Don't do it! It's a sickness!
Relax, and enjoy it. You'll hate it soon enough. :wink:
For those that play with custom cues
- Thread starter DelawareDogs
- Start date
Don't do it! It's a sickness!
Relax, and enjoy it. You'll hate it soon enough. :wink:
Unless someone has played a lot of pool, with a lot of different equipment, they are not going to know "their specs". I see tons of people seeing a good player and then ordering "I'll have what he has".
I used to work in a pool hall for years and I used to "make" my own cues out of house cues. I didn't cut them in half, but I would find whatever cue I wanted and then "customize" it by manually re-tapering it to whatever mm I preferred, changing the tip, ferrule, etc. until I liked they way it felt TO ME. I did this on cues from as light at 12 oz, all the way up to 22 oz.
Every time I made one to my liking, I'd stash it behind the bar so nobody would use it. Next thing I know, everybody would be fishing my cue out from behind the bar to play with it, thinking there was something "magical" about it. It didn't matter how many cues were available, they seemed to always think "mine" played better than the rest.
There is no way in hell that my cue fit everyone's preferences the best. It was a "placebo". They thought it played better because I usually played better than them and they knew it had to be the "cue".
Anybody can get used to ANY cue, if they play with it long enough. I still use cues with my "preferences", but I have played for over 50 years and I know what I feel comfortable with.
I was shooting with my customized Titlist conversion last week and was using a Predator FAT 314-2 shaft with a brand new G-2 tip on it. I had just got the shaft back that day, with the new tip, and the tip flew off a couple hours into playing. I was using a cheap Players sneaky Pete, with the original LePro tip, for a break cue.
Being too lazy to get another custom cue or shaft out of my bag, I just started playing with the Players cue. I made just as many balls and ran just as many racks with that cue as I did my custom cue. The deflection was night and day different and the dimensions of the cue were nowhere near the same.
I would recommend that a person try as many cues as possible, find one that they like, and learn how to play with it. Forget all the bells, whistles, inlays, etc...they are just for ornamentation.
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I bought a few cues without touching them first and found Pat Diveney. Best cue I ever played with and I knew it after about an hour.
I also got a few turds. One I played with for about 2yr and it dropped my game about a ball...recovered c/o Diveney.
Good luck!
I also got a few turds. One I played with for about 2yr and it dropped my game about a ball...recovered c/o Diveney.
Good luck!
If you dont lil the hit of it when you receive it dont panic. Replace the tip.ir will change the hit..keep replacing it until you find one you like.
I once bought a custom without shooting with ot first. I hated it when I first got it. I went through 4 tips until I found one where I actually liked the way the cue hit.
I once bought a custom without shooting with ot first. I hated it when I first got it. I went through 4 tips until I found one where I actually liked the way the cue hit.
justinb386
Banned
Is it a Keith Josey cue?
justinb386
Banned
Lol, if you do not love it within the 1st couple balls you hit with it, then you may never love it. Kidding, but that is actually the way I am about cues.
justinb386
Banned
Haha! Thanks. I was just having a brief moment that's all. And no I'm not related to JustinB (or I would be putting everything in parenthesis like this)
I'm sure it'll play fantastic and I'll have a review for you all by a couple weeks into it. Super excited!
What does the word parenthesis mean (I do not understand that meaning)?
justinb386
Banned
You are silly.
justinb386
Banned
I really loved the Pat Diveney cue that I got to try out for a single game. It only took a few hits to know that I loved the feel and hit of the cue. His cues must be the best hitting, most reasonably priced cues on the market.
Alotta people would say, "damn, that justin34861 is right AGAIN".
This is actually precisely what I did. The cue maker and I had about a forty minute conversation just on the specifications alone. And we went over just about everything from shaft diameter, tip type, inlay, veneer color, type of wood, and weight, ferrule etc, etc. I told him the artwork I'm leaving just about completely in his hands, as he's the talent I'm just the customer.
I always order the ambidextrous cue just to be on the safe side (don't order the amphibious cue or you'll get a frog jumper).
Just learn the cue. Don't go into it expecting it to do anything. SEE what it does. Feel how it feels. A decent quality cue has many layers of "feel" to it. Like an onion. Peel that thing. The more receptive you are to what the cue is saying, the better you will play with it.
When I got my Andy Gilbert cue in 2009, I honestly didn't know what to expect. I brought it to the weekly tourney and won the tournament. They raised my skill level up to the max level. I won again next week. And then again the next week. This was when a lot of the guys were much better players than me. I just immediately felt a connection to that cue. The hit, everything. I am still playing with that cue today, and not even a hint of desire to replace it. I *KNOW* that cue, I know what it does, how it feels, and that *knowlege* is a big part of what makes it great.
Just like a girl. I mean you can enjoy sleeping with a hot girl pretty easily. But when you really *know* a girl, know how she moves, know what she likes...it takes things to a different level. At that point, it almost doesn't matter what she looks like.
KMRUNOUT
THIS. Choose a well built cue, learn the cue and stick with it. I bought a Viking when I started playing pool and then lusted after a custom cue, convinced that it would take my game to the next level. I played like crap with that custom when I first received it. It wasn't what I was used to. You'll love your new cue after a couple of months. Once someone has figured out the variables that goes into REALLY customizing a cue (length, weight, taper, joint, ferrule length, etc., and YMMV) then get a well built cue and never give it up. Enjoy that new cue!!
Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums
Almost.....
You can't judge a book by it's cover... but you wouldn't buy a book without one either!
Critical importance.
A friend of ours (leave the gun, take the canoli) once bought a custom cue.
As fate would have it, he said nothing to the maker.
What was born of that simple lack of communication resulted in a pivotal moment in pocket billiards tournament history.... three missed shots that allowed a radical underdog to win a championship tournament at the mirage in 1991. Apparently, some people knew that the aforementioned oblivious player had purchased a left-handed cue and bet against the nuts all the way. Management was not amused.
So please... be specific and be safe.
Warmest regards,
Lesh
Thanks for all the reassuring words, everyone!
Like I said, you'll all get a review to check out when it's all said and done. :thumbup:
It's also a good idea to specify left or right eye dominate.
There's more to a custom cue then meets the eye at first glance.