I was thinking about this the other day, and thought I would get some feedback from the cafe crowd.



For many years I’ve used the nice soft white rope that is sold at magic shops. It has worked well for me, and is relatively cheap to buy. A plus if you do the cut and restored effect a lot.



Now days, rope seems to come in many bright colors, and even different thickneses.



Here’s a question to really think about.

On the one hand, using brightly colored rope really looks cool in your show (a must if you're also a clown), but do you feel it may suggest "gimmicked" to your audience?



I guess what I really mean is the fact the regular run of the mill soft rope I’ve been using, in the mind of my audience, probably came from the clothes line. But how do you explain red, yellow, blue, etc.?

Just some thoughts...



_________________

Life is not a problem to be solved...

but a mystery to be lived.

I don't think it's a problem. Go to any hardware store and you'll probably find rope in a variety of colors, used for boating, rock and mountain climbing, even at tack and tog stores. Ten years ago, colored rope may have been suspect, but not anymore.



Another thing to consider is this: laymen have heard of trick coins (double-headed, etc) and trick cards (Svengali, stripper), but I've yet to meet a layperson who has ever heard of or suspected tricky rope!



In short, don't run if you're not being chased!

I don´t see this as a prob as there seems to be many colours used on boats these days

:bigdance:

I like the very bright white rope that's sold in a large ball in magic shops for about $45.

It's thick, it can be seen from the back of the house and it just feels good in the hands.

I use it for just about every rope trick that I do. Sure it costs more, but I pass the price increase on to my customers (and they deserve the best).

It's easy to put rope magnets into, as well.

I don´t think that it´s a problem for the same reasons that Greatscott gave.
In some cases it can be a plus if using rope of the same colour that your audience may use. Boating club performances etc.

I think the more run-of-the-mill, the better. To me, it would just be that much stronger with "normal" white rope.
Secondly, i don't see an awesome advantage in using colored rope.

Andrew

Mainly I use a newer type of rope that I came across in a magic shop; it's made in Italy and is about twice the diameter of regular magic rope.
More importantly, it is a brilliant white and, combined with its larger size, can be seen from the back of the house in most theatres.
I occasionally used colored rope, but only if there is a reason.
For example, my kids' routine of Jack and the Beans Talk requires rope in yellow or green (yellow or green beans that Jack trades the cow for).
While normal rope comes in a variety of colors today, I would still stick with plain white; the audience is most familiar with that and less likely to think something is "tricky" about it.
cheers,
Peter Marucci
showtimecol@aol.com

I use the right rope for the right job.

For my equal-unequal set of ropes, I have a brightly colored soft nylon rope. This set has been with me for 10 years, and I never plan to replace it. The rope is colored, so that it hides any dirt that comes with frequent handling.

For my ring and rope routine, I have 1/4" nylon rope (core removed) in various colours. Because of the way that I use the rope, I have to replace it every six months as the rope becomes to rigid for some of the false knots that I tie.

For my gimmicked ropes, I always make my one and use patterned ropes, specifically, the rope used by rock climbers. The pattern hides any breaks and because the core is more solid than magician's rope, it takes gimmicks without any tell tale bulges.

For C&R, I use rope that I got from a habidashers. It's white cotton, about 3/8" thick, and I buy 100 yards every 3 months. In fact, this is my biggest expense. In my close up act, I open with 2 yards of rope, and at the end it's 1 yard long (which I then throw away). So, the cord has to be cheap, and I have to be able to pack about 6 - 10 bundles of it in my pockets without distorting the line of my suit.

Bye for now

Harold