Have you ever bought a cue without having tried it?

JSS said:
Caution! Maybe I got 1 in a mil, but my schon plays like shit! I bought before I hit with it and now I'm stuck with it. Sent it back for Evan hit with it and look it over and he found nothing. Hey Evan, playing with a viper now! JSS
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Gotta admit, this the first Schon dislike I've read. Most who have them seem to like 'em very much. That said, I have a Viper "trunk cue" that I modified by having a moori tip put on. I won't say it hits as good as my Josey...but it plays amazingly well for what I have in it, $$ wise. Better for fooling folks than a sneaky that isn't sneaky. ;)

Anyway, my opinion? After using only house cues, I'm sure the original poster would be quite happy with a Schon...
 
Thanks for all the replies.

what about this question?
do you think a schon is too much for being the first cue? I always played with house cues ( 5 years).
 
Slh,

Some on this forum would have asked, "is the Schon too little cue". There seems to be great prejudice against any cue made by anyone other than a reclusive cue "guru". Other than JSS, never heard of anyone dissing a Schon. Is it the best out there? Don't know. Is it one of the best out there? Absolutely. Your number one problem is ordering a cue with the right weight and shaft diameter for you. Schon's have an interchangable weight bolt. Even if it is wrong out of the box, you can make it right!

Lyn
 
Slh said:
Thanks for all the replies.

what about this question?
do you think a schon is too much for being the first cue? I always played with house cues ( 5 years).
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Not if you can afford it. I've never subscribed to the theory that you must be a very skilled player before you "deserve" a good cue. If that were true, Ferrari would sell cars only to F-1 drivers. ;)

I'm a recreational banger when it comes to pool skill. That has no bearing on the fact that I enjoy shooting with a Josey...a very good cue made by a custom cue maker.
 
Ordered a custom cue not too long ago. When it arrived, I didn't like the way it played at all. Decided to try to break a rack with it, and lo and behold it broke like a monster. So I got lucky, my new custom playing cue ended up being a beast of a break cue.
 
schons hit great, you will be fine as long as the cue is not damaged. I recently was in hawaii and digitalcrack here on az lent me his schon to play with while i was at hawaiian brians. I played with schons in college alot and always liked them. Sure enough, his cue hit just like i remembered schons did and i was very comfortable with it. Like a familiar ride on a bike....
 
01rkclassic said:
I've had about 40 cues and bought almost every one with out trying them.
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I'm with you, i've owned many cues over the years and I don't remember ever getting to try one out before I bought it. I do try to buy or trade for cues from cue makers i'm confident in and I have a good idea of how it's going to play before I get the cue.

James
 
Every Cue

I bought all of mine without trying them. Liked some, hated some. Only bought three production cues, the rest custom based on the maker's reputation.
 
Slh said:
As the title says, I'm looking to buy a cue, unfortunately nobody in my poolroom has that type of cue and I'm thinking of buying it without having tried it.
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Many. Having said that, one of the advantages of instructing/coaching is that I get to try many cues, and in all price ranges (in part because players would like to hear my opinion), so that along with the ones I've owned over quarter of a century, I have a precise idea of what I like. I've also learnt that cues are like everything else: as with all my other hobbies, people agree on the ends of the spectrum (= everyone likes the hit and feel of cues by e.g. legendary high-end custom cue makers, everyone hates crooked, tinny-sounding trash, but everything in-between is up to personal preference). Of those "many" I bought, I sold most – and they were all (some very) good cues. Like all enthusiasts, I'm already keeping more than I need (but they're my favourites, so what can I say…?).

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
 
acousticsguru said:
I'm already keeping more than I need (but they're my favourites, so what can I say…?).

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
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I guess this says it all. A hobby is a hobby. I buy mine on looks & price. I should add this to my signature. "I have more cues then brains"
 
GoldCrown said:
I guess this says it all. A hobby is a hobby. I buy mine on looks & price. I should add this to my signature. "I have more cues then brains"
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Oh well… I guess as long as we still have brains enough to realize, we're good! ;)

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
 
Yes i have , i had no choice i was in Iraq when Joss said my cue was ready i said send it. I trusted them like i have over the years ans i will do so again if i have to.
 
Slh said:
As the title says, I'm looking to buy a cue, unfortunately nobody in my poolroom has that type of cue and I'm thinking of buying it without having tried it.
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It seems that: you are in Italy and have been playing for five years. You want to get a fancy cue as your first personal cue and are concerned that if you order one on-line (never having hit with it) that you might be disappointed.

Do you have a good feeling for what you want your cue to be like in terms of playing characteristics? What would you like in your cue?

(If you order a cue and it arrives and you don't like the hit, the first thing you could try is a different tip. Many times the majority of the "hit" is from the tip.)

I ordered my current cue by mail (long before email existed) and have been playing with it since. Well, that's not quite right. The cuemaker got the weight too light the first time. I was lucky that I could sell it immediately and order a new one that was the weight I wanted. In retrospect, I think the other weight would have been better for me. Also, the original shafts did not suit my game, but that is fairly easy to fix these days.
 
Bob Jewett said:
It seems that: you are in Italy and have been playing for five years. You want to get a fancy cue as your first personal cue and are concerned that if you order one on-line (never having hit with it) that you might be disappointed.

Do you have a good feeling for what you want your cue to be like in terms of playing characteristics? What would you like in your cue?

(If you order a cue and it arrives and you don't like the hit, the first thing you could try is a different tip. Many times the majority of the "hit" is from the tip.)

I ordered my current cue by mail (long before email existed) and have been playing with it since. Well, that's not quite right. The cuemaker got the weight too light the first time. I was lucky that I could sell it immediately and order a new one that was the weight I wanted. In retrospect, I think the other weight would have been better for me. Also, the original shafts did not suit my game, but that is fairly easy to fix these days.
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I don't think a Schon STL4 can be considered "fancy" is basically a sneaky pete with a linen wrap.
But yes: I want to buy a cue. Here in my hometown the average quality of cues is really low: i believe the average price is near 100€. There is a proshop which sell cues very overpriced, for example it sells a longoni cue at 350€ when the real price online is much lower than that. Only a guy in my hometown has a predator. All the other guys play with cues worth 100€ ( or less). Nobody has ever heard Schon, Mezz, McDermott, Lucasi, Cuetec, let alone any custom cue brand.
It's not like I go to a pool room and I can try any brand.
So i have two options:
- buy some very cheap cue which could also be bad for my game.
- buy a good cue online
 
Slh said:
I don't think a Schon STL4 can be considered "fancy" is basically a sneaky pete with a linen wrap.
But yes: I want to buy a cue. Here in my hometown the average quality of cues is really low: i believe the average price is near 100€. There is a proshop which sell cues very overpriced, for example it sells a longoni cue at 350€ when the real price online is much lower than that. Only a guy in my hometown has a predator. All the other guys play with cues worth 100€ ( or less). Nobody has ever heard Schon, Mezz, McDermott, Lucasi, Cuetec, let alone any custom cue brand.
It's not like I go to a pool room and I can try any brand.
So i have two options:
- buy some very cheap cue which could also be bad for my game.
- buy a good cue online
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shon has a good reputation
if the cost is acceptable to you
i would buy the schon (your second option ... buy a good cue online)
you only live once and you should be happy
also if you miss you cant blame the cue....:D
makes you play better
jmho
icbw
 
Most custom cues are purchased that way.

I bought my Mike Bender cues without trying them out. One Bender cue I helped design and the others, I saw pics of and bought them outright.
 
My last 2, a Carolina custom and just last week a Mike Erwin from here , no regrets with either decision. Also just purchased a Joss "thor" but not delivered yet. All 3 of these have reputations that speak volumes, so i felt no need to try first.
 
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