How long have you kept your playing cue?What made you change?

Yeah new cue syndrome has blinded many a player.It does take some time to see flaws in your cue.Unfortunately i think for me it has taken a couple years.Mainly due to not really playing much.Ive played more getting ready for DCC in 6 months then I had in the previous 1 year and 1/2 and now the flaws are showing but im going to really concentrate and see some more tonight.
 
my first cue was a cheap player cue until i broke it,then i moved up to a meucci wasnt to happy with it so i bought a helmstetter loved it til i met nubbs wagner and shot with a nova,thats the cue i have now and i love it wouldnt trade it for the world,its just to bad he quit making them
 
I had a green Mali too for several years and still like it, ........then a McDermott for 2 years. Then I switched up to a Jacoby, Had a Joss that got stolen during that time. Now I Play with my custom Bludworth and break with a J.W. Petree custom breaking cue.
 
Favorite Playing Cue

I have been playing with a 1999 Dave Kiekel " American Beauty " since 99". I added Ivory ferrules, Moori tips, and had Rick Phillippi refinish and add leather wrap. Sweetest hitting cue I have ever laid my hands on. IMHO
Don P. :cool:
 
1st cue $70 Cobra. Still have it.
2nd cue $250 Helmstetter VIP cue

Once I started to play more seriously I bought the Helmstetter VIP cue in 1996. Been playing with it ever since but I am an off/on player. Lots of play in the winter which tapers off once the crappy New England weather clears out and I can resume rock climbing and motorcycle riding.

Thinking about getting a custom cue if I can get my game to a level that where I won't be embarassed to be playing with an expensive cue. I told myself that when I can start running 20-25 balls regularly in straight pool I will feel like I have reached a respectable level of play.
 
I use a mop in my show, I prefer the Home Depot mop handle, they are Maple and cost almost six bucks, that's high dollar for a mop.
I have a 2nd Mop handle I cut down some and do my masses with, same one.
For jumping I go to Kmart and get their $3 mop which is ramon wood, it is lighter than maple and works better. I saw off the end a little so its shorter.

My high run with my mop, with no tip, is two racks, 30 balls. I file down the end into a cone and then chalk it up and go. Catch my show, you will see it in action, I jump over a full ball, do masses and draw table length. Now and then I run a rack with it, all 15 balls.

Never get into a game with anyone for money who wants to play you with a mop, bad move. No home depot does not pay me to play with their mop, but if Kmart wants to drop some loot my way, hint hint, I could lose loyalty real fast.
 
My first cue was a 35$ Adam back in the early 70's then I bought my first
Tad around 74. Then I bought a second Tad a few years later. I played only with these two cues for twentyfive plus years until I had Mike Gulyassy build me a custom cue in 2002. It sure was a completely different hit and it took me a long time to adjust to a softer hit. If you have ever played with a Tad you know what I'm talking about! I decided when I order the Gulyassy that I
would have the Tads totally refinished and never play with them again.They look brand new now, if any collector is interested I might be persuaded to let them go if the price is right.
 
Tony said:
Yeah new cue syndrome has blinded many a player.It does take some time to see flaws in your cue.Unfortunately i think for me it has taken a couple years.Mainly due to not really playing much.Ive played more getting ready for DCC in 6 months then I had in the previous 1 year and 1/2 and now the flaws are showing but im going to really concentrate and see some more tonight.

What do you mean flaws? I switched from my previous cue to my current one. I can tell there is a difference but I can't describe it or tell what it is. I want a custom cue but the cuemaker is going to have to watch me play. I can't tell him what I want or prefer.
 
Usually when you get a new cue you are so excited it hides some things.To use an analogy it is like getting a new car.You are so excited to get the car but after awhile the newness wears off and then you see maybe it wasnt the car for you.So basically i had my cue for a while and hadnt driven it.But now that i have driven it alot seems like there are some things missing.The feel that i wanted just isnt there like I want.But im working with that by changing tips to hopefully get the feel i want.Since you are saving up for a custom cue I recommend to try a few different cuemakers cues and if you can try a wide wariety of their cues.You are the one that will have to play with the cue so you should figure out works for you.Pool is a game where you really have to be happy with what you have in your hand.What works for some doesnt work for others.And remember practice, practice,practice.It sucks to look good while the other guy is running out.lol
 
FL:

Instead of using a mop handle, why not try shooting with the cue held backwards or with a baseball bat? Now, no wise cracks allowed. 8P
 
My first Cue was a 2 piece dufferin. I then went to a D5 McDermott. After a year or two I bought a Meucci, played with it for a while then a guy made an offer I couldn't turn down for it. Went next to a Meucci sneaky pete, which ended up broken in a bar fight over a 1 dollar game back when I was 19. Had to split before the law got there so never got any money for the broken cue.

Bought a Frey sneaky as well as a high dollar limited edition Falcon. The Frey was my playing cue and the Falcon to collect, though down the road a guy offered me a Meucci 95-18, cuetech BreakJump, and cash for the Falcon so I traded. (needed the cash)

Continued to shoot with the Frey until I quit playing pool, at which point I let my best friend use the Frey. Started playing again roughly 6 months ago and didn't care for the 95-18 Meucci so traded it in towards a Ebony and Birdseye Phillippi and have been playing with it since. My friend recently purchased a stick of his own so the Frey is finally back home though now it needs a ferrule (possibly an entire shaft) and refinished. Owned the Frey for going on 9 years.
 
I played with a house stick for 2/3 years i forgot then i bought my first cue which was a Dufferin Shadow for about $150 now their selling it for $200 price went up and that cue is still worth $200. Played with that for about a year and a half then i got another a 'custom' cue from the Philippines, best hitting cue i've ever hit till now but stupid me i kept breaking with it and stuff now it's all messed up. So I bought a Falcon Cue hit is decent, then i about a 314 shaft for it sold it after a year.(i needed the money lol) I was planning on buying a Pechauer this year but looks like imma be spending that money on a new Guitar.
 
My story... started playing around 1990 and got my first cue at 1991; a used Meucci gambler copy, brand unknown for $50. Good deal considering the cue was straight and hit nice. Bought a basic Meucci model for $250 in 1993 after the wrap came of from the original cue. Used the Meucci for 2 years and got tired of the whippy shaft and bought a brand new Longoni for $300 and after 1-2 weeks of play the ferrule came off !!! Glued the ferrule back on (first time in my life) and traded the cue with a nice Bear cue with a really nice hit. Bought also a Falcon BJ in 1995 which I still use. The Bear was in heavy use all the way till 2001 when I started feeling the shaft had lost some stiffness and felt slightly whippy for my taste. During my trip to Florida in 1999 I had bought a Helmstetter and I used that a few months after selling the Bear. Then I ordered a Capone custom cue through Mika Immonen. Got the cue and I loved it !! Truly magnificent hit, like an arrow ! Then I had to sell it 'cause I wanted to go for an international internship for 6 months and didn't have the money to do it :-( Then on the road in Europe I was shooting with my Falcon BJ in 2002 and it played okay. Now I have bought a nice $500 Bear which is now in test drive and I'm trying to find a good tip to it to match the characteristics... Still, I liked the Capone most !

Thinking about buying another Capone someday or perhaps Scruggs or even Southwest if I can my hands on one with a suitable price tag. Or maybe some other custom cue maker...
 
Cuetec Sneaky Pete then Cuetec Starlight, then Lucasi L21U, then predator 2K1, Then 2k2, then Bear Cue of Champions, Then Predator 2K6 and a 70's Meucci. Now I have a Schuler, Predator LE8, Bear Break Cue and an 80's Black Boar and a Predator SPJU. I guess I just like to use as many as I can. ;)
 
Donald A. Purdy said:
Toby, I would be happy to have the Scruggs back if you change your mind. Would look real good in my personal collection. I will take the whole package back. Give ya all your money back. Then I would get a great deal too. I am always looking for a great deal, ya know. So I can pass it on to good people like you. ;)
Don

Well said!

-pigi
 
1st the Cuetec graphite. It took me one year to realize that the stick is worse than house cues. Plus it's virtually impossible to play with it without the glove. It was a year of torture.

My current is a relatively cheap Buffalo. After some improvment in my game and trying some other cues, now I finally know what to look for in a cue. That's why I didn't want to spend too much on unknown quality.
 
I play with a Joss with a Falcon shaft reason being I like the feel of the Joss but the shaft was too fat for my likeing so I took the shaft off of my Falcon its tappered and it shoot really well like that.... The reason I switched from my Josswest .... Well there are quiet a few reason for that... I am fixing to have it restored to mint condition and just simply add it to my collection because it is invaluable to me .....It is about three inches longer than any other cue that I have come in contact with and if I am playing in limited space I don't want the length of my cue to restrict my stroke .... I live in Jackson and I don't want that cue to walk off if ya know what I mean ....It took me a while to get use to a smaller cue not only is the shaft different the butt is slimmer than the other one also ... I still want to play with my JW and I have internal conflict about not playing with it but I'd rather put it up than have something happen to it
 
Ive had a lot of cues, many of which I regret getting rid of,,,,,,,,like some fine Jensen cues ( still got 2 ). A couple of Meuccis,,,,,,,,,wish I HAD sold them. A fine Rick Howard that I regret getting rid of. The Rizzo I still have. and a Ball ( Harris Ball ) that I like a lot. Id give a better opinion of Barber, but thats another story.
I have played with Joss, Scruggs, Black, Motty,,,,,,,,,,,,,just about any fine cue anyone can afford.
What Ive played with ever since he started making cues is a Barry Szamboti,,,,,,,,,,,,,Ive got two and they are the finest looking and playing cues Ive ever had in my hands.
 
I had a nice Palmer in the 60's. I wish I had kept it. I did keep all the rest. Right now I have 2 production cues ( 1 McDermott, 1 Player JB) and 5 custom cues with another being built, and 1 carved 3 piece imported screw off tip ramen wood shaft POS.
 
I've had a Helmstetter for almost 20 years give or take and got myself a Viattorre last year and got another Viattorre on the way. Definitely upgraded my cues.
 
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