A Schmelke was the first realish cue I owned. It was heavy, thick, and had finish applied to the shaft. That was 20 years ago. Hopefully, they've changed. If you get one, avoid that big hunk of metal joint they offer and go with something more traditional. My joint shifted so that the cue was no longer straight when assembled, but neither end was warped.
Schmelke's are rock solid cues and solid company. Nobody really even needs anything more than a Schmelke to shoot pool with.....excellent quality, good family, American made, what's not to like Schmelke blanks end up in many, many cuemakers cues... that has to tell you something.
You might want to change out the tip to something to more your liking, but you may never need another cue,,, you may "want" another cue at some point, but you won't need one.
So I own a schmelke.. yep, got two of them. Do I have other cues, yep, get a few customs.... do I need the customs to shoot with... of course not