Ideally what budget?

[samad]

he is the best, and kind to forum members!

Well, i must say he helped me out even in things i wasnt going to buy from him and he knew that, and was still helpful so i'll say hes top guy

[willytan]

he is the best, and kind to forum members!

He is the best without a doubt!!!!

[ADR147]

and well endowed!

[poolqjunkie]

Played a couple of years and my cue is a cheap trainwreck but I love the game and play it a lot during the season.
Right now I can definitely afford getting something like a MasterCraft from ebayADR147 which would be a nice cue as i've heard, (don't know my exact weight preference though).
But a couple of the top players at my club tell me it's still not worth it, if you love the game you really should be putting down £300+. This would mean waiting several more months, to get the funds (and more importantly be happy about spending it which is more a bug for me - can't justify it).

Question really boils down to are these guys severely underestimating cues like Mastercraft? I gotta remember that extensions and case would also take a toll.

Mike Wooldridge's Shark is a very good cue for a very good price--in my opinion much better than Mastercraft as a whole, and I dont think anyone would dispute that. He is also a member here that you can contact directly.

[JayDee]

Yeah the Sharks look good and the specs generally are what I'd use. Doesn't come with minibutt & is £40 more, it's a shelf cue but still of good quality - can't tell what I'd be spending the extra on compared to getting a quality mastercraft from say ADR. Probably splitting hairs at this rate?? :s

[poolqjunkie]

Yeah the Sharks look good and the specs generally are what I'd use. Doesn't come with minibutt & is £40 more, it's a shelf cue but still of good quality - can't tell what I'd be spending the extra on compared to getting a quality mastercraft from say ADR. Probably splitting hairs at this rate?? :s

Mike is probably the one you should speak to directly, but Shark is not a shelf cue per say. It is a higher quality cue than Mastercraft.
Some mastercraft I have seen here do not have splices/facing lined up when it is tightened.
Ebay sometimes has great deal on quality cues second hand as well if you are lucky.

[biggus stickus]

Really spend some time trying as many cues as you can to find your desired specs.

No point buying a cue thats not right to start with. If the guys at your club have Parris cues see if you can have a hit with some and find whats right. Being 1" out on the lenght or .5oz off on the weight makes a lot of difference to me so your better off spending some time to get it right.

Honestly if your starting out and maybe making 20 -30 point breaks then all the cues mentioned would be ok. You can always upgrade to a nice Wooldridge, White Parris, etc later and have it custom made when you know exactly what you want.

If your making 70+ breaks then you dont need my help go get whatever you want

[perpetualboredom]

One thing you've probably not thought too much about is resale value (should you find for whatever reason you dont get on with a cue). I had a John Parris cue I bought for £270, (not a custom cue), and a Mastercue (of thailand) I bought for £180.. I decided to concentrate on my old cue collection so decided to sell them. The Parris sold on ebay for £300, so even after fees I broke even on the cue. The Mastercue sold for £85. You can see which cue turned out more expensive in the long run.

Incidently was I just lucky with the last JP cue I bought or has anyone else noticed the price JP actually invoices you is much lower than the RRP on his website? 15-20% on that particular cue. Probably the reason the cue sold 2nd hand for more than I paid.