Sorry for the long rant, but my wife is tired if hearing about my new cue search lol.
Like many of you I was very saddened when I heard of the passing of Royce at OB. I have been using his products since they came out. I have always loved the way his shafts played, in my opinion they play much nicer than their predator counterparts. I loved the fact that they make their products in the USA and I always loved their passion to NOT compromise design and execution. I have various OB shafts for every cue I have had for the last 12 years or so and absolutely love the OB1's. In august I picked up a OB rift from Doc at the OB booth at the APA national tournament last year and have absolutely loved it. Not one shooter who has broke with it has had anything bad to say about it, and most fall instantly in love with it. Then my problem started.
I have an OB122 which I purchased from Sal Butera several years ago. I always liked the cue but did not love it. I really wanted a OB 1 for it as opposed to the OB XL he had modified to 12.75mm for me. So I finally ordered one figuring the ring work would be perfect as it is for their own cue. The finish on the ring work is terrible compared to their original shaft. It is dull ant the little silver bits look awful. It plays like I like but I was highly disappointed with the aesthetics of it. Still I wanted another OB cue with a nicer finish and had my heart set on a new OB135.
I started reading all the controversy regarding the direction of OB. I heard about Dale Perry's involvement. I have a couple guys in our pool room with perry cues and they are terrible to say the least. I read Shane's comment about how they are infact changing the way they build their cues and my heart broke. I should have acquired one when I had the chance.
I decided to begin to call dealers and try to find old stock, stock that was left from the Royce era. No luck, but I did begin to ask various distributors and dealers if things had begun to change ver the last year, And to a one, all said things have gone been going down hill for about a year. NO MORE OB for me. I wish I could continue to support the company, but I believe the writing is on the wall.
Changing direction, I decided I still wanted american so the search began. Tony at Tiger cues immediately impressed me. He answered all my question patiently and intelligently. My friend Diamond Dave who is a dealer said nothing but great things about the Tiger products. Made in the USA. I was sold. I ordered a LX TL2. 18.75oz, with a Ultra LD shaft and Sniper soft tip. I got it last night and spent a couple of hours shooting with it today. It is simply amazing. The feed back is so much better that the OB and Predator shafts I have played with in the past. Adjusting to the new shaft has been pretty painless, although I cannot seem to get as much draw with this combo as of yet. I may switch the tip out to my preferred Kamui clear. We will see. Everything else about the cue has been amazing and a significant step up from my previous equipment.Oh, and the extension is amazing. I really love it compared to the Mcdermott I had previously. So OB thanks for leading me into the welcoming arms of Tiger cues, and thanks Tony for getting me such a fantastic product.
Like many of you I was very saddened when I heard of the passing of Royce at OB. I have been using his products since they came out. I have always loved the way his shafts played, in my opinion they play much nicer than their predator counterparts. I loved the fact that they make their products in the USA and I always loved their passion to NOT compromise design and execution. I have various OB shafts for every cue I have had for the last 12 years or so and absolutely love the OB1's. In august I picked up a OB rift from Doc at the OB booth at the APA national tournament last year and have absolutely loved it. Not one shooter who has broke with it has had anything bad to say about it, and most fall instantly in love with it. Then my problem started.
I have an OB122 which I purchased from Sal Butera several years ago. I always liked the cue but did not love it. I really wanted a OB 1 for it as opposed to the OB XL he had modified to 12.75mm for me. So I finally ordered one figuring the ring work would be perfect as it is for their own cue. The finish on the ring work is terrible compared to their original shaft. It is dull ant the little silver bits look awful. It plays like I like but I was highly disappointed with the aesthetics of it. Still I wanted another OB cue with a nicer finish and had my heart set on a new OB135.
I started reading all the controversy regarding the direction of OB. I heard about Dale Perry's involvement. I have a couple guys in our pool room with perry cues and they are terrible to say the least. I read Shane's comment about how they are infact changing the way they build their cues and my heart broke. I should have acquired one when I had the chance.
I decided to begin to call dealers and try to find old stock, stock that was left from the Royce era. No luck, but I did begin to ask various distributors and dealers if things had begun to change ver the last year, And to a one, all said things have gone been going down hill for about a year. NO MORE OB for me. I wish I could continue to support the company, but I believe the writing is on the wall.
Changing direction, I decided I still wanted american so the search began. Tony at Tiger cues immediately impressed me. He answered all my question patiently and intelligently. My friend Diamond Dave who is a dealer said nothing but great things about the Tiger products. Made in the USA. I was sold. I ordered a LX TL2. 18.75oz, with a Ultra LD shaft and Sniper soft tip. I got it last night and spent a couple of hours shooting with it today. It is simply amazing. The feed back is so much better that the OB and Predator shafts I have played with in the past. Adjusting to the new shaft has been pretty painless, although I cannot seem to get as much draw with this combo as of yet. I may switch the tip out to my preferred Kamui clear. We will see. Everything else about the cue has been amazing and a significant step up from my previous equipment.Oh, and the extension is amazing. I really love it compared to the Mcdermott I had previously. So OB thanks for leading me into the welcoming arms of Tiger cues, and thanks Tony for getting me such a fantastic product.
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