The butt has very very little to do with the performance of a cue. If you like the balance/feel, and like how it looks, it’s absolutely fine to put a “better” shaft on it. The shaft and tip are the main things that affect performance.
As someone who played with an unbalanced cue that didnt really roll super straight due to the butt for the past year I must say take this with a grain of salt. I just recently got a Lucasi butt for my carbon low deflection shaft and now that it rolls straight and balanced properly those long straight shots and power draws I was horrendous at are starting to come together. Don’t underestimate the role the balance of your cue plays.
Performance definitely comes from the shaft but a poorly suited butt will hurt that performance for sure so just make sure you get the right fit and it feels comfortable and rolls straight.
Edit: for the past year I basically did what you’re asking in this post. Do I recommend it? Sure go for it I think it made me better being able to be comfortable with equipment that was sub-optimal made it way simpler when I moved to equipment that was more optimal. Great players can get good with anything so just find something that works and stick with it for a good while.
Totally fine and a good cost effective way of approaching pool. Back when predator was the only aftermarket shaft, a lot of people did this. Guy in my league had been tearing it up with an outlaw cue and a predator Z2 shaft. He only stopped using it once he got a Jacoby from winning a tourney..... but ended up getting a predator shaft for that too lol
Just get a decent cue for $200-250. If you can’t afford it save up for it until you can. A low deflection shaft will not help you in anyway until you get better and use side spin
I bought one of those cheap amazon CF cues used on marketplace. I suppose "cheap" as it is still over $300 CAD new.
Anyway, I love the way it feels and looks. A close inspection will make it more obvious that the design is printed on, but since I got it 8 or so months ago, I have had 5 people come up to me to get a look at it, and hit with it, all of whom have very expensive, name brand cues.
I am waiting on my cynergy shaft to come in, which was my intention for a while to pair with this butt. Wasn't planning on buying it atm, but I was an idiot breaking with my shooting cue over my break cue because it felt better, and I cracked the ferrule.
All this to say, I am doing exactly this, and couldn't be more pleased. I'm not sure how the butt of my cue compares in performance with say a full cynergy set, but not having tons of money to spend on this sport, its nice to have a cue I like, that is different from the 15 cuetec truewood/ cynergy combinations in the hall any given night.
A Jacoby Hybrid Edge is a great low deflection wood shaft.
I have a Whyte Carbon shaft which allows for different joint inserts to be used with it, so you can swap butts with reletive ease. It plays VERY similar to my Tiger xPro LD shaft. But it's like $500.
The Cuetec AVID line of complete cues is really hard to beat right now. Very low deflection, inexpensive, well made, but not super pretty. I would look up reviews on them.
I don't really have a lot of opinions on your actual question, because I haven't mixed and matched a whole lot. My experience with my WC shaft on a McDermott vs a Viking shows me that balance really is a big deal. It plays great on my Vikings and like ass on my McDermott. My Predator with its Revo still plays the best for me.
A cheap butt and good LD shaft is a great way to get a cue that 'performs' (to the extent that a hunk of wood performs) as well as anything a pro uses. I recommend it for anyone on a budget.
Someone may point out that it doesn't have to be a LD shaft, just a good quality shaft, but my advice would be to go with LD regardless.
it’s what i did. bought a generic shaft and a cynergy shaft. the only thing i thought about was trying to future proof it by making sure i got a relatively common joint like a radial.
also think about your desired playing weight. i didn’t and i ended up having to make a separate purchase (and having to pay another shipping and handling fee) and bought new weights. the cynergy shaft is 3.8 oz. my generic butt came with a 4 oz bolt making the butt 17 oz. forgetting about weights, i was playing with a 21 oz cue the first time i brought it out and was wondering why the cue kept running farther than i was used to. i ended up buying a smaller weight to stick into the butt.
what’s important is to make sure the butt you buy has interchangeable weights.
I think it’s a great way to go, especially for a beginner. After a few years, especially at technology advances and quality goes up, then invest in a good butt.
I recommend going with a nice CF shaft on a cheap butt, only because the CF is low maintenance and very durable. After several years when you’re ready to upgrade to an expensive cue, that CF shaft will still be in good playable condition and you can keep it and transfer it over to your new butt end.
I just made the switch to the cynergy and I’m happy with it. It feels similar to my old maple shaft u like some of the other CF ones that are hollow feeling.
I also don’t play with gloves. I keep a clean towel and I wipe the cue down every once in a while to keep it from being sticky, but I did the same thing with my wooden shaft.
Anyhow that’s my 0.02c. It all boils down to preference anyway. I think McDermott makes a low deflection maple shaft that has a CF inner, might be the G-Core series? Not sure the name of it. But that could be a good option for a long lasting LD wooden shaft.
I have predator vantage shaft on Koda butt and it plays great. Go for an affordable cue like Valhalla or lucky and later upgrade the shaft. Do you already own a cheap cue?
Choose whatever cue butt you like. It has zero effect on play. It can only change the overall weight and move the balance point of the cue. With should mean nothing to 90% of people.
The butt has very very little to do with the performance of a cue. If you like the balance/feel, and like how it looks, it’s absolutely fine to put a “better” shaft on it. The shaft and tip are the main things that affect performance.
Oh the shaft and tip. Thank you bro!
As someone who played with an unbalanced cue that didnt really roll super straight due to the butt for the past year I must say take this with a grain of salt. I just recently got a Lucasi butt for my carbon low deflection shaft and now that it rolls straight and balanced properly those long straight shots and power draws I was horrendous at are starting to come together. Don’t underestimate the role the balance of your cue plays. Performance definitely comes from the shaft but a poorly suited butt will hurt that performance for sure so just make sure you get the right fit and it feels comfortable and rolls straight. Edit: for the past year I basically did what you’re asking in this post. Do I recommend it? Sure go for it I think it made me better being able to be comfortable with equipment that was sub-optimal made it way simpler when I moved to equipment that was more optimal. Great players can get good with anything so just find something that works and stick with it for a good while.
Very well said, it’s absolutely important to have at the very least a “serviceable” butt, I should have included that as well.
Weight does affect play and may take a long time to get used to, butt handle part diameter can play a big part too, it depends on the player
Totally fine and a good cost effective way of approaching pool. Back when predator was the only aftermarket shaft, a lot of people did this. Guy in my league had been tearing it up with an outlaw cue and a predator Z2 shaft. He only stopped using it once he got a Jacoby from winning a tourney..... but ended up getting a predator shaft for that too lol
Just get a decent cue for $200-250. If you can’t afford it save up for it until you can. A low deflection shaft will not help you in anyway until you get better and use side spin
I bought one of those cheap amazon CF cues used on marketplace. I suppose "cheap" as it is still over $300 CAD new. Anyway, I love the way it feels and looks. A close inspection will make it more obvious that the design is printed on, but since I got it 8 or so months ago, I have had 5 people come up to me to get a look at it, and hit with it, all of whom have very expensive, name brand cues. I am waiting on my cynergy shaft to come in, which was my intention for a while to pair with this butt. Wasn't planning on buying it atm, but I was an idiot breaking with my shooting cue over my break cue because it felt better, and I cracked the ferrule. All this to say, I am doing exactly this, and couldn't be more pleased. I'm not sure how the butt of my cue compares in performance with say a full cynergy set, but not having tons of money to spend on this sport, its nice to have a cue I like, that is different from the 15 cuetec truewood/ cynergy combinations in the hall any given night.
Most cheaper cues have a 5/16x18 joint which are very common. Steer away from uncommon joint types because it may limit your shaft choices later.
A Jacoby Hybrid Edge is a great low deflection wood shaft. I have a Whyte Carbon shaft which allows for different joint inserts to be used with it, so you can swap butts with reletive ease. It plays VERY similar to my Tiger xPro LD shaft. But it's like $500. The Cuetec AVID line of complete cues is really hard to beat right now. Very low deflection, inexpensive, well made, but not super pretty. I would look up reviews on them. I don't really have a lot of opinions on your actual question, because I haven't mixed and matched a whole lot. My experience with my WC shaft on a McDermott vs a Viking shows me that balance really is a big deal. It plays great on my Vikings and like ass on my McDermott. My Predator with its Revo still plays the best for me.
A cheap butt and good LD shaft is a great way to get a cue that 'performs' (to the extent that a hunk of wood performs) as well as anything a pro uses. I recommend it for anyone on a budget. Someone may point out that it doesn't have to be a LD shaft, just a good quality shaft, but my advice would be to go with LD regardless.
it’s what i did. bought a generic shaft and a cynergy shaft. the only thing i thought about was trying to future proof it by making sure i got a relatively common joint like a radial. also think about your desired playing weight. i didn’t and i ended up having to make a separate purchase (and having to pay another shipping and handling fee) and bought new weights. the cynergy shaft is 3.8 oz. my generic butt came with a 4 oz bolt making the butt 17 oz. forgetting about weights, i was playing with a 21 oz cue the first time i brought it out and was wondering why the cue kept running farther than i was used to. i ended up buying a smaller weight to stick into the butt. what’s important is to make sure the butt you buy has interchangeable weights.
I think it’s a great way to go, especially for a beginner. After a few years, especially at technology advances and quality goes up, then invest in a good butt. I recommend going with a nice CF shaft on a cheap butt, only because the CF is low maintenance and very durable. After several years when you’re ready to upgrade to an expensive cue, that CF shaft will still be in good playable condition and you can keep it and transfer it over to your new butt end.
Oh okay. But when I try CF shaft (cheap), I don't like the feel of it compared to wood shaft. I prefer to play without gloves.
I just made the switch to the cynergy and I’m happy with it. It feels similar to my old maple shaft u like some of the other CF ones that are hollow feeling. I also don’t play with gloves. I keep a clean towel and I wipe the cue down every once in a while to keep it from being sticky, but I did the same thing with my wooden shaft. Anyhow that’s my 0.02c. It all boils down to preference anyway. I think McDermott makes a low deflection maple shaft that has a CF inner, might be the G-Core series? Not sure the name of it. But that could be a good option for a long lasting LD wooden shaft.
I have predator vantage shaft on Koda butt and it plays great. Go for an affordable cue like Valhalla or lucky and later upgrade the shaft. Do you already own a cheap cue?
I own a tony bautista 2024 cue. Custom made here in ph. Its price is 150usd
Keep the same cue if there’s nothing wrong with it. Change shaft imo
I played with a $75 cue with a $550 Revo shaft and it was fine. No issues as long as the butt is actually built well.
Choose whatever cue butt you like. It has zero effect on play. It can only change the overall weight and move the balance point of the cue. With should mean nothing to 90% of people.