Are Custom Cues a waste of money?

Pangit said:
OF COURSE it's a waste of money. You are paying for the "beauty" of the cue. A few years ago here in the PI I had a "custom" made cue commissioned. Simple, solid piece of beautifully figured Tiger Maple from the joint down. Dead nuts straight, 11.5 modified Pro Taper Tip, just as I asked for. Understated, but where ever I played, folks would ask me about it. Cost me 65 bucks, hard case included. I was so happy, I gave him a 500 peso ($11) tip.
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If I saw your cue and shot with it for about 15 minutes I might order my own similar cue from the same maker but wouldn't otherwise. Someone can get an excellent playing cue for $212 -$395. Anything more is for looks and prestige.

I beat the hell out of a guy today who had a $6,000 cue. I was using a house cue. I don't want to hurt their feelings so I don't rib them about it.

Hint: if you paid more than $2,000 for your cue don't ask someone who's using a house cue to play.
 
risky biz said:
I beat the hell out of a guy today who had a $6,000 cue. I was using a house cue. I don't want to hurt their feelings so I don't rib them about it.

Hint: if you paid more than $2,000 for your cue don't ask someone who's using a house cue to play.
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If the cue does not make a player better than wouldn't it go both ways? I bet there are plenty of players out there who shoot with a $2K plus cue that can beat guys who shoot with a house stick. Heck, I bet I can beat most bangers in a pool room that are using house sticks.
 
not imo

I just recently purchased my 1st custom, and Its the best hitting cue ive ever owned.. Ill be buying more im sure, of course I assume like anything it depends on the maker, but for me so far,so good ..
 
risky biz said:
If I saw your cue and shot with it for about 15 minutes I might order my own similar cue from the same maker but wouldn't otherwise. Someone can get an excellent playing cue for $212 -$395. Anything more is for looks and prestige.

I beat the hell out of a guy today who had a $6,000 cue. I was using a house cue. I don't want to hurt their feelings so I don't rib them about it.

Hint: if you paid more than $2,000 for your cue don't ask someone who's using a house cue to play.
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Truly it is the Indian and not the arrow. Just imagine if Efren was playing with that $6,000 cue and you had your house cue.
 
I will say no they are not a waste of money.

If that custom cue makes you confident and excited to shoot then have at it. Depending on the maker I say definitely have at it. Depending on who made that cue you might pay for a brand new cue, use it for awhile and sell it for the same price you paid for it or higher.

If you're into sticking with the player you own for several years I can't see how it's a waste of money. If you switch players every year, or more than once a year it can be a dicey proposal.
 
custom cues

custom cues are not a waste of money most good cues if you sell them you can get your money back or more as far as making you a better player well it depends if you can't make a ball with a house cue a custom cue is not going to help you much it might improve your game some cause you are playing with the same cue all the time but unless you practice and get in stroke with drills and such its not going to help much if you can aford it then buy one if not just enjoy playing with what you got and enjoy the game i own two custom cues that i play with the cost around$700 but i also own production cues and play the same way it's all in what you like and can aford enjoy the game:thumbup:
 
dr9ball said:
Truly it is the Indian and not the arrow. Just imagine if Efren was playing with that $6,000 cue and you had your house cue.
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I've always disagreed with that old saying because those indians never used the same arrow,they had ones of all different sizes,tips and thickness.The arrow does have something to do with it,as well as the indian:smile:When it comes to pool there are only a few players that are on a planet of there own that can pick up any cue and run racks without any adjustment at all,Efren being one of them,but I believe the majority of players take time to fully understand what they can do with there cue and shots and situations that they have full confidence in there cue so it doesn't become a guessing game.goodluck
 
onepocketron said:
It's the same as buying a Corvette VS Kia. Nothing wrong with either I suppose, but everyone's tastes and finances are different.
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I agree with this statement, but I would take it maybe one step further. One of the vehicles listed above is a well engineered piece of equipment, the other, well. The OP should do some research to figure out which one.

I've played with plenty of house cues. Now I play with a Black Boar FS2. Again, one of these is a well engineered piece of equipment.

Steven
 
it's all about the shaft

its all about the shaft, the tip, and the ferrel. what you pay for the butt is their business. the best cue in the world is the best cue you play with.
 
It may be the indian, not the arrow...

BUT...the more I watch live streams, the more I notice that top level
players use some damned nice "arrows"...there is probably a reason
for that.

Can't recall which custom Scott Frost uses, but I know it's not
a production cue, and I'll bet it's not an under $1,000 cue.

Sure, SVB and Allison use Cuetec...can't help but to wonder if
they would continue to do so if Cuetec stopped sending
sponsorship checks.
 
pwd72s said:
Sure, SVB and Allison use Cuetec...can't help but to wonder if
they would continue to do so if Cuetec stopped sending
sponsorship checks.
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They win with Cuetecs....would they win more with expensive customs.
 
pwd72s said:
It may be the indian, not the arrow...

BUT...the more I watch live streams, the more I notice that top level
players use some damned nice "arrows"...there is probably a reason
for that.

Can't recall which custom Scott Frost uses, but I know it's not
a production cue, and I'll bet it's not an under $1,000 cue.

Sure, SVB and Allison use Cuetec...can't help but to wonder if
they would continue to do so if Cuetec stopped sending
sponsorship checks.
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That's funny,but one thing I've always heard but don't know for sure is that the shafts on both of there cues are real nice and not just a standard shaft,but a lady told me years ago that the first title Allison won,that she lost her cue at the airport or something weird but went to a billiard shop and bought a Cuetec off the wall and won the event,so I guess anythings possible.:smile:
 
The only thing that can ruin Earl's game is Earl himself.
I remember when Earl said that. I think all of us knew that he was going to say something to that nature when Cue Tec dropped him.
 
This is honestly a tough question. I think customs both are and aren't worth the money. It depends on the player that's shooting with them.

I'm in my poolhall about 30+ hours a week. We've got a solid mix of players shooting with house, production, and customs.

I think the mistake that alot of these custom cue buyers are making is constantly changing their cues. We've got a guy in here that has shown up with a different custom nearly every month. He's pissed because he keeps spending more money and getting less results. I keep telling him to shoot with the cue for six months and if he still can't hit with it to re-evaluate what he's shooting with. He's not a bad shot, but changing what cue he's shooting with every four weeks doesn't help.

On the otherside of the spectrum... one of the best one pocket players out here shoots with a Mucci that he's had for about 25+ years. One of the best nine ball shooters plays with a Cuetek that's he's shot with for the last 5 years. Handsdown the best all around shot plays with a Black Boar, but he's had that for as long as I remember him.

It is rarely ever about what cue you've got. It's about how confidently you can shoot. I can shoot just as well with my Viking as I can with my Bob Frey. It's not about how much I spent and how flashy it looks. In my hands I want something that I can trust. I need to know where the rock is going. That just took alot of time and alot of gambling losses. Haha!

You can knock a custom, production, or a house cue. Call it what you will. In the end it's up to you and what you like, and when it comes to opinions...well, you know the saying...

Will
 
Guitar Analogy

To put it another way: Eddie Van Halen (or choose your favorite legendary guitarist - Stevie Ray Vaughan, Andres Segovia, Chet Atkins, George Benson, Carlos Santana... ad infinitum) could have picked up any piece of crap guitar, (in-tune or not) and destroyed any amateur with their choice of magnificent, world-renowned axe. It's not the tool, it's the hands and brains (and eyes) of those who wield it.

That doesn't prevent me from wanting (or owning) a nice piece, but the cue is just a stick. There are properties that make some sticks perform some things better than others, but if you can't consistently perform with it, what difference does it make?

Work on the basics, and when you can't do what you intend to do, explore your options.

ridewiththewind said:
Here comes another car analogy...

When the Ford Model T arrived, it was a plain jane car available in only black. As cars have evolved, so did our need to make them more attractive. It is within our human nature to want to 'personalize' our prized possessions to make them uniquely ours.

I have owned and played with a custom that was over $2k...and was not as happy with it as I was a custom pete I got for $175. I have had my current custom for over a year now, and while I paid over $1k for it...you'll have to pry it from my cold dead hands. The maker nailed everything I had hoped for in this cue...weight, balance, taper, shaft wood, etc. The cue plays exactly as I had hoped it would, and can do everything I ask of it. It 'disappears' in my hand. It is what most of us strive and hope for when ordering a custom cue.

With that said...there is no miracle cue that is going to make you a better player. The only thing that is going to do that is plain ol' fashioned hard work. But, once you start seeing the fruits of your labors, you can begin to appreciate when you do have a quality crafted cue in your hands...especially one built to your specs. The level of confidence a cue like that can instill can actually allow you to use the skills you have acquired more consistently....making you a more consistent player.

Do I need my custom to play and win? No. I actually got to play for about 3 hours last night (yippee) and played most of it with my cue...won the bulk of my games played. My buddy leaves, and another guy comes in...who typically doesn't like to play me. He asks if I want to play...which I kinda didn't and had already put my cue away, but he was insistent, so I grabbed the barstick my buddy had been using. Thing felt like Bucky the Beaver had been at it...LoL....beat the guy both games and then told him he could have the table.

I may well never be able to afford another custom again...and I'm okay with that...I've got a cue I can live with for a very long time, but if push comes to shove, I can play with just about anything.

Personally....I am so sick and tired of the whole "Custom vs Production" debate that surfaces here every few months or lately, even less. Who cares? As long as you're playing, isn't that really all that matters?

Lisa
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There's one thing I'd like to add to what I contributed earlier: don't think for one second that anyone (yourself included) must/has to "deserve" playing with a custom cue. I've been instructing/coaching for twenty years, and heard many such remarks, not least by the owners of costly collectibles themselves. They make apologetic remarks on their quality of playing in relation to the wonderful cue they've afforded themselves. Others (regardless of whether they're so-called "better" players themselves) crack jokes, laugh and sneer at them.

I fondly remember one wise old man who took lessons from me years ago who also apologized for his playing, but put it more mildly: "I play like crap, but you see, I love it [the game] so much more when I play with my [insert brand of custom cue]."

Now, I'd like to remind everyone who's using internet access to discuss the "spirit and purpose" of cues here that what we are discussing are luxury problems to begin with, that is, we all appear able to afford things that are well beyond vital importance. At that point, it becomes a matter of spending one's money in such a way that it pays some other kind of dividends. If playing pool makes one happy, and playing with an expensive custom cue (even if pulling it out from time to time and looking at it in the safety of one's home, for that matter) makes one even happier, mustn't the money automatically be considered well-spent?

Adding this because earlier, like so many in this thread, I pretty much neglected the perspective of the owner, answering the question as if purely one of quality-price ratio. One cannot, however, quantify one's love of the game.

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
 
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