Gold Crowns

[Fatboy]

I’ve seen one 6 in the wild last year. That was the last time I hit a ball. The pocket castings didn’t fit the rails properly. I’m sure that will be sorted out. Bwick tends to release tables before all the bugs are worked out. A late 4 is miles better than an early 4 as an example-same for the 5’s.

 

[phreaticus]

GC4 as I have one. Appearance wise the 1-4 or 5. As for looks the 6 is not a GoldCrown and 5 is close not being one also. Tradition got lost.

I personally think they all look great, overall very similar & still distinctive vs all other brands...

Curious what do you find so visually unappealing and lacking of tradition on the GC5 & GC6? Or is it the "not 100% made in USA anymore " thing that bothers you? I think nearly anyone that has chosen to purchase a new 5 or 6 in last 20 years vs say a Diamond, is mostly doing so because of the traditional GC look & feel, no? Only thing really notably different to me is the fatter pedestals and slightly different pocket casting trim on the 6 vs the 5... The fatter pedestals on the 6 are more reminiscent of the Anniversaey/Centennials- which everyone seems to universally love. From a real world functionality perspective, the pocket castings, ball holder racks, and ball return box on the 5 & 6 are way way better than previous generations IMO.

For reference, pics of GC1-6 pictured below, old to new bottom up.

 

[phreaticus]

I’ve seen one 6 in the wild last year. That was the last time I hit a ball. The pocket castings didn’t fit the rails properly. I’m sure that will be sorted out. Bwick tends to release tables before all the bugs are worked out. A late 4 is miles better than an early 4 as an example-same for the 5’s.

I'm not an expert, but I have a pretty early GC6 (2020), have seen a few in person, and we have quite a few pics of them in various threads around here last few years. I think there have been a few minor comments on fit & finish of the newer style pocket castings - but I think it's very minor and seems to be more of an issue of sloppy install vs design/production issue (which I think can happen on any model GC). Overall, the GC5/6 pocket castings, liners and rails sit very flush to each other & seem to be to be a major improvement over previous gen, even the 4's.

I think the "best GC" is any version you can get your hands on in your local area within your own personal budget, and have a good mechanic set up for you!

 

[Guy Manges]

GCI for me.

I bet you have fun with all those room angles, pocket heaven, smart elick... Guy

 

[GoldCrown]

I personally think they all look great, overall very similar & still distinctive vs all other brands...

Curious what do you find so visually unappealing and lacking of tradition on the GC5 & GC6? Or is it the "not 100% made in USA anymore " thing that bothers you? I think nearly anyone that has chosen to purchase a new 5 or 6 in last 20 years vs say a Diamond, is mostly doing so because of the traditional GC look & feel, no? Only thing really notably different to me is the fatter pedestals and slightly different pocket casting trim on the 6 vs the 5... The fatter pedestals on the 6 are more reminiscent of the Anniversaey/Centennials- which everyone seems to universally love. From a real world functionality perspective, the pocket castings, ball holder racks, and ball return box on the 5 & 6 are way way better than previous generations IMO.

For reference, pics of GC1-6 pictured below, old to new bottom up.

Nothing to do with where it's made. I think the 5/6 lost it's traditional look. I wasn't fan of the 5 at first and missed the boat when I was ready for one. As for the 6 I had a hard time with the shields but accepted the fact that's the new GC...take to or leave it. I was in the process of ordering a matt tourament 6 but that did not work out. As for lack of tradition.... the 1 through 4 stayed solid. I feel the GC should have retained their original build/style and offered different finishes. ( woods, formica, etc). I do not hate the 5/6...just not a fan of the New Look. However I almost owned either.... and would have taken great pride and pleasure in having one. I ended up with a Diamond Professional (still have the 4) and must say it's built well but does not compare slightly to the Crowns in appearance.

 

[logical]

2, 1, 6, 3, 5, 4...also the keypad code for the drawbridge over my moat.

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[Fatboy]

This is the 6 I saw. That was sharp as a knife

 

[Dognit]

GCII were only available in 1975-76. So you see far fewer of those. GCI were cool but as noted above, it took years to inbuild all the features and modifications. Although I despise ashtrays. Cue killers, I call them. No ash trays after GCI. GCIII quality (offshore) really started to become a thing....

I am not a fan of the GCIV because the side pocket castings are quite proud of the surface. And shaft gouging SHARP.

As for me, I have GCII. Its fantabulous.

EDIT: and I see they have not really addressed the issue from fatboys pic above....

 

[phreaticus]

View attachment 672133
This is the 6 I saw. That was sharp as a knife

Wow, thats a disaster for sure. I think its safe to say that is some sort of one-off issue: defective parts, shoddy install, etc. one can find several GC6 threads with pics on AZB, none of them have shown or reported such issues. Again, the flush castings design on both 5 & 6 are head & shoulders above all previous generations IMO.

Pics of my early GC6 TE castings attached (2019 model, bought & installed early 2020). Once I decided to buy new TE vs restoring an older one, I actually wanted the GC5, but none were available. This was just the default setup from my avg local dealer/installer, not a well known master table tech.

That said, since we’re noting so much detail here - RKC once said that there is a relatively simple fix that an experienced table tech can do in order to get castings on the older 1-4’s to sit flush. Don’t remember the details but a search on his posts in the archives would find it.

 

[Fatboy]

All 3 6’s I saw had that problem on one pocket. The one in the pic was the worst. The other 2 were still bad.

 

[SBC]

Why the 3 before the 2 and 5?

3s are crap
1s and 2s will outlast human civilization
Don't know about 4s and up

 

[hang-the-9]

The GCIV was the first one to have the plastic/rubber pocket lip flush with the rail. That was a big improvement.

Yep, that's why I would rate them over a 3

A lot of good information here. Which GC had the ash trays in the corner pocket castings? GCI I would guess.

I played on one of those when I was in Ohio at Cushions Billiards last month. Whoever can tell what this model is from the picture I took can figure out if it's a 1 or a 2. This was the personal table of some WPBA woman pro I was told by the bar staff and had a few "do not use" signs on it After coming in the place for a few days they let me use it

 

[SBC]

Wow, thats a disaster for sure. I think its safe to say that is some sort of one-off issue: defective parts, shoddy install, etc. one can find several GC6 threads with pics on AZB, none of them have shown or reported such issues. Again, the flush castings design on both 5 & 6 are head & shoulders above all previous generations IMO.

Pics of my early GC6 TE castings attached (2019 model, bought & installed early 2020). Once I decided to buy new TE vs restoring an older one, I actually wanted the GC5, but none were available. This was just the default setup from my avg local dealer/installer, not a well known master table tech.

That said, since we’re noting so much detail here - RKC once said that there is a relatively simple fix that an experienced table tech can do in order to get castings on the older 1-4’s to sit flush. Don’t remember the details but a search on his posts in the archives would find it.



View attachment 672142
View attachment 672143

Seen pennies put between the pocket casting and bottom of rail to bring them down...worked just fine.

 

[hang-the-9]

Nice post! After looking them over, I think I would pick a 5 for a home table, or a 1.

I personally think they all look great, overall very similar & still distinctive vs all other brands...

Curious what do you find so visually unappealing and lacking of tradition on the GC5 & GC6? Or is it the "not 100% made in USA anymore " thing that bothers you? I think nearly anyone that has chosen to purchase a new 5 or 6 in last 20 years vs say a Diamond, is mostly doing so because of the traditional GC look & feel, no? Only thing really notably different to me is the fatter pedestals and slightly different pocket casting trim on the 6 vs the 5... The fatter pedestals on the 6 are more reminiscent of the Anniversaey/Centennials- which everyone seems to universally love. From a real world functionality perspective, the pocket castings, ball holder racks, and ball return box on the 5 & 6 are way way better than previous generations IMO.

For reference, pics of GC1-6 pictured below, old to new bottom up.

 

[bignick31985]

I have a 4 and love it. But haven't played on a 1 or 2 in a long time. Never seen a 5 or 6 in the wild either.

 

[406jwh]

I'm not sure exactly which one I have but I love the damn thing

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[tim913]

I own the 4 that came from one of Steve Mizerak’s senior tournaments. Love it!

 

[pt109]

3s are crap
1s and 2s will outlast human civilization
Don't know about 4s and up

Completely agree on the 3s….that’s when Brunswick lost me. Around the same time. They were selling Superspeed rubber that reacted suspiciously like cheap $40 rubber from the Orient. The 4s were better, but they needed lumber added…and the glue holding the rubber wasn’t done well.
I don’t know how anyone could play on a Diamond and still praise Brunswick….they lost their interest in billiards a long time ago.

 

[Nick B]

Here in Canada you could still buy the GC2- 12 Foot snooker table version with the Ashtrays. Grew up on those things. Man I miss Seymore Billiards.

 

[Black-Balled]

The GCIV was the first one to have the plastic/rubber pocket lip flush with the rail. That was a big improvement.

I had a black gc4 that was beyond great for me. I did notice the sag beginning, woulda fixed it if the cloth ever got replaced but it lasted ~17yr!

Anybody know about the piano finish being an option for the gc4? I believe that's what I had, as I just saw another black 4 that was far more matte.