
DecentShot said:
That verbiage is a throwback before we had low deflection and carbon fiber shafts. So "hits a ton" simply translates to stiff. Higher end cuemakers made it a race for stiffest hit.
Its a lot like (I know this analogy is a little left field but it works) surfboards. Sure a guy could work his whole life developing his own legendary style of shaping the boards, but Channel Islands uses a computer and makes a far superior board.
With that said, it comes down to two camps. The "give me the best equipment available" guys, and the "soul" guys. I have enough "soul", tyvm.
Often times with a pool cue the hit feel will depend on the type of tip. But to directly answer your question, Mcdermott has the "softest" hit of any cue I've ever played with.
Click to expand...
I second that - McDermott
 
Bavafongoul

Bavafongoul

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The first thing to examine is the brand tip you are using, how much tip remains, and what’s its hardness?

Tips will vary a great deal from brand to brand, especially so with the hardness. A long time ago someone
came up with a tip hardness chart and it contained information I considered interesting, as well as helpful.
The tip is what makes initial contact with the cue ball & how hard it is has a huge significance on the feel.
 
Snooker Theory

Snooker Theory

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
DecentShot said:
That verbiage is a throwback before we had low deflection and carbon fiber shafts. So "hits a ton" simply translates to stiff. Higher end cuemakers made it a race for stiffest hit.
Its a lot like (I know this analogy is a little left field but it works) surfboards. Sure a guy could work his whole life developing his own legendary style of shaping the boards, but Channel Islands uses a computer and makes a far superior board.
With that said, it comes down to two camps. The "give me the best equipment available" guys, and the "soul" guys. I have enough "soul", tyvm.
Often times with a pool cue the hit feel will depend on the type of tip. But to directly answer your question, Mcdermott has the "softest" hit of any cue I've ever played with.
Click to expand...

You a surfer?
 
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CocoboloCowboy

Cowboys are my hero's
Silver Member
The idea of hitting a ball "SOFT" is easy with any Cue, the only thing it take two things. Thought and not hitting the ball like a banger.

Think about what what you want to accomplish with each shot, plan what you thought about, then execute it.


Most people talk about practicing, the but is playing is not practicing

Work on your weaknesses, like shooting soft. It actually hard. Someone told me long ago thing about how men 360 degree revolutions it take to move the Cue ball from Position A at strat of shot, to Position B were you want it at end of shot.
 
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Boxcar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Some shafts "sing." Some shafts "tunk." Take a handfull of shafts and drop them one-at-a-time on a hardwood floor. The one that "sings" will hit crisp. My remarks are TOTALLY subjective. Results may vary widely.
 
Bavafongoul

Bavafongoul

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Cue Tip Hardness Ratings

j13 smiley,

I checked my computer's pool related documents library; this is what I was referring to.
It's by no means complete and likely a little outdated as well but it's all I could locate.

Matt B.
 

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deanoc

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I can not say that I can get this down to an operational definition

,but I prefer a cue with stiff shafts and a soft hit


Sometimes I confuse the two in my thinking

I never like a hard hit,it feels so unresponsive and cold


After playing the very best players and discussing things like this with friends
well respected in the pool industry
I can not say that I could actually offer you one solid piece of advice


A funny thing is that as poor as i play ,i seem to know when a cue hits good,
more knowledgible people have often laughed at my uncanny ability to pick
good hitting cues

All i ever did was either pick it up and hit it or order to the specs of cues that I liked before

Soft anf firm seems to describe what I like
 
mikemosconi

mikemosconi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
McDermott from the 90s hit soft- I don't know about other McDermotts. I had a flat faced non ivory jointed Capone cue 2003 - a six pointer that hit soft - both cues had Moori soft tips back then.
 
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asbani

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Bavafongoul said:
j13 smiley,

I checked my computer's pool related documents library; this is what I was referring to.
It's by no means complete and likely a little outdated as well but it's all I could locate.

Matt B.
Click to expand...

I appreciate the file that shows hardness, but as I am looking at it, it lists Le Pro as 78, and Tiger Sniper as 78 as well.

But I really doubt it, there's absolutely no way that Le Pro's are the same as Sniper in hardness, these are the only two tips that I play with and based on my own feeling, it is clear that Sniper is soft, while the Le Pro upon installation is a little hard, but not too hard, then few sets in and it feels like rock hard.

To me, and again this is just how I feel.

Sniper -- Soft to medium
Le Pro -- Hard.

So is my feeling wrong? or is the list wrong? we can't both be right.
 
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asbani

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
asbani said:
I appreciate the file that shows hardness, but as I am looking at it, it lists Le Pro as 78, and Tiger Sniper as 78 as well.

But I really doubt it, there's absolutely no way that Le Pro's are the same as Sniper in hardness, these are the only two tips that I play with and based on my own feeling, it is clear that Sniper is soft, while the Le Pro upon installation is a little hard, but not too hard, then few sets in and it feels like rock hard.

To me, and again this is just how I feel.

Sniper -- Soft to medium
Le Pro -- Hard.

So is my feeling wrong? or is the list wrong? we can't both be right.
Click to expand...

I did a little google search, and it seems that this list got it right.

https://www.pooldawg.com/article/pooldawg-library/the-ultimate-pool-cue-tip-guide
 
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Boxcar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This scale for tip hardness can be found in Mueller's catalog.
These tips are rated on a scale of 1 (softest) to 4 (hardest).
Individual tips vary.

Elk Master: 1
Blue Knight: 1
Royal Oak: 2
Triumph: 2.5
Chandivert Match: 2.5
Triangle: 3.5
Chandivert Crown: 3.5
Chandivert Champion: 3.5
Le Pro: 3
Chandivert Rocky: 4
 
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garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
A Meucci with an ElkMaster was softest hitting cue i ever saw. It was like there was a down pillow on the end of the cue. McDermott's with softer tips were also quite soft.
 
linxhack

linxhack

Registered
A McDermott was my first cue in the early 90's. Soft hitting, plenty of feedback and just enjoyable to play all day. Never "tinny" in any way. Still the ruler by which all other cues are measured. I currently have (too) many McDermotts from that era and they all play that way. In fact, the older they are, seems like the better they game. I've never noticed much difference in the hit from tips. Played last night with an Everest tip on one and my playing tip, Kamui Clear Black soft on the other. Only difference was the amount of spin they produced. Personally, I'm convinced its the big pin and flat faced wood connection that they've always used.

Note: If anyone can advise me on any custom cue makers that play like old McDermotts, I'd appreciate it. It's the main reason I haven't pulled the trigger on a big name.
 
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animatedvmaker

Banned
sgengaro86 said:
When people talk about “best hitting” cues, it seems like many mention stiffer, crisper hits like the Southwests. Are there cues people like that have a very soft hit? For example, I have a production Pechaeur with a stainless joint and I love the soft hit. I hate the weighting of the cue so I don’t play with it, but love the soft feeling. Does anyone have any favorite customer cues that have a solid but soft hit?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

In my experience, cues with a wood to wood joint, like 3/8x10, and Radial pin joints had a Soft hit to them. Cues like Mcdermott, and Diveney to name a few examples.

Also, in my experience, cues with an SS joint have had a pretty stiff hit. Cues like Joss, Schon, and others that came with an SS joint collar.

Some of the Helmstetter cues came with some type of plastic joint collar, and a 5/16x18 flat faced joint, and they had a soft but very nice and solid hit to them.

Other Helmstetter cues that came with an SS joint collar I really did not care for, because they had what felt like a hard and stiff hit to them.

So, in my experience, I never enjoyed shooting with anything with an SS joint collar.

Joss has been the worst in my experience. The only Joss cues I ever really liked were the sneaky style cues, because they did not have an SS joint on them. Also the Brunswick made Joss cues, that had some sort of brown material on the joint collar, and really liked the hit of those too.

I highly recommend Pat Diveney though.
 
DJ66

DJ66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Just to throw my hat in the ring here:
As far as "softer" hit, I have an old meucci original (mid-late 80's) as well as an old McDermott (late 80's-early 90's), and they do have a soft hit (my opinion, the meucci was softer). I picked up a new shuriken cue with a carbon fiber ferrule, and the hit is far and away much softer than either meucci or mcdermott. (all of the cues have triangle tips.)
 
buckshotshoey

buckshotshoey

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I think some cues are called soft hitting, not just because of the feel, but the sound they make. If you put in earplugs or earphones, it's easier to discern the actual feel.

Case and point.... the OB with the stacked maple ferrule has been described as "mushy" by some. It seems to be more a muffled sound then it is a "muffled" feel. I get good feedback out of mine.

If a person eliminates all senses other then touch, it's easier to concentrate on the feel. In this very thread, it was mentioned that a shaft that "sings" is a stiffer hit. That may or may not be true. Try hitting with it when you cant hear it.

I tried this on the other end of the spectrum. I used my 314 2 with and without earbuds. It felt stiffer when I could hear it. Eliminating the sound will change your perception. Does for me anyway.

In essence, you could have two shafts that feel the same, but sound different...or vice versa. Depends on the tip/ferrule/taper/diameter/construction variables.
 
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