Your ideal cue

[Push&Pool]

Guys what kind of cues do you prefer? What characteristics do you find most important for your play? What do you like in a cue and what you don't? Please describe how your ideal cue would look like considering the following categories:
1. lenght
2. weight
3. shape
4. material
5. tip

Just remember we want descriptions and characteristics, not specific models or manufacturers. Here's the description of my own ideal cue:

1. Lenght - I generally prefer longer cues. Short ones have bad balace, they're difficult for aiming and breaking, and I make mistakes while shooting a lot more often (mostly when I shoot at high speed).

2. Weight - I like heavier cues, but not too heavy, as I need good mobility for strokes. Nevertheless, with heavier cues I have less oscillations while aiming, more power when I blast off, less shooting mistakes ("skidding" of the CB etc.), and they simply "feel better" in my arm.

3. Shape - I hate cues with a much wider shaft comparing to the rest of the cuestick. I mean, in bars they often put cues with a wide rubber shaft which totally ruins their balance and makes them harder to aim.

4. Material - This is mostly connected to the weight issue. I prefer wooden/plastic or plastic/metal combination or at least heavier wooden cues. Most wooden cues are too light, while the completely metal ones feel just too heavy and unbalanced. Also, the surface of the cue needs to be smooth, which isn't always the case.

5. Tip - Definitely softer tips. I just don't see what kind of advantage harder tips could possibly have. Sometimes it feels like you hit the cue ball with a rock. Try to shoot a little stronger, and half of the shots will skid. Also, giving spin to the CB is awful with harder tips. There's one more upside of the softer ones. In bars chalk is often... well... missing. Softer tips are much more reliable when shooting with a limited amount of chalk on them.

 

[dr9ball]

LOL you specifications are very descriptive. I too like a cue that is neither hot nor cold but just right.

 

[Tramp Steamer]

For me it's:
Length-standard.
Weight-19.25 ounces.
Shape-mostly round.
Material-wood, ivory, steel, rubber, and a smattering of plastic.
Tip-definitely an Everest. :smile:

 

[sfleinen]

Guys what kind of cues do you prefer? What characteristics do you find most important for your play? What do you like in a cue and what you don't? Please describe how your ideal cue would look like considering the following categories:
1. lenght
2. weight
3. shape
4. material
5. tip

Just remember we want descriptions and characteristics, not specific models or manufacturers. Here's the description of my own ideal cue:

1. Lenght - I generally prefer longer cues. Short ones have bad balace, they're difficult for aiming and breaking, and I make mistakes while shooting a lot more often (mostly when I shoot at high speed).

I wouldn't broadbrush short cues has automatically "having bad balance." That is totally subjective. Taller folks that have a wider "wing span" (i.e. distance between the hands in normal shooting position) will obviously need a longer cue to accommodate that wider wing span. But that doesn't make the shorter cue "inferior" or that it "has a bad balance." To a shorter person with a narrower wing span, that cue might be perfect.

2. Weight - I like heavier cues, but not too heavy, as I need good mobility for strokes. Nevertheless, with heavier cues I have less oscillations while aiming, more power when I blast off, less shooting mistakes ("skidding" of the CB etc.), and they simply "feel better" in my arm.

I like heavier cues, too -- 21oz is my preference. But that's not because of "less oscillations." (IMHO, oscillations in your stroke is a stroke problem, not a cue problem. Merely using a heavier cue to "pull" the arm down [i.e. weigh it down] and prevent those oscillations is deadening your stroke -- and thus your feel.) Personally, I prefer the heavier cues because the lighter cues make my stroke feel like "it's on roller skates." But that was probably built up over time, starting from using 19oz cues when I was beginning to learn the game decades ago.

3. Shape - I hate cues with a much wider shaft comparing to the rest of the cuestick. I mean, in bars they often put cues with a wide rubber shaft which totally ruins their balance and makes them harder to aim.

Are you talking about the shaft's taper -- i.e. "pro taper" which means the shaft is pretty much straight for a distance, and then begins to taper (become wider) near the joint? (As opposed to a conical taper, where the taper begins almost immediately at the tip?)

By the way, what is a "rubber shaft"? I've never heard of that.

4. Material - This is mostly connected to the weight issue. I prefer wooden/plastic or plastic/metal combination or at least heavier wooden cues. Most wooden cues are too light, while the completely metal ones feel just too heavy and unbalanced. Also, the surface of the cue needs to be smooth, which isn't always the case.

"Metal" cues? This must be unique to Europe, because any "metal" cues found here in the U.S., tend to be extremely cheap and not of good quality. In fact, they are often made of aluminum and tend to be lighter than wood cues, not heavier.

5. Tip - Definitely softer tips. I just don't see what kind of advantage harder tips could possibly have. Sometimes it feels like you hit the cue ball with a rock. Try to shoot a little stronger, and half of the shots will skid. Also, giving spin to the CB is awful with harder tips. There's one more upside of the softer ones. In bars chalk is often... well... missing. Softer tips are much more reliable when shooting with a limited amount of chalk on them.

As long as you maintain your tip, it really doesn't matter what hardness/softness/density you prefer. While I tend to agree with you that harder tips tend to feel like I'm hitting the cue ball with a little piece of concrete, that doesn't mean those harder tips can't hold chalk and give you a good, solid hit. Again, that's a tip maintenance issue, and if you're bringing your own cue into a bar with you, you should have at least a tip tool, or a bit of sandpaper, to maintain it. Or even if you don't bring your own cue with you, keeping a little strip of sandpaper in your wallet (e.g. in a credit card flap) shouldn't be a big deal.

-Sean

 

[Pushout]

Just remember we want descriptions and characteristics, not specific models or manufacturers. Here's the description of my own ideal cue:

1. Lenght - I generally prefer longer cues. Short ones have bad balace, they're difficult for aiming and breaking, and I make mistakes while shooting a lot more often (mostly when I shoot at high speed).

You prefer longer cues yet according to your own statement, you hold the cue at or near the balance point, negating the cue having any balance at all. What's long, what's short??

2. Weight - I like heavier cues, but not too heavy, as I need good mobility for strokes. Nevertheless, with heavier cues I have less oscillations while aiming, more power when I blast off, less shooting mistakes ("skidding" of the CB etc.), and they simply "feel better" in my arm.

What's heavy for you, what's light? What are the "oscillations" that you make while aiming and how does the weight affect it?

3. Shape - I hate cues with a much wider shaft comparing to the rest of the cuestick. I mean, in bars they often put cues with a wide rubber shaft which totally ruins their balance and makes them harder to aim.

What do you mean "wider shaft comparing to the rest"? And, again with the rubber shaft, which in all the years I've played and they are considerable, I've never heard of?


4. Material - This is mostly connected to the weight issue. I prefer wooden/plastic or plastic/metal combination or at least heavier wooden cues. Most wooden cues are too light, while the completely metal ones feel just too heavy and unbalanced. Also, the surface of the cue needs to be smooth, which isn't always the case.

You play with cues off the wall in the venue but talk about the cues having different materials. Are you talking about one piece cues or two piece, joint material, ferrule, inlay, etc?


5. Tip - Definitely softer tips. I just don't see what kind of advantage harder tips could possibly have. Sometimes it feels like you hit the cue ball with a rock. Try to shoot a little stronger, and half of the shots will skid. Also, giving spin to the CB is awful with harder tips. There's one more upside of the softer ones. In bars chalk is often... well... missing. Softer tips are much more reliable when shooting with a limited amount of chalk on them.

Tips are very, very subjective. I played with soft tips the first to second year I played and have played with hard tips ever since. Properly maintained, I have a much better feel for the cue ball and hard tips last longer or used to, anyway. I always carry my own chalk, always, with my initials on it. Proper chalking technique take care of the problem of "a limited amount of chalk".


I can give you exact lengths, weights, tip and shaft diameter, butt and shaft material {read wood}, joint and ferrule material. What you're asking is very general and most of us use more exact description. Mention a Meucci cue and most of us know the characteristics of that kind of cue.

 

[Push&Pool]

I wouldn't broadbrush short cues has automatically "having bad balance." That is totally subjective. Taller folks that have a wider "wing span" (i.e. distance between the hands in normal shooting position) will obviously need a longer cue to accommodate that wider wing span. But that doesn't make the shorter cue "inferior" or that it "has a bad balance." To a shorter person with a narrower wing span, that cue might be perfect.

In my "pool career" I've seen many shorter cues. I can say some of them are perfect for a wing span of shorter persons... three-year olds, for example. All jokes aside, I'm not saying shorter cues are generally inferior. What I'm getting at is that some of those cues are so short and badly balanced they're simply impractical for pretty much anyone.

I like heavier cues, too -- 21oz is my preference. But that's not because of "less oscillations." (IMHO, oscillations in your stroke is a stroke problem, not a cue problem. Merely using a heavier cue to "pull" the arm down [i.e. weigh it down] and prevent those oscillations is deadening your stroke -- and thus your feel.) Personally, I prefer the heavier cues because the lighter cues make my stroke feel like "it's on roller skates." But that was probably built up over time, starting from using 19oz cues when I was beginning to learn the game decades ago.

I'm using heavier cues for mostly the same reasons. For me it feels too like my stroke "is on roller skates" when I use very light cues. I get that feeling that the cue ball is actually heavier than my cue. I just like feeling some weight while swinging my weapon.

Are you talking about the shaft's taper -- i.e. "pro taper" which means the shaft is pretty much straight for a distance, and then begins to taper (become wider) near the joint? (As opposed to a conical taper, where the taper begins almost immediately at the tip?)

By the way, what is a "rubber shaft"? I've never heard of that.

I'm really sorry but I just can't find the picture of that kind of cue. Those are probably just cheap bar cues which are unknown to most pool hall players. It does look something like that "pro taper" thing you described, only the part where it becomes wider is made of rubber (the cue is usually heavy and metal). That's what I meant under rubber shaft. Sry if I haven't explained it correctly, but the "wider rubber part" I was referring to was the wrap and afterwrap part.

"Metal" cues? This must be unique to Europe, because any "metal" cues found here in the U.S., tend to be extremely cheap and not of good quality. In fact, they are often made of aluminum and tend to be lighter than wood cues, not heavier.

Oh believe me, the metal cues I often see surely aren't lighter than wooden ones. They're usually shorter (with that "rubber part"), badly balanced and heavy as f**k. Some of them are quite playable actually, but their quality is usually far from good.

As long as you maintain your tip, it really doesn't matter what hardness/softness/density you prefer. While I tend to agree with you that harder tips tend to feel like I'm hitting the cue ball with a little piece of concrete, that doesn't mean those harder tips can't hold chalk and give you a good, solid hit. Again, that's a tip maintenance issue, and if you're bringing your own cue into a bar with you, you should have at least a tip tool, or a bit of sandpaper, to maintain it. Or even if you don't bring your own cue with you, keeping a little strip of sandpaper in your wallet (e.g. in a credit card flap) shouldn't be a big deal.

Maybe I'll try that sandpaper thing, but cosidering the fact I don't own any cue and I only play in bars, I'm more than used to terrible playing conditions. I actually look at it as my advantage over some players who regularly practised in pool halls. They easily get surprised when they start shooting on a barbox.

-Sean

1. Lenght - I generally prefer longer cues. Short ones have bad balace, they're difficult for aiming and breaking, and I make mistakes while shooting a lot more often (mostly when I shoot at high speed).

You prefer longer cues yet according to your own statement, you hold the cue at or near the balance point, negating the cue having any balance at all. What's long, what's short??

Under long cues I mean average or above-average long bar cue. Yes, I hold the cues at balance point in order to prevent too much weight and to have a more stavle stroke. But if the cue is badly balanced, holding the cue at balance point is practically impossible, which means I have to deal with extra weight that only reduces the quality of my shots.

2. Weight - I like heavier cues, but not too heavy, as I need good mobility for strokes. Nevertheless, with heavier cues I have less oscillations while aiming, more power when I blast off, less shooting mistakes ("skidding" of the CB etc.), and they simply "feel better" in my arm.

What's heavy for you, what's light? What are the "oscillations" that you make while aiming and how does the weight affect it?

Heavy is, again, average or above-average heavy bar cue. Under oscillations I meant the tendency of the shot to "misfire" at the moment of shooting. It results in either missed shots or completely missed CB. And as far as I saw, lighter cues are much more prone to this.

3. Shape - I hate cues with a much wider shaft comparing to the rest of the cuestick. I mean, in bars they often put cues with a wide rubber shaft which totally ruins their balance and makes them harder to aim.

What do you mean "wider shaft comparing to the rest"? And, again with the rubber shaft, which in all the years I've played and they are considerable, I've never heard of?

I explained that above.

4. Material - This is mostly connected to the weight issue. I prefer wooden/plastic or plastic/metal combination or at least heavier wooden cues. Most wooden cues are too light, while the completely metal ones feel just too heavy and unbalanced. Also, the surface of the cue needs to be smooth, which isn't always the case.

You play with cues off the wall in the venue but talk about the cues having different materials. Are you talking about one piece cues or two piece, joint material, ferrule, inlay, etc?

I'm talking about one-piece cues and the material from which the core and the surface of the shaft were made.

5. Tip - Definitely softer tips. I just don't see what kind of advantage harder tips could possibly have. Sometimes it feels like you hit the cue ball with a rock. Try to shoot a little stronger, and half of the shots will skid. Also, giving spin to the CB is awful with harder tips. There's one more upside of the softer ones. In bars chalk is often... well... missing. Softer tips are much more reliable when shooting with a limited amount of chalk on them.


Tips are very, very subjective. I played with soft tips the first to second year I played and have played with hard tips ever since. Properly maintained, I have a much better feel for the cue ball and hard tips last longer or used to, anyway. I always carry my own chalk, always, with my initials on it. Proper chalking technique take care of the problem of "a limited amount of chalk".

I also explained the tip issue a little above :smile:

I can give you exact lengths, weights, tip and shaft diameter, butt and shaft material {read wood}, joint and ferrule material. What you're asking is very general and most of us use more exact description. Mention a Meucci cue and most of us know the characteristics of that kind of cue.

I know I'm asking general descriptions but I actually wanted general descriptions. Exact proportions and the manufacturers won't help me much cause I'll probably never even see a Meucci cue :sorry:

I hope I explained what you asked... If not, I'll try again :grin:

 

[8onthebreak]

One that makes the balls for me...

Anyone got one??? I'll take it, PM ME, LOL
Seriously, 19.75 oz, ebony forearm, pro taper ...314 pred shaft, Moori med tip, front weighted and PRETTY :grin:

I can't stand a conical taper shaft...I miscue like crazy with them

 

[JMW]

I too like a cue that is neither hot nor cold but just right.

Shaft wood stiffens when cold (less shaft deflection) which causes more cue ball deflection. This is why I play with less side spin in the winter months. Of course I have better positioning skills during summer league and a much better win/loss ratio.

Obviously, a cold LD shaft loses its LD characteristics. But a hot LD shaft can cause issues with the lamination and create undesirable flex and/or warpage. So although I agree with you that a warm cues feels just right, it's the warm temperature that creates that extra low deflection that improves my game! :grin:

 

[Allen Brown]

The comment that the OP made about shape of a cue......could he be holding the house cue by the shaft and mistaking the rubber bumper on the end for the tip? His comment threw me off big time.

 

[Pushout]

1. Ok, I have no idea how long an average or above average bar cue is in your part of the world. I started playing with 57” cues because they were the standard two piece cue length at that time. When Bob Meucci started making cues 58” that became the standard as most manufacturers began to follow suite. I play with a 58” cue but could play with a 57”.
2. I started playing with a 20oz. cue and now play with 19.5oz. Again, I don’t have any idea what an average bar cue weighs. Your misfires sound like a stroke problem, not the weight of the cue. With a good stroke it shouldn’t matter how heavy the cue is.
3. Nope, you didn’t, at least the part about the wider shaft. On a one piece cue I can’t picture what you’re talking about. Still not clear on the rubber shaft. Are your bar cues in one piece or two?
4. Over here the cues are mostly wood with some aluminum and fiberglass abominations. I’d guess most of the cue is the same material except for the ferrule. I haven’t seen aluminum or fiberglass since I stopped drinking, however
5. Tips, again, are solely up to the operator.

Sorry, it’s hard for me to talk in general terms about cues because I haven’t been doing that since the early ‘70s. Most people who play regularly purchase a two piece cue so they don’t have to rely on bar cues or whatever. Playing with the same cue all the time will definitely improve your all-around game. I hate to see someone as into the game as you seem to be having to find a decent cue to play with wherever you are playing. I only used Meucci as an example, I didn’t mean to imply anything. A tip shaper, if you have access to one, would be a great help as would carrying your own chalk.
Good luck!

 

[DAVE_M]

58-60" depending on where I'm playing - I'd like to try a 62"+ cue
18-19 oz depending on the balance point.
Pro tapered shafts.
Purple Heart & Maple - I saw a reverse PH/Maple Tascarella, I'd give a kidney for.
Elkmaster that has been pressed slightly.

 

[rayjay]

58", 18 oz, neutral balance, full-splice, ebony points and butt sleeve into birdseye or straight-grain maple, 4 veneers, soft black kangaroo wrap, flat face wood-to-wood joint of ivory or juma, pin doesn't really matter but prefer larger ones, 12.75 mm tight, straight-grained, dense, old, straight shafts around 4 oz, Kamui brown S tip, ferrules of ivory, juma, micarta, or could be ferruless with the right shaft, and a cuemaker that cares. Really, honest to God, really cares.