CUE BUYING ADVICE - The Definitive Thread - Please Read First Post

[Stupree]

Welcome!

I have started this thread to help as many people as possible who are seeking advice and guidance on buying a cue.

So much good advice already exists here which is scattered around thousands of threads and it takes a lot of time and effort to find all the little nuggets of really good advice we have made here over the years. With years and years of cue ownership, cue collecting, cue making, and cue dealing amongst us all here let's use it for good and create 'The Definitive' Cue Buying advice thread for those seeking help on this topic.

I aim for this thread to be a really useful source of knowledge and opinion rather than an open discussion and to help us achieve this some guidance to this thread to keep it as relevant and useful as possible:


1) Try to to give your opinion or advice on this topic in as fewer posts as possible

2) Please keep from "quoting" from any other post made on this thread.

3) Please keep from asking any questions on this thread, instead read the posts already made here and you will most likely find the answer

4) Everyone is entitled to their opinion, although informed opinions are most useful, valued, and welcomed.

Any questions on these please PM me.


Looking forward to reading all your advice

[Stupree]

Ignorance is bliss!

I apply this principle to a few areas of my life and in general it works for me and I wish that cues where still an area where I could apply this. I owned two cues and played Pool and Snooker happily until I had them stolen and in seeking replacements I have been drawn in to a world of exotic woods and counting chevrons.

Here is my advice...

Decide whether you need to feel that you would like to know that the cue you want to own has been crafted completely by hand by a British craftsman in a small workshop with stacks of wood ceiling high and a floor littered with wood shavings in a variety of shades or do you want a cue that you like the look of and will be happy playing with? In knowing this it will shape your cue buying decisions.

If you have decided the first option is for you now decide if you are willing to wait. If so order directly from a cuemaker that you feel will make you the cue you imagine and pay the price for it.......expect to pay upwards of £350 for this and wait anywhere from 10 weeks to 18 months. If you just can't wait that long delve in to the used market, be it here or on ebay, and you with a little patience you will find a cue that suits you.

If you are not particularly bothered where your cue was made then there is terrific value and quality in Asian made cues from manufacturers such as Master Cue, Phoenix, Maximus or GBL cues who are located in the UK but import and badge high quality Thai cues. You will usually get a nice looking cue for about half the price the equivalent of a UK based maker.

I have owned and played with cues made here in the UK and abroad and have been happy with both but I am just one of those people who need to feel that their cue was lovingly crafted here in the UK by one of the well regarded cue makers.

I will continue to buy and sell cues in the short term to try and find 'The One' and in the long term as a hobby, for the love of a deal, and to build a collection.

If I could erase the thoughts that now pass through my mind when looking at a cue and simply pick it up and play with it as intended my life would be much more simple......but probably not as much fun!

Just be sure to enjoy what you do which ever direction you take :snooker:

[jrc750]

My advice before buying a cue is;

1) Best to travel to somewhere like Greenbaize http://greenbaize.co.uk/ where you can try out lots of different spec cues on a table with no pressure to buy, that way you are more likely to find a cue you love and play well with.

2) If travelling is not an option, then at least find out your preferred specs, either by measuring up your existing cue, or trying out friends/strangers cues in your club, this way you give yourself half a chance of getting a cue that will suit you.

3) If on a budget try looking on this forum (or ebay) to grab a cue you take a fancy too, no guarantee it will suit you, but you just might find a corker ! And if not, then you may just get drawn in to the sometimes endless search, then your doomed !!

[sberry]

Well someone has to say it so I will - unless you're already a player of a good standard who makes regular 50+ breaks, in which case you should know what you want, have what you want and not be thinking about changing it, you should class yourself as a beginner or basic standard player.

In which case you need to understand that despite what the people who sell or make cues say, you should spend your time and money learning how to play the game first and I've yet to visit a club yet that hasn't got rack cues that you should be able to make a fifty with or a £25 cue from a store that you can do the same with.

Once you can play the game to 50+ level, you'll know what you want.

Then again, there is nothing wrong with having the best gear even if you can't play very well as many people can and like buying the most expensive golf clubs even though they spend most of their time in the trees.

This is my opinion of course but you'll also find it quoted in all the old and new books on how to play although these days we're in a service dominated world and someone is always looking to sell you something and you're looking for the magic cure that will make you play better so you're an easy sale.

A basic straight cue, about 57-58" long, ash or maple, ebony or rosewood butt, machine spliced, about 9.5 to 10mm tip, don't worry about butt diameters or balance points, a 35p elkmaster tip and some 15p green triangle chalk is all you need, really it is, though it may not be what you want.

[tommo146]

Great post mate Good advice unlike ADR who thinks he knows it all lol

[jrc750]

Great post mate Good advice unlike ADR who thinks he knows it all lol

He knows more than you will ever know mate

[tommo146]

your opinion means nothing i have forgot more about cues and snooker than you pair of mugs will ever find out lol thanks for all your kind help and advice parris haters!

[jrc750]

You obviously cannot read, no one is hating on Parris cues, just your blinkered view that they are the best and only cues in the world !!!

[tommo146]

i can read perfectly well look at original post i asked does anyone have a parris trad or classic i need a new cue ! i knew what i wanted simples pal i dont think they only cues just what i personally prefer so think whatever you want

[Dave Walton]

your opinion means nothing i have forgot more about cues and snooker than you pair of mugs will ever find out lol thanks for all your kind help and advice parris haters!

Lmfao, you know more about snooker than Adr, Billy Connolly ain't even that funny, what a mug!

[fred.england]

Great post mate Good advice unlike ADR who thinks he knows it all lol

Tommo146,
This is a completely different thread mate with no reference whatsoever to your earlier thread about Parris Cues. I understand you have issues with ADR147 but why bring it up in a completely different thread??
"Let sleeping dogs lie" as they say and please allow constructive comments to be aired on what is a completely different issue!!!
Fred

[danam1]

Kicking out time again?!!

[Greecean]

Good advice unlike ADR who thinks he knows it all lol

Thats a poor attitude to have in a community like this. ADR is a popular and long-standing member here.

[vmax4steve]

Well someone has to say it so I will - unless you're already a player of a good standard who makes regular 50+ breaks, in which case you should know what you want, have what you want and not be thinking about changing it, you should class yourself as a beginner or basic standard player.

Couldn't agree more.
Unles your cue has been stolen or broken you have no need to change it. Your game has been honed to your cue and no other cue will make you a better player.

It amazes me when I read that someone wants a new cue of a certain spec to one that he already has and expects that cue to somehow be better. A different spec cue might be better (or worse) but how on earth does one expect the same spec to be any different to the cue one has learned with.

Just look to Hendry for your answer, £30 Powerglide, honed his game around it and seven world titles, nuff said.

[jrc750]

....Just look to Hendry for your answer, £30 Powerglide, honed his game around it and seven world titles, nuff said.

This is mis leading tho !!! i heard it was more than that, but anyway back then £30 was worth maybe 10 times what it is now
Ie it was NOT a cheap cue