Weight and Balance aside, Does the butt have anything to do with how well a cue plays

3

34YearsOfPlayin

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So my favorite player Francisco Bustamante (I try to learn from his playing) usually plays with another companies shaft even though he is sponsored by Bear. He uses a Bear butt with another companies shaft.

Although he has been known to use cues by Black Boar and also Pat Diveney cues.

So I am considering buying either a new cue or just a shaft from Pat Diveney.

Does the butt really have anthing to do with how well a cue plays? I have a cue which I really like weight balance and how it feels.

Or should I just go ahead and buy a whole cue?

I would much rather just purchase the shaft if it is mainly why a cue hits good.

Thank you!!
 
Patience is more important:grin:
 

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34YearsOfPlayin said:
So my favorite player Francisco Bustamante (I try to learn from his playing) usually plays with another companies shaft even though he is sponsored by Bear. He uses a Bear butt with another companies shaft.

Although he has been known to use cues by Black Boar and also Pat Diveney cues.

So I am considering buying either a new cue or just a shaft from Pat Diveney.

Does the butt really have anthing to do with how well a cue plays? I have a cue which I really like weight balance and how it feels.

Or should I just go ahead and buy a whole cue?

I would much rather just purchase the shaft if it is mainly why a cue hits good.

Thank you!!
Click to expand...



Assuming you have a rubber bumper on your cue, hit a few balls, take off the bumper, hit a few more. Should answer all of your questions about how much the butt matters. Sticking to pool cues, keep a butt you like until you have one in hand you like as well or better.

Hu
 
ShootingArts said:
Assuming you have a rubber bumper on your cue, hit a few balls, take off the bumper, hit a few more. Should answer all of your questions about how much the butt matters. Sticking to pool cues, keep a butt you like until you have one in hand you like as well or better.

Hu
Click to expand...

Thank you I will try a nice lakewood shaft on my current cue next!!!
 
A cue does not have qualities, people do. A cue has what’s more appropriately referred to as characteristics.

Trying to answer that is akin to saying what is funny and makes you laugh. Each of us has our own sense of humor.
Some prefer ribald or raunchy whereas others like a somewhat more benign version. So it is true of pool cues & tastes.
Maybe approaching this from a deductive standpoint becomes easier to answer, albeit likely in a piecemeal fashion.

What do you not like, want or prefer in a pool cue? Let’s start with pool anatomy 101, i.e., the cue’s shafts size & taper?
How about the joint pin? Do you have a favorite? Joint type? Ferrule length & composition? Cue tip brand and hardness.
The Butt diameter? Wrap or wrapless? Butt cap length, material and use of any weight bolt? If a bolt is used, just how heavy is it?
What weight cue do you like to use? Have you compared the butt and shafts’ weights? Do you have any specific preference for either,
ex. cue butts not more than 15 ozs. What about balance point? Do you understand that term or have you experimented any?

Okay, after successfully having answered those questions, you have a great start on describing the cue you’d like to have.
Now let’s talk about balance of the cue. Is it back end heavy, forward weighted or pretty much neutral? Another way of trying
to answer this is what’s the nicest playing pool cue you ever tried. How is that cue any different than the cue you’ve been using?
It took me 25 years of playing pool before I ultimately figured this out and a whole bunch of pool cues, both custom & production.
Once you figure things out, this will becomes the roadmap you will follow whenever you go shopping for or ordering any pool cue
 
Using the same shaft, my $3K cue butt plays better than my $250 butt. But it isn’t $2750 better. If you just want to upgrade your shaft, I would encourage doing just that. A new shaft is a good excuse for experimenting with tips.
 
Bavafongoul said:
A cue does not have qualities, people do. A cue has what’s more appropriately referred to as characteristics.

Trying to answer that is akin to saying what is funny and makes you laugh. Each of us has our own sense of humor.
Some prefer ribald or raunchy whereas others like a somewhat more benign version. So it is true of pool cues & tastes.
Maybe approaching this from a deductive standpoint becomes easier to answer, albeit likely in a piecemeal fashion.

What do you not like, want or prefer in a pool cue? Let’s start with pool anatomy 101, i.e., the cue’s shafts size & taper?
How about the joint pin? Do you have a favorite? Joint type? Ferrule length & composition? Cue tip brand and hardness.
The Butt diameter? Wrap or wrapless? Butt cap length, material and use of any weight bolt? If a bolt is used, just how heavy is it?
What weight cue do you like to use? Have you compared the butt and shafts’ weights? Do you have any specific preference for either,
ex. cue butts not more than 15 ozs. What about balance point? Do you understand that term or have you experimented any?

Okay, after successfully having answered those questions, you have a great start on describing the cue you’d like to have.
Now let’s talk about balance of the cue. Is it back end heavy, forward weighted or pretty much neutral? Another way of trying
to answer this is what’s the nicest playing pool cue you ever tried. How is that cue any different than the cue you’ve been using?
It took me 25 years of playing pool before I ultimately figured this out and a whole bunch of pool cues, both custom & production.
Once you figure things out, this will becomes the roadmap you will follow whenever you go shopping for or ordering any pool cue
Click to expand...
So, personal preference. Common phrases like "how a cue plays" always make me wonder if something more is meant - but it always seems to boil down to how a cue feels. Of course that's important...

pj
chgo
 
If butts didn't matter, cue makers would be using the cheapest wood for coring dowels and handles.
Why bother with maple and rosewoods?
Just use plywood.
 
Patrick Johnson said:
So, personal preference. Common phrases like "how a cue plays" always make me wonder if something more is meant - but it always seems to boil down to how a cue feels. Of course that's important...
Click to expand...
Aside from feeling the way you like, what can a cue do to the CB that you might like better or worse? I can think of two things:
- it can squirt more or less
- it can transfer more or less energy

Is the rest all about how it feels to you?

pj <- not that there's anything wrong with that
chgo
 
RickLafayette said:
It's because of weight and balance the butt has a lot to do with how a cue plays.
Click to expand...

It matters how a cue feels not how it plays really. Unless how a cue plays is a combination of what the cueball does when you hit it and what your arm and brain feels for the hit vibrations and balance. What the shaft and tip do to the cueball is absolute, it is the same for the same amount of force a player applies. Balance and hit feel are personal preference, you can measure them but you can't say "this will feel good to you" since we are all different.

That's why I really don't like answering or hearing questions about "how does so and so cue play". The cue has a feel, some like that type of feel some don't. The shaft design of makers affects the feel and also how the cueball reacts, that is playability I guess, but what one person feels is good playability another is not likely to.

You can give suggestions for things you try to someone, but 50 people can easily give 50 different suggestions. Like headphones or keyboards with computers, I am on a tech forum and get questions about "best headphones or speakers" all the time. There is no single answer past "you may like these 10 things considered good in your price range but listen to them all and see what you like".
 
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