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Title: Cups And Balls


kryptikalism - December 13, 2004 03:34 AM (GMT)
anybody does this trick besides me? i'm interested to find out about original ideas and routines.

Magicdow - December 13, 2004 08:24 AM (GMT)
I'm always interested in C&B but never perform it. Anyone has a mini combo set? I'l looking to get one. The Van Dockumn minis looks cool but can't afford it. RNT II black combos looks cool too.

You do Chop cups? I have the Loomis micro chop cup and it is very nice.

ren8585 - December 13, 2004 11:06 AM (GMT)
farid uses indian chop cups lol ...anyway he has a nice routine.. great job :P

yujie - December 13, 2004 11:57 AM (GMT)
get michael ammar's cups & balls book........it is almost everything u need to know abt cups & balls....d diagrams, instructions etc are well explained. i will give a 6 stars out of 5 :D

Aloy - December 13, 2004 02:44 PM (GMT)
kryptikalism has a very nice routine of Cups and balls....very nice and inventive, got me interested in this effect again :)

I thought you using the tiny basketballs is very good, spice it up a little.

Prince Charles is a member of The Magic Circle in London and his entry act was the cups and balls routine....interesting.. :)

yujie - December 13, 2004 03:27 PM (GMT)
after so many yearssss.......i thinking of getting a really nice cups & balls(serious).....any suggestions?

kryptikalism - December 13, 2004 04:25 PM (GMT)
nice to see some good responses.

here's more of my thoughts:

you don't have to get a cups and balls set to do the cups and balls. it's as simple as that. you don't have to spend a hundred dollars just to get the nice cups that you see magicians use.

personally, my favourite cups and balls routine utilises paper cups and crumpled-up dollar notes. why? because it's as impromptu as you can get. if you can do cups and balls with any cup and any 'ball', you can have a great routine at your fingertips any time you want.

the cups and balls present many magical effects including penetrations, vanishes, productions and transpositions. there's so many things you can do with just a cup and a ball. think about it.

i got interested in the cups and balls just recently, and i realise the potential that this routine has. there's always room to create and innovate with the cups and balls.


kryptikalism - December 13, 2004 04:27 PM (GMT)
QUOTE (Magicdow @ Dec 13 2004, 04:24 PM)
You do Chop cups? I have the Loomis micro chop cup and it is very nice.

hi magicdow. i like the chop cup, but i don't like the fact that it's gimmicked and that you can only use that cup for the routine..

but then again, the chop cup can be a real fooler.

iewgnod - December 13, 2004 05:09 PM (GMT)
QUOTE (kryptikalism @ Dec 14 2004, 12:25 AM)
nice to see some good responses.

here's more of my thoughts:

you don't have to get a cups and balls set to do the cups and balls. it's as simple as that. you don't have to spend a hundred dollars just to get the nice cups that you see magicians use.

personally, my favourite cups and balls routine utilises paper cups and crumpled-up dollar notes. why? because it's as impromptu as you can get. if you can do cups and balls with any cup and any 'ball', you can have a great routine at your fingertips any time you want.

the cups and balls present many magical effects including penetrations, vanishes, productions and transpositions. there's so many things you can do with just a cup and a ball. think about it.

i got interested in the cups and balls just recently, and i realise the potential that this routine has. there's always room to create and innovate with the cups and balls.

Al thanks to u're perfoemance that day at the outing
wicked stuff there man! :D

makanmonkey - December 13, 2004 05:09 PM (GMT)
kryptikalism... I hope u bring ur C&B nxt time round again.. and the sponge balls too... i got a set but dun have any routines man... nxt time show it to us again k?

Magicdow - December 14, 2004 02:41 AM (GMT)
QUOTE (kryptikalism @ Dec 14 2004, 12:25 AM)

you don't have to get a cups and balls set to do the cups and balls. it's as simple as that. you don't have to spend a hundred dollars just to get the nice cups that you see magicians use.


I agree with that. But don't you feel better when you're using better cups? I must admit I have a fetish for minis (that's mini cups!) but still searching for a reason to get a good set :) .

Yujie, personally, I like Van Douckom's Cups. They have nice weights and nice feel. But that guy has an attitude which stop us from buying anything from him during the last IF convention.

Johson's cups is not bad too but will set you back for about US$190. I looking at RNT II's cups, nice....

Aloy - December 14, 2004 03:08 AM (GMT)
US$190 for Cups and Balls set?! :blink:

Maybe it's just me but there's no way to justify that price at all. Is it gold plated or something? Or it comes with instructions for ALL the C&B moves that was ever invented and used for the entire history of the world's oldest known magic trick.
It's like buying special spoons and forks specially designed for metal bending but they cost $20 each when you can get very usable ones at $3 a dozen.

Krypt's cups costs 90 cents each and they are nice steel cup too. :)

ReDeFiNe - December 14, 2004 03:15 AM (GMT)
yeah i agree with magicdow..Van Doukum does not have a good attitude...he made a set of rings for me which broke..i sent it back to him and till now after about a year..i still have not receive my replacement set..and he claims he has the best rings and cups..but seriously after working with his stuff for a while..it does not meet up to that expectation...
For cups and balls, I personally perform a routine of mine , i love the cups and balls and just like most magicians says...you must do 2 tricks to call yourself a magician, cups and balls as well as linking rings...I perform a vernon routine with some of my twist and end with the produciton of an appearing cane from the cup...I like to do it to music..of course i also do other variations like Williamsons 2 cup routine is perfect as well as Columbini routine on one of the hank lee videos using 3 different colored balls...I also have a special routine combining close up linking rings and cups and balls together..a fusion...still working on that..
For sets of cups...i use the Johnsons set as it is the more economical set in the top range at about 199 USD..the rest like sherwood or R n T might cost alot more... I got mine a while ago but one thing u guys must take note is that cups tarnishes in our weather easily! you dun play with it for a while and it will turn darkish..i got my brass set chromed and its beautiful!!!i chromed my rings and candle stand too for my show and they look spectacular! Of course mike rogers baseballs are the best for the cups...nowadays there is this mini tennis balls thingy..i kinda like it and think its pretty cool...
There is a new range of chop cups with tennis can and dice cups etc..I think its a fantastic idea! and definately make some sense to a normal chop cup routine..i do 2 different routines ,firstly John Carney one, which is pretty impromtu with any cup and rolled up napkin or bill..as well as anoth routine of mine using a special set of wodden cups and it ends with a nesting cups finaled ...7 cups produciton...i also have a collectors chop bowl but have not been working on it..
Dominique Duvivier performs one of the best combination of the combo cups and balls (chop cup used in cups and balls ) , u should see his routine :)
Jason Latimer clear cups are cool too.many clever moves..he might release it to the magic community but i dun think it will be cheap...

Cups and balls is one beautiful masterpiece and definately is something everybody should perform...

Best ,
Jeremy Pei

Magicdow - December 14, 2004 05:19 AM (GMT)
QUOTE (Morphine @ Dec 14 2004, 11:08 AM)
US$190 for Cups and Balls set?! :blink:


That's considered market rate for a decent set of cups.

Sherwood cost US$999, some more than US$1000+ for gold plated ones. I've seen Jeremy's chromed Johnson's cups, looks nice.

Aloy - December 14, 2004 05:32 AM (GMT)
Sorry, but I cannot understand that. :D

How much technology, material cost and effort does it take a produce a few cups? :P
A precision engineered gimmick I understand, a few metal cups is just beyond me :P :)


kryptikalism - December 14, 2004 05:42 AM (GMT)
QUOTE (Morphine @ Dec 14 2004, 01:32 PM)
How much technology, material cost and effort does it take a produce a few cups? :P
A precision engineered gimmick I understand, a few metal cups is just beyond me :P :)

hmmm... perhaps it's the novelty, morphine. i'm not so sure myself, but i'll never pay more than fifty singapore dollars for a cups and balls set.

when you go to a party, there's bound to be paper cups, serviettes, napkins, chocolates, grapes, sweets, dollar notes and stuff like that. i say, use that instead. people will think you don't need any props at all to do magic.

thanks for reading.

ReDeFiNe - December 14, 2004 06:00 AM (GMT)
yeah its true that y would somebody pay so much for cups...hmm...well its like y would somebody pay thousand of dollars on a poster or gaming cards...Cups and Balls is a form of collectors item ... more like collectors only to magicians...Most of the most expensive cups are hand spun, the johnsons one are cast out from a block of brass...the expensive cups has a good weight too and they show up nicer during a classic performance...Ya its true to perform cups and balls using normal cups..Lance Burton performer the classic cups and balls on TV using only 3 mugs and did all the standard moves ending with a mouse productions..I must say thats a wonderful routine..same as Williamson did on WGM with 2 coffee cups..haha..i sometimes use normal cups too to perform cups and balls at informal functions with any cups as well as rolled up napkins...

However being a magician, its still nice to own a good set of cups and balls...

Jeremy

yujie - December 14, 2004 07:07 AM (GMT)
i hv been bioing joe porper's cups for a long time....us$900....pray n hope us$ will continue its depreciation ^_^

Aloy - December 14, 2004 10:33 AM (GMT)
QUOTE (ReDeFiNe @ Dec 14 2004, 02:00 PM)
However being a magician, its still nice to own a good set of cups and balls...

And fall prey to marketting hype? Never! LOL :lol:

Maybe if it's an antique with serious historical value and I just struck the lottery....MAYBE....else...

Hurhurhur.....call me Uncle Scrouge B)




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