Have you had this problem??, PLEASE HELP!!

Nineballchamp

Nineballchamp

Certified Cue Addict
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I bought a new Phillippi recently for a thousand. Ive been playing with a Predator for around six months. I tried to play with the phillippi but I just cant seem to adjust. Now Im asking my self if Im stuck playing with Predator forever. I thought about tapering one shaft to match the specks of the Predator(I doubt that It would make a difference).Now Im thinking about selling it or trading it.Have you encountered this problem????? Thankful for any help or comments.
 
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Nineballchamp said:
I bought a new Phillippi recently for a thousand. Ive been playing with a Predator for around six months. I tried to play with the phillippi but I just cant seem to adjust. Now Im asking my self if Im stuck playing with Predator forever. I thought about tapering one shaft to match the specks of the Predator(I doubt that It would make a difference).Now Im thinking about selling it or trading it.Have you encountered this problem????? Thankful for any help or comments.
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I have a JW with a Predator shaft. I can't stand the regular shafts anymore.

You can get Phillippi to make up a nice predator blank to match your cue or just order one to fit.

Chris
 
TATE said:
I have a JW with a Predator shaft. I can't stand the regular shafts anymore.

You can get Phillippi to make up a nice predator blank to match your cue or just order one to fit.

Chris
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I just dont want to spend anymore on cues, I get a little Ill when I think of how much Ive already spent.... :(
 
Nineballchamp said:
I just dont want to spend anymore on cues, I get a little Ill when I think of how much Ive already spent.... :(
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Heres the pix, let me know if your intrusted in trade. 2 shaft, Kornele Joint protectors etc.
 

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Nineballchamp said:
I bought a new Phillippi recently for a thousand. Ive been playing with a Predator for around six months. I tried to play with the phillippi but I just cant seem to adjust. Now Im asking my self if Im stuck playing with Predator forever. I thought about tapering one shaft to match the specks of the Predator(I doubt that It would make a difference).Now Im thinking about selling it or trading it.Have you encountered this problem????? Thankful for any help or comments.
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I think you should just give the cue a little more time to adjust. you cannot expect to just have it delivered and expect to play your normal speed right away. so just give it time. if after a week or 2 of playing with it constantly and with the preditor put away you just might get used to it...just my 2 cents worth...............................................mike
 
clear your head & let adjustment happen

I've played with a Hagan for about 3 years - just loved the hit. Received a custom cue last week - took me about 10 minutes to get used to the new hit and different balance. I think it's just a matter of time to adjust to a new cue. I haven't even considered going back to the Hagan.

Anyone interested in a basic Hagan with 3 shafts - excellent condition?
 
I think the secret to this game is not which brand of cue you use, which brand of tip you use, etc., but determining the specification of cue you prefer to use, then sticking with that forever.

Different cues play differently.
Different weights of cues play differently.
Different sizes of shafts play differently (11mm, 12mm, 13mm, etc.)
Different tips play differently.
Tips with a different radius will play differently (nickel, dime, etc.)

You may have gone to a different sized shaft, different tip, different tip radius, different deflection, and different weight cue.

I switched just the weight of my cue and the deflection of my shaft and that took me three months to adjust to (same everything else)...
 
Give the cue/shaft a couple weeks and then see if you have adjusted.

back in Feb and March i went from using one Meucci Original to a different Meucci Original, and that didnt take anytime to adjust. Then i was using a friends Predator for about a month and that really didnt take long to get usta, because of the solid hit.

And now i use a Espiritu, and it took me about 1 week to figure it out. But it seriously plays how i want, good stiff hit, and the ability to use english and very little deflection.

And i also sold all my other cue's so i dont have any doubts when i start to miss shots.

Seriously the best thing you could do is just put the Predator away for GOOD and just use your Phillipi.

Because you will never give the Phillipi a chance if your always doubting yourself or saying, if i was using my Predator i would have gotten position or made that shot.

Dave
 
I had the opposite experience with my Phillippi that replaced my Predator SPW. Just one hour on the table with the Phillippi and my run average increased from 2-3 balls to 5 balls. With the SPW I might have run the table once a year and now I run at least once per night with my Phillippi. Do the math.

But hey, there's lots of pros as well as excellent players who swear by the Predator and so this is one person's experience. Some players swear by Richard Black cues and I hate the 'hit' and feel of it. Do the math.

And no, I'm not a Phillippi fanatic but his cue has very well served as the cure for my game and occasionally I win tournaments with it.
 
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I'd like to thank you for pointing this out. No I haven't had the problem but now I know I won't.
 
Okay I probably am not one to be giving advice since I'm not a pro, or anywhere near. But I was playing with a Predator 314 for about 4 years. Then I bought a Schon and found I was having a lot of trouble with it (deflection). So I took out my Southwest and decided I got tired of looking at it and started playing with it and found I had the same problem. Now here are two good, well made cues and I was haviig the same problem. I convinced myself that I should go out and buy a 314 for my Schon but since I am having a cue made by my friend and he will start with a 314 and the joint will also fit my Schon I put it off. Then I went back to playing with my Schon again and really spent some time practicing and all of a sudden something clicked and now I love my Schon.

I believe what happened is that I trained myself to find the correct aiming spot to hit the right contact spot which automatically compensates for the deflection. If that makes any sense.

It took a couple of months.

Jake
 
jjinfla said:
...I believe what happened is that I trained myself to find the correct aiming spot to hit the right contact spot which automatically compensates for the deflection. If that makes any sense...
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That is my experience going from a non-Predator shaft to a Predator shaft. So I suppose the opposite is true.

With the non-Predator shaft on long cut shots using english, I learned to aim a certain way and it worked.

Then I switched to Predator and with the lower cue ball deflection, the cue ball would be off on these shots. So it has taken me time to re-train myself to aim in a new way with the Predator shaft. (With these specific shots.)

Where I notice the difference the most is with balls frozen to the rail and using english. You need to be right on with aim on these shots. Balls not touching the rail going into a pocket have a lot of leeway.

All other shots are the same basically. Center hit is center hit no matter which cue I use.
 
What is the difference between playing with, say a Schon with a Predator shaft, and just playing with a Predator cue...or any other cue and a Predator shaft?

How much of the hit of the cue comes from the butt of the cue? It seems to me that the butt of the cue is pretty much just along for the ride....the hit comes mostly from the shaft and the joint. The butt might affect weight distribution...front weighted or rear weighted, and might introduce unwanted influences into the way the cue plays...buzzes and rattles, etc., but will have very little to do with the actual hit of the cue.

If you have a "custom" cue and are using a Predator shaft, it seems to me that you could have saved a bunch of money and just bought a production Predator cue...

I tried using a Predator shaft (314) once...I'd heard all the hype...I hated it. It was fine for center-ball shots, but the moment I tried to use any kind of spin things went right down the crapper. I'm sure that I could have given it a couple of months and gotten used to it, but I wasn't having any problems playing with my regular shaft...why torture myself trying to get used to something else?
 
GeraldG said:
...why torture myself trying to get used to something else?
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In my experience, any time you change cues (or even shafts) there is an adjustment period. As mentioned already, there are so many variables cue to cue there has to be an adjustment period.

You certainly don't have to torture yourself, but unless you plan on using the same cue & shaft forever you will have to be willing to go through some adjustment period between cues.

This may be very minimal, but when going from a standard shaft to a low-deflection shaft like the Predator (or vice-versa) it is a dramatic change and will take longer.

As a matter of preference, I use laminated/spliced shafts on my cues. I don't think this makes me a better player, but I like the fact that I can switch cues if I want and get a fairly consistant hit. I have shafts in the 4 major threads, and can use one on just about every cue I own without going through a dramatic adjustment period.

My 2 cents

~Chris
 
jjinfla said:
I believe what happened is that I trained myself to find the correct aiming spot to hit the right contact spot which automatically compensates for the deflection. If that makes any sense.

It took a couple of months.

Jake
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Jake,

It's absolutely accurate. It's simply the learning curve.

The brain has the ability to adjust to conditions as part of our learning behavior. For example, each eye sees from a different perspective and usually at a different focus level. The brain merges this information and interprets it as one big picture.

Ultimately, we can adjust to almost anything by learning it.

Chris
 
GeraldG said:
What is the difference between playing with, say a Schon with a Predator shaft, and just playing with a Predator cue...or any other cue and a Predator shaft?

How much of the hit of the cue comes from the butt of the cue?...
Click to expand...

Before I bought my Predator shaft, I had my regular playing cue and a cheap cue for traveling. Both had the same exact tip, same shaft size, same tip shape, and were both the same weight. Both cues played the same.

So I think you can have a different butt, but same Predator shaft, same tip, same tip shape, and they will play the same*

*So long as the total cue weight is also the same. When I change the weight of my cue, it messes up my speed control.
 
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