after 18years and 2 months my southwest order is NOW - recommendations on shaft taper?

Birk1

Birk1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am placing my order for my Southwest this weekend. My name has finally come up.
I am reaching out to ask experiences on shaft taper... I have played with the standard taper in the past, but I am thinking of the standard pro-taper and or the pro-taper and wanted to ask for others experiences. I am excited...

thanks
Ryan
 
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get as many as they will sell you. as you will likely sell it in the near future and might as well have something extra to add.
and spend as much as you can afford on it to make it beautiful.

you will regret not doing as ive said.
 
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I think that in the realm of custom cue makers- for me anyhow- I always want to see how a cue plays as the cue maker intended- at least when it comes out of the shop. A name like Southwest with their reputation and price point, I personally would elect to have the shaft taper come to me as they consider a standard, because that would be the essence of what the name stands for in terms of playability.

From there, you can always adjust a shaft downward if you become certain that the Southwest shaft taper is not for you. Other alternatives would be, if indeed you did not like the present Southwest taper once you played with the cue for at least a few months, would be to re - taper just one shaft to find your sweet spot, or, better yet, have a third shaft made by a reputable cue maker ( without the wait time) with a selected taper and try that one on your Southwest before altering a very expensive cue.

Why did you want a SW cue in the first place? If it was based upon the hope that this would truly be the holy Grail of cue playability- then it would be advisable to play the cue first as SW intended- otherwise you may NEVER know why people wait so long for one of their cues- perhaps their cues play very different once their standard taper is altered---- just my opinion.
 
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Predictably this has gone sideways...I'm only familiar with the standard taper and like it. Some will say it's too stiff but I found it to be a fairly comfortable taper for my taste. Wood shafts wear with time and use so if you go with it, give it some time to become comfortable.
 
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Like axejunkie, I don’t have experience with the other tapers, but the standard taper works very well for me. It is stiff, kind of reminds me of an old Coker that I had, but the cue feels very “solid” and suits me.
Enjoy your cue!
 
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My how the world has changed

I walked into the shop met Jerry on July 1 1987. The only reason I remember the day is it was my dad’s birthday (he was born in 1923) and I felt guilty ordering a cue. Sorry dad rip🙏🏼

Anyways in April of 88 I got a call my cue was finished. Yay! $350 plus $24 for shipping so $374 and my first SW was delivered. My mom wasn’t to happy about me spending that much on a cue. Not that I ever listened to her. She was the best mom ever, but I had my opinion, she had hers. lol🥰

Anyways I was riddled with guilt for the 2nd time with this cue. 6point 60” mcasser ebony and tulip wood. 2 shafts. How bad could that be???

Anyways I won about $570 the first weekend with it/ called my mom, told her to relax life was good! Simpler times.

Yes I still have that cue. No pics sorry. It makes a “ping” When I hit a ball with it, so it’s named “Ping”. I might be buried with it, I’ll never sell it.

That’s my best SW story,

Best
Fatboy😃
 
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Birk1 said:
I am placing my order for my Southwest this weekend. My name has finally come up.
I am reaching out to ask experiences on shaft taper... I have played with the standard taper in the past, but I am thinking of the standard pro-taper and or the pro-taper and wanted to ask for others experiences. I am excited...

thanks
Ryan
Click to expand...
I got some great feedback from @ken4_fun - thank you Sir!! going with the standard Pro-Taper and maybe a 3rd shaft with the standard taper for resell reasons if I ever do... planning on keeping this one as it has been a minute or two since I placed my order and I don't need the money.

to address those that don't understand waiting for 18 years for a cue... I have had MANY SW cues over the years, but never the opportunity to get the design I want. That is the reason for the wait... nothing like getting the cue you want built the way you want...it is a joy.

thanks all.
Ryan
 
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Birk1 said:
I got some great feedback from @ken4fun - thank you Sir!! going with the standard Pro-Taper and maybe a 3rd shaft with the standard taper for resell reasons if I ever do... planning on keeping this one as it been a minute or two since I placed my order and I don't need the money.

to address those that don't understand waiting for 18 years for a cue... I have had MANY SW cues over the years, but never the opportunity to get the design I want. That is the reason for the wait... nothing like getting the cue you want built the way you want...it is a joy.

thanks all.
Ryan
Click to expand...
So you have had many Southwest cues before, but you inquire about tapers? I would think after all those Cues, you would know if you liked their taper or not. i, like Mikemisconi on here said, cuemakers have their own taper they use to get the hit they prefer. So you should just get their shafts and play with an aftermarket shaft that you Know you like, but in my opinion you would not be playing with a Southwest. A lot of people do not use original shafts anymore
 
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cue fix said:
So you have had many Southwest cues before, but you inquire about tapers? I would think after all those Cues, you would know if you liked their taper or not. i, like Mikemisconi on here said, cuemakers have their own taper they use to get the hit they prefer. So you should just get their shafts and play with an aftermarket shaft that you Know you like, but in my opinion you would not be playing with a Southwest. A lot of people do not use original shafts anymore
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had many...and they (from what I can tell) all had the standard parabolic taper. Play STIFF and not what I use normally - I play with a long open taper on my most of my cues. So with the opportunity to pick from 2 other tapers that SW offers, I solicited experience from those that know.
thank goodness someone helped as they have recently had to make that choice from SW, and now I have an understanding from experience.

Thanks
Ryan
 
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Fatboy said:
My how the world has changed

I walked into the shop met Jerry on July 1 1987. The only reason I remember the day is it was my dad’s birthday (he was born in 1923) and I felt guilty ordering a cue. Sorry dad rip🙏🏼

Anyways in April of 88 I got a call my cue was finished. Yay! $350 plus $24 for shipping so $374 and my first SW was delivered. My mom wasn’t to happy about me spending that much on a cue. Not that I ever listened to her. She was the best mom ever, but I had my opinion, she had hers. lol🥰

Anyways I was riddled with guilt for the 2nd time with this cue. 6point 60” mcasser ebony and tulip wood. 2 shafts. How bad could that be???

Anyways I won about $570 the first weekend with it/ called my mom, told her to relax life was good! Simpler times.

Yes I still have that cue. No pics sorry. It makes a “ping” When I hit a ball with it, so it’s named “Ping”. I might be buried with it, I’ll never sell it.

That’s my best SW story,

Best
Fatboy😃
Click to expand...
I love that "ping" sound that some cues make, that tells me its a proper cue.
 
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garczar said:
These SW addicts sure get all butthurt when you question their cue choice. I've hit about five in my life and only one, a old JF 6pointer, played decent imo. The rest were stiff as i-beams. Wait 12+ yrs for one???? Yeah right.
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Like playing with a broom handle, absolutely terrible
 
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Birk1 said:
I am placing my order for my Southwest this weekend. My name has finally come up.
I am reaching out to ask experiences on shaft taper... I have played with the standard taper in the past, but I am thinking of the standard pro-taper and or the pro-taper and wanted to ask for others experiences. I am excited...

thanks
Ryan
Click to expand...

I salute your patience.

If it were me I'd get two standard SW tapers and order a couple of extra shafts to experiment with.

Lou Figueroa
 
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garczar said:
These SW addicts sure get all butthurt when you question their cue choice. I've hit about five in my life and only one, an old JF 6pointer, played decent imo. The rest were stiff as i-beams. Wait 12+ yrs for one???? Yeah right.
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Same.. there’s 2 cues that I wanted to love. These and black boars. Man I loved the way they looked but hated the way they hit lol But to each his own.
I don’t think I even answered the question. I would get 1 of each shaft. Not like you can’t sell the one you don’t like if you choose. After that long of a wait I’m going all out if you can afford it.
 
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Fatboy
Funny. The sw I played with pinged. The rubber butt cap muted the ping some, so I took it out. If anyone asked about sound, I'd say it's just an old cue I picked up. I think it's cracked or something.
 
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CocoboloCowboy said:
Well I too have been on list 18 years plus. Was told wait was 7 year, or so.

Do not know cost today but I am guess 6k plus.

IMHO if I get the word it’s my turn, wonder build time.

Must I pay in full with order? Many questions?
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Its 12-18 months AFTER she calls you and you pick the woods/colors. 1/2 the money due to get started once the woods/colors are selected and then 1/2 when the cue is finished.
 
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