Predator Shaft ???

[mr clean]

A friend is letting me use his Predator shaft to see if I like it, but I have a couple of concerns that I need addressed. The movie ad says that the shaft allows the cue ball to push the shaft aside instead of the shaft pushing the cue ball aside.
This is where the confusion comes in, I thought that the stiffer the shaft, the more deflection,in other words the shaft I now use is a little more, should I say, whippy?
In other words I was told that if I were to use side spin with my shaft, that the shaft would "get out of the way" allowing for less deflection.
I'm having a hard time understanding this concept since a stiffer shaft would not flex as well. Do I use an open bridge with the predator to allow it to "get out of the way"
I hope I didn't confuse you all, please help, thanks

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

A friend is letting me use his Predator shaft to see if I like it, but I have a couple of concerns that I need addressed. The movie ad says that the shaft allows the cue ball to push the shaft aside instead of the shaft pushing the cue ball aside.
This is where the confusion comes in, I thought that the stiffer the shaft, the more deflection,in other words the shaft I now use is a little more, should I say, whippy?
In other words I was told that if I were to use side spin with my shaft, that the shaft would "get out of the way" allowing for less deflection.
I'm having a hard time understanding this concept since a stiffer shaft would not flex as well. Do I use an open bridge with the predator to allow it to "get out of the way"
I hope I didn't confuse you all, please help, thanks

Just play with the shaft as though you were playing with anything else. Don't think about it one way or the other. Your goal should be in judging what the hit feels like, nothing more. Anytime you get a new cue/shaft, there is an adjustment period that you need to go through. All players will tell you that using english with new equipment is always a bit of an adventure so be prepared.

Jude M. Rosenstock

 

[TATE]

A friend is letting me use his Predator shaft to see if I like it, but I have a couple of concerns that I need addressed. The movie ad says that the shaft allows the cue ball to push the shaft aside instead of the shaft pushing the cue ball aside.
This is where the confusion comes in, I thought that the stiffer the shaft, the more deflection,in other words the shaft I now use is a little more, should I say, whippy?
In other words I was told that if I were to use side spin with my shaft, that the shaft would "get out of the way" allowing for less deflection.
I'm having a hard time understanding this concept since a stiffer shaft would not flex as well. Do I use an open bridge with the predator to allow it to "get out of the way"
I hope I didn't confuse you all, please help, thanks

It's not stiffness that does it. Predators are plenty stiff. It's the lack of weight on the tip end of the cue that supposedly reduces the squirt. Whatever it is, it works, but it's different. It just takes some getting used too.

Chris

 

[greenkill]

It took me about 2-3 days to get used to my 314. I like it over my other shafts.

 

[Mike Templeton]

It took me about 2-3 days to get used to my 314. I like it over my other shafts.

2-3 days???? I've had mine 2-3 months, and I'm still not 100% used to it. I do like it more every day, though, and I'm glad I made the swap.

Mike

 

[Billy_Bob]

The sound and feel of the hit on my 314 really distracted me at first, now after a month I am getting used to it. It was like I was hitting with a pillow. The sound of the hit is muffled and there is not a distinctive hit feel like with my old shaft. I wondered if I actually hit the ball because I didn't hear or feel anything!

Also the radial laminated shaft "look" distracted me at first. This is slightly different colored pieces of wood glued together. My previous shaft was all one color with little tiny black specks in the wood from a lot of use.

I now use the radial laminations to advantage. I rotate the shaft until a lamination line is on top, then I have a straight line going down the middle of my shaft. I use this for sighting when aiming. Last night I had a long thin cut shot. I knew that I needed to aim for 1mm to the right of the edge of the OB. Aiming for the edge or 2mm out will not cut it with this shot. It needs to be 1mm! Well I was able to do that using the radial lamination line as a "sight". It was quite difficult to aim for this shot with my old shaft since I was imagining where the center of the shaft was pointing. So it is radial laminated shafts for me from now on, and I will prefer wood which does not match exactly so there will be lines.

"Front Hand English"...
I now feel I have "cue ball steering" with long english shots with my 314 (Meucci PP Butt). On long shots I aim dead center, keep my back hand where it is, but move my front hand for english. Try this by aiming at the far center diamond with dead center, then move just your front hand for english. When I do this, the cue ball goes to the same spot as a dead center hit. (Note: I'm also using a dime shaped Moori Q tip and the tip or shape of my tip may affect this. Also the Meucci test video shows that their butt will have an effect on deflection.)

I once before made a radical change in my cue. That was going from a 13mm nickel leather tip to a 12.5mm Moori Q shaft/tip. That took me two months to adjust to.

I've had the 314 for about a month and have played erratically. But have also been experimenting with english. I won 2nd in a tournament last night, so maybe I'm finially adjusting???? I'll see what the pool gods have in store for me tonight...

 

[Shorty]

2-3 days???? I've had mine 2-3 months, and I'm still not 100% used to it. I do like it more every day, though, and I'm glad I made the swap.

Mike

I been shooting with a predator 314 for a little over a year now. I play almost weekly and I still find myself amazed sometimes at how much english and the accuracy I can get out of that shaft. So much less deflection than I am used to...that really took me some retraining.

The bottom line is give it a chance and practice a lot with it before you give up on it.

Shorty

 

[greenkill]

2-3 days???? I've had mine 2-3 months, and I'm still not 100% used to it. I do like it more every day, though, and I'm glad I made the swap.

Mike

I think it may also equate to a confidence issue.

 

[fxskater]

I now use the radial laminations to advantage. I rotate the shaft until a lamination line is on top, then I have a straight line going down the middle of my shaft. I use this for sighting when aiming. Last night I had a long thin cut shot. I knew that I needed to aim for 1mm to the right of the edge of the OB. Aiming for the edge or 2mm out will not cut it with this shot. It needs to be 1mm! Well I was able to do that using the radial lamination line as a "sight". It was quite difficult to aim for this shot with my old shaft since I was imagining where the center of the shaft was pointing. So it is radial laminated shafts for me from now on, and I will prefer wood which does not match exactly so there will be lines.

Hmmm, this is the first time i have heard of someone else using this strategy. My friend Doug also looks for the most discoloured splices for the exact same reason, using the Splice for alignment.

 

[TATE]

2-3 days???? I've had mine 2-3 months, and I'm still not 100% used to it. I do like it more every day, though, and I'm glad I made the swap.

Mike

Mike,

If you think it's hard getting used to a Predator, wait until you adjust 100% and then try using a high squirt conventional shaft. You won't believe how many shots you miss.

Not only does the cueball take a different path, the mind does too!

Chris

 

[Matt_24]

Mike,

If you think it's hard getting used to a Predator, wait until you adjust 100% and then try using a high squirt conventional shaft. You won't believe how many shots you miss.

Not only does the cueball take a different path, the mind does too!

Chris

I agree with this statement 100%. Once I got used to the Predator and started hitting with a standard shaft I could tell the difference immediately. I've been hooked on Predator shafts for about 3 years now. I love the fact that you can virtually slap one on any butt..and for the most part have a consistent feel...although obviously the hit will alter depending on other factors. For the most part, it seems as though most players love the Predator after they adjust and build their confidence level in the product.