This is a very mixed bag. It is pricey, but it works. The kit is fairly complete, and tutorials
very thorough. I am not being sarcastic or saying with tongue-in-cheek when I say one of the nicest
surprises was a pair of plastic tweezers. They are essential.
I was a little disappointed
(initially) when I had to assemble it, but I learned a lot about how everything works by doing so.
The videos are GREAT, except on one point. They need to be much more specific and clear about how
much thread to load. First time I used not enough, the second time too much. Then I ran out of
thread. For the price I paid, I should get A LOT of thread.
The positives are that it
works as described, and the programming is easy. It is quiet, and very very fun to work with.
The negatives are that it is bigger than I expected and a bit awkward, but practice makes it
better. I found the coin pocket of jeans to be the best spot. I small loop for a safety pin or
elastic for retraction would make it better.
Also the ITR mode works well (barely), but the
tension is only so-so. It would be better if this could be adjusted.
I have come up with
some good routines based on programs, and have to say it fooled some friend, particular when I
levitated something across the room.
One other small issue. the kit is very thorough, and
it comes with circular stickers you use in the assembly process, and these things are supposed to
stick to these teflon like parts. They don't. They fall off during the assembly process and use.
That is a bit disappointing.
But those plastic Tweezers are AWESOME (no sarcasm, really).
14 of 15 magicians found this helpful.
Let me start by saying I have used the Spider Pen Pro for years and get quite a bit of mileage out
of it. I will try to avoid comparing the two as this accomplishes much more. However, I need to say
the biggest perk of the Gravity Reel is the programming feature and is aimed at more serious
professionals (as the price indicates). The reel is quiet and provides a continuous tension (ITR)
and a “Live Mode”. Switching back and forth is a little tedious as I found I need to shut my reel
and remote off if I was just using Live mode (if this is wrong, please let me know). As stated in
the other review, the original tension of the ITR mode is lacking. However, this is programmable.
The tension is still lacking compared to some reels you may be accustomed to.
One of the
biggest perks (besides the programming feature) is the ability to make a loop out of the reel. This
opened some possibilities I have never thought of. The additional vibration feature and the fact
there are two motors also are great features. The thread is also very invisible and pretty strong.
The cons of this reel are that the spools should be prespooled and ready to go. Although it
isn’t hard to go through the process, it is a huge time suck. The stickers (as mentioned in the
other review) are a terrible way to maintain the positioning of the thread on the reel as they don’t
always want to stick. I guess the biggest problem I have is paying $350 and realizing the entire
ability of the project hinges on tiny stickers holding their positioning. Where to place the reel
can also be a little awkward (I am hoping the belt clip changes this).
Overall, I do
believe this is a quality product and accomplishes what it shows in the demonstration. I would
highly recommend ordering extra thread (I ordered 2 immediately) and the toe switch (makes the
button system less awkward). Again, if the thread was prespooled (and I am not interested in the
reasoning behind why it isn’t) and the main connection for the thread wasn’t stickers, I would give
this 5 stars. The best news is..... both of these items could be easily corrected moving forward by
simply selling prespooled thread (similar to Spider Thread - had to get one more shout out in
there).
8 of 8 magicians found this helpful.
When I saw the trailer for the Gravity Reel, I became very excited. I usually don't purchase
expensive magic tricks without first reading reviews, but I felt like taking a risk on this one.
The packaging was done well and the menu for the tutorial videos was easy to navigate. For
the most part, everything explained in the videos was clear enough, but that's coming from someone
who performs professionally and has lots of experience with I.T. So I can't speak for people new to
this kind of stuff.
The gimmick itself is nicely made, but as a performing magician, I care
more about the end result and how functional it is in real-world performances. After struggling to
make this work in actual performances, I decided to search on youtube and other places on the
internet to see if I could find anyone else performing with it. All I could find were videos of the
creators. I feel like you need an engineering degree to operate this. It's NOT user-friendly AT ALL!
First, you have to thread your own spools. The gimmick comes with tweezers and a little
knife. This is more like performing surgery! It's a bit ridiculous and overly complicated,
especially when the thread breaks so easily.
I spent too much time worrying about working
the device and how to operate it instead of focusing on my magic presentation. It's not practical
for real performances. It may be good for TV or having an assistant on stage.
A lot of
people perceive threadwork to be complicated, well they've definitely raised the bar of complicated
thread work. For the money, I would much rather spend this on several other thread systems and still
have money left over. Don't waste your money and time.
9 of 12 magicians found this helpful.
Gravity has the price of a professional device but unfortunately not the properties to be honest.
The supplied thread, far too little in terms of quantity, is of inferior quality and cannot
be compared with Vectra, Spider, Kevlar or other better brands. It shines pretty strongly in all
lighting conditions and also tears far too quickly.
At first glance, the ITR looks well
thought out and at the second, unfortunately, shows its shortcomings.
If the thread breaks
in ITR mode, the motors will not stop (as is the case with other electronic reels) and cause a loud
and constant noise and too much attention.
The vibration feedback from the remote control
is so low that one could almost assume a defect.
But the reel itself vibrates noticeably. This
is annoying if you don't wear the device on your body and want to use it elsewhere.
If you
increase the thread tension in ITR mode you also increase the power on the other levels in live mode
at the same time. This means that the higher levels with the weak thread can hardly be used.
The spools that come with Gravity are awful. I don't find the glue dot practical, but at least
creative. If you are used to Mesika's spools here, you will not have any fun with the Gravity ones.
There is no stopper in the spool (notches).
Other remote controls already have integrated
reed switches and here you have to use a stone age and expensive toe switch if you want to use the
ITR handsfree.
The accessories are outrageously expensive and could have shipped with the
reel itself at 350$.
Not recommended.
3 of 5 magicians found this helpful.
I bought this and got really dissapointed!
Its not practical at all in the real world.if you
are looking for something to reamain in your
Drawer, then by all means buy it!
2 of 3 magicians found this helpful.
It's the usual Miranda quality...I've steered away from I.t. because of the frustration and my bad
eyesight. This does diminish some of the frustration but there is a lot to learn and practice. I
think it will be weeks before I can actually perform anything but when I do I expect great
reactions.
2 of 3 magicians found this helpful.
I’ve read mixed reviews, but since it’s so expensive I thought to myself, that this his must be good
or even better than what is being promoted, so I took the risk and gave it a try.
As
engineer who loves gadgets, let me tell you!
Right out of the box I was very disappointed.
The size is bigger than a matchbox and would not fit in any wallet like it was promoted. After
playing with it, I realized this BS product is nonsense. The set up is a HUGE downside. The only
thing that I liked is the programing part, but I’m not going to have this bulky box on me when I can
have just one Loop and have a complete freedom with countless powerful effects.
I’m sorry
for the creator for putting so much time into something that is unnecessary! it seems that the
creator went backwards in time, took something simple and decided to make it awkward and complex.
Don’t waste your money. There are plenty of other options out there. Just do your research and try
not to fall for fishy marketing.
1 of 2 magicians found this helpful.
As an owner of the Cobra v2 and all its accessories add on module are all part of owning a
professional ITR system. Maybe Joao Miranda and Steam Fearson can team up to produce Hot Rod Mods
for Gravity?
My first impression is simply astonishment. This device is truly bleeding
edge, and yes there is a learning curve, and yes there is practice involved, and yes you will amaze.
I am a great admirer of Steve Fearson and the Cobra v2 in my mind is the hands down best
high end ITR that was sold. I know opinions my differ, but I love the thing. In fact I love just
about everything Steve has contributed to IT work.
Even if I had two Cobra v2 and all the
accessories side by side, I could not emulate the programmability of Gravity, and even if I have
overlooked something and can, most certainly not the ease of implementation once the rig is
determined, add the toe switch plug-in and you add hands free operation to the performance.
This is bleeding edge and as you will find in Joao's orientation videos he's really thinks
things through, but that does not mean there isn't a better way... This is all so new and with time
magicians will find better ways... e.g. The use of stickers to secure the IT to the reel is not
necessarily the final solution. Its just the one way of doing it.
In addition there are
secret channels of information being shared between owners, and new ideas being added to the
orientation page. The paint is still wet and I don't believe it will be dry anytime soon.
Speaking as a Cobra v2 owner, Gravity is simply amazing. Its owners will all be captivated and
reeling with endless possibilities
1 of 2 magicians found this helpful.
I love this ITR! So why only 3 stars? With all the time and effort put into R&D, and the justifiably
high price tag, why would you pull back when making the instructional video? This is not a download,
but a locked page that can also be seen on Youtube. You have Mr. Miranda, who, with all due respect,
sounds like Borat, in the first 14 videos, and an English chap for the other 27. Each video is only
about two or three min. so jumping back and forth is tedious. I would have preferred a simple
booklet with circles and arrows rather than shaky camera shots. Of course I know this is necessary
for the trick demos, but a clearer and consistent video is what is required. I will only be using
this for one or two tricks. But the difference between your hand moving or not is huge!
If I could give 10 stars I would.
This is the ultimate ITR.
The programable feature is
insane. There's so many ideas running through my head on how many applications I can apply this
device to. I know yours will too