Have you ever transitioned from a long pro taper to a short stiff tapered shaft?

J

justinb386

Banned
Have you have transitioned from a long pro tapered (or even a few inches longer then a standard pro taper), to a much shorter stiff tapered shaft (after years of playing with a long pro taper), and got used to the shorter short stiff taper, and did not want to go back to using a long pro taper (meucci style taper, for example)?

Any advantages that you can think of, in shooting with a shorter stiff taper?

Do most players mostly use an open handed bridge when shooting with a short tapered shaft?

If you transitioned from a long taper to a short taper (and liked the short taper more), how many hours of play do you think it took you before you really got used to it, and really began to like it?

Thanks for any thoughts about this, and sorry if it has already been discussed many times before.
 
One - two months at 25 hrs a week

No real advantage outside of feel and more deflection

Bridge depends on hand size, the shot, personal preferences
 
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I went from a long tapered custom shaft to a stock Schon shaft...holy balls I couldn't make anything. Had the Schon shaft's taper lengthened and all is right with the world again.
 
Shaft Taper

I use a long Pro taper,I have short fingers, the long taper helps my finger to get a secure grip on the shaft.
 
Nonyamuff said:
I went from a long tapered custom shaft to a stock Schon shaft...holy balls I couldn't make anything. Had the Schon shaft's taper lengthened and all is right with the world again.
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The expense of having the taper changed to your liking is almost not worth it though. Some cue repair guys charge up to $50 for a re taper (or maybe more), depending on how much work needs to be done, in order to get the taper and the mm you like on a shaft, down to your liking. I was quoted $50 once, after showing a shaft I had to a local repair expert (in Evansville IN), and telling him how long of a taper I liked and the MM I liked on a shaft. By the way, it was a standard tapered Joss shaft that I showed him (with a shorter stiff taper, that I did not care for, and around 12.75mm), and I asked him how much it would cost to put a much longer pro taper on the shaft, and bring it down to around 12.5mm. He told me about how complicated the process is, and I completely understood why the cost was so high.
 
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Allen Brown said:
Justin, do you have a cue now? How often do you go to the pool hall?
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To be honest, I have very rarely played any in the last 2 years (since I have lived in Louisville). Looking to relocate, hopefully to someplace with a really strong pool scene. Have been thinking about maybe, Wichita KS, but I read that the crime is very high there, so I do not know if that is a good place for me. I want to live somewhere, where there is a very good and strong pool scene, and somewhere that is not very ugly, and not filled with homeless and no good people. I know that the east end of Louisville is very nice (and the south side, like out in Fern Creek is very nice), but most of the rest of it is pretty ugly (in my opinion). If I could find a place to live, where most people are happy (and friendly to strangers), and that do not look as depressed (as I feel most of the time), then I would feel much better. A lot of people seem to be pretty stuck up too. Anyways, no, I do not currently have a cue. I just purchased Jim Baxter's converted Helmstetter CCS cue (which was originally a carom cue, but is not a pool cue). The shaft on it looks like it has a stiff taper on it (which is not a bad thing, and I understand that many players like that type of taper, but I am not sure if I will like it or not). I had that really nice Jacoby (that I posted in the cue gallery) for around a year. I really hope to be happy in the next place that I relocate to, and really hope to get back into the pool scene again. I really do miss playing (and pool and cues has always been my passion). That and repairing laptops, as a hobby (just laptops that I own though). Anyways, I hope to get out there and start shooting a lot more soon.
 
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justinb386 said:
To be honest, I have very rarely played any in the last 2 years (since I have lived in Louisville). Looking to relocate, hopefully to someplace with a really strong pool scene. Have been thinking about maybe, Wichita KS, but I read that the crime is very high there, so I do not know if that is a good place for me. I want to live somewhere, where there is a very good and strong pool scene, and somewhere that is not very ugly, and not filled with homeless and no good people. I know that the east end of Louisville is very nice (and the south side, like out in Fern Creek is very nice), but most of the rest of it is pretty ugly (in my opinion). If I could find a place to live, where most people are happy (and friendly to strangers), and that do not look as depressed (as I feel most of the time), then I would feel much better. A lot of people seem to be pretty stuck up too. Anyways, no, I do not currently have a cue. I just purchased Jim Baxter's converted Helmstetter CCS cue (which was originally a carom cue, but is not a pool cue). I really hope to be happy in the next place that I relocate to, and really hope to get back into the pool scene again. I really do miss playing (and pool and cues has always been my passion). That and repairing laptops, as a hobby (just laptops that I own though). Anyways, I hope to get out there and start shooting a lot more soon.
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I've told you once before to move to North Alabama. You would like it and I would even get you acquainted with a few good Ol' boys. No gambling between friends unless it's for lunch or something. I could even find you a cue that you might like.
 
justinb386 said:
Have you have transitioned from a long pro tapered (or even a few inches longer then a standard pro taper), to a much shorter stiff tapered shaft (after years of playing with a long pro taper), and got used to the shorter short stiff taper, and did not want to go back to using a long pro taper (meucci style taper, for example)?

Any advantages that you can think of, in shooting with a shorter stiff taper?
More solid feel.
Do most players mostly use an open handed bridge when shooting with a short tapered shaft?
No, there is no need to do that. Carom players use a closed bridge and their tapers are much more extreme.
If you transitioned from a long taper to a short taper (and liked the short taper more), how many hours of play do you think it took you before you really got used to it, and really began to like it?
I instantly liked it, but it took a few weeks to get truely comfortable to the point where aiming with sidespin became effortless again.
Thanks for any thoughts about this, and sorry if it has already been discussed many times before.
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I'm currently waiting for my custom order shaft, which will be a carom style conical taper. I was sick and tired of "pro" tapers and weak conical tapers. I especially felt uncomfortable on long shots with just a slight angle and on firm stun shots. It felt like the shaft (weak, conical taper) would buckle and I didn't get the proper feedback to the hand. Since I play a lot of snooker too, I've gotten used to the conical shafts there. My snooker cue is very stiff, which I like, because it feels consistent at a wide range of speeds. A cue with a more flexible shaft will feel very different as the speed/spin starts to increase.

I always felt very untalented in my early playing days, since I could not play AT ALL with Meucci cues with the long pro taper that were fashionable in the 90's (and were still abundant in the early 2000's when I started playing). Looking at players running out with that kind of equipment always left me scratching my head. The only available alternative around here, at that time were "log" shafts that had slightly shorter pro tapers. They were better for me, but still I wish I could have gottten my hands on a conical taper at that time. The only cues that were like that were carom cues, and their length and balance are not right for pool. It is still a problem to get strong, conical tapered shafts in lengths suitable to pool cues, which is why I had to custom order one. None of the commercially available ones were strong enough for my liking, and if they were strong enough, they were too large in diameter .
 
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justinb386 said:
The expense of having the taper changed to your liking is almost not worth it though. Some cue repair guys charge up to $50 for a re taper (or maybe more), depending on how much work needs to be done, in order to get the taper and the mm you like on a shaft, down to your liking. I was quoted $50 once, after showing a shaft I had to a local repair expert (in Evansville IN), and telling him how long of a taper I liked and the MM I liked on a shaft. By the way, it was a standard tapered Joss shaft that I showed him (with a shorter stiff taper, that I did not care for, and around 12.75mm), and I asked him how much it would cost to put a much longer pro taper on the shaft, and bring it down to around 12.5mm. He told me about how complicated the process is, and I completely understood why the cost was so high.
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I was charged $20. Lucky I guess.
 
Wow almost 2 hrs. and no one has a clever take on this dangerously titled thread? Lol
Where u at Tramp??
 
deanoc said:
The constant taper,euro taper,billiards taper
is much better in my opinion
,remember my deano cues with the big wood screw and thick taper

everyone that bought them loved them,
Tim Scruggs had me send mine to him to critique,now he was one of the best cuemakers for good playing
he just wanted to see why i was excited,he knew i really knew nothing and wanted to have a big laugh
well he changed his taper to be more like mine,he said he never saw anything like it

danny janes loved it and said he played his best pool with this taper,(Joss Eeat) said the reason he did not put them on his cues was because people think the long taper is better


it took me 2 seconds to get used to it,long thin meucci taper is just the opposite

this taper allowed me to get 12.5 mm at the ferrule but keep control because the taper became immediately thicker on a constant increasing linear progression

i did tinker with it a bit,until it got better and better

put me down for loving the taper that increases right away

remember the DEANO cue
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I really liked mine with the Deano taper, but Larry's break taper just works better for me. I was WAY more accurate with the Deano taper though. It just didn't go with my shooting style.....I'm also a C player so take it for what it's worth.
 
It's the damnedest thing. I play skinny pro tapers but if I have to, I have no problem picking up a house cue (i.e. giant sequoia conical redwoods), and playing alright.

But when I tried to transition to a Mezz WX900 (12mm tip conical taper) I HATED it.

My only guess is that if you're going to have to deal with how a conical taper moves across your bridge, having a heavy log-type front end like on a house cue gives the front of the cue enough mass and inertia that the tip resists moving too far from where you intend to contact the CB, once you set the cue in motion.

Now I'm on the Lucasi Hybrid Slim which has a very short pro taper but despite the short pro taper, even though I bridge closed 90% of the time, I usually have enough pro taper that it's fine. I think for thinner shafts you can get away without having a long pro, this short pro taper took no time to get used to really. Still, for 12.75-13mm shafts, a short taper would probably kill my closed bridging. If I'm going to have a stiff conical taper I'd just get a snooker cue, I can hit those alright.
 
Straightpool_99 said:
I'm currently waiting for my custom order shaft, which will be a carom style conical taper. I was sick and tired of "pro" tapers and weak conical tapers. I especially felt uncomfortable on long shots with just a slight angle and on firm stun shots. It felt like the shaft (weak, conical taper) would buckle and I didn't get the proper feedback to the hand. Since I play a lot of snooker too, I've gotten used to the conical shafts there. My snooker cue is very stiff, which I like, because it feels consistent at a wide range of speeds. A cue with a more flexible shaft will feel very different as the speed/spin starts to increase.

I always felt very untalented in my early playing days, since I could not play AT ALL with Meucci cues with the long pro taper that were fashionable in the 90's (and were still abundant in the early 2000's when I started playing). Looking at players running out with that kind of equipment always left me scratching my head. The only available alternative around here, at that time were "log" shafts that had slightly shorter pro tapers. They were better for me, but still I wish I could have gottten my hands on a conical taper at that time. The only cues that were like that were carom cues, and their length and balance are not right for pool. It is still a problem to get strong, conical tapered shafts in lengths suitable to pool cues, which is why I had to custom order one. None of the commercially available ones were strong enough for my liking, and if they were strong enough, they were too large in diameter .
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The OB2, and Predator Z shafts have a conical taper (I think), and are extremely strong and stiff shafts. I could not run 2 balls with them. I did not even try to get used to playing with them. Sold them as soon as I tried one out for a few games. I hate the conical taper, and I can't explain why.
 
Allen Brown said:
I've told you once before to move to North Alabama. You would like it and I would even get you acquainted with a few good Ol' boys. No gambling between friends unless it's for lunch or something. I could even find you a cue that you might like.
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Thanks for the nice offer.
 
deanoc said:
The constant taper,euro taper,billiards taper
is much better in my opinion
,remember my deano cues with the big wood screw and thick taper

everyone that bought them loved them,
Tim Scruggs had me send mine to him to critique,now he was one of the best cuemakers for good playing
he just wanted to see why i was excited,he knew i really knew nothing and wanted to have a big laugh
well he changed his taper to be more like mine,he said he never saw anything like it

danny janes loved it and said he played his best pool with this taper,(Joss Eeat) said the reason he did not put them on his cues was because people think the long taper is better


it took me 2 seconds to get used to it,long thin meucci taper is just the opposite

this taper allowed me to get 12.5 mm at the ferrule but keep control because the taper became immediately thicker on a constant increasing linear progression

i did tinker with it a bit,until it got better and better

put me down for loving the taper that increases right away

remember the DEANO cue
Click to expand...

Did you build these cues?

http://www.2cool2miss.com/product/deano-classic-hoppe-style-sp-cue

The taper does not look bad. Very nice looking cue too. I really like the joint.
 
I'm having Richard Black build me another 'log'.

14mm shaft with 1-inch ivory ferrule and Balabushka taper.
 
Have an OB shaft, 11.75mm, with conical taper. I am used to the pro taper. I couldn't get used to the conical taper no matter how hard I tried. I had the taper lengthened, $40, and still can't get used to it. It sits in my bag and I am back to my Joss hard maple shafts with pro taper for good I think.
 
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