Do today's players really know what a good cue really is ?

[platt]

I don't have much free time at the minute to be on here but I'm just curious after a conversation I had with two player who came to my workshop last night for urgent repair work to an old B&W cue.
While I was making a new ferrule for the damaged cue the guys were looking at the current cue I was working on and some repair work I had just finished. The cue that this conversation started about is a replica off my old playing cue that had work done by Dave Coutts about 12 years ago, (so they seen both cues) im now working on a better version, longer, heavier ect. After they had looked,rolled, and everything thing else they could think off they agreed that it was near perfect but that 4 olive wood splices with green veneers would make it a great cue to play with.
Is it just me or are players so caught up with the look of their cues they feel that something fancy makes them play better ? By the end of this conversation I decided to close my workshop to time-wasters and on the spot repairs because no money is worth it. Views please ?

[humperdingle]

What level do the two players mentioned play at?

I've overheard guys at the club I play at balk at the idea of paying £70 for a cue... Probably what they pay for fags in a few days!

[DeanH]

as has been said many times, looks do not make a good playing cue, also looks do not make a bad cue.
"good" cue is subjective to the person.
Again, as has been said many times, one cue could be a dog to one person and the holy-grail to another.
One thing I would say is that more players today probably have more information about the cuemaking process, due to tinternet, etc, unlike in the old days where maybe most players got a cue from a club/shop and never gave a second thought about how it was made but purely how it was for them.

There has been mentioned a test, blind-fold a player and give them several cues - of varying value, makes, woods, etc - and see what they say, then try another player

[Byrom]

Of course a better looking cue makes some feel better if you where driving an old XR3i with a brand new Mercedes McLaren engine would you feel as good?

Some people are not bothered what they drive as long as it is reliable and it gets them from A to B others gain confidence by having a good looking car. Nice if you can have both.

I would not close your workshop to bits of repairs and things as the word of mouth generates other business down the line but if it irritates you that much then just charge a bit more for your time.

[platt]

Steady players I'd call them.

[platt]

I'm far from closing the workshop door as I enjoy good banter but been told what would make a great playing cue by a Internet expert is hard to take. Dean H well said

[DeanH]

I'm far from closing the workshop door as I enjoy good banter but been told what would make a great playing cue by a Internet expert is hard to take. Dean H well said

watch it...
signed
internet expert

[old school]

I remember Andy Gibbs saying he tried his utmost to persuade Graeme Dott that the " dog " of a cue in the corner of his workshop , with that tiny tip was no good for him. Graeme took it and won a world championship with it.One mans meat is another mans poison and " aesthetics " arent the be all and end all of a cue.A suggestion or constructive criticism from someone knowledgeable is easier to take ( and be taken in the spirit its meant ) than someone just saying " blahblah will make a prettier cue or better player" .You make cues and to a high standard and as such advice should come from peers not novices , however what you believe makes a cue will not be what everyone believes in.My advice , enjoy the banter , take out of it what you want and ignore the ignorant , above all enjoy yourself doing something that gives you pleasure , making cues , lifes too short .

[SouthPaw]

Of course a better looking cue makes some feel better if you where driving an old XR3i with a brand new Mercedes McLaren engine would you feel as good?
.

I have to be honest and say i would feel better, the look on peoples faces(m3 drivers etc) when i leave them looking like they're going backwards, in a clapped out xr3i would be priceless, ultimate sleeper!

[vmax4steve]

I think it's all down to whether you're a serious player or looking for a penis substitute.

The serious player is always looking for the cue he learned to play with, the one his game was honed to, whether he knows it or not.

[luke-h]

Personally i think if you spend long enough with any cue and half decent player will be able to adapt and play quite well with it, that said some people gain a placebo like effect from getting an expensive cue and that can make them play better

[tomeestrings]

I still say it is down to the 3 mm thick thing on the end that makes all the difference !! Paint it pink , blue . No veneers , badges , as long as the wood feels solid enough and is an extension of your arm !! Only one tiny bit hits the ball . We all know a player that blames everthing but Himself / Herself . The tip is too thick the balance is too near the butt the tip is too big its too heavy the taper isn't right Who has heard the splces are too exotic ???

[eaoin11]

I don't have much free time at the minute to be on here but I'm just curious after a conversation I had with two player who came to my workshop last night for urgent repair work to an old B&W cue.
While I was making a new ferrule for the damaged cue the guys were looking at the current cue I was working on and some repair work I had just finished. The cue that this conversation started about is a replica off my old playing cue that had work done by Dave Coutts about 12 years ago, (so they seen both cues) im now working on a better version, longer, heavier ect. After they had looked,rolled, and everything thing else they could think off they agreed that it was near perfect but that 4 olive wood splices with green veneers would make it a great cue to play with.
Is it just me or are players so caught up with the look of their cues they feel that something fancy makes them play better ? By the end of this conversation I decided to close my workshop to time-wasters and on the spot repairs because no money is worth it. Views please ?

In your example I would prefer to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they just care a lot about how good the cue looks when they are playing. There's nothing wrong with that. The alternative (that they think the splices will make the cue hit better) is too depressing to be worth discussing.

[pottr]

The cue does matter... If it didn't, they would all be uniform.

[platt]

The number of people who line up to say the cue doesn't matter bore me to tears. But in your example I would prefer to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they just care a lot about how good the cue looks when they are playing. There's nothing wrong with that. The alternative (that they think the splices will make the cue hit better) is too depressing to be worth discussing.

What is depressing to me is that people think adding 4 splices and 4 veneers will make a perfectly good cue play better !