I wonder how many master cue makers are out there.

J

justinb386

Banned
I am very curious how many master cue makers are out there (in the US).

I imagine nobody actually knows the answer to this question, but I am just very curious.

I wonder how many unknown (not nationally known) cue makers are out there that make very good quality cues (quality cue makers that build cues that are on par with many well respected known cue makers).

I see a lot of cue makers that are here on AZ, and I wonder how good most of the cue makers are that post on AZ. They seem to know a lot about cue making, so I assume they are very good at building a nice good quality cue.

I assume that most of the cue makers here on AZ just do it as a hobby because they love it, and most really take their time with each cue they build, and the cues they finish are special and one of a kind most of the time.

Sorry, this post probably looks pretty silly I guess.

I just like to post about things that are on my mind.
 
What makes someone a master at their craft?

The term "master" is subjective as well as objective. How do you define someone as a "master?" I say there are only a handful if I were defining it. You may disagree.

I think the only way to be deemed a "master" is if you ask others in their craft whose work they would like to own and several of them list the same person or persons, then you might be on the right path to defining a "master" cue maker.
 
TW, DPK, Ernie, Hercek, Tascarella, Black, Schick, Samsara, Manzino, Searing, Drexler, Chudy and a handful of others. Not many in total compared to the amount of people who build cues in general.
 
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galipeau said:
TW, DPK, Ernie, Hercek, Tascarella, Black, Schick, Samsara, Manzino, Searing, Drexler, Chudy and a handful of others. Not many in total compared to the amount of people who build cues in general.
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I would add a few and subtract a few more.
Jason
 
Please do share your thoughts.

Edit: my original list was off the top of my head. I know I missed several greats including guys like Mcworter, etc. I'm curious as well as to who would be on the list of master class cue makers, and I'm certainly not qualified to make that list. Does the ACA have any standards regarding this? Would master cue builders be required to have the capacity to produce "Monster" status cues?? Also, I'm assuming we're talking about currently alive builders.
 
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There are more than most Azers might otherwise imagine........the problem is that cue-making does not have any meaningful accreditation system
or certification methodology to distinguish the really good ones. It is entirely all word of mouth and building a great reputation but no official credentials.

Matt B.
 
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cue makers

my opinion only.hall of famers, Bill Schick,Richard Black, Gina cue Ernie,Danny Janes, and not a hall of famer Pete Tascarella. Rich aka the skunk.My opinion only.
 
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Maybe we can keep it simpler to bestow the title "master cue maker ".
How about a million dollars worth of custom cue sales ?
 
justinb386 said:
I wonder how many unknown (not nationally known) cue makers are out there that make very good quality cues (quality cue makers that build cues that are on par with many well respected known cue makers).

I see a lot of cue makers that are here on AZ, and I wonder how good most of the cue makers are that post on AZ. They seem to know a lot about cue making, so I assume they are very good at building a nice good quality cue.

.
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None. You'd have to wait 15yrs before you proclaim any current unknown rivals a master builder

A lot of people know a lot about cuemaking, because this is the age we live in. It DOESN'T mean they build a great cue. Part of cuebuilding is artistry and that separates the average from the accepted from the great.

I'd keep the list short. DPK, Schick, Black, Gutierrez.
I think there's clear separation between these four and everyone else. The others, like Hercek, Bender, Tascarella, Chudy, Gold et al are closer together than they are to the top four.
 
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Bavafongoul said:
There are more than most Azers might otherwise imagine........the problem is that cue-making does not have any meaningful accreditation system
or certification methodology to distinguish the really good ones. It is entirely all word of mouth and building a great reputation but no official credentials.

Matt B.
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Nailed it! All word of mouth. I do love playing with my Josey. I've heard the same from other players about other makers. Then there is the cue collector world...I'm not sure how that fits in, because some collector cues are played with while others aren't.
 
know it all said:
my opinion only.hall of famers, Bill Schick, Gina cue Ernie,Danny Janes, and not a hall of famer Pete Tascarella. Rich aka the skunk.My opinion only.
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Joss was important is cue history but if you include Janes, then you must include Helmstetter, Meucci, and all the other important MASS PRODUCERS which by definition are contrary to the ideal of "master cuemaker"
 
Master CUEMAKER

What I find most interesting is that not one of the cuemakers that I would consider a "master' at the craft, has ever, to the best of my knowledge, referred to themselves as a "master" - not publicly, not privately and not in print . . . but I have seen several considerably less tenured (and accomplished - my words) makers freely use that term on THEIR websites.

Besides the real masters know who they are and don't need the title . . . IMO

Paul
 
To me, "master cue maker" is a person who can take a rough piece of wood and perform limitless aesthetics ranging from merry widow cues to cues with intricate inlays and points/splices. A start to finish cue if you will containing anything the mind can imagine.

There are lots of assemblers in the cue world who also make a great playing cue but lack the skill set to build full splice cues, etc.

Collectability and playability is subjective. But that's my definition of a master cue maker.



Gary
 
They're all masters, so the top master should be the guy with the highest gross sales.
By that standard, Bob Meucci is going to be hard to beat
 
JoeyInCali said:
Maybe we can keep it simpler to bestow the title "master cue maker ".
How about a million dollars worth of custom cue sales ?
Click to expand...

How do you define a custom cue? I have 5 Bill McDaniel cues and consider all of them to be custom cues but only 2 were made to my specifications. I also have a Gus, Scruggs, Josswest, early Schon, Mottey and a couple of early 68-78 Joss cues. None of these were made to my specifications but I consider them all to be custom quality cues even though most were built as spec cues to sell.
 
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