Craftsman cues no longer made to order!

[Erwan_BZH]

That is some major change going on there

:P
The biggest jumps to me were the ash/maple swap and the 3/4-to-1-piece swap....this changes a lot the feeling you can have. The JO is a bit lighter but the balance point is different, and the overall balance feels better to me.
Now from ash to maple, was a big change as well as both wood react very differently but so far so good. Striking feeling is excellent and the silky-smooth touch of the shaft is such a pleasure.

[em@rel]

Its the same in all industries unfortunately, apparently chips in the paint of a guitar stop you playing like Steve Vai, but hey what do i know, i've only been playing for 30 years and i am nothing like him!!

People use these things as excuses because they won't do the basic stuff and practice regularly, they also expect their new toy to make them the worlds best.

Sold my sons old Corsa 1.0 over the weekend, £475.00 with Tax for a month and an MOT till October this year, the car is 14 years old, and one guy offered me £300.00 because it needs a new tyre and a few scratches on the bodywork, told him to do one and sold it to the next guy. Geez....

As a guitarist myself I have to agree with Max about a small chip on a new guitar being a major problem for Steve Vai wanabees yet they have no problem paying a premium price for a 'reliced' guitar' (one that has been bashed about by the manufacturers to make it look like a well worn vintage model. No problem with this for some players (I have 2 reliced Fender Stratocasters myself) so perhaps there might be a market for 'reliced' cues lol ?.

[jack_dougles]

yes heavan forbid a customer wanting to spend a lot of money on anew suit and accepting a 38 inch chest when hes a 38 and a half or an inside leg of 30 when hes a 33, I agree some people are ridiculous in there request but when you are playing to a decent standard and that's because of the cue you are use to then a quarter mil here or half an ounce can make all the difference same as 4 chevrons or ten chevrons, been loads of posts on here about confidence and the mind yet now all of a sudden not allowed to be fussy over a cue, Stephen Hendry never same player after his cue was damaged and supposed best cue maker in the world couldn't rectify his game,
but again itsd a forum and glad you can all pick up any cue and play well, afraid im not one of them, been spending a fortune to replicate my old riley tombstone closet I came was a cue made by dave brown but still not at level I was

[sprogbasket]

Never rated Craftsman cues anyhow....I would always go with Thai cue makers are superior in terms of materials, finish and playability....also very competitively priced....as for made to order...well Mastercraft / Andy Travis far more preferable again.

[Syrus]

You might be surprised, but there are taxes in all countries... How many % in UK?

Obviously, you have to pay taxes in every country. what is most important, is the balance between (money you make) and the tax you have to pay. And that's different. For someone who lives and works in Thailand, buying a cue for 500 pounds,, is the same as buying a cue for 900 pounds for someone who lives and works in UK. Perhaps even more difficult.
Economically, it does'nt really matter. Craftsman is the one who ultimately makes the profit. If you can import the same quality cues and you make profits, why take the trouble and going to make these cues , yourself??

[ADR147]

Obviously, you have to pay taxes in every country. what is most important, is the balance between (money you make) and the tax you have to pay. And that's different. For someone who lives and works in Thailand, buying a cue for 500 pounds,, is the same as buying a cue for 900 pounds for someone who lives and works in UK. Perhaps even more difficult.
Economically, it does'nt really matter. Craftsman is the one who ultimately makes the profit. If you can import the same quality cues and you make profits, why take the trouble and going to make these cues , yourself??

importing cues to our level of perfection is not as easy as people think !

[Syrus]

importing cues to our level of perfection is not as easy as people think !

agree, that depends on what you mean by level of perfection. Some people buy a cue only for name on The badges ,, There are also players who buy a cue because he plays well. !! I said top quality import cues!! in the UK there are Also many different brands that do'nt conform to level of perfection. You can'nt compare MW cues with BCE cues .

[ADR147]

agree, that depends on what you mean by level of perfection. Some people buy a cue only for name on The badges ,, There are also players who buy a cue because he plays well. !! I said top quality import cues!! in the UK there are Also many different brands that do'nt conform to level of perfection. You can'nt compare MW cues with BCE cues .

bce cues have nothing at all to do with the UK !

[cueman]

Interesting thoughts here from Dominic Dale about cues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-UGop6LFZs

[vmax4steve]

Interesting thoughts here from Dominic Dale about cues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-UGop6LFZs

Well he would say that wouldn't he, has a contract no doubt to advertise the product he is using. Just how good one pointed stick is over another one is down to the individual. Back in 1995 Hendry would have said the same thing about Powerglide cues if he'd had a contract with them, but to my knowledge he was the only top pro who ever used one.

[cueman]

I don't think dale is the type to talk up a cue maker because of money. Yes he is an ambassador for them but I actually think he has a point that the Thai cue makers right now seem to be making cues of better quality than anyone else.

He is a cue enthusiast at the end of the day and he has a great knowledge of cues and has cues from all cue makers pretty often. I'd value his thoughts over most because he is a top player and whether or not he has a contract with Maximus I doubt he'd say different.
I remember him saying on the cues n views youtube video about 2-3 years ago that Phoenix were some of the best cues he'd seen too, and he certainly had no vested interest back then to make such claims!!!

[sprogbasket]

Quote Originally Posted by Syrus View Post
"Obviously, you have to pay taxes in every country. what is most important, is the balance between (money you make) and the tax you have to pay. And that's different. For someone who lives and works in Thailand, buying a cue for 500 pounds,, is the same as buying a cue for 900 pounds for someone who lives and works in UK. Perhaps even more difficult.
Economically, it does'nt really matter. Craftsman is the one who ultimately makes the profit. If you can import the same quality cues and you make profits, why take the trouble and going to make these cues , yourself??"

Depends if it's all about the profit or not.... customer service, maintaining traditional craftsmanship and pride in quality may come in to it...but then again yes think you hit the nail on the head...profit is by far the main driver for Craftsman cues.....don't rate them experienced poor service can't understand why anyone rates them other than there are very few cue outlets anywhere to choose from Greenbaize appears to be the Mecca these days for anyone wanting to actually try out quality cues before buying.QUOTE=ADR147;753421]importing cues to our level of perfection is not as easy as people think ![/QUOTE]

[ADR147]

Interesting thoughts here from Dominic Dale about cues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-UGop6LFZs

lol - got to love dom

[itsnoteasy]

I think pros will put their name to anything for money , they have to make a living, (not a criticism as such)now I don't know if Dominic was speaking from the heart or not, only he can tell us, but it doesn't take much of a search on the internet to see some of the rubbish the top pros have put their names on, cues they wouldn't use in a million years, little toy tables etc etc. is he still using their cues?

[Syrus]

bce cues have nothing at all to do with the UK !

really is'nt either?? What they did 40 years ago, was beautiful. But now?? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!