Joss cues - could you consider them more custom or production

[PoolFan101]

Hello ,

I have looking thru the Joss line of cues and I have been eyeing the N7 Color of Money cue. I like the look and it has that old school vibe and being a fan of the movie makes it a neat cue. Now , I have been talking with Dan Janes of Joss cues and He told me that Only Himself and his Son builds all the cues. No assembly line or production team. He said my Son and I personally build every Cue that comes out of here. He said he has been building cues for over 40 years and does everything the same way by hand. I have always liked Joss cues although they are not popular around here and don’t think I ever see one at the local hall. My question would be with Dan and his Son building the cues by hand talking the time to make sure they are exactly right would it make the cue better than say a machine factory made cue perhaps.

 

[atlas333]

Love my Joss! Semi Custom in my view

 

[garczar]

Hello ,

I have looking thru the Joss line of cues and I have been eyeing the N7 Color of Money cue. I like the look and it has that old school vibe and being a fan of the movie makes it a neat cue. Now , I have been talking with Dan Janes of Joss cues and He told me that Only Himself and his Son builds all the cues. No assembly line or production team. He said my Son and I personally build every Cue that comes out of here. He said he has been building cues for over 40 years and does everything the same way by hand. I have always liked Joss cues although they are not popular around here and don’t think I ever see one at the local hall. My question would be with Dan and his Son building the cues by hand talking the time to make sure they are exactly right would it make the cue better than say a machine factory made cue perhaps.

The line between true custom and production cue is easily blurred. I'm sure the Janes' use a lot of CNC equip. to speed up the process but still retain a lot of hands-on also. Have you ever seen a fancy Mezz up close?? They are often considered a production cue but they are made to a VERY high standard. JOSS makes great cues at fair prices. Wouldn't hesitate to own one, again as i've had a few over the years. All were very well made.

 

[garczar]

Love my Joss! Semi Custom in my view

You can also have true custom one-off cues built by them as well.

 

[mikemosconi]

When you say " better than a machine factory made cue" - not sure what exactly you are looking for in a cue? Every cue involves machining of one sort or another. One can play a great game of pool with a cue from any of the many reputable " production" cue companies in history- quality is not based solely on one person or five people involved in making something. Many of us here own cues from the 1960s, 1970s 1980s from so called "production" cue companies and they look and play great, even to this day.

I have cues built by one person cue shops worth many thousands $$ and cues from Huebler, McDermott, etc that cost much less - they both play great- the "custom" one man made cue can be made to your direct specifications - as to how it will play - that is 100% subjective - Joss has been around for many, many years- I doubt that I could ever use that cue as an excuse for a missed shot or missed position.

Before one buys any cue, one needs to define their expectations and confirm that they are based in reality - So I would recommend first setting your own very clear expectations for what you desire a cue to look like, play like, and how it is constructed; prior to thinking "production" vs. one man custom. If the N7 color of money cue is your ideal cue design- I doubt that you would go wrong buying one from Joss. I would imagine asking a one person cue shop to build you one of those cues would cost at least double or more the Joss price- that would be your decision - I doubt that you would get a proportionate return on the extra money spent for that cue.

 

[CESSNA10]

Hello ,

I have looking thru the Joss line of cues and I have been eyeing the N7 Color of Money cue. I like the look and it has that old school vibe and being a fan of the movie makes it a neat cue. Now , I have been talking with Dan Janes of Joss cues and He told me that Only Himself and his Son builds all the cues. No assembly line or production team. He said my Son and I personally build every Cue that comes out of here. He said he has been building cues for over 40 years and does everything the same way by hand. I have always liked Joss cues although they are not popular around here and don’t think I ever see one at the local hall. My question would be with Dan and his Son building the cues by hand talking the time to make sure they are exactly right would it make the cue better than say a machine factory made cue perhaps.

I have 5 Joss cues and love them all they are all standard shaft with 12.5 mm. They all hit the same with weight
just below 19 oz. I dont think you can go wrong with anything from Joss

 

[philly]

I have 5 Joss cues and love them all they are all standard shaft with 12.5 mm. They all hit the same with weight
just below 19 oz. I dont think you can go wrong with anything from Joss

I agree.
Best bang for the buck out there.
Solid cues.

 

[hang-the-9]

You can ask this question about a handful of brands, Pechauer , Jacoby, Schon, heck even McDermott US made stuff. Predator has lots of limited runs of 50, 100 cues that are "custom" but are they really?

My test for a "production" cue is if it's available in a retail catalog without any issues about availability and you can find 10 of the exact same design in a state.

If you call a guy and he tells you "no cues now but I'm working on a few", or has like 4 cues he has for sale, that is a full on custom cue maker.

 

[cue4me]

You can virtually get anything you want made from Joss. Choice of woods, number of points, sharp or rounded points, choice of veneers, choice of inlays and inlay materials, choice of wrap, choice of weight, length of cue, shaft diameter and ferrule material and choice of tip. I don't see how you could get any more custom than that. Then as a bonus, if you can go to the shop to pick-up your cue you get an opportunity to speak with Dan and hear some very interesting road stories. You will not regret getting a cue from these folks.

 

[Johnny Rosato]

What kind of warranty do they offer? I recently posted my Pechauer experience, which was AAA+, and had a
similar experience with McDermott 10 or 12 years ago.
Is Joss' warranty lifetime?

 

[Tommy-D]

Danny has been in the game a LONG time. Even their bottom line cue,which can be had for 250.00 or less,is built like a tank,or at least they used to be. You'd be hard pressed to find a better hitting cue in that price range for sure,even now.

The truth is he made a LOT of cues,and probably still does,with another logo on it like he did in the early days of Predator,early 90's Falcons were awful similar,same period Brunswicks.,etc.

I've personally never had to deal with him as far as customer service,but he's been pleasant the few times I've talked with him. That helps a bunch.

Anyone ever nominated him for Meritorious Service as a BCA HOF'er? Tommy D.

 

[9ball5032]

 

[CESSNA10]

Danny has been in the game a LONG time. Even their bottom line cue,which can be had for 250.00 or less,is built like a tank,or at least they used to be. You'd be hard pressed to find a better hitting cue in that price range for sure,even now.

The truth is he made a LOT of cues,and probably still does,with another logo on it like he did in the early days of Predator,early 90's Falcons were awful similar,same period Brunswicks.,etc.

I've personally never had to deal with him as far as customer service,but he's been pleasant the few times I've talked with him. That helps a bunch.

Anyone ever nominated him for Meritorious Service as a BCA HOF'er? Tommy D.

I have talked to him and yes he is very pleasant and yes has some stories about
alot of the veterans like Grady Mathews and guys from that era.

 

[Cornerman]

Hello ,

I have looking thru the Joss line of cues and I have been eyeing the N7 Color of Money cue. I like the look and it has that old school vibe and being a fan of the movie makes it a neat cue. Now , I have been talking with Dan Janes of Joss cues and He told me that Only Himself and his Son builds all the cues. No assembly line or production team. He said my Son and I personally build every Cue that comes out of here. He said he has been building cues for over 40 years and does everything the same way by hand. I have always liked Joss cues although they are not popular around here and don’t think I ever see one at the local hall. My question would be with Dan and his Son building the cues by hand talking the time to make sure they are exactly right would it make the cue better than say a machine factory made cue perhaps.

This really highlights why words like "custom" vs "production" are totally used incorrectly for pool cues. It also highlights why the general public has given unfair meaning to the word "production," when they have really no idea how that "production" is being achieved. Production isn't opposite of custom. And most so-called "custom" cues aren't built with any customer in mind. Yet one cuemaker will be called a custom cuemaker while the other is called a production. That's just wrong, especially if "production" carries a negative connotation.

 

[Cornerman]

Anyone ever nominated him for Meritorious Service as a BCA HOF'er? Tommy D.

That would be a tough one. He's already a well-deserving ACA Cuemaker Hall of Fame. One could always submit a bio to the HoF committee to see where it would go.

 

[Sealegs50]

My take is that most Joss cues are custom built from a limited number (10-20) of cataloged designs that changed periodically. That was fairly common practice among cuemakers who are never questioned about custom vs, production.

My Joss is 36 years old. I was the person who ordered it. In those days, if you wanted a Mali, you bought one of the cues in the showcase. If you wanted a Joss, you ordered it built to your specs (style, weight, shaft thickness, and a few other options). A few years back, I took my Joss to SBE just to show Dan that the care he put into building a solid cue was worth the effort. Mine is still dead straight and plays like it did in 1985 (as best as I can recall).

 

[philly]

That would be a tough one. He's already a well-deserving ACA Cuemaker Hall of Fame. One could always submit a bio to the HoF committee to see where it would go.

Dan is a great guy.
I had him make me a cue that we designed together.
He is pleasure to work with.
Fair pricing and delivered on time.
It's a rarity to work with a cue maker that under promises and over delivers.
My son had him make a cue also.
It is loaded with mammoth ivory that Dan picked up at a gem show.
I think it is worth twice what my son paid.
Beautiful razor sharp floating points.

By the way, Stephen, his son was cue maker of the year a couple of years ago.
The whole family is pleasure to work with.

 

[8cree]

I love my Joss so much I am having a mini-cue replica of it made, just because!

 

[PoolFan101]

Dan is a real nice genuine Guy. I enjoyed talking with him. I plan on buying the COM cue as I do love the style and look of it. I had a Joss about 25 years ago and it played Fabulous. Thanks for all the input and I enjoyed reading them.

 

[ddg45]

What kind of warranty do they offer? I recently posted my Pechauer experience, which was AAA+, and had a
similar experience with McDermott 10 or 12 years ago.
Is Joss' warranty lifetime?

No, it is not. Lots of people love their Joss and that's fine. Unlike Pechauer (which is my favorite) Joss does not offer much of a warranty, and there have been people with defects who called the factory and were told "tough luck." If you think Joss is the best cue out there I have no problem with that, but I prefer to deal with a company that stands behind their products. Just my opinion.