Originally Posted by Erwan_BZH
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Morning guys,
As promised, here is my review of my new Ton Praram III. First, some pics!
I will add comments about the cue itself just below.
The idea of swapping back to ash was the need for a firmer feeling on the stroke and the fact my Jason Owen was just a bit too short (57,3"). With this one at 58, what a difference in my backswing. How stupid is it to have such a difference with just half an inch more, isn't it?
Specs: Series 1 - 58", 18.5oz, 9.4mm. Ash shaft, ebony butt with four splices of what is supposed to be rosewood (supposed to be because to me it doesn't look at all to any kind of rosewood so if anyone has an idea, let me know! )
Cue analysis:
- The overall aspect is very neat. I like the look a lot, with the four splices being different to each other. One in particular is reddish and it gives a nice character to the cue. The shaft is perfect with few chevrons and a clean ash. Glide is perfect, silky smooth feeling which is important to me, after two years with a maple cue. Splices are perfectly aligned, you don't feel any joints whatsoever on the but. Here again, silky smooth. The finish is excellent, really on par with my Jason Owen, which was the best I have had so far in that department. Some very good work here, I was very impressed when I received it to be honest. I didn't expect that level of quality for the price I paid for it (£275).
- On the playability now, I am still looking for a bad point. Stroke is very solid, cue is perfectly balanced, got a nice touch amongst the balls, in the close game as well as on long shots. Cue is super steady with just the good amount of flex to apply side spin (which takes very well!). It is very responsive on the stroke. Paired with a good tip, it's a killer.
Overall, I am more than happy to have spent "just" £275 for such an excellent cue, and not gone for a more expensive one. I have had my fair share of cues in the last 15 years, from different cue makers and I can say this one is on par with the bests. It is far above my old JP Superior and fairly equal to my JO. It is impressive to see such a very good cue at this price, when we have people here spending fortunes for something that would probably be not better than this one. It is my first Thai cue and it is excellent value for money. My mate recently purchased his second Maximus Ultimate but even though it is excellent, playing wise, I can say the finish of the TP is a bit above...and mine is just a Series 1, not even the TP's top range...
Finally, I would just like to address a huge thank you to Stu at Green Baize, who has been of excellent advice! He and his associate Max were very helpfull when we purchased my mate's Maximus and for my cue as well. Offered to tests a selection of cues to make sure we would pick the one corresponding to our needs. Their conclusions were really spot on and very honnest. It was a superb customer experience and as I work in that field, I can testify it is far from being always the case!! So I really recommend going to Green Baize if you're looking for a new cue!
As promised, here is my review of my new Ton Praram III. First, some pics!
I will add comments about the cue itself just below.The idea of swapping back to ash was the need for a firmer feeling on the stroke and the fact my Jason Owen was just a bit too short (57,3"). With this one at 58, what a difference in my backswing. How stupid is it to have such a difference with just half an inch more, isn't it?
Specs: Series 1 - 58", 18.5oz, 9.4mm. Ash shaft, ebony butt with four splices of what is supposed to be rosewood (supposed to be because to me it doesn't look at all to any kind of rosewood so if anyone has an idea, let me know!
)
Cue analysis:
- The overall aspect is very neat. I like the look a lot, with the four splices being different to each other. One in particular is reddish and it gives a nice character to the cue. The shaft is perfect with few chevrons and a clean ash. Glide is perfect, silky smooth feeling which is important to me, after two years with a maple cue. Splices are perfectly aligned, you don't feel any joints whatsoever on the but. Here again, silky smooth. The finish is excellent, really on par with my Jason Owen, which was the best I have had so far in that department. Some very good work here, I was very impressed when I received it to be honest. I didn't expect that level of quality for the price I paid for it (£275).
- On the playability now, I am still looking for a bad point. Stroke is very solid, cue is perfectly balanced, got a nice touch amongst the balls, in the close game as well as on long shots. Cue is super steady with just the good amount of flex to apply side spin (which takes very well!). It is very responsive on the stroke. Paired with a good tip, it's a killer.
Overall, I am more than happy to have spent "just" £275 for such an excellent cue, and not gone for a more expensive one. I have had my fair share of cues in the last 15 years, from different cue makers and I can say this one is on par with the bests. It is far above my old JP Superior and fairly equal to my JO. It is impressive to see such a very good cue at this price, when we have people here spending fortunes for something that would probably be not better than this one. It is my first Thai cue and it is excellent value for money. My mate recently purchased his second Maximus Ultimate but even though it is excellent, playing wise, I can say the finish of the TP is a bit above...and mine is just a Series 1, not even the TP's top range...
Finally, I would just like to address a huge thank you to Stu at Green Baize, who has been of excellent advice! He and his associate Max were very helpfull when we purchased my mate's Maximus and for my cue as well. Offered to tests a selection of cues to make sure we would pick the one corresponding to our needs. Their conclusions were really spot on and very honnest. It was a superb customer experience and as I work in that field, I can testify it is far from being always the case!! So I really recommend going to Green Baize if you're looking for a new cue!
Wish you many 147's with it .
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