Advice on new/first cue - Where and what to get ?

[Mats]

Hello everyone !

I am visiting London the upcoming week (starting Monday) but living myself in Germany.

While I never had a cue my own I want to spend about 250 GBP (I won't be happy with a cheap one).
At least it would be great to check out if a 3/4 or 1/2 cue is more suitable for me (1 piece is not due to travelling). Weight (18 oz) and tip (9.5 mm) is in normal range and shouldn't be a problem.

There is no shop near my home town so I have/had the idea looking for a shop in London (England = "snooker land" I thought).
But the "only" one I found is Parris and Hunt&Osborne.

While the one from Hunt&Osborne in my price range is the Red Plate, different sources in this forum are talking about a Trevor White cue (although difficult to achieve) being better for that money.

So I am asking for your advice:
1. Is there another place in London to check 3/4 against 1/2, weight, ... ?
2. Should I better look in Germany for a shop to try out different cues?
3. Should I go with a Trevor White (or other cue) rather than Parris or Hunt&Osborne?
4. Any other advice or recommendation?

Thank in advance and greetings,
Mats

[Jonny]

With 250, i'd spend it on a trevor white you can pm him at trevs1 (should be that, may have to double check) when you have 10 posts

[ChatLag]

Hi Mats,

yes, Germany is a desert concerning snooker equipment.
Where are you living?
It is for sure a good idea to visit Parris and H&O if you are in London.
I have cues from both and i personally prefer the H&O. Will and Robert are nice and supporting and in terms of quality the are better than JP to my experience. And Will Hunt is fo me a cue making legend...

But you have to pay the London extra charge for them both.

I am in the happy position to have also a Trevor White cue. Once you will have it you will be happy with it. And the price is better for the quality.

[KeithinFrance]

Hi Mats,

Living in France, I know what you mean about finding a good shop, either near my home town, or when visiting the UK.

Personally, I wouldn't go to London just to buy a cue; the choice available is not that great, with only the 2 "big boys" there and they don't carry much stock at the best of times. Secondly, with a budget of "only" £250 then you'll not get the best of their cues, and if you don't go to London then you'll have that much money available to buy a good cue.

Your cue specs are very normal, if you buy a 3/4 cue, which is what I'd recommend if you're buying your 1st cue. This way, you get used to the way it plays and you'll have no problems if you ever want to change.

What I'd suggest doing, is looking at websites: Robin Cues, Coutts Cues, Glover Cues, TW cues, Stamford Cuemakers and, here on the forum, pictures of Trevor White cues, just so's you get an idea of what you're looking for and the prices available.
If you're just looking for a simple 3/4 cue with a plain ebony butt, then any of these guys can make you a 1st class cue for a little bit less or a little bit more than £250.

If your budget is £250 and no more, then I'd recommend Robin Cues, as his price for a simple3/4 cue is £225 + postage. Robin makes a beautiful cue, and you'll find a thread about his cues, with photos etc in this forum.

If you really want to see cues and visit the UK, then you'd be better visiting Stamford than Lodon, as you have Stamford Cuemakers, Robin Cues and Coutts Cues within easy driving distance of each other and if you have a weekend to spare you can visit them all to have a chat and discuss your ideas for a cue; they don't really have shops as they all work from home, but they'll have some cues on hand that are finished or nearly finished you'll be able to look at.

I hope this helps,
Keith

[Mats]

Thank You so far for the replies.

I am living near Mainz (this is approx. 30 miles west from London directly on the other side of the river Rhein).

No way to change the location from London to anything else, at least this travel.t, And I wont have the chance to travel around in England this year.
Wales and the south west of England are on my holiday schedule in the future, but this year I will visit Ireland for about 3 weeks.

I will think about your advices (and work on my 10 posts - pretty hard without much knowledge).

Greetings,
Mats

[KeithinFrance]

You don't need to have knowledge to post, you just need an opinion or a question!

If you do have to go to London, then in that case visit Parris and H&O to have a look, but don't go saying to yourself that you have to buy a cue. This is a sure way to get something just to buy something! Go and look, and, who knows, you might find the "magic wand" at your price! If you don't, then it's no loss. But have a look at the other cuemaker's sites, too, just to have more market knowledge and remember that London prices are really, really expensive!

[cm59]

yeah true evrythings at a premium in london so things will be more expensive have you not considering ordering off the net if you have an idea what you want and having it delivered to your home im sure the delivery charge wouldnt be loads to germany being in europe

[Mats]

Thank You so far for the replies.

I am living near Mainz (this is approx. 30 miles west from London directly on the other side of the river Rhein).
...

Oh my goodness, what a mistake.

Mainz is approx. 30 miles from Frankfurt, do not know how "London" gets into that.

Sorry for,
Mats

[cm59]

i was gonna say ive never heard of that place near london lol

[eaoin11]

I would second everything Keith said but also mention Mike Wooldridge's Shark series. Base price is 160, (half of his custom range) because they're butterfly spliced but the materials are first class and playing qualities the equal of Mikes best cues (apparently).

An added benefit is that Mike keeps them in stock so they can be prepared and dispatched within days.

Most of the above makers will involve a wait of 2 months minimum.

[Shanghai Matt]

any idea what your after in terms of style/splices etc? as that will limit what you can get for that price, and from who.

[Mats]

I went back from London to Germany last night.

Last Wednesday I visited Hunt & Osborne (after taking a phone call at Tuesday).
Talking to Robert Osborne was a real pleasure and took over an hour. He answered all questions, explained me everything and I could try out some of the cues in stock (while Will Hunt was working on a cue).
But as you mentioned they have little stock at the mon´ment and many orders to complete (so stock are not to rise significantly the next weeks).

So I still have to decide which cue and which cue crafter (somehow more difficult now) to choose.
First the cue has to be of high quality but I like to have at least a front splice (e.g. cocobolo or thuya burr) and one veneer.
The cue has to be a 3/4 butt jointed one with 57 inch in length, 18.5 oz in weight and has to come with a tip of 9.5 mm.

Recalculating this kind of cue combined with an extension and a cue case it may exceed my first limit of 250 GBP (I cannot exactly fix my new limit at the moment, but maybe up to 500 GBP - extreme increase I know).

By the way I have no fixed date the cue has to be delivered at latest.

Greetings,
Mats

[KeithinFrance]

Hi Mats,

Glad your visit was such a success; it's better when you go to see the cues and cuemaker, isn't it? You get a much more precise idea of what you need and what is not necessary and what you need. Also, Robert is one of the best people in the world to get an introduction to the cue world from!

Your specs are very standard, so that's not going to be a problem for any good cuemaker to build. You highlighted "at least a front splice", so does that mean that you'd really like more? More splices = higher cost!

Realistically, if you are looking for a cue with 1 splice + case + extension, you're going to pay at least £265 and at most ... £670ish, if you go for a H&O black plate!

If you ask a cuemaker like Dave Coutts, Trevor White, Robin Cook, Kevin Muncaster, Tony Glover or Tony Wilshaw you'll get their best work as standard, however, if you ask H&O, you'll have to go to the black plate models for that. The cheapest is Kevin Muncaster, then Robin Cook, Tony Wilshaw, Trevor White, Tony Glover and then Dave Coutts is the most expensive. Of them all, I've personally seen 3/4 cues made by Robin Cook, Tony Glover and Dave Coutts and they were all 1st class, perfect cues. IMO the best splicing I've ever seen on a cue was on cues by Tony Glover and Robin Cook. However, splicing will not make you pot balls, the playing quality of the shaft and the balance of the cue will do that, and for that, they all make a great playing cue!

If you are looking for a cue that will look perfect and play perfect and still be reasonably priced, then you should go for Robin Cook, Tony Wilshaw, Trevor White, Tony Glover or Dave Coutts. You won't get a better cue even if you go to H&O for a black plate cue.

If you are not in a hurry, then you should contact them by 'phone and have a chat as you did with Robert and see which one you like the most!

[bmck]

Hi Mats

Glad your visit to H&O went well.
Mats was wondering how much the cues he had in stock were (GREEN PLATE)
& was there much 2nd hand stock?
Im looking for new cue also & would like to try before I buy.

[KeithinFrance]

Hi Mats

Glad your visit to H&O went well.
Mats was wondering how much the cues he had in stock were (GREEN PLATE)
& was there much 2nd hand stock?
Im looking for new cue also & would like to try before I buy.

Whereabouts in the UK are you, bmck?