Interesting answers so far. I don't know if these new techniques are "better", but I do know I have seen a lot of straight and very solid Gus and George cues...
Newer Cues vs, Older Cues
- Thread starter luke
- Start date
Interesting answers so far. I don't know if these new techniques are "better", but I do know I have seen a lot of straight and very solid Gus and George cues...
Yep... That's a testament to the their patience with the materials...
This is a very good thread, I've enjoyed reading all of these replies and thought I would throw another thought of mine into the mix.
Here is one comparison I would find interesting, go into a big pool hall today and you'll see all kinds of good cues. From higher quantity production type cues like McDermott, Poison, Predator, Players, Pechauer, Viking, Jacoby, Fury, Tiger, Mezz, OB, Scorpion, Meucci (kinda), Joss, Schon etc etc.. and I apologize if any of these makers feel offended by me calling them production (Pechauer and Schon), but I'm just thinking higher volume type makers with catalog lines, etc.
Now add to that list above, the "custom" cuemakers....good gosh.... Us cue nuts know that the number of custom makers has at least quadrupled if not more in the last 20 years.... So what I'm trying to say, walk into a nice pool hall today or take a poll of make a list of current good cues and I bet you can find hundreds of options available.
Now for comparison, let's scroll back 20 to 25 years to late 80s early 90s or so and do the same thing, that number just dropped from hundreds to what......less than 30? Maybe a little more. 20 to 25 years ago was when I was playing a lot and here is a list of "good" cues I remember from back then: Meucci Originals, McDermott, Joss, Schon, Viking, Mali, for decent production cues. Custom cuemakers would number about 1/4 or 1/5th of what we have available today. So in other words the selections were much more slim.
NOW, scroll back 40 or 45 years to the early 70s late 60s? I was an infant then so maybe some others can chime in, but I'd wager the cue selection was... well VERY slim.
Granted through the years there have been exceptions, you've got guys like Gus, George, Ernie, Tad, Paradise, Palmer, etc. who have made very very good cues since the late 50s and 60s. However, my suspicions are that back then the majority of people couldn't afford a higher end cue like that, so you went to the bowling alley or something and ordered a Brunswick Willie Hoppe two piece.
Anyway, what all my rant is about is that players today are MUCH luckier than they were 20 or 40 years ago with cue selection.
Now to get back to the point of this post, are these "new" cues made better? Yes, overall they are. Do they play better? Yes, overall I think you can say they do. Is the technology better? Yes, but not much until you take into account LD and tips.
The big question being, does it make that much a difference? At the end of the day.....minimal.
Like I said in my previous post, there is not as big a equipment gap as say golf or tennis, but YES, there is a small equipment gap, and overall I would argue that todays cues on average are better than those of yesteryear. With that said of course there are the exceptions noted above of those guys that have always made good cues.
I think the majority of 'cue nuts' on these forums are probably like me. We enjoy playing with all good cues, no matter when they were made. So give me an old Gus or George or give me a Sugartree or Murrell, I still won't be able to make a ball. :thumbup:
Here is one comparison I would find interesting, go into a big pool hall today and you'll see all kinds of good cues. From higher quantity production type cues like McDermott, Poison, Predator, Players, Pechauer, Viking, Jacoby, Fury, Tiger, Mezz, OB, Scorpion, Meucci (kinda), Joss, Schon etc etc.. and I apologize if any of these makers feel offended by me calling them production (Pechauer and Schon), but I'm just thinking higher volume type makers with catalog lines, etc.
Now add to that list above, the "custom" cuemakers....good gosh.... Us cue nuts know that the number of custom makers has at least quadrupled if not more in the last 20 years.... So what I'm trying to say, walk into a nice pool hall today or take a poll of make a list of current good cues and I bet you can find hundreds of options available.
Now for comparison, let's scroll back 20 to 25 years to late 80s early 90s or so and do the same thing, that number just dropped from hundreds to what......less than 30? Maybe a little more. 20 to 25 years ago was when I was playing a lot and here is a list of "good" cues I remember from back then: Meucci Originals, McDermott, Joss, Schon, Viking, Mali, for decent production cues. Custom cuemakers would number about 1/4 or 1/5th of what we have available today. So in other words the selections were much more slim.
NOW, scroll back 40 or 45 years to the early 70s late 60s? I was an infant then so maybe some others can chime in, but I'd wager the cue selection was... well VERY slim.
Granted through the years there have been exceptions, you've got guys like Gus, George, Ernie, Tad, Paradise, Palmer, etc. who have made very very good cues since the late 50s and 60s. However, my suspicions are that back then the majority of people couldn't afford a higher end cue like that, so you went to the bowling alley or something and ordered a Brunswick Willie Hoppe two piece.
Anyway, what all my rant is about is that players today are MUCH luckier than they were 20 or 40 years ago with cue selection.
Now to get back to the point of this post, are these "new" cues made better? Yes, overall they are. Do they play better? Yes, overall I think you can say they do. Is the technology better? Yes, but not much until you take into account LD and tips.
The big question being, does it make that much a difference? At the end of the day.....minimal.
Like I said in my previous post, there is not as big a equipment gap as say golf or tennis, but YES, there is a small equipment gap, and overall I would argue that todays cues on average are better than those of yesteryear. With that said of course there are the exceptions noted above of those guys that have always made good cues.
I think the majority of 'cue nuts' on these forums are probably like me. We enjoy playing with all good cues, no matter when they were made. So give me an old Gus or George or give me a Sugartree or Murrell, I still won't be able to make a ball. :thumbup:
Being an older guy 65+, the main thing I notice today vs going back to the 1960's is that almost everyone in the pool hall has their own playing cue and many have more than one plus jump/break. House cues are getting a lot of use as break cues. I've tried a lot of non-house cues and they all feel different. Most of the house cues I've played with felt similar.
The advantage I see of an older cue is if it rolls straight it probably isn't going to warp unless you do something stupid with it. With a newer cue you never know.
Aside from that there are a wide variety of shaft tapers, weight, balance point and whatever else goes into playability for both older and newer cues.
Aside from that there are a wide variety of shaft tapers, weight, balance point and whatever else goes into playability for both older and newer cues.