Meucci Originals Inc has been around for decades and is one of the most popular cues in the marketplace. I think their popularity is mainly due to their aggressive marketing, low price point and good value. They are a high-volume production cue company.
I played with a Meucci cue for years when I was in college. It was what I would consider my first major upgrade to a "good" cue. I had played many, many years with some very crappy cues. Once I was exposed to better players and better cues, I realized that the $6 yard-sale special that I had was not cutting it. So I payed way too much ($300) for a new Meucci cue. This was in 1987. I played with that cue for about 2 years until my game reached some new levels. At that point I got frustrated with how the Meucci shaft played. It was very "whippy" and hard to control the cue. I ended up selling it and getting a Schon cue, which I played with for several years.
Keep in mind, this is my personal opinion on how the cue played. Others love the way Meucci cues play. I don't.
Since then, Meucci has done a lot of research on cue shaft design to reduce deflection. They came out with their black dot shaft and the famous (or infamous) "Myth Destroyer" cue testing robot. Bob Meucci (Company Founder) has travelled around the country using this robot/device to compare other shafts to his shafts to show the difference in deflection. There are many people that question the validity of his device. If you search about this on the internet, you'll find a lot of video and chats about the subject. Personally, if you want a low deflection shaft, I would go with a Predator.
Overall, I think Meucci cues are a good choice for the occasional player or for someone that wants a unique design over-and-above playability at a low price. Keep in mind, there have been many pro players sponsored by Meucci cues. Many of them top players. These players were PAYED to play with those cues. Also, it is not clear if they have "off the shelf" shafts. Most likely, they hand-picked the shafts out of many samples or they had higher quality shafts made for them by Meucci. I don't see many top-level players playing with Meucci cues without being sponsored. Please, comment if I'm wrong here.
Let me know what you think of Meucci cues.
Where to buy Meucci Cues:
I've searched and found some Meucci cues for sale, listed on the right of this page. That is, also, a good place to view a variety of their cues to get a feel for their skills and to see the "market value" of Meucci cues.
Otherwise, you can order a cue from Meucci directly. His contact information is below.
Best of luck on your cue search.
Cheers,
Skippy
P.S. If you have any personal knowledge, dealings, experience and/or opinions about this cue maker, please contact me or post a reply below. Also, click on the rating "stars" to indicate your opinion of this cue maker. Thanks for your participation.
If you own a cue made by Meucci Originals, Inc., send me a picture and I'll share it with everyone else. If you have a website to promote, include a link and I'll include it with the picture. People like to see examples and opinions of a cue maker's work before buying.
If you represent Meucci Originals and can provide me with more information, pictures, website, etc., then please contact me and I will gladly include that information on my site.
Here is the current contact info:
Meucci Originals Inc.
1 Meucci Center Drive
Sledge, MS 38670
Bob Meucci and Mark Patrick
800-563-8224
www.meuccicues.com
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Hello!
I ran into your website completely by accident when I decided that I would try to find out the value or even the model number of my husbands pool cue. It started this evening when I was out playing pool, as I do every night, lol, when I man walked across the pool hall and made a beeline for me. He looked at me and then my stick and asked me if I had a Meucci Original. I was so stunned that he knew what it was that I didn’t even ask the right questions as he was obviously an expert in pool cues as he has collected almost 100 of them he said. So, of course this made me quite curious to find out exactly what it is.
My husband has been playing with this cue, as per his memory, lol, for about 20 to 22 years. You wrote on the bottom of this article that if we had any personal knowledge to write and tell you – so here I am
My husband has played pool literally everyday for 30 years (he’s only 41!) and bought this as his first “good” cue when he was 20 or so. He has never used anything else – ever. He played in what can be considered semi-pro tournaments and even had the opportunity to take it pro way back when he was 24 or so. He has never thought of using anything else other than his Meucci Original, nor would he ever dream of ever not using it.
I can completely see the validity in your argument of Meucci, but I think quality is still quality even if the name has gone downhill since. Although it has a few dings in it, it is still completely solid, straight and even has the original shaft on it. 5 years ago when we got married he willed it to me, literally, lol. That is how much he values this stick. Although he doesn’t play semi-pro anymore, he still plays daily and even allows me to take it out to my own tournaments (although mostly local tournaments rather than regional or national ones that he was in).
I guess I just have to say that Meucci Originals, whether you agree or not, hold a lot of value (if only sentimental) as being one of th e best cues ever made, at least to my husband.
If you are interested, and/or have the time, I will take a picture tomorrow of it and perhaps you can give me some information on it? At the very least, I wanted to tell this story. Although my husbands memory isn’t good enough to remember what kind of cue he bought 20 to 22 years ago, he does remember all the daily use he put into it, and how many really exciting wins he had with it – and I guess that is more important than value
Thanks for listening!
Erin Carmody
Thanks a lot for sharing that story Erin! If you could share a picture, I’d love to post it here. I think everyone has different preferences when it comes to cues. I’m glad your husband found a cue that played well for him. Just to be clear, I don’t have a problem with Meucci or the quality of their cues. I just didn’t like the one I played with.
That’s exactly why I like people to share their personal experience as you have.
Thanks,
Skippy
Skippy,
I have to agree Meucci’s were very whippy cues i had several and yes the cue ball goes where it wants to oh to often. I never kept one more than 1 week lol. I traded up back in 1986 to Szamboti damn good trade now that i look at it still got it today with 5 shafts. Another great cue i had was an old Tim Scruggs back in 1979 very stiif cue. Every cue maker has a market and Meucci is for the man or woman who wants a ton of English transfered to the cue but i cannot control that type cue after 35 years of play. Like Yamaha used to say different strokes for different folks.
Meucci, yikes! to put it as simply as i can, meucci scares me.
I play a few different games. Mostly one pocket though. And i
cannot control the cueball to save my life with a meucci.
I only started playing a little over a year and a half ago. When i started off
as a 3 or 4 in the APA the meucci was a magnificent cue.
however when my game changed and i became a serious player
I found myself in need of something extremely reliable. Thus i
ventured into an exploration stage. Trying every cue i could get my
hands on. only 4 cues made my cut.
1 Shon (the cue i play with today)
2 Predator (you may miss some balls at first but it will impress you)
3 Pechauer (every time you stroke you know exactly what your playing with)
4 A Ted Harris custom shaft ( a very high quality shaft that plays extremely well)
Shon played the best for me. So i went with that. the predator had
a corky feel to it that you get used to very quickly. After a while you feel invincible with it. The pechauer plays the way you imagine a cue should. I don’t really know how to describe it. its not as stiff as the shon, its just kinda perfect. And last but not least the Ted Harris shaft. Ted Harris is a cue maker in south Florida. I don’t know that his shaft is any better or any worse than anyone elses custom shaft. i have just never used anyone elses custom shaft. But for about $200 you could turn whatever cue your using into a high quality weapon. I am very impressed with the ted harris shaft. It plays extremely well. However i am now 20 years old. I’m and APA 7, and i seriously doubt i will ever use anything other than a shon or pechauer ever again.
Hi all,
I’m a French pool amateur. I’ve had the same Meucci since 1996. Before buying it, I had played with a cheap beginner cue and then a mid-range Buffalo. I also tried a Balabushka from a mate. It seemed like stiff shafts didn’t fit with my own play. When I had the opportunity to try Meucci cues from other players around me (in the 1990s Meucci cues were very trendy, fashionable here in France), it looked to me that lively shafts and Meucci shafts would be the right type of shafts for my play. Since I got my own Meucci, I felt like my game really improved (I was a beginner, I started pool in 1995). I’ve never had problems to control the cue ball or to put side English etc.
Also, because of my job and personnal life, I had to take a temporary break away from pool, for something like 4 years. When I came back to pool 5 months ago, my Meucci didn’t got old, played it like in the good old times and I didn’t have any difficulty to find my play back after such a long period off.
I’m not a pro, I’m just a regular player, with just a local level, but I just feel pretty comfortable with my Meucci. The shaft is still the original one and it still works well.
However, I don’t say Meuccis are the best cues, of course. I guess a cue is very personal. If some don’t like Meucci cues, I totally understand. It’s a question of taste first. Apart from the playability, I can testify that Meuccis are very good quality cues over time, as they keep being good after years and years, like in my case. The way they are decorated is also a very nice point (but also a matter of taste I agree!). The only weak point, to my mind, would be that now you can’t find any spare ‘no-dot’ shafts (i.e. old shafts like mine). Now Meucci only sell Black Dot or Red Dot shafts, due to low-deflection ‘paranoia’. I’m kidding about that, but the problem is is that I’m sure some players don’t care about low deflection and play well without a specific shaft (matter of taste, again). It’s just a pity that Meucci enthusiasts have no choice now than getting these new types of shafts for their old Meucci. After all, lively shafts were a kind of token specific to Meucci cues.
Anyway, there are as many good different cues as there are pool players. And I also don’t want to stick on one type of cue, looking forward to getting a new different one, and not a Meucci, in the long run, just to vary my own play in a way.
p.s. i forgot to mention that i was speaking about production cues.
I’ve run across (and bought) what appears to be an older Meucci Cue. It is all done in ivory with Chess pieces at the bottom. It has two shafts, one that was probably made custom as a Snooker shaft (longer). Is this a collector type cue? How many of these were made. I haven’t been able to find anything like it anywhere. Help. rw
Randy,
Do you have any pictures of the cue that you could share?
nice cue but no monster never heard of them being monster players some good but like eric said some bad but i have played with one and taking in to thought that the time in which it was made it plays awesome but back then they didnt know or have a quater of the high tech stuff we have george was way ahead of his time as was gus just think if he still was around what he could do and gus WOW! this cue would a monster if it had a ivory butt or if those ring at the joint were ivory becuase of how rare it would be.
Hi Skippy,
how can i see pictures of meucci originals?
We have one with a key symbol (but not one of the name “lock&key”, which i found somewhere).
Have bougth it around 1995. How can i upload a picture?
My wife and me liked to play it very much, learned to control the special “spirit” of the meucci original and sometimes think of it as “magic”.
best regards,
risc
what year was meucci original pool cue model 95-8 made
Ive been playin pool for about ten years and still remember the first time I shot a meucci. It had unbelievable control and the ferrule felt like it absorbed most of the impact. My first cue was cheap off the wall cue made by Harvard. I took that cue everywhere with me when I was in the Navy and shot very well with it, during this time I tried other cues like Action, Mcdermot, Viking, Schon, and Balabushka. They shot well but lacked a pro taper and soft feel that meucci is known for. We all have problems with control, its not the cue, its the operator. if your good u can play w a broomstick, you may not win any tournaments but you can play. Meucci shafts have less deflection than the Predator, However, its subjective because anyone can eventually adjust to the deflection of any shaft if used long enough.
Last year I finally reached a point in my life where I can compete with the best so I felt like it was time for me to purchase a meucci, and have seen my game improve greatly. Im kicking balls better and using my stroke rather than english has never been easier.
It all depends on preference and your style of play, some people bank balls that I prefer cutting and vice versa. Also, I wanted a cue American made and used by old-school players who know billiards. Most cues are made elsewhere in Asia and Europe I wanted Wood from North America. Anyways thanks for listening.
I’ve been playing with Meucci’s for over 25 years and will shoot with nothing else. I have 3 originals in my collection and play with a 97-13 currently. I’ve hit with many other sticks and nothing hits like a Meucci.
@ Jesse…For many years I played with the worst/cheapest cues. As a young boy (around 8 yrs old, probably…I can’t remember), I was out with my Father at a store that sold brass stuff. He was looking at a brass bed. Well, they had a 5-piece cue there, for some stupid reason. I just had to have that cue. That was the worst damn cue ever, LOL. I finally got a decent cue, when I got into college. I got a Meucci, which I played with for a few years, before switching to a Schon.