I do not own a curado e but I do own a stx and a patriarch. I love them both. Simply amazing reels. I would say the Patriarch is little more user friendly.  However there is a HUGE following for the Curado reels as well.

Dude,

so do you have 2 on and 4 off or 2 off and 4 on? It doesn't really matter. You are not giving the reel a chance. Look up baitcast 101 (on google) A great place to start for the centrifugal brakes is to have 3 off and 3 on.  From this point you will better able to determine if you have too much or too little braking. Eventually you will gravitate to 2 on and 4 off as you gain experience.

You also didn't mention how much wieght you are tossing. Try using at least 1/2 oz weight to practice with and let the lure fall a little faster. The "let it fall til so that the spool doesn't bird's nest when the lure hits the water or ground" is only a guideline. I am willing to bet that I am not the only one here who lets it fall much faster.

Also, try 45 degrees and not zero.  At this time, I will have to say operator error. ;D

Sounds about right... I use 4 on when I have light lures and 4 off when I use heavier lures like 1/2 oz and up.

I switched my rod from MH to M and I already am having a better time casting.

Operator error is most likely the situation here.

Hatty

Turn some of those breaks off and you will be more pleased with its performance.  I usually have 1 on for normal situations some times total free spool and 2 breaks for any windy conditions.

I have an Revo STX i would gladly trade you for the curado. Just let me know I live in Charlotte

This question should light up the boards...

Maybe it's on operator error, but I am not getting amazing casting from this reel. Brakes set between 2 and 4 and tension set to have the lure fall at a speed while holding rod parrallel where the spool stops spinning when the lure hits the water.

Again, could be a user error, but not feeling the sweetness...

Thoughts?

Hatty

What do you consider "amazing casting", and what are you comparing it to?

I've got a Curado E7 and a Patriarch 64WLP, and I see very little difference in performance between the two. The Curado is slightly easier to palm due to its lower profile and the Patriarch is noticeably smoother. As far as casting, I see no difference in distance between the two reels when using the same rod.