Premade or Custom Cue?

bludytiger

bludytiger

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I am finally looking to get my own cue, since I'm tired of the worn out cues at the local halls.

I have been looking around a bit in the cue sections of the forums here and I have found out how little I actually know about cues.

I am located in Ontario, a couple hours east of Toronto. The price range I am looking to spend is $100 - $250.

Should I be looking for a cue off the wall at a local dealer, or should I be looking for a cue maker to custom make a cue for me. I really don't know what qualities I should be looking for, or how to match a cue to me, or what parts are just player preference.
 
For that price range, you are going to have to go pre-made. If you were to bump it up to $300 - $350, you could get a nice sneaky made by Carolina Custom Cues. The more you want to spend, the nicer cues you can get (visually), and most custom cue makers' base price is higher than what you want to spend.
As far as matching a cue to you. The only real answer would be to go down to the local pool hall & see if you can try a few cues if they sell any, or if you have any friends that have any customs, to see if they would let you try a few shots. You can't fully judge a cue on just a few shots, but you may find something that you like.
On the up-shot of your price range. If you get a pre-made cue, you can upgrade without being out too much cash.

Good hunting.

Dean:D
 
Lee Peppers will make you a sneaky conversion for under $200... All depends on what you like.. I'd say hit a bunch. Most of us started with OEMs like Joss, McDermott, Meucci etc before jumping into customs. .. the biggest mistake I ever made was to not get an expensive custom made for me right away though.. must have gone through 6 or 7 cues of increasing price before I had Jim Buss make me my first custom.. been using it since..
 
I just now found a place selling some Genesis and Matrix Series Cue by Adam that are regular $999, but on sale for $299. So I guess there are good deals out there, I just need to figure out what qualities I should look for.
 
I would suggest looking for a used cue from someone here on the board. Make a post in the for sale section and ask for people to post pictures and prices of what they have for sale in your price range. You should be able to get a very nice cue for $250 in the used market
 
I would suggest that you get a premade cue as starters since I am assuming that you have not yet establish what sort of hit you would like your cue to give you, etc. Hence start with a premade and made it your benchmark to future cues that would be more accustomed to your liking.
 
i would say go to the wanted section of the forums and post in the block that you have 250 and your looking for a nice custom or good quality production cue youll get a ton of offers im sure. the economy is bad so you might be able to get alot of wood for the money.


good luck.
 
Beg, barrow cues from some friends and find out what you like in a cue. No use spending money looking for a cue because other people like it. Once you know what you like. Then start your search and when you buy commit yourself to the cue for a few months before judging it.

Larry
 
I believe that you can pickup a Bob Frey Sneaky Pete for about $250. Can also talk to someone of the custom cue makers on here about building a cue for you. LP Customs, Bebot Cues, etc etc. I would recommend getting a custom because they hold their value better.
 
bludytiger said:
I just now found a place selling some Genesis and Matrix Series Cue by Adam that are regular $999, but on sale for $299. So I guess there are good deals out there, I just need to figure out what qualities I should look for.
Click to expand...

when u see deals like that ask urself why they would take 700 dollars off :rolleyes:
 
Well I stopped at my local dealer....and he didn't know much of anything about cues...

He didn't know what a screw on tip was when I told him I don't want them, and he couldn't tell me what metals were used on the joints, and couldn't tell me the difference between the $100 cue and the $200 cue.

All they had in the shop were Cuetec, and a couple old Dufferin's from when they were a Duferin dealer. I could have bought his most expensive cue and case without breaking my budget too. So it looks like I may have to drive a bit to find a better dealer who can help me.
 
hivoltg said:
I would suggest looking for a used cue from someone here on the board. Make a post in the for sale section and ask for people to post pictures and prices of what they have for sale in your price range. You should be able to get a very nice cue for $250 in the used market
Click to expand...

That's the way to go on a limited budget.
 
Cues

If you go with "premade", look for a deal on a Schon.
You can't go wrong and it will have some value if you ever go to sell it.
Maybe a McDermott, but stay away from the imports unless you can find a good one for under $100.

I've seen a lot of great deals here for under $299.00.
There are always custom sneakies on the secondary market that are usually nice cues to play with, and have value as well.

There are so many great cues out there it gets down to what you want in a cue... look, feel, hit, etc.

Just my opinion.
 
I'd recommend a decent production cue. Pechauer more specifically. They are one of the nicest cues I have played with. You can get one from the JP series for 300 or so. or even get a used one for less. Viking, McDermmott, Joss, Lucasi are all also pretty good. In your range and lack of experience you can basically go with any of them to start to get a feel. But like someone already stated you need to play with it consistently for a month at least b4 trying something else. But, it's going to go mostly on looks. I personally would stay clear of any cues that sell of 100 or less.

Also, like someone already stated troll the Forsale forum and you can usually get a great deal on a cue that would normally cost you a lot more.
 
Personally, I would stay away from any advice from someone who wants to trade comic books and mountain bikes for cues. Altho that Duff has an aluminum pin and joint, they were made in Canada at one time and that particular cue was an entry level shooter. It was approx an $80 cue and the hard case was $20. If its staright, its not a half bad player until you find out what you want. That was my very first cue so I know it was a decent player. I have a 16year old Joss that looks like it just came off the rack for $150 for a fellow Canuckian.
 
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Actually I was going to pick up the Dufferin I mentioned for a friend if it's in good shape. If it's not....at least I get a $20 case without loosing money.

I'm sure I can find a dealer at a shop in Kingston that knows what he's talking about and knows about the cue's he's trying to sell.

Today, before the dealer made it over to me, I already knew that place was a waste of my time since all I saw was Cuetec, and the first cue I grabbed had an inlay popping out.
 
I would keep your eyes open. For under $250 I have had: a Viking, a schon, D series McDermott, a Shannon custom, a Palmer from the third catalog, a PM2 Palmer, an old Benson sneaky Pete, two Hueblers, a Falcon sneaky, a hueblers sneaky with a predator and I'm sure there have been a couple more. Actually all of these where under $100, except the schon. I have a very inexpensive Stealth that has a great shaft for $30 for sale.
 
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