cues of pro "snookah" players
- Thread starter bigskyjake
- Start date
Have you ever visited Parlor Billiards & Spirits? They have a full-sized snooker table in there:runscott said:
700 Bellevue Way NE.
Suite 300,
Bellevue
WA 98004
http://www.parlorbilliards.com/
Regards.
Alan.
I would say that they roughly start from $400 and can go up to and over $800 for the made-to-measure John Parris Ultimate Cue which would take 14-16 weeks to make.mosconiac said:
Regards.
Alan.
Yes, that is similar to what I do, it feels a lot more comfortable to me and gives me a consistent feel to my cue.X Breaker said:
The 3/4 joint snooker cue came about roughly at the end of the 1980s. The butt of the cue was unscrewed so an extented butt could then be screwed on to help reach more shots using the rest.X Breaker said:
Despite the majority of players these days, myself included, just screwing in an extension into the end of their cue doing away with the entended butt, the 3/4 joint cue continues to be the cue of choice. There are some players who continue to use a two or one piece cue, but I guess it's a cue they must have had for over twenty years and they feel comfortable using it and don't wish to change.
Stephen Hendry had a one-piece maple cue right up until just a few years ago, and he only switched to a 3/4 joint cue because his one-piece was broken on a flight.
I can only imagine that a metal joint may be more durable?X Breaker said:
Regards.
Alan.
Alan Morris said:
Thanks Alan - yes, I've been to the Parlor, but haven't played on their snooker table. Very, very nice place - only there one, a few days after arriving in Seattle, to meet Linda (long commute for me). Linda introduced me to Paul there (Ummagumma) who is now a buddy and has helped get acquainted with the pool players in Seattle.
My understanding is that there are three snooker tables in Seattle pool halls - I don't remember where the 3rd one is.
You get a better feel for the hit with a 1-piece than with a 2-piece. Since most snookercues are jointed with a full brass to brass joint you can really feel the hit stiffen up abit too much with a centre jointed cue. Another smaller issue to contemplate is that since alot of snookerplayers are cueing with their chin touching the cue that brass joint can be pretty annoying (especially if u haven't shaved 
)
The 3/4 jointed cues are the best of both worlds. You get a better feel, much closer to a 1-piece and you get a smaller case. I used to use a 1-piece and it was allways a hazzle when traveling since it didn't fit in the trunk of most cars
As for why a full brass joint is still used I don't know, but on a 3/4 jointed cue I don't think it hurts the hit at all.
)The 3/4 jointed cues are the best of both worlds. You get a better feel, much closer to a 1-piece and you get a smaller case. I used to use a 1-piece and it was allways a hazzle when traveling since it didn't fit in the trunk of most cars
As for why a full brass joint is still used I don't know, but on a 3/4 jointed cue I don't think it hurts the hit at all.
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Tom Gauthier cues play great and out of all the cues I have tried and used, I've always gone back to a Gauthier.
I've played with Kevin De Roo cues also and they play well.
Mike Wooldrige and Glover cues are excellent also, but quite pricey. A friend of mine just bought one from each of these cuemakers and paid $1500 and $2000 respectively. They are beautiful cues and hit great.
And if you can find an old Hunt & O'byrne cue, you will also not be disappointed.
I've played with Kevin De Roo cues also and they play well.
Mike Wooldrige and Glover cues are excellent also, but quite pricey. A friend of mine just bought one from each of these cuemakers and paid $1500 and $2000 respectively. They are beautiful cues and hit great.
And if you can find an old Hunt & O'byrne cue, you will also not be disappointed.
X Breaker said:
I don't know. I know there are cues I don't like the feel of. I don't think anybody obsesses about snooker cues here. You find one that's straight and feels OK. Then you play with it all your life. John Spencer was world champion using a cue you wouldn't even use to light a fire.
Boro Nut
Boro Nut said:
I like this attitude. What do you think about the obsession with pool cues here
Do you think we are crazy? Stephen Hendry has been playing with a very cheap one piece cue for a long time, too, hasn't he?
Was it Joe Davis who said you need to have your own cue, with a good tip, or something to that effect?
X Breaker said:I like this attitude. What do you think about the obsession with pool cues here
Stephen Hendry has been playing with a very cheap one piece cue for a long time, too, hasn't he?
Was it Joe Davis who said you need to have your own cue, with a good tip, or something to that effect?
Yeah I think that about sums it up. Once you've been playing with a cue it becomes an extension of you. Nothing else feels as good, no matter how expensive. I find it traumatic enough changing tips. I wouldn't dream of changing cues unless I had to. I'm sure you could get used to playing with any decent cue given time, but why bother? You've already got one. Spend the money on playing time.
In a way it reminds me of my other keen interest - photography. You saw absolute fortunes spent on bigger and better cameras and lenses. It should have been spent on more film.
Boro Nut
I have a custom John Parris for snooker and a predator for pool. I think snooker is more about feel and no 2 cues feel the same but with pool the cues seem to be more consistent so you can change cues say from one 314 to another and not really have it affect your game. You cannot do this in snooker. I tried to play snooker with Karen Corr's pool cue and it was ugly. I could not figure out the lack of deflection. The Parris cue to me is a piece of art. Just an amazing cue to use. Best you can get.
Hi Ray,raybo147 said:
I know Karen as she used to live not too far away from me in England. I haven't seen her for a while but have been in touch recently. If you see her soon say Alan Morris says "hi"!
Best wishes.
Alan.
Boro Nut said:
I don't know about that mate, there is one lunatic in the UK that does....me, lol!
I collect snooker cues as well as American cues.
Here are a few from my collection. These two are both old maple cues, one hand spliced Joe Davis and one Tombstone badged Riley....
These cues below are even older, between 70 and 100 years old. These are all very nice but its the bottom one that is really special. It is an old J P Mannock. Most Mannock's are either pearwood or maple, like the Mannock above it but the bottom one is ash, very, very rare. It is also tulipwood and rosewood, rare again. It also has the original bone ivory ferrule which again is hard to find these days. What sets this cue apart from others is that this is the playing cue of a certain Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins. I have photos of Alex using this cue and signed providence from his cue repairer, Bob Akers of Leeds. Just thought I would share some of my collection.
Good cue builders in the UK that make cues in the old style......
Parris Cues
Glover Cues
Craftsman Cues
Martin Chesworth
Hope this helps anyone.
Simon
Hi Si,
Thank you for sharing pictures of your collection, those cues are beautiful. I love the one on the very bottom.
I appreciate your knowledge as well. You are a very professional cue collector and seller, and I really enjoy our last transaction on the Mottey.
By the way, is it important that the ash on your snooker shaft has lots of growth rings and are all going in one directions? How important is that for a snooker player?
Thank you,
Richard
Thank you for sharing pictures of your collection, those cues are beautiful. I love the one on the very bottom.
I appreciate your knowledge as well. You are a very professional cue collector and seller, and I really enjoy our last transaction on the Mottey.
By the way, is it important that the ash on your snooker shaft has lots of growth rings and are all going in one directions? How important is that for a snooker player?
Thank you,
Richard
Hi Richard
Thanks for the comments. I must also pass on my regards to your wonderful product. It has got me out of a lot of tight sqeezes in matches X Breakers jump better than anything else I have used.
Other people on this thread have mentioned it before that its really down to personal preference and what you are used to. Stephen Hendry won all those titles with a cheap, sub $50 cue. He had owned and used the cue since he was a small lad so he just got used to it. Of course, now he uses a high end John Parris, which will have the tightest grain of ash known to man...and he loves it.
Even grained, tight ash comes at a premium hence the prices of the top of the range Parris, Glover and Craftsman cues. It is maintained that this wood deflects less than a lower quality ash with an uneven grain. I couldn't comment but this is certainly reflected in the price. It is generally accepted that the v shape in the ash faces upwards (in line with the flat face on the butt), if you turn the cue at 45 degrees to the plane and take a shot, the deflection is generally different...ie: more. So I think that is important and the top pros do look for that when they custom order a cue. Some players also like to see the grain, some don't, the tighter grained cues seem to blend in so its one less thing to see when cueing up a shot.
Personally, I prefer maple snooker cues. I think this is more to do with the fact that I play on American tables with American cues than I do on a snooker table. Maple is generally whippy in a snooker cue (small tip, 10mm, thin wood) but my own snooker cue is a 100 year old Billiard cue that has been turned down. So it is quite fat in the middle section but has a 10mm tip. I had this done to try and counteract the whippy nature. Also, I prefer the feel of maple in my hands, again, probably down to the fact that I play with an American cue most of the time.
Anyway, Richard, if you would like a bespoke English professional snooker cue making to your specification (maple or ash), let me know. I can get an order turned out in a month or two depending on the back log. Price, depending on what you want....one tiger maple X-Breaker. Can't say any fairer! There are a few AZBers that have already collected their own snooker cues from me, all made to their spec.
This applies to anyone who would like the same. Cash, or cues is good. I like to collect!
Si
Thanks for the comments. I must also pass on my regards to your wonderful product. It has got me out of a lot of tight sqeezes in matches
X Breakers jump better than anything else I have used.Other people on this thread have mentioned it before that its really down to personal preference and what you are used to. Stephen Hendry won all those titles with a cheap, sub $50 cue. He had owned and used the cue since he was a small lad so he just got used to it. Of course, now he uses a high end John Parris, which will have the tightest grain of ash known to man...and he loves it.
Even grained, tight ash comes at a premium hence the prices of the top of the range Parris, Glover and Craftsman cues. It is maintained that this wood deflects less than a lower quality ash with an uneven grain. I couldn't comment but this is certainly reflected in the price. It is generally accepted that the v shape in the ash faces upwards (in line with the flat face on the butt), if you turn the cue at 45 degrees to the plane and take a shot, the deflection is generally different...ie: more. So I think that is important and the top pros do look for that when they custom order a cue. Some players also like to see the grain, some don't, the tighter grained cues seem to blend in so its one less thing to see when cueing up a shot.
Personally, I prefer maple snooker cues. I think this is more to do with the fact that I play on American tables with American cues than I do on a snooker table. Maple is generally whippy in a snooker cue (small tip, 10mm, thin wood) but my own snooker cue is a 100 year old Billiard cue that has been turned down. So it is quite fat in the middle section but has a 10mm tip. I had this done to try and counteract the whippy nature. Also, I prefer the feel of maple in my hands, again, probably down to the fact that I play with an American cue most of the time.
Anyway, Richard, if you would like a bespoke English professional snooker cue making to your specification (maple or ash), let me know. I can get an order turned out in a month or two depending on the back log. Price, depending on what you want....one tiger maple X-Breaker. Can't say any fairer! There are a few AZBers that have already collected their own snooker cues from me, all made to their spec.
This applies to anyone who would like the same. Cash, or cues is good. I like to collect!
Si
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Hi Simon,thediamond said:Hi Richard
Thanks for the comments. I must also pass on my regards to your wonderful product. It has got me out of a lot of tight sqeezes in matches
Other people on this thread have mentioned it before that its really down to personal preference and what you are used to. Stephen Hendry won all those titles with a cheap, sub $50 cue. He had owned and used the cue since he was a small lad so he just got used to it. Of course, now he uses a high end John Parris, which will have the tightest grain of ash known to man...and he loves it.
Even grained, tight ash comes at a premium hence the prices of the top of the range Parris, Glover and Craftsman cues. It is maintained that this wood deflects less than a lower quality ash with an uneven grain. I couldn't comment but this is certainly reflected in the price. It is generally accepted that the v shape in the ash faces upwards (in line with the flat face on the butt), if you turn the cue at 45 degrees to the plane and take a shot, the deflection is generally different...ie: more. So I think that is important and the top pros do look for that when they custom order a cue. Some players also like to see the grain, some don't, the tighter grained cues seem to blend in so its one less thing to see when cueing up a shot.
Personally, I prefer maple snooker cues. I think this is more to do with the fact that I play on American tables with American cues than I do on a snooker table. Maple is generally whippy in a snooker cue (small tip, 10mm, thin wood) but my own snooker cue is a 100 year old Billiard cue that has been turned down. So it is quite fat in the middle section but has a 10mm tip. I had this done to try and counteract the whippy nature. Also, I prefer the feel of maple in my hands, again, probably down to the fact that I play with an American cue most of the time.
Anyway, Richard, if you would like a bespoke English professional snooker cue making to your specification (maple or ash), let me know. I can get an order turned out in a month or two depending on the back log. Price, depending on what you want....one tiger maple X-Breaker. Can't say any fairer! There are a few AZBers that have already collected their own snooker cues from me, all made to their spec.
This applies to anyone who would like the same. Cash, or cues is good. I like to collect!
Si
Thank you so much. I wish I knew your expertise in snooker cue before I placed my order with John Parris just very recently, as I would definitly have gone through you.
I have received a confirmation from Mr. Parris already, but was not told the delivery time yet. So, I have to just sit patiently waiting...
I also order the SD extension, and a case (just a steel case). My snooker cue is one of the regular model in the 250 pounds range. I like to have one of the nice leather snooker case one day.
But you know, I am always looking to buy some new cues, so I think we will definitely do some business again. I am interested in getting a Glover cue in the future.
Thank you.
Richard
Si had a couple of cues made for one or our mutual friends who recent passed away. Both were made by Craftsman. Beautiful splices and great hitting cues as well. One was made for pool, but still maintained the snooker screw in the shaft. If I were to obtain one, I would probably have them make me one. They have gorgeous woods.
