So is Cuetec still considered gross or what?

CreeDo

CreeDo

Fargo Rating 597
Silver Member
I was just wondering where cuetec's rep is these days. For a long time they've been the banger's stick; people seemed to always be saying "don't they get it? that fiberglass crap is a joke, nobody wants to shoot with that. It feels awful."

Now they seem to be making pretty solid (and nice looking) wooden cues and have dabbled in spliced low deflection shafts. Would anyone seriously go after something like the R360 as sort of a poor man's predator/ob? They've nabbed top talent to sponsor, but I always assumed the guy shooting loved the paycheck more than the cue.

On the other hand, a company that successful has a ton of money to put into R&D. Maybe they're on the right track?

I always kind of felt like the one thing they really need to change is their name. Sounds like a comic book's idea of a giant cue corporation. Whereas people who don't know any better think Lucasi is the nicest thing you can buy cuz it rolls so well off the tongue.
 
cuetec ...

haven't hit with their R360 shafts... but i have played with lucasi' new hybrid line... and I can tell you they've come along way with R&D. Cue plays quite well... and for the price of a predator shaft... I'm pretty content with it. you can check out my review on it in the cue reviews section of the forums.
 
The R360 is Cuetec great new product for sure. I got one when i was thinking of a new shaft for my 98-6 predator. Got a entire cue for the price of a shaft. Just to satisfy my own curiosity i went that way. Soon after i tried the R360 out my predator began to collect dust. Imho it really hits very good. I got the extention that screws in the butt(hold the jokes please) a little later on. thats nice to have also. i just wish i would have seen the ones that has the wrap all the way down to the butts end.
 
I have never shot with a Cuetec, but I believe that there is a cue for everyone out there in every price range. Not everyone can spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a nice cue and most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference anyway.
 
i personally have not hit a ball with a cuetec in about ten years so i can't say how i feel about any of thier new products. i know i did not like the old stuff they made, but the new developments seem to be steps in the right direction. for me i don't like the feel of low deflection shafts, or graphite or titanium. i like plain old wood cues. and as far as the shaft goes, i came up shooting meucci whips, so my standard shaft on my custom seems like an ld shaft:wink: i think cutec has assured itself a seat at the table in the billiards industry for a while to come. they seem to be making an improved product and have sponsored pros that may get new players to purchase thier equipment. hell i am a lover of old meucci cues but right now, today, a cutec with the 360 shaft is a better made cue than a meucci - it has to be. the new meucci are shit - and i can say that 'cause i've hit a few.
 
Maybe the 12mm shaft was better suited to a Cuetec

In 2005, I was a "banger" so to speak. I only played 10 or 12 times (maybe 30 hours) a year TOTAL. At that time, I could shoot fairly well but had no clue as to how to position the cue ball. Since I was an avid motorcyclist and at the time owned a Harley Dyna Wide-Glide, my wife had bought me a registered trademark Harley-Davidson cue at the local Harley shop (graphite shaft). In 2006 I got on an 8-ball team in the APA. The best player on my team shot with a Cuetec. Knowing that and the fact that I had seen the Cuetec name plastered all over the place on televised pool matches, I got one. A Mahogany series. Played with it for two years. Found it VERY necessary to wear a glove when I used it. Toward the end of its use I bought a 12mm shaft for it and put a Triangle tip on it. Fell out of love with the Cuetec after getting a high-end Lucasi w/predator shaft. Put the cue in my "backup" case for a spare. Now I have a nice Jacoby cue and only rarely use my Lucasi/Predator combination.

Moving right along, I want to say that I now keep my smaller diameter shafted cues in one case (the Cuetec and the Lucasi/Z shafts) and the Jacoby's/Predator 314's in my main case. I have gotten my skill level from APA 3 to an APA 6 in 3 1/2 years. No great feat, but from where I was to where I am now, I am happy with it.

Okay, here's what I'm getting at. I have a table at home. Every now and then I pull the old Cuetec out of its case and screw on the 12mm shaft (I absolutely HATE the 13mm shaft) and shoot for an hour or so with it. Weird thing is, it plays as nice as any cue I own and moves the cueball around the table as good as my Z shafts. Only thing is, I gotta wear a GLOVE when using it (tackiness). So my thinking here is, maybe more people would have found the "old-style" Cuetec cues less offensive if they had tried a 12mm shaft and done a tip change? Who knows? I know that quality was an issue with some people, but mine has held up well after 4 years. I also read on this forum about quality issues with MANY higher priced cues so Cuetec has NOT cornered the market in this area.

Now, Cuetec has come out with the R360 series which I have read many a good review on. At least you have to say this for Cuetec (or should I say its parent company), they know how to market their products and then turn their profits into better products through research and development. I believe that this is good for the industry as a whole and that other production cue companies could learn from Cuetec's success.

FWIW, I bought a replacement McDermott shaft, and pulled the weight bolt out of my old Harley cue and it actually doesn't play too badly (it has a 3/8x10 SS pin/joint).

Sorry for the length of this post.

Maniac
 
I've shot with several (borrowed) cuetecs over the years & thought their reputation was undeserved. Not the best, but certainly nowhere near the bottom. The "cheap, banger cue" stigma set in & never subsided...even with the sponsoring of the games top players.

I've actually shot with several better-received cues that were WAY worse.
 
Cutec

most of the top players who used cutec played with a regular, non-stick(ad PAM joke here) shaft. saw earl's cue once and it had a verrrrrry long taper shaft. i think mike at baby's pro shop made it but i'm not positive
 
I break with a purple Earl Strickland CueTec. First, because it was a gift from long ago, but more importantly now, because the whole combination of purple, earl strickland, and CueTec makes me giggle.

I really don't like feel of the fat slick shaft, but it breaks just fine.

...I once let a non- pool playing coworker's wife play with it during a social work thing. She missed a ball and angrily smacked the shaft against the side of the table. It didn't ding- it severely dented it.

I took it to Stonier, and he had a hell of a time trying to fill the hole (don't know what he eventually packed it with) and then super glossing it over til it felt smooth. It's been over 5 years and I'm noticing that you can feel the bump a little, now.

So no one ever gets to touch my cues again- not even my purple Earl Strickland CueTec.
 
Their new cues play good. Shane loaned me one(I still have it) And I have played with it a lot of times and I sure do like it. I have some 10+ year old ones I was compairing it to when I got home from the Derby and they have came along way-and IMO have improved their product quality alot. The oppsite of what Meucci has done in the past 20 something years.

So yeah they make good cues now and the past should not be considered when buying one-therefore never buy a old Cuetec. The R360 is a good "Manufactored" shaft, thats my way to describe shafts that are built using many pieces of wood. The correct and traditional way is one piece IMO.

They dont look very good(Shanes cues) but I have hit balls with a couple of them and at the BCA trade show and they play good. Infact for their price point they are a great value.
 
blah blah said:
I once let a non- pool playing coworker's wife play with it during a social work thing. She missed a ball and angrily smacked the shaft against the side of the table. It didn't ding- it severely dented it.
Click to expand...

That is why I kept the crappy cues that came with my table. Non pool players get to use those when they come over.
 
The comment about using one as a break cue reminded me that I tried their break cue once (the black one) and it break very well. I almost bought one until I got a deal I couldn't refuse on my BK2.
 
: ) I wasn't just randomly blabbering this time (see above).

I would actually like to hear from cue repair people about what they think of the new CueTecs, or of fiberglass shafts... I know that it was an inordinate amount of work and creativity that went into repairing my old dented purpleEarlStricklandCueTec...

Would that much effort and thought have to go into fixing a new CueTec?

Also, would a new CueTec dent like that? I was there when she smacked the cue against the rail, and even while my soul bled, I still didn't think the hole would be that bad.
 
I have two CueTecs and I like them both! They shoot just fine.

Whenever I hear about somebody bashing a CueTec, I always think of the bumper sticker that says "My kid can beat up your honor student!" :D My CueTecs ain't as pretty as my KF Cue but they're both tough and durable.
They are, dare I say it...a "manly" cue! A poor man's Balabushka! :D:D

Fun thread!
 
The cue ball doesn't know whether it's a cuetec or a Balabushka. How much does it weigh, what's the balance point, what is the shaft taper, what kind of tip does it have?

Earl is playing with a Meucci and if you watched him win the tournament in Tempe over the weekend you saw him playing great. Of course he put his own taper on the shaft.

The key in my opinion is to find a cue that matches your game and that will vary from person to person. But then, I'm just a banger.
 
alstl said:
The cue ball doesn't know whether it's a cuetec or a Balabushka. How much does it weigh, what's the balance point, what is the shaft taper, what kind of tip does it have?

Earl is playing with a Meucci and if you watched him win the tournament in Tempe over the weekend you saw him playing great. Of course he put his own taper on the shaft.

The key in my opinion is to find a cue that matches your game and that will vary from person to person. But then, I'm just a banger.
Click to expand...

Alstl,
Two things.....

1. Good post. Remember when Efren was winning everything with that $12.00 K-Mart starter cue??? Nobody could believe what a peice of junk it was but also, Efren was unwilling to part with it.

2. I noticed you went over 3,000 posts! Congrats on using so much of your time wisely! Being on AZB is better than being a couch potatoe!
:)
 
Terry Ardeno said:
Alstl,
Two things.....

1. Good post. Remember when Efren was winning everything with that $12.00 K-Mart starter cue??? Nobody could believe what a peice of junk it was but also, Efren was unwilling to part with it.

2. I noticed you went over 3,000 posts! Congrats on using so much of your time wisely! Being on AZB is better than being a couch potatoe!
:)
Click to expand...

I've got a feeling that $12 dollar cue had a shaft on it that you won't find at K-Mart. I managed to jog 5 miles today, go to the gym and lift, shoot 20 racks of pool and go over 3,000 posts here on azbilliards. Not bad for an old man.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top