Why doesn't Schmelke's website have good cue photos?

Paul_#_

Paul_#_

Well-known member
Can't Schmelke provide high-resolution photos on their website? Here is a beautiful cue that was posted on Reddit but you wouldn't know Schmelke sold such a pretty cue by looking at its website. I am told it is coco bolo butt and laminated maple.


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One of the Schmelke website's coco bolo cues:

Schmelke coco bolo.jpg
 
Schmelke has some very nice woods for their cues - the Bacote that they use is super nice- I would imagine some of their other woods are equally as nice in appearance. They will make things right if the work is not to your satisfaction - within reason- given the price.

Where can you get a beautifully figured , full splice cue that plays good for about $140 new? For another $40 or so you can customize joint, shaft taper, ferrule, tip, weight! Hard to beat - they play very decent.
 
Is it hard to photograph a cue that represents all the bocote cues of a particular model that it sells? For example, its air-brushed-like photographs of one model shows a cue with different shades (dark vs light) and different patterns for the same cue (see photos below of their M020 Bocote 2-Piece Cue w/Maple Shaft). Same thing in my earlier post showing very different coco bolo cues of what I think are the same model.
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m020_bocote_1.jpg


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I can't find their website.

But getting good product photos can be tough. Cues can really be a bitch too, just the shape of these things. Long thing with a lot of detail too. Also some companies are really cheap too invest in something like that.
 
mikemosconi said:
Schmelke has some very nice woods for their cues - the Bacote that they use is super nice- I would imagine some of their other woods are equally as nice in appearance. They will make things right if the work is not to your satisfaction - within reason- given the price.

Where can you get a beautifully figured , full splice cue that plays good for about $140 new? For another $40 or so you can customize joint, shaft taper, ferrule, tip, weight! Hard to beat - they play very decent.
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Rosewood or purp. hrt. sneaky's are 125 before any options. i'm gonna get a 60" and all in i think its gonna run around 170bux. My last one had shafts that warped but i need a long sneaky so i'm giving them another shot.
 
garczar said:
Rosewood or purp. hrt. sneaky's are 125 before any options. i'm gonna get a 60" and all in i think its gonna run around 170bux. My last one had shafts that warped but i need a long sneaky so i'm giving them another shot.
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I just ordered a 60" sneaky light weight cue from them for a friend. They now have a flat finish. I tried that cue and it feels great. I like the new finish also.
 
Paul_#_ said:
Is it hard to photograph a cue that represents all the bocote cues of a particular model that it sells? For example, its air-brushed-like photographs of one model shows a cue with different shades (dark vs light) and different patterns for the same cue (see photos below of their M020 Bocote 2-Piece Cue w/Maple Shaft). Same thing in my earlier post showing very different coco bolo cues of what I think are the same model.
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It’s wood so the grain and color is going to vary with each cue.
Here are 3 m20’s that are all different.
The one on the left is more brown, the middle more orange, and one on the right is stained with the high gloss they no longer offer.
 

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JS858 said:
It’s wood so the grain and color is going to vary with each cue.
Here are 3 m20’s that are all different.
The one on the left is more brown, the middle more orange, and one on the right is stained with the high gloss they no longer offer.
Click to expand...
I don't see the three m20s, but I am looking forward for cell-phone photos ten times better than those from Schemlke's website.
Schmelke can produce ---- at least from the Reddit photos--- the most simple and elegant cues.
 
Paul_#_ said:
I don't see the three m20s, but I am looking forward for cell-phone photos ten times better than those from Schemlke's website.
Schmelke can produce ---- at least from the Reddit photos--- the most simple and elegant cues.
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The photo didn’t take, but it’s there now.
Their new website and photos are actually much better than they used to be.

They are great people and make good cues. The price of refinish materials has quadrupled since the pandemic, and instead of just raising prices and passing it along in the price, they changed materials and processes so they didn’t have to. I can appreciate that, and I can appreciate that they don’t spend a ton on a fancy website with marketing and 25 photos so that they can keep making cues at affordable prices.
They will build you anything you want if just you call and talk to them instead of bashing the quality of their website.
 
JS858 said:
The one on the left is more brown, the middle more orange, and one on the right is stained with the high gloss they no longer offer.
Click to expand...
What cues does Schmelke still offer a high gloss?
Was this cue a high-gloss cue (the same cue as in the first post)?

Schmelke 1.jpg
 
Paul_#_ said:
What cues does Schmelke still offer a high gloss?
Was this cue a high-gloss cue (the same cue as in the first post)?

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They don’t. For about the last year or so their cues have been finished with a much thinner film build that makes the woods look more mutted and almost matte.
There are more positives than negatives to that, but if you’re expecting to buy a stock cue off their site and it show up super shiny, that’s not what you are going to get.
It’s just clear, so I guess maybe if you asked and paid, they may lay it down heavier for you.

This cue is one of the most basic cues that they made, but, they no longer come standard with the pipe joint, and they do not make the PTO laminated shaft anymore.
If you’re in love with this exact cue, you’re best served to just call David or email him the pictures and see what he can do.
 
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