Best Cues at different ranges.

[Boy Wonder]

how many north west cue and parris cues have you seen to come to this conclusion. kevin makes a good cue i own 3 myself and have visited is workshop in preston many times but to say they are as good as parris is a bold statement.





same again why didnt you mention john parris i know it all personal preference but for some reason parris cues get alot a **** on this forum the guy makes some of the best cues on the market fullstop.

I did'nt mention John Parris as I dont feel he is as competitively priced as the others in my list (apart from maybe Mike Wooldridge) although I do feel that John Parris makes very good cues.

For you to state though that his prices are not much higher than the likes of Robin Cook or Dave Coutts though is a little wide of the mark.

To get a custom cue from Parris you have to order a Special, Paragon or ultimate which is going to cost a minimum of £302 even for something like a 1 piece with plain ebony butt. Robin cook making the same cue will charge £205 and Dave Coutts £190 that is a big difference especially when the quality will be just as good from any of the makers.

[joe2311]

yes for a plain cue parris is more expensive but when you get into the realy fancy cues with multiple splices and all the extras i bet theres not much difference coutts and cook make some very expensive cues.

[gloveman]

You can get a fantastic cue from Dave Coutts, multi-spliced and extension/mini butt for £400. Every bit as good as a JP ultimate but for way less money. I rest my case.:snooker:

[Watford]

This thread was a good idea but has got out of hand. Too many ill informed people chipping in to the point that it is a chore to read.
IMO
Under £100
Cheap cues generally a waste of money, better to buy a better cue sooner for me.
Maybe get a Peradon Royal for less than £100 other wise a machine Peradon, Master or I say Craftsman.
Look secondhand!
£100-200
If you want a 3/4 fancy splices Craftsman.
My choice a simple cue from a good maker Coutts and Northwest would come at under £200.
£200-£300
I have a fairly simple Trevor White but a very posh one might well be more.
I would go for a simple Trevor or Dave Coutts I think at this price various reasons.
Easy to get a good cue for this price if you get something normal.
Stamford, Robin, Glover etc.
£300+ Mike Wooldridge, Hunt/Osborne etc I don't think I'd pay that now unless I saw something and really wanted it.

Other notes years ago for less I say go Thai but I hear Master aren't what they were and not seen enough of Unique or Omin.
I wouldn't buy a Parris with out seeing it in person. Seen some good, some not so good. They are usualy dear for what you get but sell well.

Sorry for length just trying to bring on track.

[kevy62]

ok , it's been quite crass, but if spending as much as a weeks wage on a piece of wood...... "well" lets put it into some form of perspective, ( if that is even possible )

machine cue from master cue from £50/£100
i would rate these cues 6/7 out of 10 for finish & quality.


hand spliced/finished cue, once again, master cue £150/£200
(incredible close grain/straight ash / fairly even splices)
i would rate these 8/9 out of 10 for finish/quality playability.

I did try to have a cue made in the U.K to my custom cue specs, see below:

poker stiff, ash shaft.
total length 58 inches long.
short 9.75mm ferrule.
butt diam of 30.5mm.
solid brass 3/4 joint.
balanced at 18".
weight 19.5oz .
solid ebony butt .
butt joint & solid 6" ebony mini-butt.


the quotes i got ranged from £305 to just under £500 !


MASTER CUE made this cue for me (custom) & also added the following:


24 indivdual hand splices in the solid ebony butt which measures 23"
(splices include thuya/maple/ebony) & delivered it free of charge.

the cost.......£190.00 all in! it took 12 weeks to arrive.

now that is value for money & it plays fantastic & look amazing too, well worth the wait.

I guess some would say i'm tight?

but i have a handfull of "the best" cue builders living around 90 mins in any direction from me & put simply, i could not justify their costs just to own a "brand name" the problem will always be that it is purely a matter of choice.

On a personal note, snooker is a sport for the masses, why should you have to spend a small fortune, or house payment on a cue to enjoy the game. simple, you don't!

if you do want to spend soooo much cash, it may not improve your game at all, especially when never being able to go to the bathroom without feeling the need to take your £400 cue in with you! this is because you don't know a living soul at the tournament & you just don't trust anybody anymore! because the last time you left your parris alone it grew legs through your leather case & ran off all by itself.....

once bitten twice shy.

[Watford]

It's like anything it's the little differences some people think are worth the extra.

Why buy Moet for a wedding when you can have Cava.
Why Krug when you could have Moet.
You could talk about lot's of things: Choice of car, watch..........

It's all what is worth to you.

I spent £400 on my car last week (bloody thing), it's all relative.
I can keep my cue forever and use it ideally everyday. Is that not worth a weeks money?

Myself I spent over £200 on a cue because I got what I wanted and was happy with it.
I wouldn't of spent £400 because to me the difference between what I could get for £200-£300 and what was £400+ wasn't worth it to me.

I've got mate with good guitars and the best ipods I'd sooner spend the cash on a cue anyday!

[kevy62]

It's like anything it's the little differences some people think are worth the extra.

Why buy Moet for a wedding when you can have Cava.
Why Krug when you could have Moet.
You could talk about lot's of things: Choice of car, watch..........

It's all what is worth to you.

I spent £400 on my car last week (bloody thing), it's all relative.
I can keep my cue forever and use it ideally everyday. Is that not worth a weeks money?

Myself I spent over £200 on a cue because I got what I wanted and was happy with it.
I wouldn't of spent £400 because to me the difference between what I could get for £200-£300 and what was £400+ wasn't worth it to me.

I've got mate with good guitars and the best ipods I'd sooner spend the cash on a cue anyday!

Sorry to be rude, but if some oik stole your cue, you only had for 12 months , you would just order another one! & shell out £400 twice?

mad! not me!

[Watford]

Well as I said my cue was under £300 but I still don't take you're point.
If you have a £200 or a £400 you still won't want it to get nicked.
Either way your upset it's the cue not the money that matters.
I was actually considering getting a copy made just incase this happened.
If my cue was knicked I would get the money back on the house insurance of course but that would still leave me heart broken. And I think better to have a copy made while you still have the cue.

You can't live you're life like that you'd never leave the house. It might rain, you might get burgled.
Don't drive your car someone might bump into it.

I still say it's down to personal pref.
I might well have bought a Master under different cumstances £200 still a wedge there are people who will think you spent too much I think you were sensible. I wouldn't spend too much more myself but if it's worth extra to the individual I wouldn't knock them.
Well probably not!

[kevy62]

I do understand why you would say that , but after the loss of my Parris Superior,
i simply wanted the same specs of cue, because for me it was the loss of money, that actually hurt more than the loss of the cue, & i could not put claim in on my house insurance without feeling guilty afterwoods.
so .... not a good idea for me personally.

Also i have a major problem when it comes to funding, it took me the best part of 6 months to save up for that one, & i simply can't justify/afford spending large amounts of cash on a cue again, my family has to come first, i have 3 teenage daughters who cost me a small fortune & a son at university, "who i'm extremely proud of " I know it may sound soft, but i don't want him to have to work a job, & study fulltime, so I fund him too , but hey thats my choice in life.

Perhaps now you can understand ?
I really do wish i bought one of these first, ok i'll grant you this cue dosen't say Parris on it, but i play just the same as i did before & i don't break out into a cold sweat every time i go for a p*ss, lol.

[Watford]

Well I wouldn't knock not spending Parris money.
I know I did say earlier I used to recommend Master but they weren't as good but general consensus is that they are back to form again so look a good buy.
Why would you feel bad about claiming on the insurance that's what it's for? My policy covers up to £500 unnamed off the property and 2 named items over that. Depends on your policy of course. Not that I have 2 named items. Hmmm maybe should put it down just in case.

No one gave me any bloody money at university.
A dear do now isn't it, he's very lucky.

[Watford]

That genius!
Good to know that though when you break it report it as stolen, shot by ferrets or eaten by cat.

[Master147]

£10 - £50 - Riley
£50 - £100 - Cue Craft
£100 - £200 - Peradon,Craftsman
£200 - £300 - John Parris
£300+ - Trevor White,Mike Wooldridge

[deant1982]

I've read this thread, and although it does venture way off topic, it seems to have got back on subject. So, my response would be -
Up to £50 - Don't bother buying any commercial cue. Hit car boot sales, charity shops etc, and try to find something that is suitable for what you need. Alternatively, there is a 3 piece cue in Argos, that although rubbish, can work as something to improve with.
Up to £100 - Ebay or something like that for a decent 2nd hand cue. I use an Aeon, which tend to be in this range a bit second hand.
£100-£200 - A few here. I've heard good things about Mastercue and Craftsman, so for this range I would be inclined to go for one of them.
£200 upwards - Some of the following I have seen and read good things about. (Despite his recent troubles) I would be inclined to travel to oxford and try out any cues Dan Shelton has made. (Wouldn't order one to be made, but wouldn't object to buying one he has ready). There are a few others I wouldn't look past either. Jason Owen (cue Guru) is making some cracking looking cues so would be interested in one of them, Poolqjunkie (Aurora I think) has made some beautiful cues that I have seen pics of, plus you still have the higher end Craftsman.
£300 and higher - No Idea. I've heard nothing but good things about Trevor White and Mike Wooldridge, also Dave Coutts, Robin cook, Robert Osborne. I know John Parris is in this bracket, and whilst I have nothing against him or his business, I personally think it is too much of a gamble to order one of his cues. I have read some reviews where he is praised to the hilt, and others where the person regrets buying the cue and the workmanship is not as good as expected. If I were to have JP guarantee HE would make the cue personally, I'd have no problem, as he is in the top 3 cue makers on the planet I think, but I wouldn't like to pay all of that money for his assistants to make it, and it be a lottery of if the cue is good or not.
In reference to the previous posts about paying a weeks money etc for a new cue, I am logging all specs of my cue, so if did ever get stolen/snapped/destroyed by fire I could get an exact copy made. I am certainly not well off or have plenty of money. I work for every penny I have, and spend it as I see fit. If my cue was ever taken/destroyed I would want the closest possible replacement. When I brought my cue, I didn't like the look of it (this opinion has changed in time, now I think it is a beautiful cue) but it felt right from the second I picked it up. I would get another cue made exactly the same, or as close as humanly possible. 3/4 ash, ebony butt, 4 maple/sycamore (whatever they are) veneers, 4 lower snakewood splices, ebony face splice. It would be the same down to the length of length of the snakewood splices. Money would not be an issue. If it was able to be done for £100, no problem. If it cost £500, no problem. If it cost £800, it would take a bit to get the money, but no problem.
I would just tell dad to retire and use his, as it is the most beautiful cue I've ever seen, but I can't play with it. It doesn't feel right, and no way I would ever alter it!

[djcj147]

parris are the best cues end of the day but the cost is just outragous but if people keep paying it and they are cause theres always waiting time then oviously he will keep charging what he wants i personally have owned a couple of exclusives but in these days u need to win the EURO MILLIONS to own 1

[sanman]

parris are the best cues end of the day but the cost is just outragous but if people keep paying it and they are cause theres always waiting time then oviously he will keep charging what he wants i personally have owned a couple of exclusives but in these days u need to win the EURO MILLIONS to own 1

Best--- your opinion.