Yea I have a trade pending on one I shot with a buddys the other night and fell in love with it
Did anyones game get better after getting a predator?
- Thread starter RunEm
- Start date
Yea I have a trade pending on one I shot with a buddys the other night and fell in love with it
So you're saying inexperienced players who don't understand the difference between the shafts, have no complaints about the predator's draw?
OK, but that's not the same thing as a professional saying "I draw twice as far with the predator as my old cue." And it's also not the same as a simple scientific test showing the CB draws X meters further.
Used both for years, and as with everything else... it's the indian. As you said, you have to cue well enough to know the difference.
After the placebo effect pasts, I can say, with a 314/2 shaft I can draw the cue ball better. In rest I don't see many differences. Per total, my game improve 5% after I start playing with a Predator LD shaft.
IMO, I would make sure that the butt of your cue that you are putting the predator shaft on has a full threaded pin. I first used a Z shaft about 10 years ago on a UNI-Lock butt and it was a horrible experience. For some reason, with a UNI-Lock pin, I could not feel the shot. I shoot with a cue that has a radial pin now and it feels great. Just though I would share that.
Creedo,
That's a real mouthful!
Read all the comments. Guess I'll have to quit the game. My poor twenty year old Schon butt and shaft are just not up to the new standard. Not going to change how I aim. Not going to change the three year old tip on my playing shaft or the four year old tip on the Schon I use to break with.
The Thaiger states a Predator "most certainly can draw easier than most shafts". Wonder if that is true if the same tip is not used on all the shafts. Sure would pay to see a Pred with a G 10 tip draw a ball as well as a Pred with a soft Elk Master. Same stroke applied of course. Ain't going to happen!
Lyn
That's a real mouthful!
Read all the comments. Guess I'll have to quit the game. My poor twenty year old Schon butt and shaft are just not up to the new standard. Not going to change how I aim. Not going to change the three year old tip on my playing shaft or the four year old tip on the Schon I use to break with.
The Thaiger states a Predator "most certainly can draw easier than most shafts". Wonder if that is true if the same tip is not used on all the shafts. Sure would pay to see a Pred with a G 10 tip draw a ball as well as a Pred with a soft Elk Master. Same stroke applied of course. Ain't going to happen!
Lyn
Hmm I hope that's not the case lol I'm trading for a wood too wood unilock
TheThaiger
Banned
No, I'm saying *in my experience* players say they can draw a ball easier with a Predator. Inexperienced players need not apply on either shaft.
I'm all over the idea LD shafts don't help you draw better than a standard shaft, but Predators do - at least IME.
What irks me is this 'all tips/shafts/cues etc all play exactly the same' line of reasoning, which is plainly horseshit. Anyone who's taken a bath as often as I have on ebay's finest and cheapest cues (mainly cheapest) knows this to be true.
Im sure it will be ok. That was just my experience and it was when I didnt even understand deflection. If you are already playing with one, you should be good.
TheThaiger
Banned
Who is it that plays with a BK2? He'll know the answer to your question. Anyway, timing is all when it comes to draw, and that cannot be replicated in tests.
Predators excel in championship conditions, where you need to generate maximum spin with minimum effort, on lightning fast cloths & shiny balls. It's not necessarily about being able to generate 20 ft of draw on a power shot.
I got worse, hated the thing. I noticed a big improvemrnt when I got rid of it.
I feel like it improved my game a whole ball at least especially on valley bar tables with slow cloth.
I can put more english on the ball and I can shoot really long shots with side spin effectively.
I can put more english on the ball and I can shoot really long shots with side spin effectively.
That sounds good lol some of the feed back is scaring me lol
I have played with highend custom cues for a number of years (southwest mostly, cogs etc) but I found that although the feel and hit of these cues are great I don't play as well as I do with a predator 314-2. I play with a $350 predator sport cue with a 314-2 shaft while my southwest six pointer sits in the case (been in the case for over a year).
While I find that the hit of custom cues is MUCH better than the predator I find that I play at least 15% better with the predator 314-2 especially in the scenarios I laid out above.
Also, I like the consistency. I can pick up a 314 that belongs to somebody else and it plays basically the same whereas with non-LD cues I always found it harder to adjust.
I was an LD hater for a long time. I just had to bite the bullet and switch. A lot of top players use LD shafts as well as normal shafts.
While I find that the hit of custom cues is MUCH better than the predator I find that I play at least 15% better with the predator 314-2 especially in the scenarios I laid out above.
Also, I like the consistency. I can pick up a 314 that belongs to somebody else and it plays basically the same whereas with non-LD cues I always found it harder to adjust.
I was an LD hater for a long time. I just had to bite the bullet and switch. A lot of top players use LD shafts as well as normal shafts.
I dont know about all predators, but a Z-2 does allow me to draw a little easier. I think its the smaller shaft which allows the cue to hit a touch lower on the cue ball. To me, that alone is more important to me than L/D aspects(but that helps too). I'd say it helped my game a bit, but nothing measurable.
Im the same as Kasper, cant stand the feel or lack of feel from a uni-loc joint of any kind with a predator shaft. I like a predator shaft and have used one for years. Would not change away from it. I have a good stroke so english was never a factor and imo a meucci pre dot shaft will juice a ball better than almost any shaft, ld or regular.
I'm not so sure about players at a more advanced level.
I agree with most of these points. Without the ability to "work" the cue ball it's more difficult to create the necessary "zones". I was told by another top ranked pro to expect a month of solid playing to make a change to a LD shaft. I think it's great for beginners, like in golf, it cuts down on your "misses," however, I'm not so sure about players at a more advanced level.
I agree with most of these points. Without the ability to "work" the cue ball it's more difficult to create the necessary "zones". I was told by another top ranked pro to expect a month of solid playing to make a change to a LD shaft. I think it's great for beginners, like in golf, it cuts down on your "misses," however, I'm not so sure about players at a more advanced level.
I've been playing for 52 years with regular shafts and I have learned to pocket balls pretty good and I am unwilling to learn all over again with an LD shaft.Anyway they are insanely over priced in my opinion.
And before the LD crowd jumps me I am also a cheap skate.
A few of us watched some live stream action last night between Kurt England and Kevin... the name escapes me. Anyway, Kevin hit a gear and won the money. We asked about the sneaky he was using and he said that it belonged to a friend of his. He said it was some no-name piece of junk, probably a Players, lol. I don't think he would have had a reason to lie about it. It's not like we were getting hustled. It's the archer, but he did say that he could tell it was a "junk" cue because of the shaft.