Advice for an up and coming kid

Captain Dan

Captain Dan

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Just thought I'd ask the forum for some ideas.
A local 17YO kid here in Ballarat is looking at having a go at 9-ball. All he's played so far is UK 8-ball, and is good, currently ranked 2nd in the world under 18 and 4th in Australia Open. The reason for the change is that the local pool hall is finally got a couple of new Brunswicks, and he wants a new challenge.

He's using my cue (a lucasi) but is looking for something for himself, and is looking at spending approx. $500US for his starter cue (his snooker cue is worth approx. $1000US). Where does he start with a cue? There is no place in Australia which has a large range for him to look at, and lets just say 9-ball cues are as rare as rocking horse shit in Australia for him to try. His interested in Cuetec cues (via another player in Melbourne), but I feel he needs to consider other alternatives. So I'm asking the forum for some pearls of accumulated wisdom.

I'll pass any respones on to him.

Daniel:D
 
It's just my opinion but I think a Cuetec cue would be about the worst thing he could get. Paying 500 bucks for a Cuetec would be a very big mistake. I think probably the best thing he could get for 500 would be a lower end Schon. As far as both quality and playability, most 9-ball players would agree that Schon is top of the line as far as production cues go. You'll probably have a buch of posters telling you to buy a "so-and-so" custom cue. But if he lives in Australia, he's not gonna be able to hit with it until he buys it. Different custom cues all hit differently as well so your pretty much taking a gamble. Schons all tend to hit the same, for the most part.
 
Yeah, there aren't too many pros using Cuetechs. For what it's worth, this list of cues and shafts used by pros was cut from another thread here. It's probably a few months old, but it may contain information worth considering.



1/Acosta, Roland- Widowmaker, original shaft
2/Adkins, Dee- Nova, OB-1
3/Alcaide, David- Buffalo, Smart Shaft
4/Alvarez, Frank- Predator, Predator Z
5/Appleton, Darren- Predator, Predator Z
6/Archer, Johnny- Scorpion, original shaft
7/Bartram, Chris- Custom cue, predator shaft
8/Basavich, Daniel- Pechauer, Predator 314
9/Beaufils, Yannick- ................................
10/Breedlove, George- Rick Howard, original shaft
11/Brienza, Paul- Judd Fuller, original shaft
12/Broadhurst, Jackie- ................................
13/Bryant, Charles- Olivier cue, X-shaft
14/Bustamante, Francisco- Bear, Predator(?)
15/Butera, Lou- ................................
16/Butera, Sal- Mali, X-shaft
17/Calderon, Jerry- Buffalo, original shaft
18/Carter, Linda- Viking, original shaft
19/Carvajal, Alejandro- ................................
20/Catledge, Wayne- Nitti, Predator 314
21/Cernero, Michael- Mike Bender, original shaft
22/Chamat, Marcus- Predator, Predator 314
23/Chenman, Lee- Predator, Predator 314
24/Chohan, Tony- Bobby Hunter, unspecified shaft
25/Colenso, Colin- Jian Ying, original shaft
26/Corr, Karen- Custom, unspecified shaft
27/Crane, Wade- Schon, original shaft
28/Czetli, Aaron- Jacoby, unspecified shaft
29/Daulton, Shannon- Schon, original shaft
30/Davenport, Kim- Gus Szamboti, original shaft
31/Davis, Mike- Eddie Anderson, Predator 314
32/Deuel, Corey- Woodpecker, Predator 314
33/Di Liberto, Dann- ................................
34/Di Toro, John- Pechauer, unspecified shaft
35/Dodson, Robin- Casanova, original shaft
36/Dominguez, Ernesto- Tad, original shaft
37/Eberle, Max- Schon, Predator 314
38/Eckert, Ralph- Arthur, original shaft
39/ Edey, Tyler- Predator, Predator 314
40/Ellerby, Sarah- Lucasi, Smart Shaft
41/Facquet, Vincent- Thierry Chevron, original shaft
42/Feijen, Niels- Longoni, Predator 314
43/Fisher, Allison- Cuetec, original shaft
44/Fisher, Kelly- Fury, Predator 314
45/Földes, Vilmos - ....................................
46/Frank, Troy- Mike Guluassy, X shaft
47/Franken, Aaron- Dishaw, original shaft
48/Friend, Bernie- Mali, regular shaft (Capone Jr.)
49/Fusco, Jimmy- ................................
50/Fusco, Pete- ................................
51/Gay, Leil- Cognoscenti, original shaft
52/Goh, Tuan Kiat- Meucci, Predator 314
53/Gonzalez, Rafael- Predator, Predator 314
54/Groce, Brian- Madison Bob, original shaft
55/Gulyassy, Mike- Gulyassy, X shaft
56/Hann, Quinten- ................................
57/Harrison, Philip- ................................
58/Hatch, Dennis- Schon cue, predator shaft
59/Hill, Mick- Custom, Predator Z
60/Hofstatter, Gerda- Predator, Predator Z
61/Hohmann, Thorsten- Lucasi, Smart shaft
62/Holtz, Patrick- Falcon, Predator 314
63/Hopkins, Allen- Prather, original shaft
64/Hundal, Raj- Bear, Predator 314
65/Hunter, Bobby- Bobby Hunter, original shaft
66/Immonen, Mika- Mezz, Hybrid Pro
67/Incardona, William- Cognoscenti, regular shaft
68/Jahnke, Bernd- ................................
69/Jakulj, Zlatko- Ivan H Cue, original shaft
70/Jones, Loree Jon- Meucci, original shaft
71/Jones, Jeremy- Schuler, original shaft
72/Jones, Sammy- Meucci, original shaft
73/Jones, Tammy- Mike Stacy, Fusion shaft
74/Juva, Markus- Edwin Reyes, Edwin shaft
75/Keller, Ryan- Schon, regular shaft(Pettit)
76/Kelly, Ed- ................................
77/Kennedy, Thomas- SouthWest, original shaft
78/Kenniston, Mary- ................................
79/Kiamco, Warren- Predator, Predator 314
80/Klasovic, Andreja- Bear
81/Kutcher, John- Southwest, original shaft
82/Laurance, Ewa- Bob Hunter, original shaft
83/LeBron, Mike- ................................
84/Lely, Alex- Predator, Predator Z
85/Leonardo, Gunnar- ................................
86/Lohtander, Marko- Mezz, Predator 314
87/Macias, John- ................................
88/Manabu, Mori- Lambros, original shaft
89/Manalo, Marlon- Paul Drexler, Predator 314
90/Martin, Ray- ................................
91/Massey, Mike- Schuler, original shaft
92/Mathews, Grady- Scruggs, original shaft
93/McCready, Keith- Jack Madden, original shaft
94/Mckenna, Robert- ................................
95/Miller, Jason- Dufferin, regular shaft by Schon
96/Minici, Joe- ................................
97/Montal, Edwin- Schon Cue, Tiger "X" Shaft
98/Morris, Carl- ................................
99/Morris, Rodney- Szamboti, original shaft
100/Murphy, Austin- Fury, original shaft
101/Ouahbi, Amine- Thierry Chevron, original shaft
102/Orcollo, Dennis- Mezz, hybrid pro
103/Ortmann, Oliver- Kruger, original shaft
104/O'Sullivan, Ronnie- Parris Cue, Predator Z
105/Owen, Gabe- Troy Downey, original shaft
106/Pagulayan- Alex- Schon, Predator 314
107/Parica, Jose- Judd Fuller, Tiger X
108/Peach, Daryl- Viking, Predator 314
109/Petroni, Fabio- Cognoscenti, unspecified shaft
110/Potier, Paul- Deroo, Deroo shaft
111/Putnam, Shawn- Josey, Tiger X
112/Putnik, Ivica- Bear cue, original shaft
113/Raney, Jim- ................................
114/Raybone, Neil- ................................
115/Reljic, David- ................................
116/Rempe, Jim- Meucci, Meucci shaft
117/Reyes, Efren- Judd, original shaft
118/Roberts, James- ................................
119/Robles, Tony- Predator, Predator 314
120/Runnels, Ike- Darrin Hill
121/Sakai, Miyuki- Gina, Predator 314
122/Saleh, Brian- Dale Perry, Predator Z
123/Salvas, Luc- Schon, original shaft
124/San Souci, George- SouthWest,Predator 314
125/Santl, Stefan- Jacoby, original shaft
126/Schmidt, John- Bobby Hunter, regular shaft custom
127/Schwartz, Larry- Cognoscenti, original shaft
128/Sigel, Mike- Mike Sigel, original shaft
129/Souquet, Ralf- Joss, Predator 314
130/Stalev, Evgeny- Pyramid
131/Storm, Tom- ................................
132/Strickland, Earl- Cuetec, regular shaft
133/Thornfeldt, Helena- Judd, regular shaft
134/Tourangeau, Stan- Predator, Predator 314
135/Townsend, Scotty- ................................
136/Travers, Laurent- Thierry Chevron, regular shaft
137/Van Boening, Shane- Joss, OB-1
138/Van den Berg, Nick- Musashi, Musashi shaft
139/Varner, Nick- Nick Varner, original shaft
140/Vickery, Howard- ................................
141/Watson, Gerry- ................................
142/Webb, Monica- Judd, original shaft
143/West, Dallas- ................................
144/Wetch, Jimmy- ................................
145/Wheeler, Adam- Sigel Custom, original shaft
146/White, Jimmy- John Parris, original shaft
147/Williams, Charlie- Predator, Predator Z
148/Wims, John- ................................
149/Younger, Johl- unspecified snooker cue, original shaft
150/Zimmerman, Michael-Roger Pettit, Dave Jones, original shaft

Original/regular shaft: 61(51.69%)

Predator 314: 26(22.03%)

Predator Z: 8 (6.77%)

Unspecified shaft: 7(5.93%)

Tiger X shaft: 6 (5.08%)

OB-1: 3(2.54%)

Universal Smart shaft: 3 (2.54%)

Hybride shaft: 1 (0.8%)

Edwin shaft:1 (0.8%)

Deroo shaft:1 (0.8%)

Fushion shaft:1 (0.8%)

Musashi shaft:1 (0.8%)

Total; 118


Not too many Cuetechs here! :D
 
Da Poet said:
Yeah, there aren't too many pros using Cuetechs. For what it's worth, this list of cues and shafts used by pros was cut from another thread here. It's probably a few months old, but it may contain information worth considering.



1/Acosta, Roland- ............:D
Click to expand...

:) :)
I started that thread!
:) :)
I know what the pro's use, and it's a start, but what I'm looking at is what is the best 1st cue for a talented but inexperianced 9-ball player.

Opie makes a good case for schon,and I've heard good things about them (and played with one once). Keep the good info flowing

Daniel:D
 
Captain Dan said:
:) :)
I started that thread!
:) :)
I know what the pro's use, and it's a start, but what I'm looking at is what is the best 1st cue for a talented but inexperianced 9-ball player.

Opie makes a good case for schon,and I've heard good things about them (and played with one once). Keep the good info flowing

Daniel:D
Click to expand...

What Opie said! For $500 bucks, buying a cue sight unseen, you can't go wrong with a Schon. At $500 it's a custom cue hit with a production cue price. I hit a few balls with Ray Martin's Schon back in '99 and I've played with a Schon ever since--absolutely no regrets.
 
I'l say buy a second hand mcdermott with a predator z -shaft!
 
Last edited:
I wouldn't suggest a 314 to anybody that is learning to stroke in any kind of a billiard application. To me, it's like learning to drive with an automatic transmission. You can drive from A to B, but can't get out of the driveway with a standard. Since your boy already has stroke and is most likely familiar how to move the balls around, I would suggest anything with a 314 shaft on it
 
Tokyo-dave said:
I wouldn't suggest a 314 to anybody that is learning to stroke in any kind of a billiard application. To me, it's like learning to drive with an automatic transmission. You can drive from A to B, but can't get out of the driveway with a standard. Since your boy already has stroke and is most likely familiar how to move the balls around, I would suggest anything with a 314 shaft on it
Click to expand...

Yep that's true... but because the kid has a snooker background, the smaller tip of an z-shaft would do him good!
 
314-2's and Z-2's are very popular and easily replaced. Predator has a nice line of sneaky petes well within the budget. I bought mine with a 314-2 online from Syberts for just over $300. (I asked for a 30" shaft) Might even have a little left over for an X-Breaker. :D

Seriously, anything but a Cuetech. I don't think their terrible, it's just that so many other cues can do things Cuetechs can't. Also, the Cuetech joint is a very unique joint and fitting an aftermarket shaft like a Predator, or McDermott I-3, can be a pain in the you know what. It can actually be cheaper to buy a whole cue with the shaft that you want than to try to fit it on a Cuetech.

If the kid is really hung up on a Cuetech than let him try it. He'll just have to learn these things like the rest of us. At the very least, with a phenolic tip added, it can make a decent break cue. I'm assuming by Cuetech, you mean one with a wood shaft like the Thunderbolt and not one of the fiberglass encased ones.

I'm speaking mainly from a budget and accessability point of view. I certainly wouldn't rule out any other suggestions.

Good luck!
 
You want some real, rock solid advice?

Don't come on a MB, ask a bunch of people who you don't know, to try and help you purchase a cue for someone other than yourself, who is serious about their game.

It is impossible to relay the feel, balance, weight, hit, wrap, etc. that differentiates every cue brand and type through text.
 
Gregg said:
It is impossible to relay the feel, balance, weight, hit, wrap, etc. that differentiates every cue brand and type through text.
Click to expand...

This is very true and should be taken into account.

While this person may or may not like the feel etc, It's hard to beat the warranties on a McDermott, Viking, or Pechauer. They not only have a standard industry warranty, they also cover warping (with certain restrictions I presume). They may be production cues, but he should be able to find something within his price range.

Good luck,
Craig
 
Don't mean to hijack thread but 2 interesting observations
about Da poet's list.
We go on & on about custom cues on here but A Whole LOT
of pros shoot with production cues. Now I realize they have sponsors
who customize some of these cue for them but still.
Also, I was surprised that Shawn Putnam uses a Josey rather than a
Shawn Putnam!!!
 
I'll second the Schon in that price range. I have a Schon STL-9, and I just 'upgraded' to a Scruggs Custom. With that said, the Schon is almost as nice as the Scruggs in terms as hit. I would give a slight advantange to the custom, but Schon is an absolutely terrific cue at a good price.
 
I don't endorse or even own a schon, but would suggest one pending the circumstances mentioned. Great hitting cue's. And in the 500 price range, you will get a good looking cue.

If it was 10 years ago, I would have suggested a Joss, even a Joss SP with a (314) stiff shaft but I played with recent Joss's and they just don't feel the same as their earlier work. But if you could find a late 80's Joss cheap, especially if it has the Joss Custom joint ring, I would jump all over it.

ez
 
Helmstetter cues

You can find a very nice Helmstetter from 1980-1995 on ebay fore nothing at all. you will get a wonderful players cue. They were made by adams, by reputation one of the best production cues in the world. Richard Helmstetter was head designer for adams.
 
Gregg said:
You want some real, rock solid advice?

Don't come on a MB, ask a bunch of people who you don't know, to try and help you purchase a cue for someone other than yourself, who is serious about their game.

It is impossible to relay the feel, balance, weight, hit, wrap, etc. that differentiates every cue brand and type through text.
Click to expand...


Best post ever! Cues are too personal choice to shop via 3rd party. Thanks Gregg.
 
A word about predator shafts........Most people seem to either love them or hate them. If he can't try one before he buys it for 15 or 20 minutes at least, I'd stay away from them. Schon has always been a good buy for the money if you like the feel of steel joints. Another personal preference. As someone already said, it's damn hard to take advice from a forum online, especially if you can't hit the cues before hand.
Good luck.
 
Since you know you'll change cues in a year or two, buy a great used one that you can get all your money back on or possibly more when you resell it.
 
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