a question for all you Magis out there...

1) What's the worst gimmick/ trick you every got, where you were left swearing and kicking yourself after you realised it was a lame investment?

2) What's the BEST item(s) you ever got and swear by it?

Hope to hear your responses soon! ;-)

The absolute worst products I have bought are Sylvester the Jester's SUspended Dimension dvd. Seemed like a product that he thought of in half an hour and produced on the dvd. It was a horrible idea for a topping device. Others include Rodney Reyes' School of Hardknocks. The only good thing I got out of it was that now I now how NOT to perform after watching Reyes manslaughter the effects he performs. :D :lol: His effects were ripped off from other people (Trifecta is actually Joey Burton's and not his, his Glock 52 is Ken Krenzel's Bullet Trick, Short Stack is a minor modification of Syd SEgal's Further than That, his Coining Copperfield was, well, crap, as was his ICU ambitious card routine), and his (lack thereof) of presentation was god-awful. :D He only relied on exposition in his performances, and every 5 seconds he does some fancy flourish that confuses the spectator instead. (And his flourishing isn't even good in the first place) He comes off as arrogant, unlikeable and irritating. Simply put, the dvd sucked. :D

The best products that I've seen are videos like Greg Wilson's On the Spot, David Regal's the Magic of David Regal dvd set, and the product that I'm waiting for the most now is of course, the Dan and Dave System. :)

WOW!

CLJ... you impress me! You sure are one kickass Magi! ;-)

You surely must knock the socks off the grrls! *grin*

That, i agree :)

which of the effect u performed the most from the vid? i like the all around coin vanish and one that u throw a coin into the air n it changes into another (dime to nickel?) effect, cant remember that name...

the lipstick one...
haha, obviously to girl :)

btw, i think i missed out on the worst thing i bought..
It's the bat, not saying it's bad in the sense, but, i'm saying, it's bad cuz it can't fit into my routine :)

LOL ive tried making one myself too and it suck pretty bad

let me guess... it kept snagging on your sleeve huh? it's actually much harder for grrls... you know why :-P

i heard some people using alternative methods (besides using the usual long sleeve method) like via belt loops, etc. for better control.

Hmmm... Any bat/ raven users around? *looks around the room* Appreciate your comments or suggestions! ;-)

Seems like no one uses a bat?
haha...

...hmmm... enlighten me here pls, what's the major differences between the bat & raven? are they simply similar products, just created by different companies and marketed differently????

thanks you guys... :-P

they somehow work in the same principle, but not the same product...
can use for the same effect, but different methods.

I dun hav a raven, nor do i plan to get one.
but, i cld roughly guess how it's done....

Well, if u r really that rich, try m5 pro...
haha, but, it weights abit less than 1 kg...:)

I have the bat, I had the Raven deluxe but sold it. they are made by Chazpro. It uses the same gimmick but different method.

The Bat is more for PK effects whilst the Raven is more for vanishes and changes. There are certain angle problems when using the Raven. Its a cool vanish though.

One of the "worst" effects I got was a TT. Dun get me wrong I love TTs but it was my first and I paid 10 bucks for some hard plastic, off-colour TT that had "Made in China" embossed on it some more... good thing is that I started off with that so I had to work hard to conceal the secret!

Chris.

Hmm for the worst i guess the raven seldom use it and now on my shelves as a display item lol...

For the best hmm I guess is my invisible deck lol the only gimmick deck I use alot lol.. Cos I do improtute card and coins trick all the time lol so no much gimmick... :ph43r:

Worst:
Blue Crystal. It's more of a collectors' item, so it was kinda gimmicked to the core. Sold it off last year, so it's off my back.

Best:
Tricks, more tricks, and enough with the tricks already! David Regal inspired me PLENTY through this video of mayhem with cards, half-cards, 9 cups and balls, crazy plots and amazing patter. 2 thumbs and a TT up ;)

-Kev

WORST: Bottoms Up. A horrible manuscript teaching the classic card under glass. NOTHING NEW and teaching only one sleight which can be much better substituted with a one hand top palm.

BEST: CARD STUNTS and ON THE SPOT BY GREG WILSON & ON THE LOOSE BY BILL MALONE
These are by far the best videos I've EVER purchased and these two magicians have inspired me GREATLY. Do check their stuff out. Absolutely mindblowing.

Huron

WORST:
Keocuts and a Gerry Griffiths LUCKY SEVENS. OmG..

BEST:
Lennart Green, Ray Kosby, Hit the road, the SYSTEM(Soon to be) and maybe CTG

Worst: Dream Vanish

Best: Underground
Brian Will- Extreme




lol

Best: Underground

Worst: Guy bavli - Bending minds, bending metal -_-

Worst : Dream Vanish & Underground.

Best: Paul harris's close up kinda guy and art of astonishment vid.
Best gimmick deck: stolen cards by lennart green although juz received it and yet i am loving the rainbow deck.

WoW. Some people say that UNdergrounds the best, whereas some say its the worst. How the hell did THAT happen?

Worst: Blue Crystal. Definately.
Best: Constant Fooling 1 & 2. Close up and personal (a friend gave it to me for my birthday. Thanks to him.) The first David regal series (thanks to solomon) and the PPP series. Don't forget cradle to grave. Good stuff.

Its a non-gimmick deck and it is indeed very cool. Idiot proof trick for people like me.

Its kinda a gimmick deck since it can't be handed out for examination.
Dun u agree?
Anyway juz wanted my 100th post and ur it.
:P

I disagree as the deck can be examined at the end of the trick. I'm refering to Stolen card by Lennart Green.Its the method that is clever, not the deck.

Had to modify the deck a little to do repeat performance

what's blue crystal?

Its a plastic box made by Tenyo in year 2002. The box enable a coin/ring to penetrate a clear blue plastic in the box. This is more of an optical illusion, I would'n say its fantastic nor a bad item. I think its cool though.

Worst: Naughty Silk Trick (duno from which maker). Quality bad, and item plasticky and all.

Best: MY SET OF LINKING RINGS. Heh. Others include Balloon School, Fibre Optics, Ulti-rose prop, n it goes on...

Worst:the raven

Best:loops

The worst product i bought is an M5 system. It requires a long sleeve shirt , which i dont have and dont really like wearing as it is cheesy to hackers.
The best product i bought was a DVD on Stigmata.

What do u mean "cheesy to hackers"? Sounds weird :wacko:

The audience (especially teens) will ask u to roll up ur sleeve and then they will touch around

Those are hecklers not hackers -_- . It may be true but depending on how u do crowd management, u can divert their attention if they try to touch u. Or just run away haha.