i usually don't throw my two cents in a forum like this because my typing skills fall far behind my ability to speak on a subject. i did however feel the need to give knowledge learned over time to someone trying to buy thier first cue. i personally have owned seven different cues in the 20 years i've been shooting pool. all have served me well, al were well constructed and all were by companies who mass produce to an extent. i have seen many people here and in other billiard forums trash the products of meucci and feel the need to defend them briefly. i still own the first meucci i bought. i purchased it in 1989 and it is now my break cue (and has been for over ten years). not one problem. ever. that cue is abused and treated like dirt and it has never failed. enough said, they are a very good product. but what i really want to say is that the true value of a first cue or a fifth is how you play with it. i bought a truly beautiful joss at one point that caught my eye. plenty of inlays, the quality joss is know for, good balance, and the rest of the whole nine. i sold it a year later. not because of quality issues, because it felt wrong. it hit too stiff for my style of play. i have also owned a schon. you can't say enough good things about them. they are truly works of art. i almost broke it in frustration. it just didn't feel right when i played. but i WANTED it to feel right because it was a schon and i had drooled over it for a year before i could afford it. in the end i still shoot with two meucci cues i bought in the late eighties. they feel right to me. i play well with them. that is all that counts. even the meucci black dot shaft cues won't cut it for me. they may cut down deflection but they feel like hitting the cue ball with a steel rod to me. when you buy a cue try to play with one first. go to a billiard supply store, they will almost all let you hit a few balls first. go to a local room ask around see if someone will let you hit a ball or two (doubtful, but worth a try) ask your friends who shoot to try thier cues. bottom line find comfort and buy that. don't buy a name. names are fly by night. i can't count how many dealer reps have come up to me at pool halls or tournaments where they were trying to drum up business and i was trying to drum up autographs, and pestered me to buy one of the latest and greatest cues ever built only to never hear of the company again. the last thing i will say is you can buy less expensive but don't buy crap. crap equals warped cues, factory seconds - which may not be crap, they may be fine but they carry no warranty, and if you lay down hard earned cash you might as well get all that you can. less expensive equals maybe no points or inlays, a used cue or a company that makes less expensive cues for beginners. remember buy here on ebay to save cash but shop in the real world to find what will suit your tastes.