Is there any difference in cue butts?

Bobalicious

Bobalicious

The one and only.....
Silver Member
I am curious to hear opinions on weather the butt of a cue makes a big difference in the way a cue plays. This may be a dumb question but none the less....
I'm basically wondering if there is a difference in say a Schon butt (or any for that matter) compared to a Meucci, Joss, Southwest, Jackson, or any other kind of cue butt when it comes to the way it hits, sounds or plays?
I guess I'm just trying to understand the reason why people are willing to spend so much money on a cue. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to spend tons of money on cues if I could but as it is I can't. So I'm looking to expand my knowledge and wisdom when it comes to looking for a cue to improve my game.:grin:
As always any input is appreciated and thank you everyone

Robert
 
Bobalicious said:
I am curious to hear opinions on weather the butt of a cue makes a big difference in the way a cue plays. This may be a dumb question but none the less....
I'm basically wondering if there is a difference in say a Schon butt (or any for that matter) compared to a Meucci, Joss, Southwest, Jackson, or any other kind of cue butt when it comes to the way it hits, sounds or plays?
I guess I'm just trying to understand the reason why people are willing to spend so much money on a cue. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to spend tons of money on cues if I could but as it is I can't. So I'm looking to expand my knowledge and wisdom when it comes to looking for a cue to improve my game.:grin:
As always any input is appreciated and thank you everyone

Robert
Click to expand...

Does the butt make any difference in how a cue plays? Sure does.

Just about all the cues I own have the 5/16 X 18 joint. Plus most of those I've owned in the past did too.

I also wondered about whether the butt made a difference, and I can assure you, at least in my experience, the butt can make a big difference.

What I did was swap shafts around on different butts and do my level best to shoot the "same" shots each time.

First of all, the feel from one butt to another with a specific shaft would change. And also there were differences in the amount of cue ball squirt the various butts would produce depending on the shaft. Different butts also produced different amounts of power. If I had an Iron Mike or something like that, it would be possible to quantify this stuff.

If you ever have the chance to do your own tests as I have, it's definitely an eye opener.

Flex

Edit: just changing the weight of a butt will change a cue's playing characteristics. So many variables...
 
There are many different ways a cue butt can be crafted and assembled and each will have different playing characteristics. Even the glue makes a difference.
 
The butt of a cue makes a huge difference in how a cue plays.

Different pieces of the same type of wood have their own characteristics of density and weight. Each cue maker has their own methods of curing or drying their wood that they will use to build a cue and some methods are better than others.

When a cue is assembled a top cue maker will use the best quality of material he can get and it will be assembled with the exact tolerances that work the best for that particular cue makers cues.

The cheaper cues quality control isn't like a custom cue maker's who handles all of the phases of building his cues and insures everything is right. You may get a cheap cue that is fine for you and it may seem to play good enough for you, but it isn't close to the quality of a good custom cue made by a craftsman.

Cue collectors know quality and collectability and that's why they are willing to spend big $$$ for certain cue makers cues. Cheap production cues will never bring big $$$, but for the average league player they work fine for what they are using them for.

I've owned Schon cues (Runde era and Evan Clark era cues) and they play fine, but when you pick up a true custom cue you can feel the difference in looks and playability........

James
 
Bobalicious said:
I am curious to hear opinions on weather the butt of a cue makes a big difference in the way a cue plays.
Click to expand...
To me, it's obvious. If there was no butt, you'd have a hell of time playing. So, it obviously does something. That might sound cheeky, but it really isn't.

The butt provides weight, balance, sound, and feel. If it was made of a hollow plastic wiffle ball bat, you'd get less of all the things that a butt is for. You'd be able to play, but it would be a whole lot of work. And in my book, play and work are opposites.

Fred
 
cue butts

Just like a womans butt they all have a different feel to them. Best thing is to try out as many different models as you can before making your final selection.Even then you may find something later that just looks good and needs trying out. The feel is in the mind of the shooter.
 
As far as actually pocketing balls, the butt makes no difference, in my opinion. A good shaft and tip will make any butt perform. I can get use to any butt in a few games and make the same amount of balls as with any other butt I have.

HOWEVER, I do agree with the others on feel and balance, which mentally will make your game better. I didn't necessary believe this until I bought a Schon and a Custom cue. There is a difference in feel and balance. My confidence is greater when using a better qualilty cue. The construction is tighter (best way I can explain) and they just feel well balanced in your hand.

JEd
 
I think a much ignored aspect of a cues performance is how much Forearm flex a cue has. I like stiff forearmed cues. You'll find many of the cues that a lot of "players" prefer to be stiff in this region.

Nick
 
???

hotrod said:
Just like a womans butt they all have a different feel to them. Best thing is to try out as many different models as you can before making your final selection.Even then you may find something later that just looks good and needs trying out. The feel is in the mind of the shooter.
Click to expand...

You are still talking about the cue, right? I tried many models, but was called unsavory names.
 
Nick B said:
I think a much ignored aspect of a cues performance is how much Forearm flex a cue has. I like stiff forearmed cues. You'll find many of the cues that a lot of "players" prefer to be stiff in this region.

Nick
Click to expand...
ding ding ding!
 
butts and such

As most of you know, I?m a tinkerer. One of my most ?tinkered with? areas is weight distribution. I?ve written a simple program to help me consistently distribute weight along the length of the butt (for a given shaft weight). To test this program, I built a cue and several extra components (all tapered alike) but did not glue them together and then played mix and match. I was surprised to find how much difference the design of the butt had on the feel/play of the cue (each being similarly weighted). I was also surprised to find how much difference the ?butt bobber? (rubber bumper guard) and even the method of attachment changed the hit.

So, the answer to your question is ?YES?, it has a big effect as does the tension of a chorded wrap and the torque applied to the threaded parts in final assembly. Creating the perfect marriage of the component pieces is essential to achieving a trademark hit. This is why so many cue builders will repeat great combinations they have discovered.

No doubt a player can adjust to differences between cues, but to rise in a tightly competitive field you probably will want to eliminate barriers (even small ones) and avail yourself of advantages (even small advantages).

Just my opinion?you be the judge.

Andy Bruce
 
Bobalicious said:
I am curious to hear opinions on weather the butt of a cue makes a big difference in the way a cue plays. This may be a dumb question but none the less....
I'm basically wondering if there is a difference in say a Schon butt (or any for that matter) compared to a Meucci, Joss, Southwest, Jackson, or any other kind of cue butt when it comes to the way it hits, sounds or plays?
I guess I'm just trying to understand the reason why people are willing to spend so much money on a cue. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to spend tons of money on cues if I could but as it is I can't. So I'm looking to expand my knowledge and wisdom when it comes to looking for a cue to improve my game.:grin:
As always any input is appreciated and thank you everyone

Robert
Click to expand...


The only significant thing I have noticed with using different butts on the same shaft is "feedback/harmonic" variances more than anything else....

When switching butts and utililizing the same shaft the balance point in each butt automatically changes the feel of the overall configuration, and creates various red flags in your common/normal style of playing which will intensify the variance tremendously....

In MY overall exerience with building custom cues and setting up the hit, playablilty and feel of each cue to the customer's EXACT specifications.. I have found that the butt has a very small percentage to do with the HIT and PLAYABILITY and mostly to do with "feedback/harmonics"

This of course is a NEVER ENDING debate with various cuemakers and wannabe physicists... but all I can say is that the proof is in the pudding and one's own interpretation of feel and harmonics is the main factor !


-Eddie Wheat
 
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