CueTec or House Cue?

[John Barton]

You have missed the point....it has nothing to do with money. You can get a decent cue for $100 (see thread). But the truth is that most people (see poll) would rather use a house cue than a CueTec.

Yes, with the fair way you worded the pool and with all of the rhetoric flying around before you posted it, the results are really something to print aren't they?

Your poll and your opinion has nothing to do with the actual quality of the cues. It has to do with the feel of them.

Now, if you want to include "feel" or "hit" in your quality assessment that's fine. Just define what that is.

You didn't say that Cuetecs "feel" like a trashy cue, you said that they are trashy cues. I say prove it. This poll doesn't prove it. It proves a preference.

Now if I did your poll and added the condition that the Cuetec house cues felt as good as wood cues and had a pro-taper that might skew the results a little. In other words you can put as many conditions on it as you want to in order to get the results you want.

The real true answer is that for every player on this board including yourself, you would pick the cue that felt best to you at that moment, whether it happened to be a Cuetec or a house cue.

There's your poll question. Ask it that way and see what the answers are.

 

[John Barton]

You can get a decent cue for $100

Which brands would those be?

 

[arsenius]

My question is why did they make the shaft sticky and the grip slippery?

That's exactly why I voted house cue. Because even with an open bridge I can't slide a danged cuetec. They don't slide through the bridge, they bounce! To be fair, I've never tried a glove with one (never had a glove until recently). But if I don't have a cue, I'm not going to have my glove with me either.

 

[arsenius]

Which brands would those be?

I bought a Viking that served me well for $100. I don't like the hit much anymore, but a lot of people do. My buddy picked up a nice sneaky pete (can't remember the brand but it's real nice, the grains even line up butt & shaft) for under $100. I'd take that thing any day over a cuetec.

The Green Room in Madison, Wisconsin has (had?) cuetecs as the housecues. *shudder*

 

[John Barton]

For what it's worth to everyone who has a problem with the Cuetec shafts not being slick enough. Just sand them as you would a normal shaft. I did this on mine and the shaft is perfectly slick and playable without gloves, powder, or liquids.

For the record I have had to condition shafts on just about every cue I have ever received to achieve the desired "slickness".

 

[oceanweb]

Which brands would those be?

If I remember correctly, you recommended these in one of your posts:

http://dominiakcues.com/gpage1.html

Probably the only thing we'll ever agree on

 

[BRKNRUN]

You have missed the point....it has nothing to do with money. You can get a decent cue for $100 (see thread). But the truth is that most people (see poll) would rather use a house cue than a CueTec.

However....This is a biased poll...

If you did a poll of the entire population of the world....Cuetec may be one of the most popular cues out there.

Not saying it is a good cue or anything. I am just saying what the world perception would probably be....

The #1 Female player in the world is Allison Fisher....but if you ask a "non" pool player to name a female player......they "most likely" will say that Black Widow girl.....

Marketing is a great tool, and perception is usually stronger than reality.

 

[worriedbeef]

just to echo what john barton said and what i've said before, just sand the cuetec shaft down!! then it's fine. if it really is such a heaping pile of turd then no-one should have a problem sanding it! and then it's quite smooth, and gives a nice solid hit.

 

[Snapshot9]

First off ....

My cue WOULD NEVER be back at the hotel. I always plan ahead, and if I am looking for action of any kind, my cue will ALWAYS be with me.

But, hypothetically, I would go with the house cue. Why? Because when I am stroking a long almost straight in shot with the cueball on the end rail, I do not want a 'This feels a little different' thought popping into my head because of the fiberglass. I want something as close to my own cue as possible.

 

[despotic931]

A hustler's cue? Maybe. Better yet would be a Minnesota Fats cue, or one of those 4 section cues...

I have a Minnesota Fats cue. It was my first cue, and its still straight as can be and hits as nice as a lot of pricier cues. I spent a lot of time going through the lot of them and picking out the best one. This convinced me that not all production cues hit the same, just because they came from the same factory. Actually with my Predator out of commision at the moment, "the Fats" is my current player. I kept it over my old Viking cue that I sold a couple months back, so figure that out out...

 

[mantis99]

I have a fiberglass walmart cue that bought when I first started playing. It is still straight, and gets just as much spin as any other cue I have hit. It is so much more the player than the cue IMO that the whole topic lacks value. Anyone who would hit a house cue over a higher quality cue, even if it is a cuetec, does so because they want to fit in with the eliteist perception. Someone said the house cue would feel more like thier player. Only because it is wood on wood. I would argue that the difference in taper causes a larger desparity in feel than the material alone. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and hit and feel are subjective. Just make your opinion be truely on hit and feel, not just disdain for a product you probably have not even used.

By the way "FullSpliced". I know you were probably joking, but I think you stepped over the line with the "JessieDoll" comment. This is not a place where we need to be overly sensitive, but a little class would not kill you.

 

[despotic931]

I have a fiberglass walmart cue that bought when I first started playing. It is still straight, and gets just as much spin as any other cue I have hit. It is so much more the player than the cue IMO that the whole topic lacks value. Anyone who would hit a house cue over a higher quality cue, even if it is a cuetec, does so because they want to fit in with the eliteist perception. Someone said the house cue would feel more like thier player. Only because it is wood on wood. I would argue that the difference in taper causes a larger desparity in feel than the material alone. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and hit and feel are subjective. Just make your opinion be truely on hit and feel, not just disdain for a product you probably have not even used.

By the way "FullSpliced". I know you were probably joking, but I think you stepped over the line with the "JessieDoll" comment. This is not a place where we need to be overly sensitive, but a little class would not kill you.

I personally would choose a house cue over a cutec, and i have played with both, and honestly whenever I start feeling myself getting out of stroke I go back to the house cues. I think that to say that I and many other people would choose a house cue over a cuetec just to fit in with the "eliteist perception" is completely false. I actually often times play with a house cue at my own house on my own table, and I am willing to bet there are others who do the same.

 

[mantis99]

I personally would choose a house cue over a cutec, and i have played with both, and honestly whenever I start feeling myself getting out of stroke I go back to the house cues. I think that to say that I and many other people would choose a house cue over a cuetec just to fit in with the "eliteist perception" is completely false. I actually often times play with a house cue at my own house on my own table, and I am willing to bet there are others who do the same.

I have heard people say that they dogo to house cues when they feel their stroke is off. That is usually to require yourself to be more precise, and make you cue feel better. Maybe not in your case. Everyone has a different opinion on what they like and dislike. You may be one that really does not like the feel of a cuetec, and would choose the house cue for that reason. Maybe my statement of fitting in with the eliteist perception should not be so broad, but it does occur quite often. Mnay who have answered here have not even hit with a cuetec before. I just do not like bashing it without even trying it.

 

[DelaWho???]

For what it's worth to everyone who has a problem with the Cuetec shafts not being slick enough. Just sand them as you would a normal shaft. I did this on mine and the shaft is perfectly slick and playable without gloves, powder, or liquids.

QUOTE]

The cuetec python doesn't have any wood in the shaft. It is fiberglass with a graphite core. I don't think sanding the fiberglass would be a good idea. I have used q ky on it and it does help, but it sure doesn't last. I'm not going to sp[nd the money for the vortex shaft, though I think it would make the cue more playable for me. I'll stick with my McDermott, and keep the cuetec as a backup break cue.

McCue Banger McCue

 

[despotic931]

I have heard people say that they dogo to house cues when they feel their stroke is off. That is usually to require yourself to be more precise, and make you cue feel better. Maybe not in your case. Everyone has a different opinion on what they like and dislike. You may be one that really does not like the feel of a cuetec, and would choose the house cue for that reason. Maybe my statement of fitting in with the eliteist perception should not be so broad, but it does occur quite often. Mnay who have answered here have not even hit with a cuetec before. I just do not like bashing it without even trying it.

IMO house cues are much more honest, I can really feel when I don't get a solid hit. I would describe the feel of a Cuetec as "dead" or "muffled", almost like playing with gloves on. Neither cue is very forgiving, but the one peice house cue doesn't lie...

 

[rackem]

People please be careful

For what it's worth to everyone who has a problem with the Cuetec shafts not being slick enough. Just sand them as you would a normal shaft. I did this on mine and the shaft is perfectly slick and playable without gloves, powder, or liquids.

For the record I have had to condition shafts on just about every cue I have ever received to achieve the desired "slickness".

John not all fiberglass cues can or should be sanded.

 

[Flex]

just to echo what john barton said and what i've said before, just sand the cuetec shaft down!! then it's fine. if it really is such a heaping pile of turd then no-one should have a problem sanding it! and then it's quite smooth, and gives a nice solid hit.

Would sanding down the shaft void the warranty?

 

[Flex]

Anyone who would hit a house cue over a higher quality cue, even if it is a cuetec, does so because they want to fit in with the eliteist perception.

Hey, I resemble that remark about elitism!

LOL

By the way, I have an Excalibur sneaky pete (sold by Cuetec) that has an Ed Young custom shaft with a cream colored phenolic ring on it that totally gives it away, and a stack leather wrap that is probably about six inches long, and a limbsaver on the butt. It gets me some looks and quite a few questions. From whom? Players, that's whom. Especially if I make the cue ball do something unusual.

They usually don't believe me when I tell them it's a cheapie sneaky, as it looks so uncheap.

Who cares what it cost if it plays well? BTW, I bought the cue new on ebay for about $30 including shipping.

Worth every penny and about 30,000 more...

Flex

 

[Secaucus Fats]

I find it fairly unbelievable that people would really use a house cue over a cuetec.

The reason I would pick a house cue over a Cuetec is that I just can't stand the feel of a fiberglass cladded shaft. It gets sticky and that stickiness interferes with my stroke. For some people this is not a problem. Some others solve it by wearing a glove.

I don't hate Cuetecs, I think they offer a decent product at very reasonable prices and I know a few excellent players who play with a Cuetec.

I've never tried the Vortex wood over graphite core shaft so I won't offer any opinions about it. My gut feeling is that it would make a good cue for those places and times when I don't wish to use my Tucker or one of my other cues. (My current "beater" cue is a Fury sneaky pete that I bought from John Barton while in Las Vegas with my APA Team in '04. BTW John, the cue hits pretty darned good. Thanks!)

Something else that I think gets lost in these type of discussions is that there are many people who for one reason or another cannot afford or do not wish to shell out the money for a more expensive cue. A lot of times these people are younger players just or newcomers to the game, and of course there are some folks who just plain like the hit of a Cuetec, or a Players, Scorpion etc.. Why should they be made to feel bad about playing with a cue that is affordable?

It's like the folks who feel the need to bash Meucci cues. I have a 12 year old Meucci "Road Agent" (AKA City Lights). Once I was getting ready to play a guy some 8 ball for $20 a game, the guy saw my Meucci and said (laughing) to his girfriend: "Oh look he's got a Moochi he must be a real good player bwahahah". I shut him out 5-0 with two break and runs. Sweetest $100 I ever made.

Fats

 

[Flex]

Mnay who have answered here have not even hit with a cuetec before. I just do not like bashing it without even trying it.

I've used them before, but didn't like the feel. Especially didn't like the fibreglass on the shaft, even with a glove. Didn't like the quality of the hit. Could I play with one? Sure could. However, I'd take a straight house cue first... On the other hand, if I wanted a cue that would distract my opponent, one of those cuetecs with the blinking light and the noisemaker would be my choice. If it could make a whizzing sound I'd be in sharkers' heaven