Soft hitting cues?

Wolven

Wolven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I’m looking for a cue with a nice soft hit. Preferably something not too expensive.
Which mass produced cues have the softest hit?
What parameters of a joint make the cue soft or hard hitting?
Does uni-lock joint automatically mean hard/stiff hit?
Or is it all in the butt and how it compresses?
What would happen if one was to put a technology shaft on it?

Thanks for your help in advance.
 
I had a couple of Pechauer cues and they were the softest hit I ever experienced, even though they both had SS joints. Nicely made cues, not too expensive, I think I paid around $400 for each of them.
 
My Viking with s/s collared joint (not solid s/s joint, type 1 i think) hits suprising soft, softer than my usual phenolic joint playing cue.
 
Meucci is widely regarded as being one of the softest hitting brands.... The McDermotts I have tried (a LOOONNNGGG time ago) hit very soft as well.

There are many variables to a cues hit... the taper, ferrule material, tip hardness, joint material...

If you put a Predator shaft on a Meucci, it is going to hit like a steel pole.
 
If you put a Predator shaft on a Meucci, it is going to hit like a steel pole.

Doubt it.:)
 
Wolven said:
I’m looking for a cue with a nice soft hit. Preferably something not too expensive.
Which mass produced cues have the softest hit?
What parameters of a joint make the cue soft or hard hitting?
Does uni-lock joint automatically mean hard/stiff hit?
Or is it all in the butt and how it compresses?
What would happen if one was to put a technology shaft on it?

Thanks for your help in advance.
Click to expand...

If you want a soft hitting cue, consider a sneaky pete. And if you want a soft hit with a Predator shaft, it's easy to do if you get one for the sneaky. How do I know? I have one. Soft hit with a stiff shaft.

Very nice.

Flex
 
Wolven said:
I’m looking for a cue with a nice soft hit. Preferably something not too expensive.
Which mass produced cues have the softest hit?
What parameters of a joint make the cue soft or hard hitting?
Does uni-lock joint automatically mean hard/stiff hit?
Or is it all in the butt and how it compresses?
What would happen if one was to put a technology shaft on it?

Thanks for your help in advance.
Click to expand...
I think Viking, Meucci, and yes, Pechauer are quite soft and nice hitting.

I think in general wood to wood joint is regarded as softer hitting but it really depends.

Unilock does not necessarily imply a hard hit according to my limited experience with this joint.

I dont think it is all in the butt, I tend to think most of it is in the taper, the ferrule, and may be the joint type and material and construction.

If you put an aftermarket shaft on the butt, you will get a different hit. The hit you get depends on the shaft. It may be better, or worst.

Hope this helps,

Richard
 
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I just want to add that sometimes, you can have a long taper (which is supposed to offer a softer hit) with a low deflection design (front end drilled hollow) and it may give you the impression of a hard hitting shaft.

And I find that the ferrule can change the hit totally as well. Supposedly, a softer ferrule would give the cue a softer hit.

But then again, a lot of people have called a Predator hard hitting with its soft ferrule and long taper. On the other hand, I feel that the OB 1 has a soft hit although its taper is not really that long.

I think it is worth noticing that "hard" or "soft" is very subjective.

For example, lots of people told me Southwest is a hard stiff hitting cue, but I actually do not think so. I tend to find a Tad much stiffer. I don't know why, it is just how I feel.

So, my suggestion is to try the cue personally first. What I think is soft may not be soft to you. I also do not believe hard is always better or soft is better.

May be you want a soft hit because you had one in the past which hit jam up, but you may not like any of the soft cues that are suggested here.

A lot of people make fun of Meucci, I personally think the hit is quite sweet actually. It just shows everyone is different I guess. I think the black dot is not too soft nor too hard. It is hard to explain what I mean by "hard" or "soft" so I cannot think of a better recommendation but to try the hit out first no matter what others have told you. Everyone has a different definition of "hard" and "soft."

Good luck to you in finding that magic wand out there.

Richard
 
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I had two Meucci Originals that i used, and both had a soft hit

Pechaur i have heard has a nice soft hit. And same with a McDermott.


No, personally if you can find a nice Meucci Original, not the new ones, Buy IT, yea people might give you crap about it, but F THEM lol.

The only problem you might have is if you get one with a 12mm shaft, they are very whippy. getting a new 13mm shaft would be ALOT better. I only say that because one the Meucci's i had, one had a 13mm shaft, and didnt had too much as far as being whippy, but the 12mm shaft was very whippy.

dave
 
StormHotRod300 said:
I had two Meucci Originals that i used, and both had a soft hit

Pechaur i have heard has a nice soft hit. And same with a McDermott.


No, personally if you can find a nice Meucci Original, not the new ones, Buy IT, yea people might give you crap about it, but F THEM lol.

The only problem you might have is if you get one with a 12mm shaft, they are very whippy. getting a new 13mm shaft would be ALOT better. I only say that because one the Meucci's i had, one had a 13mm shaft, and didnt had too much as far as being whippy, but the 12mm shaft was very whippy.

dave
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Yes, I agree with you. I think the 13mm hit quite nice, yes, the one I had was an older one.:)
 
Try this

Actually all you need is a tall Le Pro or a Elk Master. Production cues: Viking, Meucci, and McDermott
 
My playing cue might fit into what you want. I play with a Lucasi LE-27 (paid $208)with their new radial design (tech) shaft. It has a Triangle tip, SS Uniloc joint and a Pro taper, all the things you were thinking about. I would classify the hit as soft, comparing it to maybe My Black Boars/Phillipe/Richard Blacks I had 15 years ago less the Ivory Ferrule. I am VERY impressed with this cue. I had a Lucasi when they first came out and didn't like them then. I feel it's the new shaft design. I also had a Predator, and couldn't play with the thing?, but this cue is staying in my case.....:D

http://www.proficientbilliards.com/cart/customer/home.php?cat=276&page=3

Gerry
 
Wolven said:
I’m looking for a cue with a nice soft hit. Preferably something not too expensive.
Which mass produced cues have the softest hit?[...]
Click to expand...


I don't understand what you (or anybody) means by "soft hit." Would somebody help me out?

mike page
fargo
 
mikepage said:
I don't understand what you (or anybody) means by "soft hit." Would somebody help me out?

mike page
fargo
Click to expand...

Mike, I would call my Sigel cue hard hitting, it has a phenolic joint, laminated tip, short taper.....the feel to me is the tip is not on the cueball very long with a hard hitting cue.

my experience is:

ss joint, ivory ferrule, non laminated tip, long taper = soft hit

composite joint, ivorine ferrule, laminated tip, thin shaft = hard hit...

Gerry
 
Soft hit may best be described by the sound made when the tip strikes the cueball. Soft hit is a dull thud...with less vibration transmitted. Hard hit (like hitting a ball with a phen. tipped j/b cue) is more of a clack or tink and much more vibration transmitted. As a general rule...one of the softest hits would be a Meucci (flatface, plastic joint & ferrule) with a new Elkmaster.
 
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