Which Cue To Buy Under $300
- Thread starter ukntcme
- Start date
As you already have a Pechauer JP09, I'd spend the money upgrading it to a Predator shaft.
for $300 get a sneaky pete pat diveney I got one for 350 and love it purple heart butt.
Granted I asked for 18.5 oz and he sent me 19.5 oz and he did not sign it any where. It hit's like a dream even with my tip the I messed up putting on.
Or go to your local pool hall or pool bar and buy a cue being sold nothing beats a 800-1000 $ cue for $300.
Granted I asked for 18.5 oz and he sent me 19.5 oz and he did not sign it any where. It hit's like a dream even with my tip the I messed up putting on.
Or go to your local pool hall or pool bar and buy a cue being sold nothing beats a 800-1000 $ cue for $300.
Cue under $300 - Jacoby
At least give a Jacoby a try, a nice solid hitting cue and well built cue for the money. Not only that they are very nice honest people to work with and meet.
At least give a Jacoby a try, a nice solid hitting cue and well built cue for the money. Not only that they are very nice honest people to work with and meet.
Lots of great suggestions here. Jacoby? A great one to consider.
Lots of good sneakies out there too. You might catch a Frey in your price range. Hard to argue with that.
I have to second the vote to consider Erwin. He just recently lost his dad and I heard his orders dropped a bit after that, at least on repairs.
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Lots of good sneakies out there too. You might catch a Frey in your price range. Hard to argue with that.
I have to second the vote to consider Erwin. He just recently lost his dad and I heard his orders dropped a bit after that, at least on repairs.
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As usual you will get every name/brand suggestion under the sun. Here's mine:
JOSS. Pick one up from a reputable dealer so you could return if not satisfied. www.cheapcues.com has a GREAT deal where you could swap out the stock shaft for a predator for an extra 90 bucks. If you choose a plain model (all you need, really), that will be right around your 300 dollar mark. My backup cue is a plain Joss with a predator shaft, and though I hate to say it in a blind test between my $$ customs and the Joss I'd be hard pressed to pick a winner.
And btw, you can disregard most of the "custom"/"production" distinction, which is pretty meaningless. You want to talk about tolerances, accuracy in fit and finish...JOSS will give half the "custom" makers the 7 out.
-roger
JOSS. Pick one up from a reputable dealer so you could return if not satisfied. www.cheapcues.com has a GREAT deal where you could swap out the stock shaft for a predator for an extra 90 bucks. If you choose a plain model (all you need, really), that will be right around your 300 dollar mark. My backup cue is a plain Joss with a predator shaft, and though I hate to say it in a blind test between my $$ customs and the Joss I'd be hard pressed to pick a winner.
And btw, you can disregard most of the "custom"/"production" distinction, which is pretty meaningless. You want to talk about tolerances, accuracy in fit and finish...JOSS will give half the "custom" makers the 7 out.
-roger
They get left out of the custom cue conversations a lot of the time, but if you define custom to mean a cue as specified by the customer (which I do) then they are certainly that. They're a pleasure to work with, too.
In general, I agree. Such distinctions are often times confusing. Many 'custom' manufacturers are really nothing but small scale operators. They may make a nice cue, but it's also how they want to make a cue. I don't consider that to be a custom. Limited edition, or a one off, perhaps, but not custom.
'Production' items get a bad wrap at times because tolerances in a mass scale environment can be a little more forgiving to accommodate the volume. Another worry with the bigger manufacturers in this price range is that they often have separate product lines, with the lower product lines outsourced to facilities which may be even more than just 'forgiving' of those said tolerances.
The best advice I could give for any body purchasing a cue is to know what it is about a cue you like and what you don't. For instance, balance can be a huge issue for some players. If that doesn't feel right, no amount of anything else will make it feel comfortable holding and swinging it. Once you start figuring those things out, then you can use price as a filter to eliminate those cues that don't fit your criteria.
That's why Janes is a Hall of Fame cue maker. :thumbup:
One of the first if not the first to standardize his joint so all shafts are interchangeable. Went to CNC in early eighties. Went to coring all cues in the nineties. Was making laminated shafts years ago before abandoning it. Still makes custom cues with sharp points. Cue makers Scruggs and Stroud came out of the JOSS shop. A quiet leader in cue technology.
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Hard to beat Joss for the money. Take a look at the older OB line of cues which I believe were made for them by Joss with an OB LD shaft. Lots of other good suggestions such as Diveney, Frey, etc. where you can pick up a SP for a price in your range if you keep an eye on the For Sale section.
JOSS still makes part of the OB line in fact, the butts anyway.
Frey is such a nice suggestion too. I keep chomping at the bit over some of the Frey deals that come up.
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As far as playing goes, do you like the Meucci or the Pechauer? You already said you don't like the McDermott. And frankly, Meucci, McDermott and Pechauer pretty much covers all the standard hits in the industry. So, advising a cue to you in your price range in my opinion should be based on what you already know you like or don't like.
That being said, in your price range ...
I recommend Joss Cues (Joss Cues Ltd).
Freddie <~~~ now if you were willing in increase your budget by $100....
I bought the second cheapest Joss butt and The PoolDawg folks substituted a Predator 314-2 shaft for the original Joss shaft. I paid $303 and the cue plays and looks exactly like I expected--outstanding! :thumbup:
That is the best route possible..... Buy a quality prod cue butt, and slap on a Predator, OB or Tiger shaft, and you are good to go forever......
THen, you can buy a custom cue for the real reason we buy them, cause we like them, not cause we need them....
+1 for Scott Erwin. I was a friend of his dads and your not going to deal with a nicer man or family than Scott Erwin's. I'm not sure if Scott will push it to the next level (sharp pointed) or build fairly simple pantograph designs but either way I can promise you the cue will be nice, play well, and you will have a very pleasurable deal. I have a few cues that Mike had built for me and they all play well, look good, and roll as straight as the day they were new. I really hope the business that Mike built thrives with Scott at the helm. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
I didn't realize that pooldawg had that offer as well. To me it's a great deal if you play with a predator shaft.