Why isn't Predator SPWU more popular?

[smashmouth]

I'm wondering why Pred owners often overlook the SPWU and why SPWU
owners often switch to Predator's metal joint offerings.

Is the SPWU crappy?

Predators are often criticized for being too expensive, the SPWU is their
cheapest cue.

Predators are often passed on because some prefer wood to wood joints,
the SPWU is wood to wood.

People always seem to be looking for quality sneaky petes, what gives with
this cue?

 

[Gregg]

Some people think the whole 314 shaft thing is gimmicky, and are strongly opinionated on any Predator shaft.

Is it a nice cue?

It's what I would want, if I were to go the sneaky pete route, but that just me.

 

[seiyaryu55]

When i started to play seriously i wanted one. Just couldnt afford it. When i could afford it, well, i ended up getting a sneaky pete from a local cuemaker instead.

 

[Koop]

Some people think the whole 314 shaft thing is gimmicky, and are strongly opinionated on any Predator shaft.

I'm in this category as well as the fact that I like a heavy shaft. They are just too light for me.

Koop

 

[JoeyInCali]

They are too skinny.

 

[Matt_24]

I have played with a Predator Sneaky pete for months now. Mine has a wrap and steel joint. I run out with it, and gamble using it. What more can I say? I could say it plays "JAM UP"....but that is subjective. The thing is....you can play good with just about anything once you get used to it. It just takes time and using the SAME cue all of the time. Someone could give me a uber expensive Southwest to play with tomorrow and I would prefer the Pred initially because it is what I'm used to. Oh, and I love the Predator shafts. I could put one on just about any butt, and probably be happy with it.
Just my .02.

I have a beautiful Schon R-12 that I need to get a Pred for...I've just been too busy playing with my Predator to worry about it. I'll get that on order soon enough I s'pose.

 

[kzoojam2006]

I love My 8-pt Predator. Bought it in Vegas a few weeks before it came out. Joe Blackburn put a beautiful cream wrap on it. I love it! I took the butt cap off and now it's real hoppy, and the hit is a lot better. Sorry I don't have a personal pic, only from Seybert's website.

 

[desert1pocket]

I love my old SPWU, and I rarely shoot with anything else. I recently bought a new Z2 shaft, and since it only costs a little more to get a whole SPWU, I went ahead and got a new butt to go with it. I went with the red veneers since I already have two with the green, and I was really dissapointed in it. The points were not very sharp, and they started putting the pin in a phenolic insert instead of in the wood. The phenolic changes the feel of the hit a great deal, especialy when it it is on both sides of the joint (the new shafts have the inserts in a phenolic core also). I just sold the brand new butt here on AZB, and I will never get rid of my older SPWU's now that I know I can't just buy a new one. I still think they are a great buy, I just don't like the way the hit anymore.

They are too skinny.

The newer ones can be a bit skinny, but they still vary in thickness a fair amount. I have an older one that measures 1.310 at the end.

 

[Matt_24]

I love My 8-pt Predator. Bought it in Vegas a few weeks before it came out. Joe Blackburn put a beautiful cream wrap on it. I love it! I took the butt cap off and now it's real hoppy, and the hit is a lot better. Sorry I don't have a personal pic, only from Seybert's website.

This is the exact cue I shoot with. Couldn't ask for anything more!

 

[Da Poet]

I was so close to pulling the trigger on getting this cue, but I gotta be honest, I really don't like the the look of any of the butts in the sneaky pete Predator line.

The thing I want in a sneaky pete is that it should be plain and natural looking. The predator sneaky butts have those extra colors added to the points that not only make it too distinctive for my comfort, but I just don't think they look that great. They don't have a natural look to me.

It's not about gambling, I just don't want to be paranoid about leaving the cue out of sight for a few seconds at a time when I go walk the lizard.

If predator had a butt that had no points, just a great piece of wood with a nice finish, Clear, black, brown, whatever, I would have already picked one up. Now I'm thinking I may just talk to a cuemaker about fitting a predator shaft on a custom plain butt so I can still get the weight and joint style I want.

 

[Grilled Cheese]

I have a SPJU....the reason being is, it is very hard to have a forward balanced cue without a steel joint, or a huge pin.


If I could get the same balance out of the SPWU...I would have bought that instead. The only way to get a forward balance out of a wood to wood, is to go the custom route (ie, huge pin). Custom makers bore out the back of the cue a lot more, then use a big pin, and the pin also goes in pretty deep, adding weight in the front.


The denser, heavier wood on a SP is obviously in the rear.

 

[DougT]

I went with the red veneers since I already have two with the green, and I was really dissapointed in it. The points were not very sharp, and they

The points on my SP4RW are very sharp!!
Funny, I thought the older green points weren't sharp.

 

[desert1pocket]

The points on my SP4RW are very sharp!!
Funny, I thought the older green points weren't sharp.

Huh. Maybe they just vary that much. I have two older green ones that are razor sharp, and the SP4RW I just bought was so sloppy that it looked almost like the points were cnc at the tops. I like predator pruducts on the whole, and I hope mine was just a fluke.

 

[DougT]

Huh. Maybe they just vary that much. I have two older green ones that are razor sharp, and the SP4RW I just bought was so sloppy that it looked almost like the points were cnc at the tops. I like predator pruducts on the whole, and I hope mine was just a fluke.

yep, sounds like there is a lot of variance.

 

[dustanj]

I'm a little late on this post, but I'm new. I've been playing with an SPWU since they started putting Uni-Loc joints in them(about 4 yrs.). I love this cue and thinking of buying a Z2 to put on it. I have tried alot of different cues and I keep coming back to my SPWU. I also had an older '97 model Predator with a steel joint and linen wrap, but sold it because I liked the sneaky better- mainly because of the smooth no wrap butt. I like the looks of the new 8 point sneaky that Predator has but after reading some comments I am worried about the new joint technology.

 

[enzo]

The thing is....you can play good with just about anything once you get used to it. It just takes time and using the SAME cue all of the time. Someone could give me a uber expensive Southwest to play with tomorrow and I would prefer the Pred initially because it is what I'm used to. Oh, and I love the Predator shafts. I could put one on just about any butt, and probably be happy with it.
Just my .02.

I agree with this for the most part, i just feel that when you are dealing with deflection, a guy who is ¨"used to a cue" that defelcts a quarter of an inch over the length of the table is going to play better (all other things being equal) than a guy who is "used to a cue" that deflects an inch and a quarter over the length of the table. just have never really understood why more people dont understand this.

 

[Da Poet]

Correction

I was so close to pulling the trigger on getting this cue, but I gotta be honest, I really don't like the the look of any of the butts in the sneaky pete Predator line.

The thing I want in a sneaky pete is that it should be plain and natural looking. The predator sneaky butts have those extra colors added to the points that not only make it too distinctive for my comfort, but I just don't think they look that great. They don't have a natural look to me.

It's not about gambling, I just don't want to be paranoid about leaving the cue out of sight for a few seconds at a time when I go walk the lizard.

If predator had a butt that had no points, just a great piece of wood with a nice finish, Clear, black, brown, whatever, I would have already picked one up. Now I'm thinking I may just talk to a cuemaker about fitting a predator shaft on a custom plain butt so I can still get the weight and joint style I want.

I feel like I have to correct this. I decided not to wait and ordered the four point wood to wood sneaky anyway, and I have to say it really looked much better than I thought it would. The extra color in the points is far more subtle than what the pictures show. The workmanship on the points on my butt looks fantastic. The cue looks a lot less flashy than I was expecting and no one so far has asked me what kind of cue it was, or has even seemed to give it a second glance. I'm very happy with the way this thing looks.