Shurtz cues
I now own 3 Shurtz cues, my current player & , an 05 Conversion J/B & a 95 re-cut mod. They all play well but the newer one has the the new LD shaft & I think that coupled with the cored butt make the cue feel great at contact with very little sound but not so soft that there is not any feedback. I don't think any cue I have played with in the last 49+ years plays any better than my current player, it has the feel of some of the older full splice cues I owned a long time ago.
Bob Owen at Shurtz has a fairly well known son who can play with about any cue he wants but plays with a Shurtz.
I hope some of this post is helpful.