Gina Cues

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AK-Stick

AzB Silver Member
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OK someone give me some feed back on Gina cues. I have never held one or seen one in person let alone played with one. I am aware of some of his history and I believe he is a hall of Fame member. I think he also has his own joint thread, but I am fairly limited in my knowledge.
Thanks
 
AK-Stick said:
OK someone give me some feed back on Gina cues. I have never held one or seen one in person let alone played with one. I am aware of some of his history and I believe he is a hall of Fame member. I think he also has his own joint thread, but I am fairly limited in my knowledge.
Thanks
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Best cue ever made... click in the Ginacue link in my signature line for a pretty neat article on Ernie.
 
Ernie is one of the top cue makers out there, even though most of them make spliced cues with sharp points his still have a high demand and play great. Edited.
 
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would definitely put his cues in my list of top 5 ...

some cues look great but fall short in terms of what a pool "player" really needs ...

some play like magic wands but have the finish peeling off in months and shafts warping before the year is out, joints that sound funny and other foibles ...

but some are just pure pedigree "pool" cues ...

this is where GINA lives...

you can take a $2,000 or $12,000 cue from Gina and still run rack after rack after rack....

it is simply is a must-have cue...
 
OK Ernies are not full Splice niether are

Stoud
Scruggs
Bender
Hayley
Searing
Schick
Kiekel
Southwest
White
and 100 more

Full Splice

Hercek
Tas
Black
Blackcreek

A few more


The vast majority today are not full splice although more are falling back to it.

I am interested in his joint construction, the pictures i have seen appear piloted with a different thread, although I am sure he is capable of any joint.

Thanks
 
Ginas

Ernie doesn't believe in splicing cues at all.

The joints he uses now are 5/16x18 piloted ivory or stainless steel. He has made flat faced joints in the past, but I think one might be hard pressed to get him to make one now.

Depending on where he is in his current batch of cues he is building, wait time from order to build-out can be as short as 4 months or as long as a year or a little more. A little less than 2K will get a 5 point, 4 veneer, stainless steel jointed cue with linen wrap with 2 ivory ferruled shafts and a Gina/Whitten case. From there the sky is the limit as far as pricing or design.

Ernie is a catalog cue maker. Most of what he builds is chosen from maybe 20 basic designs with slight variations. Straying from that beaten path can get a liitle expensive.

Thanks

Kevin
 
I own one and have owned several over the years.

I really liked how my first Gina played, and it was the basic 5 point, 4 veneer cue. The other ones I have had played excellent as well. I got my mine out of the box (new) and it had moori tips, ivory ferrelles and played just like I like a cue to play.

Negatives, is he uses CNC and his points on the first veneer is rounded, where I prefer coming to a sharp point. The other negative for me is that he builds the same 20 or so cues over, and over and over.

The older ones are more sought after, but they too seem to be the same cue over and over. His titlist cues must be out there by the 100's because I see so many of them.

Ken
 
Well I took the plunge and purchased DWBOD's Hoppe Gina, guess ill find out if I like it or not. One of the posts mentioned he made the same cue over and over again, with his rep and knowledge I am going to assume he gets them right.
 
AK-Stick said:
Well I took the plunge and purchased DWBOD's Hoppe Gina, guess ill find out if I like it or not. One of the posts mentioned he made the same cue over and over again, with his rep and knowledge I am going to assume he gets them right.
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That's a good looking cue. One of the 2 new Ginas I have on order in Ernie's current batch has that flamey veneer combo. The nice thing about Ginas is that they are now and have always been high-demand cues. You will always be able to sell the Gina you just bought for what you paid for it. Also, Ernie loves to work on the cues he built, he's in his shop all day every day and is totally reliable, so if you ever need any work done on your Gina the turn-around time (and of course craftsmanship) is excellent.

Kevin
 
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sammi sam said:
The best cue in the world
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Why??

There are a lot of very good cue makers out there today. Gina was innovative as far as design and he certainly created the market for high end. He started selling cues for $600.00 and $800.00 when you could get a joss or even a Balabushka for $110.00 with two shafts. Today though he is just another high end cue makers along with a few other comparable cue makers. Cue making may have leveled off as far as anyone being the best. They are all good in that class. In some ways now Gina may be stuck in times past and has not kept up. His biggest mastery man be in the use of CNC.
 
AK-Stick said:
Well I took the plunge and purchased DWBOD's Hoppe Gina, guess ill find out if I like it or not. One of the posts mentioned he made the same cue over and over again, with his rep and knowledge I am going to assume he gets them right.
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Well, from that comment it's clear that you know absolutely nothing about pool cues. You are going to be more than satisfied with a Gina. If you're not, send it to me and let me be miserable with it for you.
MULLY
 
kamdaswani said:
would definitely put his cues in my list of top 5 ...

some cues look great but fall short in terms of what a pool "player" really needs ...

some play like magic wands but have the finish peeling off in months and shafts warping before the year is out, joints that sound funny and other foibles ...

but some are just pure pedigree "pool" cues ...

this is where GINA lives...

you can take a $2,000 or $12,000 cue from Gina and still run rack after rack after rack....

it is simply is a must-have cue...
Click to expand...

Actually, Kam, I think I'd put Ernie in my top 3.
MULLY
y'all know I just love my Mottey cues
 
I got to agree that Ernie is more of a catalogue cue maker than most will find it, but however, if you do want a slight variations from the current models that are being put on offer, he will be more than happy to advice you and provide you with his most honest opinion for that area. In addition, he may also offer you something that you did not even expect of him such as replacing a type of wood currently used for his points with another wood that able to provide another dimension to the overall looks of the cue.
 
AK-Stick said:
Well I took the plunge and purchased DWBOD's Hoppe Gina, guess ill find out if I like it or not. One of the posts mentioned he made the same cue over and over again, with his rep and knowledge I am going to assume he gets them right.
Click to expand...

When I ordered my Gina I told Ernie that I was not going to tell him how to build a cue because I wanted a Gina. I asked him to make me a cue that says Gina. I ordered a 11C and left the color choices to him. At the time I asked him about the cues being the same. He told me that I will never walk into a PH and see one exactly like it. Even though his cues are catalog cues they are never the same. There are too many veneer colors, wraps, joints, and wood choices. I think the only cues that are close to being the same are his anniversary cues.

It is like the old VW bugs. The design may look the same but thru the years the car was constantly improved. Look at the first VW and then the last of that series. The same can be said about Gina cues. Ernie constantly improves his cues. If he thought full splice was better he would still be making them that way. Ernie does not change something to cut his costs or make the cue worse. He changes to improve and if it costs more he adjusts his price because he knows that players are willing to pay for quality and that is what is expected from Gina.
 
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Standardization of design lends to consistency and playability. Ernie pioneered or was leading edge on a lot of the cosmetic and material designs of pool cues. Cues are for hitting pool balls and every cue Ernie makes consistently from $1,700 to $17,000 plays the same. That is due in large part to standardization of his product.
 
When I said took the plunge and find out if I like it, it wasnt a knock on Ernie at all. He was the first living cue maker in the Hall of Fame. I had searched in the many posts and have not found a negitive comment. I meant spending the money. I love the appearance of the cue I purchased and I would be completely surprised if i am not totally thrilled with the playability. I am sure the cue will be capable of shots I am not. I had my list narrowed down to one of each of the following

Bender
Hercek
Searing
Southwest
Tas

Gina wasnt in the mix but I am now half way to owning one. I am not married but I do have a Lady. I had a Bender sent home that I havent seen or held yet and I asked her how it was her response is its a piece of wood. kind of like saying a Rolls is a car. I have the Bender on ebay now and I doubt it will sell. If I dont sell it I will be fine with that as well. I only have it thier for two reasons, 1, i bought it and did not have any input in the design, and two i am up on a build list shortly. I have had some nice cues in the past built for me that I let get away attempting to stay married. I cant get them back but i can replace them with current Masters.I know Ernie is one of those masters. In no way was I disparging Ernie and if it sounded that way I apoligize.
 
mullyman said:
Well, from that comment it's clear that you know absolutely nothing about pool cues. You are going to be more than satisfied with a Gina. If you're not, send it to me and let me be miserable with it for you.
MULLY
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Mully got up on the wrong side of the mat this morning. :wink:

Ernie is one of the legendary cue makers and was around making cues when Balabushka, Paradise, and Rambow were his primary competitors - imagine that!

He has had many innovations including the mitered box cue design. He helped modernize cue making by mastering CNC techniques, and has come up with many designs that are now considered classics. He is very skilled with his hand work and has a strong work ethic. In the 1960's, Gina's became the cue of choice among many top players, especially on the West Coast.

Ernie can deliver a cue pretty fast becuase he stays on top of his workload. I consider this one of the big advantages of working with Ernie, plus Gina's hold their value really well.

I've never played with a Gina that wasn't rock solid. The playing characteristcs are not my style, but they are definitely a quality cue.


Chris
 
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