Used to play snooker, looking for a decent pool cue, help

[deeevonn]

Ok , i;m newbie here, so let's go strahight to the point.
I'm wanna buy a decent pool cue for playing 9-ball.
But the problem is that here in bandung Indonesia , where i live,
i couldn't find anyt place that place a decent pool cue
All i can find is those "made in China " cue that cost around $20-$30.

In Jakarta , the only place that i know is ISAK Billiards, and their cue cost too much for me , they only sell Predator cue and Meucci. Which cost US$500 and above.

I'm only willing to buy a decent pool cue which cost at around 150-300 US$
can anyone direct me to those store that selling a decent cue in Bandung, Jakarta Indonesia ??
Singapore also no problem , cause my girlfriend travel there frequently , so i can ask her to help me buy the cue

Another thing is that i have only play pool for about half a year,
last time when i was studying in Singapore, i played snooker a lot for about 10 years, and i have my own snooker cue , the brand is "MASTER CUE"
Iknow that the dimensions, weight and size of snooker cue is very different than pool cue, that is the reason why i need a pool cue.

But i want my next pool cue will play quite the same as my snooker cue , can it be ??

And the last thing is can somebody please reccomend me a particular brand of cue ?
i did research on the internet and narrow my choice of brand to
Viking, Predator, and Meucci.
which one is better for the price range between 150-300 US$??

Some says meucci is great but some says it suck because the weight is too much on the bottom of the cue, i have no i dea about this cause i neverr try one .is it good or bad ?

How about VIKING, are they good enough ??
are they worth it at that price ??

Please don't ask me to try the stick before i buy, cause if the shop is in Singapore, i can;t go there to try , cause i;m busy with my work here
and also there is no good pool shop here i only can tell my GF to buy it for me .
so please tell me which brand of cue and also the tip that is decet enough for a fun play at around that budget of mine

anyway as i used to play snooker before, i seldom use too much english, i use draw and folow shots frequently and also i'm a medium hitter , not to hard and not to soft.
Plesae advise me on cue,tip,and joint type combination that will help me play my game

THX A LOT , BROS:P
So Sory i'm still a newbie but ask a lot of question already

BTW if anyone of u in Indonesia or Singapore that sell poll cue at aroud my budgets, used or new, please don;t hestitate to call me on +628122048484
my name is Ten


---Just curious question, is therre any pool cue that is devided in 3/4 of the lenght like snooker cue , not 1/2 like a normal poll cue ?------

Anyway , one shop in Singapore offer me a Viking cue
which is M1 but customised with blue pearl on the butt and black and blue linnen warp. And he asking at around US$250 for the cue (brand new, customised to blue pearl butt and blue.black linen wrap)+Hard case+moori tip.
is that a good deal ??

sorry for my broken english :P

[skor]

1. there is no production pool cue that is devided like a snooker cue.
2. I don't think that you can find a Predator or a Meucci for your budget, unless it's used or fake.
3. Viking make great cues and you can find a model that will fit your budget with no problems.
4. snooker cues are very stiff, so if you want a cue that will play similar, I would suggest a 19 ounce cue with a metal joint and a medium tip.
5. Viking will make a shaft with the diameter of 12mm which is very close to the 10-11mm diameter of the snooker cue, Predator Z shaft has a tapper that is close to a taper of a snooker cue and the diameter is 11.75mm, but it will feel very wippy compared to a snooker cue.
6. If you are used to your snooker cue, then why not play with it ???
Don't belive those superstitions that can't play pool with a snooker cue or vice versa, Steve Davis, Mark Williams and Tony Drago shoot 9 ball with their snooker cues, So give it a try and see how it work for you.
10. If you still want to get a pool cue, then I'm sure that Seyberts will gladly ship one out for you.

I hope that was some help :)

Shipping from here to Indonesia is around 80 bucks..... =(

[DeeVonn]

thx for the reply :P

anyway u r true that snooker cues are much more stiffer than a pool cues ,cause today i tried my friend's meucci which use a red dot shaft on it and i dun like it !
cause it like to flexible for me :(
anyway is the viking shaft more "flexible" than the meucci red dot ?
or vice versa ?

[skor]

The Viking shaft is stiffer then the Meucci, and I find the hit of the viking to be a more solid hit

[Deb]

Shipping from here to Indonesia is around 80 bucks..... =(

We can ship a 4 pounder (just a cue) to Indonesia for $35.00 via US Express Mail (Takes 4-6 days)

Other shipping method quotes, just drop me a message or e-mail me directly at deb@seyberts.com and I'll let you know.

Thanks.

Shipping from here to Indonesia is around 80 bucks..... =(

We can ship a 4 pounder (just a cue) to Indonesia for $35.00 via US Express Mail (Takes 4-6 days)

Other shipping method quotes, just drop me a message or e-mail me directly at deb@seyberts.com and I'll let you know.

Thanks.


thx for the info ,
but if u ship a cue to indonesia , how is the packaging of the cue ??
im afraid that when the cue reach here, it will be spoiled or warped :(

[Deb]

The cue is put into a plastic lining to help prevent scratches & small dings, and on top of that it is wrapped with air bubble lining and it is inserted into a THICK tube.

We have not had any returns of broken cue or warped cue since we began using the thicker cue tube.

[sonnic]

I know allison fisher was a champion snooker player and she use a 9mm tip and after changing to 9 ball she now uses a 13mm tip and recomends it for anyone who plays.

[skor]

She gets payed from Cuetec to say that...
I know a lot of players that play or played snooker and when they shoot pool the use the same snooker cue that they are used to

[Deevonn]

Thx everybody, i found some one here that sell viking w1 for US150 brand new, i buy that yesterday and fit a moori med tips to it.
Haven't played with it yet though :(
cause busy with my work and basketball tournament :P

anyway one of my friends is very interested with that viking "looks"
and i think he waant to buy that from me, so maybe today or tomorow ill try out the cue before i sell him.

After that if i like my viking , maybe i want to buy a "semi-customed" viking from Seybert
but what i like is kinda expensive, in the range of US$400
is that price worth it for a viking ??
or should i bet and purchase the Predator P2 which model i like the best! (but i dunno the playability)

oh yeah one more thing, how long it takes to send the cue to Singapore and / or Indonesia ? and how much ?

heheh thx for all your help :P

[Deb]

oh yeah one more thing, how long it takes to send the cue to Singapore and / or Indonesia ? and how much ?



US Express Mail will take between 3-5 days and costs about $35 to $40 for a 4lb package.

Thanks :)

[sonnic]

yeah im sure she does get paid to say things LIKE that. but she is a champion and she wants to use whats going to help her win. just like Tiger woods not hitting the nike driver. They want to win first and second if they can get a nice check they obviously will. but i think it would be a mistake to think that she would use something if it didn't help her game (or at least it didn't hurt her game)

[Deevonn]

ok, just got my viking(w1 semi custom) + Moori medium tip , and played with it for a while , about 2 hours,
conclusion,
-very good hit compared to my friend meucci fotted with a red dot shatft and moori med tip( but i never tried other brand of cue :)

-less "whippy" than the meucci, also more stiff. ( i dun know wheter is good or not, but i like it for the time being cause my snooker cue is also as stiff.
But i don't know wheter it's better to have the cue stiff or flexible in pool as i only starting to play pool.

-Finishing is good although not perfectm the butt section is very shinny , and prone to scarthes, mine already scratches a bit due to i wear a ring on my finger and i only played with it for the first 2 hours!!! And the Viking logo is kinda not so perfect.

-Better control when using english, ( of course, since i used to played with the housee cue :)

Question, i just want to make sure mine is a real viking with a real viking shaft, here the question,

- The shaft is tapered very thin on the front and on the midlle it dramatically bigger to the joint, so it's not like pyramid, It's real viking shaft ??
look like this =====<<<<<joint instead of ===<<<<,joint on normal 2 pice house cue.

-and also the butt is laquered so it's very shiny, but the shaft is not entirelly lacquered, it's only lacqeured to about 3 cm from the joint, when the shaft starting to tappered down , they are not lacquered, infact it seems taht it has no protection layer at all, and not shinny, very dull compared to the butt, but still very smooth ( infact i missjudged a few shots power because i used to play with house cuee that not as smooth :)
are they the charasteristic of the real Viking Shaft ??
please advice me.

anyway im very satisfied, compared to my friend meuucci red dot, my Viking is much better, well, maybe it's because my own cue :P

thx for all the help :P

[Deevonn]

ok, just got my viking(w1 semi custom) + Moori medium tip , and played with it for a while , about 2 hours,
conclusion,
-very good hit compared to my friend meucci fotted with a red dot shatft and moori med tip( but i never tried other brand of cue :)

-less "whippy" than the meucci, also more stiff. ( i dun know wheter is good or not, but i like it for the time being cause my snooker cue is also as stiff.
But i don't know wheter it's better to have the cue stiff or flexible in pool as i only starting to play pool.

-Finishing is good although not perfectm the butt section is very shinny , and prone to scarthes, mine already scratches a bit due to i wear a ring on my finger and i only played with it for the first 2 hours!!! And the Viking logo is kinda not so perfect.

-Better control when using english, ( of course, since i used to played with the housee cue :)

Question, i just want to make sure mine is a real viking with a real viking shaft, here the question,

- The shaft is tapered very thin on the front and on the midlle it dramatically bigger to the joint, so it's not like pyramid, It's real viking shaft ??
look like this =====<<<<<joint instead of ===<<<<,joint on normal 2 pice house cue.

-and also the butt is laquered so it's very shiny, but the shaft is not entirelly lacquered, it's only lacqeured to about 3 cm from the joint, when the shaft starting to tappered down , they are not lacquered(compared to my friend's red dot which the shaft is lacquered entirelly, from the ferrulle, till the joint) , infact it seems taht it has no protection layer at all, and not shinny, very dull compared to the butt, but still very smooth ( infact i missjudged a few shots power because i used to play with house cuee that not as smooth :)
are they the charasteristic of the real Viking Shaft ??
please advice me.

anyway im very satisfied, compared to my friend meuucci red dot, my Viking is much better, well, maybe it's because my own cue :P

thx for all the help :P

[audiopro]

Most shafts are not finished entirely. Usually the first couple inches or so from the joint.. If it were finished they would not glide as easy through your fingers, as you may have noticed on house cues they tend to stick and pull...

I am not sure what you are trying to describe about your shaft taper. But shafts now a days do have a different taper as opposed to many years ago. Hope this helps..

[skor]

-less "whippy" than the meucci, also more stiff. ( i dun know wheter is good or not, but i like it for the time being cause my snooker cue is also as stiff.
But i don't know wheter it's better to have the cue stiff or flexible in pool as i only starting to play pool.

If it feels good for you then it's better.
you can get shafts with different tapper and stiffness, the reason that you have those options is because not everybody likes the same thing.
the most important thing is that you are comfortable with you cue and it feels good.

[Rick]

The stiffness of the shaft is all personal preference and feel. I personally don't like a whippy shaft, it doesn't feel as solid. The shaft that you are describing sounds like a Viking shaft and most all production shafts are built this way also, some may tend to have more or less gradual taper. The way the finish is shinny from the joint to a couple inches into the shaft is normal. You don't want to have any finish in the stroking part of the shaft, it will tend to get sticky after awhile.

[DeeVonn]

Thx for the info :P
anyway my friend is very interested in buying my Viking ,so i guess i might sell him my "new" Viking,
and thinking to buy another cue,
but after trying the viking, i have a few question.
After i layed for about 10 hours, in a few days using my viking, i feel that my "soft" shots are getting better :P
but there is a problem, my "long and Hard" shots are i think worse compared when i used the house cue .
I dn know what may cause it , maybe the tapper that i'm not used to it,
when i try to shot hard with it , my brdige is kind of slip a bit :(
anyway another question is ,how "stiff the viking shaft compared to 314 shaft ??
and also which one is a better option,
buying a Predator 3K1 at about US$400 ( one shop in Singapore offer me this price, brand new)
or buying a Viking that cost about US$200 + a 314 shaft that cost additional US$200 so the price is about the same for both cue.
Which one is abetter option?
and also are the Butt is very different in terms of playability and performance???
or is it just the cosmetics only?

so all in all =
-Viking butt+314 shaft
or
-Predator Butt+314 shaft ???
will they differ very much in terms of performance???

and also , do seyberts sell viking butt with 314 shaft only, without the original viking shaft ??
cause i dun need 2 shaft in hand :P

thx.

[DeeVonn]

Another thing that i found out with my new viking , is that my "power" seems to be weaker compared when i use a house cue,
is the 314 shaft has more : power " than the viking shaft ??

[skor]

both butts will play the same with 314 shaft
the feel may change according to the type of joint

[Rob]

The other thing you have to consider is that most house cues don't have a taper . Because of that, the shaft is much stiffer so the cue ball will jump off the tip of the cue much faster.

Due to the taper on the Viking, the shaft will flex to allow more dwell time for the tip on the cue ball. The advantage to that is (through the use of english) you can have a little better control over the cue ball while breaking. However, if you feel you break better with a house cue then use that to break with and your Viking to play with.

[DeeVonn]

can i buy brand new viking but without viking shaft ??
or brand new viking butt with 314 shaft ??

[rick]

You can buy the cue with out the shaft but we will only give you $20.00 credit for the shaft.

[Rick]

That was me

[DeeVonn]

For Rick,
hi i think i want to buy a Viking VM-30
with theese option:
-Cue weight 19.50 oz
-Black leather Wrap
-Smoke Stain Colour
-i-White pearl colour
-Without the shaft
-Fitted with Pred 314 shaft (with /without matching rings) please tell me the difference in price, thx
-moori tip med
-12.25 size
-standard 29 inch
-With my name engraved
-And a joint protector.

can u tell me how much the price for it ?
and also with the shipping to Singapore?
with the cheapest delivery option,
and also how long it will be (roughfly)

thanks, sory for troubling you as my internet connection here is very slow, and i dun know how to customised my order via the net,
thx a lot :P.

[audiopro]

Nice specs, I think that cue will look very nice with the leather wrap..

[Rick]

(Viking VM30). $-25.00 ea. 1 $-25.00

JO18 Set 18 Thread Joint Protectors $12.50 ea 1 $12.50

MPS Matched Ring Predator 314 Shaft $260.00 ea 1 $260.00

SP-VIK 12.25 mm Shaft-(VM30) free ea. 1 free

SP-VIK Black Leather Wrap-(VM30) $85.00 ea 1 $85.00

SP-VIK Engrave Name - Block Font $35.00 ea. 1 $35.00

VM30 Viking Cue Millennium VM30 -19.50 oz-Moori Med-#10 Smoke Stain -I - Pearl White $225.00 ea 1 $225.00



Fedex to singapore: $55.00
Insurance: $2.05
Grand Total: $649.55

This total is with the matching 314 shaft and Viking shaft.
If you want the black collar 314 and no Viking shaft you can deduct $106.00. If you have any further questions please contact me at rick@seyberts.com

[DeeVonn]

@audiopro, thx :P heheh but i dun know how viking leather wrap will look like:(
and also the smoke stain finish.
is there any viking production cue that have leather wrap and also smoke stain ? so i can see the pic here ??

@rick,
thax for the calculation, is there any cheaper shipping method ?
and how much it will be ??
and also the 314 shaft will be 12,25 in diameter with moori med tip and the overall cue will be 29 ich lenght and 19.50 oz right ??

and how long is the customisation time ??
and also the shipping time ??
thx

[DeeVonn]

and also i need some opinion from the pros here :P

which one is better, the above semi- customed viking cue,
or predator 4k1 which is about the same price?

in terms of playabilility, will they differ very much ??
since both fitted with 314 shaft and also has steel to pheneulic joint.

thx again

[Rick]

You can use Postal Express Mail but will take 2 weeks delivery and less safe. This cue will take 2 to 3 weeks to build and shipping by Fedex will take 3 to 5 days ship time. The cue has all the specs that you stated. thanks