Meucci black dot V/S 314-2

J-Flo

J-Flo

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Newbi alert!!
Ok , now that thats over. Im going to ditch my custom cue (Widowmaker#6 Bert Kinister cue that i got 20 years ago) for a layered or spliced low deflection cue but not sure what to believe anymore.
I seen the video of the machine used by Bob Meucci to test black dot V/S the standerd shaft and its pretty convincing. If you are a Predator fan it shows the black dot out perfoarming the 314. Can someone please tell me if there is any truth to the results or does anyone know for sure which is better?
Last question, if you are unable to cut the ball an have to hit the ball streight on due to lack of room , if you need to throw a ball in , can you throw a ball with the low deflection cues when needed?
Thanks for your help
 
I have shot with a Meucci for well over 12 years now and I will tell you flat out, the Black-Dot shafts are JUNK! This was my worst purchase ever. I would not recommend a Black-Dot to anyone. Of course I dont like the 314's either but they are 1000x better than Meucci's new junk. If you like the old Meucci shafts you will not like a Black-Dot, period!:thumbup:
 
the problem with meucci black dot shaft is that it is not spliced in a pie form, it is spliced one way, which means you always have to shoot with the black dot facing upwards, or else the shaft flex will be different each shot , the predator however is spliced in a pie shape allowing the same consistent flex no matter what part of the shaft is facing up, the black dot shaft may have less deflection than 314 but do u really want to look down at ur shaft and make sure the black dot is facing upwards every time? seems too distracting to me. i play with a 3142 and i can tell you i never have to adjust for english except maybe when u are using 3 tips or more english, just apply english and aim for the contact point no need in having to calculate deflection in, it may take some time but you will get used to it, also why not just buy a predator shaft instead of a whole new cue? predator cues are over priced, i just buy a shaft and put them on my custom cues. meucci is a junk production cue period. and yes u can throw balls into pockets with a LD shaft, you can really throw the object ball in when u cant see the true contact point cause another ball is blocking it
 
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Thanks

I think im just going to get a 314-2 for my old Meucci. Im so used to my custom that ive been shooting with for over 20 years but im starting to get a little roll on the shaft now and cant find the origanal maker of the cue to get a new one so going to jump to 314-2

Thanks again
 
J-Flo said:
I think im just going to get a 314-2 for my old Meucci. Im so used to my custom that ive been shooting with for over 20 years but im starting to get a little roll on the shaft now and cant find the origanal maker of the cue to get a new one so going to jump to 314-2

Thanks again
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J-Flo:

Don't believe that the Predator products are the "be all, end all" of low deflection, or limit your product selection. There are also Owen Bunnell (OB) products (all LD), and Tiger Product's new LD offerings. All made in the USA.

Just some ideas for alternatives,
-Sean
 
Ok here we go lol, Even though Meucci has their broom stick video on their site claiming the 56 layer black dot shaft causes less deflection, and actually made the machine that backs it up. I have heard nothing but the same thing from Meucci owners all around, The black dot shaft sucks, the red dot shaft wasent to bad, and last but best the Meucci original. I was looking at buying the Meucci Econo 1 Smoke addition, and decided not to because ive heard so many bad things about the quality drop of Meucci cues. All I can say is if your not buying an original go with the 314-2.

-JD
 
J-Flo said:
Newbi alert!!
Ok , now that thats over. Im going to ditch my custom cue (Widowmaker#6 Bert Kinister cue that i got 20 years ago) for a layered or spliced low deflection cue but not sure what to believe anymore.
I seen the video of the machine used by Bob Meucci to test black dot V/S the standerd shaft and its pretty convincing. If you are a Predator fan it shows the black dot out perfoarming the 314. Can someone please tell me if there is any truth to the results or does anyone know for sure which is better?
Last question, if you are unable to cut the ball an have to hit the ball streight on due to lack of room , if you need to throw a ball in , can you throw a ball with the low deflection cues when needed?
Thanks for your help
Click to expand...



The only thing that you can campare between the two is the fact they are both made of laminated wood, outside of that the Meucci shaft is not close to the Predator in any way, shape or form.

JIMO
 
the differnce is small but simple. one is a piece of shit, the other is a predator:thumbup:
seriouolsy i have tried both and the predator seemed much better to me. i don't like or use ld shafts but if i were to spend my cash i like the preds then the ob1's and wouldn't even consider the black dot. i have an ancient meucci that i love but it has a regular shaft from when they only had regular shafts. it is all the things people say about old meucci - very whippy and i can draw the ball a mile. but i haven't used that cue since i got my neighbors.
 
I am going to go in the opposite direction here. A few years ago I bought a PP1 with a black dot. The first shot I tried had way too much English, the shaft deflected off the side of the cue ball.

It is a whippy shaft but once you get used to it, I like it just fine. I have a 314 first edition and a Z. I can make certain shots with the Black Dot that I
am certain that I can't make with either of the Pred shafts.

The PP 1 resides as a back up cue in my case and I do bring it out quite often to play with. Its one cue that I would never sell.

That said, you would probably be better off with the Pred shaft, you might get frustrated as it won't perform for you directly out of the box. to your liking and either of the Pred shafts most likly will do that for you.

I will echo what the other poster mentioned re the OB and Tiger shafts. With more to choose from these days you might do yourself justice to do a bit more exploration on the lam shafts available today.
 
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Just thought I would chime in once again. I went to the hall last night, left my cue at home. Just so happened that my friend Heather let me use her friends 5280 with a 314-2, I simply loved shooting with the cue, the shaft must have been the reason because i havent been very fond of shooting 5280's. Just saying id buy the 314-2 if I ever felt I needed a new performance shaft, granted i've never shot a black dot shaft.

-JD
 
Update

I have an appointment with Dennis at Dixie Billiards on Wed and hes gona let me soot with an OB and a 314.2 and ill decide then. Im leaning in favor of the OB cuase its made here in the good ol USA and ive been hearing alot of good ,but ill decide after i shoot with them. HOw much efect with a different but have on the shafts?
 
first off for that video to be true, he would have to be shooting the cue ball at the ruler and measuring the mark. When you start spinning a ball into another ball then you get all sorts of issues with throw. That video is worthless. nice idea though, but he missed the concept.

And the predator and the ob are great shafts, but I dont think you should leave mezz out of the running. They make a great low deflection shaft with a traditional one-piece shaft and a lightweight ferrule. The hit, IMO, is much crisper with the mezz than the other two.

NOTHING will deflect less than a predator. However, the differences are quite small. And, whenever there is swerve involved, like with high english shots, you will notice this quite a bit. A cue with very little deflection must require compensation for swerve...


Long story short, you will be fine with either a predator, ob, or mezz. Mezz traditionally is considered the best feeling of the low deflection shafts, but feel is subjective. All i'm saying is that they should be considered.
 
J-Flo said:
I have an appointment with Dennis at Dixie Billiards on Wed and hes gona let me soot with an OB and a 314.2 and ill decide then. Im leaning in favor of the OB cuase its made here in the good ol USA and ive been hearing alot of good ,but ill decide after i shoot with them. HOw much efect with a different but have on the shafts?
Click to expand...

J-Flo:

This is a very good idea. Try as many different designs as you can -- above and beyond the simple "pie slices glued together" construction (i.e. Predator). The OB is a very unique construction (ingenious, actually). And so is the Tiger with their 5-piece construction -- the only LD shaft that actually has a "spine" or core of solid wood running the length of the shaft. (Both the OB and the Predator have a "glue line" as their core.)

Try as many different types of construction as you can. And even with the not-so-glowing reports about the Meucci BlackDot, I wouldn't rule-out at least giving it a try. I heard the new BlackDots are constructed a lot better than the old ones.

Anyway, I hope this is helpful. Make sure Dennis throws at you as many different LD shafts as he can for you to try.

-Sean
 
I've heard complaints about the black dot but when I tried one it out performed the 314 by miles and miles. I did get to try a 314-2, I think it was, in NY in March. Much better than the original 314 but I still wouldn't buy one.
 
Black dot shafts are junk just like Meucci cues.
Sorry, to the owners of the mythical '$4k' Meucci cues.

Flat laminated shaft that stays straight, hmm, there could be some but haven't seen too many.
Red dot shafts are junk as well.
Didn't Bob buy bunch of junk wood and had to move it and so he put a red dot on them to move the merchandise in a brilliant marketing scheme?

There is no way a black dot shaft is better than predator in LD department.

Why would anyone support a company with one of the worst if not the worst customer services around and virtually nonexistent quality control.

Most Chinese made cues are better quality than a Meucci.
 
My 2 Cents

I play with a Meucci sneaky pete that I ordered from Meucci with two black dot shafts one has a black ferrule.

I absolutely love the way it hits balls. I have tried both predator shafts and like the Black dot. I think OB shafts hit the ball really, really good but the ferrule is distracting to me ( I have heard that they have changed the ferrule on new shafts but I don't know.)

that being said...

Dealing with Meucci was an absolute NIGHTMARE... Their customer service is nonexistent.
 
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