SouthWest Cues
- Thread starter Musashi
- Start date
i like the consistancy of hit that SW cues deliver. you will rarely find a bad one. however, i have had less than expected quality issues with them on two cues in the past 4 years. given a choice, i would opt for an old omega dpk. i think they had a purer hit.
btw, unless your aka is a play on words,,,,it's "musashi", not mushashi.
btw, unless your aka is a play on words,,,,it's "musashi", not mushashi.
tooooooo much hipe
I think SW cues are to much hipe about nothing. They play ok, nothing super special in my book. I have hit with alot of them as well. Different wood combinations rings here and not there. They still hit the same too me...... I will say i have never hit with one that did not have any points. From a collectors point of view they may be worth whatever people are asking of them today, because the prices just seem to be going up and up on those cues and people pay it. I could understand paying that much for cues that Jerry Franklin built. The cues built after his passing i just dont think are worth it.
Mushashi said:Hello All,
I am looking for overall opinions on the cues and the customer. I had an experience placing my order...
I think SW cues are to much hipe about nothing. They play ok, nothing super special in my book. I have hit with alot of them as well. Different wood combinations rings here and not there. They still hit the same too me...... I will say i have never hit with one that did not have any points. From a collectors point of view they may be worth whatever people are asking of them today, because the prices just seem to be going up and up on those cues and people pay it. I could understand paying that much for cues that Jerry Franklin built. The cues built after his passing i just dont think are worth it.
I just finalized my two cue order with SouthWest. I placed my original order in 04-98. I am having two six point cues made, one with Macassar ebony points and and the other with Cocobolo points.
During the order process I was hurried through my order. I asked Laurie when my cues would be ready and she said did not know. I made the comment that I was just looking for a ETA. I live pay check to pay check so dropping 3000.00 takes quite a bit of effort. Customer Service is critical to most businesses. I find SW's lacking...
During the order process I was hurried through my order. I asked Laurie when my cues would be ready and she said did not know. I made the comment that I was just looking for a ETA. I live pay check to pay check so dropping 3000.00 takes quite a bit of effort. Customer Service is critical to most businesses. I find SW's lacking...
I have two Franklin era SW cues, 1987 and 1992. Both play sensationally and both have a hit unique to SW, though slightly different. There really is nothing like them, including DPK/Omega. There is a reason the used SW prices keep going up and the waiting list for new continues to increase.
Lori gets pretty harried since it is a small but busy shop. If you felt your order was rushed, call her back. You may have caught her at the wrong time on a bad day. I've known Lori for almost 20 years and I can count on one hand the number of people I've known as sweet as her and with her integrity and sincerity.
As for the construction quality of the old verses new, there is no difference. Anyone who says there is a difference is talking out his ass. Why? The same guy (Jerry's nephew, Mike) is making the cues as when Jerry was alive. This same guy worked with Kersenbrock *before* Jerry did. When Jerry started SW, Mike came to work for him and has been there ever since. Mike knows his stuff inside out. Lori continues to buy and store the wood, same as always. The shop is the same. The methods, procedures and techniques are the same. The interval of wood storage is unchanged. If anything, the newer cues are slightly better because improvements in glues and clamping have afforded tighter seams, something we noted when comparing my 1987 cue to new models when I was at the shop in January this year.
You want the best playing cue available? Then suffer the cost, or the wait, or both, for a SW. It will be worth it.
Lori gets pretty harried since it is a small but busy shop. If you felt your order was rushed, call her back. You may have caught her at the wrong time on a bad day. I've known Lori for almost 20 years and I can count on one hand the number of people I've known as sweet as her and with her integrity and sincerity.
As for the construction quality of the old verses new, there is no difference. Anyone who says there is a difference is talking out his ass. Why? The same guy (Jerry's nephew, Mike) is making the cues as when Jerry was alive. This same guy worked with Kersenbrock *before* Jerry did. When Jerry started SW, Mike came to work for him and has been there ever since. Mike knows his stuff inside out. Lori continues to buy and store the wood, same as always. The shop is the same. The methods, procedures and techniques are the same. The interval of wood storage is unchanged. If anything, the newer cues are slightly better because improvements in glues and clamping have afforded tighter seams, something we noted when comparing my 1987 cue to new models when I was at the shop in January this year.
You want the best playing cue available? Then suffer the cost, or the wait, or both, for a SW. It will be worth it.
Now that's a pool player: lives paycheck to paycheck but spends $3k on cues.
I have a feeling that your paychecks are pretty large, you can't go wrong with a Southwest. Even if you don't like it there are plenty of people that do and will pay good money for them.
I have a feeling that your paychecks are pretty large, you can't go wrong with a Southwest. Even if you don't like it there are plenty of people that do and will pay good money for them.
OVERRATED! SW cues are not worth the wait (8 years I hear?) or the money. How many professonal pool player use a SW cue. I bet very few to none! They really do not play that great, very stiff. You can buy (ORDER) a Andy Gilbert cue wait 6 months and have about same hit?
dacue
dacue
southwest cues
Gilberts do not play like Southwest....not even CLOSE. I have owned many gilberts, been up to Frazier Missouri to pick 'em out of the shop myself. I have been playing with my Southwest (ebony, no pointer) for the better part of 10years and there is not other cue like it on the market for cueball feel and resonance - I have looked. I've owned alot of different types of cues....mottey, zylr, gilbert, bluds, etc... the only other cue that I have found that plays similar to a southwest is my Bert Schrager.
Get one, you will not regret it - try to find one with a non-maple forearm. I find the exotics have a little firmer hit.
good luck
Gilberts do not play like Southwest....not even CLOSE. I have owned many gilberts, been up to Frazier Missouri to pick 'em out of the shop myself. I have been playing with my Southwest (ebony, no pointer) for the better part of 10years and there is not other cue like it on the market for cueball feel and resonance - I have looked. I've owned alot of different types of cues....mottey, zylr, gilbert, bluds, etc... the only other cue that I have found that plays similar to a southwest is my Bert Schrager.
Get one, you will not regret it - try to find one with a non-maple forearm. I find the exotics have a little firmer hit.
good luck
dacue said:
And you can buy a Honda Accord and it will be just as good as a BMW 330i. Sure ...
I'm sure Gilberts are good cue, just as Accords are good cars. But there is a reason why the waiting list for SW is approaching 8 (yes 8!) and Gilbert's is 6 months.
The reason is that SW cues have alot more hype about them.Gilbert cues do hit differently than SW, that is a good thing. I love the way the Gilbert cues that i have owned have played. Cuemakers love guys like you that really lose focus on what the purpose of the cue is. If i was going to use cars to equate cues in a anaology representing the social pecking order of cuemakers, I certainly wouldnt use BMW to represent SW cues. SW cues are more like a recent Thunderbird........lol alot of hype over nothing.BMW/mercedes are the Ginacues,Szambotis, Tad ,Mottey and on and on and on.............................Concentrate on what your doing with the cue and not the color of the veneers or how long the waiting list is for your cue that your playing with. ....................Rack emtedkaufman said:
tedkaufman said:
I totally agree. However, a really good friend of Laurie's told me that they are two years behind; yes, expect to wait approx. 10 years now.
Well worth the wait though.
I think the market tells all; you know a cue is valuable when it sells on the secondary market for 150% to 200% of the factory price. How can one argue against that?
-Shane
I have a Southwest too
I have a JF era Southwest as well. It plays very well. In my opinion, my GINA plays better.
Its kinda like the guy that owns a chevy will tell everyone that the Chevy is the best and Fords suck.
IMO, Southwests all look the same.
The wait is bullshit. If they took a deposit (LIKE ALL OTHERS) the wait might be a year.
Its kinda like the Studio 54 deal, tell them that there is an 8 year wait, and that means they are the best cues.
There are alot of great playing cues out there. Southwest is just one of them.
Ken
I have a JF era Southwest as well. It plays very well. In my opinion, my GINA plays better.
Its kinda like the guy that owns a chevy will tell everyone that the Chevy is the best and Fords suck.
IMO, Southwests all look the same.
The wait is bullshit. If they took a deposit (LIKE ALL OTHERS) the wait might be a year.
Its kinda like the Studio 54 deal, tell them that there is an 8 year wait, and that means they are the best cues.
There are alot of great playing cues out there. Southwest is just one of them.
Ken
bells said:
Well, you obviously know nothing about how SW cues play, so there's not much to talk about, is there? Stick with Gilberts. You'll be happy.
I have hit with them
I have hit with them. For me i didnt really like how they played. I liked the hit of the cue however.They play ok in my book. Alot of people sell SW cues after they recieve them because they know they can make a huge profit because there is so much hype about SW cues. Think about how many cues you see frequently for sale. Of the higher end cuemakers you see alot of Sw cues come up for sale. Why are they for sale ? Because people can make a huge profit by reselling those cues.tedkaufman said:
my SW experience
It was back in 2001 and I went to place my order for a cue.Laurie and the folks at SW showed great hospitality. Laurie gave me a shop tour. She took my order and gave feedback on what wood and color combo I wanted in my cue. All in all a great experience. As for as the hit, IMO the older micarta ferrules hit better that the ferrules they use now.
As far as the hype, I think the hype is over. Used SWs arent moving fast enough to make me think the hype is still there.
It was back in 2001 and I went to place my order for a cue.Laurie and the folks at SW showed great hospitality. Laurie gave me a shop tour. She took my order and gave feedback on what wood and color combo I wanted in my cue. All in all a great experience. As for as the hit, IMO the older micarta ferrules hit better that the ferrules they use now.
As far as the hype, I think the hype is over. Used SWs arent moving fast enough to make me think the hype is still there.
ShaneS said:I totally agree. However, a really good friend of Laurie's told me that they are two years behind; yes, expect to wait approx. 10 years now.
Well worth the wait though.
I think the market tells all; you know a cue is valuable when it sells on the secondary market for 150% to 200% of the factory price. How can one argue against that?
-Shane
The market is always right? Depends on the time frame... remember the DotCom revolution? Then the bubble burst...
Y'all oughta hit with some Ed Young cues.
Flex