i had the pleasure of test driving a spare cue that zinzola had around his shop and after spending about 45 mins w/ the cue, i thought i'd jot down a few notes. (i was comparing it to 2 different alex brick cues)
there are several threads out there re: the design, points, veneers, inlays - however very few re: the playability.
description of cue (i didn't have a camera, ruler or scale, so pls bear w/ me, yes i suck!)
ebony front w/ 4color veneers around ebony points, leather wrap.
immediately, putting the cue together, you get a nice balance in your hand. (i didn't have a ruler, so can't tell you the exact balance point), but it was definitely not towards the back.
the diameter of the butt is on the slender side, not skinny, but slightly thinner than the alex brick i was comparing to.
shaft had a stiff hit w/ very little deflection.
now on to the description of the hit. as many threads have already mentioned, hit is absolutely subjective, as strokes are different, tips are different and type of english can elicit different feels.
after a few shots, i noticed rather quickly that it had a pretty solid hit, more on the stiff side. compared to my brick players, which i thought were pretty stiff hits, the zinzola was more of a rounded, full hit, if that makes sense.
center ball or slightly off center would create that welcoming sound of knocking your knuckle on a solid piece of wood.
shots w/ more english would also produce such a sound, but less so, however this was replaced by the feedback you would get from both the stiffness of the shaft and quality of construction.
there are 2 things that i walked away with:
1. consistency of hit - with other cues that i have tried, it would take a while to get used to how much english/force would result in what type of shot, however w/ an even stroke, i got the same result almost every time
2. setting up w/ confidence - often used in golf terms - some golf clubs give you confidence immediately when you set up, while other clubs don't quite give you that feeling. this cue, after a few shots gave me the feeling of being in control; where if i missed a shot, i knew it was completely me and not subtleties of the cue.
disclaimer - this is in no way to detract from alex brick's cues. i have 2 and i love both of em, but they play very different.
my bricks, i would say drive like a comfortable luxury sedan, maybe a lexus. where comfort and dependability are key, while performance as powerful.
zinzola, i'd compare more to a luxury coupe, lets say an M3. where the comfort and dependability are still present, but performance and design are upfront.
too bad i have to give this one back.
gotta get my name on his list.
bravo
there are several threads out there re: the design, points, veneers, inlays - however very few re: the playability.
description of cue (i didn't have a camera, ruler or scale, so pls bear w/ me, yes i suck!)
ebony front w/ 4color veneers around ebony points, leather wrap.
immediately, putting the cue together, you get a nice balance in your hand. (i didn't have a ruler, so can't tell you the exact balance point), but it was definitely not towards the back.
the diameter of the butt is on the slender side, not skinny, but slightly thinner than the alex brick i was comparing to.
shaft had a stiff hit w/ very little deflection.
now on to the description of the hit. as many threads have already mentioned, hit is absolutely subjective, as strokes are different, tips are different and type of english can elicit different feels.
after a few shots, i noticed rather quickly that it had a pretty solid hit, more on the stiff side. compared to my brick players, which i thought were pretty stiff hits, the zinzola was more of a rounded, full hit, if that makes sense.
center ball or slightly off center would create that welcoming sound of knocking your knuckle on a solid piece of wood.
shots w/ more english would also produce such a sound, but less so, however this was replaced by the feedback you would get from both the stiffness of the shaft and quality of construction.
there are 2 things that i walked away with:
1. consistency of hit - with other cues that i have tried, it would take a while to get used to how much english/force would result in what type of shot, however w/ an even stroke, i got the same result almost every time
2. setting up w/ confidence - often used in golf terms - some golf clubs give you confidence immediately when you set up, while other clubs don't quite give you that feeling. this cue, after a few shots gave me the feeling of being in control; where if i missed a shot, i knew it was completely me and not subtleties of the cue.
disclaimer - this is in no way to detract from alex brick's cues. i have 2 and i love both of em, but they play very different.
my bricks, i would say drive like a comfortable luxury sedan, maybe a lexus. where comfort and dependability are key, while performance as powerful.
zinzola, i'd compare more to a luxury coupe, lets say an M3. where the comfort and dependability are still present, but performance and design are upfront.
too bad i have to give this one back.
gotta get my name on his list.
bravo
