Confuse about ClipBoards

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Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » September 28th, 2004, 3:00 pm

Hi, I`m confuse about the differents Clipboards on market,

-Clairvoyant Clipboard
-Mikame mental Board
-Nelson Ultra Perfect Clipboard
-Bavli Perfect Clipboard
-Real Time Clipboard
-and Andy Nyman Profolio

all of them seems similar but, they exist a big rate difference between.

Can somebody help me,to explain whats the difference, and also, recomend me the better?
Thanks for you help
Flint

M. Sibbernsen
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Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby M. Sibbernsen » September 28th, 2004, 3:23 pm

Originally posted by FLINT:
Hi, I`m confuse about the differents Clipboards on market,
Although the generally accepted "best" clipboards are not even on your list, before a recommendation is made, can you provide some information on the type of routine you plan to use one in?

MS

David Alexander
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Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby David Alexander » September 28th, 2004, 11:43 pm

On his last visit, Richard Webster gave me a lovely gift of a Baby Brown Hornet made by John Riggs. I instantly recognized this as the sort of thing I'd been kicking around in my head, but hadn't fully realized. Here it was in my hand.

I called Riggs the next day and ordered a full-sized Brown Hornet.

Mind you, this was with the fact that I had several old clipboards by Nelson and Lee Earle in my closet. The Brown Hornet solved a problem of nearly instant access and quick reset. They are cheap at $80. I'll be buying a few more, just to lay in a life time supply.

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » October 2nd, 2004, 10:02 pm

Michael Sibbernsen wrote:

"Although the generally accepted "best" clipboards are not even on your list . . . "

Can you please list which clipboards you yourself feel are generally accepted as "the best"?
Any additional comments you could add would also be much appreciated.

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Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby M. Sibbernsen » October 4th, 2004, 7:24 am

Can you please list which clipboards you yourself feel are generally accepted as "the best"?
The Brown Hornet (and it off-shoots) by John Riggs. Wonderful boards. Depending on your needs, John's new Cicada is worthy serious consideration.

MS

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » October 4th, 2004, 8:01 am

How good is Fabrice Delaures Psychic Clipboard?
A very prizey product from fabricedelaure.com

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » March 8th, 2006, 6:54 am

Hi there,

I agree that my Brown Hornet and Cicada are the best clipboards available today. Not bragging -- it was my goal to create something a professional would actually use.

I recently released the BUTTERFLY, which works on the same principle I invented for the Brown Hornet. it's an ordinary Mead notepad that takes a great impression in real time, and since it's retroengineered from a real notepad, it looks real, and can be easily replaced.

If you want to see my products, go to John R Mentalist products I'm going to phase out the production end of my activities as my performance activities are really demanding.

Thanks everyone, for the kind words about my creations. I really appreciate it and am moved by your kindness.

[Edited for link error only]

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Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby David Alexander » March 8th, 2006, 12:38 pm

Happy to agree with John. I use the Baby Hornet in every show I do since Webster gave it to me a couple of years ago. Simple and reliable, the hallmarks of a good product....and virtually nothing to go wrong.

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » March 8th, 2006, 2:03 pm

I got a BUTTERFLY from JR this past Xmas and it's killer! One of the best imp systems I've ever used adn it is almost always in my pocket (and I don't carry gimmicks as a rule). I've let magicians handle the thing and they are totally baffled in the fact that it's a gaffed item.

I've also become fond of (I think this is the right term) the FIELDS technique (mentioned in Mind, Myth & Magic) in that it is ultra clean and never suspected... it's not even a clip board, which makes me very happy.

The only other "practical" unit I own and have used extensively is Kerry Sommer's NOTEBOOK but it has it's drawbacks as does Cassidy's "Pocket Medium" idea.

I've taken to collecting these things along side the many "impromptu" methods one can apply in life for stealing a glimpse. I don't use this kind of item often but when I do I like it to be above suspicion. To date, I've not found much that beats the products produced by Mr. Riggs.

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Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby mrgoat » March 9th, 2006, 12:18 am

Originally posted by Kjellstrom:
How good is Fabrice Delaures Psychic Clipboard?
A very prizey product from fabricedelaure.com
It's excellent.

It works exactly as advertised. It's like magic seeing the words appear on the screen!

David Alexander
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Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby David Alexander » March 9th, 2006, 3:27 pm

Electronic items are never to be fully trusted. They do not warn you when they are about to fail. They simply fail. You find out they've failed in the middle of your act. (I'm not casting aspersions at the device just recommended, just electronic toys in general.)

If you are a working pro, then mechanical is always better than electronic because there's less to go wrong.

Low tech - imp boards, etc - are always preferable because if your act depends on them, then you must have 100% confidence in your props. No electronic device is reliable 100% of the time.

I'm sure there are people who use such devices "all the time," but my point still stands: they just haven't failed yet.

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » March 16th, 2006, 1:15 am

No disrespect intended, David, but that reminds me of the statement that someone made years back that if you smoked one cigarette, you would die of lung cancer, if something else didn't get you first.

I work with numerous electronic devices and never have any prob

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » March 16th, 2006, 10:20 am

Bill, no disrespect taken, just re-read my last sentence in the post above.

As I understand it, even the master of electronics, Del Ray, used to tell his bookers that the next act had to be ready because if his table did not follow him out, he had no act and the next act had to be ready to go.

I don't believe if happened that often, but it did happen, despite his attention to detail.

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » March 16th, 2006, 8:02 pm

I've never used an impression board, but can't they fail? What if the spectator doesn't press down firmly enough?

Mechanical adding machines fail less often than computers, but if you crunch the numbers I believe you will find that this is primarily because the computer is doing many orders of magnitude more calculations. If I remember correctly, Mean Error Rates for computers doing simple math are in the order of trillions of operations. What mechanical adding machine could do that many before failing?

That said, I'm surprised that a respected magician like Del Ray wouldn't have some backup plan. Who would hire you if part of your agreement was "by the way, there's a possibility that I won't be able to perform, and you won't know until I actually walk out on stage, so you need to be ready to deal with that?"

Sorry if this sounds like I'm attacking Del Ray, who I only saw once when I was 13. How do people who knew him feel about this?

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » March 16th, 2006, 11:57 pm

Pete,
Of course, we're not asking a simple mechanical device to perform "trillions of operations."

A clip board is good for a few uses and then the carbon must/should be changed. That's only prudent.

If you check the freshness of your carbon (or use one of Riggs' marvelous boards that don't use carbon) and give the proper instructions to the spectators, you won't have a problem. I've done hundreds of shows with both kinds of imp boards. If one person did not press hard enough, there were plenty of others who did.

When I do a one-off, when the impression has to be certain, I make certain, in the instructions, that the spectator has a rational purpose in putting down their info firmly.

As for electronics, ask anyone who has had a hard disk fail. Sometimes they give notice there's a problem and sometimes then just stop working.

When a simple device like an imp board fails - which is extremely rare - the repair is usually simple and quick...and back-ups are cheap. When an electronic device fails, repair is often time-consuming and expensive...as are back-ups.

Blackstone, Sr gave me wonderful advice when I was a kid: Keep it simple because with simple, there's less to go wrong. Good advice then. Good advice now.

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » March 17th, 2006, 8:58 am

Originally posted by David Alexander:
As for electronics, ask anyone who has had a hard disk fail. Sometimes they give notice there's a problem and sometimes then just stop working.
That's a good point in the imp board's favor. I remember reading an article about dog leashes, of all things, which favored nylon over metal chain, not because the nylon lasts longer, but because you can see it fray long before it fails, whereas metal chain looks great right up until it gives way.

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » March 17th, 2006, 9:41 am

Good point, Pete. An imp board can be visually examined and easily repaired using simple tools. There is nothing esoteric about an imp board, even the "one-use" kind that are used once and tossed.

On the other hand, such an examination is worthless on an electronic device unless the trauma is egregious. An imperceptable crack in the circuit board, a solder joint or other tiny component gone bad, and, for no apparent reason, the device fails....back in working order just as soon as the manufacturer repairs it...as long as the the manufacturer is in business.

I have imp boards that are 35 years old and work perfectly. Then there are the folks who have, by example, non-working Anverdi Rising Cards who can't find anyone to repair the ancient electronics. They make expensive paperweights.

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » March 17th, 2006, 9:50 am

This argument about reliability and certainty goes all the way back to using gaffed coins or sleight of hand for some tricks. You learn quickly when you see a locking dollar thirty five coin "explode" when it hits a hard tile floor or rattle funny when it's dropped to a tabletop. Similarly for pulls when the elastic breaks between shows and you find that something dangling from your sleeve has become something dangling from your hand.

This from someone who works in quality assurance (not QC, QA) on electronic and mechanical equipment for aircraft.

Does anyone have a systems check procedure for their electronic marvels?

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » March 17th, 2006, 10:21 am

Originally posted by David Alexander:
Del Ray, used to tell his bookers that the next act had to be ready because if his table did not follow him out, he had no act and the next act had to be ready to go.
I don't believe if happened that often, but it did happen, despite his attention to detail.
Del Ray hated waiting in the wings while some kid on stage decided to lengthen his act by doing just one more card flourish. He had a way to reset his electronics if necessary, and he never pushed the "start" button until it was actually time to go on. After all, he was a professional and his attention to detail gave him enough "outs" to compensate for any failure except a total blackout in the middle of his act.

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » April 21st, 2006, 1:42 pm

Let me start out by saying that I virtually *never* recommend any magic products...

That being said, I heartily recommend John Riggs' "The Beautiful Butterfly" (http://www.jonsaintgermain.com/books.htm--although I'd prefer to keep it to myself).

I purchased it recently on the recommendation of my friend David Alexander and it fulfills my needs 100%.

The Beautiful Butterfly is an Imp Device built into a Mead 3" x 5" spiral pocket notebook. The gimmick is magnetically locking, and virtually invisible. You can hand the notebook to the spectator with confidence that they will not "stumble" onto anything. They write or draw the information, tear the sheet out and hand the book back to you... The impression surface is huge, virtually the same size of the notebook pages and easily cleared (can actually be done in front of the spectator if desired). The actual impression can be picked up through two or three sheets, the peek accomplished easily and openly in a natural action. The one I received has a black cover which is naturally mimicked by the magnetic material when obtaining the peek.

I used it in walk-around last night and found it to be a very effective method of obtaining information... I even had one skeptical spectator examine it closely before returning it to see if any impression was left behind that might be used to discern what they wrote down. The Beautiful Butterfly passed with flying colors.

Handmade and extremely cheap at the price, The Beautiful Butterfly is one of those rare magical accessories that exceeds your expectations...

Highest recommendation.

I also purchased "The Cicada" and "The Grey Mosquito" and have to say that if these are representative of John's other work (and I'm sure they are), he does beautiful work that is meant to be abused by real-world working conditions... Very impressed!

Oh, thanks to David for pointing me this way (and damn him for letting you all know)!

Andrew J. Pinard

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » May 17th, 2006, 11:10 am

Having played around with clipboards for many years I found one recently that looks innocent, can be reset in front of an audience and refills are obtainable from the local stationery store.
It is called First Impressions by Scott Creasey and consists of a small spiral notebook 4 and a half by 3 inches. Scott is going to produce a larger version but this is so innocent and can be read under the audience's noses.You get the feked one, an unfeked one and a set of refills for 32 or 25 at his lecture. You'll have to translate into dollars.There is also a 6 page booklet with colour pics. e mail Scott at magic@scottcreasey.co.uk
Web site is www.scottcreasey.co.uk
On the subject of CARBON PAPER Roy Johnson told me to use PENCIL carbon paper. It is thicker and takes lighter pressing by the pen.
Allen Tipton UK

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » May 19th, 2006, 5:21 am

You may want to check out my "Stealth Note," a mechanical impression device you can create in seconds. (Looks very innocent and natural.)

Couple this prop with my "Jewel Case Thought Thief," and you have a blended approach using mechanical and electronic means to read minds.

Both items are included in the April issue of "Soapbox Derby." (Issue #3)

Please note that the April issue will soon be "retired" and will no longer be available come June. (Visit Soapbox Derby at Feenx.net )

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » May 19th, 2006, 6:19 pm

Originally posted by Andrew J. Pinard:
Let me start out by saying that I virtually *never* recommend any magic products...

That being said, I heartily recommend John Riggs' "The Beautiful Butterfly" (http://www.jonsaintgermain.com/books.htm--although I'd prefer to keep it to myself).
...

Andrew J. Pinard
Hey, thanks Andrew! I'm delighted that you like the stuff. I appreciate te good words.

Thanks again.

John R

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » May 20th, 2006, 12:01 am

I used the Butterfly last evening in a private show for one of the current Nobel laureates in medicine. It worked perfectly. Barry, the prize winner, assisted in the Bill in Lemon and has a great sense of humor.

The Butterfly has been used a dozen times since I received it from John a short while ago. The extra-large impression area is much appreciated as is the quality of construction. I don't understand how John can charge so little.

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Steve Bryant
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Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Steve Bryant » May 20th, 2006, 5:52 am

David, impressive audience!

All note that these wonderful secret devices are going to be far less secret thanks to David Regal's glowing review in the current/Vernon issue of Genii.

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » May 20th, 2006, 11:03 am

Thanks, Steve.

I'm not concerned about an increased popularity in John's products. They aren't tricks but utility devices. Mentalism demands a certain amount of nerve or "address" as Charlie Miller often observed, so the use of the devices will be far smaller than the number of sales.

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » May 25th, 2006, 4:03 am

Yes, true David. So far I've only received a couple of inquiries as a result of the Genii article (which I haven't even seen yet -- :D ). I think most of the people who are interested in such things already know about them. Probably be a 28-day wonder, until the next series of reviews. Magicians are funny critters.

Thanks to David Regal for the apparently positive article! I'll see if I can get a peek at it.

John R

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » May 26th, 2006, 7:18 am

Let. me throw in my twenty five cents on impression devices and reliability
First, and believe me this is true. If it can go wrong, it will go wrong. At the worst possible time SO, decide what you'll do when it does. This IMO, is much more important in mentalism

No impression devices. The best depends on the venue
I concur that the Hornet and Riggs' other bugs are great. At least the one's I've tried. They are IMO the best in real time. For preshow I still prefer the Ultra Perfect .
I think it's important to vary devices and methods. When I was working strolling. I'd do the same type effect but with different methods at different tables. If I used an impression at one table, I'd use a peek or switch at anpther. So that the inevitable people who followed me from table to table never got a clue
from
Ford

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » May 27th, 2006, 5:22 pm

Hi Ford

Excuse me, but I dont understand something.

what means IMO? I`m spanish and don`t know this word

Thanks

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Richard Kaufman » May 27th, 2006, 5:53 pm

IMO is an acronym for "In My Opinion."
Subscribe today to Genii Magazine

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Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Bob Farmer » May 28th, 2006, 3:43 am

So you say, but who are you to say that's what it means.

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » May 28th, 2006, 2:09 pm

Originally posted by FLINT:
Hi Ford

Excuse me, but I dont understand something.

what means IMO? I`m spanish and don`t know this word

Thanks
Certainly, IMO is email shorthand for "In my opinion"
from
Ford

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Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Richard Kaufman » May 28th, 2006, 6:58 pm

Ford, Thanks for repeating my post. To what purpose?
Subscribe today to Genii Magazine

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Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » May 28th, 2006, 7:19 pm

I thought IMO was a brand of sour cream....
Steve V

Guest

Re: Confuse about ClipBoards

Postby Guest » May 29th, 2006, 10:25 am

Originally posted by Richard Kaufman:
Ford, Thanks for repeating my post. To what purpose?
From Ford
Because he asked me!


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