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I used to use the raven ALL the time. I still would if it wasnt noisy, thats the ONLY reason i havent used it all this time. is it possible to re- cover it with new material ?

Get a tiny piece of foam and stick it over it should muffle the sound or wrap it in a bit of tissue paper

It is very possible to redo the coverings of the raven. They sell felt at walmart, obviously you don't need that much so it won't be costly. If you don't have a walmart, a crafts store or anywhere that sells fabric will suit your needs. Another thing you can try to do is hold the raven closer or even use the "clap" method, this cuts down and/or gives a reason for the noise. You can also stomp on the spectators foot when the "click" happens then they don't even think about what they might have heard j/k.

There is a pretty easy short sleeve method you can use, I think I missed a button on my shirt, anyways all you need is an undershirt and a saftey pin<wink>. Hope that doesn't give too much away. I use my raven quite often still, although it is kind of a hassle to always have on. See I have the reel so I don't always have it "set up", I just wear it on my belt loop and if I get into a situation were I think I will show my talent, I duck into the shadows and set it up. Now the only bad thing about having it on your belt loop is, well, it gets "caught" on stuff alot. Think about seeing that second hand and how funny it would look.

I don't really have much else to say other that I do still use mine, of course, its not an everyday occurance.

to stop the noise that the raven will produce after awhile just buy the felt tips with the sticky backs you can get them any where there used more so for furniture so that it doesnt scrach the floors but they work fine on the raven, or just buy sticky felt and replace whats there

I think I've fallen into the same trap. I normally shy away from any kind of gimmick but I like the cleaness of the raven. However after recievinbg mine and playing around with it I thought I'd check out this topic. My instructions are only for shirts (the buttons etc) I have no info on short sleeves, or genral using sleeves to place the gimmick. If anyone could help me could I pm them??
Thank you

Dude. I think the Raven is absaloutly terrible it sucks so much I haven't used it in years. The set up is really long and hard and the fishline loop is really hard to tie! I personaly think that the M5 (can be bought at ellusionist.com) is a much better choice. It's basicly the same thing/concept as the Raven but alot easier to use.

I dont think the raven is a terrible gimmick it does what it says on the box it vanishes cleanly like it says. Yes it is a long setup and there are better ones on the market and i havent used mine for a while either as i prefer using sleight of hand but overall it is a good peice of equipment and does what it says it can do.

Set up shouldn't be a problem as you shouldn't be performing the same vanish to the same audience straight away. I actually feel that in terms of vanishes, the M5 has more limitations, for example, having to be careful that you don't show the "vanished" coin! At least with a Raven, once you've vanished, it's truly gone, they're not going to find it. Also the Raven is in your hand, rather than the dubious process of waving your sleeve over the coin... for all these reasons and more, I tend to use my M5 equivalent for PK stuff far more than vanishing, and keep my Raven with me most places

Two points :

The Raven - the effect is amazing, when I saw Blaine do it I was knocked out. When I got the trick I was a bit disappointed, but rigged it up and did the trick 1 time with good response. I use my left hand to block the view of the raven doing it's thing.

I would also talk as the Raven works as it IS NOISY. I also found it could catch if doing the no sleeve method. The invisible bit isn't that invisible either.

Subterfuge - any reviews of this? Sounds better....

I too have fallen fowl of the lust for quick and easy gimmicks and like most of you before have a raven gathering dust in my bottom drawer.
Thanks to some posts by the more experienced members of TM I am now resolved to learn the very basic traditional ungimmicked moves.
As a result I have learnt ropes the ninja rings, have a simple coin manipulation dvd, a simmilar sponge ball one and am the proud owner of royal road. It seems strange but the more of this ungimmicked magic I master the more powerful my magic in general becomes, perhaps because I must hone my performance rather that relying on anothers ability to produce a quality gimmick. I feel it tends to concentrate the mind somewhat.
Gimmicks are also expensive and the magic very specific and quick. You can make stuff appear and dissapear with a raven, but you can also do it with your bare hands. And you can do this at any time without set up, with any small item etc.
In conclusion I feel that until I have mastered these few simple moves, (and I mean master) that I personaly cannot call myself a true magician.
I tried to walk before I could run and I am now back off to kinder garden for a few months to learn the very basics of our craft.

Of course I'll have to resist CUPS perhaps by buying lots of chocholate

Yoshi, please delete the exposure in your post, its not allowed on this forum.
=)

You were also asking for a review of Subterfuge, here you go!

http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic10902.php

Ta, I've edited my post and checked out the review.