More *unique* "first cue" post. $550 budget.

[HawaiianEye]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, lol. I would've already placed the order and made a bunch of nice people hate on me for my poor decision, but someone broke into my house lastnight while my wife and I were upstairs watching a movie. They removed the screen and climbed through my front window and took my wife's MacBook, both my kids tablets and a Bluetooth speaker. As someone who has a gun permanently attached to their hip unless I'm in my boxers, I'll tell you this can happen to anyone. The movie was loud enough that we couldn't hear anything. Looks like I'm going to lose some more money for some cameras and a dedicated screen+motion alarm. Oh, America.

That is some sorry shit. Sounds like they were pretty brave or knew the layouts of your house. Were your curtains open in the room they entered? I hope they catch the bastards and you are able to get your stuff back.

It may have turned out for the better that you didn't hear them. They may have had a weapon them self and you would have had Shoot Out At The OK Corral going on. With today's laws in certain places they may even try to put you in jail for shooting a bastard that is robbing you.

Hope your insurance covers it, if you don't get your stuff back.

 

[dvs]

Another way to go

Sorry to hear about the burglary. At least your family is safe

There is a used jerry raunzahn cues I the for sale section for 575.00. Looks very nice. I have 3 of Jerry's cues and they all play extremely well. I don't know the seller but I've always had good experiences on AZ

You'd be getting a custom cue made by a great cue maker. He's in Pennsylvania And has a great reputation


I think even if you don't like it you will be able to get your money back on a resale

Good luck

 

[B0r]

That is some sorry shit. Sounds like they were pretty brave or knew the layouts of your house. Were your curtains open in the room they entered? I hope they catch the bastards and you are able to get your stuff back.

It may have turned out for the better that you didn't hear them. They may have had a weapon them self and you would have had Shoot Out At The OK Corral going on. With today's laws in certain places they may even try to put you in jail for shooting a bastard that is robbing you.

Hope your insurance covers it, if you don't get your stuff back.

I am definitely glad there was no confrontation because there would be fatalities. I'm in Indiana, so the castle doctrine and my knowledge of it is slightly to my benefit. Just material stuff, I'm glad no one was hurt. The front window was open and they removed the screen and climbed in. I definitely think they live here or have lived here because they knew how to disable the back door locks in the pitch dark. I live in an apartment because I don't believe in homeownership, it's a dead ideology. Homes aren't $30,000 anymore and incomes are almost the same as they were, lol, but I digress. I'd still love to catch someone, though. They violated my children's peace. You don't get that for free.

 

[rollintheblues]

Glad to hear your family is safe. Can't go wrong with a mezz in terms of quality. Their work is top notch.
I myself got an EC7 as my first mezz cue and switched over to the AXI series with the wavy joints last year. Pretty much played with the WX700 as my main playing shaft and it doesn't disappoint.

Should you require something stiffer, the HP2 should be the shaft for you. On a side note, the EX pro plays like a dream in the Exceeds.

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

 

[Robert58]

Just remember that when you buy a new production cue, according to most people on this forum, it will only be worth a little more than half what you paid for it if you ever want to sell it and move up to a custom cue.

I have bought a lot of cues on E-bay. I will say it got burned on one cue. But it was a cheapy. So it didn't hurt.

You can find used Schons on E-bay for good prices. They are good cues and hold their value.

 

[brentinps]

I agree w Robert58 and I am picky as can be. It is a buyers market and there are gems out there for 40 percent or more off as compared to buying it new. Ebay or Panjo has some cues that just languish. There is a Pechauer pro on there that has been on there a long time. make an offer. The pro series is better than the JP series. Search on ebay for "used" pechauers....

Pechauer are great craftsmen/builders with woods and THEY actually answer the Phone...... Unlike Schon... which is hard to get a hold of see threads. The older cues I am talking off.. they had the BESt woods of the day and didn't spit out cues like meucci etc.. with young maple woods vs aged and bettter woods in general. Peaches are undervalued to me. THE pechauer pro on Ebay that is signed is a great quality cue for about 350$ if I recall...... I would buy it and get a new pechauer... plus or other shaft . Might even want to wait for the auction to end and message him with a lower bid..... it's been there for a month I think. A new shaft would make it perfect. .. and solid. THere is a great wrapless already with a performance shaft at 900$ I would offer 450 and see if you can get it for 500 if you like the way i's classic great woods.. looks.

Talk to pechauer and ask them why their cues are so well made.

There are not much plastics or urethanes used to my knowledge esp back in older cues and pro series like I got from 2009 0r 2010. That cue made me sell my MEzz quickly because quality cues should not have urethane..... IMHO.

II have had a Mezz AXI 606 with both their pro hybrid LD and the W700 shafts. I saw online that there was an exact design copy of a Carmeli on here for $3000 but it had real ivory. Bought the mezz on ebay for $750 and it was normally a $1,100+ cue at MEzz, and it had a custom baby monitor wrap (200+).

The Mezz had a soft hit for I am used to piloted stainless joints.... but in view of already having a Schon SP, and Jacoby custom (both using a Jacoby edge hybrid LD shaft), and adding a Pechauer pro P-11 from 2010 (and then buying the pechauer pro+ lite LD shaft $160?, all three hit similar that I got on ebay (the older pechauer pros are sold on ebay for about 500$; the Mezz started to look "plastic to me" as compared with what appears to be more use of "woods" shafts and less plastics/urathane. McD and Meucci's use a lot of urethane which is just NOT quality to me nor give the feedback or a great cue IMHO......

So I sold ithe Mezz. I can tell you to stay away from the more flashy or wild patterned Mezz cues, as they do not have as great a following.... also I can tell you the Mezz resale market is not as strong as Schon for sure. So if you plan to flip a mezz later you may lose money. I got lucky and sold mine for a profit but it was a 1000 cue w 2 shafts I bought used for $750 with a custom 200$ wrap so he took a hit.

Schon was the first cue investment I made and they hold value. IT is a brand with a following and used cues now... are probably better than new ones as Evan was leading Schon (he is now with Segen cues... which have not been as well received by knowledgeable people and collectors...) they do not compare) and hit with every cue prior to it leaving the factory. Buy a limited model of schon if possible. THese would be SP, LTD's or uniques..... Read on their site if you want to know the difference. Buying a new schon you have to go through a distributor I beleive as they do not sell direct to the public. So a used one is the way to go..... however at 500$ I am ot sure you can get any limited models. BUt any schon is a safe bet.. EXCEPT the CX made for cuestix international ones. They are lower line and will not hold value.

As one with passion for the game you need to factor that in when comparing the cost. I have never lost money on a cue. And it is a buyer's market now, so there are some great deals if you know what you are doing. (I bought a 2 yr online subscription to the Blue book of cues for 9$/yr and it is good to have.)

Most players on my league use Mcdermott cues w gcore shafts..as they are great entry level if you can buy at $230 w case. Safe price so they will not lose much if any on a resale, when they want to trade up.

If I could not get a Schon, for my 1st cue, I would get a pro series used Pechauer off E bay. There are some great looking Peach cues with great craftsmanship just sitting on ebay now, and worth making an offer on . Many of them can be ugly in my opinion but the P-11 from 2009 is one of the best looking cues I have seen... paid 475$ but had to get an LD shaft from them for another 200.


Jacoby's are great too.... but they do not have the SCHON brand image.... I think that Jacby makes more great looking cues than almost anyone else.

For a 1st cue, get a strong brand..... buy right, and look at being able to re-selling it later down the line and move up to more expensive brands.... I have done that with cues and cases and
worked my way up to what I have now.

 

[j2pac]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I appreciate your opinion in advance. Thank you.

I want a first cue. I have never been a professional player. In my own mind I was probably "good" but really I was probably terrible. I was never taught to play nor did I learn the fundamentals, I just had a natural understanding. And it was fun to me. I'm tired of going out to bars, so I'm getting a table for the house and a solid first cue.

Quickly: my first AR-15 build was $2,500. My first flashlight was $170. My first knife was $280. I don't do the "start here and see if you like it, etc." or the "why spend more than X for a first cue?" I buy quality first. I also don't do "exotics". Notice how everything above is in the enthusiast range. There are $8,000 AR's, $500 lights and $2,000 knives. I won't buy them.

I was DEAD SET on a Predator Sport 2 ICE no-wrap. $390-$450 is what I've seen it at. It's white. It's beautiful. And then I read it was made in China. We obviously all own things made in China, but if I can avoid it I will. I would say aesthetics matter. I am not interested in a sneaky pete. I found that the general consensus was that 300-600 would get you a solid, quality cue that would last and play well. After the predator China debacle, I found OB. And then I found multiple occasions where people said "if I had $xxx, it wouldn't be an OB.

I value the opinion of the people, especially those more experienced. This post differs from the rest because I had a baseline, the predator, I don't want a wrap, and I've searched the forums and done my own research. I will buy: Schon, McDermott, Mezz and MAYBE Predator/Lucasi. My holdback is would a $600 Predator/Lucasi be as good as the "lower end" of the other manufacturers? I don't want a custom cue, I'll take production.

TLR and final question: since my budget seems to be on the lower end for Schon and Mezz, would a more expensive Predator or lucasi make sense? I'm iffy on China, I don't like wraps and it's not detrimental, but for $550 I should be able to look at my cue and know it's worth what I paid for it.

And then there's warranty. Lifetime warranty, including warping on Lucasi is kind of hard to turn your nose up at. Either they know it won't warp, or they're that confident in their product. I can afford $500 a year, so I'm trying not to let the "allure" of protection and Chinese manufacturing make my decision for me, so I'd like your thoughts.

No poll, no "best cue maker ever". Not asking you to make my decision for me. I may also be missing something. One of you may blow my mind and come up with a combo for $550 that would be excellent. I am not opposed to a little more money to make that happen. I also waited 3 days to be approved and searched and only found "make my decision for me" posts. So please, no hate if your search-fu is on a higher level.

PM sent...

 

[bottom_gun]

I recommend looking at Dominiak. I found recommendations for Dominiak in several posts and decided to give them a look. Bill gave me a great deal and built me 4 in total, 2 Ultra Petes for wall cues, 1 Sweet 16 break cue with a hard Kamui tip, and I splurged for a Sweet 16 player with a leather wrap and phenolic joints. All 4 are unique works of art. He used curly maple for two, birds eye maple for another, and the other was alternating birds eye and curly in his radial laminated construction. All play amazing and his customer service is top notch. For your price range you will be able to get a quality, custom, LD, wrapped cue built to your specifications and made in the US.

http://www.dominiakcues.com/index.php

 

[johnnysd]

I recommend looking at Dominiak. I found recommendations for Dominiak in several posts and decided to give them a look. Bill gave me a great deal and built me 4 in total, 2 Ultra Petes for wall cues, 1 Sweet 16 break cue with a hard Kamui tip, and I splurged for a Sweet 16 player with a leather wrap and phenolic joints. All 4 are unique works of art. He used curly maple for two, birds eye maple for another, and the other was alternating birds eye and curly in his radial laminated construction. All play amazing and his customer service is top notch. For your price range you will be able to get a quality, custom, LD, wrapped cue built to your specifications and made in the US.

http://www.dominiakcues.com/index.php

I agree with this. He makes a terrific cue.