pros vs southwest cues

[Varney Cues]

i'd like to see that video

Pm received...Sam I'll ship it out Monday...enjoy!:smile:

 

[wincardona]

What

Billy I remember you singing the SW praise on a Accu-stat player review when you missed the 1 in the side with ball in hand against Tony Ellin.

I don't remember missing the one with ball in hand aginst Tony, but i'm sure you're right, i've missed with ball in hand many more times than once.

 

[Sweet Marissa]

Pros turn anything of value into cash, even cues given them by sponsors. I know a number of pros who used their status to get themselves cues only to sell them. I know one who begged a cue from Szamboti and got a cue in three months. It was a con and he sold the cue for a $1000.00 more then Gus charged him. Gus found out about it when the guy (The buyer not the pro) called about getting a new shaft a week later. Gus told me this story himself.

Who was the pro?

 

[J$Cincy]

sw

Southwest cues are made by the Franklin family in a garage in LasVegas. When I left Vegas about 6 to 7 years ago the shop was in, like it always has in Laurie Franklin's home garage. I believe at that time that they only made about 300 to 400 cues a year. Jerry asked me to play with his personal cue about 25 years ago, at first I declined but later reconsidered, and i'm glad I did, reason being that the Southwest cue was the finest cue I ever played with, barr none. Unfortunately that cue was stolen from me, and I would pay $20,000 to get it back. After that I played with another Southwest and that cue was also stolen from me, I guess I had a lot of good and bad luck with the Southwest cue, but I would love to play with another one as I finish my playing years. Matter of fact I think I will call Laurie and order one, maybe i'll get it in a year or less, hopefully.

Jerry and Laurie Franklin were two of the finest people that I have ever met, and Jerry was the most quality conscious cuemaker that there ever has been. After Jerry passed Laurie continued in the business with Jerry's brother and helpers, the cues are still made the way Jerry insisted and are probably the most consistent ( in terms of quality ) cues made. If you own a Southwest you have a great cue.

i had a brand new one that i ordered directly from them and did not have a good experience. jerry's are awesome, and have never played with one i did not like..he used to adjust weight and balance....now they don't compromise at all. i'm not saying it didn't have the "SW" hit but the one i received from them was an absolute "baseball bat". i wanted 19oz or under with a 19.5" balance from the butt and they said they would get it as close as possible with their standard length...they got it close...like 21.5oz and the balance was like 18"... i was disappointed to say the least. especially since someone took a nice southwest and for somereason put a lead suppository up its azz. no way that cue should have been that heavy as it was all birdseye with lacewood points. they have lost the art...and it is pure luck if you get one that comes out to you specs....

 

[2rgrbn]

Southwest cues are made by the Franklin family in a garage in LasVegas. When I left Vegas about 6 to 7 years ago the shop was in, like it always has in Laurie Franklin's home garage. I believe at that time that they only made about 300 to 400 cues a year. Jerry asked me to play with his personal cue about 25 years ago, at first I declined but later reconsidered, and i'm glad I did, reason being that the Southwest cue was the finest cue I ever played with, barr none. Unfortunately that cue was stolen from me, and I would pay $20,000 to get it back. After that I played with another Southwest and that cue was also stolen from me, I guess I had a lot of good and bad luck with the Southwest cue, but I would love to play with another one as I finish my playing years. Matter of fact I think I will call Laurie and order one, maybe i'll get it in a year or less, hopefully.

Jerry and Laurie Franklin were two of the finest people that I have ever met, and Jerry was the most quality conscious cuemaker that there ever has been. After Jerry passed Laurie continued in the business with Jerry's brother and helpers, the cues are still made the way Jerry insisted and are probably the most consistent ( in terms of quality ) cues made. If you own a Southwest you have a great cue.

I played plenty of bars, had some fights, won and lost some money with a SW for 15+ years, I also have the 13th SW sold both have been played hard. I put a new wrap on one, neither have been refinished and don't need to be both are straight and always have been. Both have been retired to eliminate the risk of them being stolen. I paid 800 for 1 of them and Jerry signed it. The other was inherited. I could sell them for 2500+ each in a day or 2. Since they bring a premium and are easily sold at a profit my guess is the pro's sell them. They aren't winning games based on the cue and there are plenty of good ones out there. I understand the reasons for a SW built prior to Jerry passing, being more expensive but it was a family shop prior to his untimely death and I am pretty sure that the fancy's have always been built by his brother. I haven't been in contact in years but I have never seen anything but "class" in the organization. SW style is one of the most common copied, not as much as the traditional 4 veneer W/Cut diamonds but still copied, It seems like every young cue maker starting out keys off of SW measurements and balance point etc. much like previous generations have done with Gus Szamboti and George Balabushka. Southwest is one of my favorite cues but consideration should be given to another individual when talking about Southwest,Omega (Bender) and Ed Young........David Kersenbrock!!!!

 

[pool_rob9]

at fast eddies two weeks ago he wasnt using a southwest. I remember cause I asked him what he was hitting with.
Dont remember what it was but it wasnt a SW

I believe sylver's been shooting with a samsara.

Plus, nowadays you can go to a good cuemaker and he can plug in the southwest taper into his C&C and go. May not be exactly the same but you get very close to the playability and don't have to wait 2 years or sell your first born son to get it. Besides that a lot of players play with a predator shaft which plays completely opposite of a southwest and they can just go out and get a cue that suits their preference and put a predator shaft on it.

It comes down(i believe) to the high demand and low production of these cues, they are just too troublesome to obtain.

 

[JoeyInCali]

Who was the pro?

It wouldn't be Davenport or Morris b/c the two greats played with a Gus for years.
Rodney's makes a very distinct sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2YTVSaVFaw

 

[SCCues]

Southwest cues are made by the Franklin family in a garage in LasVegas. When I left Vegas about 6 to 7 years ago the shop was in, like it always has in Laurie Franklin's home garage. I believe at that time that they only made about 300 to 400 cues a year. Jerry asked me to play with his personal cue about 25 years ago, at first I declined but later reconsidered, and i'm glad I did, reason being that the Southwest cue was the finest cue I ever played with, barr none. Unfortunately that cue was stolen from me, and I would pay $20,000 to get it back. After that I played with another Southwest and that cue was also stolen from me, I guess I had a lot of good and bad luck with the Southwest cue, but I would love to play with another one as I finish my playing years. Matter of fact I think I will call Laurie and order one, maybe i'll get it in a year or less, hopefully.

Jerry and Laurie Franklin were two of the finest people that I have ever met, and Jerry was the most quality conscious cuemaker that there ever has been. After Jerry passed Laurie continued in the business with Jerry's brother and helpers, the cues are still made the way Jerry insisted and are probably the most consistent ( in terms of quality ) cues made. If you own a Southwest you have a great cue.

Wincardona is a very experienced seasoned pro who knows what he's talking about and he's been around pro players and cues for many years. If he says SW cues are the finest cues he's ever played with that means a lot to me.

I currently own a SW cue and you can feel the solid quality of the cue just holding it in your hand without hitting pool balls. They are very well made cues and that's why they have the long waiting list to get one.

James

 

[Ken_4fun]

Many players today perfer cues between 18.7 and 19.3 ounces and it is very rare to find a Southwest that is less than 19.5. Just a theory, I have had about 10 and all but 2 were a little too thick and a little too heavy for my daily playing taste.

Yep, my thought.

Ken

 

[Cuaba]

Popular With Taiwanese Pros

I thought that quite a few of the asian pros played with southwests.

The pro players from Taiwan love South Wests. Fong Pang Chao, Wu Chia Ching, and Ko Pin Yi are among several Taiwanese pros who play with South Wests.

 

[SCCues]

I remember Mark Jarvis playing with a monster inlaid SW in the mid '90s....think he's been playing with a fairly plain Kers fairly recently, though. Santos Sambajon also played with a SW for several years iirc.

If i'm not mistaken that fancy inlaid SW cue Mark Jarvis had was stolen from him. He played great with that cue. I have 2 Accu-stats matches with Mark playing 9 ball and 1 pocket with his fancy SW cue.

James

 

[fbreen]

Southwest Cues

A very large amount of these cues go to Asia..
A lot of Tawain players use them

One of the first pro's to use one was.
CJ Willey.

Great Cues.
Date and S/N on the cues.
Not sure why other cue makers have not done this.

Very Smart idea.

 

[filluptieu]

lol i spoke to tommie about his southwest, i think its a franklin era and he told me he still owed the guy money that he got the cue from, hes a great guy

 

[mullyman]

I was in Vegas back in 2001 and we took a run through of the SouthWest garage. There were hundreds of half done cues up on the wall and they all had name tags on them. The one that stuck out to me had a tag on it that said "E. Strickland" So there ya go.
MULLY
wondering if Earl ever got that cue and wondering how Billy can order one and get it in a year or so when we have to wait 10.

 

[SCCues]

wondering how Billy can order one and get it in a year or so when we have to wait 10.

I think Billy should get one before I get one. He's a high profile player and he's good for business. I don't think anyone would care whether I had a SW cue or not, but they would take notice if Billy was playing with one.

Same thing with rental cars and hotel rooms, you and I can walk up to the counter and be told "no cars available or no rooms available" and a VIP can walk up behind us and get a car or a room. Sad but true.........

James

 

[axejunkie]

I love SW cues, but in my opinion, even their pro tapered shafts seem too stout. In todays 9 ball world, pros seem to prefer fairly elongated pro-tapers. I have a pro-tapered SW that weighs 19.2 oz. and breaks great.

SW makes a great cue, but so do many other cue makers.

Good point, I've wondered about that too. I've never hit with one, but have hit some very stiff cues, and feel it's just too much cue for the simpler shots. I prefer my arm to do a little more of the work.

 

[Black-Balled]

I don't remember missing the one with ball in hand aginst Tony, but i'm sure you're right, i've missed with ball in hand many more times than once.

Well I guess I am glad I am not the only one!

What's your excuse? Mine is that I didn't like the angle. wtf?!

 

[filluptieu]

you know sometimes the pros just dont care about cues, lol i know alot of strong players that dont know shit about cues... they just shoot well with anything. sad but true

 

[rodrivar]

I believe Louie Ulrich plays with a southwest too.

 

[FAST_N_LOOSE]

I remember Mark Jarvis playing with a monster inlaid SW in the mid '90s....think he's been playing with a fairly plain Kers fairly recently, though. Santos Sambajon also played with a SW for several years iirc.

I THINK HE WAS AT COSMOS PLACE YESTERDAY FOR THE BLAZE STOP..... GOING BY "MARK J" HIS CUE HAD A SW LOOK TO IT, COULD HAVE BEEN A KERS