Not a McDermitt

K

kasparovII

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
dURING MY 30 PLUS years of playing I have tried all the best production cuesaround9Schon, Jacoby, Predator,Joss,etc.) and they allwereclones ofeach other.....piloted stainless steeljoints and most had laminatd shafts. And they played very similarly.Good accuracy and to me, poor,unprcise feedback. I finally irdered a Josey SP because I think that the elevated feedback will take my game to another level.But I've got to wait 4or 5 months for the Josey. But the subject of this thread is McDermott cues...probably, along with Viking, are what I considered to be the bottom of thr production barrell. Why such disdain for McD?Well,just about everythin, The designs are too overdone,with pictures, and points that leave me thinking thst theyare misplaced and just not traditional enough In fact,even some seem to be incogrous with billirds at all...like the "geckos" ,,,just too much And the performance also left me cold....a scrimpy joint, with one of those carbonfilled lightweight shaft "I" shafts and now another AAcarbob filled G shaft...ooh boy! But thisbeautiful coco cuehas an incredible hitter. The joint was very tight,cue as straight as an arrow, The full joint was completely flush with the regular shaft which weighed 4.3oz, with the cue at 19.2 oz.. the shaft taper was about 12-13'' with a tip diameter of 12.5mm with a kamui medium tip,And the cotrol this semi-sof tip wasthe best at controlling a CB I;ve ever played. Within a coupleof rscks m position was so consistent I was amazed. It reminded me of the Samsara, but a little softer but with even more CB control. I played a game of straight to 125 with Wilson an finished in 5 innings, e last was a ru of 28 balls, No brag,,,I knos some of you would make me look likee I got Bell's Palsy, The hit, though softer than I ever thought I'd like gave me more CB control I ran a couple of racks of 9 ball for good measure. As I say, CB control was this good looker's game ......long,short, lots of juice or straight the control was there. nd te tight 3/8x10, this older warhorse =just made me plat better almost immedtiately. The shaft was not, as one may expect, to be too rlexible....not so,since the loger taper was modified to retain some spine still retain enough crispness to perfecty work with the beautiful cocobolo butt...This has aready turned into my favorite player....and I've played a Sansara original, a new Jacoby and a new Dominiak. Of course the C03 is a functional work of art , but I've got to sat that this older cue will pocjket more balls than anything I've hit to date. Now Wilson is very closedmouth about his sources, probably worried someone will star competing. After I sprug for the $200.00 he gave me the story about this cue (as told to him). Here goes: the cue is around 7 or 8 yrs, old. It was made from one McDermott's best wood supply. It seems that during these early shows the cuemaker would use their best wood and really make the best cue possible because the people demo'ing the cues were looking at performance first and if the wood was beautiful that's a real bonus. This cue, because it was so plane did not goover well at the show(in Pennsyvania??), But a man who was the best that the etire armed serviceknocked some balls around and acquired it immediately and played ittowin several armed service championships in succession, before McDernott recreatedthis cue with an ivory joint and butt cap, along with some other fancy inlay work. Being in the military didn't exactly make you rich, but he became a legend as the best ever in the srmed services. Apparantly he stayed his full 20 year career in the services and , in the end, travelled allover the U.S. as a recruitment "fixture" for years. So this is why the cue I just picked up for $200.00 was made for a show that McDernott showed and this cue was a sort of a trial balloon for a really shsrp plane Jane. The US just wasn't ready for one, preferring fancy inlays to the McDermott's premium wood.
I think the word "Monster" is overused, and this cue isn; the "draw king" of the hill or the super "spinmeister". It just does whatefer you need it to do...AND IT'A MCDERMOTT !!!!!!!
 
I appreciate the slack,Poolplayer2093. I guess my point was that I came across a cue that I, wouldn't even consider trying, much less owning. Then I get a McD that actually looks great, is in perfect shape and, for whatever reason, gives me CB control that just blows my others away. Again, I'm not saying that this old McDermott is a superstick....just that it's characteristics fit my game perfectly....and it's between 6 and 8 years old. I usually don't get excited about things like this, but I wanted a great "everydayer" for cheap so I guess when it happened me (and my crummy old IBM) the old McD really got us going.
I'm attempting to get a digital camera and post some pics. I'd like to see what this cue is closest to of the older McDermott models......just out of curiosity.

Thanks for "interpreting" my post and at least attempting to understand my excitement. I appreciate it.

KasII
 
I got it

kasparovII said:
I appreciate the slack,Poolplayer2093. I guess my point was that I came across a cue that I, wouldn't even consider trying, much less owning. Then I get a McD that actually looks great, is in perfect shape and, for whatever reason, gives me CB control that just blows my others away. Again, I'm not saying that this old McDermott is a superstick....just that it's characteristics fit my game perfectly....and it's between 6 and 8 years old. I usually don't get excited about things like this, but I wanted a great "everydayer" for cheap so I guess when it happened me (and my crummy old IBM) the old McD really got us going.
I'm attempting to get a digital camera and post some pics. I'd like to see what this cue is closest to of the older McDermott models......just out of curiosity.

Thanks for "interpreting" my post and at least attempting to understand my excitement. I appreciate it.

KasII
Click to expand...

this is a tough crowd and include me in it. Your first post I skipped to the end in hopes I would find a short version in your last two lines. luckily I did. :p This post here says it real well though ... Bring on those pictures!! :D
 
I have a few McD's and the C and D models play very very good. You just cant go wrong with wood to wood.
 
I will be as lucid as I can, so you can follow. Usung a diffeent PC as well.
If you recall I picked up an old McDermott from the 3rd owner,and it was like no McD I've ever seen/played, It is estimated to be between 5 and 8 yrs,old. It is a McD version of a plane jane....the only way I can describe it. It solid cocobolo (f/a and butt) with some of the best wood I've seen on a McD, The finish was flawess, especially for the estimated age w / black linen wrap with white specs' The cue weighs 19.2 oz. with the shaft contributing 4,3 oz,, The joint is a 3/8x10 and very tight fitting, There are no model#'s or line names on the cue at all. except for a gold clover on the butt. The black phenolic joint is different than the
usual McD flat faced joint....thicker, with more of a collar.The only trim rings reside as two maple rings on the joint collar and the phenolic shaft band, This modest trim is done very well. The shaft is 29" has an estimated 12" taper, The tip is a 12,5 mm, Tip is a med/soft Kamui. The shaft was not stiff per se, but it had enough "spine" to eliminate any whippiness. As I said, the outstanding feature of the cue was it's ability to maintain CB control. My shape improved very quickly as I continued to play with it. Even with the regular shaft (oiginal?) deflection issues did not become a problem, So all the way around this is, by far, the best McDermott I've played,,,,,although I must admit, I haven't had alot of experience with them. So, the 64'000 question is "what McDermott model is this? I called McDermott today and they could not identify the cue, without a serial number. But the rep, who'd been at McD's a long time verified that for the more important billiard shows McD, like all cuemakers, would produce individual models of all types: cheap/moderate/expensive. He does remember McD using some really nice wood to make some plane jane types....prototypes...a few of each to observe the market's reaction to a plane cue with premium wood and made as nicely as some of their better , more expensive models for a moderate increase in price. As it goes these cues were not very popular, probably due to the lack of points,inlays,etc..
But being made as well as anthing McDermott was making at the time, they found ther way into the hands of some pretty good players. The rep wasn't very sure as to the msrp, but thought they may have been around $350 to $400. Expensive by the standards of 6 to 8 years ago.So that's what I found out today. It sounds at last plausableto me, just comparing this 6 to 8 yr. old cue and the newer McDermotts I see today. I can see some off these cues turning into the favorate playing cues of good players more interested in performance and great wood as opposed to inlay work, points or other asthetics popular at the time. So, the question remains: Were these McDermott's initial run at a plane, good quality cue, priced to fit the excellent materials but low enough because of a lack of fancy inlays and ringwork? I guess it'll be a matter of conjecture inless someone knows exactly the story behind them I'm just glad I stumbled onto mine. I really like this version of a McDermott minus the points and inlays, but high on materials and performance. It plays fatastic and looks quite different than the McDermotts one sees today....with no carbon filled shafts to compromise the hit,
 
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I have had a lot of Mcdermotts go through my hands and a lot of them had really nice hits. I agree the d and c models hit better, I have a c 11 that hits great, as good as most cues i have tried.

Mcdermott gets a bad rap because they produce a lot but as far as I am concerned they make the best low end, $100 cues, for new league players, you cant beat the hit and price and warranty if you are just starting out in the game and dont know exactly what you want yet.

Nate
 
If I could make one suggestion, it would make it easier to read if you would make your long posts with paragraphs. Anyway back to the McDermott subject...

I love my McDermotts. I have a D15 and a McDermottLE. They both hit great. I'm glad you found a cue for you. With good care it will last a lifetime.



Shane
 
A picture of the cue, forearm, butt, joint rings, and I would be able to tell you if it was a prototype. I used to buy tons of their unique cues,(mostly the high end models), but I also bought many cues on the figure of the wood only. The McDermott family was nice enough to let this insane Texan dig through about 5000 cues every time I made a trip to Menomonee Falls. Robin
 
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