Just a brief update. Got the cue last Wed, arrived in perfect condition, and packed very well. Fit and finish, flawless. Had him put a 30" shaft on it with a 3/4" ferrule, and asked that the tip be somewhere between 12.75 and 12.85. Ended up measuring about 12.82mm. Cue feels great in the hand, butt 15.4 oz I think, total weight about 19.2 oz, but feels lighter compared to my Schons that are the same apx weight. Balance about 18 3/4 to end of butt, weight bolt not sure, but I think he mentioned an aluminum one maybe? Funny that my Schons balance at around 19", but the DZ actually feels more forward balanced. Hard to describe, but it's a real solid and neutral feeling cue in the hand. Now as to the hit of it, and keep in mind that I am not real qualified here as I am just an average player. I have shot with this cue for a little over 3 hrs and my take aways are, at first the hit seemed soft, and that supprised me, it's much crisper now and I think all it was at first, was the initial shaping of the tip as supplied was quite rough and now after playing for a few hrs that roughness is gone, and I'm sure the tip has broken in some. The tip, a Triangle I think, harder than the Ultra skin fire mediums that I have been using, holds chalk really well, and I'm growing to like it. I have a cue lathe, and at first was thinking of changing it, but have decided against that for now. The shaft, not sure what taper I actually have but really like it. I have been using Jacoby Ultra shafts on my Schons, and may eventually get one for this DZ, but for now am really happy with the standard wood shaft. Wife and I met some friends yesterday afternoon to shoot some pool and go out for dinner after. Shot a couple practice games before going and not only had a table run, but ran the rest also, then had a table run against my friend with about 5 games played, for me this was good shooting. Does this cue play better than my Schons? Not sure, but I really like it so far and plan on making it my playing cue for now.
