The "wow" factor

[brookst]

Hi all,
Any of you who have played snooker or pool for a reasonable amount of time will have most probably picked up a cue, that either you have bought or borrowed off a mate and had that wow moment. It might be just the look or finish or how it helps you play a particular shot.

For me i just got a MW cue and yes the cue looks incredible but the wow is how easy it is to put action (intentional) into the CB, its actually amazing. Is it the Black spin ferrule, the shaft (maple!) Or a combination of factors im not sure but it got me thinking about other peoples similar experiences.

So what are your cue related wow moments?

[ghost121]

I had a similar experience with a MW Legend. Exceptionally easy to move the cue ball around. At least 30% easier by my estimation and I have a lot of experience to draw on and compare with. For me, the wow moment comes when I stop thinking about the cue completely. It disappears in my hand. That's the Goldilocks moment. Not too heavy, not too light, not too stiff, not too whippy, not too forward balanced, not too rearward, etc, etc. When you stop thinking about the cue, that means it's doing its job perfectly. The rest is down to your technique and how you control your mental gremlins.

[Neil Taperell]

Mine was with my Trevor White cue .......amazed at how much movement I can get with the white on a straight pot .

[tedisbill]

I've liked the look of cues. Some look absolutely amazing. I've never had a cue that's enabled me to play a shot easier though. Maybe I need to try some more cues!

[bolton-cueman]

ditto what Neil posted... for me it was my current Trevor White cue. It's simply perfect for me. Can a cue alone improve your play? Probably not, but it can make you confident and 'happy' with your game therefore potentially making you play better. My TW has done that for me!

It's not the most decoratively spliced cue - its the classic, simple Traditional design - or has the prettiest shaft, but boy, can you get reaction out of it. Admittedly my old cue was a pretty stiff, thick tapered shaft

It's a bit of a cliché but cues are more than having 'amazing chevrons' or having a million burr wood splices and veneers on them. It's selecting the right ash.... and on my cue, IMHO of course, its the best bit of ash on a cue I've ever played with. Trevor is unsurpassed in this area, again IMHO.

[Byrom]

Well I had an ultimate that was quality a few older Parris and a couple of amazing TW's but if we are talking about cues you never owned but tried - I had one or two wow moments - One was a NorthWest one was a nice Parris cue but one particular cue I liked was one not in my spec it was about 57 in length about 9 mill and had the most perfect grain I have ever seen on a cue - beautifully spliced ebony and olive wood felt lovely and I had a go with it for a while - My mate watched on in amazement as I tried out length of the table stuns long blues and long shots down the rail - screw backs and everything - I actually amazed myself as I never missed a single ball. This made me doubt my own spec.

Tried to buy it of the guy who owned it but by the time I saw him he had sold it to someone in China as he preferred his Mike Wooldridge which he had used a while.

That cue to me was a wow cue - the maker was Dave Coutts.

[j6uk]

this was very wow

[Byrom]

oh yeah J6 reminded me there was a old riley rack cue I made a nice break with once when my tip fell off - would not say wow to look at it but it had lovely grain and a lot of life in it and it certainly played well - should have bought that one and had it re-spliced.

[Ramon]

oh yeah J6 reminded me there was a old riley rack cue I made a nice break with once when my tip fell off - would not say wow to look at it but it had lovely grain and a lot of life in it and it certainly played well - should have bought that one and had it re-spliced.

Looks like you have too many WOW factor's , Byrom !! Lol ,,which one is it ?? Make up ur mind !!!

[Maverick54]

Trevors cues are absolutely stunning to look at and his craftsmanship is second to none. Those in the know on here regard him as the best in the business. So why don't more Pros use his cues?

It cant really be as has previously suggested because JP gives cues to the top players in return for the publicity. Surely if you were one of the top players in the World you would want a cue off the best maker in the World.

[Leo]

Trevors cues are absolutely stunning to look at and his craftsmanship is second to none. Those in the know on here regard him as the best in the business. So why don't more Pros use his cues?

It cant really be as has previously suggested because JP gives cues to the top players in return for the publicity. Surely if you were one of the top players in the World you would want a cue off the best maker in the World.

Why change as they say! a bit like why ain't anyone using Coutts or Wooldridge. I personally think these cues are defiantly more for the club and enthusiast players who just enjoy a decent cue and that's where these cues will always stay IMHO. The other thing what I think is more people on here are more interested in the actual cue themselves then the pros because for us it's a hobby that we enjoy and for the pro it's a job.
When 99% of players who reach and win the final are using the grey bears cues it's pretty understandable why players will continue to fund the Parris empire wether we agree his cues are excellent or not.

[hotpot]

Trevors cues are absolutely stunning to look at and his craftsmanship is second to none. Those in the know on here regard him as the best in the business. So why don't more Pros use his cues?

It cant really be as has previously suggested because JP gives cues to the top players in return for the publicity. Surely if you were one of the top players in the World you would want a cue off the best maker in the World.

It dont matter if it came from the best cue maker or not the badge dont mean anything to a player when hes looking for the cue , i would think Parris makes a batch for players and they pick one they like from them and probably free of charge thats why i think a lot of players go to him .

[golferson123]

I dont see why anyone should care what cue a pro uses,parris is swift to say so and so won with a parris but how many pros lose using a parris? If parris plays parris then ones going to lose the difference is the player not the cue.its just conveniance to get a parris because so many are made they are the ford of the snooker world

[Leo]

It dont matter if it came from the best cue maker or not the badge dont mean anything to a player when hes looking for the cue , i would think Parris makes a batch for players and they pick one they like from them and probably free of charge thats why i think a lot of players go to him .

I think also the bear has his own workshop and shop where players can just turn up etc. Where the likes of Trevor White and Wooldridge have more a KGB type set up.

[bolton-cueman]

It dont matter if it came from the best cue maker or not the badge dont mean anything to a player when hes looking for the cue , i would think Parris makes a batch for players and they pick one they like from them and probably free of charge thats why i think a lot of players go to him .

I have always thought this.

Parris is probably the only 'good' cue maker who has the facility - financial and production - to make batches of 3, 4 or 5 selected cues in a short space of time and just give 'em away.

To clarify a 'good' cue maker, I mean folk like TW, Coutts, Cook, and MW. No offence to anyone I may have missed of course. I couldn't see any of these guys even entertaining doing that (and rightly so IMHO)