Thanks to all who are contributing to my cause. I feel like I am getting a lot of good and useable info. Some of the posts have spawned new questions/concerns.
No question in my book.......Gold Crown 4 ....Black.....with the gold trim. Just me opinion.....lol. I don't wanna hear King bashing me....lol! Jus jokin my pal Carem!
Seems like most folks I talk to think very highly of the GC tables. In my eyes, this holds a lot of value especially when the guy installing and setting them up for a career feels this strongly. Mind to share why you feel so strongly about the GC’s?
Most importantly...Hook up with a good local installer who will set it up for you. If you dont know one go to your favorite hall and ask around about who does their tables. Even a middle-of-the-road table can play really well if installed correctly. Figure his costs into your budget. If you say where you live somone on this forum is bound to know someone good in your area. If you dont pay for good installation for your table, it wont play near it's potential.
I totally agree with you about getting a good installer to do the setup. I want my baby to be perfect and feel like a million bucks when playing on it. I live near Tulsa, OK so if someone can make a recommendation I sure would appreciate it! Also, if you can maybe share a ballpark value of what this costs.
I just checked out Jeffs site, here is an example of a sweet GC III for sale in Chicago area. Super poly black with chrome trim.
**DROOL** Now that is what I’m talking about!! No offense to PTM but I’ve never really cared for gold much (unless I was to get a few bars to spend…hehe).
The black and chrome just pops and looks awesome to me.
The downsides to this table revolves around the fact I am in the process of selling my current house, and will be starting construction of my new house in the next month or so (or possibly Spring, depending on weather). During this time I will be moving to a rent house and will have no real place to store a table w/o renting a climate controlled storage building. Kinda right now is my “homework” period to decide on what table I will be getting and doing my research to find the right price to buy it at.
And really an 8’ table would better fit my room. Actually the room will easily hold the 9’ table, but there are plans for an air hockey table (wife) and a foosball table (me) along with a sitting area to watch movies and games on the big screen. Once all those things get in there, my space for the table goes down. Hehe, but if I could talk the wife out of the air hockey table then I’d be good to go! Of course, she might rip my…well you know how it is.
Thirdly the table is located quite a ways from home, and when buying used I definitely want to do my own inspection on the table before committing to all that $$. Am I looking at this the wrong way? And would it be your recommendation to move the table yourself or have someone else do it? Either way, I’ll have to tear the table down to get it upstairs in the game room.
Lastly, the price is a little stiff at $3k.
I was hoping to spend $2k +/- with setup and everything. Is my budget unrealistic to get a good quality table?
ask yourself this... what size Pool Table & what brand of manufacturer do I consistently play on? There's your answer..
But if you want a piece of furniture to bang balls on... get a Table that is a good investment.
I would have to say that I mostly play on 8’ x 4’ tables, but every once in awhile I will sneak in a game on the bigger 9’ tables. Both go smooth, but since the majority of my game play is on 8’ tables I shoot better on them.
As far as brand, that is a little tough. Perhaps because I am only mediocore in my game level, I seem to shoot very well once I find my groove. If for some reason I am having an off night and can’t find the “groove” then regardless of the table type I won’t play to full potential. But most the time I find the groove and as long as tables are of equal quality the brand doesn’t bother me so much. How’s that for a vague answer? Hehe.
I would only buy GC I, II or IV or the Gabriel or Diamond.
Now, if you can steal an Anniversary or Centennial somewhere, get it. Those tables are both pretty and commercial grade.
Olhausen Pro C has huuuuuge pockets. Terrible resale value too.
It's a well-built table but I have yet to see a pool hall with those tables.
I notice you listed all but the GC III. Why? And can you explain (or point me to a website that will explain) the differences between the generations of the GC tables. Obviously improvements were made as time progressed. Just curious what type of features each generation implemented/removed, especially in the III generation since you don’t recommend it. Also, do you have any sites to check out more info on the Gabriel and Diamond tables?
And thanks for your observations about the pocket sizes of the Olhausen table. I was unaware of that factor, and do desire a table that will make me improve my game (while not frustrating me to boredom). Plus even though I want good playability from a table I would like to have fairly decent re-sale value in the event of an emergency and I would need to liquidate my assets.
Again, many thanks to those that have contributed and future thanks to those that will. Everyone at this forum seems to be nice and helpful, unlike some of the other billiard forums I have visited. Kudos to those that visit here for the relaxation factor!
Take care,
NL
