Treadway Review (Detailed) A True Gem

johnnysd

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Overall Grade: A Review below probably reads like an advertisement for Treadway cues but reality is that this is simply one of the best overall cues I have ever owned including customs I had built by Richard Black, Paul Mottey, Dan Janes and several others. Highly recommended for your next custom cue.


Cuemaker: Josh Treadway, St, Louis Mo, former apprentice to Jim Buss. http://www.treadwaycues.com/Default.aspx Member ACA since 2012

Cue: Four Cocobolo Points (no veneers) Special Inlaid Buska rings at all locations, Cocobolo butt piece White Juma joint and end endpiece Textured Black Wrap

Specs: 18.5 oz 58" radial joint. Butt 14.8 ounces 2 12.75mm shafts (3.7oz and 3.5oz) .75 inch Juma ferrules, compound modified pro taper, Black King medium tips.Very well balanced, slightly forward feels less heavy than 18.5 and slightly thin in butt grip

Background: Ordered high end unique custom from Josh that is 2 years out. Josh agreed to allow me to purchase one of the basic cues he was making for the Chattanooga Cue Show as an interim, pacifier type cue while I waited for custom. Built to my preferred specs but not otherwise customized

Build Experience: Grade A- Josh was open and communicative during build and provided sufficient updates. Seems truly excited about cue building. Open to questions. Honest.No real progress pics or detailed updates

Build Time: Grade B No firm expectations were really set for build schedule, but cue was built in reasonable amount of time despite mother nature delaying the finishing process a little

Packaging:
Grade: A+ Cue was in custom plastic envelope that separated shafts and butt that was then bubble wrapped and put into a hard tube in standard USPS box taped together well. Excellent protection

Appearance: Grade A/A- Compared to other simple four pointers it is among the most elegant cues I have seen. Cocobolo is well figured and a beautiful brownish red not typical for coco. Old growth maple is truly beautiful in color and rustic figure. The real highlight are the inlaid Bushka rings. They are just spectacular. Deceptively simple, in person they add a deep elegance that is compelling. Many people came over just to look at the rings which was really interesting as they are just black and while.

Finish: Grade: A Deep, crystal clear finish that looks almost "wet". No hint of raised finish near the metal rings.

Build Quality Grade A Extremely solid, no obvious defects, joint is perfectly flush with either shaft Joint is tapped undersize so requires some muscle power to tighten, but screws together perfectly and adds no additional stress to joint.Shaft wood is uniform and higher quality than expected Cue is straight.

Hit: Grade A++ I have hit three cues in my life that I felt were truly special. First was a Balabushka that was loaned to me for five months. Second was my Judd Fuller that I had for 20 years until it was stolen. Third is this Treadway. Hit is subjective, so it might not be the holy grail for you, but all 3 were similar in the way they hit. I would describe the hit as medium stiff, more towards the stiff side than the medium, not whippy at all, but not very stiff either. The unique thing with this cue is that while it is stiff, it is also a "lively" crisp hit. It just seems to impart a lot of easy no effort energy to the ball without any vibration or reduction in accuracy but still with great feedback. Deflection is fairly low, and I missed a few shots playing more squirt than actually there, Sound is crisp and sharp.

PICS BELOW
 

johnnysd

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Pics of Treadway Reviewed Above

Crappy cell phone pics of cue. Will post better pictures when I can.
 

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RD Grant

Registered
Josh Treadway cues are the best to hit with....I own a few. I used to hit with McDaniel cues only, I have upgraded to Treadway cues. Josh is very easy to contact and get information from, he is friendly and reliable.

RDG
 

johnnysd

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Josh Treadway cues are the best to hit with....I own a few. I used to hit with McDaniel cues only, I have upgraded to Treadway cues. Josh is very easy to contact and get information from, he is friendly and reliable.

RDG

Agree all the way. I have two of Josh's cues, both are excellent. I would describe the hit of this one as exceptional. Sometimes I think you just get the right combination of all the different elements and the cue become greater than the sum of its parts.

Josh is making me a high end custom that is about 2 years out with some really unusual design elements. I am really excited to see how it turns out.
 

zeeder

Will queue for cues
Silver Member
I, too, have recently put in an order with Josh and, as you've said, he is great to work with. It'll be a fun two years of waiting!
 

johnnysd

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Great review. I own a Treadway and love it. Can't wait to see your new cue.


Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums

Yeah I think I am actually at 18 months now, and have given Josh just some high level thoughts and a certain wood to use for handle. Other than that design is pretty much up to him. I think it will be pretty special in appearance.
 
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doctor2pi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Yeah I think I am actually at 18 months now, and have given Josh just some high level thoughts and a certain wood to use for handle. Other than that design is pretty much up to him. I think it will be pretty special in appearance.



Very cool. Cue builds with a "Surprise me" aspect are intriguing to me. Can't wait to see the finished product.


Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums
 

johnnysd

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Very cool. Cue builds with a "Surprise me" aspect are intriguing to me. Can't wait to see the finished product.


Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums

Yes, I figure Josh will design a much nicer cue than me and I have give him I think just enough detail that it will look like my mental picture at a high level no matter what. Couple weeks in and no change on my appreciation for this cue. For a plain 4 pointer cue it gets an awful lot of positive comments which is neat.
 

franko

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Just

I just bought one here on AZ a beautiful Ebony on Ebony and I can not believe how much I love playing with that cue. The cues I currently own are 4- 6 pt. Boars a 8- pt Boar and a 4 pt. Tasc. All are great playing cues and this Treadway does not take a backseat to any of them.
 

johnnysd

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Quick update: I get almost continual comments and inquires about the cue when I am playing even in dive bars. It is so simple, yet the wood and overall appearance is just so elegant that it really stands out. The old growth maple is just so distinctive looking. And it hits just as good as I thought when I first got it. I have never experienced the interest in this cue with the others I have had, all of which were much fancier.
 

johnnysd

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I did ultimately move away from this cue. I went to a Lambros and then to an Olney and now I play with a Tascarella. I think everything in this review is still true and I am sure the current owner is very happy. What I found over time is that all three of the cues I played previous to the Tascarella were all just a little too stiff for me. What I found was that they are all super solid, but I struggled to do subtle delicate shots with them like medium length shots that just required a half inch of draw, and off angle stop with English. I think that the stiffness let to them being more of a "hitters" cue than a "strokers" cue that likes to be played with more subtlety and finesse. The Tascarella really excels at that and I just feel more comfortable with it.

That is not to say anything bad about Josh's cues. I am still getting a couple more of his and he is working with me on some experimental design elements to provide the hit I look for. I still think the Treadway would be the best hitting cue for many players.

Each cue I have played with has given me a little more insight into what I really need in a cue. It has been an expensive but fun journey playing with a bunch of cues over the last couple years but feel I am completely dialed in on what best fits my game now.
 

j2pac

Marital Slow Learner.
Staff member
Moderator
Gold Member
Silver Member
Very nice. Classic looking beauty. Congrats.
 
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