OB-1....I need some learn'n

[Thunderball]

Here's the thing.I've seen the adds about low deflection ect and frankly I kinda of just blew em off as another improbable claim put out there to sell cues.

But I've noticed a few things.....one is Earl plays with one (although it was altered a bit by Mike G ) and he absofreakinlutely loves it.Said he didn't know how it worked or what it was made of,but it was great.

Then I noticed Mike Pages video in the "over spin" thread and I saw the tell tale ferral of the OB-1 there as well...and obviously he can play.

The most telling so far was a video that Tucker (I hope I got the name right) put out a little while back discussing squirt/sqwerve...were he actually hit the same shot with the OB-1 and compensated much less....that one really got me thinkin'.

So lets just say I'm starting to believe the hype a bit.

What I want to know is how does it work?

Do people who own them really "see" the difference?

Will playing with one (if it works as well as I think it might) ruin your game for all other shafts?

I ask because using extreme,for me anyway, left and right is a focal point for me right now and I find my self compensating for swerve/squirt quite a bit depending on the shot.The OB-1 claims that I can play the same shots,but compensate less,with the same results which should yield better over all play I would think.

True?

 

[Matt_24]

I've used a Predator for years and recently hit with a friends OB1. I thought it played quite similar to my Predator but 'felt' a little bit better, so I'm having my cuemaker fit me one as we speak.

As far as adjusting back and forth, the biggest thing you will notice is different compensations required in aiming...but with enough practice you can adjust back to a normal shaft fairly easily.

I quit playing with the 314 for a while, and was using a Southwest (shaft and all) and adjusted pretty quickly. I eventually went back to my other cue with the Predator though. What can I say? I just like them. I think I'll like the OB1 that much as well, if not more. We will see.

 

[McChen]

deflection is caused by the weight of the first 6 inches or so of the shaft. the lighter this area, the less deflection. this can be accomplished in several ways. using a shorter, smaller ferrule. or a different ferrule material like wood in the ob-1 which is much lighter than any plastic. reducing the shaft diameter. hollowing out the shaft, which predator and ob-1 both do. doing all this really does reduce the deflection considerably, but affects the hit since the shaft is hollow. the ob-1 fills the hollow area with foam to get a more solid hit, but doing this also makes the shaft feel quite dead. i prefer the ob-1 over the predator, but both are good shafts and do what they say. i found with the ob-1 that putting on a real hard tip makes the shaft feel better.
do you notice the difference? definitely! the deflection is much less. i think whether this will actually improve your game or make you dependent on these shafts is another question. i think it will vary a lot depending on the person. for someone that hasn't learned how to compensate, then it may really help a lot initially. for those that know how to compensate, it may take a lot of getting used to. as for becoming dependent on them, again it depends. if you never learned to compensate well or aren't good at adjusting to new things quickly, then yes i think it will be hard to move back to a regular shaft. some people are very good at adjusting and can use any shaft pretty quickly

 

[RBC]

McChen,

Thank you for your post about the low tip end mass, as it is very much correct.

However, there are a few misconceptions that I would like to clarify.

Predator does use a "Void Hollow" in the tip end of there shafts to reduce tip end mass, but the OB-1 is not hollow. The final few inches of the OB-1 has a balsa wood center, and the rest of the cue shaft has a vibration dampening core.

As far as feeling "Dead", we get quite the contrary from users of the OB-1. By design, we do dampen the "Noise", or high frequency vibrations that run lengthwise up and down the cue shaft. Many people view this "Ping", or noise as feedback. This is very understandable as that is pretty much all they have been exposed to. However, once the noise is dampened, then you really get to start to feel the "Lateral" vibrations that are associated with the side to side movement of the cue shaft when it hits the cue ball. These "Lateral" vibrations are what we refer to as feedback, and the OB-1 gives you these without as much interferance of the noise. You do need to play with it for a few days to really adjust to this difference.

Anyway, thanks again for your post!

Royce Bunnell
www.obcues.com

 

[Klopek]

0000000000

 

[2v12]

Earl and the OB1 Shaft

Earl plays with one (although it was altered a bit by Mike G ) and he absofreakinlutely loves it.True?

Actually, Earl fell out of love with the OB1 shaft four or five monthes ago. He now uses an old-style (non-laminated) maple shaft made by Mike Gulyassy. It has a long straight taper of his own design.

 

[Fatboy]

Actually, Earl fell out of love with the OB1 shaft four or five monthes ago. He now uses an old-style (non-laminated) maple shaft made by Mike Gulyassy. It has a long straight taper of his own design.

this is 100% right, he didnt like the last time I saw him at the Mosconi Cup in December and that was a long time after he decided he didnt like them, But it dosent matter what pro likes what, its what the end user likes.

Not the paid endorsment BS that everyone falls for all over the world. Like the Gorge Forman Grills-does anyone think for the $135,000,000 Salton paid him he would say it was a POS? never. Earl is a great player I looked verycarefully at his shaft Mike G. made for him, it wouldnt ever work for me, but i'm not Earl, The OB shaft is cool but is a handful to get adjusted too, i havent and probably wont, not because of Earl. I do my own thinking. Earl does too and Mike built him shafts he loves, I like Earl to for the record.

 

[Bluey2King]

Howdy Fatboy
I bought a OB-1 a couple of monthes ago. I love it!
I was using 314 before and that is a good shaft, I have a moori med on that one. I am using the stock tip on the OB-1 untill I wear it down then I will go to a Tiger Sniper which I bought with the shaft.
I love the hit of the OB-1 just feels real good to me.
About the spin when I first got the shaft I was testing it to see how I could get on the CB. Well I can get way more than I will ever use..!! No joke
I too have found that I get good results with just a little and this keeps aiming the same. I aim the shot center ball then adjust my cue tip to the point on the CB I want and shoot it!
I just want to say it no ripoff it not hype I think it is a Very Good product. One I am very happy with. For the money we spend on stuff this one is a Very Good Investment, one that should last a long time!

 

[Darth]

Ob-1 Is The Nuts........

A local pro player friend of mine, Hunter Lombardo, turned me on to the OB-1
2 yrs. ago. I had him get me 2 blanks from Royce and had them fitted to my Dennis S. cue that I sold to TheMarsman last year. I now have a pair of
OB-1's fitted to my Blackcreek by Dennis S. I absolutely love the way they hit. It fits my closed bridge perfectly and the taper feels closer to a regular shaft. The hit is very smooth. I changed the tips to Moori Quick's (hard) and that gave the OB-1 a very crisp feeling when I stroke through the CB. Where I find the OB-1 to be superior is the shots that require a lot of 'touch', like having a shot on the long rail and having to 'walk' the CB under an interfereing ball with extreme low-inside spin. The OB-1 is the only shaft I can do this with on a regular basis. I tried the Predator 314-2 and found it too stiff. I used the 314-2 for a few months and never liked the feedback it gave me. Give your OB-1 a few weeks of hard play and I'm sure you'll be as pleased as the many players now using them. Royce, you hit a bases loaded grand slam.