talkmagic.co.uk

Just received a set of Demon Rattle Bars from Owen Magic, a company I'd always considered to be up there in the Inner Circle of the Great Magical Pantheon. I was a little surprised that they poured four of them into an envelope, spent $2.70 with USPS on shipping them and docked my credit card for $15 for postage and handling, but the real mystery is: how do they work? There were no instructions: just two bars that rattled, two that don't. That's it. I'm still waiting for a response from them, but while I wait, drumming my heels and shaking the two chattier bars, can anyone out there help? They weren't cheap, and I'd like to get some use out of them. Thanks in advance, from a very baffled rattler ...

A great magician (Paul Daniels) once said in a lecture (Last night In cardiff). That when you first buy a effect. Dont read the instuctions!!! you have an idea what the effect does. PLay with it - make it work for you. experiment and have fun with it.

Darren @ The Magic Attic

So if a dealer advertised a particularly cunning effect with cards and asked $75 for it you’d be happy if he just sent you a pack of Bicycles and nothing else? The catalogue description would be enough? Imagine purchasing, say, Michael Ammar’s Lazy Man’s Handcuffs and receiving two rubber bands in an otherwise empty envelope? Paul Daniels had a team of advisors who helped him build routines on his TV shows, and he read copiously. He valued input. You seem to be saying that advice from a professional is worthless, and that books and the voice of experience only stand in the way of developing your own expertise. Well, that’s one approach. As it happens I have developed my own mind-blowing routine for the Viking Magic version of the same trick (with brass tubes) but at least they let me in on the secret when I bought it - they're so cleverly made that you need to know the technique, which is why spectators who examine them remain baffled. That was my starting point. And I still treasure Ken Brooke’s detailed routines that came with everything he sold. That' s what I happily paid for. Each man to his own.

Certainly there's a requirement for instructions with many things but years ago the big illusions were always supplied without any on the basis that, as mentioned above, if someone was interested enough to spend serious cash, they'd know what to do with it and would have their own routines worked out or in progress, the actual mechanics were all that were supplied.

In your case would Owen Magic be willing to either e-mail or fax the instructions to you? It's what I'd do under the same circumstances.

No instructions came with the effect? Usually you get instructions and a routine. It may be that they slipped out during shipping or while they were packing it up. Give the dealer a chance to make it right as stuff happens. But don't accept anything less then proper instructions. As far as the price of shipping. I won't even get into that as for the most part I believe shipping is a huge money grab in this day and age.

To clarify Darren's (Magic Attic's) comment in case of misinterpretation...
Paul Daniel's recommendation (one I agree with whole heartedly) is that in order to avoid cloning your act to that of everyone else who bought and is performing the same effect, and to develop your own style, personality/character and possibly new ideas, you should not read the instructions provided with an effect you have just bought/received before you have thoroughly examined and played with the actual prop(s). (was that the longest sentence ever?) Find out how it works as best you can and see if you can work out what the instructions might say, or what you would do with the item(s) yourself; you know what the idea of the effect is, otherwise you wouldn't have bought it. THEN read the instructions, and see if you were right; and see if you have the beginnings of your own take on the effect that will make it your own (in terms of performance and character). You may even have come up with something entirely different!

Clearly this is not going to be possible for everything, such as some card handling effects and the like, but is definitely a good basic idea; the theory being to become a magician in your own right, not just a perfomer of someone elses trick.

Having said all that, there is obviously an issue when there are no instructions provided at all. Now that's just plain ridiculous, and I hope you get that sorted out Taylor.

All the best,
FB

The Bars. Have you tried squeezing both ends of each bar at the same time as you rattle?

To add to 'Don't read instructions' It is a good teach 'your brain to think' idea to try and uncpver the secret first. Too many magicians are spoon fed these days and do not think for themselves.They;d sooner learn by absorbing other magicians' ideas.
BUT do EXAMINE CAREFULLY FIRST, the apparatus making sure that you don't break'damage anything on it before you do read the instructions.

The idea of not reading the instructiions first came about some years back and the thinking behind this was to prevent you simply copying the patter and routine given with the trick.

Allen Tipton

I bought a guillotine once and decided to play around with it before I read the instructions. After 10 years in prison I now read all instructions before I attempt the effect.

If you have no luck with Owen Brothers, try Davenports but write direct to John D( who knows all their history & has lectured on magic stuff they used to sell) or to Roy D. I presume that Owens call them the Demon Bars ( pricve 4 shillings i.e 20 pence) as Davenports put them out in their pre war catalogue as The Demon Rods and an imporoved version called the Demon Wonder Wands, or the New Demon Wand Rattle Bars( price 2 shillings ie 10pence) in which the rods were miniature magic wands.
Allen Tipton

Thanks to all who wrote in. Owen Magic have now apologised and are sending the instructions on (with a small refund) so they're back in favour. Agreed, the business of instruction-reading is a tricky one ... it's a long time since I first learned to drive, but I suspect in the first few weeks after passing I continued to drive the way my instructor taught me until I was comfortable enough to develop my own style. As for ditching them without reading them, well, I suppose there are those who, like ducks, can't help but blindly follow the first thing they see even if it's a rolling football, but credit, please, to those who trust their own personalities and wouldn't dream of standing before an audience pretending to be wholly someone else. For instance: I read widely before I developed my routine for the colour-changing knives: today it's entirely my own, but it wouldn't be what it is without wise advice from others. As I said in an earlier posting, to each his own. And thanks again to all - be assured I read every word!

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