DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
Some of the most popular cues have been utter disappointments to me. Southwest was the absolute worst, followed by scruggs. Frey sneaky was nice, tho.
best cue you ever had or still have ???
- Thread starter ericdraven
- Start date
oldarpanet
New member
I'm playing with a McDermott from the early 1980's but with a much more recent Jacoby shaft with 140 laminate layers to cut down on deflection. Don't know if I hit better with it, but I like it better than the maple shaft of the original.
I bought my first Mike Wooldridge cue in the UK around 05 and I loved the way it played straight away.
When Mike introduced his 'Blackspin' ferrules I had it converted.
I was playing in the snooker hall and a friend asked if he could try it and I never played with it again.
He made me an offer I couldn't refuse and that was the last time I played with it.
I bought the replacement from Mike which just happened (very rarely) to be in stock but it was a different spec and I played with it until a friend here in the United States bought it
I then spec a pool cue 11mm tip 2pc which is currently back with Mike getting modified 11.8mm with a soft Kamui
I love how the cue plays equally as well or better than the carbon shafts I have tried.
Others try it out and don't want to give it
back
www.handmadecues.com
When Mike introduced his 'Blackspin' ferrules I had it converted.
I was playing in the snooker hall and a friend asked if he could try it and I never played with it again.
He made me an offer I couldn't refuse and that was the last time I played with it.
I bought the replacement from Mike which just happened (very rarely) to be in stock but it was a different spec and I played with it until a friend here in the United States bought it
I then spec a pool cue 11mm tip 2pc which is currently back with Mike getting modified 11.8mm with a soft Kamui
I love how the cue plays equally as well or better than the carbon shafts I have tried.
Others try it out and don't want to give it
back
www.handmadecues.com
I stopped keeping track of the number of cues I have owned in the last decade but it surpassed 500 a while ago. Everything from Players to Southwest. The best playing cues I have come across, obviously in my opinion
Bierbower (not very well known, but makes an amazing SS joint cue) - This is my current player and will be for a long time I think.
Jensen stainless steel jointed cues (big pin play nice, but I prefer his SS joint, attention to detail doesn't match some others on this list but cues play amazing
Jeff Olney (severely underrated maker in my opinion)
Bob Owen
Lambros (designs don't cater to some people's taste, but they play phenomenal)
Frey sneakys (best playing sneaky in my opinion)
Ariel Carmeli (His cues from the last 4 or 5 years seem to play better to me, his older shafts played quite whippy and I wasn't a fan)
Sugartree (seem to vary quite a bit in the way they play though)
Diveney (his sneakys, I dont care for his fancier cues, they don't play the same to me at all, also attention to detail is pretty lacking, but second best playing sneaky in my opinion)
Bierbower (not very well known, but makes an amazing SS joint cue) - This is my current player and will be for a long time I think.
Jensen stainless steel jointed cues (big pin play nice, but I prefer his SS joint, attention to detail doesn't match some others on this list but cues play amazing
Jeff Olney (severely underrated maker in my opinion)
Bob Owen
Lambros (designs don't cater to some people's taste, but they play phenomenal)
Frey sneakys (best playing sneaky in my opinion)
Ariel Carmeli (His cues from the last 4 or 5 years seem to play better to me, his older shafts played quite whippy and I wasn't a fan)
Sugartree (seem to vary quite a bit in the way they play though)
Diveney (his sneakys, I dont care for his fancier cues, they don't play the same to me at all, also attention to detail is pretty lacking, but second best playing sneaky in my opinion)
Well, you at least distinguish your tastes and preferences from the rest of the pool playing community.
And to think you found Scruggs cues to be a disappointment says more about you than everyone else.
To each their own I suppose but IMO, you’d never risk losing money if you owned either of those names.
And you don’t acquire a waiting list like SW cues has had dating back to Jerry Franklin by being Ho-Hum.
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DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
That isn't necessarily true. iPhones are measurably worse than many lower priced options, but they are very popular.
As are Samsung and Google, etc. Let’s confine it to other comparable pool craftsmen instead of arcane analogies.
DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
Why? You're the one who made insulting comments about me. I simply said that some of the popular makers were disappointing to me. I didn't say the cues were junk, I said I didn't like how they felt.
I don't think you understand the meaning of 'arcane'.
I too think SW's(current prod) are WAAAAAAY over-rated. Wouldn't wait 6mos for one much less 10+yrs. Another is R. Haley. Beautiful to look at but based on the 2-3 i've hit extremely overpriced in terms of how it hits.
You took my remarks as insulting when all I did was recite the painfully obvious.
The vast majority of the pool playing community thinks very highly of both names.
Southwest has been highly popular for a very long time and people wait years to
place an order. And Tim Scruggs is just a laudable, revered name in cue making.
So when you express disappointment, which you are obviously entitled to express,
it really does place you in the small minority of pool players that would agree with you.
If that rankles you, apparently you have other issues or insecurities that make you feel
offended. And your vocabulary is limited. Arcane was appropriate to use. How many
readers understand what makes their cell phone tick versus how a pool cue gets made?
The technology of cell phones is hardly equivalent to the craft of making a pool cue.
Oh, and where did I say or imply, whereas you obviously have inferred, you expressed
the opinion these cues were inferior, junk or whatever. All I did was write you were in
the minority in contrast to the what other players & even cue makers think about them.
You really don’t express much confidence in your opinion versus frustration and angst.
Some people aren’t worth the effort of educating; pitifully, you seem to be such a person.
the opinion these cues were inferior, junk or whatever. All I did was write you were in
the minority in contrast to the what other players & even cue makers think about them.
You really don’t express much confidence in your opinion versus frustration and angst.
Some people aren’t worth the effort of educating; pitifully, you seem to be such a person.
My Tony Guerra cue made in 2012, I am second owner, have sold two cues and returned to this cue, I never will sell this cue, I feel it to be my unicorn. Others I miss having and regrets selling are my first ever custom cue (spitz), a sneaky Pete ebony and Birdseye maple pat Diveney. And always regret selling a great Sugartree...
Rusty in Montana
Well-known member
I've got a sweet 1980's Meucci Original with two straight shafts I enjoy playing with then a C -18 McDermott that was a main shooter then a custom 2 piece Dufferin Billy Saunders made for me ,
Now currently it's a toss up between a Scott Erwin or old predator SP depending on my mood ha ha
Now currently it's a toss up between a Scott Erwin or old predator SP depending on my mood ha ha
DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
"And to think you found Scruggs cues to be a disappointment says more about you than everyone else." Seems pretty judgmental to me, if I read your judgment as insulting, it is probably because of your elitist manner.
As per arcane, I think everybody knows what an iPhone is, most know how to use a cell phone. Nobody needs to know anything about the internals to learn that Android devices can better do more things than iOS. Pretty widely known and basic stuff.
And if we want to talk about being overly sensitive, you are the one jumping up to defend these cuemakers who, according to you, should need no defense from the opinion of a guy on the interwebs.
So now you infer I’m defending these cue makers? Gosh, you use an errant minded thought process.
All I was doing is reciting reality and facts don’t have opinions. Truth is your opinion is in the minority.
And your reading comprehensive skills are atrocious based upon the inferences you’ve expressed.
These prestigious names hardly require defending. If anything ever did, it would be explaining why both
cue makers failed to meet your expectations and which other cue makers do. And don’t forget elaborating
about the nuances of the respectively different pool cue anatomies for these different cues & construction.
Now that would be an intelligent discussion instead of having to listen to you whine over your feelings getting
hurt because I posted that your evaluation was not in line with how the pool playing community judges both
of these cue makers. Any cue maker could possibly make a lemon but I’ve never heard that of either cue maker.
All I was doing is reciting reality and facts don’t have opinions. Truth is your opinion is in the minority.
And your reading comprehensive skills are atrocious based upon the inferences you’ve expressed.
These prestigious names hardly require defending. If anything ever did, it would be explaining why both
cue makers failed to meet your expectations and which other cue makers do. And don’t forget elaborating
about the nuances of the respectively different pool cue anatomies for these different cues & construction.
Now that would be an intelligent discussion instead of having to listen to you whine over your feelings getting
hurt because I posted that your evaluation was not in line with how the pool playing community judges both
of these cue makers. Any cue maker could possibly make a lemon but I’ve never heard that of either cue maker.
DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
You miss the point. I never said anything disparaging about your heroes. I think they were fine quality cues that did not feel good to me. That's what this thread is about.
Your language was used to devalue my opinion.
I already listed some cues I liked.
The SW cues I've played felt like tree trunks. The balance and size made them feel dead and clumsy. If they feel good to you and others, great.
I already said that I like very light cues. I have a schmelke I enjoy. It's 17oz.. I have a Olivier that is great, I'd like it better if it was a bit lighter.
I make cues that have no metal in them except for the joint pin and a 1.5in 3/8" flathead screw for the leather bumper and sometimes rings. I don't have a weight bolt in any of my cues. I don't like the weight in the butt. I think a cue gives me better feel when there is more weight on my bridge. My cues are all very forward weighted.
I'm not going to discuss construction anatomy because I have never cut a SW or Scruggs apart. I have a good idea how they do it, but don't really care to look into it further. I build cues based on my methods that I have adapted to what I like.
If you think I was whining, I apologize, that wasn't my intent. Just because I found your replies insulting doesn't mean I was injured by them.
Keep enjoying your cues, they sound nice. Maybe someday you'll try one of mine and give me your feedback. I'll listen, but I don't do it for money, so I doubt i'd change anything.
Have fun.
I really do not have any cue makers I consider to be a hero, other than if they were in the military
and served in a combat zone. Anyone risking their life for people they don’t know personally, i.e.,
hundreds of millions of fellow Americans, they qualify as a hero to me. Now when it comes to pool
cue makers, a long time ago I created a thread about my top 25 cue makers. And I listed the cues
I was looking to buy and went so far as provide cue specifications and my budget ranges. I actually
created a 2nd thread stating I’d pay a bounty, or reward, for referring me to someone with a specific
type of Joel Hercek cue they’d sell me. I searched high and low but without any success. Mr. Hercek is
my favorite cue maker. I regret never finding the right cue but I could never settle for less than I wanted.
It took awhile to come up with my top 25 cue makers and if the CA ivory ban hadn’t happened, I’d
still be buying and ordering more custom pool cues. And all of them would have the same specs too.
When you come up with a winning combination, IMO, there’s just not any reason to change the recipe.
So if I were ordering a cue from SW or anyone, the cue must be made to my specs or I wouldn’t order it.
Again, after you settle upon what you like the best, just stick with it and any cue maker should please you.
Very nice!