hits/misses

T

tom haney

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I realize this is highly subjective but...
Which sticks generally criticized on here have been
good for you?
Also, which sticks generally praised on here have been
disappointing to you.
I have been disappointed in Dominiak, Pat Diviney,
Russ Espiritu, Mike Stacey & Predator.
Pleasant surprises have been Dale Perry & Jerry Rauenzahn.
Another that hasn't been criticized but still exceeded my
expectations was Keith Josey. Great hitting stick.
Believe it or not the jury is still out for me for Paul Mottey
and Tim Scruggs,
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Rauenzahn is better
than Mottey or Scruggs. I'm just talking about expectation
level. Some sticks I shoot with I instantly love- Bender,
Kikel, Olney.
 
hondo said:
Also, which sticks generally praised on here have been
disappointing to you.
Click to expand...

I don't want to kill any particular cuemaker's action, but I've tried quite a few of the customs recommended here and some of them were horrible. One of the custom cues I've seen recommended on here has to be THE worst cue I've ever hit with in my entire life - though I've only played with 1 cue by that maker. Still though, if I were a cuemaker and I produced a cue like that, I'd burn it. It's not necessarily about your best product, but where you draw the line on what the worst you'll allow out of your shop is
 
Egg McDogit said:
I don't want to kill any particular cuemaker's action, but I've tried quite a few of the customs recommended here and some of them were horrible. One of the custom cues I've seen recommended on here has to be THE worst cue I've ever hit with in my entire life - though I've only played with 1 cue by that maker. Still though, if I were a cuemaker and I produced a cue like that, I'd burn it. It's not necessarily about your best product, but where you draw the line on what the worst you'll allow out of your shop is
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response. I seriously doubt that our responses
will "kill" any maker's action. In fact I imagine some cues
will be on both pro & con answers.
 
hits and misses

Best cue I have had in my hands has to be a Murray Tucker s/p I have A+++.... just feels damn right in the hand, and is deadly accurate

I just picked up a Stacey and after having the shafts turned to 12.25 and changing to sumo tips, it has come to life as well A+. And a Kikel that a friend has that I can't pry out of him

The Jerry Rauz ( oh hell how ever ya spell it!!) is also a great player as well after the above changes give it an A

And a Jacoby 1 of 5 that I own is also top shelf give it an A, as well as a Diviney that someone just had to have and payed dearly for $$$

Have owned DZ's and Bluds although both were sp's had a very nice firm feel and good action that I would rate an a-

Judd Fuller was Ok but not what I was looking for rate at a B,

Jack Kopman that is now for sale I would give a B+, as well as a Chuck Starkey cue that responded very well to a Morri soft and the new owner just loves, and a Willie cue that a friend won in araffle

Sub pars would be an Arnot, that looked 5 years old in 6 months the finish just flaked off, Jazz that just felt dead, Southwest that felt like an axiom cue, And a Schon that felt like a log. Feel the same about Joss.

That is about all I can think of right now!!

Keep the feedback coming,

we all have an addiction, just different cues to drug the pain!!!
 
Interesting reply, Joe. And as I said earlier completely
different reaction to Diviney & Stacey than I had
but similar response to Rauenzahn. I don't think we
need to worry about posting names, Eg.
 
I believe the tip and taper change made a huge difference on the Stacey, never tried the divieney long enough to make a true determination as it was sold shortly after I got it, but it felt good
 
Hit and Misses

FWIW, I've hit with two Scruggs cues. One I would describe as Excalibur cause I couldn't seem to miss a ball with it. Unfortunately, I didn't have the $1800 the guy wanted for it. I'm sure I'd have missed eventually. :D The other is owned by a friend of mine and while it's a nice cue, it doesn't feel right to me. Don't know why, it just feels blah.

Another friend has a Parrot cue, local make here in Richmond, and I like it alot. One has a Skip Weston that feels good but I couldn't make a ball with it; seemed like it was too stiff or something.

I bought a Dale Perry cue that I really like the hit on and is regular playing cue.

I don't have the collections some of you guys do but I'm always amazed of the difference in feel from one to another.

Brian in VA
 
When I took my first hit with my custom in Barry's shop, the cue just felt like an extension to my arm. Besides my Ted Harris S/P that I use on league nights, I will never buy another cue to play with.

Unless I can convince a few people that I absolutely, positively, have to have a Boti 8-pointer. :)!

Barbara
 
Interesting subject to say the least.

My take on it, is I'll NEVER (unless it's to collect or resell or something) purchase a cue without hitting some balls with it first. Cue's are made of wood, wood is a living thing.. Densities between two shafts vary slightly, densities of wood in the butts will vary slightly etc. etc.. The only thing the cue maker can do is put the same profile (taper) on the shaft to try to maintain consistency, certain types of joints and maybe adjust some weight pins. Everything else is just aesthetics about a cue.. (correct me if I'm wrong there)

I personally have a Schon and a Joss. Previous to this Schon I had one that I absolutely loved (SL1). It hit as good as any cue I've ever played with, and I made the mistake of getting rid of it to get another cue.. Through the years I found myself back to Schon again (this time a higher model) but it's still not as good as that first one.. or atleast what I remember that first one to be.

You can pick up 10 "identical" cues off a rack, and all 10 of them are going to hit differently. Pick the one you like that buy that one. ;) Atleast that's my theory on it. I've hit with some pretty damned expensive cues that I wouldn't buy for 100 bucks.. and I've hit with some pretty cheap cues that hit like a truck.

DJ
 
Really like my dzuricky sneaky way above expectation, the madison bob cue I've been trying to sell hits very nice and was what I expected (and no..I'm not just saying that), never had a scruggs sneaky I didn't like though I tend to turn them over quickly and regret it later.
 
Someone should send out a survey to all AZBilliards members on this topic. Just ask everyone to list the best and worst hitting cues they have ever used and tally up the replies. Now that would be interesting information, IMHO.
 
Room101 said:
Someone should send out a survey to all AZBilliards members on this topic. Just ask everyone to list the best and worst hitting cues they have ever used and tally up the replies. Now that would be interesting information, IMHO.
Click to expand...

I agree. Why don't you do it?
 
I havent been to a tournament down in the US yet. I was supposed to go to an APA tourney in Ohio last week I think it was, that my team goes to every year. It all fell apart at the last second. Anyway, they all tell me about the cues all the Americans have. SL3's that have $2000 custom cues! That is just unheard of up here. Is there really that much of a difference to your game between a good $500-$700 cue (like a Falcon or Joss or Schon), and a custom cue for many thousands? Not trying to get OT, just wondering if someone could describe the difference for me. Right now I play with a Brunswick, dont know what model or anything, have never seen one like it. I bought it as a break cue, for $100 off a team mate about 10 years ago. I cant see playing with anything else.
 
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