Schon vs Custom cues

StormHotRod300

StormHotRod300

BigSexy
Silver Member
Ok, i am in kinda a situation where i cant make up my mind over what kinda cue, i wanna buy.

Now i have had a Schon before and have been wanting to get another ever since i got rid of the one i had :(

On the flip side, i have been looking at other custom cues, like Jacoby, Gilbert, Coker. I will say i want a SS joint.

Now I am kinda curious as to what other people have done when they are divided over a couple cues when they are looking to buy one. Do you go with a cue you had before and really liked, or venture into uncharted waters with a brand new cue that you've never played with before.

I know alot of people Rave about Schons even though they are consider'd a Production cues, but could be classified as a semi-custom cue. So its one of those situations where i am almost 90% sure i should just drop the $ and buy a Schon and be done with it. lol

dave
 
Custom vs. Schon

Hey Dave,

I've been thinking about having a Custom cue made too!? Don't know anything about Schon's....my cousin in Iowa swears by them -- and I wouldn't want to play him for any serious $$$ if ya know what I mean :rolleyes:

My feeling is that you need to shoot with a variety of cues to see what you like. I really like the 5/16-14 SS piloted joint of a TS cue. I also like the radial flat faced wood to wood joint of say a Pat Diveney or a 3/8-11 pin like Mike Stacey's cues!?

If I had my choice....I haven't seen one yet -- I'd like to shoot with an Ivory collar forearm joint with a piloted shaft with a 5/16-14 brass pin....just to complicate matters :D

Heck, I think you need one of each really just for the sense of having some options....lol

I have several cues I play with regularly -- some feel better than others on different days. The balance of the cue and tip may be more important!?

What do you other guys think???

Good Luck & Always have Some FUN,

Ken ;)
 
a common sense approach

from what i have seen custom cues cost more than a decent schon.. i play with a schon and will never play with anything else... besides people put too much stock in cues anyways... how many times have you seen some hack with a $2000 custom (insert any one of 100 names of custom cue makers here) cues that cant make a ball... with a schon you know you are getting a solid cue that is durable.... i dont even waste my time hearing these guys sales pitches any more... my 2 cents... also you can be sure that they are reputable and will be around for a while ... you dont need some over-priced custom cue to play good pool .... case closed... let me know what kind of schon you get...
 
I've had my Schon for about 11 years now. I have no plans on switching cues even though I believe I can afford just about any cue under 6K. In my opinion, great hit, designs, and price. I'll probably never stop using mine, also has sentimental value..

ghost ball
 
If you like the way a Schon feels and plays then your decision is already made. Dont sacrifice performance for a name or the word custom. jmo.
 
if you goto schons website evan kind of bristles at being called a production cue, and if what he says is true i wonder if its fair to call schon a production, he says its like him and 5 other cuebuilders in his shop, that there are times that weeks go by without a single cue being finished, so you have to wonder is schon a production cue, or is it a custom that just happend to put out alot of work. I dont know, i love playing with schons and will probably always play one unless i just find a custom i like better. I havent tried them all yet but so far schons the one.
 
i wouldn't buy a custon cue just to own a custom cue. it would be a deciding factor if everything else was equal. i ONLY own custom cues, but i think schons hit great.
 
StormHotRod300 said:
On the flip side, i have been looking at other custom cues, like Jacoby, Gilbert, Coker. I will say i want a SS joint.

dave
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SS joints are also my preference but I have to tell you that I recently played with a setup that I love.

My new favorite is: Radial pin, wood to wood with a thin SS sleeve. It really seems to incorporate the best of both worlds. You may not like it like I do but I would try it out if you get the opportunity.

Koop
 
Ok...enough already...

First off, I'm not one to try to flame anyone or start any wars, but although everyone is entitled to their opinion, some comments are way off. Schon's base price for their cues is $595 and they can make cues into the thousands. Are you trying to tell me that there are no custom cuemakers that make cues in this price range?

Now personally, I can't stand Schon cues, I can't feel a thing with them, then again...I don't like SS jointed cues either...go figure. :rolleyes: You can get a custom sneaky for less than their base cue and will play tons better...of course this depends on the person as well.

Yeah, I know a lot of people who love Schon's, but don't go around talking that custom cues aren't up to snuff or they are not worth their price or whatever. Guys like Coker, Gilbert, Mordt, etc. make some damn good cues for a good price that doesn't go over $1000. But if you invested in a Gina, Bender, and/or Searing, the name is known for quality and you know what you're paying for.

Now I agree, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But, there is nothing wrong with broadening your horizons either, as long as you do some homework. If you can make Valley Forge this year, do yourself a favor and go. Everyone and there mom will be there, and you get a chance to try out a lot of cues.

Now, if money were not object, and I could afford any custom cue for my main playing cue, I'd get a Lambros without thinking about it. His cues start at a $1000, but that "ultra joint" played so well when I hit it, his cues are still on my radar from about 4 yrs ago.:D :eek: I'd still want to get a Southwest, Szamboti, Fanelli, Hercek...:p :D
 
seems like you're asking if it's ok to spend a good chunk of change on a schon "despite" the fact that it's not a custom cue. I started another thread about this - but I just can't understand why people are so infatuated with custom cues. When I see a fancy custom cue, I think fish.

StormHotRod300 said:
I know alot of people Rave about Schons even though they are consider'd a Production cues, but could be classified as a semi-custom cue. So its one of those situations where i am almost 90% sure i should just drop the $ and buy a Schon and be done with it. lol

dave
Click to expand...
 
why don't you go get an stl-1 and play with it. Take the rest of the money and start buying customs until you find what you want to collect or somethign you like more than the schon? I don't own a schon but would think about one. What I wouldn't do is spend more on a schon than on a lot of customs. If I am spending 1900 it is on a custom, not a schon. But my guess is that schons play as well or better than a lot of customs.

See Erik Lee's website. I have bought from him, although not schons. He would be a place to start looking at schons IMO.
 
To Schon or not to Schon, that is the question....

Schon makes very nice cues, the balance and feel is good, good hit, at least the ones I have stroked. A friend on mine has a SP-35, and I just love the looks of it. It is a stunning cue (and he does want to sell it). He is also a representative for Renis and Jacoby cues. I have seen many of his Jacoby cues along the way to him selling them, and they always impress me with the inlays and such, but the balance is not quite to my tastes in a cue. Not far off, but a little. I last stroked a $2,500 Jacoby with stingray wrap that was very nice, real nice inlays. My friend likes the unusual, and is currently have a cue made with ivory from a Mammoth that was discovered over in Russia, ivory everything on this cue. He won't even tell me the cuemaker who is doing it for him, but he showed me a pocket knife made from the ivory of the Mammoth, and it was the best I have ever seen.

I have stroked a $3,300 Southwest cue, and it was nice, but I preferred the balance and feel of my $1,100 Shurtz cue to the Southwest. Balance and feel of a cue is the most important thing to me in a cue. Everything else is secondary.

When you find the right cue for you, it is kind of like finding the right car, it just fits you and your style, depending on what you can afford, of course.

Take your time selecting a cue or cuemaker though, and when you finally get it, it will be like getting the girlfriend you always wanted, but take note: if you name your cue a female name, girlfriends and wives WILL get jealous of it ... lol
 
I've got a Schon Ltd (I forget which model #), that I've been playing with for about 9 months now, and I love it. I've never owned a custom cue, so I can't speak to the differences. I've been pondering the custom route myself of late, but every time I do, I come back to the thought that frankly, my Schon shoots pretty damn good and do I really need a custom?

The feel of a cue makes a difference, true, but IMHO it's the player that makes the biggest difference. I think that's true in most situations. I used to race mountain bikes, and some of us used to laugh at guys who came rolling in on $2k rigs but were in horrid physical shape - we'd joke that a pro on an old Huffy could beat an amateur on the most expensive bike ever made. I figure the same holds true with pool - skill makes more of a difference than equipment.

That said, get the cue you want to get, so you're mentally happy with your decision and aren't questioning whether you should have gone the other route - especially if you're in the middle of a match.
 
Nail on the head ...

ScottW said:
I've got a Schon Ltd (I forget which model #), that I've been playing with for about 9 months now, and I love it. I've never owned a custom cue, so I can't speak to the differences. I've been pondering the custom route myself of late, but every time I do, I come back to the thought that frankly, my Schon shoots pretty damn good and do I really need a custom?

The feel of a cue makes a difference, true, but IMHO it's the player that makes the biggest difference. I think that's true in most situations. I used to race mountain bikes, and some of us used to laugh at guys who came rolling in on $2k rigs but were in horrid physical shape - we'd joke that a pro on an old Huffy could beat an amateur on the most expensive bike ever made. I figure the same holds true with pool - skill makes more of a difference than equipment.

That said, get the cue you want to get, so you're mentally happy with your decision and aren't questioning whether you should have gone the other route - especially if you're in the middle of a match.
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Scott hit the nail on the head. If you have a cue that feels 'okay' but
not quite how you like it, and the pressure is on big time is a real tough
match for you, all of a sudden what was just a slight annoyance about the cue will become the biggest major thing on your mind. It distracts you from how you would normally shoot the shot, and walaaah, you miss or make a mistake, and the match is lost. That is what happens to some players shooting with a 'just okay' cue. You don't want anything about your equipment bothering you when the pressure is on, so make sure it is right for you BEFORE you play.
 
Snapshot9 said:
Take your time selecting a cue or cuemaker though, and when you finally get it, it will be like getting the girlfriend you always wanted, but take note: if you name your cue a female name, girlfriends and wives WILL get jealous of it ... lol
Click to expand...

Amusingly enough, a league teammate of mine also has a Schon (has had his at least three years, as long as I've known him), and he named his cue "Stella". :P
 
Egg McDogit said:
but I just can't understand why people are so infatuated with custom cues.
Click to expand...
They're not. You're confused.

When I see a fancy custom cue, I think fish.
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I'll turn it around on you just so you can have some kind of sense of reality.

A fancy custom cue means nothing other than it's a fancy cue. A fancy custom cue neither makes someone a good player or a bad player. If you believe a cue makes someone a fish, then you're gonna get hurt really badly with that attitude. Santos Sambajon, for example, plays (played) with one of the fanciest Drexler's around. He's no fish.

Fred
 
Cornerman said:
They're not. You're confused.

I'll turn it around on you just so you can have some kind of sense of reality.

A fancy custom cue means nothing other than it's a fancy cue. A fancy custom cue neither makes someone a good player or a bad player. If you believe a cue makes someone a fish, then you're gonna get hurt really badly with that attitude. Santos Sambajon, for example, plays (played) with one of the fanciest Drexler's around. He's no fish.

Fred
Click to expand...

Concur. I've seen some great players playing with some pretty fancy custom cues. I think that Schon's are excellent cues, but, I prefer custom cues by cuemakers that do the kind of work that I like. I have two custom cues by Skip Weston, neither of which are very fancy or expensive, but, I just love the way they play. They weren't any more expensive than a nice Schon.
 
Schon

Well I love my STL-3 Schon. Simple design so it didn't cost TOO much. I wanted the best cue I could afford and that seemed to be the ticket.

The quality of the wood and the construction are just has high as any other nice cue I've seen. The balance is perfect with the standard shaft and the hit feels real good. The cue basically feels indestructable in my hands. I don't care much for the stock tips because they are too hard and don't hold chalk so well but that was easy to fix. The only thing I don't really care for about my cue is the rounded points - I think the sharp ones look much nicer. But that is merely cosmetic. I have no intention of changing cues in the near future. If I do, I'd probably have Phillippi make me one, having visited his shop recently.
 
If you like everything about a cue no matter who made it then buy it. If you find any fault be it the, color, shaft, balance etc, then don't buy it, order what you want.

Personally I play with a Schon, nothing plays any better to me so I have no need for an overpriced custom.

Rod
 
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