Shot with a Southwest for the first time tonight...

twilight

twilight

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So a guy walks in and has a southwest cue. I have never shot with one up to this point. With all the hype and how hot these cues are on ebay, I asked if I could hit with his cue. After hitting with it I felt I should have been more impressed. Now I want to make it clear I'm not knocking Southwest cues. This cue was definately great looking and felt solid, but I was somehow expecting some more from it. I know hit is subjective and not all Southwest cues have that magical feel about them but for some reason I thought they'd feel better.

I once asked a cue distributer who had a good amount of southwests and he told me quite frankly they're over rated. This from a guy who is selling them. I thought he was crazy, surely all the good things I hear about southwest cues couldn't be wrong?! I'm starting to wonder now if they aren't over-hyped? Am I alone in this thought? Again, not knocking them, or trying to start an arguement.
 
One mans meat is another mans poison.

With that being said I didnt care for the hit of them either, althought they are great cue.
 
It's not the car, but the driver...

...however, a great driver in a great car...now that is something else....
 
I think south west cues are kinda ugley in my opinion there the most exspensive production cue they all look the same to me for the most part. I would rather take a nice cored cue any day. JMO here guys I played a few and they hit good just way over rated IMO.:) :)
 
bigpocket said:
I think south west cues are kinda ugley in my opinion there the most exspensive production cue they all look the same to me for the most part. I would rather take a nice cored cue any day. JMO here guys I played a few and they hit good just way over rated IMO.:) :)
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LOL

.......
 
bigpocket said:
I think south west cues are kinda ugley in my opinion there the most exspensive production cue they all look the same to me for the most part. I would rather take a nice cored cue any day. JMO here guys I played a few and they hit good just way over rated IMO.:) :)
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I know what you mean. I was thinking the same thing about BMW's. I mean, why spend all that money when you could get a nice KIA for so much less.
 
twilight said:
So a guy walks in and has a southwest cue. I have never shot with one up to this point. With all the hype and how hot these cues are on ebay, I asked if I could hit with his cue. After hitting with it I felt I should have been more impressed. Now I want to make it clear I'm not knocking Southwest cues. This cue was definately great looking and felt solid, but I was somehow expecting some more from it. I know hit is subjective and not all Southwest cues have that magical feel about them but for some reason I thought they'd feel better.

I once asked a cue distributer who had a good amount of southwests and he told me quite frankly they're over rated. This from a guy who is selling them. I thought he was crazy, surely all the good things I hear about southwest cues couldn't be wrong?! I'm starting to wonder now if they aren't over-hyped? Am I alone in this thought? Again, not knocking them, or trying to start an arguement.
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What kind of hit did you expect?
They are very stiff coming out of the shop.
Most people I know who have them get the shafts tapered down.
 
JoeyInCali said:
What kind of hit did you expect?
They are very stiff coming out of the shop.
Most people I know who have them get the shafts tapered down.
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I didn't know what to expect, when I hit with a cue it just hits me. I guess I was expecting to be impressed. When I first hit with a Cog years ago, that was definately different and unique. When I first hit with a gilbert last year that felt very good too. When I first hit with a Scruggs, I made up my mind that's what I wanted. Now when I hit with the SW I said, this is pretty nice... but there wasn't the same shock value with past cues. If i was expecting anything at all it would be something unique. Maybe all the hype had me thinking that they should hit exceptionally well.
 
JoeyInCali said:
What kind of hit did you expect?
They are very stiff coming out of the shop.
Most people I know who have them get the shafts tapered down.
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Very true...the original taper is way too fat & stiff...bigtime deflection.;)
 
Yeah, kinda like the mass-produced Rolls Royce! I mean, those pieces of crap all look the same! :eek:


bigpocket said:
I think south west cues are kinda ugley in my opinion there the most exspensive production cue they all look the same to me for the most part. I would rather take a nice cored cue any day. JMO here guys I played a few and they hit good just way over rated IMO.:) :)
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I think the main point here is, it's whatever works for you.

I'm not for or against southwest as I haven't had the opportunity to hit with one. But I do appreciate this posters original honest opinion and appraisal of what he felt about the cue.

That being said I'm sure someone else out there loves them ;)
 
I agree to an extent. Really, he is only qualified to talk about the one cue he shot with tonight, not to make generalizations about SouthWest cues.

Granted, any 2 pre-date or any 2 late model SW will probably hit more similar then, say, any 2 Staceys or Putmans. But that doesn't mean they all hit alike, not to mention all the unknowns (original shaft?, re-tapered?, proper tip/ferrule combo?, etc)

EXAMPLE: I recently received a cue from a very well known and highly respected cue maker. I don't like the hit at all. But since <he> has a long waiting list and you rarely see <his> cues for under 2K, AND it's the first/only one of <his> cues that I've ever shot with, I'm not forming any firm opinions.

But I wouldn't dream of making claims about how <his> cues hit. I have insufficient data points to form any conclusion other than the one cue in my hand, as does the OP of this thread about SW cues.

Now, should I hit with 3-4 more of the same makers' cues, and they all hit substantially the same, (ugh) then I'll go on the record with my appraisal of how cues from this CM feel. (Or the total lack of any feel :p )

Having wrote that, I will state that most SW cues hit very, very similar. Which is part of the reason that if you Ordered one now, they will START on it in the year 2013.

Guess I coulda just wrote "hit is subjective" and saved alot of typing :D :D

-von

xidica said:
I'm not for or against southwest as I haven't had the opportunity to hit with one. But I do appreciate this posters original honest opinion and appraisal of what he felt about the cue.
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Varney Cues said:
Very true...the original taper is way too fat & stiff...bigtime deflection.;)
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I'll play you even if you play with that taper. :D
The first SW I ever tried was owned by a very good player at my local hall.
He was a money player. It was some ebony with fau ferro points I believe. He had the shafts tapered. It hit like a dream. Absolute extension of your hand.
Hit like a housecue.:D
 
VonRhett said:
Having wrote that, I will state that most SW cues hit very, very similar. -von
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I will agree to disagree with you on this opinion.

I've owned 2003 SW and currently own '91 and '96. I've also hit with more than handful of SW. To me, the older SW hits much better. Also, SW with non-maple forearm hits different than maple forearms.

Above is my unintellegent opinion only.
 
Agree 100%!! Which is why I wrote: "any 2 pre-date or any 2 late model SW will probably hit more similar..."

I did not intend to insinuate that a Franklin-era hits like a modern-date SW.

But really you are supporting my point, which is that you can not hit with one cue from any given Cue Maker and make generalizations about how they hit.

<darn caffiene>
-von


Jazz said:
I will agree to disagree with you on this opinion.

I've owned 2003 SW and currently own '91 and '96. I've also hit with more than handful of SW. To me, the older SW hits much better. Also, SW with non-maple forearm hits different than maple forearms.

Above is my unintellegent opinion only.
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My opinion...

in 45 years of playing, I've had many occasions, to hit with a few cues by famous cuemakers, not for any length of time, but to just get the nickel tour of them. The old Joss's (much better than current ones, IMO), bushka's (was too forward weighted, and shaft too fat for me), Anderson's, old Palmers, and a few older Southwests.

I have a friend who has an older Southwest, about a $2800 one, probably go for $3300+ today with nice inlays on it (not one of the overpriced plain ones), and I compared it directly to my $1,100 Shurtz cue. I could not hardly distinguish a difference between the cues at all. The Southwest did not have fat shafts. The hit was almost undistinguishable. My Shurtz had a hard hercules layered tip, the Southwest had a hard Moori tip. The hit and feel on both cues felt good to me, but the most noticeable difference, which was minute, was the balance of the cues. My Shurtz was a little more forward balanced(19"), where it felt like the weight was evenly distributed inbetween my grip and bridge than the Southwest was.The Southwest balance felt slightly more towards my grip hand a little.

Overall, I felt more comfortable with my Shurtz, although I would not been unhappy with the Southwest. Like I said, the differences were very small overall. I may have been slightly prejudiced, but I really did try NOT to be, and maintain a 'scientific' type attitude when evaluating them.
I do have to state though, the Southwest had a regular butt, my Shurtz has a slimline butt.

It, did however, make me appreciate my $1,100 Shurtz cue all the more.
 
twilight said:
So a guy walks in and has a southwest cue. I have never shot with one up to this point. With all the hype and how hot these cues are on ebay, I asked if I could hit with his cue. After hitting with it I felt I should have been more impressed. Now I want to make it clear I'm not knocking Southwest cues. This cue was definately great looking and felt solid, but I was somehow expecting some more from it. I know hit is subjective and not all Southwest cues have that magical feel about them but for some reason I thought they'd feel better.

I once asked a cue distributer who had a good amount of southwests and he told me quite frankly they're over rated. This from a guy who is selling them. I thought he was crazy, surely all the good things I hear about southwest cues couldn't be wrong?! I'm starting to wonder now if they aren't over-hyped? Am I alone in this thought? Again, not knocking them, or trying to start an arguement.
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IMO, I don't think you can judge the overall hit of SouthWest cues by just shooting with one particular cue because SW uses 3 different shaft tapers. Then factor in all the different types of tips that may be on that cue. If you get your favorite taper and add the tip you like most, then they are very good hitters.
 
It's true that all SW's are not created equal. I have 6 and the hit varies between them all.

The one I play with is a plain Franklin bem that I cut the taper to 12.8 mm for 14". It is the best playing cue I've had out of hundreds of various makers cues that I've bought, sold, or traded over the last 3 decades.

The cost or who makes a cue means very little as long as you are happy with the way any cue plays.

Good Luck :)
 
I have three friends that are avid SW collectors. They have all let me hit with different models at one time or another. The older models seems to be very consistent over all with a very solid hit. I have noticed that tip choice makes a difference.

SW is one of the few cues that will hold its resale value or go up in price.

Great combination - great hitting cue that holds its value - tough to beat.
 
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