Red Circle Ball vs. Measle Cue Ball

LOU

LOU

Registered
Every body has a story aout the measle ball,that its heavier made from a different composite material,and the ball is larger.I have played with both and see no difference but I play with people wine and cry about it every time I get it out.Can anyone tell me the whole truth and nothing but the truth,about the measle ball. Thanks Lou.

I put this in the wrong forum earlier today.
 
Southpaw

Southpaw

Swing away, Meril....
Silver Member
I think the measel ball is a little heavier, but not significantly. It is comparable to the blue circle I think. It just takes some getting used to . JMO.

Southpaw
 
BillPorter

BillPorter

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
cue balls

LOU said:
Every body has a story aout the measle ball,that its heavier made from a different composite material,and the ball is larger.I have played with both and see no difference but I play with people wine and cry about it every time I get it out.Can anyone tell me the whole truth and nothing but the truth,about the measle ball. Thanks Lou.

I put this in the wrong forum earlier today.
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Here is what I found when I did some research on this issue. The "measle" ball weighs exactly the same as the numbered balls, whereas the red circle cue ball weighs about 3 grams less. So the red circle ball will be slightly easier to draw.
 
jjr183

jjr183

Jamie Ruff
Silver Member
feedback

I much prefer to use the measle ball because I can use the feedback of the spinning spots to determine how close I am to being in-stroke. Most people I played with it whined that I was forcing them to play with it because I was more used to it and had an unfair advantage. Therefore, I do not even mention that I have one to use when I play against anyone and only use one if the room provides it.

I still practice with the measle ball as it makes it that much easier to find the flaws in my mechanics. Therefore, I still get that unfair advantage from using it away from competition.:rolleyes:
 
jay helfert

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
I HATED the measle ball at first, thought it was a gimmick. But after playing with it a while, found it to be superior to the old red circle. I think most top players today prefer the measle ball. It goes thru the object balls better and rolls more true.
 
Pushout

Pushout

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Johnny Archer brought one with him to Shannon's tour stop at the Palace in Greenville, SC. Don't think he used it in the tournament, though.
 
S

Scott Lee

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
BillPorter said:
Here is what I found when I did some research on this issue. The "measle" ball weighs exactly the same as the numbered balls, whereas the red circle cue ball weighs about 3 grams less. So the red circle ball will be slightly easier to draw.
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Bill...Not to disagree with you here, but imo you're splitting hairs...although you did use the word 'slightly'. If the red circle CB weighs 3 grams less, that equates to less than a 2% difference in weight, from the measle ball...not significant enough to provide any difference in ability to draw the CB at any distance. jmo

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
Flex

Flex

Banger
Silver Member
Scott Lee said:
Bill...Not to disagree with you here, but imo you're splitting hairs...although you did use the word 'slightly'. If the red circle CB weighs 3 grams less, that equates to less than a 2% difference in weight, from the measle ball...not significant enough to provide any difference in ability to draw the CB at any distance. jmo

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...

Perhaps the weight difference is only 3 grams, when both balls are new, that is. However, many red circle balls may be significantly lighter, especially if they are constantly being played with. At a certain point, the circle may become so faint it is hard to see. In other words, the ball may be plain worn out.

If someone gets used to playing with one of those, and you swap a new measles ball on them, there will very likely be quite a difference in the way the two balls will draw.

I like the way the measles balls play, and have no trouble drawing them, but I've found they really don't draw as well as the red circle balls.

Another thing which many players don't seem to think about is the way a ball that is smaller will throw object balls. The differences in the balls may not be discerned by everyone, but are very real. That's probably not news to really good players, but roadies sure pick up on the differences quickly, and adjust plenty fast too.

JMHO/ICBW.

Flex
 
BillPorter

BillPorter

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
cue ball weights

Scott Lee said:
Bill...Not to disagree with you here, but imo you're splitting hairs...although you did use the word 'slightly'. If the red circle CB weighs 3 grams less, that equates to less than a 2% difference in weight, from the measle ball...not significant enough to provide any difference in ability to draw the CB at any distance. jmo

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
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Scott, you may be right on this one. I weighed one red circle ball at 162 grams (not sure who made it) and another one at 165 grams. Brunswich Centenial balls weigh 168 grams. The 162 gram cue ball was clearly easier to draw than a Brunswick blue circle at 168. Maybe some can tell a difference between a 165 red circle and a 168 measles ball when it comes to drawing, but I probably couldn't.
 
randyg

randyg

www.randygpool.com
Silver Member
First, there were two different "measle" balls made. The first was a bit bigger and heavier. Later model was very close to 5.8 oz.

Red Cirlce cueballs do not wear out (as fast) because of their coating....randyg

Draw with your stroke, not a cueball!
 
BillPorter

BillPorter

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Flex said:
Perhaps the weight difference is only 3 grams, when both balls are new, that is. However, many red circle balls may be significantly lighter, especially if they are constantly being played with. At a certain point, the circle may become so faint it is hard to see. In other words, the ball may be plain worn out. Flex
Click to expand...

Good point. And this is probably why one of the red circle balls I weighed was only 162 grams (over 3.5% lighter than the numbered balls).
 
rackem

rackem

SUPPORT CLUB MEMBERSHIP
Silver Member
My personal comparison.

We had been playing on my buddy's table with the Measel ball and Centenials for maybe 6 months. Recently his new puppy chewed on one of the leather drop pockets. :( The measel ball dropped out. :( We found it in the yard pretty well scared up. :mad: We were forced to go back to the blue circle. I can without a doubt say I imediately noticed a difference which I perfered. The blue circle moves easier and plays better.:)
 
BillPorter

BillPorter

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
huh?

randyg said:
Not all numbered balls weight the same!
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Randy, you sound like a Zen Master speaking to one of his student monks. :)

I think that if we are talking about new balls of high quality, say Brunswich Centenials, the numbered balls will weigh within one gram of the same weight. One pool hall where I play recently bought some super cheap balls. When I weighed several from the same set, the weights varied from 159 grams to 186 grams!!!
 
Flex

Flex

Banger
Silver Member
randyg said:
Not all numbered balls weight the same!
Click to expand...

And for fun, just mix an el cheapo numbered ball in with the centennials, and add a Super Aramith Pro ball too. Make the SAP ball the 8 ball; get ready for some unusual results.

By the way, a 9 ball set with mixed object balls can be very difficult to play with on more difficult shots.

I remember one match on a very tighted pocketed and slow table at Chris's in Chicago where the 3 ball was a generic, not a Centennial ball. This fellow dogged that 3 ball at least twice in the match. Very interesting watching the expression on his face when he missed the pocket by two or three inches.

Randy, have you ever compared how different balls play, especially how they cut and throw differently depending on the shot and cue ball being used?

Flex
 
I

iasaxman

Wanna get played?
Silver Member
In my opinion, people place too much emphasis on the draw ability of a cue ball. If you happen to leave yourself a shot that requires full table draw, you probably played bad shape on the previous shots.

People should be looking at the natural follow english too(1 rail, 2 rail, 3 rail, and so on). Don't believe me, how many elite pros do you see draw the ball all over the table? Very few and far between are they leaving themselve those shots, and if they do, they're more likely to play tangent with varying running english to go 'round the table in whatever pattern suits the next shot.

Personally, I love the measles ball. It not only gives you instant feedback to your stroke, but within 3 shots I know the speed of the table, the condition of the rails, and how receptive the rails are to english. Not only that, but a good player can gain unlimited knowledge about how their opponent plays by watching the english they put on the ball.

If your sick of having to draw the ball 5 feet, check out the DVD "Cue Ball Control" by Lil' Joe Villalpondo. There's lots of info in various threads here. Check it out at the website below too.

Again, just my opinion.

Dave
www.pooliq.net
 
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Bob Jewett

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
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Silver Member
Flex said:
... However, many red circle balls may be significantly lighter, especially if they are constantly being played with. At a certain point, the circle may become so faint it is hard to see. In other words, the ball may be plain worn out. ...
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In addition, while the cue ball is wearing down, the object balls are wearing as well. After six months of regular use, I think all object balls are smaller than spec. If you would like to measure pretty accurately how much larger or smaller the cue ball is than the object balls, see article "2005-12 Wrong Size, Wrong Shape" at http://www.sfbilliards.com/articles/BD_articles.html
 
S

SPINDOKTOR

lool wtf??
Silver Member
I looked at the Measels ball, there are two differnt ones, one has a slight yellowish tint, the other is White. The brighter cue ball is the heavier ball.

Looked that way to me. Im going to order a new one soon, I'll weigh them both..


SPINDOKTOR
 
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