We stock three EC9 cues, the ZZEC9B, ZZEC9K and ZZEC9P, each built around a different exotic hardwood forearm rather than inlay or ring work, which is the visual idea behind the whole series. All three share the same 12.50mm WX-Sigma shaft and Mezz's United joint underneath the wood. Below, we cover what that shaft and joint actually do, how the three models compare, and Mezz's warranty terms.
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EC9 succeeds Mezz's earlier EC7 line and follows what Miki Co., Ltd. describes as its own design ideology for the series: simplicity over complexity. Instead of leaning on inlay or ring work, EC9 puts a rotating selection of exotic hardwoods on the forearm front and center, so the wood grain and color carry the look rather than added ornamentation. Miki Co. builds every EC9 at its factory in Japan; Mezz USA, the separate American company Caroline Pao and Mika Immonen founded in 2008, handles the US side of the business.
EC9's forearms rotate through a small set of rare woods rather than one standard material, so two EC9 cues can look quite different from each other while running identical hardware underneath. It's Mezz's most understated way of letting the wood itself be the design statement, rather than points or veneer stacks.
Every EC9 pairs with Mezz's WX-Sigma shaft, a straight pro-taper wood shaft built for a natural hit with low deflection, meaning the shaft moves less off your intended line on off-center hits than a stiffer, non-taper-optimized shaft would. It's the same shaft several other current Mezz playing-cue series use.
EC9 runs Mezz's United joint, the piloted quick-release system the company developed in-house in 1996. A small alignment pin does the work of seating the two halves in the same position every time, rather than relying on the screw threads alone, which is part of why longtime owners describe a United joint as holding its fit rather than working loose over years of play.
We currently carry the ZZEC9B at about $690, the ZZEC9K at about $660, and the ZZEC9P at about $640, all on the same 12.50mm classic wood shaft with a linen wrap and the United joint. Our current stock runs mostly to brown wood tones, with black also represented; the price step between the three models tracks the specific forearm wood rather than any difference in shaft or joint. At $640 to $690, EC9 sits in the lower half of our overall Mezz pool cue price range, which runs from about $510 up to about $1,260 across every series we carry.
Mezz USA's own EC9 lineup lists eight forearm-wood models, with five marked sold out on the manufacturer's site at last check. We carry three of those woods, all built on the same shaft, joint and wrap, so the table below covers what stays constant and what changes model to model.
| Model | SKU | Forearm & butt sleeve | Shaft | Wrap | Weights | Price | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZZEC9B | ZZEC9B | Bocote, silver dashed ring and cream ring | 12.50mm WX-Sigma, straight pro taper | Irish linen | Not listed by the manufacturer | about $690 | Out of stock |
| ZZEC9K | ZZEC9K | Black-stained birdseye maple, silver dashed ring and white ring | 12.50mm WX-Sigma, straight pro taper | Irish linen | Not listed by the manufacturer | about $660 | Out of stock |
| ZZEC9P | ZZEC9P | Purple heart, silver dashed ring and white ring | 12.50mm WX-Sigma, straight pro taper | Irish linen | Not listed by the manufacturer | about $640 | Out of stock |
Bocote is the forearm and butt sleeve wood on the ZZEC9B, prized for a swirling, dark-striped grain that varies from blank to blank since it comes from a real tree rather than a printed veneer. Mezz frames that grain with a silver dashed ring set against a cream-colored ring instead of adding further inlay, so the wood pattern carries the cue's whole look. It finishes with a Mezz X-Bumper at the butt end, the same bumper fitted across this run of EC9 cues.
The ZZEC9K trades that natural bocote tone for birdseye maple stained black, so the small speckled eyes already in the grain show through a dark finish instead of the wood's pale natural color. Its ring work swaps the ZZEC9B's cream accent for a white one, kept above the same silver dashed ring, a small but visible way Mezz tells the two colorways apart at a glance. Below the forearm and butt sleeve, the build matches the rest of the EC9 line piece for piece.
Purple heart supplies the color on the ZZEC9P, a dense hardwood that can read brown under dim light and shift toward violet in direct light, a trait none of the other two woods share. Mezz rings it the same way as the ZZEC9K, silver dashed ring plus white ring, so those two colorways share their ring scheme while the wood itself is what tells them apart. Choosing between the two lighter-ring cues really comes down to purple heart's color shift against birdseye maple's speckled figure under a black stain.
Bocote is the exotic hardwood on the ZZEC9B's forearm and butt sleeve, known for a swirling, almost bird's-eye grain pattern, which is why Mezz lets it carry the EC9's look on its own rather than adding inlay work on top of it. Purple heart, used on the ZZEC9P, is a dense hardwood that shifts between brown and purple depending on the light, and it is finished the same way on this cue, cut and ringed rather than inlaid. The ZZEC9K's black-stained birdseye maple gets its speckled figure from the maple itself before the stain goes on.
Every EC9 uses a 12.5mm Kamui Original Soft tip on Mezz's own XJ Powerplate ferrule, a short ferrule design shared across several current Mezz shafts. The ferrule sits between the tip and the shaft wood, spreading the impact of the cue ball into the shaft rather than concentrating it right at the tip end, which is the detail worth knowing if you ever need a replacement down the line. For more terms like these, see our cue glossary.
All three EC9 cues share an Irish linen wrap under the grip hand, a woven material long used on production and custom cues for grip in humid rooms, and a black collar with a double silver ring where the wrap meets the forearm. Those silver rings are decorative rather than structural, part of the same ring work that separates EC9's look from Mezz's plainer Sneaky Pete line.
The WX-Sigma shaft's straight pro taper holds close to the same diameter over a longer stretch of the shaft before it steps down near the joint, rather than tapering evenly from tip to collar the way a conical taper does. Mezz pairs that taper with the Sigma shaft on the whole EC9 line because it says the combination delivers a natural wooden hit with low deflection, the same reasoning it applies across its other current playing-cue series.
All three EC9 cues we carry use the United joint, a 12.50mm classic wood shaft, and a linen wrap, the same configuration across the entire series. That United joint is also the most common one across our whole Mezz pool cue lineup, appearing on 20 of the 24 Mezz cues in this category, and the 12.50mm classic wood shaft spec matches 13 of those same 24 cues. If you eventually want a spare or upgraded shaft in that diameter, our full shafts category covers 12.50mm options across every brand we carry, not just Mezz.
EC9 suits a player who wants a plain, wood-forward look without giving up the low-deflection WX-Sigma shaft and United joint Mezz uses across its higher-profile series, so it's really a styling choice within the same underlying performance rather than a step down in how it plays. One thing worth knowing before your cue arrives: AZBilliards owners say the United joint runs genuinely tight out of the box, taking real effort on the last couple of turns before it seats and breaks in. Mezz has also turned down community requests to offer its low-deflection EX Pro shaft with other brands' joints, so that particular shaft only comes mounted on a Mezz cue. On AZBilliards, an EC9 Limited owner called the United joint's lock-up top shelf and said he genuinely likes how the cue plays, while a separate thread comparing EC9 to the older EC7 found the only functional change is the shaft, with the extra ring work on EC9's butt being purely cosmetic, enough that one buyer picked up a discounted EC7 instead. The same discussion pointed to a construction difference between EC9 and Mezz's plainer Sneaky Pete, with one poster describing an inlaid forearm rather than a full splice, though which model uses which drew some disagreement in the thread. That same reputation for tight, consistent builds shows up across the broader AZBilliards community too, where a cue repair technician and a number of longtime owners have said in multiple threads that Mezz stands out from other production brands for fit-and-finish and a United joint that holds its lockup instead of loosening with age.
Mezz USA's stated warranty on the EC9 is one year against manufacturing defects from the purchase date, with a further 14-day satisfaction or replacement window on orders placed directly with Mezz USA. Miki Co., the Japanese factory that actually builds the cue, separately publishes a non-transferable limited lifetime warranty for the original owner on its own site, manufacturer language that runs well beyond Mezz USA's one-year figure. Miki's own lifetime policy, for reference, excludes normal wear and tear, cosmetic blemishes reported after a year of ownership, misuse or abuse, and unauthorized repairs or modifications, and it requires any claim to be filed within 30 days of discovering the defect.
See the rest of Mezz's current playing and break cues in Mezz pool cues, or compare against other manufacturers in our general pool cues category.
The joint is what decides whether a shaft fits, and every cue in Mezz EC9 Series Cues uses the United pin. Match that pin on any replacement shaft, or ask us and we will confirm the fit.
Every EC9 uses Mezz's United joint and a 12.50mm WX-Sigma shaft on a straight pro taper, aimed at a low-deflection, solid-hit feel.
EC9 uses a rotating selection of exotic hardwood forearms rather than inlay work, following Mezz's own "simplicity over complexity" design approach for the line.
Our three current EC9 models run from about $640 to about $690, all sharing the same shaft, joint and wrap.
Mezz USA publishes a one-year warranty against manufacturing defects, plus a 14-day window on direct purchases. Miki Co. in Japan separately advertises a longer lifetime warranty on its own site.
AZBilliards owners say the main functional change is the shaft, EC7's WX700 versus EC9's WX-Sigma. The rest is two extra decorative rings on the butt, which some buyers see as cosmetic rather than a real upgrade.
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