I've been looking around at cues lately.. It's turned into an addiction and i stumbled across samsara cues.. I think they look really nice. Was wondering if anyone plays with or has played with one.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Anyone play with samsara cues?
- Thread starter Darkridder
- Start date
I have two custom Samsara's...both play terrific! Had them for almost 15 years now.
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
I have a Samsara break cue. Daddy like! 
Samsara
SS4L.
I got one in 2008 from Mike Fieldhammer (billiardcoach.com). Until that moment a cue was just a cue. I had played with a McDermott for a long time and had no complaints. But this cue is the mortal nuts. It has taken me off the cue market.
I still think a cue is just a cue...EXCEPT for the Samsara.
SS4L.
I got one in 2008 from Mike Fieldhammer (billiardcoach.com). Until that moment a cue was just a cue. I had played with a McDermott for a long time and had no complaints. But this cue is the mortal nuts. It has taken me off the cue market.
I still think a cue is just a cue...EXCEPT for the Samsara.
Shafts are very whippy, play like the regular Meucci shafts. Design of the cues is legend though, but depending on what you play with no, you won't like how they play unless you change the shaft.
I've always wanted one, then when I finally got one, it lasted maybe a month before I traded it, I could not play with the shaft.
I've always wanted one, then when I finally got one, it lasted maybe a month before I traded it, I could not play with the shaft.
I've had 3 Samsara cues over the years.
My first "real" cue was a very plain year 2000 "Sneaky Sam" cue. It was all black, as simple as it gets. I played with that cue for maybe 8 years or so. It is a very stiff hitting cue with a uniloc joint. I eventually converted to a Predator 314 shaft and LOVED the way it played with this setup. To me, the "real" shaft for this cue is an original 314 shaft with some custom ring work done so it has the Samsara diamonds ring. The original shaft had a pretty good amount of deflection, but the hit was stiff and I liked it until I learned about low deflection. A few years back I matched this up with the 314-2 shaft I got when they first came out to use on the cue mentioned below. This turned out to be a magical combo. That cue plays better than nearly everything I've ever felt. It has a very unique feel. It broke my heart a little to give it away to a very close friend and up and coming female player. The cue is the perfect fit for her.
My next cue was another Samsara. It was fairly simple...curley maple wrapless handle, cocobolo forearm and butt. Slightly more rear balanced and a different hit. I like the way it plays, and the workmanship is beautiful. However it is not quite as magical as the first one.
Finally, I purchased a generation 2 X-Breaker break cue. I immediately had some issues, and they replaced it with the generation 3 which was built by Samsara. This cue is also very well put together. The wood is absolutely phenomenal. It is a jump break. The original X-Breaker shaft was great, but the tip had some issues. I tried a Mike Gulyassi shaft for a while, which I liked a lot. Once I converted over to the BK1 and BK2, I put that cue away for a while. Recently I tried an OB break shaft which fit that butt's joint. WOW! Amazing break cue. Interesting thing...the X-Breaker company is the one who sold me the cue. There was a problem with the jump joint. This occurred after X-Breaker had gone out of business. Samsara stepped up and repaired the cue for free. I thought this was very good customer service...they really didn't owe me anything.
I think the build quality of Samsara is great. I would not hesitate to buy one of their cues.
KMRUNOUT
My first "real" cue was a very plain year 2000 "Sneaky Sam" cue. It was all black, as simple as it gets. I played with that cue for maybe 8 years or so. It is a very stiff hitting cue with a uniloc joint. I eventually converted to a Predator 314 shaft and LOVED the way it played with this setup. To me, the "real" shaft for this cue is an original 314 shaft with some custom ring work done so it has the Samsara diamonds ring. The original shaft had a pretty good amount of deflection, but the hit was stiff and I liked it until I learned about low deflection. A few years back I matched this up with the 314-2 shaft I got when they first came out to use on the cue mentioned below. This turned out to be a magical combo. That cue plays better than nearly everything I've ever felt. It has a very unique feel. It broke my heart a little to give it away to a very close friend and up and coming female player. The cue is the perfect fit for her.
My next cue was another Samsara. It was fairly simple...curley maple wrapless handle, cocobolo forearm and butt. Slightly more rear balanced and a different hit. I like the way it plays, and the workmanship is beautiful. However it is not quite as magical as the first one.
Finally, I purchased a generation 2 X-Breaker break cue. I immediately had some issues, and they replaced it with the generation 3 which was built by Samsara. This cue is also very well put together. The wood is absolutely phenomenal. It is a jump break. The original X-Breaker shaft was great, but the tip had some issues. I tried a Mike Gulyassi shaft for a while, which I liked a lot. Once I converted over to the BK1 and BK2, I put that cue away for a while. Recently I tried an OB break shaft which fit that butt's joint. WOW! Amazing break cue. Interesting thing...the X-Breaker company is the one who sold me the cue. There was a problem with the jump joint. This occurred after X-Breaker had gone out of business. Samsara stepped up and repaired the cue for free. I thought this was very good customer service...they really didn't owe me anything.
I think the build quality of Samsara is great. I would not hesitate to buy one of their cues.
KMRUNOUT
Nope. Samsara shafts are not "whippy" at all, and play nothing like Meucci shafts. I repped this company for 9 years, and never saw, sold or played with any shaft that was "whippy".
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
I don't mean to challenge you but what's the point in getting an expensive cue if you're gonna play with LD shafts on it?
Wouldn't it be just as good to get a cheap butt and get an LD that fits it?
Not trying to be sarcastic.
I dont take it as sarcastic...
But to be honest, I didnt buy it for its shaft, I bought it because I liked the way it looked.
It was merely a bonus that I fell in love with how it played with my LD shaft on it..
Price of the cue never had anything to do with it for me.
Agree completely Scott. I thought my original Samsara shafts played very stiff.
KMRUNOUT
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If you lack the ability to feel what to me is a huge difference between different butts, then you are right, there is no point except looks and originality. I went from a Samsara to an Andy Gilbert, both with Predator 314-2 shafts, and I thought there was a night and day difference in the way they played.
KMRUNOUT
Samsara
Mike Fieldhammer at billiardcoach.com got me set up with my Samsara, I think I use a predator 314-2 shaft. He had them match the rings so it looks nice.
Best looking cue I've ever owned.
Best hitting cue I've ever owned.
I am a BIG fan (maybe the biggest?) of Robert Byrne, I taught myself how to play out of his books, but the idea that the butt of the cue doesn't impact playability and it's all the first 10 inches or whatever...I'm not convinced. This thing practically shoots thunderbolts, and everyone that's hit balls with it agrees.
So for all the doubting Thomases...come to Minneapolis and I'll give you some action...then you can hit some balls with my cue after you're a believer!
Mike Fieldhammer at billiardcoach.com got me set up with my Samsara, I think I use a predator 314-2 shaft. He had them match the rings so it looks nice.
Best looking cue I've ever owned.
Best hitting cue I've ever owned.
I am a BIG fan (maybe the biggest?) of Robert Byrne, I taught myself how to play out of his books, but the idea that the butt of the cue doesn't impact playability and it's all the first 10 inches or whatever...I'm not convinced. This thing practically shoots thunderbolts, and everyone that's hit balls with it agrees.
So for all the doubting Thomases...come to Minneapolis and I'll give you some action...then you can hit some balls with my cue after you're a believer!
If you ever get the chance stop by the shop in Rugby, ND. Jim is a great guy and will spend a lot of time explaining the process along with the machines they developed for cue making.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My first Samsara was purchased out of their original shop in Nashua, NH. My experience matches yours...Jim showed me everything and explained a lot to me. I was 100% thrilled with my purchase, and that cue continues to grow and just has a magical hit. I'm glad it is alive in the hands of a female player that if she sticks with it, could play with the top women pro's some day.
KMRUNOUT
I got 2 samsara, a wrapless player -with 2 shafts- and a wrapless break/jump (Martin's Bick edition).
Excellent stuff. The shafts of my samsara player aren't whippy , they're on the stiff side and those are -imho- excellent shafts.
My samsara J/B is top notch , of special interest is the jump handle which is a nice part of the package. Superb craftmanship, good B/J shaft , worth every penny. I don't use it a lot, since i usually mostly use a dedicated breaker & a lomax jump cue...
IMHO you can't go wrong with samsara. very good stuff, flowless craftsmanship & clear coat , nice woods, standart joint pins .
Excellent stuff. The shafts of my samsara player aren't whippy , they're on the stiff side and those are -imho- excellent shafts.
My samsara J/B is top notch , of special interest is the jump handle which is a nice part of the package. Superb craftmanship, good B/J shaft , worth every penny. I don't use it a lot, since i usually mostly use a dedicated breaker & a lomax jump cue...
IMHO you can't go wrong with samsara. very good stuff, flowless craftsmanship & clear coat , nice woods, standart joint pins .
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I picked this one up in a trade for a high-end cue. I was hesitant to make the deal at first, but now I realize it was the best move I ever made. This is the nicest looking and best hitting cue that I have ever owned ... and I have owned quite a few.
