I hope I posted in the correct thread. I am curious and trying to understand why some or most of the Custom made cues are so much more expensive than the big name production made cues. Is the price difference due to the quality of work, the beauty they possess or is it actually that they play so much better than the others? Or is it a combination of all the above? I have seen some custom cues on here that I would absolutely love to purchase but simply can't afford it. I really would like to experience for myself if a $2500 custom cue (just an example) plays better than my $400 cue. I have all the respect in the world for those that have the talent to create and produce some of the Custom Cues on this site. Thanks for reading and I look forward to some responses.....:thumbup:
Question about Custom cues or Name brand cue?
- Thread starter Rjmoncrief
- Start date
There will be little to no difference in the way the cue plays, between the two examples you quoted. How a cue "plays" is extremely subjective to the individual anyway. As far as custom cues, they are priced at whatever the market will bear. Some very high end cuemakers, with long time reputations, can command very high prices...and get them. Others may try, but are still subject to "market" prices. For most, a cue is only worth what someone is willing to pay. Hope this helps...
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
Oh no.
Here we go.
Here we go.
I think some custom cue makers are known for how well their cues play. Not always the case. If you have a custom cue than it may be rare or one of a kind. Don't know how many cues a production cue maker puts out but I would guess in the thousands a year or who knows maybe a month. Can they play just as well as a custom. Yes by all means. Do they have the craftsmanship of a custom cue? Yes and no. No on high end cues. I live in Maryland and Joss is local to my area. When playing league. Just about any night someone will own Joss. Joss is custom and production. Now if the custom cue maker is really good and lets say he sells cues from $400 to $10000. The $400 cue may be a plain jane but should play just as well as the $10000.
Custom cues
Thanks for the input guys. Again, wish I could afford a few of the Customs I have seen on here. Hey, maybe Efren will come to town and play me with that $15 cue so I can win enough to buy the Custom of my choice.....
Thanks again and keep the replies coming!
Thanks for the input guys. Again, wish I could afford a few of the Customs I have seen on here. Hey, maybe Efren will come to town and play me with that $15 cue so I can win enough to buy the Custom of my choice.....
Thanks again and keep the replies coming!
dom_poppa
Banned
Custom cues are way better than production cues. It's the total package. Pool cues deal with wood so not every cue will hit the same. So the argument of production cues being made more consistent is crap.
It's correct that a cue is a cue. You can play with any cue but you also want something that was perfectly made by a human being.
Heck, some of my friends don't even think it's humanly possible to create some of the cues we see here. They think it's hand drawn.
It's correct that a cue is a cue. You can play with any cue but you also want something that was perfectly made by a human being.
Heck, some of my friends don't even think it's humanly possible to create some of the cues we see here. They think it's hand drawn.
I beg to differ that two different cues would play the same. There's a tremendous difference in the cue itself, and we'll just forget the matter of looks because that's has nothing to do with the way the cue "feels" in the player's grip hand. After all, your bridge hand doesn't give you feedback and feel like the fingers of your grip hand does.
I challenge anyone....and I've done this probably a 100 times since owning my Scruggs and Mottey cues........some one I know, or have met, asks about my cues and most ask if they could hit a few balls. So I say okay while I watch eagle eyed and I don't let just anyone shoot with my cue. But over the past 3 years, sure...easily a 100 people have examined and tried my cues.
Now I realize that most people would feel obligated to tell you that your newborn baby was gorgeous,,,,,even though the kid might look like Shrek.....and I suppose the same applies to cues. Now I'm not that way at all. If I try your cue and I don't care for it or the feel, I would not tell you what I don't like about the cue unless pushed. I'd just say nice cue. But most people would tell you that you got a nice cue even when it wasn't....don't ya think?
Anyway, regardless of having said that, you can tell when people really, genuinely mean what they say and they keep bringing it up later on all the time about what a great cue ya got there or how much they want to own it. It's not the remarks that matter the most. It's the expression on their faces as they start stroking the cue ball and pocketing balls. Then they set up shots and after each one, they turn and tell you what a incredible cue you own, which I already knew because I was looking for those two cue-makers.
Anyone that tells you there's no difference is, of course, entitled to their opinions. But the history of pool, the reputation of the legendary cue-makers, the incredible cues being made by contemporaneous custom cue-makers right now.....the list goes on and on. Custom made cues are delivered exactly to the customer's specs, presuming of course that was even important which I think very much is. But then you get down to the joint type, pin type, ferrules, cue butt weight, balance point, weight of the shaft (extremely important), age of the wood, etc. Production cues are fine cues and custom cues aren't for everyone.
But I dare anyone to find any production cue and compare that cue to say the same weight cue made by Danny Tibbits, Ernie Guitterez, Joel Hercek, Ed Prewitt, Barry Szamboti, Pete Tascarella, Randy Mobley, Tim Scruggs, Paul Mottey, Richard Black, Bill Stroud, Verl Horn. Bob Owen, Bill Schick, Ariel Carmeli, Steve Klein, Kenny Murrell, Chris Nitti, Paul Drexler, Jerry Rauenzahn, Andy Gilbert, Jerry McWorter, Thomas Wayne, Pete Tonkin, Mike Bender, Skip Weston, Bill Shick..........Really.........there are so many incredible cue-makers and you truly believe there's not a difference....... OMG. The wood is different, the balance point is different, the shaft taper is different, the cue joints can be different and very often is ivory. A steel joint does not play like a wood to wood joint or a ivory joint, especially a flat ivory joint, and ivory ferrules are amazing to use. Now you might not care for the feel of ivory but you cannot quarrel that ivory plays differently (feels) than a steel, piloted joint or phenolic or LBM ferrules which most production cues tend to have. Look at photos of the great cues made by heralded cue-makers, cue photos from shows like The Windy City recently held, browse through any edition of the Blue Book of cues. The best of the best had ivory joints and always ivory ferrules but again, ivory is admittedly not for everyone.
When a cue is custom made, the buyer is able to specify the particulars of a cue. If you want a cue weighing 18.35 ounces and have a balance point of 19.5 - 20.5 inches and want the shafts to weigh a minimum of 4.0 oz. and have ivory ferrules with Kamui tips and on 12.85mm shafts with a taper of 13-14" inches.........well, good look finding a production cue to fill that bill. Most cue weights are ultimately decided in production cues by swapping weight bolts for a shorter or longer version or using an aluminum bolt or removing the bolt entirely. It's not that way with a custom cue. Look, there's nothing wrong with production cues. Let's face it....the equipment we play with does not by itself empower us to play better. A $5000 cue in the hands of a inept player only achieves one thing and that's embarrassment. A $200 cue in the hands of a great player will always achieve the same thing.......consistent cue ball stroking and speed control, mastery of position play and a lot of won matches.
But come on........you might dislike spending a lot of dough on a custom cue because it represents a waste of money to you or maybe you're the guy that can drill people using any house cue........I dunno.........But there's a big difference with a custom made cue and a production cue......in my opinion. If you played with either my Mottey or Scruggs cues and didn't think they felt "very" different than any production cue you want to compare....even a Schon.......I'll concede that you might not care for the feel....but you will definitely say there's a big difference or else I buy you dinner....But, if you do agree there's a big difference, then you buy me a beer....fair enough?
I challenge anyone....and I've done this probably a 100 times since owning my Scruggs and Mottey cues........some one I know, or have met, asks about my cues and most ask if they could hit a few balls. So I say okay while I watch eagle eyed and I don't let just anyone shoot with my cue. But over the past 3 years, sure...easily a 100 people have examined and tried my cues.
Now I realize that most people would feel obligated to tell you that your newborn baby was gorgeous,,,,,even though the kid might look like Shrek.....and I suppose the same applies to cues. Now I'm not that way at all. If I try your cue and I don't care for it or the feel, I would not tell you what I don't like about the cue unless pushed. I'd just say nice cue. But most people would tell you that you got a nice cue even when it wasn't....don't ya think?
Anyway, regardless of having said that, you can tell when people really, genuinely mean what they say and they keep bringing it up later on all the time about what a great cue ya got there or how much they want to own it. It's not the remarks that matter the most. It's the expression on their faces as they start stroking the cue ball and pocketing balls. Then they set up shots and after each one, they turn and tell you what a incredible cue you own, which I already knew because I was looking for those two cue-makers.
Anyone that tells you there's no difference is, of course, entitled to their opinions. But the history of pool, the reputation of the legendary cue-makers, the incredible cues being made by contemporaneous custom cue-makers right now.....the list goes on and on. Custom made cues are delivered exactly to the customer's specs, presuming of course that was even important which I think very much is. But then you get down to the joint type, pin type, ferrules, cue butt weight, balance point, weight of the shaft (extremely important), age of the wood, etc. Production cues are fine cues and custom cues aren't for everyone.
But I dare anyone to find any production cue and compare that cue to say the same weight cue made by Danny Tibbits, Ernie Guitterez, Joel Hercek, Ed Prewitt, Barry Szamboti, Pete Tascarella, Randy Mobley, Tim Scruggs, Paul Mottey, Richard Black, Bill Stroud, Verl Horn. Bob Owen, Bill Schick, Ariel Carmeli, Steve Klein, Kenny Murrell, Chris Nitti, Paul Drexler, Jerry Rauenzahn, Andy Gilbert, Jerry McWorter, Thomas Wayne, Pete Tonkin, Mike Bender, Skip Weston, Bill Shick..........Really.........there are so many incredible cue-makers and you truly believe there's not a difference....... OMG. The wood is different, the balance point is different, the shaft taper is different, the cue joints can be different and very often is ivory. A steel joint does not play like a wood to wood joint or a ivory joint, especially a flat ivory joint, and ivory ferrules are amazing to use. Now you might not care for the feel of ivory but you cannot quarrel that ivory plays differently (feels) than a steel, piloted joint or phenolic or LBM ferrules which most production cues tend to have. Look at photos of the great cues made by heralded cue-makers, cue photos from shows like The Windy City recently held, browse through any edition of the Blue Book of cues. The best of the best had ivory joints and always ivory ferrules but again, ivory is admittedly not for everyone.
When a cue is custom made, the buyer is able to specify the particulars of a cue. If you want a cue weighing 18.35 ounces and have a balance point of 19.5 - 20.5 inches and want the shafts to weigh a minimum of 4.0 oz. and have ivory ferrules with Kamui tips and on 12.85mm shafts with a taper of 13-14" inches.........well, good look finding a production cue to fill that bill. Most cue weights are ultimately decided in production cues by swapping weight bolts for a shorter or longer version or using an aluminum bolt or removing the bolt entirely. It's not that way with a custom cue. Look, there's nothing wrong with production cues. Let's face it....the equipment we play with does not by itself empower us to play better. A $5000 cue in the hands of a inept player only achieves one thing and that's embarrassment. A $200 cue in the hands of a great player will always achieve the same thing.......consistent cue ball stroking and speed control, mastery of position play and a lot of won matches.
But come on........you might dislike spending a lot of dough on a custom cue because it represents a waste of money to you or maybe you're the guy that can drill people using any house cue........I dunno.........But there's a big difference with a custom made cue and a production cue......in my opinion. If you played with either my Mottey or Scruggs cues and didn't think they felt "very" different than any production cue you want to compare....even a Schon.......I'll concede that you might not care for the feel....but you will definitely say there's a big difference or else I buy you dinner....But, if you do agree there's a big difference, then you buy me a beer....fair enough?
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dom_poppa
Banned
dom_poppa...Just to further your "education" a little...ALL cues (even CNC cues) have to be ASSEMBLED by hand...by a human being. They haven't figured out how to get a robot to do that yet (not that it won't happen some day! 
). Oh...and there are some production cues that play BETTER than some custom cues! That's a fact!
Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
). Oh...and there are some production cues that play BETTER than some custom cues! That's a fact!Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
dom_poppa
Banned
I will disagree.
How a cue hits and play is subjective. There is no fact unless said custom cue is crooked. With everything being equal, there is not one cue that hits better than the other. I can play the same with any cue.
I think custom cues are better than production cues but I never mentioned if one hits better than the other. I know better than that. What feels good to one guy does not feel good to the other.
And just to be clear.....not every custom cue is a gem and not every cue-maker gets its right every time. Although the best usually won't release the cue to the customer until they get it right. I think Schon Cues play really great and with the right weight, I think anyone would play every bit as good with that Schon cue as they would with one of my cues. The funny thing is pool...and golf too....is a game played between the ears as much, if not more, than on the table, or course. But even the best equipment has to be something that is visually appealing or it doesn't sell.
I can think of two clear cases in golf equipment. The Ping Zing golf clubs were the most forgiving, accurate irons Ping Gold produced but were a flop because of the way the clubs looked. Golfers didn't like the appearance of the club.....too radical a change. So then shortly thereafter, Cleveland Golf does the same thing and brings out some awful looking irons (VAS Irons 792). The best hitting irons Cleveland ever made up until then. but the clubs were grotesque looking........total flop........You couldn't give these clubs away....golfers hated the look. Now really, if you could stick the gold ball to within 12 feet from 160 yards away with an ugly golf club, would you stop using it.......Yes, the golfing public proved it with both clubs being complete flops.........Ping even tried a Zing 2 version....got even worst results. Golfers have to like their equipment or they resist and play worse.
It's between the ears when it comes to golf and pool is the same way. I've seen players put a nick or dent in the cue shaft during a match doing something stupid, or just an accident, and they get fixated on the nick every time they stroke the ball. They rotate the shafts and pay more attention to a "distraction" than what they really need to pay attention to ...."making the shot". I know some guys that shoot an off game if they don't play with their own cues.......it's a game played between the ears before it's played on the felt.
Custom cues .......more made out of them than is warranted.........Can you imagine some guy walking into a bar, ordering 25 year old Chivas and then adds diet coke?......What the _____. Boy, I bet that Chivas really tastes great with those special, secret Coca Cola ingredients. Kinda a waste of money, don't ya think. Custom cues are the same way. If you are mainly interested in recreational pool, and do not have some driving desire to become as good as you can achieve, I mean any nice production cue will more than suffice and your play will never be affected.
For me, pool cues are as much art as a functional tool. I just can't imagine how a cue-maker is able to assemble the various woods, carefully glue the different sections, make the exact, precise cuts for inlays and hand mitre the veneers' sharp points, get everything perfecting round and smooth without a single edge or seam anywhere and the designs are just gorgeous. Okay, maybe I'm getting carried away but that's how I feel about pool cues in general and some cue-makers I just do flips for like Searing, Prewitt & Hercek. We'll see how my new cue turns out and whether it was worth the time, money and effort. I confess......I do not need another pool cue........who does? But I do want two more cues because six is better than five and four is also better than five. Unfortunately, I'll now own five which is really too many and I just can't see myself ever selling the ones in my collection. Shit....I shoulda stopped at four because now it's gonna cost me a lot of dough..... I knew four was the right number but noooooo.....I had to have a wish cue made.......duh!
I can think of two clear cases in golf equipment. The Ping Zing golf clubs were the most forgiving, accurate irons Ping Gold produced but were a flop because of the way the clubs looked. Golfers didn't like the appearance of the club.....too radical a change. So then shortly thereafter, Cleveland Golf does the same thing and brings out some awful looking irons (VAS Irons 792). The best hitting irons Cleveland ever made up until then. but the clubs were grotesque looking........total flop........You couldn't give these clubs away....golfers hated the look. Now really, if you could stick the gold ball to within 12 feet from 160 yards away with an ugly golf club, would you stop using it.......Yes, the golfing public proved it with both clubs being complete flops.........Ping even tried a Zing 2 version....got even worst results. Golfers have to like their equipment or they resist and play worse.
It's between the ears when it comes to golf and pool is the same way. I've seen players put a nick or dent in the cue shaft during a match doing something stupid, or just an accident, and they get fixated on the nick every time they stroke the ball. They rotate the shafts and pay more attention to a "distraction" than what they really need to pay attention to ...."making the shot". I know some guys that shoot an off game if they don't play with their own cues.......it's a game played between the ears before it's played on the felt.
Custom cues .......more made out of them than is warranted.........Can you imagine some guy walking into a bar, ordering 25 year old Chivas and then adds diet coke?......What the _____. Boy, I bet that Chivas really tastes great with those special, secret Coca Cola ingredients. Kinda a waste of money, don't ya think. Custom cues are the same way. If you are mainly interested in recreational pool, and do not have some driving desire to become as good as you can achieve, I mean any nice production cue will more than suffice and your play will never be affected.
For me, pool cues are as much art as a functional tool. I just can't imagine how a cue-maker is able to assemble the various woods, carefully glue the different sections, make the exact, precise cuts for inlays and hand mitre the veneers' sharp points, get everything perfecting round and smooth without a single edge or seam anywhere and the designs are just gorgeous. Okay, maybe I'm getting carried away but that's how I feel about pool cues in general and some cue-makers I just do flips for like Searing, Prewitt & Hercek. We'll see how my new cue turns out and whether it was worth the time, money and effort. I confess......I do not need another pool cue........who does? But I do want two more cues because six is better than five and four is also better than five. Unfortunately, I'll now own five which is really too many and I just can't see myself ever selling the ones in my collection. Shit....I shoulda stopped at four because now it's gonna cost me a lot of dough..... I knew four was the right number but noooooo.....I had to have a wish cue made.......duh!
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That makes no sense. So, every custom cue maker in the world, even the worst one, is better then the best production cues. Silly how folks think....
I can't speak for dom_poppa but my take on what he said is that when a player rates a cue or attempts to describe how the cue plays, whatever the player comes up with is "his" version or let's say evaluation of the cue. I suppose any time you ask someone to comment about a cue's design, the way it plays, the quality or price of the cue etc., unless the answer to the question is factual, pretty much anything the player comes up with is really based upon his view or interpretation of the cue. An example would be a question about the wrap......is that an elephant ear or Spanish bull wrap? The answer would be factual, even if the reply was wrong.....it'd be a wrong fact but still a fact..........the wrap is not a Spanish Bull wrap as the person originally commented........but when you ask how did you like the wrap or do you prefer Irish Linen or Leather as your cue's wrap? That becomes a subjective answer.
So I took dom-poppa's post to say that any time a player comments about a cue or evaluates it, the person is simply giving their view or their preferences about the cue. The next 3 people might feel the same or disagree because the topic is completely subjective. He commented that he thought custom cues were better than production cues but didn't elaborate about it. As he pointed out, one man's trash can sometimes be another man's treasure........people don't generally agree most of the time when their opinions are involved. Dom said that he feels the cue wasn't important to how he played which is only possible when you have control of the game played between the ears. I'm less flexible than that when it comes to my game by being able to adjust to a different weight cue or the cloth for that matter, I still allow that to get into my head at times.....a big weakness, i.e., flaw.
My Schon Runde has a real history to it and the cue is a one of a kind from the early days of Schon when it was just Bob & Terry. It's an absolutely beautiful cue but I no longer play with it because it's way too heavy. Back in the 70's & 80's, cues were made heavier than today. Heck, back in the 60's, the cues were an inch shorter (57'). My cue weighs 20.4 ozs......it's a beast in comparison to what I play with nowadays........my Scruggs & Mottey cues weigh 18.2 ozs to 18.6 ozs depending on the shaft I use. The Schon has a steel joint and the other cues have ivory joints. Totally different feel and stroke rhythm with the Schon versus the other cues.
Now some players would play with my Schon and absolutely fall in love with it both in terms of looks and play. I think my cue is gorgeous but I designed it with Bob Runde back in '85. Someone might look at my cue and say it's nice but kinda ho hum. I referred to my cue as a beast.....well, don't get me wrong....I can still play with it well but it's harder to play 1/2 shape. I lay a cue across the side pockets of a 9' table and make a 9 ball rectangle starting at the corner pockets extending 4 balls from the rail from the 1st diamond on the long rail to the 1st diamond on the short rail...9 balls spaced 3/4" apart.......4 balls in a row off the long rail.....then a corner ball....then 4 balls in to the short rail......really simple.
Take cue ball in hand and run the table shooting all 9 balls into the corner pocket in sequence starting with the first ball on the short rail........without ever touching another ball...no ball can touch except the cue ball & object ball.....9 pocketed balls in a row....and you can't let the cue ball touch the cue laying across the middle of the table or you start over....same applies to not pocketing the object ball or object balls touching each other etc. I am excellent at this drill using my Scruggs or Mottey cues but suck when I try it with the Schon cue. This drill is all about touch and the weight difference of the Scruggs & Mottey and ivory joints just translate into a totally different feel......the feel is completely neutral....you feel absolutely nothing in your grip hand unless you do not stroke the cue ball smoothly. The Schon cue is more like a piston that just wants to swing forward and you have to really use a soft grip to accomplish this drill....the Schon imparts too much energy to the cue ball.
Some might say it's my stroke not the cue but when I shoot with the Mottey or Scruggs cues doing the same drill, the results are really good. I'll run the formation 6-7 out of 10 times when I'm on and there are off days where it takes me 3-5-8 times to even run 6 balls before I get settled in. I like the drill because feedback is immediate and you can see when you have off days or when you're improving. Try this drill sometime in the future. I suck at it with the heavier weight of my Schon but I'm sure someone else would say the cue is perfect for them.
I apologize for my long-winded interpretation of dom-poppa's post.
So I took dom-poppa's post to say that any time a player comments about a cue or evaluates it, the person is simply giving their view or their preferences about the cue. The next 3 people might feel the same or disagree because the topic is completely subjective. He commented that he thought custom cues were better than production cues but didn't elaborate about it. As he pointed out, one man's trash can sometimes be another man's treasure........people don't generally agree most of the time when their opinions are involved. Dom said that he feels the cue wasn't important to how he played which is only possible when you have control of the game played between the ears. I'm less flexible than that when it comes to my game by being able to adjust to a different weight cue or the cloth for that matter, I still allow that to get into my head at times.....a big weakness, i.e., flaw.
My Schon Runde has a real history to it and the cue is a one of a kind from the early days of Schon when it was just Bob & Terry. It's an absolutely beautiful cue but I no longer play with it because it's way too heavy. Back in the 70's & 80's, cues were made heavier than today. Heck, back in the 60's, the cues were an inch shorter (57'). My cue weighs 20.4 ozs......it's a beast in comparison to what I play with nowadays........my Scruggs & Mottey cues weigh 18.2 ozs to 18.6 ozs depending on the shaft I use. The Schon has a steel joint and the other cues have ivory joints. Totally different feel and stroke rhythm with the Schon versus the other cues.
Now some players would play with my Schon and absolutely fall in love with it both in terms of looks and play. I think my cue is gorgeous but I designed it with Bob Runde back in '85. Someone might look at my cue and say it's nice but kinda ho hum. I referred to my cue as a beast.....well, don't get me wrong....I can still play with it well but it's harder to play 1/2 shape. I lay a cue across the side pockets of a 9' table and make a 9 ball rectangle starting at the corner pockets extending 4 balls from the rail from the 1st diamond on the long rail to the 1st diamond on the short rail...9 balls spaced 3/4" apart.......4 balls in a row off the long rail.....then a corner ball....then 4 balls in to the short rail......really simple.
Take cue ball in hand and run the table shooting all 9 balls into the corner pocket in sequence starting with the first ball on the short rail........without ever touching another ball...no ball can touch except the cue ball & object ball.....9 pocketed balls in a row....and you can't let the cue ball touch the cue laying across the middle of the table or you start over....same applies to not pocketing the object ball or object balls touching each other etc. I am excellent at this drill using my Scruggs or Mottey cues but suck when I try it with the Schon cue. This drill is all about touch and the weight difference of the Scruggs & Mottey and ivory joints just translate into a totally different feel......the feel is completely neutral....you feel absolutely nothing in your grip hand unless you do not stroke the cue ball smoothly. The Schon cue is more like a piston that just wants to swing forward and you have to really use a soft grip to accomplish this drill....the Schon imparts too much energy to the cue ball.
Some might say it's my stroke not the cue but when I shoot with the Mottey or Scruggs cues doing the same drill, the results are really good. I'll run the formation 6-7 out of 10 times when I'm on and there are off days where it takes me 3-5-8 times to even run 6 balls before I get settled in. I like the drill because feedback is immediate and you can see when you have off days or when you're improving. Try this drill sometime in the future. I suck at it with the heavier weight of my Schon but I'm sure someone else would say the cue is perfect for them.
I apologize for my long-winded interpretation of dom-poppa's post.
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I think Earl put to bed any question about what a production cue can do in the right hands. That being said, however, I have spoken with 3 other top pros (2 of whom were US Open Champions) who candidly admitted their custom cues led to vastly better performance than the sponsor provided production cues. (after sponsorship). 1 of those pros, however, added that he used a top tier custom cuemaker's product in the 80's and it was terrible...
As this thread shows, as well as my own observations, opinions vary. Some say it's the player "give Mosconi a broom handle with a tip on it and he'll sweep up the joint after winning the tournament"
Others come from the school of Harvey Martin...customize a cue to the player, allowing for length, weight and balance and you'll find your best game.
A mustang will get you there every bit as fast as an SL Benz... but it is up to you to decide which experience pleases you most.
I am heavily invested in custom cues but with rare exception, in my hand, few play better than my 80's Meucci.
Cuemakers whose cues consistently hit and feel better (IMO)
Barry Szamboti
Bill Schick (3/8 10 pin)
Richard Black
Lucky Hishinuma (Japan taper low deflection)
This list could easily be longer, but today, these are the names that spring to mind, each having made cues that seemed to transform my game and my playing experience.
If you're seeking a good comparison, see a cue dealer and try a cue on this list
As this thread shows, as well as my own observations, opinions vary. Some say it's the player "give Mosconi a broom handle with a tip on it and he'll sweep up the joint after winning the tournament"
Others come from the school of Harvey Martin...customize a cue to the player, allowing for length, weight and balance and you'll find your best game.
A mustang will get you there every bit as fast as an SL Benz... but it is up to you to decide which experience pleases you most.
I am heavily invested in custom cues but with rare exception, in my hand, few play better than my 80's Meucci.
Cuemakers whose cues consistently hit and feel better (IMO)
Barry Szamboti
Bill Schick (3/8 10 pin)
Richard Black
Lucky Hishinuma (Japan taper low deflection)
This list could easily be longer, but today, these are the names that spring to mind, each having made cues that seemed to transform my game and my playing experience.
If you're seeking a good comparison, see a cue dealer and try a cue on this list
funny, I have a topic going in another area of the forum much like this. But to stay on track with this topic, the line of bs most maker's (custom) put out is just that, bs. Now Bill Schick, he is a real man when it comes to knowledge due to his history of the game, longevity in the cue business, and his no nonsense way of telling it like it is. Some on the list posted earlier, not so much. Dollar for dollar, Lucasi for one plays more than well , as does mcdermot, dufferin,even the so called cheapo sneaky pete muellers puts out plays really well for a hustler no thrill cue. And saying cue maker's cull their woods better than these companies is totally ridiculous. The level that just mcdermot puts out and the strict guidelines of the wood they buy, no one man custom shop is going to ever compare to their quality. I bet they turn away more woods than these guys could house.Their machines are top notch state of the art, their finish and how it is applied is amazing, there is no quality comparison in my opinion, mcderm wins every time in all areas. Plus, they add a lifetime warranty just for a kicker.