I'm going to give you two truths almost nobody else is going to tell you and most don't even realize.
First, there really is no such thing as a "custom" or "production" cue, at least as far as brands go. No matter what reasonable definition you can try to come up with for "custom", there will be many cues that everybody considers and calls production that fully meet the definition of custom, and vice versa. If you don't believe me go ahead and try. The "custom" and "production" labels have more to do with peoples perceptions of a cue's prestige and popularity than anything concrete, although production numbers are often considered in a vague and non precise way as well. I mention this only because unless resale value is a major consideration (where people's perceptions will matter more than facts), I wouldn't worry too much about whether it is considered custom or production. Just judge each cue on its own for quality, hit, and feel without regard for what it is considered, and if resale value is also important only then go ahead and take whether it is generally considered by most to be custom or production into consideration too.
I'm going to continue using those terms like everybody else, but they are pretty meaningless other than being a reflection of the general consensus for the prestige in which they are held about the same way that a certain brand of jeans might be considered more prestigious than levi's even though they are made to the same quality standard using the same material and have the same cut and are made in the same factory as levi's, but not for any other really good reason other than they are popular because they are popular.
Second, there is no such thing as a good or bad hitting or playing cue. There is a such thing as a good hitting or playing cue for YOU, but no cue is somehow intrinsically good or bad hitting. Its all personal preference. The very highest levels of pool that can possibly be played, near perfect pool, has been played with hard hitting cues,soft hitting cues, stiff hitting cues, whippy cues, etc. Cues are kind of like food, and saying a cue is good hitting or bad hitting is the equivalent of saying sardines are good tasting or bad tasting. Well to one guy they are good tasting, but to the next guy they are bad tasting, and they are both right because it is only a matter of personal preference. So asking for people's opinions on how cues hit or feel is about like asking people which foods are good or not. Your preferences may be different. You won't know for sure if you will like a cue until you try it, regardless of what somebody else might say, so when possible try the cue or at least another unmodified one of the same brand/shaft type before you buy so you increase the chances you end up liking it, and at the end of the day all that is important is that it suits your tastes and preferences, not somebody else's.
That said, Pechauer cues are of very good quality. They are considered by most people to be production cues, yet the brand would meet most people's definition for custom cues if you asked for their definition of custom. I happen to think they hit decent, they don't blow my socks off but are ok, but my opinion of how they hit should be as important to you as my opinion about sardines.
