Opinions solicited

My personal opinion:

Style - Nitti
Quality - Gilbert
Playability - Gilbert
Collectibility - Gilbert
Future value - Gilbert
 
Style - gilbert
Playability - Gilbert
Collectibility - Gilbert
Quality - Gilbert
future value- gilbert
What else can I say? I love Gilbert cues. I honestly think that that he is on his way up the scale as far as the level of cues that are being built. However I will say that I have only played with two Nitti cues and I did like them very much.
 
Hal said:
My personal opinion:

Style - Nitti
Quality - Gilbert
Playability - Gilbert
Collectibility - Gilbert
Future value - Gilbert
Yep....what he said.....exactly.

I love the look of Chris Nitti's cues...but, at least for now, the rest of the list goes to Andy.
 
I personally would rather have a nitti

But since I don't have one that I've played a bunch with I'm not going to comment on who is better.
 
I Don't Care For Either Cue Makers Product.
Don't Like!
1.hit
2.quality
3.resale Value Is Weak
4.designs Are Ok
I Have Owned Both Cue Makers Cues, I Would Not Order Or Buy Another.
Thanks
Dave
 
dacue said:
I Don't Care For Either Cue Makers Product.
Don't Like!
1.hit
2.quality
3.resale Value Is Weak
4.designs Are Ok
I Have Owned Both Cue Makers Cues, I Would Not Order Or Buy Another.
Thanks
Dave


McDaniell cues all the way......:D J/K buddy. I have owned both cue makers cues and I like both. Both play good, both look good, and both have a pretty decent resale value. For design I like nitti's. For resale and collectiblity I like gilbert. Even though Gilbert has some nicely designed cues anyway.

Tony
 
I have been collecting cues for close to 3 decades and have never seen a Gilbert. Chris Nitti is a friend and 5 years ago I wouldn't have bought one for the price of lunch.

Nitti has come a long way in the last few years, even enough to impress me with some of his recent work and that's hard to do. I can count the cue makers that truly impress me on one hand.

I finally designed and ordered a level 6 Nitti about 2 months ago. He must not be hurting for work though because when I was over there yesterday Chris had 30+ cues hanging that he was building for customers and more on the waiting list.

(Hint: When you see a lot of any makers used cues constantly for sale something isn't right.)

:)
 
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Bamacues said:
... How do the cues compare...style, quality, playability, collectibility, and future values?

Any intrinsic add-ons ...

Hey Joe, I haven't played with either, although I did see both at Valley Forge a couple-three years ago. Nitti's inlay work was definitely more precise. Gilbert definitely had a wider range of cue styles (player to highend).

But, I have to say... I think this rating method is awesome! Perhaps we could adopt your methods for ALL cue makers...it's simple criteria, and I'm sure many experienced cue owners could easily rank each category from 1-5... Perhaps AZB could add a 'buyers review' section that allowed regular posters to post their scores and any comments...

(:cool: Hint to AZB: check out what Elite Trader does for member ranking of brokers and software: Software, Broker ...)
 
issycue said:
Hey Joe, I haven't played with either, although I did see both at Valley Forge a couple-three years ago. Nitti's inlay work was definitely more precise. Gilbert definitely had a wider range of cue styles (player to highend).

But, I have to say... I think this rating method is awesome! Perhaps we could adopt your methods for ALL cue makers...it's simple criteria, and I'm sure many experienced cue owners could easily rank each category from 1-5... Perhaps AZB could add a 'buyers review' section that allowed regular posters to post their scores and any comments...

(:cool: Hint to AZB: check out what Elite Trader does for member ranking of brokers and software: Software, Broker ...)

Thanks...I did not even think of a simple Likert scale with 1-5 ratings. That would have been very simple and would have made statistical computations easy. Oh well, maybe AZB can set something up.
Joe
 
IMHO nothing that i have played with to date plays better than andy gilberts flat faced 3/8 10 pin cues with ivory joint or wood to wood. This coming from an bluegrass cllector(which play pretty sporty themselves LOL). as far as collectibility who knows what gilberts are gonna do in the future , but his point and veneer work is excellent. havent owned 1 with inlays yet so i cant speak to that. A very good friend of mine and top notch player(stevie moore) currently is playing with a chris nitti and he loves it. I havent hit a ball with one but i do think they LOOK great.
 
These are both great cue makers, but there are some differences in their cues.

To me, I would choose a Nitti over a Gilbert mainly because of playability. Gilberts shafts get too fat too quickly, therefore, to me they don't play as well as Nitti's more relaxed ( but still firm enough) taper. I also like Chris Nitti's look a little better than I do Gilbert's.

Mike
 
Dacue said it best,

They are both average cuemakers in all aspects hit, quality, resale, etc.

not meant to be rude or anything jmo
 
Gilbert is my pick,i like the looks of his cue and his 3/8 10 cues hit solid.Nitti has a nice looking cue but to me it doesnt play as well.
 
Both cuemakers exhibit very nice artistry. personally I lean towards Nittis cues. To me he is more in the szamboti/Balabushka school. I started back playing about 4 years ago & since I always played w/ Szambotis called Barry & when he informed me of his prices & wait time referred me to Chris Nitti. Chris's cues imho play as good as any out there & I can't stand that old house cue taper that Gilbert employs.
 
Sometimes you feel like a nut
Sometimes you don't
Almond Joy's got nuts
Mounds don't

I have both .. sometimes I like Gilbert, sometimes I like Nitti better
 
both make nice cues joe.

nitti's are VERY hard movers if you go to sell though.

that's been my experience.


chris G
 
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All I can say further is to go to the Expo @ VF, take a look at the display that Nitti is putting together as I type and I'm sure you will be impressed. There will not be one other maker there with sharper points, tighter veneers, or higher quality craftsmanship. There may be a some that are as good, but none better than what I see going on at his shop now.

The only thing that seperates a lot of cue makers is design and the buyers personal preference. Modern technology has made playability a coin toss between well made cues.

I have bought and sold more cues in the last 3 decades as a dealer, room mgr, table mechanic, room builder, tour player, etc.... than most billiard supply companies will ever see. It all comes down to the old "Ford vs. Chevy" arguement in the end.

My .02 :cool:
 
i play with both a gilbert and a nitti

Cues:
i have a nitti with a phenolic joint and radial pin
i use the gilbert as my jump break - phenolic joint with 3/8x10 pin

The Hit:
Both hit very similar - the nitti has a slightly softer hit. The hit is awesome on both cues. The gilbert JB is a better value since its cheaper. The gilbert JB comes standard with a WB med, so i changed it to a hard tip and it makes a good difference. Jumping isnt as easy with a phenolic tip...better control of the cue ball and less miscues with the leather tip though. The gilbert plays better than it JB, which is a big surprise to me.
I'm gonna get a J&J JB with a phenolic tip because I hate breaking with a $550 cue, eventhough it breaks and jumps great. I break really hard and dont want to take a chance warping the gilbert. The gilbert JB is the best all-purpose cue IMO. :) I wont feel bad breaking the crap out of the balls when I get the J&J JB.

Craftsmanship:
Both of my cues are just 4 points with no inlays in the forearm or butt
The nitti's points are perfect and all points are perfectly even
The gilbert JB has one point which isnt perfect and all points arent perfectly even. The butt is slightly thicker than the nitti. I also had a gilbert playing cue and its points were perfect and even, so im thinking its just the lower price cues that there could be imperfections, but thats no excuse to have imperfections in the first place, IMO.

Price:
The nitti was $850 w/ 2 shafts
THe gilbert JB was $550 w/ 2 shafts -- 1 shaft w/ moori med for playing --1 shaft w/ hard WB for JB.

Resale value:
I think they're about equal in trying to resell it. I dont think one will sell any faster than the other. I wouldnt put these two against a Tim Scruggss, James White, Paul Mottey, or a Southwest when it comes to resale value though.

Service:
Nitti hands down. Very easy to get into contact with by phone. Great cue maker to work with. He'll tell it to you straight.
Going through gilbertcues.com...sometimes i call the number there and no one picks up. email replys arent very fast. sometimes i have to email twice.

Personally, I like Nitti's high end cues a lot better than Gilbert's high end cues, especially the red/white/bue one cornerstone showed in his thread. The lower and middle end cues are about even.

If money was no object, I'd get the highest level Nitti.
 
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