Mezz Axi : Input Please

K

kasparovII

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
My son has been looking at sticks in the $300-350 range. He's starting to show rapid improvement. He's looked at a lot of production cues and one that has caught his eye is the Mezz Axi line. Neither of us have ever hit a Mezz of any kind, yet I hear they are a very good production cue. The features that I noticed on the Mezz Axi are the Wavy Joint and the WD-700 shaft.
I'd like any feedback on the Axi. Is the Wavy Joint more like a radial pin joint or a 3/8x10 pin? What about the WD-700 shaft? I've read about the technology on the Mezz website but would really appriciate some independent feedback from anyone who has played an Axi, Wavy joint or the WD-700 shafts.
 
If you want a good production cue,buy a schon.More players like them than any other.They are made in usa and have stood the test of time.I have played several and I liked every one.

dean
 
I have a mezz and it is a great cue, one of the best production ones out there. the japanese are great engineers and have great eye for detail and quality. mine has a united joint, which is superb and has a perfect balance. i would think the wavy joint would be just like a 3/8x10 joint. i have both a wd700 shaft and a hybrid pro 2 shaft. The Mezz USA site says the hp2 is lower deflection than the wd700, but I found that opposite. The HP2 is lower deflection than standard shaft by a little. But the WD700 is very low, close to a predator/ob. it hits great though, no hollow feel. it is a one piece maple shaft. the ferrule does get dirty very easily, i sealed mine with some CA. I am itching to try out their Hybrid Alpha shaft! All of their shafts are 4+ oz, which I like, gives a more forward balanced cue. Mezz is not very well known in the US, but they certainly deserve more attention!
 
Thanks for the feeback so far. I do have a Schon w/OB-1 and a Predator 4K3. My son has played extensively with the Schon (STL9) and thinks he'd like to try a cue with a different joint. That's what has perked his interest in the Mezz Axi w/ the Wavey Joint. Oddly enough, I will "struggle along" with my 4K3 and the Schon until I get my Josey. My son, being 20, cannot wait for the 3-4 month lead times, so he wants to look at some quality production cues w/o a S.S. joint.
 
I have a Mezz with United Joint. SS. I came from a Predator. First thing I noticed was how well the joint went together. Extremely tight and zero buzz. The WD700 is a great shaft. Not so sure about it having less deflection than the Preds. I swapped the tip out for a Kamui med and the junk that carries on the CB is crazy. I think it's probably one of the best production cues out there. Due to the SS joint, I've noticed that after long sessions, my handle hand feels hot from taking all the vibes. That's never happened on any of my other cues. That to me says the cue hits hard and solid. Almost too hard. I've just recently received my Lam-B with phenolic joint and love it!! The shots I was having so much fun making with the Mezz are all still there and it took no time to see that they were and no shock filled hand. I think your kid might be on to something. If I were to ever buy a production cue again, I'd like to give the Axi a try. But I don't think I'll ever go back. I have another Lam-B on order.

xJ
 
I have played with Mezz Axi and i can tell u for sure that u cannot beat the playbilty of this cue for the price.Lower deflection is similar predator,however the feel is like a normal shaft.(WD700)
The basic plain series have solid uncored forearms and also this cue sports an x bumper which can take in a screw in extension.Many pro players inclding mika immonen and alex pagulayan are using mezz cues.

Great value for money cues.:thumbup:
 
thanks for all the feedback on the Axi. the wd-700 sounds like a pretty good shaft. a question about the Mezz United Joint....is it very similar to the Preds or a Schon, i.e., a heavy SS joint or is it more like a Schuler, with a different S.S. joint configuration w/ a metal sleeve, being lighter overall?
As far as Lambros cues, i know the guys at BW think it provides one of the best hits in the business (ultra joint?). they seem difficult to come by and they are pretty expensive. BW says that its tough to predict what lambros will provide to them as far as the lambros SP's go. last time they got just one from mike and it was sold in a week. what's the best way to get something like the Lambros SP that was sold through BW a while back with a selling price of $550? speaking with Mike it seemed to me that the cues have long lead times and at least from the website, you pay the full msrp.
 
kasparovII said:
thanks for all the feedback on the Axi. the wd-700 sounds like a pretty good shaft. a question about the Mezz United Joint....is it very similar to the Preds or a Schon, i.e., a heavy SS joint or is it more like a Schuler, with a different S.S. joint configuration w/ a metal sleeve, being lighter overall?
As far as Lambros cues, i know the guys at BW think it provides one of the best hits in the business (ultra joint?). they seem difficult to come by and they are pretty expensive. BW says that its tough to predict what lambros will provide to them as far as the lambros SP's go. last time they got just one from mike and it was sold in a week. what's the best way to get something like the Lambros SP that was sold through BW a while back with a selling price of $550? speaking with Mike it seemed to me that the cues have long lead times and at least from the website, you pay the full msrp.
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The WD700 is great. It feels like real wood but cheats a little for you. As for the SS United Joint, it's sleeved. But the sleeve is a thicker style. You do still see a bit of wood on both (shaft and butt) unlike Preds where there's no wood showing. I would say the Mezz is a little more forward balanced. Which is a good thing. I find I prefer it for stroking shots where you can only contact the bald spot on the CB.

Not to go off topic, but to answer your question, BW had that ebony SP for less than 2 days. I was on their notification list. I got mine off eBay. I paid more than BW listed a new one for. Mine is used with a very small chip in the butt. Call me lucky, but yes, it's very hard to come by. I do have an order with Mike. He mentioned that 80-90% of his cues gets sold in Asia, so yeah, BW will have no control of what they'll get to sell of his. I placed it late last year and it should be ready by fall-ish? Doesn't matter, I have what I think is the perfect league/weeklies/roadie cue. Cheap enough to not really guard it with my life and low key enough for the untrained eye to no know how potent of a weapon it is. Go with the Axi. It's readily available. Relatively affordable. Great quality. And you have many shaft options coming from Mezz. I no longer have that option. Not cheap anyway. =)

xJ
 
I'll just chip-in on the joint part...

United Joint (Piloted) = Modified 5/16x14 with very tight fit. A normal 5/16x14 shaft will fit in the Mezz United Joint Butt (provided the pilot fits).
Warning: Don't fit the United Joint shaft to a normal 5/16x14 Butt. It will feel loose when returned to a Mezz Butt.

Wavy = 3/8x9 (I've only came across the late Edwin Reyes using this pin in his cue.)

You won't go wrong with a Mezz Cue. Either go for the Axi Series or the EC7 Series.
 
My son's friend purchased a Mezz Axi (Wenge wood) in New York and brought it home to Cleveland, (the "vast wasteland" of cues). This afternoon we got to hit a few racks with it. I must say that I am pleasantly surprised with everything about the cue, especially for the price (~ $325.00). He told us that he tried a new ACE (same cue, w/ Alpha shaft). He much preferred the WD-700.
Since the Axi is a discontinued model, it was about $175 less expensive than the ACE. He thought that both shafts (WD-700 / Alpha) were very accurate but didn't care for either the Alpha or the Hybrid II pro which was an upgrade option. He thought that those two shafts seemed too "rigid", as he described it. He's a pretty good player and prefers a more stiff hit. So these two composite shafts must be pretty stiff despite the fact that he's been playing a Meucci Power Piston/ Black Dot which to me seemed like to ee like a wet noodle when compared to either my Predator or my Schon.
While the WD-700 provided a nice crisp hit and seemed to demonstrate it's reputation as a low deflection shaft with the feel o a conventional shaft.
So my son ordered the all natural BEM Axi. By the way, the workmanship on the Mezz was definitely as good as the Predator 4K3 and while being a totally plain jane, it seemed that the ring work and finish was as good as my STL 9 , which is really a great looker and has a first rate fit/finish. All in all I haven't seen a production cue in that price range to match the performance and good workmanship that the Mezz Axi does. It's a real bargain.
My limited experience with the Axi was a pleasant surprise. Comparing the Axi to the 4K3 Predator or my Schon STL9 /OB-1 combination, the Axi definitely had a more precise feedback. I don't know if it had more to do with the shaft or the joint, but I enjoyed playing the Axi over either. I have a buyer for my Schon, which I intend to replace with a Samsara C03 Limited but what I'm really anxiously awaiting is my "everyday" player, a Josey cocobolo SP, which will take several months.
 
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kasparovII said:
My son has been looking at sticks in the $300-350 range. He's starting to show rapid improvement. He's looked at a lot of production cues and one that has caught his eye is the Mezz Axi line. Neither of us have ever hit a Mezz of any kind, yet I hear they are a very good production cue. The features that I noticed on the Mezz Axi are the Wavy Joint and the WD-700 shaft.
I'd like any feedback on the Axi. Is the Wavy Joint more like a radial pin joint or a 3/8x10 pin? What about the WD-700 shaft? I've read about the technology on the Mezz website but would really appriciate some independent feedback from anyone who has played an Axi, Wavy joint or the WD-700 shafts.
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i'm a huge fan of mezz cues. their wavy joint is actually a 3/8-9 (have to buy the shaft from them....). pick one up and you won't regret it. but keep in mind they're not real popular here in the states so if you don't dig it selling it might be a little harder. unless you find another mezz fan. from what i hear they're pretty popular in NC
 
poolplayer2093 said:
i'm a huge fan of mezz cues. their wavy joint is actually a 3/8-9 (have to buy the shaft from them....). pick one up and you won't regret it. but keep in mind they're not real popular here in the states so if you don't dig it selling it might be a little harder. unless you find another mezz fan. from what i hear they're pretty popular in NC
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Mezz is coming on strong here in NY-I just switched to one. Mezzusa.com doing a lot of marketing.
 
kasparovII said:
My son has been looking at sticks in the $300-350 range. He's starting to show rapid improvement. He's looked at a lot of production cues and one that has caught his eye is the Mezz Axi line. Neither of us have ever hit a Mezz of any kind, yet I hear they are a very good production cue. The features that I noticed on the Mezz Axi are the Wavy Joint and the WD-700 shaft.
I'd like any feedback on the Axi. Is the Wavy Joint more like a radial pin joint or a 3/8x10 pin? What about the WD-700 shaft? I've read about the technology on the Mezz website but would really appriciate some independent feedback from anyone who has played an Axi, Wavy joint or the WD-700 shafts.
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your son end up getting a mezz?
 
Axi-06

I played with an Axi-06 for a year and find the butt a little too thin and the WD700 shaft to be whippy due to the long taper.

Good thing is deflection is low.

It plays okay but doesn't feel very radially concentric or consistent when rolled in my hands.

I would rate it a decent production cue but no where near a decent custom cue.

Thanks,
M
 
Poolplayer, my son will probably order an Axi this week. They're (j&j) trying to get the model he wants. But he's impatient and will order the Wenge wood model if j&j takes too long getting the slightly upgraded model. I'll repeat what I said earlier...... you guys are right. Mezz puts out a very good production cue....especially for the prices. Thanks to you and a few others for some good advice.
 
kasparovII said:
Poolplayer, my son will probably order an Axi this week. They're (j&j) trying to get the model he wants. But he's impatient and will order the Wenge wood model if j&j takes too long getting the slightly upgraded model. I'll repeat what I said earlier...... you guys are right. Mezz puts out a very good production cue....especially for the prices. Thanks to you and a few others for some good advice.
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I will suggest try the purpleheart model.These cues have uncored forarm and purpleheart is my favourite wood after gaboon ebony.
You cannot go wrong with purpleheart.:thumbup:
 
Monto P2 said:
I will suggest try the purpleheart model.These cues have uncored forarm and purpleheart is my favourite wood after gaboon ebony.
You cannot go wrong with purpleheart.:thumbup:
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Do they offer a gaboon ebony? i think i might have to pick up one of the purple hear ones now that i know they're not cored. thanks for the info bro!
 
kasparovII said:
Poolplayer, my son will probably order an Axi this week. They're (j&j) trying to get the model he wants. But he's impatient and will order the Wenge wood model if j&j takes too long getting the slightly upgraded model. I'll repeat what I said earlier...... you guys are right. Mezz puts out a very good production cue....especially for the prices. Thanks to you and a few others for some good advice.
Click to expand...

Bama sold a pretty sharp looking wenge model not too long ago. if you can i'd pick one up on the secondary market.
 
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