What's the big deal with Custom Cues???

I agree Custom cues are nice. I'd like to have one.

But at Cues2 I watch Johnny Archer play with a scorpion. Sure he has the pick of the litter and a 314 shaft but why not buy a walmart cue and throw on a 314 shaft. Cliff Joyner uses a Meucci. Yet Meucci is an either love or hate relationship with people. People will turn their nose and get into arguments over Meucci as if you insulted their momma. I wouldn't be suprised if someone was killed over an argument for or against Meucci. Yet I watch Cliff Joyner destroy people with it. I watched him play a game of 1pocket with another strong player a few weeks ago and he was using a Joss Sneaky.

Also the most common argument I hear is it is "Made to fit you". But unless your a pro what does it matter? Your getting a cue custom made wrong. A shaft with a 90degree bend might fit my playing style but if it is built for that then it is being built for a bad habit. Wouldn't you rather have a cue made right then you learn how to play the cue?
 
Here's my 2 cents....

In my opinion, for the high dollar cues, you are really paying for a labor intensive process (hours of hand setting the inlays etc).

I too would like to have a custom cue someday. But, for now what I play with fits me well and I am comfortable with it.

In reality, would you really care what your cue cost or looked like as long as you were shooting well with it?

To really answer your question, another poset said it best: "Beacuse I can"
 
smittie1984 said:
What I am asking is if your a "Serious" pool player why do you feel it is necesarry to plop down thousands of dollars for a custom when a cheap Meucci or Joss will do just as good if not better?
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Because they want to do it (spend the money), and have the BREAD......:rolleyes:


Plus a Custom is like a Custom Suit, it is to the Player Specification, and not off the Rack like a Sears Suit....
:p
 
meucci.....................

smittie1984 said:
I agree Custom cues are nice. I'd like to have one.

But at Cues2 I watch Johnny Archer play with a scorpion. Sure he has the pick of the litter and a 314 shaft but why not buy a walmart cue and throw on a 314 shaft. Cliff Joyner uses a Meucci. Yet Meucci is an either love or hate relationship with people. People will turn their nose and get into arguments over Meucci as if you insulted their momma. I wouldn't be suprised if someone was killed over an argument for or against Meucci. Yet I watch Cliff Joyner destroy people with it. I watched him play a game of 1pocket with another strong player a few weeks ago and he was using a Joss Sneaky.

Also the most common argument I hear is it is "Made to fit you". But unless your a pro what does it matter? Your getting a cue custom made wrong. A shaft with a 90degree bend might fit my playing style but if it is built for that then it is being built for a bad habit. Wouldn't you rather have a cue made right then you learn how to play the cue?
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Cliff joyner plays with whatever he can get his hands on at the moment. One week he may have a cue and the next he may not. I think he probably uses whatever feels good to him, wich is what i would suggest to anyone .
 
there is a guy around here that claims Custom Cues will make an average player a great player, and that production cues should be used for roasting hot dogs.

but, that is just not true, so i dont pay much attention to him. Allison told me if it is a decent, quality made cue with the tip of your choice any decent player should be able to play quite well with it.

DCP
 
smittie1984 said:
O,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
What I am asking is if your a "Serious" pool player why do you feel it is necesarry to plop down thousands of dollars for a custom when a cheap Meucci or Joss will do just as good if not better?
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your premise is flawed.

you are under the assumption that essentially all cues play the same, therefore why not play with a cheaper one....THEY DON'T. implicit in your statement in the implication that all players have the same tastes....THEY DON'T.

when you speak about plopping down "thousands of dollars" then you are talking about inlays etc. and added value and craftsmanship,,,,and everyone places their own value on such aesthetics.

otherwise every pro would be playing with house cues which would alleviate the need for that 20 lb. case they have to lug around.
 
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custom cues are just better

Its true that all cues perform the same function but to me its all a numbers game. Cuemakers pour over tons of shaft wood just to have small useable stock. Also some guys spend upwards of a year seasoning and making cuts on those shafts. Now compare that to production cue which use most any piece of wood they get and the little amount of time spent on shafts and its easy to see that custom cues are superior. With that in mind would you rather have a cue from a guy that makes 50-60 cues a year or a company that makes 100,000 a year?
 
it's all about consistancy. most production cues don't have the stringent quality control on every cue made. good custom makers first hone their craft for hit and the addorn the peice with art. when you find a good custom maker you find a person who has spent the time to figure out how to make his/her cues play the way they want and won't settle for anything less. that's what makes the difference and that's what can drive the price up along with artwork design and anual production. i'm not saying all production cues play bad just not consistent from cue to cue. a pro want's consistency because his livleyhood depends on it. it's also a bonus to know you have 1 of 1000 or so pieces kind of like the art world, that don't hurt. ;) :)
 
quality

Please show me this magical,mystical Meucci that I can hit better with than my Blue Grass and I will then believe you.It is all in the personal preference of the shooter to match up with the right hit.JMO.:)
 
Because chicks dig em and men fear them! oh yea, and they'r very quiet ,don't eat much, and have helped me pay my bills a time or two.
 
If custom cues are such a necesity why do the top pros use production cues? Sponsorship I know. But if the cues are bad the player will be to and thus loose their sponsorship.

Allisoin Fischer uses the dreaded Cuetec. Yes she has an aftermarket shaft but there is my argument. How does having a $3,000 cue make a difference when Allison Fischer wins with a cue that (At our dealer cost) is $26. Plus a 314 shaft for (I'm not sure of the cost) say $300 and a total of $326 you can play with what the pros use.
 
smittie1984 said:
If custom cues are such a necesity why do the top pros use production cues? Sponsorship I know. But if the cues are bad the player will be to and thus loose their sponsorship.

Allisoin Fischer uses the dreaded Cuetec. Yes she has an aftermarket shaft but there is my argument. How does having a $3,000 cue make a difference when Allison Fischer wins with a cue that (At our dealer cost) is $26. Plus a 314 shaft for (I'm not sure of the cost) say $300 and a total of $326 you can play with what the pros use.
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Cuetecs cost $26?? What a ripoff! :D Just kidding. Well, sort of.

I don't know the numbers at all, but I imagine that AF gets paid a pretty penny to endorse that product. Hypothetically, if she could play a tiny fraction better with a different cue, would it be worth it to her bottom line?

Hey, is anyone else tired of that Cuetec commercial they keep playing? "It all boils down to preformance. Consistent, day after day performance." and something about, (paraphrased) "If you haven't tried one yet, you need to go buy one." (There seems to be a flaw in that logic somewhere.) Then they show a computer generated view of the Cuetec shaft. It seems ironic to me if she's hyping up a shaft that she doesn't even use. Do Earl and Alison really use Predator shafts? It all makes sense now. LOL.
 
I owned all production cues up until about 8 months ago. Mostly McDermott cues. Always had good luck with them and all played just fine. Have picked up a few customs since being bit by the cue bug and there is definately somthing to it. My game has improved, but I wouldn't say it is all in the stick. I find myself playing more. Could be the feel of the custom sticks, shafts like glass ect. You just don't want to put them back in the case. I have also found that if you buy wisely and take good care of your equipment you will get all your money back or possibly make a buck or two.
 
I don't know how much experience you have with cues, but I don't want to sound like I'm patronizing you. The following are a few facts:

1) All cues don't hit the same

2) Different players have different preferences to hit. Some like them stiff, some like them whippy and so on.

3) Not all production cues hit great, not all custom cues hit great. Not all production cues are bad quality, and not all custom cues have good quality.

4) Great players can play better than most of us with a cue that's within acceptable standards (Like Allison or Earl). However, great players can be even better with a cue that's to their liking (Like Allison not playing with stock cuetec shaft). If you think stock cuetecs play like a SW, you should search for Mark Tadd's thread on cues.

5) Most of a cue's performance comes from the SHAFT. So a subpar butt (like a Cuetec) matched with a good shaft may equal a decent playing cue.

6) People have different income levels, hence different levels of disposable income. If some guy can afford to spend 10x more than you and I can spend on cues, it's his money and his business.

It sounds like, from your previous posts, that you don't have a lot of experience hitting with different cues. It'd probably be better than us trying to convince you for you to actually hit with some custom cues first. Don't hold preconceived ideas and try to hit with as many cues as you can.
 
SplicedPoints said:
I don't know how much experience you have with cues, but I don't want to sound like I'm patronizing you. The following are a few facts:

1) All cues don't hit the same

2) Different players have different preferences to hit. Some like them stiff, some like them whippy and so on.

3) Not all production cues hit great, not all custom cues hit great. Not all production cues are bad quality, and not all custom cues have good quality.

4) Great players can play better than most of us with a cue that's within acceptable standards (Like Allison or Earl). However, great players can be even better with a cue that's to their liking (Like Allison not playing with stock cuetec shaft). If you think stock cuetecs play like a SW, you should search for Mark Tadd's thread on cues.

5) Most of a cue's performance comes from the SHAFT. So a subpar butt (like a Cuetec) matched with a good shaft may equal a decent playing cue.

6) People have different income levels, hence different levels of disposable income. If some guy can afford to spend 10x more than you and I can spend on cues, it's his money and his business.

It sounds like, from your previous posts, that you don't have a lot of experience hitting with different cues. It'd probably be better than us trying to convince you for you to actually hit with some custom cues first. Don't hold preconceived ideas and try to hit with as many cues as you can.
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Some very good points. I find that because I do not always bring in my cue and grab a house cue most of the time that it forces me to concentrate more. I am picky aboot the house cue I select , IE not too heavy, shaft right diameter,.. as you stated there is a fit for each of us. Bottom line I can do more with my own cue than with a house cue.

Good post.
 
SplicedPoints said:
5) Most of a cue's performance comes from the SHAFT. So a subpar butt (like a Cuetec) matched with a good shaft may equal a decent playing cue.
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here is where you are wrong. the shaft plays a part but what a good cue maker knows is that the shaft is affected by the joint specs, pin type, ring type and but material that can change the hit (feel) dramatically and also effect deflection. making a great hitting cue is an artform in itself and in NO way exclusive to the shaft.
 
For the Record

Im pretty sure Earl and Allison dont use predator shafts on their Cuetecs. I dont think Cuetec would sponsor them otherwise. From what Ive heard Earl has regular Cuetec shafts that he gets doctored and Allsion gets hers right off the shelf. If Im wrong someone please correct me.
 
smittie1984 said:
One thing I have noticed about AZbilliards is the worship of custom cue makers and their sticks. Seems like everyone on here recommend getting a good one. I have yet to see what is so great about them besides looks and nastalgia.

I have a Schon STL-6. Not a custom but still a high dollar stick. The only reason I got it was for looks. I didn't care how it played. However I use it as a break stick. And I use a Meucci Original Sneaky Pete that looks worse than most house cues as a playing stick. I did put a Moori tip on it but that was all it needed and it didn't cost much for that. It cost me $150 and it plays better than any other stick I have shot with. Including customs.

What I am asking is if your a "Serious" pool player why do you feel it is necesarry to plop down thousands of dollars for a custom when a cheap Meucci or Joss will do just as good if not better?
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I've read all the posts to this point. To the OP...
smittie1984 said:
I have yet to see what is so great about them
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.

To be honest, you're not of the mindset to understand what your stick is telling you. You have a fantastic production cue to learn from, and you're ignoring it.

Until you get past that, you won't know what a custom cue can do for your game.

I wish you well.
 
puckdaddy said:
Im pretty sure Earl and Allison dont use predator shafts on their Cuetecs. I dont think Cuetec would sponsor them otherwise. From what Ive heard Earl has regular Cuetec shafts that he gets doctored and Allsion gets hers right off the shelf. If Im wrong someone please correct me.
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Earl has a custom made shaft. Look at the chalk all over the shaft. Cuetec shafts do not absorb chalk like that.
He even mentioned about going back to his old shaft taper when he started playing well.
Allison supposedly has a short cue but has stock Cuetec shafts.
 
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