The whole discussion about "who makes the best shafts" is nonsense, for the most part.
Every shaft is a "different" piece of wood with its own characteristics.
Nobody can expect every shaft to feel or play like the one the maker made right before it...even if it is the same specs.
Assuming makers have access to "somewhat" the same quality of wood, the only thing distinguishing one makers shafts from another is the taper, ferrule, and tip.
If you like a particular taper, then a shaft of a different taper usually is out of the question, so why go to a different maker? Do you think their wood is better? If you convince them to recreate the same taper as your original shaft, do you think it will play better than the original?
The whole "hit" of a shaft can be changed by changing the ferrule and/or the tip.
People need to "experiment" with what they have before they go searching for a new "Holy Grail" shaft.
Assuming that shafts could hit the same, my first preference is the taper and feel of the shaft in my bridge hand. I don't care how good a shaft hits if it doesn't "feel right" when I bridge with it, I don't like it as a player.
I don't like skinny shafts with a super long straight taper and I don't like shafts with a fast rising taper starting close to the tip. I like something in between.
As far as hit goes, I like a "muted" hit. I don't like loud, "plinking", shafts. That is usually caused by the tip, ferrule, or combination of the both.
Years ago, when I worked in a pool hall as a teen and did maintenance on the cues, I always had a cue with a shaft that was "perfect" for me. I would change tips, ferrules, and tapers over and over on multiple house cues until I made one that I "liked". If I had a small lathe, I'd do that today.
I don't need a cue, nor a shaft, today, but I'm still interested in getting a wood shaft built for one of my old cues and I'm debating who to get to do it. It will have to be someone who makes super-tight, perfect-fitting, compression joints for a 5/16-14 butt.
I have two shafts that fit it perfectly now, but one is a Predator 314-2 FAT shaft and the other is a regular shaft with a taper I don't like. The taper is described as a "modified Predator parabolic taper"...whatever that is. It feels "weird" in my bridge and I don't like the way it plays. It is a little too "flexible" for my liking and I don't like the "hit", which I think is mostly caused by the ferrule. I could change the ferrule and/or tip out, but that still wouldn't fix the "flex", nor the "feel" in my bridge.
I'm thinking of going "old school" with a Balabushka-type taper of 10-10 1/2 inches, but I haven't decided who is going to build it yet. Tasc comes to mind, but I'd be open to having Eric Crisp make it, if he makes the kind of joint I want...he usually makes flat-faced joints.
If I could pick up a used shaft that fit it perfectly and I liked, I'd be all over it. There aren't a lot of options here in Hawaii.
Every shaft is a "different" piece of wood with its own characteristics.
Nobody can expect every shaft to feel or play like the one the maker made right before it...even if it is the same specs.
Assuming makers have access to "somewhat" the same quality of wood, the only thing distinguishing one makers shafts from another is the taper, ferrule, and tip.
If you like a particular taper, then a shaft of a different taper usually is out of the question, so why go to a different maker? Do you think their wood is better? If you convince them to recreate the same taper as your original shaft, do you think it will play better than the original?
The whole "hit" of a shaft can be changed by changing the ferrule and/or the tip.
People need to "experiment" with what they have before they go searching for a new "Holy Grail" shaft.
Assuming that shafts could hit the same, my first preference is the taper and feel of the shaft in my bridge hand. I don't care how good a shaft hits if it doesn't "feel right" when I bridge with it, I don't like it as a player.
I don't like skinny shafts with a super long straight taper and I don't like shafts with a fast rising taper starting close to the tip. I like something in between.
As far as hit goes, I like a "muted" hit. I don't like loud, "plinking", shafts. That is usually caused by the tip, ferrule, or combination of the both.
Years ago, when I worked in a pool hall as a teen and did maintenance on the cues, I always had a cue with a shaft that was "perfect" for me. I would change tips, ferrules, and tapers over and over on multiple house cues until I made one that I "liked". If I had a small lathe, I'd do that today.
I don't need a cue, nor a shaft, today, but I'm still interested in getting a wood shaft built for one of my old cues and I'm debating who to get to do it. It will have to be someone who makes super-tight, perfect-fitting, compression joints for a 5/16-14 butt.
I have two shafts that fit it perfectly now, but one is a Predator 314-2 FAT shaft and the other is a regular shaft with a taper I don't like. The taper is described as a "modified Predator parabolic taper"...whatever that is. It feels "weird" in my bridge and I don't like the way it plays. It is a little too "flexible" for my liking and I don't like the "hit", which I think is mostly caused by the ferrule. I could change the ferrule and/or tip out, but that still wouldn't fix the "flex", nor the "feel" in my bridge.
I'm thinking of going "old school" with a Balabushka-type taper of 10-10 1/2 inches, but I haven't decided who is going to build it yet. Tasc comes to mind, but I'd be open to having Eric Crisp make it, if he makes the kind of joint I want...he usually makes flat-faced joints.
If I could pick up a used shaft that fit it perfectly and I liked, I'd be all over it. There aren't a lot of options here in Hawaii.
