Good choice with the blue diamond plus, give the ADR tips ago at some point i really like them and find the medium good for snooker, soft for english pool.
I shared your concerns for the black spin system. I had played with a early 1 piece JPU for over 15 yrs and it was my only playing cue for snooker. I was really happy with it specs, 57" 18 oz 9.5 30mm butt and std brass ferrule. Unfortunatley that cue was damaged beyond repair and after alot of research and trying lots of cues from family, friends and ppl at the club i decided on a MW Black Legend specs 57" 18oz 9.25 30mm butt 1 piece. So a very similar cue with a tiny bit smaller tip. The result was i loved the new cue and if im honest i prefer it to my old JP cue which i thought was spot on playability wise. The black spin system on a plain ebony cue looks really nice actually and not American pool cue like at all.
In terms of how its plays, similar in many ways to the JP cue, a touch of flex which i like and is something i asked Mike for, i dont like very stiff cues, i think after a point you loose feel. It took me afew weeks to get used to the positional play with the MW cue because there is essentially no UNINTENTIONAL side but alot more intentional side and spin. I was screwing back at least a 3rd more than i ever could with the JP cue. Some of this may be tip size and some because its a different cue and all play differently but it seems more than that and i can only put that down to the ferrule and tip.
I have to say the workmanship and finishing is all so better than the JPU in all respects, again im saying this from going from a baseline of loving my old JP cue. Iv had my MW for a good while now and how i feel has not changed i really think people should consider giving the black spin system ago i have been convinced.
On a side note my father plays with an early Powerglide ash 1 piece Conny. It need a MOT, butt joint etc so i sent it to MW and he removed the lac over the whole cue, added a modified version of his F1 joint in the butt (the butt was a touch slim for his std one) added a black spin ferrule and his ultrashine finish to the whole cue. All i can say is the finish and workman ship was excellent, the cue looks stunning and no the black spin doesnt look odd at all and IMO actuallt on the cue looks quite classy. Playability wise we have both had a good go with the cue now over afew months and have seen exactly the same benefits as i noticed over my JP cue. So it reinforced the fact some of the benefits must be down to the black spin system.
I hope that helps i have tried to be as open and honest as i can with what i think, i should add that all the work Mike did to my fathers cue took about a week and i got my BL cue after i think 2 to 3 weeks which again was very impressive.
Regards
Tom
I shared your concerns for the black spin system. I had played with a early 1 piece JPU for over 15 yrs and it was my only playing cue for snooker. I was really happy with it specs, 57" 18 oz 9.5 30mm butt and std brass ferrule. Unfortunatley that cue was damaged beyond repair and after alot of research and trying lots of cues from family, friends and ppl at the club i decided on a MW Black Legend specs 57" 18oz 9.25 30mm butt 1 piece. So a very similar cue with a tiny bit smaller tip. The result was i loved the new cue and if im honest i prefer it to my old JP cue which i thought was spot on playability wise. The black spin system on a plain ebony cue looks really nice actually and not American pool cue like at all.
In terms of how its plays, similar in many ways to the JP cue, a touch of flex which i like and is something i asked Mike for, i dont like very stiff cues, i think after a point you loose feel. It took me afew weeks to get used to the positional play with the MW cue because there is essentially no UNINTENTIONAL side but alot more intentional side and spin. I was screwing back at least a 3rd more than i ever could with the JP cue. Some of this may be tip size and some because its a different cue and all play differently but it seems more than that and i can only put that down to the ferrule and tip.
I have to say the workmanship and finishing is all so better than the JPU in all respects, again im saying this from going from a baseline of loving my old JP cue. Iv had my MW for a good while now and how i feel has not changed i really think people should consider giving the black spin system ago i have been convinced.
On a side note my father plays with an early Powerglide ash 1 piece Conny. It need a MOT, butt joint etc so i sent it to MW and he removed the lac over the whole cue, added a modified version of his F1 joint in the butt (the butt was a touch slim for his std one) added a black spin ferrule and his ultrashine finish to the whole cue. All i can say is the finish and workman ship was excellent, the cue looks stunning and no the black spin doesnt look odd at all and IMO actuallt on the cue looks quite classy. Playability wise we have both had a good go with the cue now over afew months and have seen exactly the same benefits as i noticed over my JP cue. So it reinforced the fact some of the benefits must be down to the black spin system.
I hope that helps i have tried to be as open and honest as i can with what i think, i should add that all the work Mike did to my fathers cue took about a week and i got my BL cue after i think 2 to 3 weeks which again was very impressive.
Regards
Tom
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