Cue quality / price

[paulowc]

I am looking for a high quality cue and am not worried about the cosmetics or whether the cue is hand or machine spliced, just the playability and shaft quality. From looking around on this forum it seems that a Mastercue or a Craftsman would be a very good choice and I have found that these companies have cues starting around £60:

Mastercue CP1 for £59
Craftsman Victor for £55

I understand that many people say that you get what you pay for. However, the websites do not specify that the more expensive cues have better shafts or that they are more carefully made. Therefore my question is will these feel /play any different to the more expensive ones? If so which model is recommended?

I was also wondering if anybody had ordered from Mastercue directly in Thailand and how the prices compare to buying in the UK?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Watford]

Mostly cue makers will use better (or better looking) shafts for the handspliced cues because they will be spending more time on them and charging more!
Having said that it doesn't always follow that a handspliced is better, the grain may be straighter the arrows aligned nicely but it doesn't mean the cue plays any better!
I don't know how much the prices differ if you buy mastercues direct. One thing I have heard is that if you have a problem it won't be easy to get it sorted via Thailand. On the other hand if you got one from Stu Green (Greenbaize) you would get it sorted straight away!
I like craftsman, a few of my mates have them. One has a machine spliced and likes it!

[cueman]

As Watford says, the shaft may be better looking, possibly straighter or have more even grain on hand spliced cues but this doesn't mean or guarantee it will play better than a shaft on a machine spliced cue.
As I've always said, its better to go somewhere to try out the cue first as no cue maker can make a cue and be sure it will suit you.

The only reason machine spliced cues are cheaper is because of the quick time they take to manufacture and as it suggests is done on machine. Hand splicing takes more time and needs accuracy which cue makers charge for at a premium. They may take more time in selecting a better looking shaft too as they know they are charging more for the cue.

There are a few professional players who use machine spliced cues and haven't done too badly in the game, Mark Williams and Alan McManus to name but two.