talkmagic.co.uk

I just got my Raven today. Been working with it. Is it just me or is it a hassle to get everything ready to perform?
I am asking this question trying not to give away any clues as to how it is done, but do majority of the users here put it down the sleeve or the way shown in the pamphlet
Also want to ask you guys...on which occassions do you usually bring this out?

Most people don't use it.

It's a "oooh that's cool!" gimmick. Then the novelty wears off after we've impressed everyone we know.
Then it sits in the magic drawer forever and always...

EckoZero wrote:Most people don't use it.

It's a "oooh that's cool!" gimmick. Then the novelty wears off after we've impressed everyone we know.
Then it sits in the magic drawer forever and always...

Oy... How painfully true...

My 90 dollar m5 lost it's coolness a while back...

The Raven's good for what it is and if combined with a sleight of hand routine you can get some very good effects out of it but as EckoZero said, the novelty soon wears off. It's just too much hassle to have it set up all the time in my opinion.

However, I found it perfectly workable with a short sleeve t-shirt from the waist, Blaine style. That way it's much more impressive because you've ruled out the old 'it's up your sleeve' explanation. As for getting it into action on the fly it's time for lots fo practice I'm afraid.

bronz wrote:However, I found it perfectly workable with a short sleeve t-shirt from the waist, Blaine style. That way it's much more impressive because you've ruled out the old 'it's up your sleeve' explanation. As for getting it into action on the fly it's time for lots fo practice I'm afraid.

when you say with the short sleeve t-shirt do you mean cutting a hole in the t-shirt, and wearing a t-shirt of the same color?
If thats not what you meant, do you mind if I send you a PM, so you can tell me more specifically what you mean by this. I believe that if you can do it with a t-shirt it will enlighten me with a whole new perspective on this trick.

Thanks.

Agree with EckoZero. Mine just sits in.......... Hmmmmm, come to think of it, I haven't seen it for ages ................ (goes and looks around)............ nope, can't find it.

But, I used to use the sleeve method, and have it all "ready to use" as my first trick if I was going to use it.

I found the "release" tricky at first, but depending on where you have the other end attached, I found this to make all the difference.

(hope this helps, and doesn't give anything/too much away)

Andy

Mine is allways fitted inside my jacket and I use the sleeve method, I dont have any problems getting it ready!

Nothing so compex rattlestar, I'd me more than happy to divulge if you pm me. I'd like to make one important point though, I've never actually owned a Raven although I have seen and used one. The device I've got (or had, I'm also in the 'lost it somewhere' club) is called a UFO. I got it 5 years ago from a magic catalogue of which I can't remember the name and it is essentially a Raven but has a couple of slight differences. The setup's the same so I can't see why a Raven and a short sleeve t-shirt should be any problem, just thought I'd clarify that first. Pm me.

My raven came with instructions for the short sleeve set-up, If not the Raven DVD from Chuck Leach is very good if you need any help...

EckoZero wrote:Most people don't use it.

I found myself nodding in agreement with this statement, but, reading through the thread, it's dawned on me that why wouldn't working pros use it?

Of course, hobbyists would get bored with it, as there is a setup and once it's used once on your friends, family and other amateur mages you know, you can't use it again.

Are there any working pro's on the site that take their raven with them table-hopping or walkaround? If you think about it, it would be ideal.

mine hasnt been used in a loooong time, not because its a hassle (well it is, but i think its worth it, used to wear it to school everyday), but because due to use, it became noisy. Any one know how i can rectify this without buying a new one? would appreciate the help.

I just use the SMS, can be set up in literally seconds. Well, the first time of the day may take about 20 seconds, but then it can be repeated with a set up time of about .75 seconds? Although i should use it a lot more.
Heres a pic i found just wind you up.

I cant really afford to spend much more money on tricks at the moment. Has any one else had trouble with worn noisy ravens?

The raven is good at what it does but im the same as most of you brought it used it for a bout a week and havent seen it since. I brought the raven to vanish a coin without any hard work but now im more serious in magic and know a lot of coin sleights id rather use the sleights. Think about it this way buy a gimmick saves you learning things use it 20 times put it in the draw cost £20.00 plus gimmicked 10p if you buy that aswell an extra £10. Buy a dvd/book learn some sleights properley use it for the rest of your life cost £10-£15 pound. Thats why i dont buy to many more gimmicks mostly books/dvds.