stiffest and most solid cue that you've hit with???

I am not an expert, but I have built some butterfly cues for Russian Pyramid and have hit with some cues over the years...

Aside from one very expensive Russian pyramid cue, I would have to list Richard Black "After Six" from 1980's and Abe Rich cues. Both cues are stiff and solid -- too much for my liking.
 
What is stiff vs solid then? I'm a newbie but I'll pipe in from my limited experience..

I can't define stiff but I think I know solid. It feels like your whole cue hits the ball. It hits the ball well. There is no dead or hollow feeling. That's what solid is to me. I don't think it has anything to do with moving the ball. It's all about the way the hit feels I think. And solid feels good. My new Josey feels VERY solid.

Here's a crack of what stiff is the way I see it anyway lol coming from a noob

Stiff I think more has to do with the feeling of the cue bending? I don't know how to describe it. Comparing my Players my Josey, the Josey goes through the ball more while the Players feel a bit more springy. The Josey which is also stiffer seems like it takes less effort to send the ball forward.

I loved my players up until I tried a stiff cue. I liked it which is why I went ahead and got what a lot of people say is a stiff hitting cue. It feels like it moves the ball forward better. The only thing I haven't gotten used to yet is I am more comfortable using spins with the Players/ not stiff cue. Even when I play with a friend's meucci I feel comfortable using spins. maybe it's cuz I'm still getting used to a stiff cue.

I think others have a different way of putting stiff vs solid but this is my perception. maybe there already is a term for what I just typed I just don't know about it. feel free to correct me =) :cool:
 
Last edited:
Andy Gilbert - flat tapered shaft, started tapering at the ferrule. Very stiff, but no feedback or feel at all. Second place goes to a libra (Jack Potter) that a friend owns, then on to Greg Hearn with an 8 inch taper that I play with now. I would say that every cue I have owned have been solid, but each one is unique and takes some time to get used to, except for a Jackson cue I could just never get to work for me.
 
From all the cues I have played with ( and that is a long list ), my Dominiak is the most solid cue. Pretty stiff too
 
I know dickie over at (RHN) cue realy knows how to work a taper to get a shaft the feel your looking for. when i get a cue built by him i just say
make it 12.25 and slightly on the stiff side. that is what i get when its done. but i would think most of the cue builder.repair,artists on here can do the same.
 
My Purpleheart Kikel is the stiffest hitting cue I've owned so far.... Moori medium tips, ivory ferulles...not sure on the taper...but it's a very solid player!!! ...and it's PURPLE :grin-square:
 
Lazerrus said:
I know I may get some haters here but IMO there is a difference between "stiff" and "solid" when it comes to the hit of a cue. One of the stiffest cues I have ever hit with is a Dale Perry. His stock shafts with his taper are very stiff. Almost TOO stiff for my liking. Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

I actually agree on the Dale Perry. I had an early Ebony model with Ivory points that was very stiff. It had a uni-loc joint.
 
MidLifeCrisis said:
My Purpleheart Kikel is the stiffest hitting cue I've owned so far.... Moori medium tips, ivory ferulles...not sure on the taper...but it's a very solid player!!! ...and it's PURPLE :grin-square:
Click to expand...

My current player is a Purple Heart Kikel Sneaky and the hit is incredibly solid. Has a very distinct "ping" sound after each shot, even on a smooth stroke follow-through. I know part of this comes from the fact the joint is straight wood-to-wood; no rings or joint. Love it!
 
My purple-heart custom cue from bertram/prather with old-growt shaft and a european taper 12 mm. It hit like a stone :) 3-8/10 pin
Almost the same was my Scruggs Sneaky.
 
I notice quite a few people found Southwest to be the stiffest, I have played with a SW for the past 17 years and by chance had a McWorter cue that was made with similar woods. The McWorter hit much stiffer. The cue on the left is the SW the Center Cue is the McWorter. The JW in the second picture also had a stiff hit.
cues51.jpg
[/IMG]
cues24.jpg
[/IMG]
 
Last edited:
The stiffest hitting cue I have owned was a Fisher. I liked the quality of the cue and it was unique, if id of changed the tip I am sure id of loved it how ever i had to many irons in the fire and sold it. The person that bought it changed the tip and loves it.
 
stiff??

dont know if stiff is correct but i just got a bebot bautista with an ivory joint and big radial pin that i would describe as crisp, an very precise. getting the best 14-1 breaks ever with this cue. i love this cue!! pretty meaty shaft of super hard,dark maple. semi constant taper. le pro tip .
 
My Lomax SP

My Lomax SP is a club with it's 13.7mm tip, MONSTER hit, but the MGLD from Gulyassy hits bout as solid as you can get.
 
The most stiffest cues I play with & still owns it are.
Ed Young, Sugartrees, Kersenbrock, Franklin Southwest, Bluegrass, McWorter, Mobley & Herceks
 
My cues are all very stiff hitting. But once I played with a Kersenbrock that was so stiff that I don't think I could get used to it. It was like playing a piece of rebar with a tip on the end. It was about that heavy, too.
 
Ray Schuler. I am modeling my shaft taper to somewhere between his professional taper and his Schuler pro. It's a pretty stiff cue.
 
Last edited:
Besides playing with Predators,the single most stiffest hitting least deflective maple shaft cue I've it a ball with is a Gracio cue.I aim almost the same with it as I do a Predator.Very rare but a wicked cue!
 
There was a bar I used to hang out at had the weirdest cues hanging on the wall. They were some kind of fiberglass and looked like a fishing pole. They hit like Mark Macguire on Steroids!

I would use them to break, but other than that they were not really worth shit.

As to a firm hit with stiff feedback, I have found nothing better than your run of the mill house cue.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top