I am a little in shock. For as much as i paid for this i should have just gotten tarantula . The
effect is good but seriously i could have made this gimmick myself for 1/10th the price . This is
the first toke ive regretted a purchase from penguin.
If you wanted a tarantula, you should have bought a tarantula. You're complaining about the gimmick without saying if it does what it says it does. If it does what it says it does, than what's the beef?
Tarantula and Hidden Hand are not even similar. And since it sounds like you don't want to put in the practice to learn to use this effect, Tarantula wouldn't have been any more useful to you as it takes loads of practice to use effectively. You'd just have a fancy paperweight. The Raven is a crazy simple gimmick, and yet a classic. If the effect is good, that's what you're
paying for. Had you been clever enough to create this gimmick on your own, then you'd have a legit complaint, but you didn't.
This trick does what it says on the tin and it looks fantastic.also I bet if you got a DVD which was totally incorrect you would more disappointed .
first off i found out my gimmick came broken. Secondly without revealing the gimmick without a certain part which was very small and not attached like it should its pretty much something very similar that is much cheaper. Sorry this did not impress me, nor did i think it was worth it. Defend it all you want i obviously don't know who any of you are but i was so excited about getting this I shipped it over night. Big let down. To anyone who reads this these people can attack me for my review but after watching the video i stand by this. So try to get people to buy it if yo want but even Sean grins and pauses while we the consumer gets our frustration out in what thee gimmick is. He even addresses it. Say what you want im the consumer and im unhappy and my gimmick even came broke, and if 100% of the people knew this gimmick at LEAST 70% would avoid it IMO.
oh and it looks fantastic don't get me wrong. With one slight fault i noticed in practice. But looks can be deceiving. and if this were 19.99 , while i think that's overpriced but paying him for his idea is worth something. For 19.95 id have been alot more happy (if thee gimmick hadn't arrived busted.)
Well, I havent bought it yet. I see the trailer and it looks so good and I believe I can add something like this to my repertoire. But my experience tells me to wait to more reviews. I have bought a lot of stuff over the years that I think I can use, but as madpoet says, you get dissapointed and you wish you dindt spent your money on it and I am a working magician, I have spent houndreds and houndreds of hours of practice over the years. The trailers are to sell the product, but the best way to know if its good or not is to listen to other magicians. I only buy stuff where the rating is high. If you are a beginner in magic, go ahead, buy a lot of stuff and learn what you like.
But I will just wait until more reviews.
Anything with Eric Jones in it has lately been complete garbage so i dont doubt the reviewer. Im staying away from this until it is in the coolbox at a discount AND with a gift certificate. If its next month or next year or in three years i'll wait.
Thanks for the review
I think everyone is missing another point. Every trick we get no matter what it may be is easy to make or with a little more work. You are not buying the prop we all know we are really buying the secret and the work X-Magician put into his or her's work on it. Penguin also offers return on items you don't like it return it. But like to many of today's magician they all want something that requires little to no practice time they want to be Slydini with out the hassle of working for it. Been in magic for over 40+ years the best tricks are the ones you work with and it don't matter crap or not you can make it all yours and put a twist on something not even the creator thought of.
I have no vested interest at all in the product. I just want a review that covers all the bases to make an informed decision on purchasing. Most people would have been disappointed with ordering a TT when it first came out, but it's an invaluable tool. On Magic Cafe, real magicians are mostly very pleased with it thus far. It seems a lot of reviewers on Penguin are hobbyists (like me), so I'd like reviews that are helpful if it does what it promises, not if it doesn't stand up to your Baggie rage.
There is no reason to criticize someones opinion in here, since it's just that - an opinion! An opinion can't be wrong if that is how someone feels. But I also agree that you have to weigh the rational into the comments before jumping to conclusions. Commenting that something seems over-priced implies that the value may be lacking. But if based that comment on having received a faulty product, then you only have yourself to blame for not bringing it to Penguin's attention immediately. Things happen. Penguin is excellent at rushing replacements out when necessary. Their customer service is second to none. And I see no reason to ever pay to overnight anything on this site since Penguin always manages to get my purchases out the door the same day and I usually have the product within 2-3 days max in the U.S. On a separate note, I don't think gift codes are ever combined with discounts - it's typically one or the other. So the person with that comment may be waiting a long time! I can't unfortunately comment on this effect since I don't own it. Sorry. I rarely buy an effect I can do using pure sleight of hand. Perhaps this alone speaks to the point many made that many of the best effects require practice. Another person bashed Eric Jones unfairly. This isn't even his product! Eric is amazing.
- Gary
The problem seems to be that many people think gimmick means no practice. As was mentioned earlier a tarantula takes loads of practice to use effectively. I don't have this so I can't say. But I'm a strong believer in the idea that anything can be adapted or repurposed. I've yet to be unable to do this. Just work with it for a while ok?
very curious how i would be attacked for what I feel was a fair review. How many people are friends , have a vested interest etc. To the prior commenter i have 0 problem practicing an effect Also if i could speak to the gimmick I would point out another way you could get found out. you don't see it on the advertised video but the video that comes with it its pretty clear. im sorry i cant explain or it would give the gimmick away. Im returning it to penguin for a refund tomorrow. even if it wasn't broke its not worth it. And to another commenter yeah i didn't come up with it genius, i also dont have the resources and tons of other famous magicians to combine minds with and don't have the repertoire of tricks to build off of. Thats all i have to say. Awful funny how viciously and quickly my OPINION was attacked. and said I should have bought tarantula. Ive seen both gimmicks and methods and one by FAAAAAR is way more worth it, IN MY OPINION
I got mine not even going to open it going to send back to penguin very sad :-(
It's a bit disarming when the first thing on the DVD is the magician apologizing for what amounts to misleading advertising regarding threadwork. That being said, it is a clever idea but I find it most useful as an opener as getting into starting position can be awkward if done in mid-set. Also, I find it a bit pricey for the materials provided. You are paying for inventive ideas on a well-produced DVD and some high end packaging.
Hmm I have bought this trick and slightly alarmed about the bad comments not about it being rubbish bout about it being broken doesn't sound promising
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i paid how much for this?
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