Quality or cheap cue !! How can you tell

[moonowl]

hi , Just wondering how you can tell a good quality cue from a poor one . i have looked at good quality ash cues handmade by parris and cook ,white etc and thought it might be the ammount of chevrons or maybe the closeness or straightness of the grain and seem to of found a cheap cue even some machine spliced all seem to look remarkably the same (apart from the pointed spliced join on the butt of course) . Considering the difference is hundreds of pounds i cant find a difference until you read the makers name on the badge .Then i thought it must be exotic colourful woods on the splicing but alot of the top of the range cues have just a plain black butt .... very confused buyer :-)

[hotpot]

The quality of the chosen woods , the aattention to detail in the work , clean , neat precise . More importantly i,ve yet to have a handmade custom cue that does,nt play good . There are plenty of cheap cues that are just terrible hitters , unresponsive etc .

[sunny3909]

It depends upon what suits you mate.
I have played with around 60 handmade cues including Woolridge,Parris,Mastercue,Omin's,King cue,Peradon,Riley,GBL,Mastercraft but I played my best game with a machine spliced Mastercue.
I made century and couple of 80's with it on the very first day I played with it.

[moonowl]

thanks for your replies

[fred.england]

The quality of the chosen woods , the aattention to detail in the work , clean , neat precise . More importantly i,ve yet to have a handmade custom cue that does,nt play good . There are plenty of cheap cues that are just terrible hitters , unresponsive etc .

well said Hotpot, ive played with many machine spliced/cheap cues and whilst they may be decent cues, you cannot compromise on the quality of a genuine hand spliced custom made cue....if you are serious about the game i would recommend a bespoke cue made to your exact requirements.........

[Jamie-147]

I concur with the above, but I would also suggest handling the cue before you buy, peoples preferences are different so what suits one wouldnt suit another. It is true the more expensive the cue, the better the wood is and is generally more evenly weighted of a higher quality, but dont be fooled by price there are some great cues out there at some great prices.

[HemiRR]

Exactly - Try before you buy. There so many variations in cues - length, taper, shaft wood, balance point, grip size etc, so you really need to try out various cues to find one that you like. I was lucky enough to play a couple of practice sessions with Alain Robidoux during 1987 Canadian Championship. When I told him I was looking to switch to an ash cue, he let me share his cue for a couple of games. Super generous of Alain to let me try his cue. I fell in love with that cue and ordered one from his cue maker in Montreal (I live in Greater Vancouver). (Mine plays every bit as good) Without that test I would not have ordered a cue from someone 2500 milkes away.

[moonowl]

thankyou everyone

[poolqjunkie]

A lot of people seem to think a good or a more expensove cue is necessarily a cue that they can play their best with, or one that can help them to make more balls and so on.
It may well be but the bottom line is the cue you play your best snooker with is just the cue that suits you the best in terms of spec. It does not necessarily have much to do with craftsmanship, which is what you are paying for when you are spending more to get a custom cue made by a reputable maker.
You may pick up a rack cue and play really well and then get a custom cue and just could not get on with it at all.
A handmade cue by a top cue maker is a work of art and you are paying for the precise and outstanding craftsmanship. It is about the appreciation for finer things in life and the ability to afford and appreciate fine craftsmanship.
To me, such craftsmanship is very obvious even if I do not look at the badge, but to some people all cues look the same.
A cue that you feel most comfortable playing with is just a cue with spec most suitable for you; a really well made cue is one which is built with excellent material and craftsmanship. The former is subjective while the latter can be measured objectively.

[the montrealer]

HI It does not mean that a more expensive cue would play better than a less expensive cue its the feel of the cue that is important also the hit of the cue butt size etc

Everyone is not built the same some players like 60 inches cue while others like 57 inche cues

It all depends on your preference however you should try different cues to find out which one is the best for you

However when you have the right cue never sell it because you will regret it the rest of your life for example my Friend Alain Robidoux had a cue back in 1997 and the joint of his cue was broken

Alain brought it to his cue maker to get it fixed and when he saw the sticker on the butt of his cue the cue maker decided to keep alain cue and apparently smashed his cue to bits

Alain Robidoux was never the same after that he tried at least 40 cues but could not play with them

A few years later after 1997 a friend of his from Toronto told alain that he had a butt of a Marcel Jacques Cue and Alain gave the cue to John Parris to modified the cue


Today he is playing great snooker


Cheers Leonard from Montreal Quebec Canada

[sunny3909]

Besides specs there also factors like the flex in the shaft,stiffness,rigidity.