European (conical taper) vs Pro Taper (straight taper)

I think tapers and playability will depend on the day and the runout
for the average player.Its sort of like the weight of a cue.I used to play
at a decent speed way back and find now that some days I shoot like a king
with a 18 ounce cue and the next week I'll feel stronger and play like crap
with it and shoot like a champ with a 20 ounce cue.
I feel its the same with tapers, if your dialed in your dialed in and depending
on the layout of the table one taper might do you more justice for
that run out alone.
 
Love this thread! I particularly like Kilby's comments but there are many good ones on here. I prefer a pro taper because at times I use a closed bridge. I don't have any particular words of wisdom beyond the simplicity, yet effective posts made by Kilby. I use an open bridge more than a closed, where I feel the conical taper wouldn't be as much of an issue, but I still use a closed bridge at times and I feel 'loosening' it to accommodate the conical taper to reduce any chance of moving the tip off center is counter-productive because I'm practical enough to know I don't have a professional stroke. If I did, I wouldn't be using the closed bridge on occasion in the first place. If I were a pro, and trusted my stroke enough to use an open bridge exclusively, then I would probably use a conical taper. That's a big 'If' though. It's interesting though, because the whole line of reasoning seems to flip at some point where the taper is more important than the tip diameter for LD purposes, or is it? Again, I love this thread!
 
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ChopStick said:
That is exactly what happened to me last week which is why I am searching the forum for information about it. It was absolutely astounding. Way more accurate both in perception and reality.
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I have same exact situation yesterday, i pulled my snooker cue and shot pool with it, and i fell in love with a 9 mm tip, and the chamfer of the end of the butt. I almost did not miss a ball in it. I tried other cues with larger tips, not as good. It led me to same question is it the taper, the small dia shaft, tip, could it be because it is really smooth shaft??

After hours of shooting, my thinking is the small tip allowed more precise tip contact as i needed, so i tried the other pool shaft, and made sure tip contact point is exact, the difference started disappearing, but still favor the snooker shaft hit !

Other things came to mind is the type of wood the snooker cue i have made of, had multiple straight dark grains lines on the shaft, runs from the joint all the way to the tip, it seems to give good directional aim and can see shaft if straight or not during warm up
 
JoeyA said:
Can a straight taper (pro taper) or a European taper (conical taper) have a different effect on the player's ability to shoot the cue ball (even a small amount), straighter?

Can a straight taper or a conical taper allow a player to put more or less English on the cue ball, (even a small amount).

If so, how?

Thanks,
JoeyA
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I have been testing three cues i have, two are tapered and one has conical taper. I changed my grip style from loose, to medium to hard grip during the test, I find out when i use a very loose grip hand (loose wrist) all the way from pre-shot routine, to back swing, to final striking the CB and follow through, the conical taper made the back swing extremely effortless it is like sliding down hill (from the thick part to small part) certainly made the stroke straighter, did not feel the tug during the back swing like the taper cues , or when your hand is a bit moist. With medium and hard grip all cues felt the same at the back swing. My two cents.
 
naji said:
I have been testing three cues i have, two are tapered and one has conical taper. I changed my grip style from loose, to medium to hard grip during the test, I find out when i use a very loose grip hand (loose wrist) all the way from pre-shot routine, to back swing, to final striking the CB and follow through, the conical taper made the back swing extremely effortless it is like sliding down hill (from the thick part to small part) certainly made the stroke straighter, did not feel the tug during the back swing like the taper cues , or when your hand is a bit moist. With medium and hard grip all cues felt the same at the back swing. My two cents.
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That sounds like a logical conclusion for the conical taper but you have to be very sensitive to the nuances to perceive that. Two thumbs up. This doesn't mean that you are more accurate with a conical taper, just that you "feel" it is easier to swing, (which might make you more accurate).

You don't say if you are using an open bridge or closed bridge with the test above, or did I miss that?

JoeyA
 
JoeyA said:
That sounds like a logical conclusion for the conical taper but you have to be very sensitive to the nuances to perceive that. Two thumbs up. This doesn't mean that you are more accurate with a conical taper, just that you "feel" it is easier to swing, (which might make you more accurate).

You don't say if you are using an open bridge or closed bridge with the test above, or did I miss that?

JoeyA
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Used both open and closed same conclusion when using light grip. Which brings the reason for pros wanting to have very smooth shaft and the religious use of talcum powder for most Poinys mainly because of the light grip style they use, unlike some american pros who use medium grip..
 
My guess is us humans can adapt to most things over a period of regular use. I guess I use a extended pro taper as I have my shafts turned to the same diameter for the first 18 inches.
 
Ak Guy said:
My guess is us humans can adapt to most things over a period of regular use. I guess I use a extended pro taper as I have my shafts turned to the same diameter for the first 18 inches.
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Spice is the variety of life!

JoeyA
 
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