Ok, I know I sound ignorant, but can anybody tell me what's the original effect of Scotch and Soda? I know it's a g++++++ked version of copper/silver, but how does the the original effect suppose to end?

The reason I asked is:
Saw a guy performing the Scotch and Soda at a shop. At the revelation, the half-dollar didn't change, but the penny had changed into a sing 50c. Then there was a kicker ending where the magician pointed out that the penny was actually a distance away from them all along.

I don't know about you guys, but somehow I felt the kicker ending didn't add any impact to the effect. I thought the effect was suppose to be a transposition of 2 coins, which is magical but now, only one coin had changed into a coin not shown at the beginning. The whole effect becomes like a kind of mental effect that the spec was "hypnotized" into seeing a penny at the start. Can't really articulate why I didn't like it but just felt kind of a "no-link".

What you all think?

(yes, I realized I am asking 2 questions..)

I believe it's hard to answer your question. Scotch and Soda gimmick set is used for hundreds of effects. And many magicians say it's one of the most used coin gimmick. Why use it? Because it is one gimmick that can essentially be hand out to the spectator without him/her ever finding anything wrong with it. Yes, many magicians love to use such gimmicks that don't leave them having to do ditching and all at the end of a trick.

Just like using s****s, they are very much a utility item. Used it in whatever way you want! With the right coins, you can do vanishes, transposition and a whole lot more.

Are you familiar with this gimmick bro? There are some things that this gimmick can't do by itself. If you are talking about coins simply changing places, maybe a copper/silver gimmick will fit the bill. Or you can try the relatively newer gimmick, Digital Dissolve. Cheers!

Truth is, despite knowing the name of the effect for years, I am not really familiar with the gimmick as I always thought it is for doing a copper/silver kind of thing and my preference is for the ungimmicked version.


Actually it's not so much about the gimmick, rather it's the effect I have questions about. I mean, if you showed a penny and a dollar at the start, have them switch places, it would have been a wonderful effect. But now, a third coin suddenly appeared in place of (only) 1 of the coin, isn't it a bit funny?

And due to the patter of the magician, it was presented as a mental effect in which the spectator had been "hypnotized" in seeing a penny in the first place. And the funnier part is, he still went on to show the penny was around, but somewhere far. I don't know... but felt the whole presentation looked wierd.

The guy might have 'jazzed' it up making it into a mismatched monster. I guess presented as 2 effects will serve it better.

I think its the whole 'wanting to have an additional kicker' kinda thinking that got the pure effect unpure, hence making it very difficult to follow and confusing. Kinda like doing a colour chaning deck at the end of every card routine.

I can only imagine his lay audience being very very much confused especially when a magician is already so confused.

Scotch and Soda gives different kind of possibilities and I guess, based on your description, that guy did a bad job performing it. But yes, one of the possibilities with this gimmick is to change one coin for another. And with this gimmick, you can't change both, as the half dollar got to stay.

One of the more straightforward effect and probably stronger is to show two coins, or even three, and remove one coin from your fist, and show that everything has then vanished.

Yes, I guess that guy is trying to make the routine longer, and as a result, caused the unneccesary confusion.

I think the normal S&S routine used to demo the effect is horrible. No one knows what the heck that extra coin never seen before is doing there! I personally came up with my own routine that utilizes the bang ring and an extra coin ... and at the end you can hand the coins to even the most scrutinizing spectator ... because they are the real coins ....


Chastain