Who's cues hit like (*&%?

I guess I am lucky. I have stayed with the better known, established cuemakers since I have been able to afford them. So I don't have any bad things to say about the hit of any cues I have played with, even going back to 37 years ago when I started with a Mali and went to a Meucci (before I knew what "hit" was), and then played stainless joint Joss Wests mostly ever since. Man, I had a solid ebony pre-date Southwest that I absolutely loved (until it was stolen in its Fellini case, along with my car!). I'm pretty happy with the hit of my ivory jointed Gina now, but the ebony Southwest and an original Balabushka have to rank near the top for me.
 
simmer1 said:
Having read through 'all' of the posts, a couple of things have struck a cord with me. As for daily use, I have used a Scruggs, Whistler, Schon, older McDermott, older Meucci and can play pretty well with all of them (althought I do cheat and use Predator shafts with some). But, depending on the day, and when my game is 'on', they do fall into different rankings.

If I'm stroking well, the Scruggs played exceptionally well, but if 'out of stroke', even a little, I needed to put it on the wall because if I asked it wrong, even a little, it gave it wrong. If I asked it right, it was great.

The older Meucci plays ok if I put a Predator shaft on it, but I can't 'trust' it. The 'b*tch' will turn on me and just laugh and laugh when I miss a shot.

The older McDermott plays better with the original shafts, but the weight/balance is a little off for me. Can't trust her either unless I'm in perfect stroke, and then if I ask her for draw, she'll only put out half as much as the others. She's sort of a 'b*tch' also.

The Schon SR16 is a sweetheart, all the time, ask, get, consistant, with orginal shaft or Predator.

The Whistler full splice is my mainstay, great solid feeling, consistant, get what you ask for, can depend on it every time to please. But only use it with a Predator shaft. Ivory ferruled original shafts just don't do it for me.

I've never owned a Szam, Bushka, Cog, but they probably all have similarities to my less expensive cues. Some cues just 'work' better, some cue/shaft combinations just hit better, some combinations just go together better. Each cue has it's own feel, touch, hit, and even attitude.

IMHO, I just need the cue to show up when it's supposed to and do what it's supposed to, and some do it a little better, and some do it a little worse.

One last thought. I once had a Cuetec. God must have hated me at that time.
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your post reminded me of something, when i'm in stroke I play better with SW's, when I have had a long layoff a month or two then the SW's are harder for me to play with. I do adjust to different cues quickly when i'm playing alot but SW's are a tough cue for me when i'm out of stroke.
 
pharaoh68 said:
Oh, and one last one I have yet to see up here:

3) Skip Weston. Maybe brilliant in execution (though I'm not a subscriber of this theory) but these cues only LOOK pretty. I had a monster of a Skip. One of his fanciest ever. Lots of ivory. On the surface, everything looked perfect. When I played with it, it deflected so much it almost hit balls sideways! The other Skip I owned hit like a dried up sponge. Now, I've never played pool with a dried up sponge per se but I'm going to guess that if you use one as a cue, you won't get great results. Just my opinion.
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Same with me on Skip. Nice guy and makes one helluva beautiful looking cue but I could not shoot with the one I had built to save my life. The deflection was beyond anything I had ever dealt with before. Not to mention the weight was almost a full ounce less than what I requested.

I tried a couple of table lengths cuts with english, which I normally hit with my other cues, and this thing sent it so far off line I would miss the ball completely. A stunning looking cue but not one I could play with.

I'll stick with Mr. Webb and my ever trusty Joss.
 
Just my Opinion

I tend to go overboard when I pick up a new obsession. Four years ago when going hardcore serious about pool I must have bot and sold 18 cues. Everything from Schon to Samsara, Frey, McD, Lucasi, Jensen, Gilbert, Black, Scruggs, Josey etc etc etc. I was very lucky and could have been happy playing long term with almost any of them but kept my top favorites and resold the rest. Would still have the ebony Josey if it hadn't been so heavy.

IMO, my only serious disappointment was a very pretty, like new 6 pt hi/lo Auerbach from OK. Maybe it was the only clunker Jim Parker ever made but this one hit like a little girls toy with an annoying clink every third shot. Couldn't find a problem with the ferrule, joint or tip. Just a tinny erratic hit w/a light skinny butt. Accidently sold it at a small profit on ebay - never heard anything but a positive comment from the CA buyer. I hope he loves it.:)
 
I have owned cues from a good share of top level makers, mid level makers, and low level makers, and of course most all of the factory stuff. I do have my opinions about the many cues that I have owned and played, in terms of playability, construction, aesthetic appeal, etc. One part of me says.. take part in this discussion and provide my personal insight, while the other, and more reasonable side of me says, stay away from it. On a selfish side, I must say that I really do enjoy reading the experiences of others, especially wherein some (refreshing) negative comments are shared, especially concerning the most important element of a cue, the hit and playability, but at the end of the thought process, I just cannot bring myself to sharing
who?s work that I perceive as negative, because I think that by doing so, I could unfairly portray the overall work of a maker, and hence potentially harm his livelihood, especially since hit & playability are so dog-on subjective, and one mans dog is another mans dagger, and hit is such an important factor of a cue, I would not wish to share my perception of that hit. Having said this, I must say again that I personally enjoy the thread, and smile when I can relate to the various experiences of others.
Kind Rgds to all, and sorry for being such a ?dud? on this one.
 
Koop said:
Same with me on Skip. Nice guy and makes one helluva beautiful looking cue but I could not shoot with the one I had built to save my life. The deflection was beyond anything I had ever dealt with before. Not to mention the weight was almost a full ounce less than what I requested.

I tried a couple of table lengths cuts with english, which I normally hit with my other cues, and this thing sent it so far off line I would miss the ball completely. A stunning looking cue but not one I could play with.

I'll stick with Mr. Webb and my ever trusty Joss.
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Here's the thing with Skip. I've been to his house and shop several times. I've talked with him a lot. He is EXTREMELY forgetful. He has screwed up several orders in the last few years and quite badly. So badly that cues needed to be rebuilt.

The reasons why? Well, I'm too much of a gentleman to say ...in a public forum like this. ;)
 
Jmo!

My bug isn't quite as bad but must have gone through 10 cues or so over the past year - Diveney, Hills, Frey, Al Bautista, Sugartree, Preds, Joss, Meuccis, Mcd, Carmeli.

Almost all hit fine - but couldn't play for nuts with a pred with Z shaft. Have to pay almost maniacal concentration on where to hit on the cueball. The times where I played for a little cash with it were painful to remember.

As others have said, the stiff-tapered shafts are more unforgiving. I didn't like the Bautista, hits like a phenolic tip with a "piak" even with a moori medium. Didn't like the Carmeli with ivory ferrule I had for the same reason. Felt like hitting with a hollow steel pole. Last would be cues with solid (not sleeved) steel joints - Joss, Falcon - with the heavy clunky hit.

Bash me if you will, I like the soft hit on my Meucci and Mcd better - the only cue that came close to my dream hit was an old 60" Frey sneaky but ended up selling it as couldn't get comfortable with the 12.3-12.5 mm tips.

The cues I can rely on are the older Meuccis, Mcd and 2nd gen 314 - hits with the right control and consistency for me though some of them don't feel that great. LOL.;)
 
pharaoh68 said:
Here's the thing with Skip. I've been to his house and shop several times. I've talked with him a lot. He is EXTREMELY forgetful. He has screwed up several orders in the last few years and quite badly. So badly that cues needed to be rebuilt.

The reasons why? Well, I'm too much of a gentleman to say ...in a public forum like this. ;)
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LOL...how ya been Brian? Haven't had much time to post for quite some time and actually still don't :) Just thought I would chime in on this one because I feel people have a right to know both good and bad before forking out their hard earned(in most cases) money.

Later,
Koop
 
Strangely enough, the best playing cue that I own is a solid ebony (no buttcap) 25 year old mcdermott with no wrap and simple black collars.

The shaft is abuot 12.25mm and is stiff as a board (old shaft wood).

A ton of people have tried to buy this cue from me, but its not for sale at any price.

I own a southwest and several other high end cues. Over the years I've owned a ton of other cues as well ranging from 500-5000 and nothing plays better than this stupid mcdermott.

I'd love to know why more than anything. I suspect its because the cue isn't cored and the diameter/taper is just right.
 
Dale teague the first weak or so its ok and then its like playing with a wet noddle.
 
I have owned and played with a dozen or so Cokers and I can't stand them.I hear every one say how good they are and I just don't get it.The one's I have had or seen all looked very nice but they played like crap to me.
 
maxeypad2007 said:
Strangely enough, the best playing cue that I own is a solid ebony (no buttcap) 25 year old mcdermott with no wrap and simple black collars.

The shaft is abuot 12.25mm and is stiff as a board (old shaft wood).

A ton of people have tried to buy this cue from me, but its not for sale at any price.

I own a southwest and several other high end cues. Over the years I've owned a ton of other cues as well ranging from 500-5000 and nothing plays better than this stupid mcdermott.

I'd love to know why more than anything. I suspect its because the cue isn't cored and the diameter/taper is just right.
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I have owned a Gus, Southwests, Phillipi, Omen, etc but to me the cue that felt the best and I thought I played the best with was a McDermott C-14 with a leather wrap....go figure.
 
Duane Tuula said:
BLUEGRASS.... sorry for yelling, but I had to get that out of my system
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Yeah, but why? It's really easy to toss out a name, but give your reason why...
 
1pRoscoe said:
Yeah, but why? It's really easy to toss out a name, but give your reason why...
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I'm gonna have to go with Jensens - I've never hit with one, but I've seen Ross hit with them, and based on what I've seen they must really suck.


:eek: just kidding
 
runscott said:
I'm gonna have to go with Jensens - I've never hit with one, but I've seen Ross hit with them, and based on what I've seen they must really suck.


:eek: just kidding
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I will stab you in the ****ing soul.
 
I had a scruggs sneaky pete that was wood to wood piloted 5/16-14 joint, one of the older ones with ts between the points, that was the worst cue i ever played with! When I first got the cue I was looking forward to seeing what the "scruggs pete hype" was all about. What a horrible, freaking dud.
 
J$Cincy said:
I had a scruggs sneaky pete that was wood to wood piloted 5/16-14 joint, one of the older ones with ts between the points, that was the worst cue i ever played with! When I first got the cue I was looking forward to seeing what the "scruggs pete hype" was all about. What a horrible, freaking dud.
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Assuming you aren't f^cking nuts, and you really did just end up with a dud, you need to try another one. If you really dislike old Scruggs SP's, you are about the only person on the planet who does.
 
J$Cincy said:
hopefully I just got one that some "cue tip specialist" tampered with
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I hope so. Seriously, I've had two Scruggs SP's, and they both hit exactly alike: great. I still think they are the perfect cue to take into a crappy bar.

I liked the Scruggs SP's so much that I bought a Frey SP, since he worked with him making SP's, and it really, really sucked. It hit nothing at all like a Scruggs SP. Hopefully, like you, I just got a Frey dud, and all the rest are great.

Scott <=== real bast*ard since Ross stabbed him in the soul.
 
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