Am I the only one?

[tom haney]

I played with a Meucci "Diamond" for 20 years before I discovered
EBAY & completely lost my mind.

> Am I the only player here that has played with the same cue for over 10 years? In the 14 years since I've bought my Schon,I've hit balls with probably 500 other cues,from a wide spectrum of cuemakers/manufacturers. In all that time,I've only seen 10-15 that I felt hit as good,and probably 5 of those were Schons from the same time period,and similar build,meaning all but one of them were the panto-style,only one of them had the spliced points. The spliced one was a early R-16,basically a 6 point version of my cue. Oddly enough,the other 4 Schons I thought hit as good or better than mine all had more ivory in them,even though inlays don't affect the hit much if at all. All of them had ivory ferrules. The others were a plain 4 point Szamboti,a late 80's high end Joss,an early 90's Joss West,and the twin to the Black Boar that Francisco Bustamante won the 1993 PBT Championship with,along with a Gilbert,Searing,3 different Cogs,Tony Watson's ivory/turquoise Josey,and several different red-dot Bludworth cues. In just about every case except the Josey,Cogs,and Bludworths,the common thread was the piloted stainless joint and ivory ferrules. I've played with about 20 different Southwests and several old Kersenbrocks,and liked about 5 of them,all of these had the old Micarta ferrules. Out of the 3 Bushkas I've played with,only the steel jointed one hit well,the 2 ivory jointed ones felt like something was broke inside the cue,cause it vibrated weird and made all kinds of racket,nothing like the healthy "plink" of steel and ivory. I'm not saying at all that there are not other cues that hit/play well at all,just that these cues I mentioned were the ones that I would replace my Schon with based on playability. I imagine if I had 10-15k a year or more to spend on cues that were just going to sit up in a display case I'd have a rather large collection,but as far as what feels and works best for me,I'll stick with what I have until someone puts something in my hand that hits better or I make one that hits better. Tommy D.

 

[Williebetmore]

i prefer the superficiality of playing with a nifty looking cue just for the heck of it.

Bruin,
EXACTLY!! As we say here in the Hideaway - it is better to look good than to feel good. And may I say that, "you look maaahhhvvvelous."

Signed,
Fernando

 

[ARM9BALLER]

Cue snobs argue they are not a custom cue, but you know what? I rather have the consistancy of hit than a custom hit that can never be duplicated. I also have customized mine just about to the point in could never be duplicated, with the extensions and lizard wrap.

It ain't about originality for me, it's about what I am comfortable with.

Shorty

This makes no sense...
You are saying that you would have a production cue that hit the same as all the other cues from the same production name. And you are also saying that custom cuemakers cannot duplicate the hit of their own cues? But since you made some changes to your production cue, it is now custom? Does it hit differently now that you say it is customized? In this whole quote you are agreeing with what I have said before. When are you gonna come down and post up and gamble some? Oh I know, financial cramping right? Quit buying cues that just sit just to say you owned one and maybe you will have some money to post up.

 

[cardiac kid]

Hi Tommy,

I've played with the same two Schon Cues for the last fourteen years. I've tried many others. Dollar for dollar, the Schon's are the best value out there. I met a player last week in Vegas that had an original Schon with hand cut inlays. Tried a few shots. Other than a slight amount of additional weight, it hit just like mine.

Lyn

 

[Snapshot9]

I played with a Meucci "Diamond" for 20 years before I discovered
EBAY & completely lost my mind.

Hondo ... I was belly laughing after reading your post, man.
I am wanting to get an Xbreaker, but have to save up for it,
so I somehow got to bidding on a few Break/jump cues on
Ebay (don't remember how I got there), and lo and behold,
I won an auction for a J&J Break/Jump cue for $27.00 or
$44.90 total with shipping and insurance, and I know, LMAO,
that it was the devil's work just to suck me in to bid on more
cues on Ebay .... First cue I ever bought off Ebay, on its way
right now to me .... lol

 

[12squared]

10 years twice

> Am I the only player here that has played with the same cue for over 10 years? In the 14 years since I've bought my Schon,I've hit balls with probably 500 other cues,from a wide spectrum of cuemakers/manufacturers. In all that time,I've only seen 10-15 that I felt hit as good,and probably 5 of those were Schons from the same time period,and similar build,meaning all but one of them were the panto-style,only one of them had the spliced points. The spliced one was a early R-16,basically a 6 point version of my cue. Oddly enough,the other 4 Schons I thought hit as good or better than mine all had more ivory in them,even though inlays don't affect the hit much if at all. All of them had ivory ferrules. The others were a plain 4 point Szamboti,a late 80's high end Joss,an early 90's Joss West,and the twin to the Black Boar that Francisco Bustamante won the 1993 PBT Championship with,along with a Gilbert,Searing,3 different Cogs,Tony Watson's ivory/turquoise Josey,and several different red-dot Bludworth cues. In just about every case except the Josey,Cogs,and Bludworths,the common thread was the piloted stainless joint and ivory ferrules. I've played with about 20 different Southwests and several old Kersenbrocks,and liked about 5 of them,all of these had the old Micarta ferrules. Out of the 3 Bushkas I've played with,only the steel jointed one hit well,the 2 ivory jointed ones felt like something was broke inside the cue,cause it vibrated weird and made all kinds of racket,nothing like the healthy "plink" of steel and ivory. I'm not saying at all that there are not other cues that hit/play well at all,just that these cues I mentioned were the ones that I would replace my Schon with based on playability. I imagine if I had 10-15k a year or more to spend on cues that were just going to sit up in a display case I'd have a rather large collection,but as far as what feels and works best for me,I'll stick with what I have until someone puts something in my hand that hits better or I make one that hits better. Tommy D.

Tommy, you're not alone. When I was a younger, my favorite and only cue was stolen. I then played with an old '72 JOSS (before the split) for over 10 years. During that time I moved to Southern California, became friends with Bert Schrager and replaced my JOSS with a Schrager. I played 3-cushion & pool with that for over 12 years exclusively. The pool room that had the 3-C tables and all the action closed; so I used that opportunity to buy, try & sell many different cues from many differtent cuemaker's. It's actually been fun to get to know the cuemakers and learn about their different characteristics regarding hit, feel & deflection...and I learned a lot about what I like in a cue. For the last 2 years I've played exclusively with a Judd, but the cues I will never part with are: my Schrager (I still get it out from time to time and it feels like an old friend) I also have a Schrager sneaky pete that I won't sell; my Schon made in the mid 80's (not spliced points but from Runde era and very unique looking-the original shaft is the main reason I won't sell it, it's unbelievable); and my Judd. I may be playing w/my Judd for 10 year but that remains to be seen...I'm still looking .

Dave

 

[DaveK]

As Craftsman is only as good as the tools of his trade.

Being of Scottish heritage and extremely, uh, frUgal, I whittled a cue from a piece of willow that blew into my yard. Yes, I'm THAT good !

Dave

 

[DaveK]

I've shot with different cues in my life, but I've had my Joss for about ten years now. It always played well so I never thought of switching to another. I'm only now having something new made.

But it says "Jacoby" beside "Playing Cue" in your signature !?!?!?

Dave, the willowman

 

[Sweet Marissa]

But it says "Jacoby" beside "Playing Cue" in your signature !?!?!?

Dave, the willowman

It's being made now so I'm still using my Joss, though less since I'll be adjusting to the Z shaft on the Jacoby. Once I get it, I'll be using my Joss as a break cue. I plan on getting a Fury break cue possibly next year. Guess my signature is a little premature

 

[Cornerman]

> Am I the only player here that has played with the same cue for over 10 years? .

Nope, you're not the only one. The vast majority of players will have played with the same cue for over 10 years. This forum, however, represents a different section of the spectrum of pool players, so the discussion of buying and changing cues is relatively unique to the internet.

Fred

 

[lcksmith]

I think personal cues are truly over rated. Some of the best pool that I have ever played was with a house cue and some of the best hustlers I have ever seen played with a house cue that most on the forum would just laugh at. Someone mentioned that Bugs played his best with just about anything that he picked up.

 

[JoeyInCali]

I've been shooting with a plane b'eye Zylr for 4 years now.
It'll get replaced if I get another Z or if I ever get around making me an Olivewood or Brazilian rosewood cue.

 

[JLW]

I've got a Viking that's about 35 years old. Stills plays great.

 

[branpureza]

Scott Frost has shot with the same cognoscenti for over 10 years now...

 

[DougT]

14 years on a McDermott

I've changed shafts a few times, and tried different tips, but still use the same McDermott D17. Bought used in '91 or so

 

[jay helfert]

Okie dude

Well no, I currently play with my old MF cue that I bought in 1970. One original shaft and two extra shafts from MF, plus two replacement shafts from that guy in Oklahoma (the name leaves me at the moment). I decided to retire that cue 13 or 14 years ago and bought a Schon. Evan said it is an R7 with inlay option. I question that but be that as it may the butt diameter is a bit small. With a slick linnen wrap it seems to take more grip pressure (more effort) to hold the cue.

Since I started back playing with the MF (larger butt diameter) I like it a lot better just for that reason. It still feels great. I'm sending out the Schon for a refinish and a textured leather wrap. I'm thinking even though the diameter is smaller the wrap will enable me to hold the cue with no effort.

I have bought a number of other cues but only to re-sell them at a profit. None of them have played/felt any better than my two cues, some were quite expensive too. I only need a cue or two and thats it.

I never felt the "must have" need or the gimmicks out there. You either have it or you don't and a red, green, purple or pink dots ain't gonna help. LOL My only prefrence is steel joint, shaft taper and the tip. In the end you'll find as your stroke improves it just keeps getting better, no matter the cue or it's composition.

Rod

It was probably John Guffy. Right?

 

[jay helfert]

House Cues

I think personal cues are truly over rated. Some of the best pool that I have ever played was with a house cue and some of the best hustlers I have ever seen played with a house cue that most on the forum would just laugh at. Someone mentioned that Bugs played his best with just about anything that he picked up.

Interesting post here. I've often said it's hard to find a two piece cue that will have as good a hit as a one piece cue. A really good house cue with long taper and a good tip is hard to beat.
Two piece cues came about as a matter of convenience and portability.
I can remember some good players who almost always used a one piece cue. Weenie Beenie and Greg Stephens carried their favorite house cues in their cars when they went on the road. Don Willis would usually walk in a poolroom and grab a crooked cue (true) off the rack and rob every player in sight.
In the old days when we found a house cue we liked we would put some kind of mark on it to identify it and sometimes try to find a place in the poolroom to hide it.

 

[Tommy-D]

> For whoever it was that said something about my collection,there is no collection really,just my Schon,an old cocobolo/ebony Joss sneaky pete,and a McDaniel jump cue butt that looks just like the front end of a Schon SL1. I carry 3 shafts for the Schon,plus a dedicated jump cue shaft,plus 2 for my break cue. Tommy D.

 

[Black-Balled]

Interesting post here...Don Willis would usually walk in a poolroom and grab a crooked cue (true) off the rack and rob every player in sight...

You raised an interesting thought too. It is a real skill to play w/ a crooked cue, lining shots up and trying to get the cue rotated to its straightest possibility,then adjusting for the bend, a true skill!

 

[JLW]

Interesting post here. I've often said it's hard to find a two piece cue that will have as good a hit as a one piece cue. A really good house cue with long taper and a good tip is hard to beat.
Two piece cues came about as a matter of convenience and portability.
I can remember some good players who almost always used a one piece cue. Weenie Beenie and Greg Stephens carried their favorite house cues in their cars when they went on the road. Don Willis would usually walk in a poolroom and grab a crooked cue (true) off the rack and rob every player in sight.
In the old days when we found a house cue we liked we would put some kind of mark on it to identify it and sometimes try to find a place in the poolroom to hide it.

There's a bar I sometimes go to that has one piece house sticks and cheap a$$ two piece sticks. You'd be amazed how everyone always grabs the two piece sticks thinking they must be better. The only thing you really need on a decent one piece house stick is a decent tip IMO.