Hi Eric,
I've only played with one Gus and that was Jeff Beys. My 70's Micarta joint Joss plays just like it. Only difference is my shafts are clean! Lol.
I love all the old wood cues.
I love that way Jeff's Gus looks. I'm a sucker for green veneers and the Bushka Rings. That cue felt so damn good! The shafts were so grimy though. That cue really sticks in my head for some reason.I have played alot with Jeff's cue, infact I had Barry refinish it for him as a gift(Jeff takes is a very close friend and I wanted to do something nice for him) I couldnt stand to see it all dinged up, its one hell of a good Gus. IMO its one of the best playing Gus's there is.
I'm going to take pics of a old Joss(Fat ass and all) for this thread next time I see my friend, I cant make a ball with it-however I have seen my friend shoot my jewels off with it many times, I just cant get used to Joss cues from that period, but thats my problem, the cues Bill made were as good as any cues built quality wise. I have owned so many of them and never kept one
I had this cue custom made for me in 1978. I still remember going to Danny's shop in Towson (he had dark hair then) and telling him what I wanted in the cue. It was completed in about three months and it was perfect. It still is...31 years later. Two shalfts, ivory ferrules and it still hits like the first time I shot with it. By the way, both shafts are, to this day, perfectly straight. An amazing cue.
I paid $170.00 for the cue with two shafts with ivory ferrules. Back then, unless you wanted something really unusual, Danny had three levels of cues that he offered. Level one had a plain forearm, two shafts ivory ferrules for $150.00, then one like mine with four points, four veneers, two shafts ivory ferrules for $170.00 and then level three which was level two only with some additional inlays in the butt sleeve for $220.00.
I also bought a Fellini case for $50.00 when I picked up the cue. Danny was selling black ones and brown ones and I chose a brown one. Mine is still in excllent condition by the way.
You see, back then, these things were not bought wih collecting in mind. They were tools that we used to play pool with. There was no hype associated with any of this stuff then. If there was, don't you think I would have taken the bus a little farther up the road to Gus Szamboti's shop and gotten one of his cues? They were just like mine, cost about $30.00 or $40.00 more but were not considered any better. JOSS cues back then that were being made by Danny Janes and Tim Scurggs were considered to be some of the best cues you could get and a lot of the top players of that era were using them. So, I followed along...who'd a thunk it?
That Joss box cue may be my favorite Joss cue of all time. Thanks for sharing.