ThePoolHustler
02-05-2005, 01:47 PM
I recently asked Grady "The Professor" Mathews a few questions:
[ThePoolHustler]
What makes one cue better than another? What determines quality?
I have a Lucasi cue with a Predator 314 shaft. Does it really matter what butt I put the 314 on? Is it going to make a difference in performance? In other words, if I put the 314 on a Schon or Viking, is it going to perform any better than on my Lucasi?
[Grady Mathews]
When you are dealing with cues, much is a trade-off, meaning that you give up something in one area to gain something in another. Years ago, I used to buy a cue with four shafts and hope two of them were good. Because, a lot of them were not good.
Also, I would keep one butt for several years and just replace the shaft. Nowadays, more emphasis is placed on the shaft for the cue"s overall playability. The taper on the shaft is very important.
Predator makes a good product but their shafts arn't for everybody. Some people have a hard time getting used to the stiffness and the less deflection. These things being said, I think your Predator shaft will work fine on your Lucasi butt.
[ThePoolHustler]
What taper do you recommend? Right now I am using the Predator 314 with a 12.75mm ferrule/tip. I keep the curvature of my tip dime shaped. What is the biggest difference between using a dime shaped tip vs a nickel shaped tip?
[Grady Mathews]
I like what I've always thought of as "the pro taper" which is what I and other pros have liked for years. To keep it simple, it stays fairly thin for almost a foot before it begins to appreciably fatten up. I never could play with the billiard type tapers.
I've mentioned "trade-offs" a couple of times in this forum. When you are talking about the curvature of tips the rounder it is the more english you get but the more you miscue. The flatter the tip, you get less english but you don't miscue much.
On a hardness scale of one to ten with ten being the hardest, I like a seven or an eight. I use the nickel shape on my tips.
[ThePoolHustler]
What makes one cue better than another? What determines quality?
I have a Lucasi cue with a Predator 314 shaft. Does it really matter what butt I put the 314 on? Is it going to make a difference in performance? In other words, if I put the 314 on a Schon or Viking, is it going to perform any better than on my Lucasi?
[Grady Mathews]
When you are dealing with cues, much is a trade-off, meaning that you give up something in one area to gain something in another. Years ago, I used to buy a cue with four shafts and hope two of them were good. Because, a lot of them were not good.
Also, I would keep one butt for several years and just replace the shaft. Nowadays, more emphasis is placed on the shaft for the cue"s overall playability. The taper on the shaft is very important.
Predator makes a good product but their shafts arn't for everybody. Some people have a hard time getting used to the stiffness and the less deflection. These things being said, I think your Predator shaft will work fine on your Lucasi butt.
[ThePoolHustler]
What taper do you recommend? Right now I am using the Predator 314 with a 12.75mm ferrule/tip. I keep the curvature of my tip dime shaped. What is the biggest difference between using a dime shaped tip vs a nickel shaped tip?
[Grady Mathews]
I like what I've always thought of as "the pro taper" which is what I and other pros have liked for years. To keep it simple, it stays fairly thin for almost a foot before it begins to appreciably fatten up. I never could play with the billiard type tapers.
I've mentioned "trade-offs" a couple of times in this forum. When you are talking about the curvature of tips the rounder it is the more english you get but the more you miscue. The flatter the tip, you get less english but you don't miscue much.
On a hardness scale of one to ten with ten being the hardest, I like a seven or an eight. I use the nickel shape on my tips.