Newbie questions about Diamond Pro

L

longhorn

Registered
Hi everybody,

This is my first post here. I'm really impressed with this forum, and
would like to thank all of you who have shared your knowledge. I've
learned a ton from reading your posts. I'm in the market for a new
table, and am leaning towards a 9' Diamond Pro, but have a few
questions before I pull the trigger. Maybe you can help me?

1) Pro or League pockets? I imagine everybody here gets the Pro
pockets, but I want my wife and kids to enjoy the table, too, and I'm
worried that the combination of 9' table + tight pockets will be too
tough for them. Thoughts?

2) What are your favorite wood & stain combinations? Diamond offers
something like 20 choices, but to my amazement, they only have ONE
picture of a Diamond Pro on their entire website. I've looked at
several of the pictures here, but many of them are taken from a
distance or in dim light, making it hard to see details like the wood
grain. For those of you who own one, I'd LOVE to see a picture of
your Diamond Pro, including the type of wood and stain you chose.

3) Rails - Dymondwood or not? I like the durabliity of the
Dymondwood, but IMO the flat Dymondwood corners are less attractive
than the curved wood corners. (See the photos and Paul8ball's
explanation in http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=55784).
Do those of you without Dymondwood rails notice a lot of scratches?

4) 3-piece or 1-piece slate? I spoke with a Diamond salesrep, and the
1-piece is a free upgrade, but I'm wondering how much of a headache
this will be if I ever need to move the table.

5) Are all of the Diamond installers pretty good, or is it worth the
wait for somebody like RealKingCobra? I'm in Austin, TX - not sure if
he even does installs here.

6) What about a Gabriels Signature Pro, instead? Similar table, and
most of the comments I've read here have been pretty positive.
http://www.gabriels-billard.de/site/images/stories/signature%20pro%20evo.jpg
(Gabriels owners - would love to see your photos, too!)


If you made it this far, thanks for reading. This is my first table,
so I'm pretty excited about it and sweating every little detail. :)
 
http://forums.azbilliards.com/gallery/data/500/medium/DSCN1821.JPG
http://forums.azbilliards.com/gallery/data/500/medium/DSCN1833.JPG
http://forums.azbilliards.com/gallery/data/500/medium/DSCN1823.JPG
These are pics of my pro I ordered a year ago. The pro cuts were the only way to go for me, I had the same concerns with 4 kids and a wife. By getting the tight pockets I have much more table time, only one 2 of my children are good enough to make a ball now:grin: I toyed with the idea of league cut pockets and decided against it. I am happy with my choice and never looked back. The tight pockets do play a lot tougher but you will get better. I liked my color combo and still do, this was a special order and a one of a kind Diamond.
I also liked the stained Grey color that they have on their website.
As far as the Dymondwood rails the resale value alone pays for the upgrade cost. They are bullet proof and will look good for ever. I prefer the angled corners but thats just me.
One piece vs three piece..... that may be determined by the location that it will be set up at. The one piece will be difficult to get into many places but it would be a snap to level.;)
As Jay Helfert once said "choose your table mechanic very wisely" I would make sure that they knew Diamonds well and have set them up before. RKC is hard to get but he is the man.
I might be wrong but I believe that Gabriel's and Diamond are affiliates and are nearly the same table, Gabriel's being Europe's version of the Diamond.
I hope this helps, it is quite a process for the average Joe to decide on ,order and install a new Diamond table but it is a great table and worth the hassle. Jim
 
Lol

Cuebuddy IS the Diamond Deputy! LOL.

Give me a call when you're ready. I'd love to give you a quote. New or Tourny used.

I sell factory direct. ;) We also warehouse a limited selection of tables here in Texas.

Ray
254-379-2569

Ray
 
Bigtruck said:
Cuebuddy IS the Diamond Deputy! LOL.

Give me a call when you're ready. I'd love to give you a quote. New or Tourny used.

I sell factory direct. ;) We also warehouse a limited selection of tables here in Texas.

Ray
254-379-2569

Ray
Click to expand...
Yes I am, and darn happy to be the DD :)
.......Jim thinks he needs a cape.
 
I have a light oak 9' Diamond Pro with the pro cut pockets. I've had it for about 7 years and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Get the table you want. If the wife and kids can't make balls they'll learn to get better.

I think the Pro comes with 3 pc slate and the Pro Am is the one piece. Seems that the location of the table in your home will dictate what slate to use.

Perhaps Diamond has pictures of the finishes they can email you?

Get the Diamond, not the Gabriel and get the one you want. It's a big investment and you need to do it right. I strongly recommend the pro cut pockets... unless you want it to play easy.

Welcome to azb!! Lots of good people and good information.
 
Last edited:
longhorn said:
2) What are your favorite wood & stain combinations? Diamond offers
something like 20 choices, but to my amazement, they only have ONE
picture of a Diamond Pro on their entire website. I've looked at
several of the pictures here, but many of them are taken from a
distance or in dim light, making it hard to see details like the wood
grain. For those of you who own one, I'd LOVE to see a picture of
your Diamond Pro, including the type of wood and stain you chose.
Click to expand...

If money is no obstacle, I like the Cocobolo. :D

Money is sort of an obstacle, I thought Walnut would make a nice looking table (from looking at the samples online), and I think they do it in Dymondwood too.

For the most economical wood, I think the standard one they use at a lot of tournaments looks nice, which I think is oak with rosewood finish. The oak with grey stain looks cool too.
 
Yes

JimS said:
Perhaps Diamond has pictures of the finishes they can email you?

Get the Diamond, not the Gabriel and get the one you want. It's a big investment and you need to do it right. I strongly recommend the pro cut pockets... unless you want it to play easy.

Welcome to azb!! Lots of good people and good information.
Click to expand...

Yes, I can e-mail all the stain samples and brochures.

Thanks!

Ray
 
Welcome to the forum. You have a very well thought out question, which I am sure the table pros appreciate. It will be a pleasure reading your posts.
 
longhorn said:
Hi everybody,

This is my first post here. I'm really impressed with this forum, and
would like to thank all of you who have shared your knowledge. I've
learned a ton from reading your posts. I'm in the market for a new
table, and am leaning towards a 9' Diamond Pro, but have a few
questions before I pull the trigger. Maybe you can help me?

1) Pro or League pockets? I imagine everybody here gets the Pro
pockets, but I want my wife and kids to enjoy the table, too, and I'm
worried that the combination of 9' table + tight pockets will be too
tough for them. Thoughts?

2) What are your favorite wood & stain combinations? Diamond offers
something like 20 choices, but to my amazement, they only have ONE
picture of a Diamond Pro on their entire website. I've looked at
several of the pictures here, but many of them are taken from a
distance or in dim light, making it hard to see details like the wood
grain. For those of you who own one, I'd LOVE to see a picture of
your Diamond Pro, including the type of wood and stain you chose.

3) Rails - Dymondwood or not? I like the durabliity of the
Dymondwood, but IMO the flat Dymondwood corners are less attractive
than the curved wood corners. (See the photos and Paul8ball's
explanation in http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=55784).
Do those of you without Dymondwood rails notice a lot of scratches?

4) 3-piece or 1-piece slate? I spoke with a Diamond salesrep, and the
1-piece is a free upgrade, but I'm wondering how much of a headache
this will be if I ever need to move the table.

5) Are all of the Diamond installers pretty good, or is it worth the
wait for somebody like RealKingCobra? I'm in Austin, TX - not sure if
he even does installs here.

6) What about a Gabriels Signature Pro, instead? Similar table, and
most of the comments I've read here have been pretty positive.
http://www.gabriels-billard.de/site/images/stories/signature%20pro%20evo.jpg
(Gabriels owners - would love to see your photos, too!)


If you made it this far, thanks for reading. This is my first table,
so I'm pretty excited about it and sweating every little detail. :)
Click to expand...

My only suggestion about the table choice is: Go Pro! You obviuosly enjoy pool, and I know this because some of the biggest hard core players in Milwaukee never heard of AZ; yet here you are. So I assume you enjoy pool, and enjoy winning. Play on these tight pockect all the time and the pool halls will seem like buckets! :thumbup:

Don't take this the wrong way but I assume your wife and kids are not much more then recreational shooters. Here on AZ we call them "bangers". And trust me when I say this, they won't know the difference. And When you little ones grow up from all those years of shooting on you pro cut pockets they will school any Tom Dick or Harry that puts there money on the table.

Good luck and let us know what you decide. ;)
 
longhorn said:
Hi everybody,

This is my first post here. I'm really impressed with this forum, and
would like to thank all of you who have shared your knowledge. I've
learned a ton from reading your posts. I'm in the market for a new
table, and am leaning towards a 9' Diamond Pro, but have a few
questions before I pull the trigger. Maybe you can help me?

1) Pro or League pockets? I imagine everybody here gets the Pro
pockets, but I want my wife and kids to enjoy the table, too, and I'm
worried that the combination of 9' table + tight pockets will be too
tough for them. Thoughts?

2) What are your favorite wood & stain combinations? Diamond offers
something like 20 choices, but to my amazement, they only have ONE
picture of a Diamond Pro on their entire website. I've looked at
several of the pictures here, but many of them are taken from a
distance or in dim light, making it hard to see details like the wood
grain. For those of you who own one, I'd LOVE to see a picture of
your Diamond Pro, including the type of wood and stain you chose.

3) Rails - Dymondwood or not? I like the durabliity of the
Dymondwood, but IMO the flat Dymondwood corners are less attractive
than the curved wood corners. (See the photos and Paul8ball's
explanation in http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=55784).
Do those of you without Dymondwood rails notice a lot of scratches?

4) 3-piece or 1-piece slate? I spoke with a Diamond salesrep, and the
1-piece is a free upgrade, but I'm wondering how much of a headache
this will be if I ever need to move the table.

5) Are all of the Diamond installers pretty good, or is it worth the
wait for somebody like RealKingCobra? I'm in Austin, TX - not sure if
he even does installs here.

6) What about a Gabriels Signature Pro, instead? Similar table, and
most of the comments I've read here have been pretty positive.
http://www.gabriels-billard.de/site/images/stories/signature%20pro%20evo.jpg
(Gabriels owners - would love to see your photos, too!)


If you made it this far, thanks for reading. This is my first table,
so I'm pretty excited about it and sweating every little detail. :)
Click to expand...
I can tell you from experience that the Diamond Pro will not disappoint you. Once you decide on the color and pocket sizes, the most important decision will be who sets it up. Since RKC setup my table, I can tell you that he was worth the wait.
 
Just to throw it out there, the pro cut pocket is not all that tight. not saying it is a barbox, but a procut diamond is rarely the "tight" table in most poolrooms. I really don't think it should be much of an issue with the family, especially as they probably are not even used to larger pockets. And as a personal thing or 2, the diamondwood would probably be good for you, if you have kids, and even though it is rare, go with the zebra wood/finish, lol. It actually looks nice. Seriously, I would go with the pro, I doubt you will be disappointed. p.s. Welcome to the forum, look forward to hearing more from you!
 
longhorn said:
Hi everybody,

This is my first post here. I'm really impressed with this forum, and
would like to thank all of you who have shared your knowledge. I've
learned a ton from reading your posts. I'm in the market for a new
table, and am leaning towards a 9' Diamond Pro, but have a few
questions before I pull the trigger. Maybe you can help me?

1) Pro or League pockets? I imagine everybody here gets the Pro
pockets, but I want my wife and kids to enjoy the table, too, and I'm
worried that the combination of 9' table + tight pockets will be too
tough for them. Thoughts?

2) What are your favorite wood & stain combinations? Diamond offers
something like 20 choices, but to my amazement, they only have ONE
picture of a Diamond Pro on their entire website. I've looked at
several of the pictures here, but many of them are taken from a
distance or in dim light, making it hard to see details like the wood
grain. For those of you who own one, I'd LOVE to see a picture of
your Diamond Pro, including the type of wood and stain you chose.

3) Rails - Dymondwood or not? I like the durabliity of the
Dymondwood, but IMO the flat Dymondwood corners are less attractive
than the curved wood corners. (See the photos and Paul8ball's
explanation in http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=55784).
Do those of you without Dymondwood rails notice a lot of scratches?

4) 3-piece or 1-piece slate? I spoke with a Diamond salesrep, and the
1-piece is a free upgrade, but I'm wondering how much of a headache
this will be if I ever need to move the table.

5) Are all of the Diamond installers pretty good, or is it worth the
wait for somebody like RealKingCobra? I'm in Austin, TX - not sure if
he even does installs here.

6) What about a Gabriels Signature Pro, instead? Similar table, and
most of the comments I've read here have been pretty positive.
http://www.gabriels-billard.de/site/images/stories/signature%20pro%20evo.jpg
(Gabriels owners - would love to see your photos, too!)


If you made it this far, thanks for reading. This is my first table,
so I'm pretty excited about it and sweating every little detail. :)
Click to expand...


Glen is worth the wait, I waited months for him once and it was well worth it. He is awalys running late but thats only because he isnt skimping on what ever job he is on, thats the guy I want working on my table-he dosent leave until its perfect, period. Infact he is half done with my snooker table and I will be getting in the replacment parts long before Glen gets back to Vegas-So I will be on the waiting list again and as tempting as instant gratifaction is, Its better to wait. Because when you play on a table he worked on you know it and appericate it the whole session. I know it sounds like i'm ass kissing but I'm not-its the truth, plain and simple.


Now if your just a casual player and dont notice the details then no its not worth the wait. Who ever Diamond sends out will be good, they dont have any hacks working for them(others in the industry should take note), just make sure its a diamond guy not a local billiards supply store guy(they usually suck). get a proper billiard Tech, or mechnic-you can find the good guys here on AZ.


i like the dymond wood rails, mine are well used and look great. Diamond tables are fantastic. Mine played good from the factory after Geln recovered it recently it played ALOT better because he pulles the cloth tighter than the factory did.


I recommend Diamond tables to anyone, it wont depericate either like alot of table do.

the only thing I dont like is the gray Diamond wood tables, its a bad shade of gray, but thats a subjective thing.


when you walk into my house the first thing you see in the front room is a tournment used (07 US Open) table right in the middle of the front room. its great, just great. I like the 1pieve slate and its a easy table to move, unless your going upstairs or a elevator then you need a 3 piece slate, but if you dont get the 1 piece, also i think the 1piece will hold its value a bit better. the wood rails arnt gonna wear out or look worn no matter what, my table gets as much use as any home table there is (ask Glen about that) and it looks brand new now that its recovered.

congrats, I also have their light its well worth the $$$ and chairs I bought from them 9 years ago, all quality stuff, and nope I'm not on commission or get deals, i'm a happy customer. to be honest though I love Gold Crowns too but Diamond is the future.
 
Last edited:
here are a couple pictures of my Diamond Pro. I will post pictures of it set up next week.

Oak wood with Dark Walnut Stain.

MVC-004F.jpg


MVC-012F.jpg
 
Cuebacca said:
If money is no obstacle, I like the Cocobolo. :D

Money is sort of an obstacle, I thought Walnut would make a nice looking table (from looking at the samples online), and I think they do it in Dymondwood too.

For the most economical wood, I think the standard one they use at a lot of tournaments looks nice, which I think is oak with rosewood finish. The oak with grey stain looks cool too.
Click to expand...

that cocobolo table Diamond has is the triple nuts, WOW is it beautiful-it might be the best looking new table on the market, some of the antique B-Wicks are amazing if you have $30,000 laying around.
 
Hey guys,

Thanks to everybody who responded! So far, what I'm hearing is that I should get the pro pockets, buy Diamond instead of Gabriels, and wait for RKC to come to Texas. :)

I'm still trying to decide on a wood and stain color. (For those who are interested, I've uploaded several photos into my gallery.)

Still looking for more pictures. Keep sending them! :)
 
longhorn said:
Hey guys,

Thanks to everybody who responded! So far, what I'm hearing is that I should get the pro pockets, buy Diamond instead of Gabriels, and wait for RKC to come to Texas. :)

I'm still trying to decide on a wood and stain color. (For those who are interested, I've uploaded several photos into my gallery.)

Still looking for more pictures. Keep sending them! :)
Click to expand...
The way the Gabriels are designed, I personally wouldn't own one. They are on the bottom of my list when it comes to leveling the slates:angry:

Glen
 
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