Ethics of using pre-made parts?
- Thread starter Tommy-D
- Start date
I met Willee, on Sunday and he is A-OK in my book. He only stopped for a short time, but it was very enjoyable. He had a lot of other people to see along the way. I hope, that the next time he is in my neighborhood, that we can get a little more visiting time.WilleeCue said:
Also, he had some really awesome cues with him. I wish I had a lot more money, as he got away with one I really liked, a lot!
Oh by the way, I did get a Willee for my wife, she has a fetish for plain jane maple cues.
It was real nice, meeting you, Willee! I hope to see you again soon.
Tracy
To me custom can mean several things:
1) Custom as opposed to production or a standard way of mass producing a cue... meaning what is normally in a particular market. In my case what is abundant here are pampanga cues, Fats Cues, other local production cues, imported production cues. So a guy has his production cue custom made to differentiate it, in terms of design and/or playability (weight, balance, shaft, ferrule)... in short a customized production cue
2) Custom to mean tailor fit to fit a particular player's stroke, weight, balance, shaft and hit preference (new cue from scratch). Design is secondary here... but then we get into the issue of design influence or theft (but much has already been said about that)
3) Original design as the prime consideration is also a custom designed cue (Artistic cues). In this case, balance weight , structure, playability fall to second priority as they may be sacrified for aesthertics.
4) Custom to mean... original design and adopted to technical specs the buyer wants ( can mean only one or both aspects)
Now the ethical question... using pre-made parts? Can he call it his cue?
I say its a question of the "composition" of the cue. Its originality. So you get conversions etc. But Individual makers also have their look, structure and playability "trademarks." I think if the maker has at least 50% of them, the cue is still his
Assuming tha above statement is accepted, the maker can adjust to the buyers preferences so long as he explains his philosophy, the technical issues involved and his preference. Then let the buyer decide.
1) Custom as opposed to production or a standard way of mass producing a cue... meaning what is normally in a particular market. In my case what is abundant here are pampanga cues, Fats Cues, other local production cues, imported production cues. So a guy has his production cue custom made to differentiate it, in terms of design and/or playability (weight, balance, shaft, ferrule)... in short a customized production cue
2) Custom to mean tailor fit to fit a particular player's stroke, weight, balance, shaft and hit preference (new cue from scratch). Design is secondary here... but then we get into the issue of design influence or theft (but much has already been said about that)
3) Original design as the prime consideration is also a custom designed cue (Artistic cues). In this case, balance weight , structure, playability fall to second priority as they may be sacrified for aesthertics.
4) Custom to mean... original design and adopted to technical specs the buyer wants ( can mean only one or both aspects)
Now the ethical question... using pre-made parts? Can he call it his cue?
I say its a question of the "composition" of the cue. Its originality. So you get conversions etc. But Individual makers also have their look, structure and playability "trademarks." I think if the maker has at least 50% of them, the cue is still his
Assuming tha above statement is accepted, the maker can adjust to the buyers preferences so long as he explains his philosophy, the technical issues involved and his preference. Then let the buyer decide.
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monski said:
All said & done, if you found a Q that was like magic in your hands, would you CARE if the Q maker called his Qs "CUSTOM"? I'm thinking if the price is right & you loved the Q .......You'ld buy it....JER
------------------BLACKHEARTCUES said:
I agree 100%.
Don't care how it will look so long as I love how it plays. I will play, I will pay.
That's what happened to me when a pro brought me a knock off. I tried, weighed and measured it. It was a cue that passed my criteria for play. I paid on the same night. That's my thing for the cues I use for play. That's why I'm very specific when I give my orders to makers re: the weight, balance, tip and ferrule specs, shaft and butt stiffness.
For the cues I envision for collection, I don't care how they play so long as they are aesthetically good for me with the best materials. Its a collectible for me but only as a second priority. Now, if the maker can make them weigh, balance and stiff the way I want it, it will be a definite "Go".
Now original Bushkas, Gus and like cues are different... but i don;t know if I can ever afford to buy those cues.
Regards