Has the quality difference between "custom" and "production" become negligible?

[HawaiianEye]

Well, I'm glad you found your great playing cue.
My cue maker is still dragging his foot on that ebony cue with calfskin wrap.
Fkkr better finish it next year.

I got a lot of great hitting cues.

JC is making me another cue right now and it should be coming pretty soon. I can't wait to get that one. It is a BEAUTY!!!!!!!!!!!

If I were a cue maker like you and JC, I'd have the BEST playing cue in the WORLD...for me, that is.

If I had the know how and the machinery, I'd experiment with stuff so damn many times, I'd be a GENIUS on what worked best for ME.

 

[jayman]

Buy American.

 

[MANPUSS]

same ol

ive been member for long time, just lost all my logs in and i had alot more then 2 posts . mods worked with to fix it , but im the old ericdraven here .

i can not believe i read all these pages lol. but home bound for long time and im bored .

still the same AZ bickering and snarky remarks . i go to other forums and this one is by far the nit pick arguing number 1 site . but i like the forums . i just wish people would stay on topics and not belittle everyone .

now with that said , i play with a schon, varney , deano jh , scruggs . which i found at a tard sale of all places years ago . 100 bucks for a tim cue it will stay with me forever.

here is my 2 cents , and ofcourse YMMV ALOT . the line between custom and production cues is getting closer and closer . its the way world works . everything advances as time goes on . look how safe cars are compared to the 80ties .

custom cues people play with as they are old school.
production cues can and alot do play better then customs.

i personally do not own safe queens . but people do . its all what you like , no one is wrong .

 

[Corwyn_8]

And ... subsequently, who's gonna get that best material you promised?

The small business. I have a limited number of the best quality of whatever I make. Putting the best 100 (plus 9900 lesser quality) in the 10,000 order, makes me look bad, doesn't help the big manufacturer and is, if noticed, only going to be a negative. The small business will notice the high quality stuff, and the big business will get the consistent (still good) quality stuff.

Thank you kindly.

 

[336Robin]

Has the quality difference between "custom" and "production" become negligible?

Having recently took some time off from pool, and getting back into it, I ended up having to look at my cue inventory, and started horsing around with different manufacturers and custom cues. Perhaps, 10-20 years ago, there was a measurable gap between the custom cues, and the production cues available at the time. Now, it seems that the top quality production cues are as good as the custom cues available today.

This isn't a discussion regarding collecting cues. This is purely me observing fit and finish, quality of construction, and repeatability in the way that cues play. Predator is putting out a quality cue with CNC inlays - as good as a lot of the custom CNC guys, at a better price, with better technology. Lucasi is making a very good cue for the money - again, consistent hit, and they're coring their cues, like Predator, which makes for a very consistent hitting butt section. The other thing going for them is that they're available now - replacement shafts can be bought in a pinch, they play the same from shaft to shaft, and you have a multitude of options when choosing a shaft.

I know there are going to be a bunch of guys saying "custom is better", but I guess I'm not seeing that big a difference in the quality "gap" that was once there between custom and production cues. Again, not a smear campaign against the custom cuemakers. They will always have the appeal with a segment of the market. But am I the only one noticing that the quality gap is closing, or has closed? And in particular, the Chinese/Taiwanese manufacturers.

Remember, we're not talking about monster cues, or collector's pieces. We're talking about cues as ball pocketing instruments....

I think I've play with everything out there at one time or another.

I had a member here make me a light butt to try out. Its a stick non-cored and a 3/8 x 10 pin.

Hits better than anything I've ever played with and I'll never quit using it. Solid wood, no inlays, nothing.
Plays amazingly.

 

[joelpope]

similar to cars,
- some lower cost cars are "better" than higher priced cars
- you can overpay because of brand or hype
- mass production can improve consistency of product, both good and bad
- how you rate a car depends on what you like or want in a car and will differ from person to person
- e.g. performance vs efficiency or plain Jane vs tricked out
- everyone's own choice of car is the best car

 

[garczar]

This thread is old. Nothing has changed much since. Some folks will always want the 'elf in a cave' aura of a pure custom. As far as playing a good prod. cue can/will do anything a hi-dollar one-off will.