what did you really think about meucci cues?

[jcommie]

Idk, my old meucci plays pretty well- not as good as my Pechauer or Barnhart PJ but still pretty good. The taper is a pro taper, which I kinda like because I have stubby fingers so its hard to form a good closed bridge on thicker shafts.

I'm pretty sure the mother of pearl inlays on my Meucci are real... :x

 

[FSutton]

My Dad has one that was a "sales prototype" made in 1988 they only made two but it never with into production. It hits great the the balance is nice. But I don't like the covered wrap, my hand sweats a little. At 18.5 it's just too light for me.

 

[Shaft]

The shaft is more important than the butt

I will readily admit I am probably a D player and that I have not played with many cues.

I bought a new Meucci because I like the looks. I use a Predator Z2 shaft, and I will try an OB1 next. The Black dot hardly comes out of the case.

I really think the tip and shaft are the key to any cue. Anything behind the joint is mostly for looks.

This is my amittedly-very-uneducated opinion, so be kind.

I would give money to see a blind fold test to see if anyone could tell what butt they are playing with if they were using an OB1 or Predator shaft each time. I can't predict the results of this experiment, but I would like to see it.

 

[RiverCity]

Come on guys..... Lets be fair about this. Bob Meucci has made some good cues over the years.....
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Too bad he never sold any of them.
Chuck

 

[Murray Tucker]

He sells plenty. Why? because 99.99% of his customers don't read internet pool forums, run 10 racks at will or stay at a Holiday Inn Express. They simply play once or twice a week at league or just for fun and Meucci's can make pool fun for people with a less than perfect stroke. You get a snazzy looking stick at a affordable price tag and you can spin the rock like a champion.

hello,
here in germany the cues have since a few years a very bad reputation. nearly every new player uses a different brand and many of the old player switch to something like mezz, joss, jim davis...
how is the situation in your country? how many cues do you think does he actually sell? did anybody know how the quality of the new 21 century line is?
please give me any thoughts, infos on meucci that you know.
thank you very much

 

[Scott Lee]

Shaft...Actually, you're right on with your thinking (so, even as a new poster, you're correct in your assumptions). The butt plays little role, in the long run...it's all about the joint, shaft, and tip. I'd like to see that blind test too...because I'd bet against almost anyone being able to "name that cue", just from feeling it.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

I will readily admit I am probably a D player and that I have not played with many cues.

I bought a new Meucci because I like the looks. I use a Predator Z2 shaft, and I will try an OB1 next. The Black dot hardly comes out of the case.

I really think the tip and shaft are the key to any cue. Anything behind the joint is mostly for looks.

This is my amittedly-very-uneducated opinion, so be kind.

I would give money to see a blind fold test to see if anyone could tell what butt they are playing with if they were using an OB1 or Predator shaft each time. I can't predict the results of this experiment, but I would like to see it.

 

[Shaft]

I prefer to think of it this way:

I don't have a Meucci cue with a Predator shaft ........

I have a Predator cue with a Meucci butt. :grin:

 

[highrun55]

I think the quality went way down after the color of money came out. the japanese were buying everthing pool related they could get and Bob Meucci started spitting them out and couldn`t keep up. So cheaper inlay material was used and the rest is history.


highrun55

 

[StormHotRod300]

the third cue i ever bought was a Meucci Original, which had been completely re-finished.... with two brandnew shafts and the original.

now besides my mistake of buying the cue when I was using a Schon at the time, i actually liked the Meucci, the look was simple n plain. And it was basically brandnew, besides it being 20yrs old.

the bad part was i fell in love with the meucci and sold my Schon LTD

I ended up selling the Meucci and bought a Espiritu lol.

i will say the newer Meucci's are only good for a plunger's handle......

 

[sjm]

In the late 1990's, I owned a Meucci, but I rarely used it, as I felt one of my other cues played better. Then again, one day, straight-pooler extraordinaire Steve Lipsky came into Amsterdam Billiards and mentioned he didn't have his cue with him, and asked if I could lend him one of the cues in my locker. I lent him the Meucci, and when we played some straight pool, he ran balls galore with it.

 

[Quesports]

I have NEVER tried one I liked and have NO respect for a company that does not stand behind their product. There have been too many reports of bad quality and service for me to ever waste my time or money with a Meucci cue. Meucci may have been good once a long long long time ago..

 

[undertaker]

thank you very much for your answers. i know that ralf souquet has won many european championships with a crown jewel model. but i dont know if it was a regular meucci cue.

 

[softshot]

I really think the tip and shaft are the key to any cue. Anything behind the joint is mostly for looks.

except for the part your grip hand touches..

WTF is up with wrapping with Irish Linen.. and then glazing that over with topcoat???? it feels lumpy..

I shoot with Irish linen for a reason.. I like the way it feels... some shoot with wrapless.. for the exact same reason... it's all about personal preference really.....

who chooses lumpy plasticoated linen??..

it feels like a glazed donut to me...

 

[The King]

I bought one of the new HOF-4 Gamblers the only reason I bought it was because I liked the design of it ... When I screwed it together I knew it was not a cue I would use as it seemed to have alot of play in it just going together. But it will serve the purpose I bought it for just the design .... Also the small pin is a quick turn off for me.

 

[$TAKE HOR$E]

I have heard from several good players that the Meucci sneaky pete plays as good if not better than any cue they make, this was several years ago though.

 

[Stan9]

Interesting thread. So many Meucci haters here but I dont see many real answers on why Meuccis are considered bad.

I have owned 4 Meuccis - 2 Originals, 1 97 series and a Day Road Agent and never had a problem with straightness/quality - perhaps I was just lucky going by all the negative reviews here.

I like the long taper of Meuccis and the hit. It feels natural to me as I started out playing with a taiwan cue which, like Meuccis, has a long taper and is balanced toward the rear.

The drawbacks with Meuccis - the rear balance (at 20z on mine it's 16" from above), the higher deflection of the long ferrule, the insane spin you get which makes it hard to control on the fast tables we have today

The good - the snappier hit (for me), the taper, the designs - love the Road agent, piano keys and the real-deal sneaky without a logo/joint collars

Some people hate the way the cue flexes, but it tells me how well I have hit the ball and how far off centre I am hitting. If my stroke's ok, it isn't noisy and doesn't flex excessively.

 

[Murray Tucker]

Shaft...Actually, you're right on with your thinking (so, even as a new poster, you're correct in your assumptions). The butt plays little role, in the long run...it's all about the joint, shaft, and tip. I'd like to see that blind test too...because I'd bet against almost anyone being able to "name that cue", just from feeling it.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

I think most of it is between the players ears.

Here is a Post from John McChesney circa 1999:

Here's something interesting we tried in 1991:
At an event we had 16 cues with the butt, joint and the ferrules covered
with masking tape...then numbered. No one could "see" if the cue was a
steel, plastic or wood joint (as in a Pete), nor detect by the style of
ferrule. We had 70 players...each hit balls with the cues throughout the
weekend.

The results:
Of nearly 800 attempts over the time period, the players guessed wrong about
what type joint was in the cue more than 7 out of 10 times. A top pro
(Meucci staffer) happened to be there, having done an exhibition and the cue
he liked the most during the attempts: He thought was surely a Meucci,
plastic joint when in reality it was an older Adams with a piloted steel
joint; and additionally guessed the Meucci he shot with as a cue with a
steel joint. Again, I maintain that cues with different joint materials may
sound differently; may be balanced differently, but what is "hit" ? Doesn't
"hit" have to do with all the senses: Vibration (feel), sound, balance, etc.
What is a "soft" hit? What is a "hard" hit? (what does this mean, if not
the sound the cue makes upon impact, or are people ref. to the vibration in
the butt?) Does a hard hit vibrate more and make a different sound? A soft
hit vibrate less with a different sound? I maintain that the primary
criteria that differentiates one cue from another begins with: The tip
(soft, med or hard) The shaft diameter and density of the wood The taper (or
stiffness of the shaft) To this day, I still don't believe the joint has
much to do with the reaction of the cueball off the shaft, rather it is the
3 aforementioned that have far more bearing on how a cue plays than anything
else. Remember, what makes the predator shaft play differently is what is
located at the tip, inside the shaft, the ferrule and the laminations....not
the joint or butt. In closing, our experiment asked which cue the players
liked best: Of the 70 players, nearly 55 liked the hit of two cues with
different numbers: When the two were exposed, they both were sneaky petes,
wood to wood joints, (one a Scruggs and the other a Huebler); both about 19
oz., both about 13 1/4mm and tended to be on the stiff side of "hit". By
the way, the 55 who liked the hit of these two cues: more than half thought
they would be steel jointed.

 

[14oneman]

I've owned a couple of Meucci Originals, (never had a script logo one, though), and they played well. I still have my 84-6. I had custom work done to it years ago. Piloted stainless steel joint, re-wrapped, exposed, and Ivory ferrules on both shafts. The cue plays great. I'm not about to compare it to my Schick, or a Boti or Bushka, or any true custom, but I would put it up against any production cue out there.

I've hit with a couple of the newer script logo Meucci's and I agree with most people on here....they suck.

 

[Sev]

I think most of it is between the players ears.

Here is a Post from John McChesney circa 1999:

Here's something interesting we tried in 1991:
At an event we had 16 cues with the butt, joint and the ferrules covered
with masking tape...then numbered. No one could "see" if the cue was a
steel, plastic or wood joint (as in a Pete), nor detect by the style of
ferrule. We had 70 players...each hit balls with the cues throughout the
weekend.

The results:
Of nearly 800 attempts over the time period, the players guessed wrong about
what type joint was in the cue more than 7 out of 10 times. A top pro
(Meucci staffer) happened to be there, having done an exhibition and the cue
he liked the most during the attempts: He thought was surely a Meucci,
plastic joint when in reality it was an older Adams with a piloted steel
joint; and additionally guessed the Meucci he shot with as a cue with a
steel joint. Again, I maintain that cues with different joint materials may
sound differently; may be balanced differently, but what is "hit" ? Doesn't
"hit" have to do with all the senses: Vibration (feel), sound, balance, etc.
What is a "soft" hit? What is a "hard" hit? (what does this mean, if not
the sound the cue makes upon impact, or are people ref. to the vibration in
the butt?) Does a hard hit vibrate more and make a different sound? A soft
hit vibrate less with a different sound? I maintain that the primary
criteria that differentiates one cue from another begins with: The tip
(soft, med or hard) The shaft diameter and density of the wood The taper (or
stiffness of the shaft) To this day, I still don't believe the joint has
much to do with the reaction of the cueball off the shaft, rather it is the
3 aforementioned that have far more bearing on how a cue plays than anything
else. Remember, what makes the predator shaft play differently is what is
located at the tip, inside the shaft, the ferrule and the laminations....not
the joint or butt. In closing, our experiment asked which cue the players
liked best: Of the 70 players, nearly 55 liked the hit of two cues with
different numbers: When the two were exposed, they both were sneaky petes,
wood to wood joints, (one a Scruggs and the other a Huebler); both about 19
oz., both about 13 1/4mm and tended to be on the stiff side of "hit". By
the way, the 55 who liked the hit of these two cues: more than half thought
they would be steel jointed.

So a better way to quantify the test would be to have all shooters wear ear plugs designed to cut off all sound. This would eliminate a false sensation created by the brain.
Also one cue should be a custom 1 piece.

Personally I prefer a carom joint at around .880. This has a direct effect on the dynamic of the shaft.

 

[TheNewSharkster]

I know Dan Janes believes the stainless steel joint makes no difference in the hit.

http://www.josscues.com/html/faq.html

Q: Why do you only use a stainless steel joint?

A: It's the best joint there is. (In my opinion) Steel is harder to work and costs more than plastic. If plastic was better I would definitely use it on my cues. Unfortunately, it's not. I have used ivory and still do on some of my more expensive cues. It's a nice material, but not as strong as steel, and contrary to popular opinion ivory does not change the hit of a cue. The tip, ferrule and shaft will, but not the joint.


I know that doesn't really mean much but he has been making quality cues for a LONG time.