Opinions on the Joss JN-7

[Shawn Armstrong]

I think Shane's cue that you referred to (the one with his name inlaid) was a Joss with a Schon shaft but maybe I am remembering it backwards. As for the rest of your post, I don't get the point because the tone of it sounds like you are trying to disagree with me, yet you are repeating back to me everything I said and are in the strongest agreement. You are right in that if you are familiar with a cue you can usually play pretty well with it even if you don't like it and I never said otherwise. I do think a person will play their best pool with a cue they are familiar with and that meets their their preferences perfectly though (mostly because of psychological reasons like confidence). As for the rest of what you wrote, it just parroted everything I said to a T. Pretty much all cues are capable of consistent pool of the highest possible levels, and preferences are subjective.

He had a Joss cue that was custom made for him. He then took the shaft from that cue, and put it on the Schon butt that used to belong to his mother.

Where we are disagreeing is that there is an entire brand that hits like crap. If a certain brand of cue can have that kind of effect on your game, I'm not sure you're using the right end of the cue. It's the small part with the leather on the end.

I've played with Wallabushkas, and ran off a lot of balls with a nearly cracked ferrule and a super soft elkmaster tip. A cue is a cue. By your own remarks, every brand sucks. They can all be inherently good, or inherently bad. You choose to say Joss sucks, but other brands are good, You should just say "I have a mental barrier that doesn't allow me to shoot well with cues by Joss". That's a truer statement.

 

[mr.d.scottie]

Since it seems your main quest is an old school, George Balabushka looking cue, you might want to try a Pechauer. The 50th anniversary model "DEC2" sure is a GB lookalike. The real thing Cortland wrap too.

Somewhere out there will be a Bushka look cue that will make your hand smile. That's the one to buy. Feel and balance, the hit is just a tip change away, no matter what some say.

Wow, that is a pretty looking cue! I especially like the butt sleeve on that. Very, very nice recommendation. So nice, that I'll post a pic below with this reply for others to see!
..I wonder how this cue would compare quality-wise to the current Bushka GB6, which is in the same price range.. Which is silly, because I'm pretty sure it's Chinese at this point. :/ (Going to test out said Bushka tomorrow, if they have it in stock at G-Cue.)

 

[Shawn Armstrong]

Wow, that is a pretty looking cue! I especially like the butt sleeve on that. Very, very nice recommendation. So nice, that I'll post a pic below with this reply for others to see!
..I wonder how this cue would compare quality-wise to the current Bushka GB6, which is in the same price range.. Which is silly, because I'm pretty sure it's Chinese at this point. :/ (Going to test out said Bushka tomorrow, if they have it in stock at G-Cue.)

The new Balabushkas are made by Adam Cues (Helmstetter) in Japan. They aren't Chinese.

 

[ADAM HENSON]

The new Balabushkas are made by Adam Cues (Helmstetter) in Japan. They aren't Chinese.

I think they play great...

 

[mr.d.scottie]

The new Balabushkas are made by Adam Cues (Helmstetter) in Japan. They aren't Chinese.

Ah, very cool!

 

[mr.d.scottie]

I think they play great...

I can't WAIT to try one out tomorrow.

 

[pwd72s]

"What cue(s) play good" is just as "subjective" as what car(s) drive good... Just because someone says a cue plays good OR bad doesn't mean it actually does.. It's NOT subjective. Just as subjective as telling someone a 2015 Mustang "drives" as well as a 2015 Porsche 911 Turbo... It takes a seasoned and experienced "driver" to tell ALL the differences and explain them in both situations. Same with pool cues. The fact is many if not most don't know what to "feel" for while giving a cue a "test drive". That of course has nothing to do with whether balls can be made with any cue BUT it does have a lot to do whether the person using said cue can play consistently at their highest level....

Good hitting cues ARE good hitting cues PERIOD... There's nothing subjective about it.

Actually, if that 2015 Mustang was the new 350GTR, and it were on Laguna Seca timing laps with a 2015 Porsche Turbo? Same professional driver in both? I wouldn't bet against the Mustang.

On cues? It really does depend on how it works for the end user...some like a stiff hit with feedback, some prefer a soft hit with a different feedback...some like laminated shafts, some prefer maple shafts...well, you get the drift.

Seems to me some folks are more interested in how a cue looks than how it plays. I guess that's fine too. Cars or cues, it's all good for the economy, right?

 

[mr.d.scottie]

Actually, if that 2015 Mustang was the new 350GTR, and it were on Laguna Seca timing laps with a 2015 Porsche Turbo? Same professional driver in both? I wouldn't bet against the Mustang.

On cues? It really does depend on how it works for the end user...some like a stiff hit with feedback, some prefer a soft hit with a different feedback...some like laminated shafts, some prefer maple shafts...well, you get the drift.

Seems to me some folks are more interested in how a cue looks than how it plays. I guess that's fine too. Cars or cues, it's all good for the economy, right?

RIGHT, thank you. Lol. That's all I was bloody asking from the get go. What does the darn cue play like? Is it firm, soft, buttery, is it fat in the hand, skinny, does it taste like chicken?? Just wanted a little info.
You're totally right though, there is a difference in quality and feel and that cannot be ignored. Can we grab an old broom handle from the rack at the pool hall and make it work? Sure. Does that mean it doesn't matter? Well, there wouldn't be different shafts and butts and tips if it didn't!

 

[pwd72s]

I should confess here that my playing cue is a Keith Josey and that I'm happy enough with it that I've stopped looking for that magic cue...which probably doesn't exist anyway. "Skins" does design work for Keith, is behind many of those celtic ornate designs. Keith also makes more traditional designs. Mine is one of those..4 needle sharp and even points with inlays.

 

[mr.d.scottie]

I should confess here that my playing cue is a Keith Josey and that I'm happy enough with it that I've stopped looking for that magic cue...which probably doesn't exist anyway. "Skins" does design work for Keith, is behind many of those celtic ornate designs. Keith also makes more traditional designs. Mine is one of those..4 needle sharp and even points with inlays.

That's a sweet stick, man. I like more traditional styles myself.
If you're that happy with it, maybe you've found the magic cue for you. And maybe that's what it's all about.. When you find that cue you don't want to walk out of the house without.

 

[lorider]

RIGHT, thank you. Lol. That's all I was bloody asking from the get go. What does the darn cue play like? Is it firm, soft, buttery, is it fat in the hand, skinny, does it taste like chicken?? Just wanted a little info.
You're totally right though, there is a difference in quality and feel and that cannot be ignored. Can we grab an old broom handle from the rack at the pool hall and make it work? Sure. Does that mean it doesn't matter? Well, there wouldn't be different shafts and butts and tips if it didn't!

i am one of the guilty parties that helped get this thread side tracked.

i have no idea how the joss plays since i have never hit with one. i have hit some with a friends schon which i have heard feels pretty similar to a joss.

as some one else said ....you can change the tip and change how the cue hits . i bought a custom for 2,500.00 a few years ago simply because i fell in love with the look of it. i did not like the feel of how it hit and i went through 4 tips until i found one that felt good when i made contact with the cue ball.

changing shafts has the same effect.

i have 12 cues but i rotate only 4 of them playing league. all 4 have different tips and of course they all hit differently but it does not affect my game. actually i do play better with one cue than the others...strangely its the cheapest and plainest cue i own and i dont know what kind of tip it has on it.

bottom line is buy what you like...if you dont like the way it hits a simple tip change will change it completely......for better or worse.:grin:

 

[Bavafongoul]

"Playing Well" is not an objective measurement.......it cannot be arbitrarily decided nor determined as long as the cue isn't defective.

When you like a cue, it seems there's basically only a couple of reasons.........either hits great (feel)........or looks great to you (esthetics).
After that, it's hard to come up with other reasons that do not fall into either of those categories.........and both of the aforementioned seem
to really be subjective determinations for each and every one of us as pool players.

So if you like a cue other than for its design and appearance, it's likely because it plays well (for you).

Matt B.

 

[skins]

I should confess here that my playing cue is a Keith Josey and that I'm happy enough with it that I've stopped looking for that magic cue...which probably doesn't exist anyway. "Skins" does design work for Keith, is behind many of those celtic ornate designs. Keith also makes more traditional designs. Mine is one of those..4 needle sharp and even points with inlays.

Keith, Sherri, and I are sooo glad you love your Josey cue! You've always spoke very highly of them and the cues! I've been involved doing all the design work for every cue since 1999 as well the traditionaly pronged cues also.. Keep hitting em' good!

 

[pwd72s]

A suggestion...Keith may wish to show a few pronged cues with those needle sharp and even points on his website...I've had others comment on my cue saying they were surprised he did "traditional" designs...Should the unthinkable happen to my Josey, I'd be on the phone to Keith, ordering a replacement.

Back to original topic. "Feel" is such an individual thing, it's really tough to describe. Once you find a cue that has the right feel for you...hang on to it. This board is full of posts by people who say they wished they'd kept XXXXX cue.