Southwest

Pro Players

smashmouth said:
most pros laugh at SW's and would never consider them, I can't imagine more than 1% using them, and shrink that nine fold for all the young guys
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Most of the pro players I know and watch play, and i've seen a lot of them in the last few months don't play with cues that I would want to play with either.
If most of those cues were for sale they wouldn't even get noticed unless the players name was mentioned.
I see nicer cues on league night than I did at the 10-ball open in Las Vegas.
I'm not going to run out and buy a Cuetec just because Shane plays with one.

I talked to Earl last night and he really likes his Mike Gulyassi cue and Gabe is getting a new cue from his dad, so the Bob Owen cue he's playing with is for sale.
I doubt that either on of them would want to wait over 10-years to get a cue, or pay $325 for a new shaft.
 
You can never go wrong with ebony on ebony.

Check this out...

Fore2.jpg


Full1.jpg
 
Rak9up said:
I have a question?

Are you buying this to put into a case and look at?
Then it dosen't matter what you pick any wood combination all that matters is what looks good with what

Or do you plan on playing with it?
If so you need to pick out wood that compliment your style of play.

If you have a hard style of play you may want a softer wood to compliment your style.

If you like a harder hit get a higher density wood.

Do you spin the cueball alot or do you use alot of center ball.

I personally think tip selection, ferrulle type,Joint type,wood type, and overall weight,shaft taper,wrap or no wrap would be more important than how it looks..... but thats just me.

I don't buy cues to look at I buy them to play with.

And since everybody plays different you have to find the right combination for you.

but if looks are what matters to you then satin wood,tulip,bacote,cocabola all good choices
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I'm going to play with it and on my playing style I like a cue that hits real hard with good feedback thats why I was thinking Ebony Forearm. Thanks for the comments.
 
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CMD said:
Please tell me you are kidding. You are comparing South West without Jerry Franklin to present day Balabushka's? It's name only!!!!

South West makes cues in the same manner as when Mr. Franklin was alive. The same people work there. If anything, they are a better company today than in the past.

I am shocked by your comparison!

Sir, you need to get your facts straight before you speak on a subject such as this.



Chris
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Good post above.



I live in Vegas, first time I went to SW was on my dads b-day in 86, 7-1-86 to be exact, I have been back there a zillion time since. The cues they are making today are as good as ever-there is no doubt about that at all, anyone who thinks otherwise is dead wrong and ignorant on the topic of SW cues. I have a couple comming end of the year and am so excited, I havent bought a new SW in 9 or 10 years.


They wont do floating points etc or any exotic stuff because your time is now, unless you made arrangments for that before hand. But load it up thats for sure. The reason ebony forarm cues play different is they tend to be front heavy cause of the density of the ebony no matter who makes the cue.
 
smashmouth said:
most pros laugh at SW's and would never consider them, I can't imagine more than 1% using them, and shrink that nine fold for all the young guys
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tommy kennedy won the US Open playing with a SW, the pros get paid to use what they play with. If that wasnt the case you would see more pro's play with SW's.
 
I know ebony is one of the hardest woods on the Janka hardness rating.
The problem is its heavy and usually needs to be cored. The core's wood type and the glue sometimes deadn's the feedback. Sometimes a slightly lighter yet dense wood that doesn't need to be cored gives better feedback.

I don't envy all the choices that you have to consider

its a lot more than tulip looks good with bacote

P.S. I do know one pro that played great with his

I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers earlier asking about the price.
Southwest is comperable to Schon (in Price) and the originator of that doesn't make all his cues either. Some people like coke some like pepsi

I suggest going to "As the cuemaker section" and ask them about the wood combinations they've had the most success with for your style of play. Trust Tucker and the other cuemakers have alot of knowlege.. No reason for you to re-invent the wheel plus you only get one shot at this.
They can throw the failures away and try again. Learn from their trials and tribulations
 
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If My number comes it will be surely ebony on ebony wrapless.

Choice number 2 Alves into Ebony again wrapless

Choice number 3 Pau ferro into ebony again wrapless

Also i want tell you is that 95% of Taiwanses pro players play with southwest cues. you will find more southwest cues in taiwan than anywhere else.
 
Dagwoodz said:
It would be more valuable if it were etched in wood...by Southwest...better yet, Jerry Franklin...lol
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I meant that I do not need to ask a pool forum what woods to choose after I wait my turn. Unfortunately Mr. Franklin does not make cues any longer because he left us too early. Actually they are called South West. It is two words, not one...


Chris
 
qexpert_101 said:
My time has come for my order from Southwest and I was wondering if anybody had any ideas on what kind of wood combinations I should use? I was thinking maybe Ebony nose with Pau Ferro points with one white veneer and a brown joint. I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks :wink:
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Roy Malott's website www.indyq.com has long been used by folks to see how various combinations look. He has the largest online archive of SouthWest cues to be found. All the cues pictured are cues that Roy has personally handled and sold or are in stock and he took the pictures. So it's a good way to check out the variety of wood combinations others have come up with.
 
Rak9up said:
I feel like I'm in the movie "BIG"

I don't get it....... I don't get it

I why would you pay for a "Da vinci painting" that was painted by "fred"
and pay the same price and wait just as long as if it was really was a
Da vinci.

If you have a 20 year old southwest thats different.

Its fine that they still build a good cue. But asking the same price and 12 year waiting list to boot?

I just don't get it...New Balabushka's are available today but not at the same cost as if the "master" himself had built it

Jerry Franklin was a master craftsman....Call today's company Southwestern... because whatever is being built today isn't a true southwest it didn't come from his hands and they won't hold their value the same

Just because Michael Jackson could sing doesn't mean Latoya or Tito could
sing as well.

I don't mean to offend anyone I just don't get it

I'm glad their keeping the comany alive but how do you justify the same prices and why the same hype and waiting list still today

I mean you don't hype Bob Meucci cues made in china the same as if it was really built by his own hands now do you do you?
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Why do you think that Jerry Franklin was the only ingredient in South West cues?

At the time of Jerry's unfortunate death he was quite proud of the fact that he and Laurie had built the shop to the point where he felt that they could produce cues to his specifications without him. He stated that it was his intention to begin traveling the world with Laurie in search of exotic woods to use in their cues.

I would challenge anyone on the planet to take five South West cues built in the last year before Jerry died and five built in the year after and tell them apart. I will bet a $1000 cue case that there is not a single human being including Laurie Franklin herself who could do it without a serial number to guide them.

Earlier this year I was in Roy Malott's shop and he had about 14 South West cues on display. Some were made prior to Jerry's passing and most were made in the past three years. I hit with almost all of them and they were truly finely tuned instruments. I couldn't tell the difference between them except by weight and very slight balance point differences. I was reminded by what makes a South West cue desirable. It's the "hit". And until you experience a true South West hit you won't really get it.

There are many cue makers out there who make South West style cues. Some of them have a hit that is very similar but they can't seem to maintain it consistently, in my opinion. Now granted I have only hit with a small sample of cues from other makers who make a lot of South West-like looking cues so it's a bit unfair for me to say that they are inconsistent. But it's very rare for me to find one that feels like a South West.

At South West they do the cues one way, their way, consistently, every time. That's why their cues all have a great hit and why the waiting list is so long.

Don't do what I did, I waited and when my cue was done I made the mistake of telling Joe Salazar and he bugged me until I sold it to him. I owned a new South West from Laurie for a total of an hour. :-( That is probably my biggest regret when it comes to cues I have owned. I ordered mine in 1993 at the South West shop. Laurie and Jerry graciously gave me the tour and explained in detail why they do each step that they do. Jerry took some time to help me get started in the industry and gave me some design advice that I follow to this day.

So, in conclusion, in my opinion, South West cues deserve the status that they have and the cues made today are as good as the cues made when Jerry was around.
 
matcase said:
Make them build you a 5 pointer
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Eddie Wheat (wheat cues) would build a 5 and a half pointer LOL And by the way Dave Kersenbroc is the brains behind all the south west history.He came up with the pin the design basicly the whole cue Jerry was lucky enough to get in on the whole thing
 
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Rak9up said:
So defending the cost of a Southwest cue TODAYyou guys are saying Jerry Franklin didn't build all the early cues that he had a shop of people doing the work for him under his "supervision". Its the same today as it was back then, thats cool.

My bad then I thought the cost of a southwest was justified because Mr. Franklin Master Craftsman built it.

So back to my anogy... Da vinci had students paint beautiful paintings paintings that I'd be proud to own. The differance they don't command the same price as a Da Vinci.

All I'm saying is the southwest company is still building a good cue.
But how do you justify the same cost as when Mr. Franklin was alive?

Again one more time...... I don't get it?

Now if Jerry Franklin did build all the early cues and as demand increased he started hiring people thats fine and teaching them thats fine but I thought the cost was justified because Jerry Franklin himself built it.

Explain it to me Ugot action

Because if your into reproductions of a master I have a whole lot of antiques to sell you.
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I dont normally do this but.....you are an idiot.
 
smashmouth said:
most pros laugh at SW's and would never consider them, I can't imagine more than 1% using them, and shrink that nine fold for all the young guys
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Thats funny. A top pro everyone here would know sent me a message on FB saying he had hit with his first SW and had to have one because it was the best thing he had ever hit with. He was asking me if I knew anywhere to get one.

If having the pros play with a cue meant something then Predator would be harder to find than a Searing. 90% of pros play with what they are given for free or paid to play with. Actually its probably higher than that. There is a reason everyone and their brother plays with a predator in europe. They give them out like candy.

Different strokes for different folks but to say SW is anything other than a legend in the industry is silly.
 
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i think if you should use knotty pine for the handle with a redwood forearm and fir for points. the shaft should be made from balsa wood. definetly southwest cue like no other. probably be a masterpiece. lol..
 
Woods

I am not an ebony man (I don't care for black cues at all). I like cues that have a Southwest flavor to them, as in colors you would see in New Mexico or Arizona.

I use to have a cue with Mexican Bacote', African Padauk, and some of the point veneer was CoCo. Malachite was also used between the points. It was not overdressed, and the beauty of the woods together is what stood out about it.
 
CMD said:
I meant that I do not need to ask a pool forum what woods to choose after I wait my turn. Unfortunately Mr. Franklin does not make cues any longer because he left us too early. Actually they are called South West. It is two words, not one...


Chris
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Easy killer...

I was just having a little fun. I know that Mr. Franklin unfortunately passed much to early, it was a huge loss to the pool and billiard world.

Notice I didn't tell you what wood to use, what types of veneers...it's YOUR cue. Get what YOU want.

And as far as the grammatical point about the name...well...You have a good day sir.
 
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