Does a 'good' hit actually matter or is it all hype?
- Thread starter zpele
- Start date
I seem to remember him saying he'd had some work done on the shaft, but I think it was more a repair than a customisation.
EDIT: For the record, though, everything I've ever seen/heard about SVB indicates he has little to no interest in equipment whatsoever. Didn't he used to play with a Joss/Schon butt/shaft combo that didn't even fit together properly? I can't see him being the type to have a lot of customisation done on any cue. If he likes the hit, he'll play with it. If you pay him to, even better.
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Right and that's my point in this whole thread. Hit means nothing to how a cue performs. Over time you can get used to any cue and play at your peak level with it as long as the tip hardness and tip shape are correct for you.
I know people talk about energy transfer and all that but I'm not convinced that it really makes a difference. Us humans are good at adapting and given enough time using something it no longer matters what we play with.
There is something to be said for finding that 'holy grail' cue but in the end I have always felt it really comes down to your skill. In other words... If you don't have the money to get a crazy $5,000 cue you can play just as well using a cuetec (although I hate carbon fiber myself because they don't allow me to have a smooth stroke- they tend to stick to my fingers).
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Just throwing this out there,...
Ummmm,
Since Shane is almost deaf, wouldn't it be better to think he uses AIM & speed of Stroke to gauge how he shoots at a ball and gets shape ??
What difference does the sound of the "hit" (Whether too hard, or too soft) mean to him ?
:scratchhead::shrug:
Ummmm,
Since Shane is almost deaf, wouldn't it be better to think he uses AIM & speed of Stroke to gauge how he shoots at a ball and gets shape ??
What difference does the sound of the "hit" (Whether too hard, or too soft) mean to him ?
:scratchhead::shrug:
I don't think hit means nothing. It is simply not quantified.
And while it is personal there are cues which most people would agree hits good and other cues that most people would agree hits awful.
Specifically speaking of Cuetec. The R360 hits pretty good. They also worked on this to get it to the point where it was pleasing to the top players they used for feedback.
And I think this is really where hit comes from. It is the feedback between the maker and the player tweaked over time. At some point the maker is satisfied that they are building a cue that is acceptable to most who try it.
And a bad hitting cue comes out when this loop is broken. When a cue maker operates with no care as to how players feel when using the cue then it is most likely that only a minority of players would like it. (Exceptions for Cuemakers who are also good to very good player and who rely on their own feedback)
Take a maker of KMart special cues...that maker doesn't care at all about how the player likes his cue. And the cues he makes are in spec according to the rules but no serious player would ever try to play serious pool with one.
So "hit" while personal, is very real.
I tend to agree, although I think how a cue feels personally can make a big difference. One cue may not "hit" better or worse than any other (to an extent), but feeling comfortable with the cue you're using can be a massive part of your game. Like you say, though, a lot of that just comes with time.
Stephen Hendry (for my money the greatest cueist we have ever seen) won his seven world titles with a £40 cue his parents gave him as a child. Forty pounds!
Folks seem to be getting cost and quality mixed up. Shane's cue is not junk. Just because it's a Cuetec doesn't mean it's trash. Indeed it hits pretty darn good, IMO. The cue's hit is a culmination of the components used, materials chosen. It's very tough to beat a Dufferin house cue made with Patagonian rosewood spliced into a dense piece of maple, with melamine ferrule. This is the way they came from factory & they "hit" as good as any cue ever. The issue was that they were made a lil sloppy and very fast, so many had warp issues & huge glue gaps & such. If you don't care what a cue looks like, get a Dufferin turned sneaky.
Ron Swanson
Banned
Is a fan idly speculating over equipment used by pro sportsman 'defamation'? Is it likely to 'cost Shane his sponsorship'?
cuetec has always had a nice hit, even the fiberglass shafts were nice feeling, the only problem was if there was any hint of condensation, humidity or the slightest of moisture in your hand the shaft would grip it. I say this with confidence because the greatest 9 ball player, greatest female player and the greatest 10 ball player were and still are able to win with it. now, find talented players that stopped winning big tourneys when they got sponsored by other cue companies.
You mean a cue maker who throws out an accusation that a pro is not using the cue they are contracted to use?
Yeah, it could cost the pro his sponsorship or severely damage trust.
I would be really pissed if I paid a pro a lot of money and some other case maker came on a public forum saying that the pro doesn't even use my case. At the very least I would want to check it out.
But you're right on some level...it isn't very likely that the statement by some no name with no influence in the business will affect the pro. Just hot air by some one who doesn't know as much as he pretends to.
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I'm not hyping his cues but I play with an Osage orange Woodworth for the reason you state in your first point. I can move the cue ball with minimum effort. I can't explain the science behind it but I know how the cue plays. I still have the old SL series Schon I used to play with but it seldom leaves the cue case.
For me, I hear the sound but only really notice it if it is a sound I don't expect, as in a mishit. I'm focused on (1) whether the object ball goes where I intend it to and (2) whether the cue ball reacts the way I want it to. I've seen Earl explain why he uses the tennis wrap and he said he doesn't want to feel the cue. Not comparing my game to Earl but I agree. If I'm focusing on sound and feel that is a distraction from the primary reason I am at the table which is to make the object ball go where I intend and control the cue ball.
Hype?
Cue makers will probably say yes. As will aftermarket shaft makers and tip makers.
They all have one thing in common. They have a product to sell.
The best hitting cue in the world will not help you if your fundamentals are not good.
Cue makers will probably say yes. As will aftermarket shaft makers and tip makers.
They all have one thing in common. They have a product to sell.
The best hitting cue in the world will not help you if your fundamentals are not good.
a player can adapt within a range
Having tried many extremes I can say a player can adapt within a range of how a cue plays. Playing with brooms and mops for cash both players improved substantially as the evening progressed. It is possible to get a slight amount of draw with a light broom and chalk on the rounded end, even with a mudball. Not what I'd like to put against a cue stick in even marginally competent hands though.
Inquiring minds want to know so I turned a shaft with zero taper, the way many players think a pro section is made, for sixteen inches. The shaft flexed by far the most right before the conical taper started, behind my bridge. This was the foulest playing cue I can remember not excluding cracked cues and house cues with loose weights. At the end of the test session everyone in the pool hall turned to the sound of that shaft snapping over my knee.
Most people will never find the best cue or shaft for them because they will never step out of their comfort zone and will seek the most comfortable cue to play with. It may not be the best for them. Even some instructors say let the cue's weight do the work. A whole new world opens up when you start letting your muscles do the work instead.
I am far from a carpenter but I have done a fair amount of carpentry from framing to finish work. I once thought a carpenter with three or four claw hammers was silly. I found just the opposite was true when I started hammering nails myself. A bag full of cues like a golfer would be silly but I could see having a nine and ten ball cue and another cue for straight pool and one pocket. Come to think about it, I do carry two cues and usually swap from heavy wrapped for rotation games to light unwrapped for one pocket.
Hu
Having tried many extremes I can say a player can adapt within a range of how a cue plays. Playing with brooms and mops for cash both players improved substantially as the evening progressed. It is possible to get a slight amount of draw with a light broom and chalk on the rounded end, even with a mudball. Not what I'd like to put against a cue stick in even marginally competent hands though.
Inquiring minds want to know so I turned a shaft with zero taper, the way many players think a pro section is made, for sixteen inches. The shaft flexed by far the most right before the conical taper started, behind my bridge. This was the foulest playing cue I can remember not excluding cracked cues and house cues with loose weights. At the end of the test session everyone in the pool hall turned to the sound of that shaft snapping over my knee.
Most people will never find the best cue or shaft for them because they will never step out of their comfort zone and will seek the most comfortable cue to play with. It may not be the best for them. Even some instructors say let the cue's weight do the work. A whole new world opens up when you start letting your muscles do the work instead.
I am far from a carpenter but I have done a fair amount of carpentry from framing to finish work. I once thought a carpenter with three or four claw hammers was silly. I found just the opposite was true when I started hammering nails myself. A bag full of cues like a golfer would be silly but I could see having a nine and ten ball cue and another cue for straight pool and one pocket. Come to think about it, I do carry two cues and usually swap from heavy wrapped for rotation games to light unwrapped for one pocket.
Hu
Yep, but I need a good tip. All my cues are different, but they have the same tip. yeah, I play exactly the same with all my cues. What's the difference? Well, when my mechanics fail me now and again, or I jump up on a tough shot once in awhile. My cues never fail me, not my beat up Schmelke, nor my Willie Hoppe Pro Model. If it did, wouldn't I bring my "best" cue to tournaments?
Heck, the only time I might pick a different cue as my cues all have a different wrap.... leather, linen and wrapless. so, yeah, in the middle of summer, I like linen
My experience with expensive custom cues isnt vast but ive played with benders(my favorite hitting cue for feel) Coker, Runde,Dishaw but in the end its performance for me. Im not crazy bout the hit but im quite satisfied w the results of my p2. Thats it