9-Ball
Topic: The term custom cues

Hello,
Right I know I'm throwing myself to the lions for posting this so please keep it civil!!!

I'd love to know why the phrase "custom cue" has become so widespread. I have a custom guitar and what that means is that I specified every last detail of it (to a ridiculous degree including brand of solder for example!) but this certainly doesn't seem to be the norm with cues. Many people with custom cues have bought them secondhand and so, if any specific player preferences were built into the cue they were for the original owner not anyone else and that seems to completely defeat the object to me!

If you've been playing for years and know you want an 18.34oz cue with a shaft length of whatever with a tip size of 12.4mm, a taper of a certain length etc and you get a cue maker to build that it should be called a custom cue. If it's not made to someone's exact specs (other than the cue makers as an example of what he/she can do) I can't see why it should be called custom.

Thanks,
Chris.

Yeah your right in what your saying that is is only custom if you make it how you want it, but the term i think comes from people linking this with the maker. The maker makes Custom cues so if bought from a custom cue maker then it was custom originally.
What would you call second-hand Cues customised to someone else's specifications?

Hello,
Yes I presumed that was where the term had come from but it is misleading isn't it. As for an alternative term I don't know what I'd suggest. Again with guitars we often talk about made to order or made to spec as opposed to just a limited production model as lots of companies have models in their ranges called the (whatever) custom.

Chris.

To me, Custom cue, means a cue that is turned, cut, inlaid, wrapped and finished by a cuemaker, and none of this production cue trash.

I have been happy enough to use a meucci before, which are pretty good standard production cues, but in reality, there is simply no comparison to a custom built cue

Now, I agree with Chris on the fat that custom cue means a cue that is built to the player's own design and spec, but there are so many cues that have been made by various cue makers, that alot of guys looking for a custom cue, are happier to look for used models, by a particular maker, that is known to make cues that match the right kind of hit and feel to whatever the individual player likes

In the old days the main cue makers used to be Herman Rambow, George Balabushka, Gus Szmboti, Palmer, etc, and if you wanted a custom cue, then it would've been mostly one of those guys that you would go too and your cue stick would be finished in about 4 months or so, and that was after any waiting lists

Nowadays there are so many cuemakers out there, pool players are spoilt for choice, but also you got the production models floating around, which alot of are darn good quality, but they're not really an investment, like a custom cue is

I know that the cue stick I have, may have been built for someone else's spec, or it may have been built as a 1 of a kind model to sell, but all I know is, the cue stick that I got now, was well worth it, and I'm more than happy with how it plays

Willie

Thanks for the reply Wizard. I don't think there are many cuemakers who'd fit your description, though, as I don't think there are very many who do all their work "in-house". Even the greats like Szamboti used to purchase pre-cut blanks from other makers like Burton Spain didn't they and I know modern day greats like Keith Josey have their inlays designed and installed by other professionals.
Maybe you weren't suggesting that a single cuemaker had to do it all but that's the impression I got.

Thanks,
Chris.

I'm currently having a cue made by a member of this site, this guy does all his own work and there are several players in the UK now using his cues.

http://waynecustomcues.com/DM.html (updates should appear soon)

Hello PC,
Yes I know about Wayne Cues and that he does do all his own work. I didn't start the thread to insult you guys who choose to "go custom" anyway. I guess if I was a good enough player to know exactly what I needed in a cue to play my best (and I won the lottery!!) I might do it too. It's just the term custom cues that I think is, usually, completely misleading.

Thanks,
Chris.

PC, thats very interesting.
Nice to see a step by step procedure...makes you appreciate the amount of work involved.

If you dont mind me asking, how much would one of these cost on average?

Hey Chris , I know what you mean about cue makers purachising the ready made blanks etc, but when cues were originally being made, there wouldn't have been anyone making the blanks for the forearm or butt, all those parts would've been made seperately, maybe not by the cuemaker himself, but he would still be the one responsible for putting the cue together , but yes, I agree with you 100% on that , that a good majority would probably order ready to fit, inlays, or in some cases, butt's/forearms that have already been inlaid, as this cuts down on the production time, therefore allowing the cue maker to create a higher number of cues in a year

Like you say, it isn't uncommon for there to be a few different guys working with the same cuemaker that would have differents tasks, for example, one guys does the inlays, another guy fits the leather/linen/snakeskin wraps, etc

Although there may be quite a few cuemakers that have a small team work like process, there are still a good number of cue makers that put the cues together themselves, entierely from their own creations and/or from a customer's spec , which as you can understand takes longer and costs more in price because of extra labour time

I agree that a truely custom cue, is like a custome axe, built to your spec and design, but like you, with the design that I have in mind for a custom model, it would take a few grand to make it lol, and so, I'll happily stick with what I got

I appologise for any confusion in my last response

Willie

On 2007-03-28 12:53 , Chrstc Wrote:

Chris,

For me a custom cue is not about being a good player......i do not see myself as being a good player........i play for something to do rather than have any aspirations. It purely a hobby. But why not if in a position to do so invest in something nice which will hopefully give years of pleasure? If you enjoy the game and can afford to do so then i would recommend getting a custom cue as one of the most enjoyable bits so far for me has been the design and finding out about how they are made.

Dave


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Hello Wizard and PC,
Thanks again for your replies. Wizard- sorry for the slight mix-up, then!!

PC I see what you mean in a way but coming from the guitar perspective, as it's the only parallel I can drawn on, my custom order would have been wasted on me if I had not had the years of experience using lots and lots of different guitars and therefore forming my opinion as to what I really wanted/needed in my dream design. Applying that to cues I have nowhere near enough experience to decide on which joint would be best for me etc etc and I think spending a lot of money purely to get something I like the look of is a total waste. Hope you see what I mean.

Thanks again,
Chris.

just a quick point if you buy a custom cue do you still change the shaft for a 314 or z or is this sacrelige like mixing 100 year old brandy with coke !!

Custom cues often come with a 314 customised with the maker's ring work. Take a look at mine in the 'cue corner' link.

thought about changing my White shaft for a Pred but i'm getting used to the original now so won't be hcnaging...makers don't mind you not wanting their shafts