Hello everyone. I have the Silver/Copper/Brass Transposition trick by Johnson. I have one question about the gimmick. I have practiced the gimmick move excessively, and I have mastered it about as well as I believe it can be mastered. The instructions say to practice the main move, until it can be done "smoothly and quietly." So far, I have not found a way to keep the gimmick from talking, as it separates. As the halves make contact at the bottom, which seems unavoidable, they necessarily make a clanking sound. At that point, there is still supposed to be only one coin, and it should, of course, not make any noise. The noise, at the point of just closing your hand, is the only thing that can make this trick suspect for gimmicks.

One way I have managed to create an excuse for this noise is to wear rings. Rings can logically be said to cause the clank when a single coin hits them. I have also thought of just saying, "You may hear the sound of the coins as they change places." However, I realize the trick is likely done best without making noise and excuses.

So, has anyone managed to separate the gimmick every time without making it talk? If so, what is the secret? Is the move something more specific than what is described in the instructions? Or, is it just the nature and dynamics of the metal halves separating, and something you just have to work around?

Hoping to stop the talking,

Dr. Faust

Dr. Faust,

Your question isn't very clear, but I'm guessing that you are talking about unwanted noise when separating the gaff (as opposed to noise while nesting it together.

I'm not certain which technique you are using for the separation (and I'm not going to go dig for the paperwork that came with my Johnson set, it's buried somewhere).

Regardless, there are several different ways, technically speaking, to seperate the gaff silently. Here are a few if you don't already know them.
1) Classic P the gaff, turn hand palm down into loose fist, in***t falls silently to fingers.
2) Use what Doc Eason refers to as the "Miracle Move" (essentially a Finger P of the gaff - as you close your palm up hand into a loose fist, the in***t silently falls to your palm. Now release the s***l also.
3) With the hand palm up, Purse P the gaff (silver side up), then turn your hand over (above your other hand/table) while making a waving motion. The in***t falls out of the s***l first and you release the s***l a fraction of a second later (next to, not on top of, the in***t).
4) With the gaff (in a loose palm down fist, silver side down) on the fingertips, use your thumb to lift the edge of the s***l off and sideways/backwards from the in***t. This may make some slight noise, but you should be doing it AS (NOT before) the hand is being opened (coins have supposedly already traveled, so noise is OK).

However, most likely the issue is in your TIMING. You are probably separating too early. Try separating as the coins trade places (noise is OK then) as opposed to before they have apparently traded places.

If you happen to be going to the Winter Carnival in Pigeon Forge, TN (or to the Anatomy of Magic convention here in Atlanta) I'll be happy to help you out.

http://winter-carnival.net/specials.htm

http://anatomyofmagic.com/

Cheers, Wes

The clink when doing 'the miracle move". You can avoid that, but I always say " hear that? They arrived". since the coins travel, they would make noise, no?

I haven't looked at my instructions in a long time either, but I'm assuming that the "miracle move" is the one where you get the ] into high finger palm and the ins* falls out as you close the hand.

Even if you can't COMPLETELY eliminate the noise, with enough practice you should be able to reduce the talking to a whisper, such that if YOU'RE talking, any noise the coins make will go un-noticed. If that doesn't work for you, shake the hand that supposedly holds the coins as you execute the move. From your audience's perspective, you'll be proving that the coins are still where they're supposed to be.

And finally -- just my opinion here -- ditch the routine that comes with the set. There are some much better ones out there. Run a search and you’ll find plenty of resources -- Cody Fisher, Doc Eason, Curtis Kam, and Bob Kohler to name a few. If you’re looking for some immediate gratification, head over to http://www.jbtv.co.uk/ and check out their demo video for the C/S/B set. I like that routine because it mixes things up a bit, rather than essentially doing the same trick three times

Good luck with this! The C/S/B set is a great gimmick and with a couple good routines under your belt, you can get a lot of mileage out of it.

Get Doc Eason's routine.

Talk. If they are listening to you, they may not notice the tinkling in your hand. But I have never heard a noise when separating my coins, only while putting them together.

Dan Watkins has a beautiful handling in his new book, Coinvanish Volume 2. I'm still working on it.

Here's his web site: http://www.coinvanish.com/

Thanks to everyone for all the help! I am now doing the trick perfectly, with ideas for many new routines as well.

Sincerely,

Dr. Faust

The "Miracle Move" mentioned a few times above can be modified and used to produce the illusion of the coins changing as you pass your free hand over them. An open-handed change where the "silver coin" is only obscured from view for a fraction of a second before it changes into the copper and brass coins. I read the notes on this somewhere on-line... A review on The Coin Purse web site perhaps. The shell is held in place and the insert is launched and flipped simultaneously onto the upper palm.

It's a very nice, very open looking, and very cool addition to a CSB routine.

Mike

If you have Smoke and Mirrors, I believe the talking is eliminated with Bannon's great routine....