Custom or Production
Do You Know The Difference
by Robert Meucci

The term custom cue evokes a sense of awe and the feeling of an old world craftsman chiseling out a cue with his bare hands with a few simple tools, but the reality is quite different. Cue makers can truly be put into three categories.

The first category is the production cue manufacturer who operates off shore, typically in Taiwan or China, often using almost slave labor at .25 per hour. Day after day, week after week, they cookie cut out the same models every time, using the same de-signs, wraps, joints and shafts, allowing no choice of weights, millimeters or anything else that would separate your cue from the next off the production line. The Innovation, creativity and art of creating a finely tuned instrument is lost.

The second category is the low-volume custom cue maker or assembler and third would be the high-volume custom cue maker or assembler. The difference between these two animals is that the low-volume cue makers of onezy, twozy, threezy a week, must charge a whole lot more money for their cues, since there are fewer cues to make a profit. The consumer must pay the extra toll. Also, the smaller custom cue maker probably has one individual performing all assembly operations on each cue, making any perfection's or imperfections in each particular cue the sole responsibility of one man. In most cases, the low-volume custom cue maker has the same or higher technology and equipment as the high-volume custom cue manufacturer.

The disadvantage of the low-volume custom cue, is that in many cases, the cue maker or assembler may buy various parts and materials of the cue from other sources, losing control of the quality of those particular parts or materials. As a result, parts, which may have dimensional or other errors, may be too expensive to reject, possibly leaving the buyer with variances which can effect the cue’s performance. A shaft might be slightly off in size or a little extra glue may be used to fill spaces created by improper machining technique or, in other words, a “whoopsie”. Further, low-volume custom cue makers are limited in their ability to obtain the highest quality materials due to their lack of purchasing power. Obviously, standard business dictates that larger purchasers
have more negotiation power with suppliers, therefore have many more pieces to choose from.

Though, it is surely true that rarity and collectibility can be gained from the low-volume custom cue, you may lose the confidence of having a consistent feel in the play within that particular brand. The buyer is more subject to the luck of the draw. High-volume custom cue makers usually produce most or all of their own parts and materials; they maintain total control over quality and consistency. For instance, at Meucci Originals, we own our own saw mill and manufacture absolutely everything (with the exception of the leather tip) from basic raw materials. Our saw mill provides some of the low-volume custom cue makers with their high-quality shaft lumber, giving us first selection on the cream of the crop.

Another advantage of a high-volume custom cue maker has is that when running a single operation more than 200 times a day, the first pieces that are machined to set up and establish dimension in a particular operation are thrown in the trash if the dimension is off more than one or two thousandth of an inch. This leaves the rest of that days production exactly the same in dimension, but still allowing for variations in joint style, wrap, stain, weight, tip size and even shaft and butt length to accommodate the customer’s custom needs. An obvious fact is that if someone performs the same operation over and over he will become more of a specialist in that particular operation of cue manufacturing, rather than having to perfect by one’s self every operation. Accordingly, this again will obviously effect the consistency in the hit and playability of each cue within a particular brand.

The only disadvantages of the high-volume custom cue is that you may possibly see a cue just like your own as you travel across the country and limit the perceived value as a collectible due to it’s lack of rarity in some standard models.

If you are looking for a cue that both has the consistency in play within the brand and a higher perceived value as a collectible, look for the limited edition models from high-volume cue makers. This will both provide the rarity and collectibility and probably a whole lot more inlaid design work for the dollar you spend, without the hype and high prices that goes with the onezy, twozy, cue maker’s cues.

In conclusion, the day of whittling cues with wood planes and hand chisels is long past. When you consider that either the high or low volume custom cue maker will make a cue to your specifications and both make a cue with basically the same equipment and technology, the only difference between them is the price you pay for what you receive.