I see a lot of people always saying that older Joss and Schons (others also)play better then the new ones. Is that because the wood has aged for 15 or 20 years? Or were they made better back then?
Older cues play better?
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Considering that equipment and most materials are getting better and every cue maker goes through learning stages as they adjust technique according to what works best, I'd say it's more a case of nostalgia.
I'd agree. Memories are often fogged. The cue may have been great back then and you remember it as great. But if compared to cues today, it may not be so hot.
It is a simple rule; nothing is as good as it was back in the day:
My father reminds of this rule everyday with respect to:
Cars
Tools
Boats
Fishing Rods
Dinner Plates
Musical Instruments
Televisions
Light Bulbs
Furniture
Jeans
Women
et al.
I feel bad for my future children, I can't imagine the kind of utter crap they are going to be working with.
My father reminds of this rule everyday with respect to:
Cars
Tools
Boats
Fishing Rods
Dinner Plates
Musical Instruments
Televisions
Light Bulbs
Furniture
Jeans
Women
et al.
I feel bad for my future children, I can't imagine the kind of utter crap they are going to be working with.
It is not so much the cue as it is the wood, it is kinda like people wood matures with age, the older the wood ( if it has been stored correctly ) the more solid the hit of the cue.
I build cues from Brunswick House Blanks that are 80 to 100 years old. The is much more stable ( very little to no movement during construction) and the cues have a very solid hit.
JIMO
the woos sweetens up, i have a McDermott that played ok in 85, these days its a monster, I have noticed it with my colection over the past 25 years most, not all, cues sweeten up especially maple. Whats sweeten up mean? I get more feed back and more importantly I can move the CB better with more precision than I can with a green cue. My daily player is about 6 or 7 years old, and was made from old wood to start with,
I had a TAD as a daily player that was made with 20+year old wood when it was made i played for 3 years with it, that was 10 years ago-it plays better now. I only retired because it was refinished by jerry Franklin just before he passed away, otherwise i'd still use that cue.
Not so, the wood may not be aged as well today, especially shaft wood. As has been mentioned already, it's getting harder to find real good wood. Cues today may be different but not necessarily better. Some may be, but not all, by any means.
The older Joss and Schons were made by hand and are not today. There is a difference between mass produced and hand built, no matter that some people think differently. I've played with both and don't like either of mass produced ones.
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To me, anything that is older, is better.
Except for women. :thumbup:
Fortunatley my girl doesn't feel that way about men, or I would be
long gone.
I do love old cues, however, I am certain it is a nostalgia thing.
Except for women. :thumbup:
Fortunatley my girl doesn't feel that way about men, or I would be
long gone.
I do love old cues, however, I am certain it is a nostalgia thing.
In the case of some production shops could it have anything to do with these companies being smaller back then, with the cues they put out having had more individual attention to detail than the more mass produced versions put out today? Just asking.
In the case of some production shops could it have anything to do with these companies being smaller back then, with the cues they put out having had more individual attention to detail (including the use of aged wood) than the more mass produced versions put out today? Just asking if this could have anything to do with it.
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Old Wood is Better Wood JMHO.
Older the better
I agree with the older the cue (only initial quality cues), the better they play. This goes only if they have been played with over the years. This does not apply to case queens in my opinion. I think play makes the cue settle and develop a "feel."
I agree with the older the cue (only initial quality cues), the better they play. This goes only if they have been played with over the years. This does not apply to case queens in my opinion. I think play makes the cue settle and develop a "feel."
I don't know that older cue are better than newer cues, but it seem like we have a lot more cue makers today than yesteryear. I wonder if the advancements in technology make it much easier for less talented cue makers to produce a product?
I do hear people say the old Joss and Schon cue (the companies you mentioned) play better than the new cues. This maybe true or it maybe a perception, or maybe its just personal preference. Maybe people who own old Joss and Schons just want everyone to think the older cue play better!
Most people I know prefer sharp points and Joss and Schon are not, but they use to be! Again, maybe its just perception. Fatboy mention wood getting sweeter. I don't know anything about that. But, maybe he has matured and can now really appreciate the hit of a cue.
I don't mean any disrespect by that comment Fatboy. I know with me personally, as I've gotten older I find that I have a much greater respect for the talent people have, and a greater appreciation for the beauty and artistic part of life. Take music for instance, I grew up in the 60's and 70's listening to rock. Now if you ride in my car, you will hear anything from country and western (brother calls it gun power and horse shit) to blues to classical. I have grown to appreciate and desire the variety life offers.
Instead of making this a competition (this is better than that), I try to appreciate the each cue for what it is.
Just a few thoughts.
Steven
I like the new cues better,in some way if i play with one a while I seem to play better.
But try an old brunswick Hoppe or Rambo or Palmer and I think you would prefer a new scon
or try an old mc dermott and i think you would rather have a new southwest cue
or thy an old meucci cue and i think you would prefer a new szamboti
look at what each pro player is playing and you will find very few 20 year old cues.
forgive me for a personal opinion but all the talk of old wood,old cues or growth rings or ballance point and I think its AZ SPEAK
ie... baloney that I never heard from one good player aside from plugging their latest personal endorsement\
just one mans opinion
Dean
But try an old brunswick Hoppe or Rambo or Palmer and I think you would prefer a new scon
or try an old mc dermott and i think you would rather have a new southwest cue
or thy an old meucci cue and i think you would prefer a new szamboti
look at what each pro player is playing and you will find very few 20 year old cues.
forgive me for a personal opinion but all the talk of old wood,old cues or growth rings or ballance point and I think its AZ SPEAK
ie... baloney that I never heard from one good player aside from plugging their latest personal endorsement\
just one mans opinion
Dean
There are less of them so there is that mystique.
It is like that car you had back in the 50's and 60's. You really thought it was great and still have memories of it as being that until you find one like it and take it for a drive.
If anything it would be the quality of the wood.
If they were so great they would still be making them that way.
It is like that car you had back in the 50's and 60's. You really thought it was great and still have memories of it as being that until you find one like it and take it for a drive.
If anything it would be the quality of the wood.
If they were so great they would still be making them that way.
I think even home improvement wood sucks today compared to 20 - 25 years ago. They would not be pulling logs off the bottom of the great lakes if that kind of old growth wood could be found. The house cues from back then had better wood than some of the production cues today. Better wood= better hit= better feel. That being said, the glues and machinery is way better today than 20 -25 years ago. So maybe there is a balance, better wood, better machinery, great cue. OK wood, better machinery, OK cue, John
Truth be told the older wood is definitely better. As far as new machinery, the lathes today are not better then they were 30 years ago. In fact today they are far inferior. The glues today and CNC are better but thats the only difference.
Give me an old Gus over any other cue that is made today except for the few CMs who are using 30 - 40 year old maple shafts.
Give me an old Gus over any other cue that is made today except for the few CMs who are using 30 - 40 year old maple shafts.