A Lousy Move By Bob Meucci - a PSA

Kickin' Chicken

Kickin' Chicken

Kick Shot Aficionado
Gold Member
Silver Member
I, like many who played pool in the late 70's and 80's, enjoyed using a Meucci Originals cue. To me, they not only had some very nice designs but the playability was terrific. Meucci was flying high back then sponsoring many of our pool heros (and heroines) and it looked like there was no stopping them. Fast forward nearly 40 years and while Meucci is in another attempt at resurgence, it remains to be seen if they can come out from the deep hole they dug for themselves, specifically, I'm referring to their poor quality and equally poor customer service. I know about both of these from many reports as well as my own first-hand experiences.

On to the purpose of this post. In a weak moment a couple months ago I was talked into selling my main player from the 80's, a MO plain jane maple cue with a sprayed-over wrap. This cue played beautiful. I had a few other MO's along the way that I also sold and each of them played equally well and so I decided I was going to treat myself to another MO.

I searched and found one that I liked on eBay and negotiated a Buy Now price with the seller but something was telling me the cue isn't right. I asked myself, Could this be one of the reissue "Meucci Originals" that I've heard about which are not nearly the same quality as the real originals?

I started to research how to tell the difference between the genuine MO's and the reissues since Bob didn't mark these reissues any differently. Was this done to be deceptive? He had to know the confusion this would create in the market, and it sure has. What I did find was helpful for me and helped me to determine that the eBay MO was not an original. The telltale sign was that the "A" in the word originals had bleeding causing the top of the A to be a solid colored triangle. The reference I found that discusses this is in the link below. fyi, this problem with the top of the A is not that way on all reissues but if it's there, be suspicious. The other thing they mentioned is that the diameter of the butt cap openings that accept the rubber bumpers is different. The genuine originals are approx .750 whereas the reissues are approx .675. Here is the link:

How to Date a Meucci Original MO-7?

How to Date a Meucci Original MO-7?
www.billiardsforum.com

The eBay MO I found can be seen at the following link - if you view the pics you'll see a closeup showing the "A" with ink bleed:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-...0001&campid=5335988529&icep_item=174578442823

I didn't buy it; I wonder if the new owner knows it's a reissue... o_O

So, bottom line is that if you are in the market for a Meucci Originals cue and you do not want one of the reissues then proceed with appropriate caution.

best,
brian kc
 
I find it interesting that an "original" cue, is called an original to begin with...lol

Wouldn't be like building a new cabinet, and labelling it an antique...?
 
I also potted my balls with a Meucci Original, a JR2 I think it was, back in the day. That is, before a half dozen kids, a wife and some strange employer that had the balls (pun very intended) to ask that I put in my 40 work hours per week.
I mean, I fished a lot and spent maybe 4-6 hrs a day, bent over a pool table. Where does that leave time for the 40-ish workhours a week??
So I cut down on fishing, put the cues and my table up for sale, pet my wife every now and then and introduced myself to the kids
Picked up pool again not too long ago and slowly struggling to get back to my straight pool skills again.
Shooting a Viking atm but got my hands on, what seems to be, a true MO only day before yesterday. Since I'm, by no means, a "Meucci-knower" (have no idea how to express that in english -just an average Swede talking) all I know is that my first Meucci was a true original and that I've actually never shot a newer Meucci -be that an Original reissue or just a newer Meucci- I would really lika to hear what differs among the three ( a True Original, a Re-issue Original or the newer logo'd ones) in terms if playability etc.

I bought the que cos it spoke to me... "Buy me, all make your dreams come true and your scores high"
I looooved my old one, tomorrow I'll find out if it's just a trip down memory lane or if it's as good as I remember it. I'll use it with a Haag shaft though. Have that on my Viking and it shoots really good.
PHEW, Sorry for the novel..

Skickat från min SM-G988B via Tapatalk
 
Thanks for this information- I agree with you- some may say here that he owns the right to the name and so he can re use it anytime he desires- however, once he dropped the Meucci Originals series of cues and started using just the name Meucci on his cues; it now becomes buyer beware for anyone looking for a pre 95 series Meucci cue to know whether they are buying a Meucci Original or a Meucci original RE-MAKE.

I personally think that his 95 series cues played the best- We have a 95-17 and 95-19 cue in my family- these were remakes from his Meucci Original "OLDIE Series " cues- one looks like a Bushka and the other was also known as the "airplane" cue. One certainly does not need a pure stroke to draw well with any quality Meucci shaft pre 2000.
 
I left St Louis in 2007 to get away from the crime. Up until that time you could find Meucci cues all over town in pawn shops at cheap prices. If you like them I'd recommend taking trip to St Louis and hitting the pawn shops. You could return home with an armful of Meucci cues. Be careful to avoid certain parts of town.
 
alstl said:
I left St Louis in 2007 to get away from the crime. Up until that time you could find Meucci cues all over town in pawn shops at cheap prices. If you like them I'd recommend taking trip to St Louis and hitting the pawn shops. You could return home with an armful of Meucci cues. Be careful to avoid certain parts of town.
Click to expand...
Would there not be MORE pawn shops in those "certain parts of town" ? That's where you go to find the "hidden" bargains- take it from a long time picker! One of my all time best finds in 25 years of being a picker, as one of many hobbies, was found at a Salvation Army in the "certain part"of a major city when I was in CT. It was not a pool cue - it was a Brompton Folding bicycle- if you know anything about them - they are still the Rolls Royce of folding bicycles- no one in that "certain part of town" who worked in the Salvation Army knew what it was or what they were worth - 10 years ago- it was brand new, I don't know how it got there- I have my suspicions - but I got it for almost nothing when it was worth $1500! I still use it all the time.
 
mikemosconi said:
Would there not be MORE pawn shops in those "certain parts of town" ? That's where you go to find the "hidden" bargains- take it from a long time picker! One of my all time best finds in 25 years of being a picker, as one of many hobbies, was found at a Salvation Army in the "certain part"of a major city when I was in CT. It was not a pool cue - it was a Brompton Folding bicycle- if you know anything about them - they are still the Rolls Royce of folding bicycles- no one in that "certain part of town" who worked in the Salvation Army knew what it was or what they were worth - 10 years ago- it was brand new, I don't know how it got there- I have my suspicions - but I got it for almost nothing when it was worth $1500! I still use it all the time.
Click to expand...
Pondering whether I'm comfortable with the risk / reward ratio in the "certain part of town" near where I live. But you are correct that you will find more unrecognized "gems" there.
 
mikemosconi said:
Would there not be MORE pawn shops in those "certain parts of town" ? That's where you go to find the "hidden" bargains- take it from a long time picker! One of my all time best finds in 25 years of being a picker, as one of many hobbies, was found at a Salvation Army in the "certain part"of a major city when I was in CT. It was not a pool cue - it was a Brompton Folding bicycle- if you know anything about them - they are still the Rolls Royce of folding bicycles- no one in that "certain part of town" who worked in the Salvation Army knew what it was or what they were worth - 10 years ago- it was brand new, I don't know how it got there- I have my suspicions - but I got it for almost nothing when it was worth $1500! I still use it all the time.
Click to expand...
Brompton is another company attempting a resurgence. There are some cool factory tours on youtube, if you are interested.
 
Black-Balled said:
Brompton is another company attempting a resurgence. There are some cool factory tours on youtube, if you are interested.
Click to expand...
Thanks - the fold on this bicycle is amazing- basically a 12 inch square- I throw it in the trunk of my car and go anywhere with it- one of the brightest ideas for bicycles and engineered to perfection. They have the best fold for bicycles in existence. All of the Asian folds where you swing the front wheel against the back wheel do not even come close.
 
I lived in Memphis and I became friends that at one time was the Service Manager. He told of times he wasnt paid and paid with checks that were no good. They could be paid in cash for considerable amount less, etc. Bob is a piece of work and I will never own another one.

Ken
 
When I was coming up, we heard three names: Meucci, Viking, and Palmer. Common wisdom ranked them in that order, and Meucci was on top by a long shot. Bob Meucci should have had the pool cue market by the tail forever. Fast forward 20 years and people dogged them to no end. I am amazed the brand has survived. I learned that Meucci's plant was now located in my state, at the top end, just below Memphis. At some point, I paniced, thinking that Mississippi's work force might be the problem, but on reflection, I remembered that Mississippians are capable craftsmen. Then I began to read, and the source of the problem became clear -- management. Bob Meucci needs to either sell the company or hire a competent management team. Period.
 
Last edited:
Full disclosure, I am not a Meucci fan.

I have a friend that has around 4 MOs.

When I saw the release of new cues with the old MO logo, I told him this would happen.

After 5 plus years down the road, when those cues become used, the lines will blur being able to tell the original from the re-release ones.
 
Last edited:
I still have 2 originals from the first brochure left, a MO-1 & MO 1 1/2, at one time I had 8-10 originals.
I had words with the seller on ebay when they were selling the remake Originals and was told to screw off.
If i am not mistaken it was Bob's daughter that did this when she was running the company. I was pissed to
say the least. The real Originals were great players!
 
I'm new to this whole cue differentiation thing, so I have a question. I'm also a tennis player (a pretty damn good one 20 years ago). So my analogy is tennis rackets to pool cues. Other than nostalgia, why would I want to play with an original MO vs a newer LD cue in the decent quality price range, say $250-$500? {this will now become a two part question]

Secondly, in tennis I chose a control racket because I could generate my own power, but others might have chosen a stiffer racket to generate more pace because they didn't have the power to generate pace. What is the cue analogy?

In my college years when I became a pool geek I became very good at making shots, but I realize now I knew NOTHING about the game or what was most important. Now that I've gotten back into it and invested in my dream table I aspire to become a student of the game (hey, we should never stop learning). I can still make some amazing shots; and I can stink it up at times when it makes no sense -- a bit like golf. So I would love to have the AZB braintrust give me some sound bite education. Since there's no shortage of opinion on this website, I expect to have no less than 1000 replies in the next 10 minutes (ok, just joking.....about the 10 minutes (-:) Seriously though. Educate me. I currently use a PureX HXT LD cue. I like it, probably suits my current game just fine. But still...you know. Thanks.
 
sellingboe said:
I'm new to this whole cue differentiation thing, so I have a question. I'm also a tennis player (a pretty damn good one 20 years ago). So my analogy is tennis rackets to pool cues. Other than nostalgia, why would I want to play with an original MO vs a newer LD cue in the decent quality price range, say $250-$500? {this will now become a two part question]

Secondly, in tennis I chose a control racket because I could generate my own power, but others might have chosen a stiffer racket to generate more pace because they didn't have the power to generate pace. What is the cue analogy?

In my college years when I became a pool geek I became very good at making shots, but I realize now I knew NOTHING about the game or what was most important. Now that I've gotten back into it and invested in my dream table I aspire to become a student of the game (hey, we should never stop learning). I can still make some amazing shots; and I can stink it up at times when it makes no sense -- a bit like golf. So I would love to have the AZB braintrust give me some sound bite education. Since there's no shortage of opinion on this website, I expect to have no less than 1000 replies in the next 10 minutes (ok, just joking.....about the 10 minutes (-:) Seriously though. Educate me. I currently use a PureX HXT LD cue. I like it, probably suits my current game just fine. But still...you know. Thanks.
Click to expand...
PureX are damn good cues.
 
sellingboe said:
I'm new to this whole cue differentiation thing, so I have a question. I'm also a tennis player (a pretty damn good one 20 years ago). So my analogy is tennis rackets to pool cues. Other than nostalgia, why would I want to play with an original MO vs a newer LD cue in the decent quality price range, say $250-$500? {this will now become a two part question]

Secondly, in tennis I chose a control racket because I could generate my own power, but others might have chosen a stiffer racket to generate more pace because they didn't have the power to generate pace. What is the cue analogy?

In my college years when I became a pool geek I became very good at making shots, but I realize now I knew NOTHING about the game or what was most important. Now that I've gotten back into it and invested in my dream table I aspire to become a student of the game (hey, we should never stop learning). I can still make some amazing shots; and I can stink it up at times when it makes no sense -- a bit like golf. So I would love to have the AZB braintrust give me some sound bite education. Since there's no shortage of opinion on this website, I expect to have no less than 1000 replies in the next 10 minutes (ok, just joking.....about the 10 minutes (-:) Seriously though. Educate me. I currently use a PureX HXT LD cue. I like it, probably suits my current game just fine. But still...you know. Thanks.
Click to expand...
My advice would be to go to a tournament where there are several vendors selling cues. Pick out a couple (or more) that you like the feel of and hit some balls with them. IMO nothing beats a road test, which you will not get online. What you will get here is a million different opinions about which is the best. We are all different and what suits me may not suit you.

Try before you buy! That's about it. Heck, it's hard to beat a good one piece cue and they don't cost much ($50 and up). Any cue you buy you may end up tinkering with, as far as tips, shaft diameter and weight bolts. If you're short like me I would recommend a 57" cue. Average height (5'9 to 5'11) a 58" cue and taller a 59" cue.
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
I, like many who played pool in the late 70's and 80's, enjoyed using a Meucci Originals cue. To me, they not only had some very nice designs but the playability was terrific. Meucci was flying high back then sponsoring many of our pool heros (and heroines) and it looked like there was no stopping them. Fast forward nearly 40 years and while Meucci is in another attempt at resurgence, it remains to be seen if they can come out from the deep hole they dug for themselves, specifically, I'm referring to their poor quality and equally poor customer service. I know about both of these from many reports as well as my own first-hand experiences.

On to the purpose of this post. In a weak moment a couple months ago I was talked into selling my main player from the 80's, a MO plain jane maple cue with a sprayed-over wrap. This cue played beautiful. I had a few other MO's along the way that I also sold and each of them played equally well and so I decided I was going to treat myself to another MO.

I searched and found one that I liked on eBay and negotiated a Buy Now price with the seller but something was telling me the cue isn't right. I asked myself, Could this be one of the reissue "Meucci Originals" that I've heard about which are not nearly the same quality as the real originals?

I started to research how to tell the difference between the genuine MO's and the reissues since Bob didn't mark these reissues any differently. Was this done to be deceptive? He had to know the confusion this would create in the market, and it sure has. What I did find was helpful for me and helped me to determine that the eBay MO was not an original. The telltale sign was that the "A" in the word originals had bleeding causing the top of the A to be a solid colored triangle. The reference I found that discusses this is in the link below. fyi, this problem with the top of the A is not that way on all reissues but if it's there, be suspicious. The other thing they mentioned is that the diameter of the butt cap openings that accept the rubber bumpers is different. The genuine originals are approx .750 whereas the reissues are approx .675. Here is the link:

How to Date a Meucci Original MO-7?

How to Date a Meucci Original MO-7?
www.billiardsforum.com

The eBay MO I found can be seen at the following link - if you view the pics you'll see a closeup showing the "A" with ink bleed:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-...0001&campid=5335988529&icep_item=174578442823

I didn't buy it; I wonder if the new owner knows it's a reissue... o_O

So, bottom line is that if you are in the market for a Meucci Originals cue and you do not want one of the reissues then proceed with appropriate caution.

best,
brian kc
Click to expand...
I like many people bought a Meucci for my first "serious" cue. I had a couple of 2 piece knock offs and a real Brunswick then bought the Meucci off a guy who bought it new and when he got it , didn't like the hit. It was just a plain black cue from what I remember ... this was the late 60s. I played with it a while and went in the Army and it disappeared like everything else. I bought several when I started playing pool again but I never played worth a hoot after that with one .. they had a reverberation to them that I just couldn't get used to .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top