ShootingArts said:It really depends on what you mean by softer and the quality of the house cue shaft wood. The thicker shaft transfers more energy to the cue ball, actually hits harder than a thinner shaft. However it also has a duller deader sound and feel to it which some people equate to a softer hit. Changing the ferule from a typical house cue ferule to a hard ferule can often give someone all of the ping they want. However if you like ElkMasters I am going to make a guess that you would be quite happy with a house cue with a factory ferule and very slight retaper.
One thing I found recently with house cues is that the factory glue under the ferules had failed on a bunch of them. They seemed tight but slight pressure took them off. I found blue chalk between the shaft and ferule on about a third of the house cues I redid for a local hall. Not a big deal but be aware that you may have to fix that once. This happened with several brands of house cue and I have forgotten which ones it was now. Sorry about that.
Hu
Thanks. I believe I'll order a Valley with elk master and Dufferin with the Le pro and see how they play. The Dufferin has the 12.5 tip radius....I like that too.
JEd