If your Darrin Hill is stiffer than anything you've hit before, you probably haven't hit with a Mason H cue. Mason's cues have a very stiff hit, with exceptionally good feedback, especially when paired with a good tip. I have a friend who has a cocobolo SW and he thinks my rosewood Mason has a very similar hit. I wouldn't trade mine for anything within $800 of what I paid for it, and even then it'd probably only be something like a Bluegrass or Chudy.
Mason makes a fantastic cue, with terrific workmanship and a great hit, especially it you like a stiff hitting cue.
I can finally comment on this post after trying a MasonH. To start with, both my Hill and the MasonH that I tried are fullsplice cues, so that's settled.
Hill has a pooldawg's milkdud tip on one shaft, and the stock tip on the other (I think the latter is triangle, but not %100 sure). I think both tips hit similar. Hill has proprietary 3/8-10 brass pin wood-to-wood.
MasonH has a Kamui black medium tip with the micarta ferrule that Mason is known for. G-10 pin (radial?) wood-to-wood.
Both are just under 19 oz.
My verdict regarding these two sticks, not a general remark by any means:
I can definitely say that MasonH has a sweet hit probably due to the ferrule. I compare the hit on the MasonH to a Woody sneaky I hit with before. Both are also similar to a Bludworth sneaky I tried before. All three has almost the same "ping" noise, and similar feedback. I do not necessarily describe this hit as being stiff though, just a firm hit with a good feedback.
Hill doesn't have that "ping" noise as much as the MasonH does. However, as long as stiffness is concerned, I think the Hill is in a different league. Totally different hits, different feedback. This is not only my experience, but also a more knowledgeable friend's as well. He sold me the Hill back then, and ended up with this MasonH on a recent trade. He is also a board member here (tnplayer).
All in all, my Hill is still the stiffest cue
I have tried so far. I am not saying this because I am a huge fan of stiff hitting cues. In fact, I currently shoot with a Schon/314-2 combination. Also, I am not saying all Hills are stiffer than all MasonHs. It simply happened to be the case in my comparison...
So if I were to group the cues I tried w/ regards to their hits being firm to stiff, it would be (not a comprehensive list, just the ones that come to mind at this time):
0. Meucci
1. Predator, Jacoby
2. Jensen, Schon, Joss
3. Runde Schon R-12 with yellow micarta ferrule. In a class of its own. A fuller, crisper and "substantial" hit than my STL-9. Performs about the same. (Or I should better say, I perform about the same
)
4. Woody, Bludworth, MasonH
5. SW, Hills
Best regards,
~SeanC :thumbup:
