As promised in ftopic45910.php" target="_blank I have returned to do a review!
The Effect
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... NjNd9wkqog" target="_blank
Your spectator is handed a single Business card and a pen. They draw any image on the card and seal it into an envelope. They keep hold of the envelope at all times. You now start to read their mind and duplicate the drawing! Points to note. They do not lean on anything while drawing & at no point do you look at the face of the card. Yet you can still duplicate the drawing with frightening accuracy!
Designed to be suitable for close up & walkabout situations as well as stage,parlour or Pre Show performances.
It has taken Paul Nardini over 2 years of research and prototyping to create the Ghost Pad & it’s truly a thing of beauty.
Each Ghost Pad is crafted to Paul Nardini’s exact specifications by Alakazam Magic & Tony Curtis resulting in one of the finest, most ingenious drawing duplication systems ever.
The Ghost Pad uses a method that is as ingenious as the effect itself!
Each Ghost Pad kit comes complete with everything you need to start performing the moment you have watched the instructional DVD, Including access to the restricted Ghost owners FaceBook group, where you can share ideas & routines with other Ghost Pad users!.
Here's What The Pro's Are Saying About The Ghost
" Some pads in mentalist, are clever, practical, and some even raise the bar, Ghost has not only done all of it, it has exceeded my expectations. The BEST pad ever made, you may think you know, but you have no clue... believe the hype, TRUST ME on this" - Andrew Gerard
The Ghost is the final answer in peek devices. It f*^#ed my brain, should be illegal - Titanas
"WOW...I am speechless!!
A VERY devilish method, absolutely clean and COMPLETELY different from any Imp. pad out there!
I was really shocked to see the method at work...Genius!" Luca Volpe
Cost a whopping £74.99
Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)
2 - very strightforward but good spectator management is required!!
Review
Having seen the promo vids on this one I was extremely excited. It looked to me to be completely unfathomable, which is how a drawing dupe should be. The method is so mind-freakingly devious that you almost want to tell your spectator how you did it after you've finished. Personally, I wasn't aware of this method but I understan it has it's origins in an effect called 'Steam' by Ali Nouria. I don't own that I effect so I can't comment on how much 'influence' there has been into this effect. It has exercised alot of people at the Cafe to be fair.
The positives - this effect is easy to do. You can rely solely on your presentation and give it large portions of mental anguish as you delve into your spectators mind. You start clean, and you end clean. Everything can be examined to a degree, but why you would be handing out a notepad for examination is anyone's guess?? The pocket real estate is minimul and you could fit this straight into your strollaround set without too much thought. It can also be used for pre-show, and I stage, with a little imagination. The DVD is good quality as you might expect, if a little brief, but I guess if you're buying this you should really have your own routines anyway.
The negatives - £75-00 is a lot of money for a pad. I know the research and development, production costs and blah blah blah I know I know but still, £75.00 for a pad? Not to mention the fact that you only get enough 'material' to do approximately 100 performances. You'll want to practice a fair but to get your patter down, so you can reduce that significantly before you take it out on the road for real. After which you will need refils.
I dont wish to tip the method but I must say (and this is important) you get some blank business cards to use. This effect will NOT work with my own business cards, so I will have to use the blank ones provided - bit of a pain. This effect MAY not work with your business cards either. There will then be two items you need to refill. I haven't seen the cost of the refills yet so I can't comment. I would hope they are extremely cheap!
This is an Imp dxxxxe. I think I can say that without falling foul of the mods?? I have had issue with the imp's being extremely weak, sometimes unfathomable. It doesn't seem to work 100% of the time. So it's best to mix the pad in with another routine simply as an out, although this is covered in the DVD.
You can do words but it's not really advisable. I wouldn't bother with numbers either. I can't really go into why!
You can only do two performances before a reset is required. You can't do a reset in the open, unless you can make yourself and The Ghost invisible!
In the DVD Pete Nardi says he uses it with the Oasis book test - (CUPS!!! I've just ordered it - damn you Nardi!! Like I need another book test!!) So I think that might work quite well. I haven't used it for real but I'm doing a restaurant gig tomorrow, where I hope to unleash it. I may mix it with some Axxxxs Nxxxs and see how that plays?
Overall
Mixed feelings at this stage. Yes, I can do a drawing dupe for free with my stealth assassin, and there are countless other ways, BUT, I've never seen a method that's just so impossible to work out. Even when I opened all the props I still had no idea until I put the DVD in and watched it.
It's obviously a worker or Pete Nardi wouldn't be using it, nevermind selling. So I'll pop back tomorrow and let you know how the road test goes.
I'm giving this a 7 out of 10. However, if the refills are expensive I'm going to come back and lower the score considerably, with a warning not to waste your money!!
K
