New Cue Options?

Y

Yokel

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Ok so between bills, having extra money to put away, and money to live off of this week, I have around $250 to spend on a new cue.

The only other cue I own is a Navigator that my father gave me (and is the only thing I got from him :/ ), and I have never played with it and it has been safely stored away in a gun safe for 2 years now (although I use my friend's Genesis regularly ^^).

This cue would have to be my all-around hitter, and would have to be able to stand up to the abuse I might put on it ;) After talking to a few people, I've been considering another McDermott. One of the main reasons is their lifetime warranty, as if I spent $250 on a new cue and something happened, I wouldn't be readily available to replace it.

I'm not rushing into making this purchase uninformed, so if you throw out some suggestions, I will find the time to check them out at my local dealer to have a go :)

So... what do any of you think?
 
Yokel said:
Ok so between bills, having extra money to put away, and money to live off of this week, I have around $250 to spend on a new cue.

The only other cue I own is a Navigator that my father gave me (and is the only thing I got from him :/ ), and I have never played with it and it has been safely stored away in a gun safe for 2 years now (although I use my friend's Genesis regularly ^^).

This cue would have to be my all-around hitter, and would have to be able to stand up to the abuse I might put on it ;) After talking to a few people, I've been considering another McDermott. One of the main reasons is their lifetime warranty, as if I spent $250 on a new cue and something happened, I wouldn't be readily available to replace it.

I'm not rushing into making this purchase uninformed, so if you throw out some suggestions, I will find the time to check them out at my local dealer to have a go :)

So... what do any of you think?
Click to expand...

I would definitely save some of that money and buy a custom cue from Dominiak cues. His site is www.dominiakcues.com. He has a plain jane cue for a little over $100. You won't be sorry. You can look up the name on this site and see what everyone is saying.
 
I got a great cue from Dominiak with the shaft upgrade, it's really consistent and well made. Best entry cue and it replaced the Predator SPJL with a z tapered 314. With the money I saved, I'm going to purchase an OB-1 and a 314^2 and probably have Bill match the joint to my sweet sixteen.
 
Thanks for the info on the cuemaker =) I wouldn't have heard of his name if it weren't for yall moat likely...

Anyone else have any suggestions?
 
So buying a cue for it's warranty isn't a good idea for my first cue? I was figuring that if god-forbid, anything were to happen to my cue... at least McDermott would fix it for free and I wouldn't have to worry about a hefty repair bill or at worst buying a new cue.

That, and McDermott offers a bi-annual free cleaning, re-wrap, and overall maintainance including a new ferrul and such. You folks don't think the warranty plan is worth it?

BTW, I looked at the Dominiak website... he has some very nice stuff =) Anyone have any experience with the upgraded shaft?
 
You could give Brent Hartmann (BHQ) here a PM. He is making some very nice cues for very little money. There are a few options as far as newer builders go, for little cash. At least this way, you could something made just for you, that would play as well, or better, than a current McDermott.

Don't get me wrong, I am far from a production cue snob....most people I know locally play with them, and shoot quite well. Heck, I even started with a couple of different production cues...I think most of us have. Just giving you some other options, is all.

Lisa
 
ridewiththewind said:
You could give Brent Hartmann (BHQ) here a PM. He is making some very nice cues for very little money.
Click to expand...

I agree...Brent offers a lot of cue for the money.:)
 
Yokel said:
So buying a cue for it's warranty isn't a good idea for my first cue? I was figuring that if god-forbid, anything were to happen to my cue... at least McDermott would fix it for free and I wouldn't have to worry about a hefty repair bill or at worst buying a new cue.

That, and McDermott offers a bi-annual free cleaning, re-wrap, and overall maintainance including a new ferrul and such. You folks don't think the warranty plan is worth it?

BTW, I looked at the Dominiak website... he has some very nice stuff =) Anyone have any experience with the upgraded shaft?
Click to expand...

Yes. I designed the cue with the ringwork in the Whats New area and it has two of the Dominator Shafts. All I can say is they play as good as any
premium shafts and he picks out the wood from his trees on his property for them.
McDermott is a good cue. Definitely not knocking it. It's just for the budget you laid out, Dominiak really fits it well. A lot of cue for very little money.
 
i wouldnt buy a cue because of a warantee, the only cue i ever broke was a McDermott, i was pissed and threw it down-not hard and it broke inhalf, there was alotof mineral deposits in the wood-I have never thrown a cue since but that cue was going to snap anyways you couldnt tell from the outside the wood had a problem,

i'd listen to the above posts and not buy a McDermott, i dont like the quality of their shaft wood and other things, you can get a nice Joss East for 250-300, i have one i play with once in a while.
 
Yokel said:
That, and McDermott offers a bi-annual free cleaning, re-wrap, and overall maintainance including a new ferrul and such. You folks don't think the warranty plan is worth it?

BTW, I looked at the Dominiak website... he has some very nice stuff =) Anyone have any experience with the upgraded shaft?
Click to expand...

You have to pay the shipping and etc, not entirely free. A lot of people go crazy about Dominiak cues recently. Some like them. Some don't like them.

I had a recent post about purchasing a cue at the sub $200 price range at http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=62786 You might want to decide what kind of hit you want (e.g. soft, hard, stiff, solid) before choosing a brand. McDermott is soft. Joss is stiff. I tried both. They are really different.
 
I'll add to the love for Dominiak cues. I've had mine for just under 3 months & I wouldn't part with it. I paid $150 for the "Kandycurly" design, just because it looks so different from everything else. It's done me proud in the league since I've been using it, including 4 perfect games in a row which I hope to turn into 5 next week!
 
Yokel said:
So buying a cue for it's warranty isn't a good idea for my first cue? I was figuring that if god-forbid, anything were to happen to my cue... at least McDermott would fix it for free and I wouldn't have to worry about a hefty repair bill or at worst buying a new cue.
Click to expand...

Although the warranty is great to have, I think you're overestimating the risk of damaging your cue. I wouldn't factor it in too heavily for your decision.

On the other hand, a lot of people do like McDermott, it's a good cue.
 
this should help some

this will show you the two most common options in cue taper,
that along with ferrule, tip, joint type and face,
as well as balance and construction make up your "feel".

Personally I wish i'd have gotten a g10 radial pin
on my flat wood to wood sweet sixteen.
maybe next time.

I played with a predator sneaky uni-lock radial (i believe)
with a z shaft (euro taper, 11.75mm) and had ridiculous
confidence with it. I could go anywhere I wanted.

The Radial pin, as it's a registered trademark of Uni-lock
describes the diameter of the pin and it's thread character,
the same as McDermott, for example, uses the 3/8x10,
stainless or brass, maybe i'm wrong on the material but
you get the idea. G-10 is a glass resin which is very
forgiving. It will flex with the wood as opposed to a
metal that doesn't want to move. G-10 is also the
material that some cuemakers are using for their ferrule,
re. lightning bolt j/b.

I'm getting used to the new feel and really like the softness
of the wood to wood with the stiffness of the pro taper.

I can't wait to put an ob-1 shaft on my Dominiak,
and then a z^2 and suddenly my arsenal is a triple threat.
:D :D :D
 
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