My Custom Mastercraft Review

[Deepscrew]

Things are changing yeh, but they hold a great place in the market. The cue prices for full custom are like half what others charge so even if things to change and prices increase, it will still be awesome value for money.

[cueman]

They are very honest and great guys at Mastercraft. I think people need to realise that all cue makers are using basically the same quality ash and hardwoods so therefore when you see the likes of Craftsman and Mastercraft charging half what the others are doing doesn't that just make you realise that the other cue makers are as Dave says ripping people off.

Sooner or later wood prices are going to go through the roof, and already getting hold of top quality Ebony is proving very difficult as resources are running low. When the prices go up everyone will put their price up but at least Mastercraft and Craftsman will still be competitive, the others may well price themselves out of the market eventually if things continue.

[poolqjunkie]

They are very honest and great guys at Mastercraft. I think people need to realise that all cue makers are using basically the same quality ash and hardwoods so therefore when you see the likes of Craftsman and Mastercraft charging half what the others are doing doesn't that just make you realise that the other cue makers are as Dave says ripping people off.

Sooner or later wood prices are going to go through the roof, and already getting hold of top quality Ebony is proving very difficult as resources are running low. When the prices go up everyone will put their price up but at least Mastercraft and Craftsman will still be competitive, the others may well price themselves out of the market eventually if things continue.

Let me see if I undersand you correctly. You are saying Trevor White, Robert Osborne, John Parris, Mike Wooldridge and the likes are ripping people off and they will go out of business as people will only be buying from Craftsman and Mastercraft in a few years?

[cueman]

No I'm not saying nor advocating that. But if these cue makers continue to up their prices as wood prices increase then sooner or later they are going to struggle to maintain their place in the market. I have seen a few cue makers upping their prices over the last 12-18 months by up to £100 or more which is unsustainable given the economic downturn across the world. Craftsman and Mastercraft have kept their prices the same for years and if and when they need to increase their prices as some wood prices will increase then they are going to be seen as a much more attractive proposition, especially given the high quality of their work that they continue to turn out.

Reputation is all well and good but if you can get the same quality cheaper it doesn't count for much when the orders dry up.

[hotpot]

I,ve just ordered a mastercraft and really looking forward to it .

[hoddle28]

I also ordered a Mastercraft Black Prince 2 weeks ago after many months of research. My factors are real value based on quality, Im not into any fancy splicing and like the black ebony look. I have used a Peradon Pro cue for last 6 years which i really like but unfortunatley it is badly warped due to my stupidity of leaving on car boots etc. and i fancy a change. I would recommend the Peradon Pro and it was a close call to order the same again or get warp fixed. I found Mastercraft email response good and they are easy to reach on phone, Dave from Mastercraft is really good to talk to which inspires confidence and i really like that you can specify the specs (exact same as my Peradon Pro ) for no extra charge. Their shipping rates to Ireland are standard and reasonable at £9.95. I had priced up a John Parris and Peradon to same spec and was put off by all the extra charges to change the weight and dimensions slightly and they also wanted £51 to ship to Ireland. For same Parris spec it was double the price of the Mastercraft which is £164.95 £140 for cue £15 for Ebony Mini Butt and £9.95 for Postage. Im really loking forward to getting my cue and quiet happy to wait the quoted 4-6 weeks as Dave explained that they leave the wood to settle a various stages of manufacture to reduce the warpage which he was honest enough to say cannot be guaranteed by any cue maker. Ill post a full review on here when i get it.

[Sam-Romford]

good choice mate, i did a ridiculous 5 months of research before settling my mind with mastercraft, many guys do not even spend that much time to decide whether or not to marry the girl he is going out with.

.....and quiet happy to wait the quoted 4-6 weeks as Dave explained that they leave the wood to settle a various stages of manufacture to reduce the warpage which he was honest enough to say cannot be guaranteed by any cue maker.

parris cues is literally 15 minutes away from where i live, they are very good quality cues but i think a lot of the money people pay to get a parris cue is just paid for the badge i.e. reputation.
approximately 4 to 6 weeks duration to allow the cue to settle i.e. to reduce warping is good enough, so why the hell JP an MW give waiting time like 1 year to 14 months??? i think its purely because they have more workload due to their high reputation.

i phoned Dave and told him "i paid the deposit so when you are going to start making the cue?" he said "today or tomorrow".
so 4 to 6 weeks actually started from that "today or tomorrow". thats why Mastercraft makes quality cues within less waiting time 8 weeks max.
however if you order a custom made from JP or MW probably they are already preoccupied with the order they received last year, therefore if you pay them a deposit today the will start the cue making process for your order after 4 or may be 5 months i guess.
so when you pay these bignames to make your cue they are spending a lot of your waiting time making cue for other people, and then if they feel like after 6 months probably, they will start making your cue, and while they are making your cue they are still taking deposit from other people and making them wait.
money wasnt an issue for me, i think mastercraft is honest, not money hungry and make quality cues.

honestly guys, do you think that even if a cuemaker wants to make the best cue in the world, if they take the deposit from you today and start the cue making process from tomorrow, will it actually take a whole year to make a cue???

[cazmac1]

You can't go wrong with mastercraft the cue I brought recently just keeps getting better and better. Best cue I'v owned to date.