Resonance is the key word. Every species of wood has a range of vibration frequencies and intensity it allows. It's not unlike materials ranging in conductivity, ranging from high conductivity to semi-conductive to insulating. Just like copper conducts electric better than rubber, certain woods resonate better than others. It begins with molecular makeup and is affected by everything from grain straightness to dimension. For instance, straight grain purpleheart conducts vibration more efficiently and at higher frequency than buckeye burl. That's a dramatic comparison but it paints the picture. The resonance(or lack there of) is what you feel in your grip. The purpleheart will have a sharp, rigid pop to it where the buckeye burl would feel like a dull thud at best. Somewhere in the middle is where most players prefer. Truth be known, most players probably aren't specifically aware of what it is going on, or really even care about the technicalities, but they recognize when the cue feels good vs bad. It's not a coincidence that when a cue plays well, it also feels good. The two are parallel, hand in hand.