I want to rent a Lambros cue....

ideologist said:
My question is why would a guy with a Bender be looking for a Lambros?
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I think Bender makes some really beautiful cues.

I know everyone has their favorites, but I don't think there's any cue maker who makes a better playing cue than Lambros ---- especially if you consider the consistency from cue to cue. They all play the same and they all play like God.
 
ideologist said:
My question is why would a guy with a Bender be looking for a Lambros?
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Have you hit with a lambros before? I had a monster e only and ivory Scruggs that I thought I would have for life until I hit with a lambros. It was sold immediately lol
 
As much money as some of these custom cues cost I know I will not buy one until I hit it first unless the cuemaker is offering a money back gaurantee. It would be a really good idea for the cue makers to have a demo to send out to potential customers, I would pay at least a $100.00 rental fee plus a deposit on the cue for its replacement value. With tracking numbers and everything its pretty easy to see that a guy isnt keeping the demo for a couple weeks, if he is, charge him for the cue and move on.
 
It's amazing but so true.....everyone has an opinion........but that doesn't mean the opinions expressed are valid or even meaningful.

Sure, it makes sense to hit with a cue from the cue-maker you want. But that's not a fool proof test so don't hang your hat on it. I'll give you an example.....say you like to play with cues that weigh 18.5-19 ozs but definitely not more than 19 ozs. You meet a fellow in a pool hall that has the cue from the cue-maker you want. So you mosey over to the fellow and ask to try his cue. You pocket the 10-12 balls remaining in front of you. You hand the cue back afterwards and walk away saying to your self....."That wasn;t such a great hitting cue and I like my cue better than that cue.......I'm glad I didn't get one." Well, what if the cue you tried had Kamui hard tips and you don't normally play with a tip that hard. And what if that cue weighed 19.8 ozs and had a steel joint when you normally play with ivory or phenolic..........and the shafts were 12.5mm and you normally use a 13mm etc.....get the picture yet.

I bought a Richard Black Bushka cue from Cornerstone two months ago. It has a piloted ivory joint.....extremely rare for any Bushka design cue by any cue-maker to have an ivory joint instead of a piloted steel joint. The cue played really fine and was exquisite.....stunning in appearance.....top shelf all the way and the cue could almost pass for an original Balabushka it was so exactly copied..........and I returned the cue which still saddens me......it was just gorgeous. Why did I return the cue. First let me tell you it wasn't because of the tip. It had one of Richard's original tips which I thought was the best hitting tip I ever tried.......it was the weight. Even with changing weight bolts to the shortest aluminum bolt Richard Black uses, the cue still weighed 19.3 ozs. My Scruggs cue weighs 18.25 ozs and my Mottey cue weighs 18.4 ozs..........I just didn't like the weight of the RB cue and cue ball speed control versus my other cues.

My point is I'd still love to acquire a Richard Black cue........I'd love to own that Bushka cue again but only if it was the right weight. Playing with just any cue isn't a fair test.....was the tip a dime or nickel shape, what's the cue's balance point, how heavy are the shafts (3.5 ozs vs 4.4 ozs), etc? There are just too many variables that can affect whether or not you like the cue you test play. I had never played with a Paul Mottey cue before buying mine. There aren't a lot of $3k cues floating around pool parlors so I never had the chance to test play one. I did test play a Scruggs cue before buying mine but the cue I tested had a steel joint because I couldn't locate an ivory joint Scruggs cue to test play. So I bought my Scruggs a little less blind than how I bought my Mottey cue but nonetheless, little firsthand experience. Was I concerned.....not one bit, not in the slightest.

When you buy a expensive cue from a talented cue-maker, the one thing you can count on is the decades of positive praise about the cue-maker's great craftsmanship and cue playability. Scruggs cues have been raved about for decades before Tim retired. Paul Mottey is considered to have made the best piloted ivory joint by any cue-maker. Their cues have always sold strong even in weak markets, are highly collectible and are heralded to be among the best playing cues ever made..........and that's absolutely true.

I bought my Mottey & Scruggs cues without test play because I already knew what I wanted in a cue.....I have really tight specs on cue weight, shaft weights & sizes, joint, balance point etc. I know what works best for me and so that's all I'm now interested in buying. I posted a sale thread 5-6 weeks ago listing 17 cue-makers (A list and B list) with budgets $2800 & $4000.......couldn't find a cue that came close to my specs and besides, there were very few cues even offered. I am not going to buy a cue that isn't exactly what I want when I'm spending thousands of dollars. So a month ago I selected a cue-maker and designed my cue (6 pointer with lots of inlays) etc. with my specifications (weight, shafts, tips, cue joint, etc.). So now I sit and wait for my cue to be finished but I still browse listings because if I see a cue from one of the cue-makers on my list of 17 and it's the right cue, I'll buy it. Meanwhile, I'm assured of getting a cue that promises to be a really handsome design from a very talented cue-maker and it should turn out to be the best hitting cue in my small arsenal.

Your desire to test play with a cue makes sense but trying to rent one is a frivolous notion at best for the reasons I mentioned. Look, I have never played with a Joel Hercek cue or a Dennis Searing Cue or a Gina cue.....but if I could afford one of those cues and it had the right specs, I'd buy it with "total" confidence knowing that I'd really love the cue. Great cue-makers make great cues.......doesn't mean a duck didn't turn out now and then.........but 99.8% of the time, that ain't gonna happen......great cue-makers truly do make great cues.....I acknowledge that everyone has an opinion and is therefore entitled to express it......but I find it somewhat ironic to read posts by folks saying they'd never spend that much or they'd never order a cue unless the cue-maker stood on his head and whistled "Dixie" etc. Maybe these folks own several $5k cues or maybe they simply own a graphite cue ....I dunno and I suppose it doesn't matter.......but I think a lot of these AZers might be like a lost soul staring through the car showroom window at BMW's or Jaguar automobiles.

You know how that goes.....you can hear them muttering to themselves "I'd never buy a foreign made car no matter what" or "Look at how overpriced these cars are....can't believe someone would pay that much for this crap/"........and then the person returns to their Toyota Corolla and drives home thinking to themselves what it would be like to own or drive one of those automobiles. It's so easier to slight or criticize something that's not within your reach or you strongly disagree with when actually down deep, it's often the person was just envious and wished they could do the very same thing. Frankly, I think some folks behave the identical way about pool cues...Nuf Sed!
 
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trob said:
Have you hit with a lambros before? I had a monster e only and ivory Scruggs that I thought I would have for life until I hit with a lambros. It was sold immediately lol
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I have, and a Bender too. I actually found them both lacking to my taste, but the particular Bender I shot with was my favorite of the two. [I have very particular desires in a cue, though, that's why I just ordered one with fairly exact P.I.T.A. specs :grin-square:]

I was just observing because of the monstrous lip service Benders get in the For Sale forum.
 
I surely wasn't putting down benders.. I've yet to have the good fortune to play with one.




ideologist said:
I have, and a Bender too. I actually found them both lacking to my taste, but the particular Bender I shot with was my favorite of the two. [I have very particular desires in a cue, though, that's why I just ordered one with fairly exact P.I.T.A. specs :grin-square:]

I was just observing because of the monstrous lip service Benders get in the For Sale forum.
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cbi1000 said:
I'm thinking about buying a high end Lambros..... BUT I've never hit with one! I'm over dropping 3k on up for a cue only to be disappointed on how they play. SO....

I'm interested in renting someone's newer Lambros which has one of his LD shafts. Let the cue be simple, like a Merry Widow.

I'm willing to put up a deposit.

PM me.

Thanks
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I would imagine all cues vary in some way from one to another as far as hit goes.
 
ChicagoRJ said:
Regardless, his plain janes still cost a pretty penny.... and you'd have to be nuts to send a cue to somebody... hell, I don't even like sending my cues in the mail, let alone send one to a guy I met on a pool forum.....I don't like folks shooting with my cue when they're standing next to me, I mean, I'll let someone take a few shots, but then I want it back now...

I guess it's just me... I can't think many folks would even consider this...but maybe I'm wrong... again :)
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I don't like people to touch my cues.Keep your grubby mitts off, or else.:mad:
 
Contrary to ChicagoRJ's "popular" belief, if I had a Lambros, I'd let you try it out...

I've mailed several cues to people over the years, using discretion of course. Only issue I ever had was one came back smelling like a smokey pool hall...

Best of luck, OP.
 
I've owned Lambros and Bender...

They are both equally awesome cues. Here are the main differences...
Primarily the hit, and deflection.
The bender has ivory ferrules and extreme deflection. Hits great though.
The Lambros hits really hard...almost like an audible "ping" that sounds so sweet when you put some mustard on the cue ball. Excellent feedback, extremely low deflection...as a matter of fact...I had a Lambros with one of his LD shafts, and the standard shafts of his are so low deflection that it didn't pay to lose the quality of the hit for just a tiny bit less deflection. His standard shafts are almost comparable to an LD shaft...no kidding, but they hit really sweet, you don't get the same hit from his LD shafts, no matter what anyone tells you...
...Lambros is the best hitting cue I've hit with, and I've tried a lot. Great choice. Only down side is if you're a predator fan like me, you can't go out and get a 314 shaft for that ultra joint. I'm just set in my ways, I need to be able to put a pred shaft on my cues, so I sold it. I found my bender with 314 1st gen shaft to hit better than the Lambros with his LD shaft...his LD shaft hit ok...
A predator just seems to react differently with the cueball than maple shafts, not just deflection qualities...so I couldn't get used to something else.

Everything is just preference, this was just my experience. .02, lol
 
1pRoscoe said:
Contrary to ChicagoRJ's "popular" belief, if I had a Lambros, I'd let you try it out...

I've mailed several cues to people over the years, using discretion of course. Only issue I ever had was one came back smelling like a smokey pool hall...

Best of luck, OP.
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My "popular" belief? the majority of the folks would NOT do this, and I certainly don't see a line of folks waiting to send this guy a cue. One or two dudes might, out of tens of thousands on AZB. Thus, the outcome kinda points my way, don't ya think :confused: Now, if he wants to come down to my poolroom and shoot one rack, I would help... anymore than that, and most folks are not gonna start sending their cues to folks on forums to test hit ..... that's just crazy stupid.
 
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Mike and I play pool together. He builds one of the best playing cue you can get. However you make it happen, you'll never regret buying one of his cues. Mike is all about the hit and playability of the cue. Some of the stuff I have seen him working on would make your head spin! He is one sharp dude!
 
I dont know what my Boar is worth these days, I let anyone thats a B player or better play with it-when I'm there and I can see they know how to handle a cue(they must have experience), I never had a problem. one champion dinged my shaft one time LOL no blood no foul. I'm the only C player that gets to use it.....;)
 
ChicagoRJ said:
My "popular" belief? the majority of the folks would NOT do this, and I certainly don't see a line of folks waiting to send this guy a cue. One or two dudes might, out of tens of thousands on AZB. Thus, the outcome kinda points my way, don't ya think :confused: Now, if he wants to come down to my poolroom and shoot one rack, I would help... anymore than that, and most folks are not gonna start sending their cues to folks on forums to test hit ..... that's just crazy stupid.
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Want to borrow a 8 point Gus?;):cool: PM me your Address
 
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