I just want to let everyone know about my recent experience with Mike Gulyassy. It started from a previous post about break cues. Mike posted, put ting in his phone number. I called, talked to Mike, and he was very helpful. These days, someone answering the phone is a big step in the right direction. Mike explained his break cue well, and explained why he thought his was best. On to the cue:
Let me begin by saying that I own the Generation 3 X-Breaker, manufactured by Samsara. I have very much enjoyed this cue. It is built extremely well. I had some issues with the tip, however. The Xtreme 2 tip was fine, but I bought it on a new shaft and I didn't really like the taper of the new shaft. What I purchased from Mike Gulyassy (www.babysproshop.com) was the shaft for his jump/break cue. The primary feature of this shaft is the taper. It has an incredibly long straight part. I guess this is like a pro taper that extends WAY back. It doesn't feel like a pencil or anything, there is a bit of taper to it, but it is exactly the opposite to the many j/b shafts out there that are super fat and cone shaped. This thing FEELS awesome!!! It is so smooth and natural to slide through you bridge. Whether you have the textbook stroke moving only your lower arm, or a big Johnny Archer style follow through, I can't imagine a better feel for a break cue shaft. Also, the finish on the shaft is exactly what I would want. Extremely smooth wood. The tip is Mike's pattented one piece ferrule/tip combination. It looks like a different material than I have seen before. It is brown phenolic, but appears to have a different composition. It seems to hold chalk very well. This shaft has a 5/18-14 piloted joint. This is the way to go. It is a rediculously solid joint that really gives a one piece feel.
Performance: This shaft on my X-Breaker butt is the best break cue I have ever experienced by a wide margin. I own the Predator BK, Omen jump break, and the Gen 3 X-Breaker. I have tried the Predator BK2, Andy Gilbert j/b, Fury, Lightning Bolt, Scorpion, Cuetec J/B, Jericho Stinger. This is better than all of them. The main thing I like is the feel of the shaft. It slides through my hand so easily that it promotes a much better stance and stroke. This results in excellent control. I break fairly hard (23-26 mph). Yet I can stop the cue ball dead with decent consistency. I have to hit it REALLY bad to get a poor result. Interestingly, it results in a VERY dead cueball. By this I mean there is little hop, very little spin. the cueball seems to want to stay put after hitting the rack. The other thing I really like is the solidness of hit. The tip is very hard, as is the hit, but you still get a sense of "grabbing" the cueball for an instant. The ball just pops off the tip so nicely. When you hit it dead center it gives a wonderful feeling of solidness and a great sound. I could go on and on (and have). Point is, performance is just what you want in a break cue: super solid hit with great feel to the hit, and excellent feel and control from the taper. Also, jumping performance is outstanding. I seem to have as much control with this jumper as any I've tried. The tip is fairly flat for breaking, yet works well enough for me to jump and get aggressive draw if I want it. Fit and finish is excellent.
Very high quality product!!!!! This gets my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION. (Incidentally, I imagine Mike's complete cue would be just as good!!)
Hope this helps,
Kerry
Let me begin by saying that I own the Generation 3 X-Breaker, manufactured by Samsara. I have very much enjoyed this cue. It is built extremely well. I had some issues with the tip, however. The Xtreme 2 tip was fine, but I bought it on a new shaft and I didn't really like the taper of the new shaft. What I purchased from Mike Gulyassy (www.babysproshop.com) was the shaft for his jump/break cue. The primary feature of this shaft is the taper. It has an incredibly long straight part. I guess this is like a pro taper that extends WAY back. It doesn't feel like a pencil or anything, there is a bit of taper to it, but it is exactly the opposite to the many j/b shafts out there that are super fat and cone shaped. This thing FEELS awesome!!! It is so smooth and natural to slide through you bridge. Whether you have the textbook stroke moving only your lower arm, or a big Johnny Archer style follow through, I can't imagine a better feel for a break cue shaft. Also, the finish on the shaft is exactly what I would want. Extremely smooth wood. The tip is Mike's pattented one piece ferrule/tip combination. It looks like a different material than I have seen before. It is brown phenolic, but appears to have a different composition. It seems to hold chalk very well. This shaft has a 5/18-14 piloted joint. This is the way to go. It is a rediculously solid joint that really gives a one piece feel.
Performance: This shaft on my X-Breaker butt is the best break cue I have ever experienced by a wide margin. I own the Predator BK, Omen jump break, and the Gen 3 X-Breaker. I have tried the Predator BK2, Andy Gilbert j/b, Fury, Lightning Bolt, Scorpion, Cuetec J/B, Jericho Stinger. This is better than all of them. The main thing I like is the feel of the shaft. It slides through my hand so easily that it promotes a much better stance and stroke. This results in excellent control. I break fairly hard (23-26 mph). Yet I can stop the cue ball dead with decent consistency. I have to hit it REALLY bad to get a poor result. Interestingly, it results in a VERY dead cueball. By this I mean there is little hop, very little spin. the cueball seems to want to stay put after hitting the rack. The other thing I really like is the solidness of hit. The tip is very hard, as is the hit, but you still get a sense of "grabbing" the cueball for an instant. The ball just pops off the tip so nicely. When you hit it dead center it gives a wonderful feeling of solidness and a great sound. I could go on and on (and have). Point is, performance is just what you want in a break cue: super solid hit with great feel to the hit, and excellent feel and control from the taper. Also, jumping performance is outstanding. I seem to have as much control with this jumper as any I've tried. The tip is fairly flat for breaking, yet works well enough for me to jump and get aggressive draw if I want it. Fit and finish is excellent.
Very high quality product!!!!! This gets my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION. (Incidentally, I imagine Mike's complete cue would be just as good!!)
Hope this helps,
Kerry
That was the purpose of that image.. xbreaker butt being great 