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You don't buy a higher end custom cue and then want to try out a LD shaft with it. You play with the makers work. If you want LD just cancel the order from your guy and go get a cheap butt and slap a LD shaft on it.

This is just my opinion and I'm in no way trying to be rude. Just telling you how I feel about it, but it's your money and your cue.
 
I would personally go with the predator. Best advice I have is to try one out if you know someone who would let you play a few games with it. I love them but some people just don't, how a cue feels when you shoot is very subjective.

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Low deflection shafts are good for certain shots but have their drawbacks as well. I personally switched back to standard shafts a few years back and am very happy with being able to play with the original shafts for all my cues.

Those Taiwanese guys seem to be doing well with their standard shafts, too.
 
Both viable options. Low deflection shafts do what they say they do. I played with a few and one, a Z2, for quite a while. That being said, they never quite felt righ to me. Long shots were great bit shot shots with spin were hard for me as they were almost too low deflection. Tried standard maple shafts at 12.75mm and didn't love that either. Ended up ordering a 12mm shaft from the cue builder and that was the perfect match for me. It deflects just like my mind expects it to making it feel very natural.

I would suggest trying the stock shaft, a LD shaft, and maybe a standard maple shaft in a smaller diameter if the stock one is 13ish. Only way to find the right fit for you is to experiment, but it's worth it to find the shaft that feels right!
 
I think it depends to some extent on the style and type of game you play. I have found that I can pocket the longer shots a little better with an LD shaft but I can throw the cue ball and subsequently the object a lot better with a standard shaft.

Being a 99% one pocket player I feel I can be a little more creative with a standard shaft but one problem I have had is I have always had the ability to switch back to the LD and that is what I am most used to. The next cue I have coming has a different pin than the two LD shafts I have in my case so I am committing to play with the makers shaft for a long while to better know if I will stay there or end up picking up an LD shaft for the cue.

Probably too much information, but just sharing my thoughts. Congrats on the new cue and play with it in the greatest of health.

-don
 
if you are putting a Predator shaft on a high dollar butt, what is your reasoning? it will play like a Predator, end of story. The butt is the handle more or less, the shaft is the engine.
Buy an Ikon if you want a LD cue. Much cheaper route to go, and will play as good or better as the custom with the LD shaft.

Allen Brown said all you need to know about it, he's correct.
 
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If you need a back up shaft get a second as close to the original as possible. If your tip pops off and you have one original and one predator, it isn't gonna help your game.
 
Allen Brown said:
You don't buy a higher end custom cue and then want to try out a LD shaft with it. You play with the makers work. If you want LD just cancel the order from your guy and go get a cheap butt and slap a LD shaft on it.

This is just my opinion and I'm in no way trying to be rude. Just telling you how I feel about it, but it's your money and your cue.
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Why do you need to play with the makers shaft.... it's just a shaft.. big whoop. WHo cares what shaft is put on it.... heck, put anyone's shaft you happen to like on any cue you like, this is about pool and what you like to hit with....

What's wrong with have a great playing LD shaft on a nice looking butt. Nobody complains about my WIllie Hoppe with an LD..... old school meets new school. It's about shooting with the cue you like, not the cue everyone thinks you should like or use.

So, if I have a maple shaft that I really like, and I buy a new custom cue, I should not use the shaft from my old cue on my custom cue, even though it works best for me ??

I'm a little confused ?
 
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Shooter08 said:
If you need a back up shaft get a second as close to the original as possible. If your tip pops off and you have one original and one predator, it isn't gonna help your game.
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It the tip pops off fire the person installing your tips.:D:thumbup::thumbup: I have played pool for 40 years and have never had a tip come off.
 
Problem Solved

Thecoats said:
It the tip pops off fire the person installing your tips.:D:thumbup::thumbup: I have played pool for 40 years and have never had a tip come off.
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Well, no need for a second shaft based on your experience. I'll keep a spare in my case. To each their own.
 
All valid points. It's funny that Allan Brown said what he said and the way he said it. I've always thought it was kind of like a slap in the face to the cue builder if you put an LD shaft on one of his custom cues and not to enjoy the custom shaft built with that cue.

Otherwise, kind of like someone else mentioned you might as well buy a players sneaky pete butt and match it up with a predator shaft.

If this cue builder was still alive I would absolutely send him the cue to have the second shaft built out of respect for him and his work but he is not. So the cue will go to the Pete's for a new shaft to be matched to the cue.

Thank you 2twoball for pointing out the obvious. Your right, I answered my own question. Guess I had to kind of day it out loud to convince myself.

I'm old school. I like a good custom shaft with ivory ferrules and it doesn't look like that will change anytime soon.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond.


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shaft

Play with the TASCARELLA shaft. It's built for that exact cue. The weight and balance has been factored into the build. If you put something else on it - it's not the same product. Pete builds his cues with a specifically tight compression joint - that will be lost.
 
I would shoot with both and see which one I like best.. What I wouldn't do is ask the opinion of people on a web site who have no idea how you play and have varying opinions since we are all different and will have different likes and dislikes..
 
Either way you'll have a cue that keeps its value no matter what shaft you
play with. If you play better with an LD, slap one on. The butt of the cue
won't know what shaft you put on it, but alot of these guy feel its goes
against some unwritten rule about custom cues.
Do what makes you happy! You don't need validation from anybody.
 
If you're going to spend the money for a custom cue, then you absolutely have to get the shaft that goes with it or it will have no resale value if you should ever decide to sell it in the future. Be careful about having ivory placed anywhere on the cue.

If you decide that you prefer LD shafts, you can have one custom made for your cue at any time.
 
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