The worst hitting cue you've ever shot with...
- Thread starter Sharkeyes
- Start date
Personally I have never been critical of one cue or another. I think it is a matter of what you beleive is good, its called a placebo. You will hear as many people praise a cue as you will hear criticize a cue. Like byrne says a broom handle with a good tip can get the job done.
I have always put more of my thought into my stroke. Chances are bad hitting cues are born out of bad strokes. Good artisans never blame their tools for bad work.
I have always put more of my thought into my stroke. Chances are bad hitting cues are born out of bad strokes. Good artisans never blame their tools for bad work.
A couple of new Meuccis hit terrible, one with a regular shaft and one with the red dot shaft. The shafts were very whippy and there was no feedback, like shooting with a numb noodle. Also, some Cuetecs are terrible, I feel the cueball is going all over the place and the cue vibrates like hell in the joint area. Yuck.
I shot with a friend's Dufferin that felt really mushy. For some strange reason the Dufferin had a really thin taper. I had a Licos/Lucasi that had a weird clunk in it. The cue hits so-so sometimes, but once in a while it felt like the cue was about to come apart. My friend had another Meucci that had a mushy hit, my my old Meucci played great though.
I once had a no-name sneaky pete that had a lousy joint; the cue would make a very high pitched 'TING' every time I hit a ball. I couldn't apply any force on the cb at all, no matter how much I tried. I took the shaft off the sneaky pete and put it on my old meucci's butt, and it played decent.
I played with a Mezz with their hybrid shaft that felt like I was hitting the CB with a thick metal rod.
A friend of mine once had a plain plurple heart South West. It felt really stiff, but it didn't feel solid like the other SWs.
I once had a no-name sneaky pete that had a lousy joint; the cue would make a very high pitched 'TING' every time I hit a ball. I couldn't apply any force on the cb at all, no matter how much I tried. I took the shaft off the sneaky pete and put it on my old meucci's butt, and it played decent.
I played with a Mezz with their hybrid shaft that felt like I was hitting the CB with a thick metal rod.
A friend of mine once had a plain plurple heart South West. It felt really stiff, but it didn't feel solid like the other SWs.
DJKeys said:
I bought an old Palmer a month or so ago and decided to go out and play a few games with it and haven't put it down since. It hits better and feels better than any stick I've ever played with. I'm thinking about getting it refinished and a new wrap because I know I'll never sell it now.
As far as the worse, I agree with several here that the newer Meucci's are awful for the most part. Mushy is probably the best word to decribe them.
Has anyone ever shot with one of the cuetech one-piece house cues? The hit is so stiff it hurts your wrist. I also shot with a Rhino cue that was a complete piece of crap, no feedback whatsoever.
I've hit with a beautiful Samsara that had a pretty disappointing feel.
I've hit with a beautiful Samsara that had a pretty disappointing feel.
Could never figure out why people like Ginas and Cogs so much. Although I've only played one example of each, they both played like logs to me. I've always considered them to be the most attractive cues out there, but with the ones I've played, I considered them more art than functionality.
Also, everybody I know that plays with a PFD has a 314 on it, and when I've tried a few, I knew why. I like a little bit of 'predictable' deflection, and dispise the 314 shaft, but the deflection of the PFD was unbelievable!
Also, everybody I know that plays with a PFD has a 314 on it, and when I've tried a few, I knew why. I like a little bit of 'predictable' deflection, and dispise the 314 shaft, but the deflection of the PFD was unbelievable!
I had a Dale Perry around 1992 that was one of the nicest looking cues
I have ever had but I could not stand the hit.
Same as above with a Phillipi. Person I sold it to told me that the shafts were
bad and that he thought they were not original. He knew the guy and called him on the spot to see if he would make him some new shafts. I guess he was serious because he did not balk at the price and left the 2 shafts I had with it for me to keep.
I got a really good deal on a Josey and it was probably me but I just could not
get used to the hit.
I think a cues hit is personal. Years ago I tried a Predator and
could not play with it at all. I quit pool and the first night I started back
playing a friend loaned me his. I took it thinking I would try it and give it back to him. This time it was different. Probably due to quiting for a few years. I bought it.
Now I play with an Ariel Carmeli with a Predator shaft. It took me a little bit to get used to the joint due to me playing with a steel/stainless joint
before but now I really like the cue. I have two of his shafts as well
and they play really well also.
On the flip side I won a cue because a guy could not pay me $10. It was
an old National. I thought it hit great.
I have ever had but I could not stand the hit.
Same as above with a Phillipi. Person I sold it to told me that the shafts were
bad and that he thought they were not original. He knew the guy and called him on the spot to see if he would make him some new shafts. I guess he was serious because he did not balk at the price and left the 2 shafts I had with it for me to keep.
I got a really good deal on a Josey and it was probably me but I just could not
get used to the hit.
I think a cues hit is personal. Years ago I tried a Predator and
could not play with it at all. I quit pool and the first night I started back
playing a friend loaned me his. I took it thinking I would try it and give it back to him. This time it was different. Probably due to quiting for a few years. I bought it.
Now I play with an Ariel Carmeli with a Predator shaft. It took me a little bit to get used to the joint due to me playing with a steel/stainless joint
before but now I really like the cue. I have two of his shafts as well
and they play really well also.
On the flip side I won a cue because a guy could not pay me $10. It was
an old National. I thought it hit great.
No reflection on any of the previous posters, but would any of you care to offer a description of what you call a good hit? I've heard the "hits like an extension of my arm", "hits a ton", "plays by itself", etc. Those descriptions mean nothing to a cuemaker. Communicating how you expect a cue to play is the most important aspect of setting forth a set of specifiations, yet some players themselves are not able to definitively spell out what they want. "Hit" is such a subjective issue, but can also be the most criticized. Often it's possible to change the way a cue hits. Simple things like changing the tip, changing the ferrule, weight, etc. I doubt any cuemaker intentionally makes a cue that hits poorly, but I seldom read of a player that has returned a cue asking the cuemaker to do a little tweaking.
A good "hit" is like hitting a baseball on the sweet spot of the bat, some like to say the "fat of the bat".
Most of the time you don't see exactly where the ball contacts the bat, but you know when you hit the ball if you hit the sweet spot. If you hit enough baseballs, you can pretty much tell where the contact point was within an inch or two on the bat. The sound is different and the feel is different.
And you can't really describe to someone what that feel is like, you just know it.
Subjective terms I know, but maybe that's why the saying, "Great cue makers are also players" is so true.
Most of the time you don't see exactly where the ball contacts the bat, but you know when you hit the ball if you hit the sweet spot. If you hit enough baseballs, you can pretty much tell where the contact point was within an inch or two on the bat. The sound is different and the feel is different.
And you can't really describe to someone what that feel is like, you just know it.
Subjective terms I know, but maybe that's why the saying, "Great cue makers are also players" is so true.
Many years ago I had a J.Pechauer cue that takes the "worst hit" cake. Talk about a wet noodle cue...Sharkeyes said:
I bought it for around $300 and after a few months tried to sell it. Every person that was interested hit with the cue, and then gave it back to me because it hit so poorly. I finally sold it to someone for 50 bucks. I told them it was a poor playing cue, and part of the serious reduction in price was the condition that they didn't try to hit with it. I think $50 was still too high for this cue...
IMO, It should have been used as firewood or a tomato vine support.
-td
matthew staton
Banned
most people don't like a cue with a dead hit or a mushy feel the worst cues i have played with was a joss with a big old shaft dead hit realy bad the number one worst cue I have ever hit with is a wayne holmes custom cue lol my first custom cue thing hit dead and the shaft was all over the place I just could not hit a ball with it. The 2 best cues i ever hitt with was a paul dayton plain jane and a kenny murrell plain jane cue.
Worst cues ever played with:
Skip Weston - I think the shaft material was like balsa wood, Ivor-x ferrulles chipped, shaft wood shrank. Needless to say, I'm stearing clear of this guy's cues.
Dave Kikel - 21 inch from the butt forward weighted. Felt like a brick in you're bridge hand.
Old Tim Scruggs - could not make the easiest of shots with this dog
Hearn cue - defection was out of control
Zylr - butt grip was too narrow/slim. Could never get my stroke going with this cue
Southwest - Hit OK, but could never get over the amount of deflection.
Best Hitting cues:
Southwest (purchased from Coastydad who did not like it). This cue, hits great once the 13.25 mm shafts were turned down a bit.
Old Dale Perry (back when he did spliced work). Best hitting cue I've ever shot with
Jensen - plain jane. Super.
Other notables: Old Huebler, Layani, most scruggs, Mottey,
Regards,
Doug
Skip Weston - I think the shaft material was like balsa wood, Ivor-x ferrulles chipped, shaft wood shrank. Needless to say, I'm stearing clear of this guy's cues.
Dave Kikel - 21 inch from the butt forward weighted. Felt like a brick in you're bridge hand.
Old Tim Scruggs - could not make the easiest of shots with this dog
Hearn cue - defection was out of control
Zylr - butt grip was too narrow/slim. Could never get my stroke going with this cue
Southwest - Hit OK, but could never get over the amount of deflection.
Best Hitting cues:
Southwest (purchased from Coastydad who did not like it). This cue, hits great once the 13.25 mm shafts were turned down a bit.
Old Dale Perry (back when he did spliced work). Best hitting cue I've ever shot with
Jensen - plain jane. Super.
Other notables: Old Huebler, Layani, most scruggs, Mottey,
Regards,
Doug
worst I've ever hit with by far is a black creek.