Why no Masse Cues?

David Marcus

David Marcus

"not bad,for a blind man"
Silver Member
In this new era of specialized cues, why are there no Masse cues? We have jump,J/B, break, extensions to turn a playing cue into a "reach" cue but no specialized cues for Masse or semi-Masse? Has there ever been such a thing and if so....what would be the suggested weight, length, taper? LD shaft or solid maple, stiff or whippy? :confused: Anybody have any input??
 
David Marcus said:
In this new era of specialized cues, why are there no Masse cues? We have jump,J/B, break, extensions to turn a playing cue into a "reach" cue but no specialized cues for Masse or semi-Masse? Has there ever been such a thing and if so....what would be the suggested weight, length, taper? LD shaft or solid maple, stiff or whippy? :confused: Anybody have any input??
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There are indeed Masse cues - they are more sought after by 3 Cushion
players, esp trick and fancy shot players.

They are:

short
VERY heavy
STIFFFFFF

expensive.

Dale
 
David Marcus said:
In this new era of specialized cues, why are there no Masse cues? We have jump,J/B, break, extensions to turn a playing cue into a "reach" cue but no specialized cues for Masse or semi-Masse? Has there ever been such a thing and if so....what would be the suggested weight, length, taper? LD shaft or solid maple, stiff or whippy? :confused: Anybody have any input??
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Alternatively, you can get shafts made that are shorter and thicker for a regular butt. I have two or three masse shafts that fit both of the cues I'm playing with lately. Those are for artistic billiards as opposed to pool. About 14-14.5 mm, 50 inches total length. Solid wood is fine -- you are not concerned about squirt.
 
Bob,How does that work out in weight?

Bob Jewett said:
Alternatively, you can get shafts made that are shorter and thicker for a regular butt. I have two or three masse shafts that fit both of the cues I'm playing with lately. Those are for artistic billiards as opposed to pool. About 14-14.5 mm, 50 inches total length. Solid wood is fine -- you are not concerned about squirt.
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Bob, Thanks for the response..How does that work out in weight? What kind of tip? 21" shaft? I would think pretty stiff at 14-14.5?
 
It's about the same as the normal cue since it is shorter but thicker. I don't know of anyone but Chandivert that makes 14+mm tips.
 
Masse cues..

From my experience.. most bar/pool room owners frown on attempting masse shots for anyone that can't execute one correctly because of the potential for damaging equipment is there. Even if you can execute masse shots correctly with ease some will threaten to have you thrown out because they have seen others tear the cloth or break a house cue..lol
This may be why cue companies don't bother attempting to market them. I met Mike Massey once and he had a selection of jump and masse cues.. The masse cues were various lengths from close to a standard jump cue up to 56-57" and one of the longer ones he told me weighed 25 oz I think.. It has been 6-8 years ago.
 
Maybe it's time...

Maybe it's time for the marketing and learning of how to correctly Masse or semi-Masse! You have almost everybody in the world with a jump cue...when done correctly either version of the Masse is a much more impressive/prettier shot than a jump...more skillful and pleasing to the eye...notice how few times ,if ever you've seen Efren jump?
 
Many tournaments have specific limits on how many cues you can bring with you to the match.

JC
 
There are as many have said, masse cues. Mine is 29oz ebony and burl wood. 14mm triangle tip. It wasn't that expensive either, under $400 as I recall.
 
Mezz makes really nice masse cues. They even made FK model in honor of Florian Kohler a.k.a. Venom. It hits really nice, he let me shoot a little bit with his.
But one of my favorite masse cues is any made by Dennis Dieckman. His cues make those all length of the table curve shots effortless.
 
David Marcus said:
In this new era of specialized cues, why are there no Masse cues? We have jump,J/B, break, extensions to turn a playing cue into a "reach" cue but no specialized cues for Masse or semi-Masse? Has there ever been such a thing and if so....what would be the suggested weight, length, taper? LD shaft or solid maple, stiff or whippy? :confused: Anybody have any input??
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last masse cue i built was 30 ounce, 44" long
22/22 with 14mm shafts , maple & lyptus , stiff as a baseball bat
i cant seem to locate the finished set of pictures :rolleyes:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=285792
006_zps2846ddf3.jpg



i dont have a clue how to USE them, but they are fun to build
i can see my self missing the ball and driving the tip right thru the slate:grin:

az member ken peters aka peterskw
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=177420&highlight=masse

i hear this fella knows a little bit about masseing
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=85067&highlight=mike+massey's+masse
 
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David Marcus said:
Maybe it's time for the marketing and learning of how to correctly Masse or semi-Masse! You have almost everybody in the world with a jump cue...when done correctly either version of the Masse is a much more impressive/prettier shot than a jump...more skillful and pleasing to the eye...notice how few times ,if ever you've seen Efren jump?
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Really, the only big difference between a masse cue and a standard is the length. It makes it easier to hold a masse cue in that shooting position and sets you up physically to be able to generate max power. Weights are similar, stiffness helps but only marginally and my masse cue has a similar tip.

There are just very very few masse shots that come up in a game of pool that would require a true masse cue. Or where you need to fully max out the masse potential. Unlike a jump cue that makes so many different jumps so much easier, that's just not the case with a masse cue.
 
Dieckman makes one of the best masse' cues. He has done many. They are really heavy ~26oz with stout tapers and broad tips. Jameson Neu has worked majik with a Dieckman, I've seen it. I own one currently that will be in my booth at the Superbilliards Expo. (Made for Raymond Ceulemans once upon a time).

Half masse shots are pretty manageable with a pool cue. I figure true masse cues are rare because so many pool rooms ban the practice. I used to ask for a call when new felts were being installed at my local pool room. I would go in on that day and practice masse shots before the old felts were removed. It is punishing on the equipment!
 
David Marcus said:
In this new era of specialized cues, why are there no Masse cues? We have jump,J/B, break, extensions to turn a playing cue into a "reach" cue but no specialized cues for Masse or semi-Masse? Has there ever been such a thing and if so....what would be the suggested weight, length, taper? LD shaft or solid maple, stiff or whippy? :confused: Anybody have any input??
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David Marcus... here a link to 13 pages of info on "masse cue" after reading or searching this info most of your question will probably be answer. http://forums.azbilliards.com/search.php?searchid=10227568&pp=25

Beside Dieckman for Masse question, the next person would be BHQ or Crown Cues on masse.

Brent its still nice seeing you building Masse!!! Boy I really lost time the last few year on what happen at AZBilliards Forum.
 
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Rumplestiltzkin said:
From my experience.. most bar/pool room owners frown on attempting masse shots for anyone that can't execute one correctly because of the potential for damaging equipment is there. Even if you can execute masse shots correctly with ease some will threaten to have you thrown out because they have seen others tear the cloth or break a house cue..lol
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I'm reminded of the bar scenes in The Hustler where a sign can be seen hanging behind the counter which reads "NO MASSE SHOTS!". :)
 
The other sign!!

Luther Blissett said:
I'm reminded of the bar scenes in The Hustler where a sign can be seen hanging behind the counter which reads "NO MASSE SHOTS!". :)
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The sign I remember was hanging on the front of the cage at Ames.." No Gambling Allowed" or was that at the Bar where Eddie gets his thumbs broken? There, another excuse to watch it for the billionth time!
 
David Marcus said:
The sign I remember was hanging on the front of the cage at Ames.." No Gambling Allowed" or was that at the Bar where Eddie gets his thumbs broken? There, another excuse to watch it for the billionth time!
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Yeah, it truly is a wonderful film. :)

Btw I just took a screenshot:

1h5c0w.jpg
 
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