I used to do business with Jun Shimizu of "Shimeshige," and have always considered him to be one of the good guys. This guy started out as basically a door to door cue salesman, and eventually went into putting together a cue making operation. Jun has always prided himself in discovering new and unknown talented cue makers from the US, and bringing their cues to Japan to compete with the already well known (and extremely overpriced in Japan) Ginas, SWs, Cogs, Benders, BBs, and others. As far as I'm concerned, for the Asian market, he is solely responsible for the sucess of makers like Josey, Gilbert, Tonkin, and Barnhart. I would be willing to bet that any of these makers are deeply gratefull and respectfull of what Jun has done for their products in Asia. Jun was so impressed with first Josey cues, and later Gilberts cues, that when he set out to build his own cues, it was his goal to emulate the quality and playability of both. As he had business relations with both makers, I'm sure that much of what Jun has learned about making cues came from these two makers. So, although it can be debated as to wether or not Jun and his crew have personally 'trained' with either of the two, I can assure you that whatever Jun knows about the building process, wether taught or simply absorbed, has come primarily from the two makers.
Price and quality. I would rank a KeithAndy cue up there with any of the top makers for quality and playability. However, it has always been my argument that Juns prices are way too high to ever expect to market his cues anywhere other than in Japan. His PJs sell in Japan for around $1,500, so although I think his cues are made as well as, and play as well as............say a Harris PJ, why buy a KeithAndy when you can get a Harris for a better price? And I've made my opinions open to Jun in the past.
So yes, with KeithAndy, you'll get a very fine cue that plays comparibly to any of the better cues out there, however, they are priced for the Japanese market. You can get a KeithAndy for $3,000 or buy a SW for $5,000 over there. Whereas over here in the states, you can buy both a KeithAndy or a SW for about the same price. You get playability and quality with either cue, but for the same price, by going with SW, you get a well known name that will result in a better investment in the long run.
dave
