Time trying a cue

C

Ched

"Hey ... I'm back"!
Silver Member
Most of us have tried a friends cue .. a shaft. Maybe for a couple shots, maybe for a few racks. Sometimes we buy based on how it felt. Sometimes we adopt a "I don't like it" view. I'd be interested in any views here.

Mine: I bought a Huebler back in late 70s early 80s. I was on really good terms with my pool hall owner (Jim Marino), so I got to shoot with just about anything I wanted. For me Joss just was the cat's ass. And here years later I bought one. Damn. I was so impressed back then .. and still am today.

Anyway - I'm not a bad guy, so usually if I ask it's not a problem if I try something. Some things I liked right off the bat were an OB shaft and a Lucasi cue. What didn't really grab me was the Predator stuff. Still - I ended up buying a Sport 2. I really like it.

This leads to the concept that trying a cue/shaft/tip for a few shots, a rack, or even an hour or two doesn't really give you a feel for it.

I bought a Player HTX .. very disappointed. (it's for sale .. lol) Bought a Mezz ... damn fine cue.

I got to try a Predator 314 for a few shots .. meh. But once I bought one and used it for a couple weeks I was very impressed. Not that it's worth $100+ more than others .... just sayin.

This all leads up to me buying a Revo. We shall see. I have no doubt it's not worth the price .. any shaft over $200 simply isn't. But I had to get one.

So ... I'd be interested in the "tried it" .. "bought it" stories. Southwest? Chris Nitti? what do ya'all regret? What are you SO glad you paid for?
 
Ched said:
This all leads up to me buying a Revo. We shall see. I have no doubt it's not worth the price .. any shaft over $200 simply isn't. But I had to get one.

So ... I'd be interested in the "tried it" .. "bought it"
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I have bought a few cues without trying. If I hated it I modified or shelved it. Win some. Lose some. They must be played with for expended periods to evaluate. No regrets. If I started over again I'd by other cues that I'd love or hate.
As for the Revo's...get one and no need to ever buy another shaft.
 
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I had 15 customs over the past year with the 4 i had/have on order. Plan on selling everything but the 4 ordered & one other im keeping. However they are all going to sit in storage because the Revo i have now is freaking amazing. I also get my bk rush tomorrow.
 
I have tried many...bought fewer.

S? Excellent. Period. Tried it, not for sale. I don't know about yours.

My Joss? Excellent. Period. I don't know about yours.

My Dayton? Excellent. Period. I don't know about yours.

My Huebler? Excellent. Period. I don't know about yours.

My Espiritu? Excellent. Period. I don't know about yours.

I have many others. Few excellent, many satisfactory, a few dead in the water.

JW? Excellent.
Scruggs? Excellent.

But likely none of these are a surprise.

I do have a couple or three no-name, and/or Asian, and/or, "cheap" that are a surprise and are excellent...but I consider that dumb luck.

I have played a couple big names that should have been excellent that turned out to be "duds"...again dumb luck...bad luck.

Predator? Dead in the water. Traded for a vintage pristine McDermott with It's George case. Don't regret the trade.

I have not tried any laminated shaft, radial or flat, that I liked better than a very well made shaft from great maple.

What are you SO glad you paid for?
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My Joss. I think I paid $40 for it in 1985, with the Fellini case. I would not even be here if not for that cue.


.
 
Ched said:
Most of us have tried a friends cue .. a shaft. Maybe for a couple shots, maybe for a few racks. Sometimes we buy based on how it felt. Sometimes we adopt a "I don't like it" view. I'd be interested in any views here.

Mine: I bought a Huebler back in late 70s early 80s. I was on really good terms with my pool hall owner (Jim Marino), so I got to shoot with just about anything I wanted. For me Joss just was the cat's ass. And here years later I bought one. Damn. I was so impressed back then .. and still am today.

Anyway - I'm not a bad guy, so usually if I ask it's not a problem if I try something. Some things I liked right off the bat were an OB shaft and a Lucasi cue. What didn't really grab me was the Predator stuff. Still - I ended up buying a Sport 2. I really like it.

This leads to the concept that trying a cue/shaft/tip for a few shots, a rack, or even an hour or two doesn't really give you a feel for it.

I bought a Player HTX .. very disappointed. (it's for sale .. lol) Bought a Mezz ... damn fine cue.

I got to try a Predator 314 for a few shots .. meh. But once I bought one and used it for a couple weeks I was very impressed. Not that it's worth $100+ more than others .... just sayin.

This all leads up to me buying a Revo. We shall see. I have no doubt it's not worth the price .. any shaft over $200 simply isn't. But I had to get one.

So ... I'd be interested in the "tried it" .. "bought it" stories. Southwest? Chris Nitti? what do ya'all regret? What are you SO glad you paid for?
Click to expand...

Just an opinion... if you have a fairly stable stroke you should be able to have a good feel for the cue within a couple of shots. You probably need more time to go through a full range of shots to see if this is something you can get used to. After that you have to work at it to make it work.

Kinda like any relationship

With regards to the revo I initially thought that an advantage of the Revo is that every shaft will be consistent, so on paper you didnt need to try again if you've bought one before. Boy, was i wrong. after trying a couple it's just like any other shaft; the weight of the shaft varies, and the balance and the feel is ever-so-slightly different. I dont mean it as a bad thing –*i just thought it was interesting.
 
I have bought and sold many cues. I have a friend who gets peed at me because I take a cue,hold it in front of me, palm the forearm and watch the shaft vibrate. Many cues don't make it past that "litmus" test.
I don't care for any of the predator products. I have hit the Revo and believe if I was much younger it would be the ticket!
Pleasantly surprised with the quality,playability of the cheap McDermott imports. Not a fan of ss joints but I liked those.
Because of thee ss joints,not a Joss,or Schon fan. Small pins generally don't play the way I like either. Schuler joint is great but I only have found 1 of about 7 I liked. Played with it for about a year and felt like it was beginning to fall apart.
As far as custom cues, too many had ss joints and often were to custom fit for me.

Vintage McDermott with maple,g core,or i2s shafts are what I have been consistently happy with.


I really believe any/all cues have something that is a "shortcoming". I try and find a happy medium.
 
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alphadog said:
Vintage McDermott with maple,g core,or i2s shafts are what I have been consistently happy with.
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I haven't tried an i2 shaft but I agree with you on the G-Cores. I like them a lot and find them to be pretty consistent. I have 4 or 5 of them and really can't tell them apart.

To me they hit very much like a really good old maple shaft, maybe just a tad bit stiffer but in a good sort of a way. I'm sure a large part of it is that they remind me of the shafts I grew up using.
 
The cue I use now came to me in an odd way. I was getting some work done on a tip or shaft from a local cuemaker and he asked if I knew anyone that was looking for a cue. I did not but I said I can ask around and asked if I can take it to show them.

This cue was a full splice, a bit butt heavy, about 19.5 oz, maybe closer to 20, no wrap, fairly stiff hit. Just about opposite of my cue which was neutral balanced, 18.8 oz with a nice double pressed linen wrap and a softer smooth feel to the hit.

So I had this cue, showed it to a few people and naturally used it to see how it played. Won a weekly tournament with it. OK, not bad, getting used to it, played a bit more, won the tournament the next week with it. Hm... it was growing on me, the balance and shaft seemed to also help with off the rail shots quite a bit.

I started to think that I may want this cue for myself but spending the money on it was stopping me. No-one else really took solid interest in the cue. Third week I had the cue, I won the local tournament for the third week in a row with it. I sent the cuemaker the money for it in PayPal a few days later ;)

My reasoning was that spending the money was worth not having the though in my head that I should have bought it if someone else did. I guess the cost of not having regret.

I was not looking for a new cue, did not have an itch to get a new cue, but ended up with a new cue LOL
 
The first SouthWest I saw belonged to Allan Hopkins. Allan let me hit a few balls with it and I knew I had to have one. I hit a few Joss East cues and decided to have Dan make me one. Hit two balls with a Mottey and told a friend to buy it. He did and when he quit playing he sold it and it's still being played with today owned by another friend of mine. I bought my Dan Dishaw on hearsay and love it. Bought a Brazilian Rosewood Kevin Varney on Kevin's recommendation. Loved it. Dislike any Predator I've hit and haven't yet hit a laminated shaft that I'd buy. I bought a Scruggs built for my by Tim and just could not get used to it even after Tim reworked the shafts. Sold it.
If I like how the cue looks I can tell by just hitting a few balls if I will like it or not. Always been able to do this and many, many people came to me for recommendations.
 
Ched said:
Most of us have tried a friends cue .. a shaft. Maybe for a couple shots, maybe for a few racks. Sometimes we buy based on how it felt. Sometimes we adopt a "I don't like it" view. I'd be interested in any views here.

Mine: I bought a Huebler back in late 70s early 80s. I was on really good terms with my pool hall owner (Jim Marino), so I got to shoot with just about anything I wanted. For me Joss just was the cat's ass. And here years later I bought one. Damn. I was so impressed back then .. and still am today.

Anyway - I'm not a bad guy, so usually if I ask it's not a problem if I try something. Some things I liked right off the bat were an OB shaft and a Lucasi cue. What didn't really grab me was the Predator stuff. Still - I ended up buying a Sport 2. I really like it.

This leads to the concept that trying a cue/shaft/tip for a few shots, a rack, or even an hour or two doesn't really give you a feel for it.

I bought a Player HTX .. very disappointed. (it's for sale .. lol) Bought a Mezz ... damn fine cue.

I got to try a Predator 314 for a few shots .. meh. But once I bought one and used it for a couple weeks I was very impressed. Not that it's worth $100+ more than others .... just sayin.

This all leads up to me buying a Revo. We shall see. I have no doubt it's not worth the price .. any shaft over $200 simply isn't. But I had to get one.

So ... I'd be interested in the "tried it" .. "bought it" stories. Southwest? Chris Nitti? what do ya'all regret? What are you SO glad you paid for?
Click to expand...
Full circle for me. I went back to my McDermott D-1, original shaft and Le Pro tip, there just ain't nuttin better !!!
 
I had an old cue that I hated at first. Put it away for years.
Recently, started hitting with it again and I couldn't understand what gave me that bad 1st impression.
I love it now! It hits smooth and solid.
Like a frozen stick of butter! Haha.
Maybe my tastes in cues matured;
I'm the kid that grew up to love his broccoli. Lol!
Time does indeed tell the tale.
It's just that patience seems so damned expensive
sometimes.
We all want that cue that seems to pocket balls
effortlessly. Those cues do exist!
But like the OP says, your opinion may change
after playing with it a while.
A buddy lent me a "temp" while completing my cue once.
I ended up liking the hit of the loaner way better than the custom he built me!
You just never know; until you do.
 
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there are some basic specs that need to be present for a cue to feel right.............. the balance point needs to be 19 to 19 1/2 inches from the butt... not including the bumper........... then the weight must be what the shooter likes.... 40 years ago cues were 21 oz or so............... now they are getting lighter.... 18-19 oz................ average but some like them even lighter.................... in the end if you have a cue the feels good to you .......... a cue maker can weight and balance another to feel the same

Kim
 
Sweatin' said:
I haven't tried an i2 shaft but I agree with you on the G-Cores. I like them a lot and find them to be pretty consistent. I have 4 or 5 of them and really can't tell them apart.

To me they hit very much like a really good old maple shaft, maybe just a tad bit stiffer but in a good sort of a way. I'm sure a large part of it is that they remind me of the shafts I grew up using.
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Another one here that likes McDermott G-Cores. I have a couple old D series McDermotts with new shafts that I use for players, I have not found anything I like better yet. I did try 2 cues that I know I will not be buying because I do not care for the feedback. For lack of better words they just felt dead. 1 was a custom and the other was a popular semi-custom or low number production cue. I dont really want to bad mouth either cue maker though because of my preferences. I will say that I like the way that your typical Schon hits, more so the older Schons than the most current but some current ones are just as good.
 
I think this depends on the cue and our own feel for the cue. I feel that some feel either good or completely bad right off the bat. Might be due to shaft or butt diameter, weight, or length. Or else it is might be due to balance or hit/feel when hitting the cue ball. Also might be due to the construction of the cue. I have found it is due to multiple aspects of the cue so sometimes it will always feel off. While other times it feels good right away or might take a bit but feels good when I adjust to the cue...or get used to it. It just seems that sometimes we want a quick fix to shooting and if it feels a bit off we bash the cues. Other times it is the cue...just crap....or maybe just crap for how we feel the cue while someone else will like the feel. If you find a cue that feels great to you....stick with it....Maybe try different tips or weight. Plus like so many others have stated on here....put in the time.
 
mjkeil62 said:
I think this depends on the cue and our own feel for the cue. I feel that some feel either good or completely bad right off the bat. Might be due to shaft or butt diameter, weight, or length. Or else it is might be due to balance or hit/feel when hitting the cue ball. Also might be due to the construction of the cue. I have found it is due to multiple aspects of the cue so sometimes it will always feel off. While other times it feels good right away or might take a bit but feels good when I adjust to the cue...or get used to it. It just seems that sometimes we want a quick fix to shooting and if it feels a bit off we bash the cues. Other times it is the cue...just crap....or maybe just crap for how we feel the cue while someone else will like the feel. If you find a cue that feels great to you....stick with it....Maybe try different tips or weight. Plus like so many others have stated on here....put in the time.
Click to expand...

you make some very good points.
 
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