Anyone ever gone WAY back to the basics??

DelawareDogs

DelawareDogs

The Double Deuce…
Silver Member
With all this new technology being constantly thrown into the cue and equipment aspects of pool, I'm curious:

For those of you that play with layered tips, CF shafts or ultra LD shaft technology, has anyone gone ALL the way back, to a standard hard rock maple shaft, and like.... a Lepro or Triangle tip?

Wondering what the major differences seen are, and if they're noticeable to a measureable degree.
 
Me. My personal experience is - LD makes the game easier to extent on some difficult shots. I stuck with regular maple for no particular reason other than I was used to it and didn’t have the patience to re adjust to the LD shafts. I played with Predator 314 for years on a Schon.

Bought a Revo, sold it. Bought a torrefied maple shaft (kielwood), sits in the case.

It’s all just preference/laziness for me.
 
Just as a change of pace sometimes I play off the wall. Doesn't really make a whole lot of difference. I rough the tip and smooth the shaft area a little, chalk up, and go to work.

Hu
 
I use standard deflection, maple shafts, including a 35 year old Meucci noodle on my car trunk sneaky, but all my tips are layered. They don’t necessarily play better, but they do seem to hold their shape and consistency longer for me...

I‘ll play off the wall on occasion too.
 
ShootingArts said:
Just as a change of pace sometimes I play off the wall. Doesn't really make a whole lot of difference. I rough the tip and smooth the shaft area a little, chalk up, and go to work.

Hu
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I ask because just ordered a cue that will be done end of the year. When asked what kind of shaft I wanted, I just replied "the standard" but in 30inches.

I currently play with a Mezz WX700, also in 30 inches.
 
David in FL said:
I use standard deflection, maple shafts, including a 35 year old Meucci noodle on my car trunk sneaky, but all my tips are layered. They don’t necessarily play better, but they do seem to hold their shape and consistency longer for me...

I‘ll play off the wall on occasion too.
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Dang, it's a very different feeling when I grab one off the wall. Have to say, some house cues I've picked up do play very well, it's all about the tip and having a clean shaft (no big dings)
 
DelawareDogs said:
Dang, it's a very different feeling when I grab one off the wall. Have to say, some house cues I've picked up do play very well, it's all about the tip and having a clean shaft (no big dings)
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It’s funny you brought this up today, because just yesterday I pulled my sneaky out and shot a few racks with it just to make sure that living in the trunk in Florida still hasn’t caused any harm. Tip is still fine, and the old shaft is still straight as an arrow.
 
IMO- before anyone invests in hi tech changes to their gear- they should probably invest several hours of video taping their own practice or playing sessions and understand where, perhaps; from the time they step up to the table until they actually release the cue stick to the cue ball, something (s) they do or don't do hinders their game much more than any gear change will ever accomplish in advancing their game.

Falling back to gear changes without first thoroughly understanding how pure your game is to begin with is just shuffling cards and usually results in a losing hand being dealt.
 
Experimented with a a soft layered tip and an OB LD shaft for about a month
then right back to hard maple shafts and good old hard pressed Triangle tips.
Keep it simple stupid.
A true lights out player will take a stick off the wall and beat everybody in the room.
Yup, it's the Indian.
 
after i got tired and broke from buyin all the expensive crap tryin to keep up with the jones, and always losing hundreds from reselling em

players sneaky with lepro , breaks as great as it plays
i like my game always improving, and doesnt have anything to do with what stick i play with
just like to keep it simple not have to worry about damaging the cue, or mushroom this n that, i like simplicity
 
mikemosconi said:
IMO- before anyone invests in hi tech changes to their gear- they should probably invest several hours of video taping their own practice or playing sessions and understand where, perhaps; from the time they step up to the table until they actually release the cue stick to the cue ball, something (s) they do or don't do hinders their game much more than any gear change will ever accomplish in advancing their game.

Falling back to gear changes without first thoroughly understanding how pure your game is to begin with is just shuffling cards and usually results in a losing hand being dealt.
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Well said.

I think the last time I exclusively played with a non-LD shaft was when I had a couple of Nick Varner cues back in the day, about 10 years ago. Had tiger snipers on them and I think I may have played better than I do now, back then.
 
DelawareDogs said:
Dang, it's a very different feeling when I grab one off the wall. Have to say, some house cues I've picked up do play very well, it's all about the tip and having a clean shaft (no big dings)
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It feels different when I grab a cue off the wall. My primary player is sixty inches and sixteen ounces. However, I can't say it helps or hurts play too much. In truth I feel somehow freer, more like the old days when I gambled off the wall every night. Even when I had a decent cue I didn't play with it anywhere but home. I played with anything that had a tip on it and didn't rattle. The crooked shafts were usually less damaged so I almost always played with a crooked house cue!

Now I have some kind of medium or soft tip on a CF shaft, I think a sniper but I would have to look it up. I also have old Elkmaster tips on both a playing shaft and what ended up being my break stick, a Dufferin house stick. These were sorted by weight but not dudded, just didn't get around to it.

Texas Carom Club said:
after i got tired and broke from buyin all the expensive crap tryin to keep up with the jones, and always losing hundreds from reselling em

players sneaky with lepro , breaks as great as it plays
i like my game always improving, and doesnt have anything to do with what stick i play with
just like to keep it simple not have to worry about damaging the cue, or mushroom this n that, i like simplicity
Click to expand...


Oddly enough, one of the plusses of carbon fiber for me is simplicity. It is tolerant of little bumps and plays the same in 90 degrees or 40. I very rarely ding a shaft myself but awhile back I lost my balance and managed to put three or four major dings in my cue I use when playing with a slip stroke. It works better with a linen wrap and my regular player is naked.

I am generally a hard sell to jump on something new but I do pretty much advocate for the CF now, it is a better mousetrap. Layered tips, a lot of the spliced shafts, I think a lot of the stuff out there to make us play better have a lot in common with the fishing lures that catch a lot more fishermen than fish!

Hu
 
ShootingArts said:
Oddly enough, one of the plusses of carbon fiber for me is simplicity. It is tolerant of little bumps and plays the same in 90 degrees or 40. I very rarely ding a shaft myself but awhile back I lost my balance and managed to put three or four major dings in my cue I use when playing with a slip stroke. It works better with a linen wrap and my regular player is naked.

I am generally a hard sell to jump on something new but I do pretty much advocate for the CF now, it is a better mousetrap. Layered tips, a lot of the spliced shafts, I think a lot of the stuff out there to make us play better have a lot in common with the fishing lures that catch a lot more fishermen than fish!

Hu
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one of the plusses to my cheap sneaky is i dont sweat the dings, doesnt bother me,
and i cant say how it plays in those temps cause id never stay playing pool in that hot or cold of a room
 
Yes, I have a Schon R2 with maple shafts, melamine ferrules and Triangle tips. I bought mostly because I wanted a cue that had all old school stuff. I wanted to hit with a cue of 80s DNA.
 
mikemosconi said:
Falling back to gear changes without first thoroughly understanding how pure your game is to begin with is just shuffling cards and usually results in a losing hand being dealt.
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I've been playing the equipment shuffle game for the last few months after buying my first cue upgrade in 25yrs...

Been cycling through tips and a couple varying shaft types to get back to semblance of normality. I wasn't trying to fix anything with the cue purchase. Just wanted something new, and thought I'd shake up the hit a bit. Hindsight has informed me that I overshot a bit on the differences though and have been in search of a tip/shaft pairing to appease my subconscious decision making while addressing the ball. I like to think I have a good handle on my game, and I understood what I was doing wrong with the new stuff before swapping tips, and eventually a shaft. However, I just couldn't seem to fully reprogram myself, so rather than chase my tail, I opted to get back closer to what I'm used to.

Don't regret any of it.
 
couldnthinkof01 said:
Yes.
Hit no longer feels dead.
Threw away my tip fixer upper.
The deflection my brain was taught
for years is now back in it's rightful place.
Equipment costs dropped by 75%.
I'm thankful for the experience but glad to be home.
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Haha, glad to have you back. How you hitting 'em compared to before?
 
DelawareDogs said:
Haha, glad to have you back. How you hitting 'em compared to before?
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I took 6 months at least to hit longer distance soft spin safes and long firm spin shots. I just stayed patient with the process. I would say 100% confidence in about 1 year.
My pattern play and decision making has improved a great deal in the last few years so... Better!
 
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