Is the Shaft the most important or does the Butt make a difference also?

Shawn Armstrong said:
"Feel" has nothing to do with raw cue performance. If you put your OB-1 shaft on two cues with the same joint pin, it will deflect the exact same amount. It will spin the ball the exact same amount. There are no "performance" butt characteristics.

Bob Meucci compared a broom handle versus a Predator 2 butt, and the broom handle won out in terms of less deflection. Do you believe this? All the characteristics of a butt have to do with personal "touchy feely" things. Nothing concrete or imperical in terms of hard data. Find a butt you like, and stick on a performance shaft. This is why pro players love aftermarket shafts. They're no longer slaves to their endorsers. Corey Deuel used to play with a Scruggs with 314. Then, he went to a Viking with a 314. Then he went to a 5280 with a 314. Now he has a Woodpecker with a 314. Ask him how the different butts have affected his game. He won the most with the Viking and 5280.
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"Feel" wasn't a part of the cue hitting firmer/harder either, that was performance.
 
Tip is the most important IMO, its the only part that actually touches the cue ball after all. I guess the butt is important, but I wouldn't put it above the ferrule or joint, and defiantly not above the shaft.
 
I'm sure that George Balabushka made good shafts, but, for some reason, full splice butts made by Burton Spain and John Davis made him famous!
:p
 
Universal Smart shaft (USS)

shortman said:
I have probably a very redundant question-questions about different shafts and the importance of the butt. Over the last 10 months I have had some health issues with lower back and heart. I have basically retired and about the only activity left for me that holds any interest is pool. I was a 4-6 day a week golfer 2-handicapper but will not be able to play golf for at least for another 8-12 months. So over the last 10 months I have put in a pool room in the house and play a lot of local tourneys in 9-ball and 8-ball.
One of my mini-projects was exploring cues and shafts (it has been a great time), as I had basically quit playing pool 23 years ago after my 4 sons had grown and left the nest (except when they need money). Right now I am playing with a Schon, Lucasi, Mezz, Predator, CC, McDermott, Pechauer, Joss, Joss West, Scorpion, Jacoby, Steve Klein, Adams 1975ish era, Viking, Capone, Dominiak, Espiritu, Omen, Samsara, Jerico, Meucci 2005 till present, Richard Black, and Skip Weston.
The shafts I have been playing with these cues are the shafts that came with the cues, Smart Shaft, 314-2, Z2, OB-1, and just recently Dominator. In a thread that I read recently it was stated that the balance and the butt had very little influence on the playability of the cue.
I personally do not find this to be true. I have been playing 8 (race to 5), 9 (race to 11), and 10 ball (race to 11) matches with myself against different cues. First of all I would like to say that I have enjoyed and found that each of the cues have a lot of nice things to be said for them. That being said a few of the cues have constantly stood out and the shafts have been the OB-1 and 314-2 with the exception of the Z2 when I was really in-stroke, all tips are morri med, everest, or sniper.
So far the cue combos that really stood out were Steve Klein with ivory joint and Radial pin----OB-1, Espiritu with 5/16-14 pin----314-2, Schon 5/16-14 pin----314-2, Samsara Radial pin----OB-1, Richard Black 5/16-14-------OB-1 AND Mezz 5/16-14----OB-1 (in that order).
To me there was a definite difference in hit and control depending not only the shaft and tip but also the quality of the Butt.



Cheers---------------------Shortman
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Why did you omit the USS?
 
LoGiC said:
Tip is the most important IMO, its the only part that actually touches the cue ball after all. I guess the butt is important, but I wouldn't put it above the ferrule or joint, and defiantly not above the shaft.
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Exactly. The butt is important but it's NOT the most important.
 
Buy eight identical tires & put four of them on a Chevette & the other four on a Porche. Which car is going to perform the best? Everything matters, and to be correct everything must matter equally. The Chevette will never be equal to the Porche. Give it a Porche suspension & drivetrain & it'll be much better but still not equal to a real Porche. Only once its totally redesigned & retrofitted to become a virtual Porche will it be comparable. Only then can the driver perform as well as he can with a real Porche. Why would cues be any different? Everything in life, be it cars or pool cues or even these computers we are using, to achieve optimum performance every component must be equally great. Sure a world champion can run racks with anything, but I can't. I need all the friggin help I can get.
 
qbilder said:
Buy eight identical tires & put four of them on a Chevette & the other four on a Porche. Which car is going to perform the best? Everything matters, and to be correct everything must matter equally. The Chevette will never be equal to the Porche. Give it a Porche suspension & drivetrain & it'll be much better but still not equal to a real Porche. Only once its totally redesigned & retrofitted to become a virtual Porche will it be comparable. Only then can the driver perform as well as he can with a real Porche. Why would cues be any different? Everything in life, be it cars or pool cues or even these computers we are using, to achieve optimum performance every component must be equally great. Sure a world champion can run racks with anything, but I can't. I need all the friggin help I can get.
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'cause a car, even a chevvette, is a highly technical very complicated machine......

A cue....well, a cue is a piece of wood... ok, two pieces of wood..... :D
 
qbilder said:
Buy eight identical tires & put four of them on a Chevette & the other four on a Porche. Which car is going to perform the best? Everything matters, and to be correct everything must matter equally. The Chevette will never be equal to the Porche. Give it a Porche suspension & drivetrain & it'll be much better but still not equal to a real Porche. Only once its totally redesigned & retrofitted to become a virtual Porche will it be comparable. Only then can the driver perform as well as he can with a real Porche. Why would cues be any different? Everything in life, be it cars or pool cues or even these computers we are using, to achieve optimum performance every component must be equally great. Sure a world champion can run racks with anything, but I can't. I need all the friggin help I can get.
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I dont' know squat but I think you're right. I have cues from different makers that use the same joint screw and when I change butts I can definitely feel the difference. Sometimes it's just a better wrap or a better wrappiing job. Other times it's the balance or just the "feel" of the hit but it's different and I can pick a favorite from the choices.

The butt makes a difference. Maybe not huge but llike is said above I need all the friggin help I can get.
 
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