Buying table advice

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rykr01

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Decent player (560 Fargo level player) that practices weekly on blue label 9 foot Diamonds and plays league on red label Diamond bar boxes.

Got 8.5 foot steepleton and wanting to replace. Wanted to get a few thoughts on the following options:

1. 9 foot GC2 $1500
2. 9 foot red label Diamond pro $2500

will have to move each myself and have paid to setup. Def would not be doing a blue label conversion on the Diamond.

Which one would you guys recommend?
 
First, make sure it is infact a GCII and not a GCI. II's are quite rare as they were only made two years. You are most likely looking at a GCI.

You mainly play on Diamonds so that's what you will get the most benefit out of having. If I'm not mistaken, converting Red Label rails to Blue Label rails is pretty much the same project as calibrating the subrails on GCI or II so the subrails properly accept the modern K55 cushion profile, maintain correct cushion height, and the table retains the proper 100" x 50" playing surface. But, I could be wrong. Do you know if this work has been done to the Gold Crown you are looking at? If not, you are looking at around $1,500 to calibrate the subrails, install new rubber and recut the pockets. The table will play great but it still will not be what you are used to in terms of Diamond playability. The shelves are much deeper on a Diamond and both tables play much differently.

I'd post some questions in the Mechanic's Section about what you are trying to achieve and what exactly is involved in converting a Red Label set of rails to Blue Label spec.
 
rykr01 said:
Decent player (560 Fargo level player) that practices weekly on blue label 9 foot Diamonds and plays league on red label Diamond bar boxes.

Got 8.5 foot steepleton and wanting to replace. Wanted to get a few thoughts on the following options:

1. 9 foot GC2 $1500
2. 9 foot red label Diamond pro $2500

will have to move each myself and have paid to setup. Def would not be doing a blue label conversion on the Diamond.

Which one would you guys recommend?
Click to expand...
Doing a sub-rail conversion a Diamond is not cheap. For close to same price you can just put a Blue label top on it.
 
I get a kick out of these threads, because there's a cadre of table geeks on here who just assume that anyone who gets a GC will just have to have the rails reprofiled and extended and install new rubber, and anyone getting a diamond red label will just have to convert it to blue.

The OP said: "Def would not be doing a blue label conversion on the Diamond."

I assume he'd be fine with the GC II as-is, as well. It wasn't until the GC II that the rubber turned to stone, and for most people, there's nothing wrong with 5" pockets.

My choice of the two would be the GC II, but there are so many factors it's hard to pick for someone else. The Red Label table is probably tougher, based on the samples in Dr. Dave's TDF list in this forum, 0.98 vs. 0.95 for my GC I. But then, the GC I rails and rubber probably bank more true than the Red Label.
 
jviss said:
I get a kick out of these threads, because there's a cadre of table geeks on here who just assume that anyone who gets a GC will just have to have the rails reprofiled and extended and install new rubber, and anyone getting a diamond red label will just have to convert it to blue.

The OP said: "Def would not be doing a blue label conversion on the Diamond."

I assume he'd be fine with the GC II as-is, as well. It wasn't until the GC II that the rubber turned to stone, and for most people, there's nothing wrong with 5" pockets.

My choice of the two would be the GC II, but there are so many factors it's hard to pick for someone else. The Red Label table is probably tougher, based on the samples in Dr. Dave's TDF list in this forum, 0.98 vs. 0.95 for my GC I. But then, the GC I rails and rubber probably bank more true than the Red Label.
Click to expand...

I didn't say he had to do anything. The scope of my advice centered around what he's been playing on. If he's wanting a practice table to prepare for whet he plays on, my recommendations are on point. A GC with 5" pockets is not commensurate with what he compete's on. Not even close.
 
He competes on a bar box, so who cares? :) The pocket size is the last thing I would be concerned with, playfield size matters much more, in my opinion. (He didn't say if the table he competes on has Pro-cut or League-cut pockets.) But, even more important, is to practice the fundamental stuff, I think: stance, stroke, aim; cue ball control, etc.

I did a lot of competitive shooting, and I can tell you that dry firing makes a huge improvement in one's performance. (I'm not a good pool player, but I'm working on it.)
 
Just my two cents here, I have owned a Gold Crown table and I have played on the Diamond Red label table. From my own experience, here is my advice: I would decide if I expect to continue competing regularly on bar boxes or would most of my time be played on 9 foot Diamonds ( Red or Blue does not matter) . I think that if I was going to play mostly on bar box tables outside of my home that I would enjoy playing on the Gold Crown much more at home as my 9 foot option. Personally I feel that a 9 foot Red Label unaltered table is just not a fun table - too may issues- just my opinion.

However, if you plan to compete on 9 foot Diamonds in a more serious way in the future- then I think you need to be hitting on a nine foot Diamond at home, even if it is a Red label - bc the pockets etc. will be much closer to what you will encounter during your 9 foot competition away from home. I think that the transition from a GC at home to a Diamond bar box is not as big a deal. the transition from a GC at home to a 9 foot diamond for competition is a bigger deal.

I can remember when I had a 9 foot Olhausen at home and competed on 9 foot CGs in the rooms- the difference was huge, when I switched to GC at home I did much better in room competition.

Bottom line: 9 foot to 7 foot no big deal IMO- 9 foot to 9 foot - try as best to match tables - for speed, rail response, and ball pocketing acceptance or rejection factors.
 
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