can anybody please tell me the difference of the original bushkas compared to the new adam-made ones? how close did the new ones play to the real ones. many people in our country did not take these cues serious or love even about people who own one.
difference in balabushka cues
- Thread starter undertaker
- Start date
not love, laugh or tell them its now good cue.
please share your experience with these cues with me.
thanks
please share your experience with these cues with me.
thanks
In my experience, there is no comparison. The real ones that I played with felt like they were all one piece, as any good two-piece cue should. The Adam cues just don't feel the same, nor look the same as any I've seen.
Sorry I can't be of more help.
Go get an old one and I'll let you trade it in for a new one - kinda like what the auto companies do - I'll give you a great deal.
I'll give you the same deal.
There is always an opinion about a cue stick and how it plays and what it can do for you but I always said as long as there's a good tip on any cue its not the cue that makes the shooter its the shooter that makes the cue. I know a guy who shot with a coke a cola stick ( raminwood shaft) and was beating everyone for $$$$$$ just to prove the point.
Ron
Ron
From a construction standpoint, there is pretty much no difference in the cues from George vs the Adam Cue Company. Richard Helmstetter knows a thing or two about cues himself. George didn't even make his own blanks, so I guess Richard actually adds a step to the cue that George didn't. People on here are going to tell you that the original Balabushka is much better quality than the new version - that is a bunch of hooey. The cues made under the Adam company are every bit as good as the cues George made. George, however, is a cuemaking legend, being one of the first to enter the game. His cues are highly sought after and collectible. If you're buying one just to knock round balls into holes, the $12k original Balabushka will do the same job as the GB-2 from Adam/Helmstetter. You could just buy one for every day of the week, and still have money left over for a CAR.
Okay then! The deal is TWO OLD BUSHKAS for a BRAND SPANKIN NEW ONE!
Undertaker,
As Shawn pointed out, George Balabushka didn't make his own blanks. He originally used Brunswick Titlists as the basis of his cues. I read somewhere that he used to go V. Loria and Sons on the lower east side in New York and hand picked through their inventory. A Brunswick Titlist is basically fancy one piece full spliced cue. The fancy part is the alternating veneers of wood trim on each of the 4 points. They were common house cues. To maintain quality, he later switched suppliers from Brunswick to Gus Szamboti and Burton Spain.
As Shawn pointed out, George Balabushka didn't make his own blanks. He originally used Brunswick Titlists as the basis of his cues. I read somewhere that he used to go V. Loria and Sons on the lower east side in New York and hand picked through their inventory. A Brunswick Titlist is basically fancy one piece full spliced cue. The fancy part is the alternating veneers of wood trim on each of the 4 points. They were common house cues. To maintain quality, he later switched suppliers from Brunswick to Gus Szamboti and Burton Spain.
Everytime somebody wants to know about equipment someone will point out it is not the cue but the shooter. While that is clear and good player will play well even with a broom there is such thing as an enjoyment and a good cue can give it to you. Unless, of course one has spent their entire life shooting with a broom and doesn't know any better.
George Balabushka's cues were not sold because they were well made, though they were for that time period. They didn't sell because they were pretty, though I've seen some great looking ones. He made them, he sold them they were sold to players.
Adam Balabushka replicas may be better made. Probably. There have been many hundreds of them made. They are still available. They do not cost a lot of money. They are a production made cue, certainly not in the class of Joss or Schon, in my opinion. The ones I've seen/played with were not all that great, by any means.
George's cues sold because of their playability. Bottom line. That they have become extremely valuable and collectible is beside the point. I played with one for an hour or two while the owner played with, get this, my Southwest. The feel of that 'Bushka was unlike anything I had played with at that time, at least with a steel joint.
Some people are just born scoffers.
Adam Balabushka replicas may be better made. Probably. There have been many hundreds of them made. They are still available. They do not cost a lot of money. They are a production made cue, certainly not in the class of Joss or Schon, in my opinion. The ones I've seen/played with were not all that great, by any means.
George's cues sold because of their playability. Bottom line. That they have become extremely valuable and collectible is beside the point. I played with one for an hour or two while the owner played with, get this, my Southwest. The feel of that 'Bushka was unlike anything I had played with at that time, at least with a steel joint.
Some people are just born scoffers.
Think of the original bushkas as an Aston Martin. And the newer ones as a radio flyer wagon with an Aston Martin name.