Advice needed: Mastercraft, GBL, Hunt & Osborne or A&R

[mikeS60]

Good Day to All
After reading this forum I've chosen few cues which seems be good for me as for a beginner and can be delivered overseas.

I'm thinking of specs: 58" (I'm 6 feet 2" tall), 9.5 - 9.75 mm tip, 3/4 or 1/2 jointed, 17.5-18 oz

Mastercraft Retribution ~130£
"+":
- well-known brand
- good cue&case offer available
"-":
- up to 8 weeks wait
- Black Prince 19oz I've tried seem to me too heavy on butt, so probably cue balance is no good for me

Hunt & Osborne Blue Plate 165£
"+":
- very well-known brand
- 1/2 jointed (I already have suitable case)
"-":
- machine spliced
- price

A&R Rosewood Cue (Abban's Reddy cue) 132£
"+":
- available in stock for now
- affordable and quick delivery
- cue price
"-":
- lack of info about the cue and Abban Reddy at all

GBL C2 (from Stu) ~190£

"+":
- available in stock after Stu's holidays
- very good feedbacks here

"-":
- probably high delivery price
- cue is much more expensive than others and out of my range

I prefer not to go for expensive one's as GBL cause as a beginner I only need straight and well-belenced cue with any design and brand. But if everyone say that it's much better than others, so I'll take it even for 190£.

I'll appreciate any advice here

[Neil Taperell]

Hunt and Osborne would be my choice as i've owned a couple .

[maple]

Hunt & Osborne

[poolqjunkie]

Can anyone confirm if the blue plates are made by H&O?
Judging from the ones I have come across, GBL cues are very precise and finished very well. Quality of wood selected also are top notch. They are made in Thailand but the quality is very good, dont let the origin fool you, they are top class cues.
I do not know anything about A&R cue. May be someone who has tried their cues can offer their feedback...
I know it sounds silly but you may want to try out some club cues and just keep one that 'feels" right for now until you have more money to spend or have tried more cues and have a better understanding of what you want. As long as it 'feels" right a rack cue is just as good as any cue if you dont care much about look and craftsmanship.
BTW, you may want to also consider a Mike Wooldridge Shark, and omin, or UT.

[hotpot]

Personally i,d go for a G B L , i,ve had a few and not only is the attention to deatail very precise and clean they are also very solid hitting responsive playing cues , or adleast the ones i had were , Which is also echoed by others who have had them .

If you do get one and know exactly what your looking for , Stu will do his best to find you one and also sends you pics .

I,m also fond of mastercue , craftsman , omin , ut , which again are great value for money .