Difference between hits?

[jojopiff]

If the cue doesn't either hit a ton or hit lights out it's not worth it.
I've never understood which one is better; "hits a ton" or "hits lights out".

Don't buy either one. Wait for one that "Hits a Ton of Lights Out".

Badoomchish!

 

[Dunnn51]

No disrespect to anyone, but I always thought of "feedback" from a cue not considered as "hit", because the feedback comes after you hit the cue.

Feedback from a cue (although important), gave me information on how well I hit my last shot. I can especially think of a draw shot with English.

I believe you can have a soft hit, with a lot of feedback.


This thread made me go through my cue collection. I own just one steel jointed cue, and it does have some feedback, although I think it is due to an incredible shaft & tip.

 

[dr_dave]

More hand shock would be a sharper, harder hit. Like someone else said, you can think of a tink (sharper, harder hand shock) verses a thunk (a more muted softer hand shock). Or imagine hitting a brick wall using a piece of rebar held and stroked like a cue (an extremely hard and sharp hit/hand shock), verses hitting the brick wall with a cue made of balsa wood (an extremely soft muted hand shock in comparison).

While stiffer (less flexible) shafts do often tend to have a harder (more hand shock) hit, and whippier (more flexible) shafts do often tend to have a softer (less hand shock) hit, there appear to be other factors besides just the shaft taper and flexibility that also affect how much hand shock or the type of hand shock that is felt so the two things should always be discussed separately IMO. Sometimes a hard hitting (high hand shock) cue may not have a real stiff shaft, and sometimes a more flexible/"whippier" shaft can still hit pretty hard (high hand shock) so one should never assume.

I feel the terms hard and soft and the like should always be used to describe the hand shock, and whippy and stiff and the like should always be used to describe shaft flex felt while applying english, but some people use the word "hard" when referring to shaft flex and the word "stiff" when referring to hand shock so you can never assume what they meant and it is best to just ask them.

Based on your description of your cue it sounds you would probably want to describe it as hard hitting in your opinion--it has a lot of hand shock in your opinion. You didn't give any information to be able to say what kind of shaft stiffness it has. I can say that low deflection shafts often tend to hit softer (less hand shock) than their solid counterparts (because more dense objects tend to transmit shock better) but there are certainly tons of exceptions and your shaft seems to be one of them. Denser woods also often tend to be harder hitting (more hand shock) for the same reason but again there are exceptions because other factors are also involved. I highly doubt the amount of use on a shaft makes any difference to the feel (I don't think the wood really compresses much or anything like that). I also doubt the age of the shaft makes any difference either although possibly a different moisture content over time could make a very slight difference. Older wood though, such as old growth wood tends to be denser which can result in a harder hit/more hand shock but since other factors are involved this isn't always the case here either.

I think people also often fail to give enough thought and consideration to how much difference the tip makes to how hard a cue hits (how much hand shock it has) too. Different tips can make the same cue feel anywhere from soft to hard hitting. Knowing how hard or soft a cue hits doesn't have all that much usefulness or meaning or reliability without knowing what kind of tip is on it. A cue will almost always feel softer hitting with a softer tip, and harder hitting with a harder tip so it is important to know what kind of tip was on it when considering how hard the cue really hits. If a cue with a different tip than you like has the perfect hardness of hit for you, then it will almost certainly not have the perfect hardness of hit you like once you put your preferred tip on it.

And of course we also have to keep in mind that the amount of hand shock and amount of shaft flex when applying english are things that have some subjectivity to them. What you will consider high hand shock/hard hitting the next guy will consider medium hand shock/medium hard hit and same with shaft flex etc.

Excellent post!

FYI, I've added a quote on the cue "feel," "hit," "feedback," and "playability" resource page, where more info on this topic can be found.

Good job,
Dave

 

[Skratch]

Harmonics ........................................

LOL. I feel the same way. With the old cues (construction wise), I would hold the cue vertically and bump it around the joint with my other hand, and observe the reaction at the tip. It would tell me which way the tip had more bounce and I would orientate it away from that. Normally this fell along the lines of the grain for the shaft. So, yes...LOL... Harmonics!!!!

 

[alstl]

I think it has a lot to do with taper of shaft and the type of tip on the cue.

 

[Jon Manning]

I have no idea. None. I pick up a cue and if I like it I know. I can't say why.

I'm there with you, that's why I asked the question.

 

[fastone371]

Phenolic joint
Soft tip
Predator 314-2

All soft hit...I shoot wrapless so I still feel the cueball well.

I never like steel joint hit...

The "hit" of a cue comes from the entire assembly, not just a portion of it like the joint. My old McDermott with a composite joint has more "feel" or "feedback" than my Schon with a steel joint, same tip on each.

 

[fastone371]

I have 2 cues that kinda sound like a muted driver hitting a golf ball, kind of a "ping" sound. I prefer cues that "hit" or "feel" like that. 1 cue has an Everest Tiger tip, the other is a Predator shaft with a soft Moori on it. It surprised me that the cue with the soft tip had so much feedback.
If you take the bumper off of your cue you should notice a pretty big difference in the way it feels.