Custom Equipment Cue Poll for Players of all Skill Levels

Describe your skill level and your choice of cue

  • Beginner playing with a stock production cue.

    Votes: 7 2.3%
  • Beginner playing with a production cue with a modified or aftermarket shaft.

    Votes: 3 1.0%
  • Beginner playing with a custom cue.

    Votes: 5 1.6%
  • Intermediate playing with a stock production cue.

    Votes: 24 7.8%
  • Intermediate playing with a production cue with a modified or aftermarket shaft.

    Votes: 38 12.3%
  • Intermediate playing with a custom cue.

    Votes: 111 36.0%
  • Advanced playing with a stock production cue.

    Votes: 19 6.2%
  • Advanced playing with a production cue with a modified or aftermarket shaft.

    Votes: 23 7.5%
  • Advanced playing with a custom cue.

    Votes: 78 25.3%

  • Total voters
    308
Now......I have been playing with a Sugartree cue...might make a change to an old Joss West though. Have to give it a few more test runs before i decide.

I hope you miss balls with it and sell it to me.

Actually I want it for a friend of mine who owns it's "sister" cue - a maple on maple with double green veneers, same time period.

Chris
 
I play with an old R7 with inlay option. It's hardly a custom because it has inlays. Its modified aspect is a leather wrap because the linen was a tad to slick. Years ago I had Schon make me two 13.25 shafts. They are on the stiff side but over the years worn down to about 13mm. I doubt any custom will play better this cue so I'm not changing. If I could change anything I'd want about an extra .020 increase in the handle diameter. If I could have ordered that way then I'd consider it a custom.

Rod
 
Well...since the poll didn't allow for multiple choices...my response may skew the results...LoL!

I currently own 3 cues...with another on the way. Of those 3 cues, all 3 are wrapless full splices. I play with all of them fairly regularly, and with a degree of consistency between all 3. Two are customs, one is a an old Helmstetter 86-06. I could not imagine having to part with any of them...I feel comfortable with them all. Let's see what happens once the new one is completed and thrown into the mix.

The best playing cues are the ones you always reach for.

Lisa
 
No shame in that and thank you for your honesty.

I figured some of the expert players may not have expensive cues because theydon't want to spend the money on them.

I had my Ginacue stolen in 1984 (in the trunk of my car that was stolen) so I wanted to replace it and didn't want to spend much, so I bought a new Adam cue for $100. It was a great cue and everybody who tried it loved it. I used that cue for 20 years!

What I didn't know then was those old Adam cues were full splice, real rosewood (which is now banned and rare), and truthfully play better than 90% of today's cues. That's no kidding, they were pure and different from today's cookie cutter cues.

Chris

Chris, I still have two of the very early Adams cues and use them. I have a Tex cue, two Lee Peppers. I play the Tex the most, I bought it second hand. One of the LP's I had made for me, it is 60 inches, love it. I'm an advanced player, played with house cues for the first 25 years of my play... I've been playing for over 40 years..........
 
My favorite player is a McDermott BL03 (Breedlove Guardian Spirit shown in my avatar) with a McDermott I 2 shaft. Early on I put a good ding in the shaft and McD turned it down to get it out. It's about 12.5mm now, and plays better than it did originally.

I've also got a 1 of 3 McD custom, made with 20 yr old D seried parts with a 12.5 mm and an Everest tip. I really like this cue, and would probably like it a whole lot more if it had a linen wrap as aoopsed to the leather. Out of all the leather wraps I've felt this one has the best texture.

My back up is a McD Phoenix with a matched I 2 shaft.

I break with an original Jerico Stinger.

My best on hopkins skill challenge is a 624 on a 7' diamond pro/am so I would consider myself an intermediate player. Thanks to this place I know more than I can do.

:cool:
 
No "custom cue with ld shaft" option? That's what I would click. :)

That's what I use too - these polls are pretty limited.

By the way, if you tell your custom cue guy you put an LD shaft on his cue, it's like telling a French chef you replaced his wine reduction sauce with Knorr gravy mix. :smile:

On another note, we need more beginners to respond.

Chris
 
Would APA 4 at 8-ball be a beginner or intermediate? I've got one break&run patch so far in my first session playing APA. How do we define a beginner? Someone who knows the rules and who can hit the object ball most of the time?
 
Would APA 4 at 8-ball be a beginner or intermediate? I've got one break&run patch so far in my first session playing APA. How do we define a beginner? Someone who knows the rules and who can hit the object ball most of the time?

If this is your first session of apa and you just started shooting, you are a beginner.

:cool:
 
Would APA 4 at 8-ball be a beginner or intermediate? I've got one break&run patch so far in my first session playing APA. How do we define a beginner? Someone who knows the rules and who can hit the object ball most of the time?

I probably chose the wording poorly, but my intention was to try to include everybody. There are obviously very few beginners here.

I'm not familar with APA ratings, but this seems to be mid level for them - so I would say you are intermediate. I imagine you've been playing pool for awhile.

Chris
 
This is really eye opening to me. The numbers are starting to draw a picture - and frankly, it doesn't really support my thinking.

Chris
 
I'm a intermediate player. The cue that I play with now is a McDermott LE. I've had a few schons, a Meucci, a Joss and a few McDermotts and one custom. And I agree with Nick. It's what you get use to.


If you would like to see my cue just click on McDermott LE in my signature.

shane
 
Chris, one thing I noticed at a recent BCA western 8 ball championships tourney in Lincoln City, Oregon. Within this tourney was a seperate invitational called "grand masters challenge". The top level Pacific Northwest players were in this round robin invitational. Glenn Atwell, Rich Geiler, Matt Horner, Dan Louie, Todd Marsh, Eddie Mataya, Don Wirtaman, & Bob Zack. Any of these guys would demand respect in any hall in the country!

Their cues? They may have been customs, but for the most part they were very plain Jane cues..

To see fancier cues, I had to go to the lower division matches. That's where I spotted the really expen$ive wood.

My conclusion? High talent players buy low profile cues, but cues that work for them. It's we lower talent guys who make the cash registers ring because we search for that magic arrow while knowing deep inside there really is no such thing.

Of course, there are exceptions to any rule of thumb...
 
Tate,

What constitutes a "custom cue" ? I have a Joss custom cue that I bought directly from Joss. It wasn't made for me and I didn't dictate anything besides the shaft size and tip. Its not a production cue but I'm sure its made to the same standards as a production.

Also- Lets use your JossWest as an example. Lets assume you bought it new and had it custom made from butt to tip with all of your requirements. 20 years later you sell it to me-It wasn't custom made for me-is it still considered a custom cue? Doesn't the custom "label" also or more define the relationship with who it was specifically made for?

No disrespect intended. This is a great thread and I'm curious as to what your views are.

Thanks
 
Chris, one thing I noticed at a recent BCA western 8 ball championships tourney in Lincoln City, Oregon. Within this tourney was a seperate invitational called "grand masters challenge". The top level Pacific Northwest players were in this round robin invitational. Glenn Atwell, Rich Geiler, Matt Horner, Dan Louie, Todd Marsh, Eddie Mataya, Don Wirtaman, & Bob Zack. Any of these guys would demand respect in any hall in the country!

Their cues? They may have been customs, but for the most part they were very plain Jane cues..

To see fancier cues, I had to go to the lower division matches. That's where I spotted the really expen$ive wood.

My conclusion? High talent players buy low profile cues, but cues that work for them. It's we lower talent guys who make the cash registers ring because we search for that magic arrow while knowing deep inside there really is no such thing.

Of course, there are exceptions to any rule of thumb...

Yeah, we're going to need some help drawing a conclusion here.

Chris
 
Tate,

What constitutes a "custom cue" ? I have a Joss custom cue that I bought directly from Joss. It wasn't made for me and I didn't dictate anything besides the shaft size and tip. Its not a production cue but I'm sure its made to the same standards as a production.

Also- Lets use your JossWest as an example. Lets assume you bought it new and had it custom made from butt to tip with all of your requirements. 20 years later you sell it to me-It wasn't custom made for me-is it still considered a custom cue? Doesn't the custom "label" also or more define the relationship with who it was specifically made for?

No disrespect intended. This is a great thread and I'm curious as to what your views are.

Thanks

Yes, I consider your Joss and my JW custom cues. The interpretation can be difficult. The basic for me is if a cue was made to order (even if it wasn't your order) or sold in very limited quantities by a recognized custom cue maker. So, some Joss and Schons definitely are custom cues.

But the interpretation is totally subjective. Evan Clarke probably would not consider Schons a production cue. He makes them himself and sells them through dealers and by order. However, most Joss and Schons are mostly not made to order. They are produced and sold via many dealers in a catalog style in quanity orders.

Then you have Tad's which are custom ordered, but some are produced and sold via one dealer in limited quantity. So I consider Tad custom* but most Schons and Joss would fall into production. Dale Perry's actually fit the custom bill.

So - fair question and in some cases there are no good answers.

Chris

* I also consider all Tad's custom because I would be stoned to death if I didn't.:smile:
 
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Would APA 4 at 8-ball be a beginner or intermediate? I've got one break&run patch so far in my first session playing APA. How do we define a beginner? Someone who knows the rules and who can hit the object ball most of the time?

I'm an APA SL4, two session, and definetely a beginner.

I have a production cue, Excalibur believe it or not. At least it's straight! It was given to me as a gift by a friend who wanted me to start playing, and to have something better than a house cue. It's all I know, so I have no basis for comparison.

I'll eventually upgrade, as I'm completely hooked on this stuff now. But whether it will be a custom or a higher-end production cue will be determined by the deal at the time. It won't be a high-price tag cue, of that I'm certain. At least not this next time. Down the road, who knows?
 
I'm an APA SL4, two session, and definetely a beginner.

I have a production cue, Excalibur believe it or not. At least it's straight! It was given to me as a gift by a friend who wanted me to start playing, and to have something better than a house cue. It's all I know, so I have no basis for comparison.

I'll eventually upgrade, as I'm completely hooked on this stuff now. But whether it will be a custom or a higher-end production cue will be determined by the deal at the time. It won't be a high-price tag cue, of that I'm certain. At least not this next time. Down the road, who knows?

Thanks for the information - I wasn't sure how the APA system rating system works.

Chris
 
This is really eye opening to me. The numbers are starting to draw a picture - and frankly, it doesn't really support my thinking.

Chris


I've seen a few polls on here that incorporate items that require the individual vote on what they think their own skill level is. It's no surprise there's a disproportionate number of "advanced" players. LOL.

In the real world, it's more of a bell curve. With advanced players being a small percentage of the pool playing world.

Thank God for these self-proclaimed advanced players, otherwise there wouldn't be any easy money.
 
Thanks for the information - I wasn't sure how the APA system rating system works.

Chris

About 65% of the male playersin the APA are SL4. Guys start at a base line of 4 and can only go as low as a 3 in 8 ball. With handicaps between 3-7 an SL5 is the middle handicap.

I base my personal assessment on Hopkins Q Skill where my high score is a 624 and my average is about 550 which puts me in the high end of the intermediate rating (300-600 pts) and the low end of the advanced rating(601-900 pts) so I am an intermediate player.

:cool:
 
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