Balabushka replicas as a player

G.Ouellet

G.Ouellet

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Balabushka is by far my favorite cue maker. I just love the simple design and the colorful pointed veeners, matched with the white linen wraps.

I am looking to upgrade my playing cue to something mid range.. possibly looking into the 500-700$ price range and I would really like to have something in the style of a balabushka.

Do those GB replicas make good player cue? Or should I stick with something mass produced like a schon or a predator?

Thanks a lot!

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EDIT : Sorry wrong section! Can a moderator move this for me please?
 
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They are decently built cues, I do not care too much for the original shafts but pair
it with a 314-2 or Mezz WX700 and you have a fine piece of equipment.

gr. Dave
 
That is what I was thinking but I would feel a bit stupid to buy a full priced cue and then buy an extra shaft on top of that..

Do you know of any retailer that could sell the butt only + a 314-2 shaft as an upgrade?

What I meant in the original post basically, are they worth the money or are they just cashing in on the balabushka signature and designs?

I just want the best bang for my buck but would still appreciate a style and design that I like.
 
That is going to be tough. I used to have them in my webshop aswell but I always
had to order them complete so I would then be stuck with the Balabushka shaft that
I would probably never sell.

As such I used to ask 85-90% of the normal selling price of a Predator shaft to exchange it.

gr. Dave
 
Cheap cues.com

If you go to cheap cues .com they will allow you to upgrade to the shaft you want at minimal cost. The balabushka reps are good cues but for that kind of money I would go with schoncues predator or mezz. I'm a mezz guy myself.
 
another good possibility is to get a quality cue that is made in the bushka style like, for instance, meucci originals (not the newer version bad quality ones) who did this bushka tribute.

the model number escapes me at the moment. These may be a little tougher to find since they haven't been made in many years but they are great players and certainly have the look you are after.

This one was in the $500 range.

best,
brian kc
 

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Having that huge awful signature kills it. I love the same style, buy a lucasi like le29 for around 250 and buy a shaft problem solved for less.
 
Seybert's carries GB series cues... http://www.seyberts.com/catalog/Balabushka_Cues-10529.html

They are good to work with, so they might have an option to upgrade to a Predator shaft, if you want.

The problem is that the GB shafts have a large silver ring, and a large pilot. They won't fit on too many other cues, so unless you are a large dealer, it would be tough to move it by itself. Of course, you will have a GB cue butt with a large silver joint ring and a Predator shaft with a thin one, if you ever want to sell it, but most people accept that a Predator shaft might have a different joint ring.

Joe
 
Lucasi makes a bushka style cue for less than 300 and there uniloc. There are used shafts for sale all the time here on az.
 
They are decent playing cues with the original shaft, never tried one with a predator. I'd rather have a schon for the money.
 
schon. they are the best money can buy at that range, or mezz if you want a LD shaft.
predator aint what it used to be
 
you can find them with out the signature as well. but for 500 bucks I'd be tempted to look for an entry level cuemaker make me a bushka style cue
 
A lot of people will probably give me flak over this but I believe the Helmstetter Bushka cues are better than what the original Bushka were. I once saw a original George Balabushka cue that had been X-Rayed. The butt of the cue was held on by a simple wood screw. I couldn't believe what I was looking at. No modern cue maker would attach the butt of a cue in this manner. As a cue maker of 20 years I have no doubt the new Bushka cues are better that the Original George Balabushkas. The original cues are worth a lot simply because they are collectable not because of how they were built.
 
DawgAndy said:
you can find them with out the signature as well. but for 500 bucks I'd be tempted to look for an entry level cuemaker make me a bushka style cue
Click to expand...

You can buy the Bushka STYLE cues from J&J Cues for about $125. Here is the link... http://www.jjcue.com/jjcue-play.htm

J9001-9004 are Bushka look-a-likes...I believe the joint on these are 5/16x18, but I am not sure. These were pretty popular back when the pool room was open...not great quality, but pretty good for the money.

Joe
 
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I played with a current Balabushka GB8 cue for about a half year and found it to be a solid cue. Also the Joss N7 Color Of Money cue is pretty nice for the money.
 
Here is my backup cue.I played with it till i bought Black Boar.
Also i put Vollmer shaft and it plays great....almost like BB...
This Adams Balabushka cues is great for the money...you can upgrade it with better shaft maybe although their original shafts are good enough.
My advice is to find Vollmer shaft...it is expencive,appr. 350 usd new but with right Vollmer shaft on this Bushka ...It is great cue with great playability!!!
 

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I have to chuckle when someone says buy a Mezz cue instead of the Adams Balabushka. Who do you think made the Adams Balabushka? Yuri Miki (now owns Mezz, along with his son) made the signature series of cues for Adams!
These Adam cues IMO are some of the best production cues ever made! The only upgrade I would make with the shaft is if you wish LD. However I would upgrade the tip!
 
Adams/Balabushka

Played with a used Adams/Balabushka that I found on CL. Married it with a Tiger LD shaft/sniper tip for a couple of years until I could pull the trigger on my current custom. They hit a little stiff but plenty playable. I put them right in there with a Schon or a Joss but I dont like CNC points so the GB9 was a good fit for me.
 
Since you're asking for opinions...I tried two of them out at the same time, and didn't like them. They felt kind of cheap, the balance was a little strange to me, too. Not horrible, but not great; or even good IMHO. And as a comparison point, I LOVE the hit/balance/feel of a Schon, so, there you go.
 
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