did you keep it a week?
Tascarella Cue questions...for owners and previous owners...
- Thread starter HyperioN
- Start date
My opinion is that you are paying a lot for a name.
If you are a collector, it's worth it.
If it's just for playing there are a ton of great production cues for under $2000.
And a lot of customs from lessor known makers for $2000 or less.
I agree. It’s worth it if it means enough to you. My decision was to forgo the new Tascarella and search for a good used example to play first. If I love it, I’ll go ahead and order a custom.
Smart decision. Try a Hoppe and take the bolt out, which creates some nice resonance. Traditional ones are nice too, but the Hoppes hit really nice.
This.
I am beyond thrilled with a custom build I "recently" had done. Price was FAR below what you're looking to spend on a Tasc.
That said...I WILL own a Tasc, at some point. That's my white whale cue.
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I sent a shaft that I really liked & Pete matched the taper. Also, I have mine made with a bit thinner butt. Both are right at 1.240. Merry Widow will be the same.
I have a Tascarella titlist available if you would like to start a bit cheaper to see if you like the hit!
I’m fortunate that the Tascarella’s allow me to market about 3 classic styled cues per year. In a world where there are cuemakers who over promise and under deliver, they are not among them. I’m happy to know honorable men like them. Truth be told, I don’t play with any of the cues that come in! I want my customers to have an unplayed cue—no “test”hits. So, I’m not able to comment other than that they pay keen attention to balance and finishing details. It’s that final 5% of the cue work that separates the high first tier guys from the others. I will also comment that their butt geometry, patterned on Balabushka, is not slim. If the modern standard is 1.25” at the buttcap, they (along with others) are a tad more than that. I think the Tascarella’s have a wait list approaching 2 or more years.
All this talk has me appreciating my Rick Howard even more.
Several years ago, I had some pictures from a seller of a Tasc, which I really liked the looks of, but it was bumper-less and the specs were not to my liking. About six months later, I decided to order a Tasc, and I sent Tascarella the pictures of the cue I liked via email, and I asked if I could have that cue built with a 1.29" butt along with a bumper, and whoever I corresponded with blew a gasket. I was told I had to send them a letter with every detail of the cue construction. I'm not a cue maker, and I don't know how to build a cue, I just wanted a cue with a fat butt. I'm not sure why the sharp pictures and the request for a 1.29" butt and a bumper weren't enough detail from a non cue building customer. I was expecting them to say something like, "The pictures will make it easy to know exactly what you want, please send us $X deposit and we'll put you on the list." Because I didn't know what to write in the letter (describe the pictures?), I ended up not ordering a cue from them.
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Pete Sr. could be curt and require specific details, but plenty of good artists/craftsman have far greater faults. He also handled hundreds of inquiries a month and developed an approach that ensured he could accurately price a cue and ensure customers were on the same page. I was initially put off by his planning document, because I'm not a detailed person, but I realized it's brilliance after completing it because it put on paper everything the customer wanted and prevented miscommunication between the builder and customer. Over time I often wondered why other cue makers didn't follow a similar approach since verbal descriptions can often lead to some confusion about what will be built. His shop builds significantly more cues than other cue makers and I've been amazed that he has a fairly flawless record both in the construction, timeliness, customer service, and playability. I was also amazed at how easy it was to have a call with him and talk through the design. Plenty of top tier cue makers aren't easy to get on the phone or willing to take the time to answer emails. The Tascarellas produce an outstanding cue and run an amazing business.
Had the same experience. My first contact with him was when I called him one evening around 6:00 his time to ask him about building a cue and he lost it at me because it was after his business hours.... Like legitimately lost it, I was speechless. Second time I talked to him he called to lose it at me for sending him a picture of exactly what I wanted. I am not a cuemaker at all and have zero idea what to spec out so I thought that a picture of EXACTLY what I wanted along the weight would have been good enough but boy was that a mistake lol. Just a general tool in my opinion who doesn't know how to talk to people but I am from Canada so maybe I am just used to being courteous to people. I have spoke with a few since then who had similar experiences.
But he does great work so there I said something nice lol
Consult with @wrldpro
I’ve been using Tascarella cues for 10 years. I’ve owned about top cue maker out there and by far the best hitting cues I’ve ever used. As far as cost you would have to figure what’s best for you. Buying a Tascarella cue is an investment that will always hold its value.
Is there something you order special from them when you get a cue or do you just get it with their taper, stock measurements, classic or hoppe?
I ordered all my shafts 13.5mm long taper.
I thought about making an offer for the Golden Tascarella but the added cost of buying it legally because of CA’s ivory ban drives the price up over $20k. I have to keep reminding myself it is only a pool cue and I already got a bunch of pool cues.
But it’s a cue that’s so handsome it could be enshrined in the Pool Cue Hall of Fame if such an entity existed…”Tascarella”.
But it’s a cue that’s so handsome it could be enshrined in the Pool Cue Hall of Fame if such an entity existed…”Tascarella”.