I've played for some time now with a Chinese 8 ball cue, conical taper, small ferrule, 11.5 mm. And recently I've gotten a bit fed up with it. It's kind of stiff and harsh. Performance vise it does the job quite well, but the small tip is kind of taking it's toll on my nerves, especially on the long shots.
So I tried an el-cheapo 13mm sneaky pete I bought for 50 dollars, and I must say the hit is much more mellow, especially on the juice shots. I kind of like that there is some deflection as it makes me have to commit to the aim and the speed while standing up. It really punishes you if you change your mind over the ball. Which is good, because doing that sort of noob stuff is killing my long runs. As for the spin, I get all the spin I need. There is something to be said for having a Nice feel to the hit, though. Almost all the Ld shafts I've tried feel either weak or harsh on the draw shots. They don't have the smooth push offered by large diameter maple. The smooth push is such a sweet feeling and really helps tune into the stroke. And I find that I naturally shorten my bridge as well, which seems to be working well for me (may not for everyone).
I've tried extensively, or owned every major ld shaft made, and I've got to say, I don't think any of them got the feel just right for me. The closest thing I've tried to an acceptable hit was the Mezz Ignite, but I only got 20 shots with it, so it might not be as good as I think, I did detect some harshness. Whenever you Hollow the front part of a shaft out, you mess with the hit, there is just no way to avoid it. Carbon cores do tend to feel plasticky, though Mezz has a good handle on those. I do have a Mezz cue, but it gets less and less use. I found that I wanted a softer and softer tip on it to amiliorate the sublte plastic feel of the hit, and that just isn't for me. The best hit I ever tried was a Joss West. Eventually I got a shaft (couldn't afford the Whole cue) but couldn't get used to the deflection at the time. Now it seems that deflection isn't bothering me much anymore, and I wish I still had that shaft.
Anyhow, I do like the fact that I look a bit "old fashioned" with my large shaft and short bridge, while playing straight pool. That's just a fashion thing I guess, but I feel like I'm connecting more with the spirit of that game, if that makes sense (probably doesn't).
So I tried an el-cheapo 13mm sneaky pete I bought for 50 dollars, and I must say the hit is much more mellow, especially on the juice shots. I kind of like that there is some deflection as it makes me have to commit to the aim and the speed while standing up. It really punishes you if you change your mind over the ball. Which is good, because doing that sort of noob stuff is killing my long runs. As for the spin, I get all the spin I need. There is something to be said for having a Nice feel to the hit, though. Almost all the Ld shafts I've tried feel either weak or harsh on the draw shots. They don't have the smooth push offered by large diameter maple. The smooth push is such a sweet feeling and really helps tune into the stroke. And I find that I naturally shorten my bridge as well, which seems to be working well for me (may not for everyone).
I've tried extensively, or owned every major ld shaft made, and I've got to say, I don't think any of them got the feel just right for me. The closest thing I've tried to an acceptable hit was the Mezz Ignite, but I only got 20 shots with it, so it might not be as good as I think, I did detect some harshness. Whenever you Hollow the front part of a shaft out, you mess with the hit, there is just no way to avoid it. Carbon cores do tend to feel plasticky, though Mezz has a good handle on those. I do have a Mezz cue, but it gets less and less use. I found that I wanted a softer and softer tip on it to amiliorate the sublte plastic feel of the hit, and that just isn't for me. The best hit I ever tried was a Joss West. Eventually I got a shaft (couldn't afford the Whole cue) but couldn't get used to the deflection at the time. Now it seems that deflection isn't bothering me much anymore, and I wish I still had that shaft.
Anyhow, I do like the fact that I look a bit "old fashioned" with my large shaft and short bridge, while playing straight pool. That's just a fashion thing I guess, but I feel like I'm connecting more with the spirit of that game, if that makes sense (probably doesn't).
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