[garczar]

A Meucci with an ElkMaster was softest hitting cue i ever saw. It was like there was a down pillow on the end of the cue. McDermott's with softer tips were also quite soft.

[linxhack]

A McDermott was my first cue in the early 90's. Soft hitting, plenty of feedback and just enjoyable to play all day. Never "tinny" in any way. Still the ruler by which all other cues are measured. I currently have (too) many McDermotts from that era and they all play that way. In fact, the older they are, seems like the better they game. I've never noticed much difference in the hit from tips. Played last night with an Everest tip on one and my playing tip, Kamui Clear Black soft on the other. Only difference was the amount of spin they produced. Personally, I'm convinced its the big pin and flat faced wood connection that they've always used.

Note: If anyone can advise me on any custom cue makers that play like old McDermotts, I'd appreciate it. It's the main reason I haven't pulled the trigger on a big name.

[animatedvmaker]

Originally Posted by sgengaro86

When people talk about “best hitting” cues, it seems like many mention stiffer, crisper hits like the Southwests. Are there cues people like that have a very soft hit? For example, I have a production Pechaeur with a stainless joint and I love the soft hit. I hate the weighting of the cue so I don’t play with it, but love the soft feeling. Does anyone have any favorite customer cues that have a solid but soft hit?
Thanks!

In my experience, cues with a wood to wood joint, like 3/8x10, and Radial pin joints had a Soft hit to them. Cues like Mcdermott, and Diveney to name a few examples.

Also, in my experience, cues with an SS joint have had a pretty stiff hit. Cues like Joss, Schon, and others that came with an SS joint collar.

Some of the Helmstetter cues came with some type of plastic joint collar, and a 5/16x18 flat faced joint, and they had a soft but very nice and solid hit to them.

Other Helmstetter cues that came with an SS joint collar I really did not care for, because they had what felt like a hard and stiff hit to them.

So, in my experience, I never enjoyed shooting with anything with an SS joint collar.

Joss has been the worst in my experience. The only Joss cues I ever really liked were the sneaky style cues, because they did not have an SS joint on them. Also the Brunswick made Joss cues, that had some sort of brown material on the joint collar, and really liked the hit of those too.

I highly recommend Pat Diveney though.

[DJ66]

Just to throw my hat in the ring here:
As far as "softer" hit, I have an old meucci original (mid-late 80's) as well as an old McDermott (late 80's-early 90's), and they do have a soft hit (my opinion, the meucci was softer). I picked up a new shuriken cue with a carbon fiber ferrule, and the hit is far and away much softer than either meucci or mcdermott. (all of the cues have triangle tips.)

[buckshotshoey]

I think some cues are called soft hitting, not just because of the feel, but the sound they make. If you put in earplugs or earphones, it's easier to discern the actual feel.

Case and point.... the OB with the stacked maple ferrule has been described as "mushy" by some. It seems to be more a muffled sound then it is a "muffled" feel. I get good feedback out of mine.

If a person eliminates all senses other then touch, it's easier to concentrate on the feel. In this very thread, it was mentioned that a shaft that "sings" is a stiffer hit. That may or may not be true. Try hitting with it when you cant hear it.

I tried this on the other end of the spectrum. I used my 314 2 with and without earbuds. It felt stiffer when I could hear it. Eliminating the sound will change your perception. Does for me anyway.

In essence, you could have two shafts that feel the same, but sound different...or vice versa. Depends on the tip/ferrule/taper/diameter/construction variables.