Shaft Preferences???

[Jersey]

I've noticed in a lot of threads about cues, people bring up shaft changes or preferences they have...have you changed your shaft from the original?...if so what shaft have you chosen?...why?...what do you like about it?

Really interested in the Predator 314 -vs- Z...

 

[drivermaker]

I've noticed in a lot of threads about cues, people bring up shaft changes or preferences they have...have you changed your shaft from the original?...if so what shaft have you chosen?...why?...what do you like about it?

Really interested in the Predator 314 -vs- Z...

Don't get caught up in all the hype...unfortunately, I think you might already be too far gone. If you get a decent cue, production or custom, you'll get a good shaft. Learn to play with it just like you would with an aftermarket shaft. What shaft is best is only what YOU perceive.

 

[pharaoh68]

I couldn't agree more. I know a thousand guys will swear to predator shafts and they may be good. Sure. But the way I see it is if a cuemaker knows what he's doing, you're gonna have a good shaft. And if you've got a good stroke, a predator isn't necessary. Use a predator too much and you won't be able to play without it. What's the point in that?

 

[vapoolplayer]

Don't get caught up in all the hype...unfortunately, I think you might already be too far gone. If you get a decent cue, production or custom, you'll get a good shaft. Learn to play with it just like you would with an aftermarket shaft. What shaft is best is only what YOU perceive.

i've just realized there's and untapped market out there DM..........with your business knoweldge and my ingenuity(go figure, i can't even spell it) we could make a killing.............

since predator and everyone else is making shafts............we can start making replacement butts.........

i figure if everyone (include you and myself, even though we don't use them anymore) bought a predator..........then they would jump right up and buy a replacement butt for their scruggs shaft, or szamboti shaft...........hell if everyone figures that these custom cue makers can't make a shaft thats worth anything then they'll definitely want to buy our replacement butts.............

moral of the story being.........if a cuemaker is good enough to build you a good butt, why isn't the shaft they build worth using as well???

find a cue that feels right and learn how to play with it..........

VAP

side note: DM someone returned my phone call today

 

[Jack Flanagan]

BEWARE of the hype,,,,my shaft's better than your shaft because I say so; I have a machine that shows mine is better, I paid (can anyone see the problem with this) to have an 'independent' study (giggle, wink, wink) done and my shaft is now better than yours,,,and on and on..............shoot with a variety of cues/shafts for more than a week each,, you'll be surprised at the lack of any earth-shattering differences between any of them,,grandpa always said,"Dance with the girl you're with." this holds true with cues/shafts and & girls,,,,,,,,IMHO

 

[drivermaker]

i've just realized there's and untapped market out there DM..........with your business knoweldge and my ingenuity(go figure, i can't even spell it) we could make a killing.............

since predator and everyone else is making shafts............we can start making replacement butts.........

i figure if everyone (include you and myself, even though we don't use them anymore) bought a predator..........then they would jump right up and buy a replacement butt for their scruggs shaft, or szamboti shaft...........hell if everyone figures that these custom cue makers can't make a shaft thats worth anything then they'll definitely want to buy our replacement butts.............

moral of the story being.........if a cuemaker is good enough to build you a good butt, why isn't the shaft they build worth using as well???

find a cue that feels right and learn how to play with it..........

VAP

side note: DM someone returned my phone call today

That sounds like a winner of an idea to me. Personally, I'm ALWAYS in the market for some new "butt".

 

[SplicedPoints]

I've tried 314, red-dots, generic glued-together shafts, and the original shafts that come with my cues.

314 does give you less deflection, and you will be able to draw and put spin on the CB with less effort. Predator isn't bullshitting when they tell you their shaft can give you those advantages over some ordinary shafts. However, I'm not playing with my 314 because I don't like the way it hits. I like my original Coker shaft better than the 314 shaft because I like the way it feels when I strike the cb with it. The way I see it is that if you've got a good enough stroke, you don't need the extra spins you could get with a 314. The deflection you can get used to if you play enough with your original shaft. Just be careful not to get caught up in the hype, and forget about what's actually important: a good stroke.

 

[lukeinva]

314 does give you less deflection, and you will be able to draw and put spin on the CB with less effort.


I can put draw and spin on the CB with out much effort! I use to think the tips I used had something to do with it. I played with moori, kamui, tiger laminated all kinds of tips. Then I thought hell its the shaft!! Now I just use a plain old le pro tip and regular maple shaft that I built myself!! All I did was I LEARNED how to draw and put spin on the ball all this new technology is riduculous!! they are just trying to get you to buy thier product! And a lot of people bought it!

 

[StormHotRod300]

Well, i recently bought a Predator SP, after playing with a predator 4k1 for two matches lol. Needless to say, i feel in love with the hit, and the way it plays. Now i switched from a Meucci Original, and liked the way it played but the shaft flex drove me nuts lol. And using english was sometimes interesting because you didnt know where the Cue was going to end up.


But i would hafta say the 314 shaft is nice !!!!! I can move the cue effortlessly up n down the table, and get very little deflection.

And i would say if your buying a custom cue or a production cue, not all shafts are bad.

I mean on platinum billards web page they rate the Action cues shaft as a med-low deflection.

So you cant tell me that all cue shafts besides a 314 or reddot or blackdot or Z-shaft are junk.

i mean if you drop 2000$ on a JossWest, or Southwest cue, you would imagine that thier shafts are not junk.

dave

 

[TheBook]

I use the shafts that come with the cue. Cannot justify buying a shaft that is not made by the cuemaker. If I thought some other shaft is better than I would not buy the cue.

 

[TATE]

All I did was I LEARNED how to draw and put spin on the ball all this new technology is riduculous!! they are just trying to get you to buy thier product! And a lot of people bought it!

OK - I'll say it. It's not that Predator is so good, it's that the design of conventional shafts is so incredibly outdated. Have you ever actually played with a Predator? We are talking 100 year old designs here versus a modern technological breakthough. It's like comparing todays golf clubs to the old wooden shafted ones made in 1900, or an old turn-of-the-century tennis racket vesus todays large headed ones, or old flat wooden snow ski against todays fiberglass models. You're like one of those guys with an old 7 iron averaging 100 yards talking about how good those old hickory's were.

It's not hype and it's not ridiculous - it's effective. It's not at all because of the extra spin either. It's the accuracy and consistency from shot to shot.

With a Predator, you will likely miss fewer shots, especially the ones that call for sidespin, and get out of position less too. How can your position play improve with a Predator? When your aim is not precise, cueball control cannot be very precise either.

Of course you can learn to play well with a high squirt shaft if you have top talent. There's no doubt about it - it's just that it's a lot more difficult.

Just look who's playing with Predator shafts and come to your own conclusions.

Predator Pro's


In addition to the top pro players, trust me there are a lot of top local players who swear by Predator. These players can cut a ball accurately to the width of a human hair - and you don't think they can tell the difference between shafts?

Chris

 

[lukeinva]

OK - I'll say it. It's not that Predator is so good, it's that the design of conventional shafts is so incredibly outdated. Have you ever actually played with a Predator? We are talking 100 year old designs here versus a modern technological breakthough. It's like comparing todays golf clubs to the old wooden shafted ones made in 1900, or an old turn-of-the-century tennis racket vesus todays large headed ones, or old flat wooden snow ski against todays fiberglass models. You're like one of those guys with an old 7 iron averaging 100 yards talking about how good those old hickory's were.

It's not hype and it's not ridiculous - it's effective. It's not at all because of the extra spin either. It's the accuracy and consistency from shot to shot.

With a Predator, you will likely miss fewer shots, especially the ones that call for sidespin, and get out of position less too. How can your position play improve with a Predator? When your aim is not precise, cueball control cannot be very precise either.

Of course you can learn to play well with a high squirt shaft if you have top talent. There's no doubt about it - it's just that it's a lot more difficult.

Just look who's playing with Predator shafts and come to your own conclusions.

Predator Pro's


In addition to the top pro players, trust me there are a lot of top local players who swear by Predator. These players can cut a ball accurately to the width of a human hair - and you don't think they can tell the difference between shafts?

Chris

Yes I have played with a predator shaft I have one sitting at my house now do you want to buy it?? All I am saying is a shaft isnt going to make you play better just like a 10,000 cue isnt going to make you play better! You have to know how to shoot! It seems that when everyone starts something they look for that equipment that will make them #1 after a week of playing, its not just in billiards but all sports. If you get a fiberglass golf club as you pointed out yeah you may hit the ball further but does it magically make you hit it straight down the fairway NO it doesnt!! Just like a predator shaft isnt going to make you miss less!! The only thing that will make you miss less is PRACTICE!! Besides how often do you need to put side spin on a ball? How often you need to draw a cue ball 2 tables?? Not very often!! Also if you cant aim with out a predator shaft then you have some serious problems!! If you learn how to play it doesnt matter what equipment you have!! As long as its decent you should be able to play!! But you can keep using your magic stick! because it makes you miss less!! haha that makes me laugh!!

 

[cubswin]

I like the shafts that come with my cues. I buy cues based on how they hit, and that hit is coming from the shaft and tip among other things.

The schon I'm shooting with (for sale btw) hits very well with either a schon shaft or a joss shaft I have. My dzuricky sneaky hits very well with its shaft. I just don't, and probably never will, understand buying a shaft made by someone other than the cuemaker.

Too many good hitting cues to pick from to buy one and replace the shaft.

JMHO

 

[drivermaker]

OK - I'll say it. It's not that Predator is so good, it's that the design of conventional shafts is so incredibly outdated. Have you ever actually played with a Predator? We are talking 100 year old designs here versus a modern technological breakthough. It's like comparing todays golf clubs to the old wooden shafted ones made in 1900, or an old turn-of-the-century tennis racket vesus todays large headed ones, or old flat wooden snow ski against todays fiberglass models. You're like one of those guys with an old 7 iron averaging 100 yards talking about how good those old hickory's were.

It's not hype and it's not ridiculous - it's effective. It's not at all because of the extra spin either. It's the accuracy and consistency from shot to shot.

With a Predator, you will likely miss fewer shots, especially the ones that call for sidespin, and get out of position less too. How can your position play improve with a Predator? When your aim is not precise, cueball control cannot be very precise either.

Of course you can learn to play well with a high squirt shaft if you have top talent. There's no doubt about it - it's just that it's a lot more difficult.

Just look who's playing with Predator shafts and come to your own conclusions.

Predator Pro's


In addition to the top pro players, trust me there are a lot of top local players who swear by Predator. These players can cut a ball accurately to the width of a human hair - and you don't think they can tell the difference between shafts?

Chris

Tsk, tsk, tsk....just when I was starting to have the highest hopes for you. If you end up putting a Predator shaft on a "you-know-what" cue once you have it made, I'm personally coming to Cal. to do a war dance on your back then confiscate the butt of the cue and leave you with the Predator and you'll never see it again. I'll play with it the way it should be played.
BTW, on that human hair width...were you referring to "head" or "pubic"?

 

[Worminator]

All I am saying is a shaft isnt going to make you play better...

I have to disagree with this statement wholeheartedly. Different shafts play differently just like different players have different styles of how they play. Every shaft is not going to work for every player. The taper in a shaft has a great effect on how the shaft plays. One can experiment with different tapers in shafts and different shaft thickneeses to find what combination work best for their style of play. I liken cue shafts to golf club shafts. There are players that need a stiff flex, regular flex, senior flex, etc. A shaft in a driver can completely change the way the driver plays. The right shaft in a driver will make you more consistant and help your game, I think the same is true in cue shafts.

I refuted the Predator shaft claim for years without ever playing with one because I thought the shaft was all hype. I finally played with one about two months ago and fell in love with it. I now have one for my cue and my game has improved by at least a ball. I'm not saying the Predator is for everyone, but it definately is working for me. One thing I have discovered about many of the Predator bashers is, most of them have never played with one. I was a classic example of that until recently.

There are a ton of great cue makers, whether custom or production, and there are a ton of great shafts. The best advice I can give you is experiment until you find what works for you.

 

[Doug]

Which shafts to use.

A smart gambler would bet anyone that if 20-30 shafts made by top custom and production cue makers, including laminated, were all painted black that after hitting with each of them that no one would bet (much) they knew which ones were laminated. It's just like the game of pool, the mental perception is much greater than the physical perception.

 

[GeraldG]

In addition to the top pro players, trust me there are a lot of top local players who swear by Predator. These players can cut a ball accurately to the width of a human hair - and you don't think they can tell the difference between shafts?

Chris

Just curious....how did they measure this accuracy?

 

[Shorty]

Here is my take....

I shot with a Arnot Q Wadsworth custom made from curupay for over five years, the longest I have ever owned a cue. I loved this cue, but it was too dern heavy, coming in over 20 ounces and it had a laminated shaft, like 28 pieces per inch. It was stiff...and I played well with this cue. But because of its weight, I would be wore out after playing about two hours with it. It also seemed inconsistant in how much deflection it put out...later I found out I needed to mark the shaft and keep that mark up to find the consistancy. I then bought a players cue with a 314 shaft, just to try it...I immediately fell in love. For the first time in my life, I shot a ball in the dead center of the table, from corner to corner, and stopped the cue dead in its tracks...almost drawing it even. I decided then and there I would stick with Predator. I am a small guy with not much power to my stroke. I have always had to cheat the ball on that particular shot, but stopping it like I did...well it blew my mind. I now play with a Predator on a Schon...having the best of both worlds in my mind, the balance and feel of a Schon combined with the stroke of the Predator shaft. I have been with this combo for over a year now...and love everything about it. I recently purchased a Z shaft even for my older 5/16-18 unknown cue and it plays equally as well. It just puts a tremendous amount of spin on the ball because of the smaller tip. It does take some time to get used to on some shots, but I think it would be great in games requiring more english or snooker. For now I will stick with my 314 and my Schon.

Shorty

 

[TATE]

Just curious....how did they measure this accuracy?

Like I said, by not missing.

 

[TATE]

Tsk, tsk, tsk....just when I was starting to have the highest hopes for you. If you end up putting a Predator shaft on a "you-know-what" cue once you have it made, I'm personally coming to Cal. to do a war dance on your back then confiscate the butt of the cue and leave you with the Predator and you'll never see it again. I'll play with it the way it should be played.
BTW, on that human hair width...were you referring to "head" or "pubic"?

Well, more like the big fat hair on your ass. You just drive that old Stanley Steamer down here and we'll do a couple of bets. We'll race your Model T though Malibu Canyon against my Audi, then we'll go to the driving range and you can use a gutta-percha and a hickory, and I'll use a Titleist and a Big Bertha, then we'll go to the shooting range and shoot some targets at 400 yards, your ball and cap long rifle against my Sako .308 with a 20X scope.

Then we'll shoot a little 9 ball, your expensive, highly sought after, beautiful frameable custom cue (with an old style shaft) against my expensive, highly sought after, beautiful frameable custom cue bastardized with a Predator.

Naawww ... Drivermaker, I accept you the way you are despite your old fashioned tools.

Chris