Inexpensive Cups & Balls Hardware?

[Guest]

I have a magic student who wants a first set of metal cups for cups & balls. The ones I have are no longer being made, and I wondered if anyone has any suggestions on the best quality for the lowest price. Obviously $200 Johnson cups are out of the question for a young man who doesn't even know if he will really be serious about the trick yet.

There are a great many more selections out there than there were 35 years ago. I am aware of Morrissey Cups, Bazar di Magia cups, wooden cups, and a wide variety of finishes in the above cups, including aluminum, copper, brass, and variouswood finishes.

If you have experience, good or bad, with inexpensive cups & balls hardware, I would like to hear about it. I have read Jim Riser's excellent web article on how quality cups & balls should be made, but his recommendations are too expensive for my purpose here.

Thanks in advance for any information you add to this discussion.

Jon :help:

[Jonathan Townsend]

I'm sorry Jon, making a recomendation based on utiltiy would involve discussing the secret of the trick and the nature of the special design of the cups involved. Currently this forum is having a vote on this issue and until the editor in chief gives an okay, I don't want to risk exposing the trick to those who don't fully understand the mechanics.

Your vote counts on this too, the ballot is in the thread about Bob Kohler's Ultimate Three Fly gimmick.

Till then, I can't even suggest reasons for using coffee cups or paper cups.

[Pete Biro]

Go to a magic shop and look at the various cups available. There are many to choose from, the aluminum ones are good to learn with and are very very cheap (probably made in India).

Morrissey cups are reasonable and many pro's even use them.

Also, try to get the video on cups and balls from www.stevensmagic.com and you will have IMHO the best overall inexpensive video lessons.

[Pete Biro]

And if you have a little time, go to ebay and search "cups balls" and you will find a great many choices too. :whack:

[cataquet]

For about 10 years, I used the Morrisey cups. As an entry level cup, they are great. As a professional cup, the most significant downside is the weight (too light). So, they would get my vote.

Bye for now

Harold

P.S. Jonathan, I didn't know about the poll. Why hasn't this been separated out as a separate thread?

[Guest]

You might check Genii The International Conjurors' Magazine Volume 45, Number 2, February 1981 page 109 for the article "Poor Mans Cups and Balls". Not metal but surely good for learning.

[Sam Kesler]

I'm not a professional, but I just bought the Bazar de Magia brass cups and balls. I paid $35 and am very happy with them. I'm also enjoying Michael Ammar's cups & balls DVD set which, by the way, includes a charming Dai Vernon clip doing his cups & balls routine on Mark Wilson's Magic Circus TV show.

[Guest]

Summary:

Thanks to all for your suggestions.

I have posted here and in several other forums. Here is what I have been told:

1. Magic Inc.'s own Aluminum Cups, $22.50
2. Magic Inc.'s Combo set, $30.00
3. Bazar di Magia Cups, in Aluminum, Copper, or Brass (around $15 - 25?)
4. Bazar di Magia Combo set, in Aluminum, Copper, or Brass (around $25 - 40?)
5. Morrissey Cups in Aluminum or Brass ($20 - $40) - I am told these don't have indentations for sitting the balls on the inverted cup (?)
6. Morrissey Combo in Aluminum or Brass ($35 - $60) -- Same indentation problem?

Some have praised Combo cups for their versatility, and others have trashed them for the difference in weight between the standard cups and the gimmicked cup.

My oldest budget set is "Magic Inc.'s own" in aluminum, and I still like them. However, they are rather light, and will dent slightly if dropped on a table edge or hit sharply with a wand. On the plus side, they will hold a tennis ball tightly enough for time misdirection, releasing the ball with a slight lean forward toward specs of the base of the cup and a little shake. They are more the traditional "ice cream cone" shape rather than the newer Fox cup shape.

If anyone would like to address any of the above sets, pro or con, or add another suggestion to the list, please jump in!

Jon

:D

[Pete Biro]

You can use paper cups, coffee cups, tea cups, beer cans, salad bowls, whatever...

What matters is the performance, the fun the audience gets and how you do the skill part to amaze and befuddle.

Dings and dents don't matter. Ever see Gazzo's cups? Look like they've been hammered by Weapons of Mass Destruction.

But Gazzo "kills" with his cups.

Us nuts that collect? That's another story.

I would say, over the course of a year or so (that's about how long you should PRACTICE before you SHOW) you might want to try out several sets.

IMHO the "combo" cup is good, but when I get going and Jazz... I forget which cup is the magnetic and would rather NOT have to worry about it.

Sleight-of-hand with the cups is good enough.

Check the Stevens Video and you will see several different ways to go.

:genii:

[Guest]

Thanks for your input, Pete. I was searching for the best inexpensive cups currently marketed for my magic student.

I have been doing C&B for many, many years, and I have used metal butter dipping cups, ceramic coffee mugs, Japanese rice bowls, single-serving Pringles cans, styrofoam cups, miniature cardboard gift boxes (hexagonal or octagonal), etc.

I am currently putting the finishing touches on a book of several original C&B routines that have plots/presentations added to them. The book includes 1 cup, 2 cup, and 3 cup routines, and unusual basic "balls" and closing loads.

Jon

[Guest]

Magic, Inc has a set of what LOOKS like silver cups that are actually plastic. The look fooled me until I touched them. They run about $10 and are worth every penny.

Lee Darrow, C.Ht.
http://www.leedarrow.com

[Jonathan Townsend]

Jon,

Thanks for the post about novel cups and stuff routines WITH PRESENTATIONs!!

I look forward to reading your ideas.

:)

jonathan

[Jim Riser]

Jon;
Geno Munari sells a set of black and chrome finished plastic cups that are nice. I'm not certain if they are made exclusively for his Houdini Magic Shops or generally available.

Geno, are you there? Can you help here?

BTW - every year I give (yes GIVE) a few nice copper cup sets to deserving but broke young performers who could use a nice set to good advantage. I accept applications from these youth in December each year.
Jim

[mark]

*Now* he posts that, after I have already told him I'm 45. Me and my big mouth :) That is a great gesture, Jim, and the kind of support that really is support. I have not given up on being able to buy a set, either, and you just gave me one more reason.

[Geno Munari]

Hi Jim

Yes we sell a real nice set of Cups that are plastic chrome plated. They work real good and are inexpensive and light weight. Thanks for thinking of them.

Geno

[Pete Biro]

OK OK, Riser... I will DONATE a set of cups (seconds but after a few shows new ones will look like the seconds)... to anyone Under 16 Years of age here on Genii... However, the stipulation is USA delivery only.

Be honest about your age and needs.

[Jim Riser]

Pete;
Did I twist your arm? In the past I have seen all of the applicants for my cups perform their routines with whatever cups they currently owned.

This year to open it up to even more deserving young magicians (this is female magicians too, of course) I'll probably ask for video tapes of their routines. This is a December activity and makes a very nice holiday gift.

Perhaps this year I'll announce the competition here on Genii Forum as well as my web site to reach even more youth.

It's a way I choose to help promote magic and "to give back". :)

Thanks for joining in, Pete!
Jim

[Dustin Stinett]

Can I use dog years?

:D

[Geno Munari]

Houdini's will also give five sets of our cups to the next five people who think they should have them.

[Pete Biro]

I only need one set Geno... Hey, nice ad on your print shop biz...

[Pete Biro]

Dustin, you dog!!! :eek:

[Scott]

I'm a leap year baby myself. So, just ship them to......


Oh well, does mental capacity count? I'm surely not over 16 in that department. Ask my wife. In fact, don't ask her, she'll tell you anyway.