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I finally bought this and surprised I'm the only one not completely satisfied with it. I expected it to be made of a stronger (more reliable?) metal instead of the 'flimsy' kind it is made of? That isn't to say it won't last, it's just not as heavy duty as I would have expected. Secondly is the size; I expected it to be a bit smaller. I dunno what kind of pants you guys wear to perform this, but I find it awkward to get the gadget 'maneuvered' properly without drawing too much attention to where they shouldn't be looking.

Lord Freddie wrote:Can anyone tell me how this compares to Pyro Perception?
Are they pretty much the same or is one superior to the other?

I'm not sure how many times one would want to repeat this effect in a single performance. If you keep it to 4, then Pyro Perception is quite versatile enough. If the need to F---- a card is prohibitive, then I'd suggest working on your f---ing technique (no pun or profanity intended); the advantage of Pyro is that you reveal the card without its ever being told to you. That's strong. Pyro is less expensive and less unwieldy. The possibility of avoiding a F----, or having more than 4 cards you can use (and you can actually use 16 with a P.P.; it's just slightly more awkward) were not perceived as advantages to P.P.'s creator, Brent Walske; he considered and rejected the 3DB model prior to releasing P.P.. I agree with him.

I'm actually going to be purchasing this tonight, and here are my thoughts on why I am purchasing this rather then pp. I hope it helps others who are still deciding between the two.

One thing that people may like about the pp over the 3db is that it's smaller, but the problem with that (and yes I said problem) is that you are now required to use a force. What's great about 3db is that it is extremely clear that they have picked a random card. You didn't ask them to pick a card. You didn't spew a bunch of stuff to them to get them to pick something. You simply asked them to think of ANY card. That's all. Everything was done in their head. When you force a card on someone doing a regular card trick you ask them to pick a card and in some way force a card of your choosing. This is something physical that they have no control over. When they pick something in their head there is no way you could have done anything. They thought of it completely on their own without you saying anything and that was that. Now 3db may be bigger, but who the hell cares when you can produce results like that. I'm a firm believer in short and simple (clearly with exception to my response to this thread). They pick a card, they picture it in the flame, and you pluck it from the flame and are left with that hella cool blister.

Abaddon wrote:I'm actually going to be purchasing this tonight, and here are my thoughts on why I am purchasing this rather then pp. I hope it helps others who are still deciding between the two.

One thing that people may like about the pp over the 3db is that it's smaller, but the problem with that (and yes I said problem) is that you are now required to use a force. What's great about 3db is that it is extremely clear that they have picked a random card. You didn't ask them to pick a card. You didn't spew a bunch of stuff to them to get them to pick something. You simply asked them to think of ANY card. That's all. Everything was done in their head. When you force a card on someone doing a regular card trick you ask them to pick a card and in some way force a card of your choosing. This is something physical that they have no control over. When they pick something in their head there is no way you could have done anything. They thought of it completely on their own without you saying anything and that was that. Now 3db may be bigger, but who the hell cares when you can produce results like that. I'm a firm believer in short and simple (clearly with exception to my response to this thread). They pick a card, they picture it in the flame, and you pluck it from the flame and are left with that hella cool blister.

Without disagreeing with what you've said here, I think it's incomplete. There is also a strong advantage to using a force - you never need to ask the spectator what the card is prior to the revelation. You reveal to the spectator the card that was never named by them.

This can be overcome, either by, for instance, using marked cards or a stack, and I would suggest that anyone who prefers not using a force use one of these methods, or another, to retain the ability to do the revelation without having to ask for the identity of the card. Having to ask for the card prior to revealing it is a weakness.

Finally, I would strongly suggest that anyone dissuaded from an effect in which a force is necessitated should REALLY spend some time working on the classic force. When a classic force is performed correctly, there is no inkling in the spectator's mind that anything other than a free choice was involved, and attributing some suspicion to that selection process reflects a misunderstanding or an unfamiliarity with the classic force, which is a tool that should be in every card worker's toolbox, particularly as it's one of the easiest things in the world to learn -- simply use it every single time you have a card selected, particularly in effects where it doesn't matter whether you succeed or fail. If you're not 100% comfortable with the classic force, there is no good reason not to practice it when having, for instance, a truly random card selected for an ambitious routine.

For anyone interested, I have this for sale complete with instructions+DVD for £20.

I just received it in the mail.

Friggin amazing. It's very well made. I'm definitely going to be looking at more stuff from Jason in the future when I'm looking for a new effect. It's not even remotely big. If you're wearing tights then it may be a problem, but for jeans or slacks this shouldn't be a problem. I'm a street magician myself so there's also the sweatshirt pouch or the jacket if you need additional space.

For those of you tights wearing people out there, I didn't mean to offend. I quite enjoy them myself, but normally they do not make their way into my performances. Those are strictly for my war against crime.