Well, great for you.
Your experience prove squadoush about the vast unwashed sea of pool players out there without all the experience with customs and productions you have.
Lou Figueroa
there's always
the outlier
I may be wrong but, I think you misunderstood me.
I agree with your sentiments about custom vs production cues to a certain point. To me, that point is:
higher-end production cues such as Mezz, Pechauer and a few (very few) more brands can hang with "any" custom cue "performance" no matter who made the custom cue or when it was made.
There are tons of custom cue owners that will argue that point till the cows come home. Some argue because of the $$$ they have invested. Some argue, lol...well, because they just do not know any better. Like you and myself, they are entitled to their opinion so, it is what it is at the end of the conversation.
As for the "average" room goer, which in reality is the target for all production cue companies whether they be high-end or lower-end cues, them owning a cf shaft will in no way help their game in the grand scheme of things, it will make zero difference. If they could not run racks before the revo or Gina (any custom) purchase, well, they will not be running racks after they purchase.
You, me, NOBODY can buy a stroke etc.....
The above leads me to:
Only after a player gets to a certain level can he/she reap the rewards of the technology the revo and a few other cues offer. IMO, "everyone" below that level of play is doing nothing more than supporting the sport we love when they buy a cue that their skill level cannot meet. Is that a bad thing? Not in my opinion. Without the masses, we few would be in trouble.
After much begging lol ..... from a couple of people, I finally sold all but one of my long-time custom cues. I will probably never sell it regardless of price or how well I play with the next magical "x" cue that comes out.
As I said, I'm on same page with you as a player and a custom cue lover but, in reality "my game" is a little more consistent with the cf cues. Not a lot as I'm sure you know. But, also as you know, when two players are extremely close in skill, a super small difference can be HUGE. It is those times that the revo has been huge for me.
Have a good one,
Rake