Why the Resurgence in 1 piece Cues?

[narl]

Seems a lot of the top 32 these days are now using 1 piece cues instead of the 3/4 that was very popular during the late 90's up until around the mid 2000's. 3/4 was popular mainly for portability and preferred over a traditional centre split as the shaft didn't have a brass joint in your eyeline (can't say i ever really noticed it myself) and maintained the shaft in 1 section for more length than a centre split.

So the question is why? Were 3/4 cues more of a trend for pro's in that time period that most people tried out? You often hear about 1 piece cues having more of a "feel" to them because of the shaft wood being longer, though that's really a matter of opinion and on a player by player basis it may be more noticeable to some than others.

Just seems odd that a cue that was introduced to answer the complaints about portability surrounding 1 piece cues has now seemingly gone down in status, at least among the pro ranks.

[anish147]

Could it be something to do with airline rules on carrying on the cue which was previously allowed, but now all cues need to be checked in...therefore now the portability issue is limited?

No idea really, but just wondering too

[lennon11]

At pro level it must be about the feel. At amateur level, people copy the pros, plus people tend to have bigger cars nowadays, so no issue with travelling with a 1 piece either.

[vmax]

Ronnie's got one, simple as that.

[narl]

Ronnie's got one, simple as that.

I doubt the pro's would be influenced by what he's using. That filters down more to the club players buying traditionals.

[arsalanjami]

My 3/4 Maximus was good - but I had the itch to try a one piece a while back. It took a while for me to get use to the "feel" of a 1pc...but I much prefer it over my 3/4. I cannot explain why...maybe because Its my playing cue now ...

TBH looking back - there isn't a whole lot of difference - it was definitely in my head.

[Mark187187]

Some cue makers like MW say they are better. Something about the feel/feedback. Tbh, I've used lots of cues, 2 piece, 1 piece and 3/4, with brass and wood-on-wood joints. Other than obvious physical difference like weight, stiffness, balance, shaft thickness etc they've all felt more or less the same. I don't really get what is meant by feel/feedback, they've all felt like a stick hitting a ball. But, maybe my hands aren't sensitive enough to feel the difference.

[Steve748]

MW had made me a two piece pool cue and the joint is so good I can hardly see it. I can't feel any difference in the way it plays from my 3/4 which is the same spec.
I prefer the two piece because I can fit it in a pool case along with a break cue and a cross type rest.

[vmax]

Some cue makers like MW say they are better. Something about the feel/feedback. Tbh, I've used lots of cues, 2 piece, 1 piece and 3/4, with brass and wood-on-wood joints. Other than obvious physical difference like weight, stiffness, balance, shaft thickness etc they've all felt more or less the same. I don't really get what is meant by feel/feedback, they've all felt like a stick hitting a ball. But, maybe my hands aren't sensitive enough to feel the difference.

Like this man says, any better feel is believed to come from the resonance along the shaft from the strike to the grip hand, but seeing as one pieces have a weight fitted in the butt they are no different to a 3/4 with a joint in the same place, any resonance left in the shaft past the shoulder (which is minimal) surely ends there and will not be felt by the grip hand.

Feel is also affected by the strength and placement of the grip hand, if you hold the cue tighter or lighter and/or in a different place the cue will feel different.

As a cue maker I've found that the feel of a shaft is mainly due to the density and grain characteristics of the timber used, but this can be tinkered with through different tapers at certain stages along the length up to the shoulder (tip of the splices), in reality any resonace along the shaft from the strike ends there regardless of where any joint or weight is fitted.

If you prefer a one piece it's simply that you prefer that one piece and if you get it split to a 3/4 and the balance is unaffected it will not change, mine didn't.

[DeanH]

A friend has a one piece all ash cue, no butt splices at all; and I must say it plays differently from a butt-spliced cue - on the positive side

[fkhan]

Some pictures please if available.

[Siz]

Seems a lot of the top 32 these days are now using 1 piece cues instead of the 3/4 that was very popular during the late 90's up until around the mid 2000's. 3/4 was popular mainly for portability and preferred over a traditional centre split as the shaft didn't have a brass joint in your eyeline (can't say i ever really noticed it myself) and maintained the shaft in 1 section for more length than a centre split.

So the question is why? Were 3/4 cues more of a trend for pro's in that time period that most people tried out? You often hear about 1 piece cues having more of a "feel" to them because of the shaft wood being longer, though that's really a matter of opinion and on a player by player basis it may be more noticeable to some than others.

Just seems odd that a cue that was introduced to answer the complaints about portability surrounding 1 piece cues has now seemingly gone down in status, at least among the pro ranks.

Are you sure that they are 1 piece? I know that Mike Wooldridge was making 3/4 cues whose joint is pretty much invisible.

I got John Parris to make me a 1 piece 30-something years ago, but only because the cues that I had up to that date were centre jointed and I had problems with the joints. But when they started making 3/4 jointed cues, where the joint could be much more robust, I think that the 1 piece design became pretty redundant.

By the late 1980's everyone who was getting new cues was getting 3/4 jointed ones, and I was a bit envious (1-piece jobs do become a bit of a pain to carry around). I bit the bullet after Steve Davis's 1-piece cue broke and he got it converted into a 3/4 by John Parris in, I think, 1987. He reported at the time that it felt just as good as before (albeit with a bit more weight that he thought made some power shots a bit easier). So I got Parris to convert mine, and also found no difference in 'feel'.

[narl]

Are you sure that they are 1 piece? I know that Mike Wooldridge was making 3/4 cues whose joint is pretty much invisible.

Not many pro's use Mikes cues for some reason, Hendrys nephew did at one point though he switched to a parris and then something else later. Most of the well known pros top 32 or so their cue makes are well known so easy to spot if its a 3/4 or 1 piece.

[Siz]

Most of the well known pros top 32 or so their cue makes are well known so easy to spot if its a 3/4 or 1 piece.

Happy to take your word for it. But it does surprise me.

[sanman]

Ronnie's got one, simple as that.

he did have a 3 quarter at one time