Pool Cue Recommendations
8/27/2007 6:09:00 PM
Pool Cue Recommendations
I'm going to be buying a new billiard cue soon, and just doing some research. I have my own opinions but thought id get a few others. I'm looking for a production cue, nothing too expensive, and nothing custom.
Pool Cue Recommendations
Replies & Comments
Ross on 8/27/2007 6:11:50 PMHave you tried or thought of a Meucci? I've had good experiences with their off-the-shelf cues, but I should say that I'm an average level player. I'm not sure the level you are playing at, so you may want something more.
guest on 8/27/2007 6:16:10 PM
I have not used a Meucci before, but they are on my list. What your opinion was regarding the quality of their cue? I've got a few friends that own Meucci cues and have heard nothing but good reports, although I have heard that their inlays tend to pop out. As I said, they are on my short list, so I am thinking of possibly buying one and would appreciate your response.
Also on my list are McDermott cues, although I feel they have sold out and have run out of ideas and make high priced, CNC plastic inlaid cues of poor quality. Its just what I've heard, but I'm sure that there will be differing responses.
farbman on 8/29/2007 8:48:00 PM
It is hard to tell a stranger what cue to buy because so many personal and skill level factors go in to the decision. If you like the Meucci's, buy one, but don't forget the weaknesses they have. Other than that you may want to go to a billiard expo show like they used to have in PA that has all the cues to look at that you could ever wish for. There are lots of cues for sale from individuals that will let you hit with it that could be a better buy. I've bought a few like that. You might also ck out the low end models of prestige or high end cue makers like Lambros, Prather and others.
I've been in the cue business for years, and have sold both McDermott and Meucci pool cues, as well as Schon, Joss, and most of the other popular brands. I don't wish to malign anyone's product, but over the years, we've had more service and maintenance problems with Meucci cues than other comparable brands. Just stating facts from the raw data. It became a problem for us so much so that we no longer carry them. I don't particularly like the way they play, but that's purely a personal preference, and doesn't speak to the quality.
Meucci used to be known for softer thinner ferrule material and joint collar material as part of their deflection (or lack of) theory. I have no argument with that as long as you know that you will be replacing ferrules and joint rings, and are willing to trade that for the "hit". (Although they may have improved since, but since we don't sell them, I don't keep up.)
What I don't like is getting new cues on which the entire butt sleeve is loose and problems of that type. Pure quality control. I still sell a few, but on a purchase order basis only. The only one we stock is the "sneaky pete". In my opinion, this is the best cue Meucci has made. And again, I stress that this is just the opinion of an average player and billiard supply dealer.
MadMike on 12/21/2007 10:24:10 PM
I have also heard that Meucci has went south with quality. I just purchased a McDermott cue and love it. Just my 02 cents.
I also am in the market for a new cue. I currently have a Cuetec signature series SST shaft. I would like to upgrade. I have played with Meucci and Lucasi. I liked the lucasi better. I am curious about the Arsenal cues. Has anyone played with them? The production models have some designs that I like, but I was curious how they play.
Soco on 3/11/2008 7:16:39 PM
There are a few important things to consider when purchasing a cue, and then there are somet things that don't matter much at all, being subjective in nature, like inlays and appearance and such. You can pay a lot more money for stuff like that, or you can skip it almost altogether, so I won't bother listing the details of it.
First and foremost your shaft has to be made of a good hardwood, hard rock maple being the standard. You'd be hard-pressed to find a cue made of real wood over a hundred bucks that doesn't at least claim to be made of this wood. Again, inlays on the base will be a different story.
The joint of the stick is very important. If you like a really hard, solid hit then go with metal on metal. If you consider yourself the ultra finesse player, go with wood on wood. If you're somewhere inbetween then find a metal on wood. Be forewarned tho, anything other than metal on metal will require a bit more care, so don't get loaded at the pool hall and break it down super fast and loose or put it together screwing it in with too much torque on one side or another. You'll warp the wood parts akin to stripping a screw.
To counterbalance a hard or soft hitting joint you ahve to consider the tip - you can go with soft, medium or hard, and if u match a hard tip with a metal on metal joint you're gonna get a really solid, hard hitting cue, like a Joss for instance, that will be just a tad limited on the finesse shots. Take that same Joss and stick a super soft tip on it and you get that finesse back without sacrificing the rigidity that the metal on metal joint gives you. The tradeoff here is constant tip care, taking care of mushrooming and such, and the occasional imprecise hit because of carelessness that the hard hard combo won't produce.
There is also the length of the shaft to consider - and basically that varies by less than 2 inches I think, so if you're especially tall then do the research and get something that fits your arms, and likewise if you're a little lady then get something smaller. It's not a step down, it's just like getting the right size bowling ball or glove - u can still throw strikes.
There's also taper of the shaft, the pro taper being uniform all the way down the shaft until it gets right to the base and then puffing out to meet the base, the euro taper being a gradual progression from slim at the tip to wide near the base.
There is also diameter of the tip - and this boils down to whether you like to shoot with a fat tip or a smaller one. What's the difference? Control. The bigger tip is going to give you a more solid hit, but less control. The smaller tip is going to give you more control, but is easier to miscue with. This is one you definitely judge based on you skill level and attention to detail.
So all this information is well and good, but what brands do each of these things correspond to? Well, like I said the Joss is metal on metal in most models, and most models stock the ultra hard triangle tip. It's also a mid-sized diameter shaft (shaft diameters across the board only differ by a few mm anyway, but on that small a scale that's a big deal), and most if not alll have pro tapers. The result then is a solid hitting stick that would need to be retipped if you regularly shoot more than a half a cue-tip worth of english.
The Meuccis are usually wood on wood - they're for a more finesse player, and they correspondingly have smaller diameter tips that are generally softer. The things the previous poster said about them falling apart is true. They also warp easily. If you take great care of it tho this won't be a problem. If you want a really good performing stick for not too much money they're a good cue. They're a little loose for me personally.
Another slightly higher end brand is Pechauer - these are great cues, but will be more expensive. They're wood on metal in most cases and typically have medium hard tips. They sort of strive to be the middle ground, whereas the other two are polar opposites.
I have personally owned a Pechauer, Joss and Meucci, as well as a few cheapos, and I liked the Peachauer best with the Joss second. I like Meuccis, but find them kinda flimsy.
I can't vouch for McDermotts or Vikings, but have shot with them a little and find them to be fine sticks in general. This isn't like the old days when every stick that wasn't custom machined was a piece of junk. You can find a $200 stick these days that performs just as well as a super custom $1500 job from the early 80s, probably better.
That's not to say that the modern equivalents of those types aren't worth it - they're just not the same degree of step up that they used to be. Pool cues are typically rated by what are called 'stages,' and those stages have so much less to do with performance and so much more to do with collectability that it should tell you how slight the differences are.
One important thing: Buy your own cue new from a manufacturer. Don't be tempted to save a little money buying used from someone or somewhere unless you know for certain that this person is just as compulsive as he should be in preservation. Temperature, moisture, etc can kill a good cue.
Hope this helps.
dustywon on 10/30/2009 10:38:49 AMI may not be the most popular response here, but my experience on the Meucci "Power Piston" with the "Bullseye shaft is very negative. 1st, I am an A level player, and a long time Predator shooter. Predator was getting old, and the 314 shaft "gave a bit too much" It got a tad whippy. I tried the Meucci as an experiment, and because of the online Bob Meuci tests. Here's why the Meucci tests came out superior. The new Meucci butt does in fact provide more power with an equal stroke. The shaft however seemed rather stiff. The online test shows a rather strongly struck ball. The Meucci cue tests superior to all the other cues in that test because there is more of a "push action on the ball rather than the cue correcting from the english applied which results in less stray from center. So, agreed, if you are going to hit a ball that hard, you will get less drift (or cue ball correction) with the Meucci because the cue ball comes off the tip faster and pushes rather than taking the path that the english provided. The real negative here is that by getting what the test implies, a truer shrt with less correction, you are giving away a good deal of cue control. The draw and english action gained by my Predator thumped any action I could get from the Meucci, side by side on my table. Perhaps a much softer tip wil help the Meucci, but I feel like it was more of an axe than a scalpel. I returned it and bought the Predator P3.
Mitch Alsup on 10/30/2009 1:02:01 PM
If this is your first cue, spend a dozen hours searching the internet and looking at the cues. Then simply buy the one you like the looks of and fits your budget.
Why?
At this stage (your a beginner or near beginner:: less than APA 4) and don't really understand the terminology, nor is your stroke so well advanced that the cue make "that" much difference. You can develop your stroke with basically any cue with a straight shaft and basically any tip.
Secondly, you first cue will always get banged up, simply because you don't know how to hold it in such a way that it won't bang off table edges, bar edges, lights, random people walking around. No amount of verbal warnings will alter that fact. After a while these knicks take their toll on the smoothness of the shaft. If you are dilligent, you will figure out how to raise these knicks with water and a cue tip. After a year or so of battleing this, you will figure out how to protect the cue shaft by the way you hold it, the way you position it on its rest, and who NOT to loan it to.
So, two years from now when this first shaft is beaten up, AND your stroke is developed, AND you know some of the parameters you want in a cue, THEN is the time to buy a cue you intend to use for a long time. You will have learned how to shape the tip, what different hardnesses of tips do, maybe what deflection is, what ferrules do, what kinds of chalk you like... You may even figure out that pool is not for you and you have, thereby, minimized your losses.
Pool Cue Recommendations
- Title: Pool Cue Recommendations
- Author: guest
- Published: 8/27/2007 6:09:00 PM
