It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Ping . . .

Kickin' Chicken

Kickin' Chicken

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It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Ping . . .

doo-wop doo-wop doo-wop...

The main feature I look for in the way a cue hits is the sharp note, the <<<ping>>> noise made when striking the cue ball. I can play with other cues that don't have it just like I can drive a VW, but the pingers, to me, they make me feel like I'm driving a Ferrari. :)

I've made the analogy before that it's like if you were standing on a concrete sidewalk and had a length of 2 x 4 lumber in your hand and while holding it vertically just a foot off the ground, let it go and you'll hear the <<<ping>>>. Compare this to if you hold that same 2 x 4 horizontally, drop it and what do you get? A: an undesirable ///thwaaap\\\.

most cues are somewhere in the middle. I need the <<<ping>>>.

All of the Sugartrees I've ever hit except one, have it for sure. The majority of TS cues have it. About half of the Olneys I've hit with have this, as well.

To me, a cue that possesses the sharp note ping is indicative of a stiff hitter with perfect feedback. One that moves whitey with great ease and every shot feels like you are hitting a laser-beam line drive off the sweet spot of a Louisville Slugger (there's 1 more bat reference coming right up :wink:).

Okay, all of this to introduce the absolute, hands-down <<<pingiest>>> (is that a word?) cue I have ever come across.

I was just lucky to find an old one-piece Willie Hoppe titlist cue in *amazing* condition. The label is still even gorgeous. Three of the points are all dead even with the 4th off just a whisker. It was measured to see if it would be fat enough for a titlist conversion and it's plenty fat for that.

So, naturally, I chalked her up and struck whitey and it was as if the room filled up with the biggest <<<PIIIIIIIIIIIINNNGGG>>> I ever heard. It was just about like a home run off of an aluminum bat. Wow!

This was so exciting I almost wet myself. I'm really beginning to think I need to get out of the house more often, maybe spend some time with, I dunno, people..? :grin-square: This snowstorm didn't help.

Well, anyway, I was so excited about this cue that I called Paul Drexler who knows my feelings about 'the ping'. I put the phone down on the table and struck a few for him and guess what he said? "Yep, it pings". :grin-square:

So, the question now becomes what to do with this great cue. Do I preserve it in its current state, beautiful patina, great label and all?

Do I have it turned down to a friendlier butt diameter, currently it's way fat, and interestingly, it's a skinny tip, just under 12mm.

Do I get her cut in half, put a joint pin in, so I can have a 2 piece cue to carry, also keeping in mind that this will reveal those wonderful titlist veneer colors that are hiding within? And will cutting it alter (lose) the ping?

Or do I just stick with my original plan and do an all-out titlist conversion?

what do you guys think? I mean, besides that I need to get out more often. :o

oh yeah, and what wood is this titlist (maybe rosewood?)?

TIA

best,
brian kc
 

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Unless you want a pristine example for your collection,

give that baby with the 'ping' a little 'bling'......convert it !!!!!!! :thumbup:
 
I think the 'ping' comes from old extra-dried-out maple....
...my '68 Joss got da ping

I vote convert.....but save the label and re-install.
...and save the signature.

I like functional art, not wall hangers.

Interestingly, Allen Gilbert, an American 3-cushion champion ( many times)
would retire the shaft when it started pinging....he liked the softer hit
of newer wood.
 
I don't know if it's a "ping", but I love the way my McDermott sounds/feels when I hit with it.
 
It's been my experience that the ferrule material and the tip hardness have a great deal to do with the way the cue hit sounds.
When I've experimented with tip hardness and brands over the last few years, I've experienced different acoustical results with my cues.

I also have a couple of cues which do not have ivory ferrules and those cues create a different sound than my Mottey & Scruggs cues.
My Runde Schon cue has Micarta ferrules and the sound is different than the ivory ferrules on my Scruggs & Mottey cues.

It's also my belief that heavier weight, old wood shafts that typically weigh as much as 1/2 -3/4 oz. more than some shafts, new or otherwise,
the wood used in lighter shafts have a different density and grain formation. I think it contributes to a different sound as well. I am speculating
on that but from what I know about cue construction, it can and should be a factor that also affects the acoustics of your pool stroke.
 
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Can a cue with a Ping lose/ gain it's ping, given different shafts?

And I would presume the chicken is not an ld•kind of guy?


•as in low deflection, not learning disabled.
 
Ping in a Cue

I don't like a "ping" in a cue. Too much noise in a cue is like listening to radio station with static noise. You can't hear the music as good. Too much noise in a shaft keeps me from sensing the feel and stroke of the shot.
 
Bumper or no bumper makes quite a difference too.
My bumperless Sly sounds completely different that my Mezz with bumper,
 
The PING

When i first started hanging out at the bar i played pool league in when i turned 21 i was in the back room with the owner. The best player in our town was in mid practice routine. I sat down and Bj(the owner) says shhhhhhh do you hear that. I shook my head as there was no one in the bar but us. I said no what am i listening for. He said listen to that cue when he strokes through the ball, The cue PINGS every time. I listened and watched every time he hit a pure stroke that cue sang like a choir angel. The cue was a beautiful Scruggs with an ivory joint. I was 21 and had a mcdermot and prob not a pure enough stroke for my cue to PING.

20 years later and a few more dollars to spend on cues and alot of time invested in my stroke and i have cues that have that PING. I am a Titlist man and those cues have some magic in them. Every one i own has that PING to it.

I think a big deal is not having a rubber bumper on the cues. The rubber dampens the vibrations and the Ping isnt as loud. It may be the old wood in those cues or just the way they are made.

I also have a Rc3 tribute cue that has amazing PING to it also. I find that the only cue i have with a stainless joint as no ping.

The ping is an amazing indicator of how you ARE STROKING THE BALL. IF THAT CUE PINGS ALL DAY AND YOU ARE IN STROKE ITS GONNA BE A LONG DAY FOR YOUR OPPONENT. Some days it pings in and out and some days the ping just isnt there.

Just my theory on the PING.
 
I am wondering if it's not the tip as mentioned earlier. One of my cues had a sweet pinging sound which has since gone away. I think the tip has gotten more compacted and perhaps lost it's pingasousness! ;)
 
Samsara's with the original pin from back in the 90's had the loudest, sweetest ping I ever heard. Been looking for one of the old ones and always just miss them on fleabag or the AZ Wanted section.
 
If there is any cavity in the lower part of the butt section (such as area around a weight bolt) try stuffing it with foam and listen for any difference in the sound of the hit. Most cues are very sensitive to the amount of open space in that cavity. Afraid I'm just the opposite when it comes to the sound of the hit, I can't stand any pronounced ping from the cue. Luckily :p , I'm almost deaf so far as higher frequencies.
 
I like the ping, but I think the ping is just a by-product of a piece of wood that is resonating a solid uniform response to energy introduced to it. I think a cue can still react favorably to energy without the ping. I have a McDermot D19 that does more of a dull thunk, but it lights up my grip hand like someone slapped it.

It's a rare thing to have a cue that provides such centered and tight feedback. It's what I look for in any cue that I own. Cues that do not have that reaction to hitting a ball are obvious and you can feel the bleed out of energy from the instant you hit the ball. Nasty. When a cue is made correctly, it sings.

Lesh
 
Ever try a Keith Hanssen cue?

It was the very first thing I noticed. LOUD ping lol


I love that sound.
 
That high tonality is determined long before a tip goes on. I know that I have sat with the guy who makes my cues and checked out the sound of dowels on the same square of concrete and when the really good one hits that square the sound is unmistakable.
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
doo-wop doo-wop doo-wop...

The main feature I look for in the way a cue hits is the sharp note, the <<<ping>>> noise made when striking the cue ball. I can play with other cues that don't have it just like I can drive a VW, but the pingers, to me, they make me feel like I'm driving a Ferrari. :)

I've made the analogy before that it's like if you were standing on a concrete sidewalk and had a length of 2 x 4 lumber in your hand and while holding it vertically just a foot off the ground, let it go and you'll hear the <<<ping>>>. Compare this to if you hold that same 2 x 4 horizontally, drop it and what do you get? A: an undesirable ///thwaaap\\\.

most cues are somewhere in the middle. I need the <<<ping>>>.

All of the Sugartrees I've ever hit except one, have it for sure. The majority of TS cues have it. About half of the Olneys I've hit with have this, as well.

To me, a cue that possesses the sharp note ping is indicative of a stiff hitter with perfect feedback. One that moves whitey with great ease and every shot feels like you are hitting a laser-beam line drive off the sweet spot of a Louisville Slugger (there's 1 more bat reference coming right up :wink:).

Okay, all of this to introduce the absolute, hands-down <<<pingiest>>> (is that a word?) cue I have ever come across.

I was just lucky to find an old one-piece Willie Hoppe titlist cue in *amazing* condition. The label is still even gorgeous. Three of the points are all dead even with the 4th off just a whisker. It was measured to see if it would be fat enough for a titlist conversion and it's plenty fat for that.

So, naturally, I chalked her up and struck whitey and it was as if the room filled up with the biggest <<<PIIIIIIIIIIIINNNGGG>>> I ever heard. It was just about like a home run off of an aluminum bat. Wow!

This was so exciting I almost wet myself. I'm really beginning to think I need to get out of the house more often, maybe spend some time with, I dunno, people..? :grin-square: This snowstorm didn't help.

Well, anyway, I was so excited about this cue that I called Paul Drexler who knows my feelings about 'the ping'. I put the phone down on the table and struck a few for him and guess what he said? "Yep, it pings". :grin-square:

So, the question now becomes what to do with this great cue. Do I preserve it in its current state, beautiful patina, great label and all?

Do I have it turned down to a friendlier butt diameter, currently it's way fat, and interestingly, it's a skinny tip, just under 12mm.

Do I get her cut in half, put a joint pin in, so I can have a 2 piece cue to carry, also keeping in mind that this will reveal those wonderful titlist veneer colors that are hiding within? And will cutting it alter (lose) the ping?

Or do I just stick with my original plan and do an all-out titlist conversion?

what do you guys think? I mean, besides that I need to get out more often. :o

oh yeah, and what wood is this titlist (maybe rosewood?)?

TIA

best,
brian kc
Click to expand...
What tip is on it? Any idea?
 
I'm glad to see this subject on the board.
The ping makes a difference, I could name several cues that ping, some people don't
like the ping, how can you not like the ping, I love the ping
doo-wop doo-wop, doo-wop doo-wop
 
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