talkmagic.co.uk

hello everybody,
I came up with a new idea for an effect last night but it will need an imp pad to work in the way i would like. Does anyone have any advice on which one to go for? I've actually been looking at pads for a while now but this idea has geed me up a bit, from the reviews on here it seems that people speak very highly of psypher, the ParaPad and the butterfly pad but i've struggled to find any for sale from a UK distributor (I'd like to save the hassle of international postage). This is definately a close up effect so I'm thinking notepad rather than clipboard.

secondly, how many 'goes' do you get with the pads mentioned? As i have never owned one before I'm not quite sure what the secret is, I'm assuming the tech has advanced from c****n p***r, which would obviously limit the number of repeats possible.

many thanks in advance

I always use Jon Riggs devices but Jon only sells direct and not through dealers. I know the parapad has a great reputation and you can buy it in the UK from Headhacking. For close-up work i use the Riggs Skeeter (lovely!) and that uses post it notes or index cards, for stage i use the Riggs Brown Hornet. Imp pads need refills, boards do not (depending on which one you buy).

Yea, what he said

You can't fail with Rigg's products, they are simple the best all the way around and most important, they tend to be the most deceptive style imp device on the market.

thanks guys, buying from the UK looks like a right pain in the hole. Have just been looking at Rigg's stuff on his crass commercialism sute and even with the international postage, it is way cheaper than the parapad on headhacking. So you prefer a board, stephen? to my mind that seems a lot more suspicious in a close-up environment, i would be interested to hear your thoughts

finally, when you say imp pads need refills, do you mean 'something special' or just refill paper like you could get at a stationary store?

the skeeter fits in the hand and looks like a little board to put post it notes on. It really looks like something you have purchased in staples and not like a magic prop.

Eddie Burke's got a very nice, simple board. It's nothing fancy but it works really nicely in most situations, might be worth a look at.

http://www.mreenterprises.co.uk/viewproduct.php?id=243

TommyPad. Cheap, easy and available in the UK. I use one all the time, despite my initial misgivings.

thanks for the advice guys and gals, i was hoping that this would help, it hasn't, this hasn't narrowed down the options at all, if anything its got worse! *brain assplode* skeeter, tommy, butterfly, skeeter, tommy, butterfly aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarghh

on a serious note, thanks a lot! As far as i can tell any of these will suit me just fine in reality, just gotta take the plunge on one of them

Many of us have more than one Imp. I have several Riggs but also use a wallet or just a good solid billet technique.

I must admit, I do use a billet and a peek far more often then I'd use a pad or board

i initially thought of using billets actually but moved away from it for a couple of reasons. 1) I do a bit of cardwork and this routine will involve cards, so i dont want to have to touch the billet at all because i think it will arouse too much suspicion. I quite often go for a c****r t**r in other situations, but i think the heat will be on for this one a little too much. 2) I want all of the specs to know the info so they all know i've got it right at the final reveal plus i think a pad allows the spec to write a little bigger and show everyone else more easily.

oh and i tend to leave switching for getting one ahead, i dont really like to use it if there is only one billet in use. Maybe I'm holding myself back a bit with that one.

Hola. It has been such a while since posting it almost feels unnatural to be typing... I love The Skeeter, and whilst it looks great, to sell the logic of why you would have a 3M post-it-note pad, I feel having a small thin number of post-it-notes justifies why you would have to use this pad to lean on. The peek is great, but it does feel risky in full glare of a spectator. I cursed myself for not ordering Gods With Feet Of Clay Volume One to save on US shipping, but is the teaching on peeks worth getting? With the release of The Ghost, is it worth retiring this or would getting the DVD iron out any of The Skeeter's performance wrinkles?

For stage work, I like Para Labs' Para Pad for the simple reason that the spectators write in marker pen, so their original sheet is clearly legible at a distance. That's not a big deal if you're merely making your revelation and having the spectator confirm right or wrong, but I have some routines where their scribblings and doodlings needs to be on display. The handling of the ParaPad is nice too - my only grumble is that the accessories that come with need replacing or rebuilding far too frequently for my liking.

I use the Para Pad, I have not had any problems with it.