My take on this is that I would buy a Gina-ish Tad rather than a real Gina if it was Tad whose cues I liked ever since I've been into cues and the opposite if that's the case... In a way the original maker is secondary and the maker of
my cue is first.
What many fail to recognize is: yes, the french diamond was first used by either Paradise or Balabushka but makers like Tad for example used in so many ways and at such places they are just fantastic!! I won't say they have copied, they have rather lifted that geometric shape and placed it in a very unique and different context.
I think that this entire issue is more complex than just a simple "who copied who" question, what if I have always been fond of Gus's cues but I can only spend a 0 less and so I'll get a JMW. Different materials here and there but the same old barbell and other perfectly Gus-like design elements... I don't think it is like robbing Barry... I have been waiting for such a cue for a long time and now it's here and in that cue I respect my maker's work... but beyond that it is Gus who I consider to be a genius for his barbells and shapes and style, because he truly was a genius. In this case not even an exact copy is a shame - in my opinion....
And meanwhile I don't care for Adam Balabushkas, they are not even close... think of the most basic element, the blank, they are not Spain, nor Gus, not even Davis. As soon as you begin thinking of these, you won't end up with a fake ("replica") Patek or Rolex or whatever, you'll just go and look forward and even if I have a 20" TV at home and poor furniture, I'll still have that cue (or anything else), if that's what I want.
The fact that if you are so driven to get something you'll end up a lot better than that is a different thing.
One last thought: I think that if you respect a living - not unreachable - cuemaker's work you won't get a tribute to one of his fancier cues but get one of his most basic cues... because that just brings so much closer to the real deal. [just my opinion]
I have no problems with tributes, as long as they are up to Chris's definition: a tribute is a tribute to a deceased / retired cuemaker's work and not a living one.
Here's a picture I immediately thought of when I have read what Kevin wrote above:
