Predator Cues are very good. I am not sure how any of that other stuff relates to Predators strong branding or that their cues are good and people like them. Interesting input tough!
TFT
How many people with very negative opinions about the Predator table, have actually played on one?? Or set one up / worked on one???
- Thread starter trentfromtoledo
- Start date
TFT
DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
Our opinions of predator differ. To each his own.
My point was simply some examples of popular, mediocre products vs. better, less popular examples.
You know headphones, I'd throw the example of Beats vs. Grado (or Beyerdynamic, or Sennheiser, or...).
MurrayNevada
Well-known member
I want a pool table, not an advertising billboard. Diamond offers black epoxy Diamond logos on end rail skirts, or no logo at all, for those who feel the same. Better to have the choice than not.
The people that buy these Preda-turds love for everyone to know what they have. Kinda like those that buy pick-ups and put giant 'FORD' or 'CHEVY' stickers on them. Another form of a dick measuring contest.
Although this is subjective (I don't care for their cues) they seem to be popular and they have a loyal following. So from a production cue standpoint, they are probably at or near the top and they did bring innovation to the market with the REVO shaft, although I feel the Cuetec Cynergy is superior but to each their own. There is something to be said about staying in your lane and being the leader of a category vs. diluting the brand with multiple offerings outside your core business. Not succeeding at those offerings can further tarnish a previously top notch brand. Here are a couple of examples. DIRECTV started out in 1994 as a cable tv solution for rural America. It quickly became the pay television brand of choice across the country for both rural and urban households. They pioneered many innovations in the pay TV space and were a top 3 recognized brand in America at one point despite several ownership changes. AT&T came along and bought DIRECTV for $550M and thought they were going to improve it by offering DIRECTV in a bundle with internet and mobile phones. The public wasn't having it and DIRECTV started to lose market share in the pay TV space. Some industry experts say had AT&T chosen to keep DIRECTV a standalone, it would be much stronger than it is today. Another example, although a regional one is In-N-Out Burger which started here in SoCal in 1948. Since then, they have served the best burgers and fries on the planet (subjective, I know) from a menu that has gone relatively unchanged for decades. Kids want chicken strips/nuggets? Too bad, go to McDonalds. You want chili on your burger? Too bad, go to Tommy's. They do one thing and do it at a VERY high level: burgers and fries. You cannot drive by a location here in SoCal without seeing a line of cars waiting to order and they turned a single burger stand in 1948 into a billion dollar company. They were smart enough (and still are) to stay in their lane and be a leader (albeit regional) of their category.
Predator is trying to build a huge brand with multiple products and for the sake of the industry, I hope they succeed. I may be way off on this but at the core, Predator is interested in one thing and one thing only: Predator. Everything else is secondary. They want pool to succeed because if it doesn't, it will impact their livelihood. They are flooding the market with products they do not make but simply slap their logo on it and bam!, it's a Predator product. I'd have more respect for Predator as a company had they designed and built a table in house vs partnering with a manufacturer (SAM) that would he the 4th or 5th choice on most people's list. That's my 2 cents anyway.
Predator is trying to build a huge brand with multiple products and for the sake of the industry, I hope they succeed. I may be way off on this but at the core, Predator is interested in one thing and one thing only: Predator. Everything else is secondary. They want pool to succeed because if it doesn't, it will impact their livelihood. They are flooding the market with products they do not make but simply slap their logo on it and bam!, it's a Predator product. I'd have more respect for Predator as a company had they designed and built a table in house vs partnering with a manufacturer (SAM) that would he the 4th or 5th choice on most people's list. That's my 2 cents anyway.
I'm actually kinda surprised they didn't just buy Diamond outright. They definitely have the $$$ to do it.
Great Post! Thanks for taking the time to clearly express your views. I appreciate them and your time.
I do not shoot with their cues either and also have the Cuetec Cynergy CF as well. I had a white diamond tip put on it and use it as a break shaft!!
I like the white ferrule much better than the black on the Revo.
My posts about Predator are not so much about the products I like of theirs and rather the whole vision of what they are working on. I really did not like it at first and then after thinking about our industry from my experience : I GOT IT. Trying to get all the major companies to come together is darn near impossible. So the idea of having everything under one roof makes clear sense to me. Yes, this does mean Predator makes more $$$, well I understand they are in business for themselves to turn a profit. I believe Karim loves pool and has the best of both worlds: does something he loves and makes money: that is the AMERICAN DREAM. I also run a business and love to maintain as few outside needs as possible. IMO: control the variables as much as possible = ensures the product quality. It also makes things much more repeatable/ consistent.
I also would have preferred they would have partnered with someone like Brunswick or Olhausen to make their tables and that is because starting from scratch would be a really risky venture. That did not happen: So SAM it is....
The Tour they are doing is straight up good for pool in the USA> There is nothing else like it going on. Professional Pool Players NEED this. Our Game needs this to become a respected SPORT. I hope Brunswick, Rasson and Diamond also follow up doing something like this, but, as we can see: NO ONE IS DOIN ANYTHING LIKE IT. Yeah there are a few long standing tournaments that are once a year opportunities for Pro's. clearly this is not enough for the game to grow into a Sport. The APA BCA and Valley league stuff is not equal to a Pro Tour.
As for the logo's, advertising and marketing: it seems to resemble other big equipment manufacturers and branding that are involved in every successful sport out there. Makes perfect sense to me. APA has GREAT BRANDING. I may not care for their league, but, I can surely respect what they are doing and how successful it is.
IMO, I do not think they would ever sell. Even if it were good for them as a company or for pool as a sport. IMO: If you asked them, they would tell you everything is just with pool and what they are doing..... IMO they think being back ordered 500+ tables annually is good. It may be for them, but, it really is not for them as a company for growth, people who WAIT or the industry.
TFT
Bangin Ballz in Vegas has a room full of new Rasson tables. If you only looked at the top it resembles a GC4 and table plays similar to it. I had no problem going between the Diamonds at Griff's and the OX table. I only played on the 9' table, the bar boxes look the same.
I have this idiot on IGNORE, Please don't capture his stupid posts. Thanks bro
I played on a Rasson OX in Okeechobee FLA @Backwoods Billiards and I was very impressed with how it, looked, played/ banked and from what I could see under it, how it was designed. I have not installed one or maintained one yet, so that is the final 25% of my opinion of it. So far they have me sold on it. I am not sure how well the Rasson brand is selling here.
The Predator table is already being sold by Seyberts. Not sure who they have installing them... @juspooln has been selling and installing them down in Jacksonville. I know he knows his stuff. He also works with Predator directly and has been since it all started. The Billiard Factory in Jacksonville sells Rasson as well. They have a 20k sq foot training area with a ton of pool tables set up! They are very into current and new trends in tables. They are also a Brunswick dealer and have the GC6 set up too.
TFT
Here is someone's honest review of the Predator 7 footer:
I thought it was very good.
I participated in part of the tournament and also played on a table with friends for several hours. Strictly on the 7' version.
They were honestly pretty nice and I enjoyed playing on them. Pocketing was moderately easier than on a diamond. I didn't measure pocket size, they seemed close to diamond size but I personally rattled a lot less balls than I do on a diamond, without feeling like I was being particularly precise. I suspect the pocket shelf and/or pocket facings are just more accepting.
They banked a bit funny. The rails didn't seem to grab side spin overly well. I don't know if this is due to brand new cloth or if the rails are just funny. The cloth was very fast.
The tables were VERY quiet. Very very quiet, I was thrilled about that. I didnt have any balls get stuck in the ball return.
One table I played on had a cracked section - I can't think of the word but the part where you'd rest your bridge hand for a shot that is close to the rail, the veneer or whatever it is. Don't know how it cracked, it was 4 or 5 inches long and was surprising to see considering the age of the average valley rail and how those never seem busted up.
Every table also had their fancy new rack which...was fine. If you're buying a table and it comes with it - great. But I wouldn't spend any money on it. I encountered a rack where one of the risers (it's a thin triangle mounted on 3 risers which then provides less drag on the cloth) was coming loose, I just tightened it by hand and it was fine.
The predator rectangle perimeter style light was also mounted above every table. Quite pleasant to play with though a lot of them were poorly hung, just not level, I imagine that was just the nature of it being a tournament with lots of prep to complete in minimal time. Holy expensive though I think they wanted 1200USD or something.
The predator Arcos 2 balls or whatever they are were nice, no complaints except that I personally hate having a cat face where there should be the second # but whatever. After my first few racks of 10 ball I got worried for a moment that they were being blasphemous and using a purple 5 and I was shooting out of order...this was not the case, the 5 ball was thankfully ORANGE.
I'm personally not a fan of Predator branding at all so I must say.......HOLY GIANT CATS EVERYWHERE. The table itself was a fine shape for a bar box but jeepers they are obsessed with plastering giant cats on everything, making the tables fairly ugly to look at on the superficial level. I feel this way about most predator stuff though, so take it as you will.
All in all, I liked them more than I expected I would. At 8000 USD for a 7' (I think this was the price) though, it better be damn good. It was about $1000 per giant cat printed on the side of the table, give or take.
Sent from my SM-S901W using Tapatalk"
TFT
CSI dumps Diamond for Predator tables
Just received this in my inbox: CueSports International (CSI), parent company of the BCA Pool League and USA Pool League, is excited to announce a truly groundbreaking partnership that makes Predator Apex the official pool table of CSI, the BCA Pool League and the USA Pool League. Predator Apex...
forums.azbilliards.com
I thought it was very good.
"KUKABUKA
Member
I participated in part of the tournament and also played on a table with friends for several hours. Strictly on the 7' version.
They were honestly pretty nice and I enjoyed playing on them. Pocketing was moderately easier than on a diamond. I didn't measure pocket size, they seemed close to diamond size but I personally rattled a lot less balls than I do on a diamond, without feeling like I was being particularly precise. I suspect the pocket shelf and/or pocket facings are just more accepting.
They banked a bit funny. The rails didn't seem to grab side spin overly well. I don't know if this is due to brand new cloth or if the rails are just funny. The cloth was very fast.
The tables were VERY quiet. Very very quiet, I was thrilled about that. I didnt have any balls get stuck in the ball return.
One table I played on had a cracked section - I can't think of the word but the part where you'd rest your bridge hand for a shot that is close to the rail, the veneer or whatever it is. Don't know how it cracked, it was 4 or 5 inches long and was surprising to see considering the age of the average valley rail and how those never seem busted up.
Every table also had their fancy new rack which...was fine. If you're buying a table and it comes with it - great. But I wouldn't spend any money on it. I encountered a rack where one of the risers (it's a thin triangle mounted on 3 risers which then provides less drag on the cloth) was coming loose, I just tightened it by hand and it was fine.
The predator rectangle perimeter style light was also mounted above every table. Quite pleasant to play with though a lot of them were poorly hung, just not level, I imagine that was just the nature of it being a tournament with lots of prep to complete in minimal time. Holy expensive though I think they wanted 1200USD or something.
The predator Arcos 2 balls or whatever they are were nice, no complaints except that I personally hate having a cat face where there should be the second # but whatever. After my first few racks of 10 ball I got worried for a moment that they were being blasphemous and using a purple 5 and I was shooting out of order...this was not the case, the 5 ball was thankfully ORANGE.
I'm personally not a fan of Predator branding at all so I must say.......HOLY GIANT CATS EVERYWHERE. The table itself was a fine shape for a bar box but jeepers they are obsessed with plastering giant cats on everything, making the tables fairly ugly to look at on the superficial level. I feel this way about most predator stuff though, so take it as you will.
All in all, I liked them more than I expected I would. At 8000 USD for a 7' (I think this was the price) though, it better be damn good. It was about $1000 per giant cat printed on the side of the table, give or take.
Sent from my SM-S901W using Tapatalk"
TFT
Predator 7' Table Review!