AE (Artistic Engineering) - Which Cue To Buy?

beleary

beleary

"No Masse!"
First, a little background. Back in the early '90s I ran into a guy by the name of Jeff Fugal at a pool hall named 'The Pool Hall' in Aurora, Colorado. He was selling some new Schon cues that he had, as he decided to start building cues with another buddy named Bruce Kuhn. He did try to get me to buy one of their early cues that they'd just finished, but (stupidly) I was skeptical about the quality of cues made by two guys I'd never heard of, so I bought the best Schon of the bunch that he had. I've still got that cue, and its one of my favorites.

Over the years I'd run into Jeff at the annual national BCA Las Vegas tournament, and was just amazed at the quality and design of the AE cues. Back then, I had limited funds and was unable to afford one of Jeff's cues, but now I'm in the market for a new custom cue and I happened to run into Jeff at a pool league at Felt's in Denver. I asked Jeff what cues he currently had for sale, and he pulled out three that were currently available. He said he had some others, so I ask him if he could bring three down each week that I could look over, and hopefully find one that I couldn't live without.

Now the challenge. Which one to buy? So as I'm going through this process, I thought I'd share the cues that Jeff brought down and solicit some input from the AZ members. This is a very unique opportunity for me (and hopefully for you too!).

Keep in mind that these are ALL currently for sale, so if any of you might be interested in finding out more about a particular cue or are wanting to buy one, PM me and I'll pass along your interest to Jeff. Prices and weights are listed on the last photo below. Top one is 'F4', the middle one is 'F19' (Ivory inlays) and the bottom one is 'F8'

So here are the first three. Absolutely gorgeous examples of AE's work. Let me know what you think. I will have more cues to view (and purchase) in a week, and I'll post the pictures on this thread. Enjoy! Brian L.

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I've never talked with Jeff, only with Bruce. Based on those conversations I would never own an AE. Now my friend won an AE in Vegas at APA nationals. Based off of shooting with it, I would look at getting a new shaft, or at least modify it.

But for me personally, their designs and reasoning for their designs is enough for me to not want an AE cue.
 
I've owned A-E's like the one on the right, and the cue on the left, so I would take the cue in the middle.

I've had at least 25 A-E's over the years, and I still have a cool purple heart Titlist conversion, which is an incredible cue.
.They have all been very good cues, great workmanship, and some were exceptional playing cues.
 
What did you say??

Hits 'em Hard said:
I've never talked with Jeff, only with Bruce. Based on those conversations I would never own an AE.

But for me personally, their designs and reasoning for their designs is enough for me to not want an AE cue.
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What is the problem with AE? I had three and they were all great cues.
 
AE Cue reviews

I have a number of friends who are cue collectors and strong players, and I've never heard anything negative about AE cues. As a matter of fact, many of those collectors use their AE's as their primary player. I've tried them and really like the feel and hit, so that's why I'm interested in getting one.
 
King T said:
What is the problem with AE? I had three and they were all great cues.
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Did I say there was a problem? It's my opinion that their shaft isn't quite right in terms of the taper. Did I ever say anything about the construction of the cue? Nope. My opinion is based on the fact that Bruce was a complete inconsiderate asshole to me for no reason. I think their designs are actually somewhat basic for such an established maker. And knowing that when they changed their name to Artistic Engineering it was about using straight line designs. The complete opposite of Josey cues in my opinion.
 
I have an AE cue which I bought from Joe Salazar. I had shafts modified (longer
taper) and now I love it.

I once had a Joss cue that I didn't like to play with. If I knew then that all it needed
was a longer taper, I would have kept it and had it fixed.
 
ae

I would see if he would let you hit the cues first. All shafts play differently. Enjoy the process.
 
I'd go to the secondary market and save a grand+. Do like their cues. Brian.
 
King T said:
What is the problem with AE? I had three and they were all great cues.
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The only meaningful reason NOT to buy a New One is .... They are Waaay Overpriced.
Pick up a Cream Puff AE on the Used Market and pocket a decent chunk of change.
 
Runde pics!

beleary said:
I have a number of friends who are cue collectors and strong players, and I've never heard anything negative about AE cues. As a matter of fact, many of those collectors use their AE's as their primary player. I've tried them and really like the feel and hit, so that's why I'm interested in getting one.
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Would you post pics of your current cues? I would like to see the Runde in particular. Thx
 
Current Cues

Shooter08 said:
Would you post pics of your current cues? I would like to see the Runde in particular. Thx
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Here's the group. From left to right (in the order I purchased them):
McDermott
Schon
Nitti
Elite (my break cue)
Carmelli
Runde
They're all great cues, and I would never part with a single one.image.jpg
 
Ae

I met Bruce in Vegas a few years ago. He makes a great cue... His attitude and things he says make it very difficult to like him.
 
AE Cues

Thanks for the great responses from all of you. Since Jeff will be bringing other examples in the coming weeks, I'm going to wait and see what else he has to offer first. I have an idea of what I'm looking for, so I'll see if one jumps out at me. I will post pictures of those cues after he shows them to me.
 
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