Modern Day Balabushka

I will be the first inline to buy the "MAGIC CUE" that can be pick up off a table, or wall rack, or out of Case and RUN 100 BALLS in Straight Pool in the Hands of a First Time Player with no experience, not training, no knowledge of Pool, who is like my Cousin Jerry with TWO LEFT FEET, no Fingers, FIVE THUMBS on EACH Hand, and LAST is a KLUTZ.....
 
OK....Here Goes...Betcha I Get Scorned.....

GEORGE BALABUSHKA.......admittedly one of the greatest cue-makers of all time.......I don't think so.....at least not in my book when it comes to playability....perhaps for looks.......but it would have to be cues from his Szamboti period of cue-making because all of the others were just so so....nothing spectacular to write home about... keep in mind he always bought blanks from 4 different sources for every cue he made......unlike Herman Rambow who made the whole darn cue and was in fact a supplier of cue blanks to George Balabushka......now if you want to talk great cue-makers.....then you better start with Herman Rambow and we'll get dowen to discussing George Balabhushka in say the top 25 cue-makers...that I could agree with.

How many of you out there have ever got to actually play with an authentic George Balabushka cue? I'm not talking about hitting 1/2 dozen balls as a test and then handing the cue back to its owner.....I said play with it. I have for about 90 mins. one occasion and I was not impressed at all aside from its spectacular looks.....the cue was way too heavy for my taste....and doin't go quoting the balance point bullshit....it was freakin' heavy at 20.6 ozs....and the cue hit hard.....not just a solid hit but hard.....the cue didn't have any feel to it.....I really don't know why evryone praises him as one of the greats......I can name a dozen cue-makers that make much better hitting/feeling cues than a Balabushka cue....and please don't recite for me that one special Balabuhska cue you saw or touched one time that was like "Ex Calibur".....I'm speaking about the vast majority of Balabushka cues made...remember he only made 1200 cues during his lifetime.

So I'm sorry to sound like a heretic denouncing the greatness of George Balabushka as a cue-maker......he was a creative genius and a very talented cue-maker. I'll say this...when he was alive and still making cues, George Balabushka was at that one of the greatest, if not indeed the greatest, cue-makers of that period......but comparison against everyone else before, during ad since that time....well, George drops down quite a bit in my ranking of cue-makers.

Okay, bring it own...I know I probably sinned or pissed some readers off with my opinion and posting but really, can't you name better makers of cues....I didn't say more famous because George is the most famous largely because of a pool movie....but can't you name better playing and feeling cues than a original Balabushka. I only own five cues and every one hits as good or better than the cues George made....each and every one so that's why I voice dissent and disagreement. Three of my cues definitely play much better than that Balabushka cue I tried.....but they should because they were made by 3 absolutely great cue-makers.

So look....this is how I see it.... my five different cue-makers produced cues that, in my opinion, hit as good or better than an original Balabushka cue. Then how many other cue-makers are out there.....cues I've never even had the opportunity to play with...also produced cues that play better than a cue ole George produced???????? Betcha there's a whole bunch....NUF SED!
 
Bavafongoul said:
GEORGE BALABUSHKA.......admittedly one of the greatest cue-makers of all time.......I don't think so.....at least not in my book when it comes to playability....perhaps for looks.......but it would have to be cues from his Szamboti period of cue-making because all of the others were just so so....nothing spectacular to write home about... keep in mind he always bought blanks from 4 different sources for every cue he made......unlike Herman Rambow who made the whole darn cue and was in fact a supplier of cue blanks to George Balabushka......now if you want to talk great cue-makers.....then you better start with Herman Rambow and we'll get dowen to discussing George Balabhushka in say the top 25 cue-makers...that I could agree with.

How many of you out there have ever got to actually play with an authentic George Balabushka cue? I'm not talking about hitting 1/2 dozen balls as a test and then handing the cue back to its owner.....I said play with it. I have for about 90 mins. one occasion and I was not impressed at all aside from its spectacular looks.....the cue was way too heavy for my taste....and doin't go quoting the balance point bullshit....it was freakin' heavy at 20.6 ozs....and the cue hit hard.....not just a solid hit but hard.....the cue didn't have any feel to it.....I really don't know why evryone praises him as one of the greats......I can name a dozen cue-makers that make much better hitting/feeling cues than a Balabushka cue....and please don't recite for me that one special Balabuhska cue you saw or touched one time that was like "Ex Calibur".....I'm speaking about the vast majority of Balabushka cues made...remember he only made 1200 cues during his lifetime.

So I'm sorry to sound like a heretic denouncing the greatness of George Balabushka as a cue-maker......he was a creative genius and a very talented cue-maker. I'll say this...when he was alive and still making cues, George Balabushka was at that one of the greatest, if not indeed the greatest, cue-makers of that period......but comparison against everyone else before, during ad since that time....well, George drops down quite a bit in my ranking of cue-makers.

Okay, bring it own...I know I probably sinned or pissed some readers off with my opinion and posting but really, can't you name better makers of cues....I didn't say more famous because George is the most famous largely because of a pool movie....but can't you name better playing and feeling cues than a original Balabushka. I only own five cues and every one hits as good or better than the cues George made....each and every one so that's why I voice dissent and disagreement. Three of my cues definitely play much better than that Balabushka cue I tried.....but they should because they were made by 3 absolutely great cue-makers.

So look....this is how I see it.... my five different cue-makers produced cues that, in my opinion, hit as good or better than an original Balabushka cue. Then how many other cue-makers are out there.....cues I've never even had the opportunity to play with...also produced cues that play better than a cue ole George produced???????? Betcha there's a whole bunch....NUF SED!
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Your opinion, is your opinion.

However Rambow never supplied blanks to George. In fact Rambow used the same blanks that George used from Brunswick. We all know Rambow worked for Brunswick, there is nothing in the written record that states that he was the designer of the Willie Hoppe Titlist for Brunswick, for all we know Bob the lathe jockey designed the cue. Since the Willie Hoppe titlist went to Rambow for the majority of his cues, we know that his cues and Georges cues had the same basic foundation for a period of time. Heck, alot of the Rambow signed cues, aren't even signed by Rambow, but by someone else.

Rambow designed the hub cue, and it was something that we don't see him use for his own cues.

Like any cue, if I put up 30 cues of any cuemaker, there will be a few that hit great, some that hit like crap. True for most, argued by many. I have hit balls with 12-15 Bushkas for more than an hour, at least 10 were very good if not great, rest average. Could have been me on that day, not the cue.

But you can't tell someone their opinion of "hit" is wrong, since it is an opinion..

JV
 
Bavafongoul said:
How many of you out there have ever got to actually play with an authentic George Balabushka cue? I have for about 90 mins. .I'm speaking about the vast majority of Balabushka cues made..
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I take no offense from your post at all, I just want to get that out of the way.

I am curious though..... You seem critical of anybody commenting that has not hit more than 25 balls with an original Balabushka. OK, I get it. A person should have more experience with a cue, by your standards, to comment on it with authority. OK.

But how in the world do you pretend to speak for the other thousand or so Balabushkas when you only shot with one?

Very few people have played with enough Balabushkas to say how they play in general. The fact is that for the most part such a thing is a matter of legend and that's all. But that is as it should be I think. Some here are lucky enough to have played with numerous Balabushkas. I would say they could comment about how Balabushkas in general play. But even if they said they all play like broom handles the Balabushka legend would not be dented. It is simply too large for that at this point.

I have never shot with one. I'm curious, of course. From all that I have read on the matter some shoot great, some don't....no big deal unless you are looking for a shooter, which I would say generally isn't the case in that market...but they are all Balabushkas.


.
 
Bavafongoul said:
GEORGE BALABUSHKA.......admittedly one of the greatest cue-makers of all time.......I don't think so.....at least not in my book when it comes to playability....perhaps for looks.......but it would have to be cues from his Szamboti period of cue-making because all of the others were just so so....nothing spectacular to write home about... keep in mind he always bought blanks from 4 different sources for every cue he made......unlike Herman Rambow who made the whole darn cue and was in fact a supplier of cue blanks to George Balabushka......now if you want to talk great cue-makers.....then you better start with Herman Rambow and we'll get dowen to discussing George Balabhushka in say the top 25 cue-makers...that I could agree with.

How many of you out there have ever got to actually play with an authentic George Balabushka cue? I'm not talking about hitting 1/2 dozen balls as a test and then handing the cue back to its owner.....I said play with it. I have for about 90 mins. one occasion and I was not impressed at all aside from its spectacular looks.....the cue was way too heavy for my taste....and doin't go quoting the balance point bullshit....it was freakin' heavy at 20.6 ozs....and the cue hit hard.....not just a solid hit but hard.....the cue didn't have any feel to it.....I really don't know why evryone praises him as one of the greats......I can name a dozen cue-makers that make much better hitting/feeling cues than a Balabushka cue....and please don't recite for me that one special Balabuhska cue you saw or touched one time that was like "Ex Calibur".....I'm speaking about the vast majority of Balabushka cues made...remember he only made 1200 cues during his lifetime.

So I'm sorry to sound like a heretic denouncing the greatness of George Balabushka as a cue-maker......he was a creative genius and a very talented cue-maker. I'll say this...when he was alive and still making cues, George Balabushka was at that one of the greatest, if not indeed the greatest, cue-makers of that period......but comparison against everyone else before, during ad since that time....well, George drops down quite a bit in my ranking of cue-makers.

Okay, bring it own...I know I probably sinned or pissed some readers off with my opinion and posting but really, can't you name better makers of cues....I didn't say more famous because George is the most famous largely because of a pool movie....but can't you name better playing and feeling cues than a original Balabushka. I only own five cues and every one hits as good or better than the cues George made....each and every one so that's why I voice dissent and disagreement. Three of my cues definitely play much better than that Balabushka cue I tried.....but they should because they were made by 3 absolutely great cue-makers.

So look....this is how I see it.... my five different cue-makers produced cues that, in my opinion, hit as good or better than an original Balabushka cue. Then how many other cue-makers are out there.....cues I've never even had the opportunity to play with...also produced cues that play better than a cue ole George produced???????? Betcha there's a whole bunch....NUF SED!
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The search function is a terrible thing to waist...

Use it and you will see that most all reasonable members came to grips
long ago with the fact that "hit" is an entirely subjective evaluation.

You weren't impressed with a cue you spent a whole 90 mins banging
balls with? Your evaluation is at least inadequate. Your preference for
other cues is just as valid as is anyone elses - but your lack of
appreciation for George's skills says much more about you than him...
perhaps it even says " 'nuff".

FWIW - the cues you are so proud of - I would expect I wouldn't use one
to stir my fireplace with... but that is only my opinion.

Dale
 
pdcue said:
The search function is a terrible thing to waist...

Use it and you will see that most all reasonable members came to grips
long ago with the fact that "hit" is an entirely subjective evaluation.

You weren't impressed with a cue you spent a whole 90 mins banging
balls with? Your evaluation is at least inadequate. Your preference for
other cues is just as valid as is anyone elses - but your lack of
appreciation for George's skills says much more about you than him...
perhaps it even says " 'nuff".

FWIW - the cues you are so proud of - I would expect I wouldn't use one
to stir my fireplace with... but that is only my opinion.

Dale
Click to expand...

The dictionary is another thing that is terrible to WASTE.
 
I own 2 original Balabushka's and have hit with several others. The ones I've played with have all played good to great. Then I think about the fact they are 40 years old and I am blown away with how good they are. If a 40+ year old cue is as good as todays standards it must have been something truly remarkable back then. Hit is subjective but the Balabushka's I own are both still dead straight, what does that say about his work....
I think Balabushka's contribution to the history of cues and cue making was huge and helped paved the way for todays work.
Today there are hundreds of cue makers that can make you a fantastic cue. 40 - 50 years ago there were only a handful and George was one of them.
 
I've been wondering about what the OP wants to hear since i first read the 1st post...lol.

Does he want to know if balabushkas sink balls on their own and which other cues do that or which cues are going to go up 100x their original value once the maker is 6 feet under?

If there is ever an oscar nomination worthy color of money sequel the next balabushka will be whatever name tom cruise tosses out in the movie...lol
 
Does anybody remember the fake Balabushkas that flooded the market in the 80s? Word got around that the Japanese cue collectors were paying upwards of 50k for a Balabushka. That's when cuemakers went to work. No one ever seems to like to talk about those days, when they forever brought the price of the cues down with their phony replicas.

That, ladies and gents, is our illustrious billiard industry. I wonder who was making those cues? I wonder who was selling those cues?
 
hit of cues the best

anyone who has owned a george b and a gus s knows which is the best its just as the man said bushkas hit hard with no feel there is no comparison with gus s his cues are some of the greatest ever hit wise ,a close to compare to it in some cases could be some thin sharp pointed early schons that are fantistic also ,but everyone has there own pick what kind of hit they like ,gus is the man ,the new man might be john showman if you could every get your hands on one.
 
Every custom cue maker will make a dud here and there. It's the nature of wood.

I used to hang out in a pool room where there were 20 or so Gus Szamboti cues in use. They all played great except for this one cue. Now it played just fine on it's own but when compared with the others it just felt a little odd,a little off.
I recently hit some balls with a Rambo cue that was made around 1942 and it felt as good as any modern cue I have ever played with.
As far as the next legend of cue making I think the torch was passed to Gus Szamboti and has stopped there for now.There are so many cue makers now who knows.
A very good Denver cue maker suggested that we should be buying Pete Tonkin cues right now.
 
I guess, all of the above, also, haven't had the pleasure of playing with a balabushka yet, would love too, but the cynic in me cant imagine it playing as well, with all that technology has offerrd up, as todays cues, unless he had some special magic forest.

but then i think, no ones broken mosconis straight pool record, what cue did he use? it's pool, does it matter? tables balls are all the same size no??

it's not like other sports, players get bigger stonger/steroids, equipment changes have a huge impact. in golf, courses get harder, and going from wood to steel to titanium has had a huge impact. but pool tables are flat, 6 holes, same everywhere for the most part. well not really but you know what im saying.

if these old cues can sink 500 balls in a row, and run racks. how much can technology add to pool. no doubt i can get more spin with a thinner tip, but i lose accuracy, how much spin is to much. for every yin there is a yang, thats life. a pro can pick up a house cue and run rack after rack.

is there a better cue? was balabushka, making stratavarious's, are they above all else?? it sounds like no. is it hype? sounds like yes. will technology make me great. i don't think so. do i want to use the next potential great cue, at a resonable price yes. do i want to by it for cheap and sell it in 20 years for tens of thousands of dollars, absofrigginlutely.
 
Like I said...I amticipated the csarcasm and scorn....

Look....I never said anyone's opinion was wrong....by definition it can't be....it's a personal perspective......viewpoint if you will.....and in turn, I have the same rights and privileges to express a contrary standpoint....don't I?

I was just saying that George Balabushka, in my opinion, is assigned too much reverence when it comes to cue-making......and Herman Rambow....I read where the Brunswick Titleist blanks were made by him and that George in turn used them......but be that as it may....okay then subsitute Burton Spain's name instead as a greater cue-maker than George...after all Burton is recognized as the master of the full splice cue.

And in regard to only hitting a few pool balls......come one....how many different shots did you hit with the borrowed Balabushka....if you're only hitting 6-8-balls.....well, that's like taking a new sports car on a test drive and never reaching 4th gear......play with a cue for awhile and get adjusted to its hit, feel, the heaviness of the follow stroke, the light touch for a tough cut shot, or even your ability to hit center ball consistently. I took a striped ball and stroked it around the 9' table to watch the speed and for any wiggle on the stripe.....I was trying to get the tire roll effect which I can achieve pretty consistently with my cues.....didn't care for the way the Balabushka cue felt. That's a much more thorough test of the cue than just scattering 1/2 dozen balls on the table....don't ya think? But again, even if you only hit the cue ball once, you are still entitled to your opinion, My test drive of the Balabushka cue was just a bit more thorough and comprehensive.

Now someone did make a good point....I only tried one Balabushka cue but I only own one Mottey cue and one Scruggs cue.....and both play much, much better....but indeed, maybe there are some great Balabushka cues out there ....I dunno....I think I even made that point clear in my post.......maybe one of the 1199 other cues George made might impress me differently.

So all of you Balabushka admirers and pool afficienados that think my opinion is off based or ill founded...."GO BUCK A FUFFALO!"........The truth is everyone is entitled to their opinion and I was just questioning and disagreeing with the Balabushka legacy....I think he's overrated and wouldn't be as nearly famous if Paul Newman had handed Tom Cruise a Burton Spain cue, or a Jerry Franklin Southwest cue or a Dennis Searing cue...etc. It's amazing how emotionally attached people are in general, let alone on the forum, to legends.....like in baseball and cue-making. Most of these people never actually saw many of these baseball greats actually play or with cue-makers, actually own one of these cues or even held one in their hands for that matter.

I grew up watching Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider and Wille Mays played centerfield in New York...I didn't form my opinion by reading a bunch of stats like many pundits do. My opinion is based on personal experience and that what my comments about George Balabushka are...predicated upon my personal experience. The bottomline is have only owned a 15 cues during my lifetime but have played with at least a 100 cues over the past fifty years.

For my take, there are better playing cues than a original Balabushka and these other cues cost a lot less....none more than $6000 and many only a few thousand dollars. And aside from the snobbery or the elite status of owning a Balabushka, I wonder how many Balabushka cue owners have ever referred to their cue as a "players cue"....or boasted about the great balance and overall feel of their Balabushka cue.

I bet my opinion is shared by many others....but I'm at the podium and they aren't so go ahead and pelt me with your scoffs and ridicule.........Enough Said....aka....Nuff Sed!
 
Bavafongoul said:
Look....I never said anyone's opinion was wrong....by definition it can't be....it's a personal perspective......viewpoint if you will.....and in turn, I have the same rights and privileges to express a contrary standpoint....don't I?

I was just saying that George Balabushka, in my opinion, is assigned too much reverence when it comes to cue-making......and Herman Rambow....I read where the Brunswick Titleist blanks were made by him and that George in turn used them......but be that as it may....okay then subsitute Burton Spain's name instead as a greater cue-maker than George...after all Burton is recognized as the master of the full splice cue.

And in regard to only hitting a few pool balls......come one....how many different shots did you hit with the borrowed Balabushka....if you're only hitting 6-8-balls.....well, that's like taking a new sports car on a test drive and never reaching 4th gear......play with a cue for awhile and get adjusted to its hit, feel, the heaviness of the follow stroke, the light touch for a tough cut shot, or even your ability to hit center ball consistently. I took a striped ball and stroked it around the 9' table to watch the speed and for any wiggle on the stripe.....I was trying to get the tire roll effect which I can achieve pretty consistently with my cues.....didn't care for the way the Balabushka cue felt. That's a much more thorough test of the cue than just scattering 1/2 dozen balls on the table....don't ya think? But again, even if you only hit the cue ball once, you are still entitled to your opinion, My test drive of the Balabushka cue was just a bit more thorough and comprehensive.

Now someone did make a good point....I only tried one Balabushka cue but I only own one Mottey cue and one Scruggs cue.....and both play much, much better....but indeed, maybe there are some great Balabushka cues out there ....I dunno....I think I even made that point clear in my post.......maybe one of the 1199 other cues George made might impress me differently.

So all of you Balabushka admirers and pool afficienados that think my opinion is off based or ill founded...."GO BUCK A FUFFALO!"........The truth is everyone is entitled to their opinion and I was just questioning and disagreeing with the Balabushka legacy....I think he's overrated and wouldn't be as nearly famous if Paul Newman had handed Tom Cruise a Burton Spain cue, or a Jerry Franklin Southwest cue or a Dennis Searing cue...etc. It's amazing how emotionally attached people are in general, let alone on the forum, to legends.....like in baseball and cue-making. Most of these people never actually saw many of these baseball greats actually play or with cue-makers, actually own one of these cues or even held one in their hands for that matter.

I grew up watching Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider and Wille Mays played centerfield in New York...I didn't form my opinion by reading a bunch of stats like many pundits do. My opinion is based on personal experience and that what my comments about George Balabushka are...predicated upon my personal experience. The bottomline is have only owned a 15 cues during my lifetime but have played with at least a 100 cues over the past fifty years.

For my take, there are better playing cues than a original Balabushka and these other cues cost a lot less....none more than $6000 and many only a few thousand dollars. And aside from the snobbery or the elite status of owning a Balabushka, I wonder how many Balabushka cue owners have ever referred to their cue as a "players cue"....or boasted about the great balance and overall feel of their Balabushka cue.

I bet my opinion is shared by many others....but I'm at the podium and they aren't so go ahead and pelt me with your scoffs and ridicule.........Enough Said....aka....Nuff Sed!
Click to expand...

Trolling, trolling over the bounding main...
tra la la..

Dale(waisting away in Margaritaville)
 
Bavafongoul said:
Look....I never said anyone's opinion was wrong....by definition it can't be....it's a personal perspective......viewpoint if you will.....and in turn, I have the same rights and privileges to express a contrary standpoint....don't I?

I was just saying that George Balabushka, in my opinion, is assigned too much reverence when it comes to cue-making......and Herman Rambow....I read where the Brunswick Titleist blanks were made by him and that George in turn used them......but be that as it may....okay then subsitute Burton Spain's name instead as a greater cue-maker than George...after all Burton is recognized as the master of the full splice cue.

And in regard to only hitting a few pool balls......come one....how many different shots did you hit with the borrowed Balabushka....if you're only hitting 6-8-balls.....well, that's like taking a new sports car on a test drive and never reaching 4th gear......play with a cue for awhile and get adjusted to its hit, feel, the heaviness of the follow stroke, the light touch for a tough cut shot, or even your ability to hit center ball consistently. I took a striped ball and stroked it around the 9' table to watch the speed and for any wiggle on the stripe.....I was trying to get the tire roll effect which I can achieve pretty consistently with my cues.....didn't care for the way the Balabushka cue felt. That's a much more thorough test of the cue than just scattering 1/2 dozen balls on the table....don't ya think? But again, even if you only hit the cue ball once, you are still entitled to your opinion, My test drive of the Balabushka cue was just a bit more thorough and comprehensive.

Now someone did make a good point....I only tried one Balabushka cue but I only own one Mottey cue and one Scruggs cue.....and both play much, much better....but indeed, maybe there are some great Balabushka cues out there ....I dunno....I think I even made that point clear in my post.......maybe one of the 1199 other cues George made might impress me differently.

So all of you Balabushka admirers and pool afficienados that think my opinion is off based or ill founded...."GO BUCK A FUFFALO!"........The truth is everyone is entitled to their opinion and I was just questioning and disagreeing with the Balabushka legacy....I think he's overrated and wouldn't be as nearly famous if Paul Newman had handed Tom Cruise a Burton Spain cue, or a Jerry Franklin Southwest cue or a Dennis Searing cue...etc. It's amazing how emotionally attached people are in general, let alone on the forum, to legends.....like in baseball and cue-making. Most of these people never actually saw many of these baseball greats actually play or with cue-makers, actually own one of these cues or even held one in their hands for that matter.

I grew up watching Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider and Wille Mays played centerfield in New York...I didn't form my opinion by reading a bunch of stats like many pundits do. My opinion is based on personal experience and that what my comments about George Balabushka are...predicated upon my personal experience. The bottomline is have only owned a 15 cues during my lifetime but have played with at least a 100 cues over the past fifty years.

For my take, there are better playing cues than a original Balabushka and these other cues cost a lot less....none more than $6000 and many only a few thousand dollars. And aside from the snobbery or the elite status of owning a Balabushka, I wonder how many Balabushka cue owners have ever referred to their cue as a "players cue"....or boasted about the great balance and overall feel of their Balabushka cue.

I bet my opinion is shared by many others....but I'm at the podium and they aren't so go ahead and pelt me with your scoffs and ridicule.........Enough Said....aka....Nuff Sed!
Click to expand...

enough top players played with balabushka's that his legend was cemented before the color of money and paul and tom. his cues were selling for high prices before that movie, all the movie did was put the name in the common person's vernacular, and your right had they said someone elses name, that name would be more commonly known. but it wouldn't change george's rep, just like not being the name in the movie didn't change gus' rep. and you are entitled to say what you wish about any cue. so is everyone else.
in my opinion i think the cue makers that could be considered modern day balabushka's or gus' would be people like dennis searing, southwest, or pete tascarella. any cue maker really who's items are immediately fetching more money than the original purchaser paid, are not always readily available from the maker themselves (i.e. long wait lists) or are not always flying around the second hand market (like searings, sure you see them for sale but not as often as a lot of other makers).
 
"What cue would be considered the modern day Balabushka."

Pete Tascarella, John Showman, Barry Szamboti are probably as close to modern Balabushka as you can get in term of style and playability. I think these builders adhere to the same high standard as Gus and Balabushka had and beyond with modern technology in term of machine and material eg. Glue and Modern Layered tips. Of course, lots of modern cue builder like Steven Klien also build amazing example of these old classic style...and some will plays as good if not even better than some of the old Gus and Balabushka. All depends on the shaft woods that is pair with their cue..not to mentioned much better tips, high tolerance and more accurate machine.

"and are most of todays cues as good or better playing then balabushkas of old with all that modern technology has had to offer."

I had the pleasure to play with the old Gus and Balabushka cues along with hundreds of modern cues from production cues to custom cues builders in all level. All I can say, is that any of these cues can and will play better than some of the old Gus and Balabushka. It's just come down to the quality of the wood and material. I have several schon cues that plays deadly and I would put it against any Gus and I have tons of custom cues like SW, McWorter, Bender, Hercek, McDaniel, Verl Horn, Jerry Olivier, etc, etc...that will definitely hold their own and plus some against any of the old cues when it comes to playability. I think modern production cues like predator, mezz, schon, joss etc...have definitely improved the standard of playability in a cue.

If you want to be a cue good and successful cue builders in today market, your cues have to have a distinctive characteristic in term playability, feel and design that exceed the standard in the production cues environment. There are lots of cue builders that can make very good playing cues but most don't excel in the market because they lack the characteristic that make them a South West, Mcworter, etc. Southwest and Mcworter cues are just 2 example where a custom builder is able to build a cue that is easily recognizable in the market in term of their playability and design. IMO, Mcworter cues are the most modern cues in term of design and playability....and he's not the only one eg. Black Boar, Thomas Wayne, etc..etc.

Duc.
 
Goose1972 said:
What cue would be considered the modern day Balabushka.

and are most of todays cues as good or better playing then balabushkas of old with all that modern technology has had to offer.
Click to expand...

Hard to say but I think what made Balabuska's great was more than a great cue as others have stated here already.

But I do believe that several cue makers today have taken the "art" aspect of cue making to a level beyond what George Balabushka would have ever thought possible.

My hats off to the cue makers of today.They are simply amazing.
 
Drawman623 said:
Interesting question.

Gus Szamboti made blanks for Balabushka as did Burton Spain or so I'm told. Thus the present day Bushka would be Barry Szamboti or Joel Hercek, both of whom continued the traditional approach of their predecessors.

Tascarella, Richard Black and Bill Schick understand Balabushka's construction as they have all studied his work extensively and all three build cues of surpassing quality and playability.

Barry is top of the list in my opinion though.
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Great Post !! And yes, Spain made blanks for GB. I'm still a little surprised that Spain does not get more recognition for his work, not to mention his blanks he sold to other cue makes...(OK, he is in the cuemakers HOF) But a GB cue is not worth much with out the few excellent cuemakers who built the blanks for him, which is basically the foundation of the entire cue.



 
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