New cue, where to shop?

[intheblitz]

I am now really enjoying my snooker and am now looking for a new cue. (probably asked a hundred times before...sorry). My questions; what would you suggest? (spending approx £100-120 max) where to buy and any other advice. I seem to struggle slightly with the length of a standard cue, finding it a little too short, being a little on the large side . I live not far from The Cue Doctor in Southend. Is that a good or a bad thing?? Any advice would be VERY greatly appreciated. :snooker:

[Jonny]

at 120, check out mastercraft or craftsman

Or go for 20 extra and have a look at mastercraft special offers at maximmum break. Cue plus case for 147 only

[intheblitz]

Thanks Jonny, they seem to be what alot of people like. I've always had off the shelf riley's etc for £30 so now I'm looking more seriously it looks a bit of a minefield out there!!

[Bigmeek]

I think your problem is going to be the length of cue you need if I read your post correctly. The standard length of cue is around 58". Are you looking for something a bit longer? If you are then you might find you have to pay a bit more to get the extra length you require. I've seen a couple of 60" cues advertised on e-bay recently but don't know what the quality would be like. Mastercraft prices start at around £125 but I think you would have to pay more for a longer cue. Suggest you e-mail or phone Dave at Mastercraft for advise. I bought a cue from Mastercraft last year and found Dave very helpful and keen to provide customer satisfaction.
I've made an assumption that you are looking for a HANDMADE cue. These are always going to be more expensive than MACHINE spliced cues. You could save some money by buying machine spliced. Last year I got a brochure from MATCHPLAY CUES in Stroud. They were selling nice looking machine spliced cues for around £80-90. Their website is www.matchplay-cues.com and the chaps name is Paul Strafford telephone number 01453 752242. Again, worth a call to see if he can help.

[intheblitz]

Bigmeek, you're a top man. I do struggle with standard cue length at the moment and find my fingers more round the end of the butt than holding it properly. I think I'll have to phone Dave and dig deep!!

[jrc750]

Ime fairly certain Mastercraft dont charge anymore than normal for longer cues, so £125 starting point i think

[Bigmeek]

Ime fairly certain Mastercraft dont charge anymore than normal for longer cues, so £125 starting point i think

jrc750 Extra length for free. That would be great and doesn't surprise me. Dave gave me a 20" extension for FREE in addition to the free mini-butt. Good guy.
intheblitz At the risk of stating the obvious the one problem you'll have is that Mastercraft are in Shropshire and you're in Southend so you're going to have to send Dave your requirements. The more specific you can be the better chance you've got of getting a cue that suits.
Details required are:- 1 pc or 3/4. Ash or Maple. Length. Weight. Tip size/type. Butt size. Type of joint. Position of joint. Balance point. Decorative splicing. Veneers. Remember any new cue will take a bit of getting used to depending on how long you've played with your current one. Good luck

[Bigmeek]

intheblitz PS. I bought the Mastercraft Eclipse. The Olivewood splice is slightly darker than shown on the website but still very nice. The downside of the lighter coloured woods is that they can become a bit grubby from sweat etc. I think I'll get a darker splice on my next cue.

[Erwan_BZH]

Honnestly, if you plan to spend something like £100-120, I advise you to go to Craftsman. That's what I did 3 years ago and I was very satisfied with the product and the service. This is really an excellent quality/price ratio...
The staff at Craftsman is very friendly and they do whatever it takes to make you happy.
I would definitely recommend the: :snooker:

[Bigmeek]

Honnestly, if you plan to spend something like £100-120, I advise you to go to Craftsman. That's what I did 3 years ago and I was very satisfied with the product and the service. This is really an excellent quality/price ratio...
The staff at Craftsman is very friendly and they do whatever it takes to make you happy.
I would definitely recommend the: :snooker:

Erwan Would you be able to give me the details of what cue you got from Craftsman? Model/Spec price etc. I talked to them last year and found that they were very helpful but in the end I went for Mastercraft as they were prepared to make the cue to my EXACT specification. If Craftsman can do the same I'd give them a try myself.