For many years I have been waiting to purchase a spirit bell. When I saw the clip that I attached, I was quite satisfied that the audience member selected actually assembles the unit before the routine starts. There is nothing to be seen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x15EWVRfn......embedded

There is a four to five week shipping delay. I have no problem with that. If anyone has heard anything else I certainly would love to hear some feedback.

You might want to go here:

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......orum=218

and

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......orum=218

Greg

I can tell you anything from Nick you will be happy with.His workmanship is first class and he is a great guy. I'm sure you will not be disappointed.
John

Update: Delivery is now about 4 weeks.

The training is on Adobe Acrobat .pdf format so that we can upgrade the information whenever we get new patter, product changes etc.

We're just releasing 2.0 tomorrow.

Just saw the youtube clip Bob, AMAZING.

Question, is there any hopes for a future version that has the arm falling freely after it rings the bell? I think it would look more natural and even creepier if it the arm went up and then freely falls back down to rest position. After all, if a ghost was to pull the spring and let go, the arm would fall back down freely. Kind of minor but I think if it did that it could really nail it home that it's ungaffed Just food for though.

For what it's worth, here's my review of this wonderful prop:

As I've often written, I won't review anything unless I actually own it. A couple of months ago I reviewed the Zoran Lit Candle Mystery and stated it was one of the best things I've ever seen and that it was perfectly built. Craig Filicetti's Multi Dimensional is another such item. Well, the Wenger Spirit Bell is yet another such item.

I got this and have played with it since receiving it and it is a marvel. I didn't realize the instructions were on a .pdf file, so had no idea how it worked. I emailed Bob and he took care of it right away. It seems like the really fine builders/distributors also understand how important good
customer service is and Bob's ranks right up ther with Zoran and Filicetti. But in the interim, I did discover how to "turn it on". The way the prop was shipped was very reminiscent of how items used to come from Ken Brooke back in the 70's. That is, it had little colored adhesive stickers all over it (three to be exact,) which were teaching aids. I must say, if it were not for those stickers, I would never have found it. Of course, the stickers are to be removed once you are familiar with it.

Despite knowing how to turn it on, it was STILL a mystery to me how it worked. There are no mechanical moving parts to "pull" the string to make the bell ring. And, I assembled it myself, watching Bob's video as a guide, and found nothing out of the ordinary as I did this, so I had absolutely no clue how the bell was invisibly ringing. This was definitely not a case of a hidden magnet causing a metal bell to swing as with most models of this trick. Well, when I got the .pdf file and read the real secrets, I was VERY pleasantly surprised. I have never
seen this mechanical principle before and I would imagine that unless one is an engineer most magicians haven't either. It is amazing and ingenious.

The old Anverdi model, which was the standard for a very long time, used a magnetic field to create the movement, a principle still used by most of the bells made today. This bell does not use magnetism to motivate the bell. But, what really makes this look mysterious is manner in which the bell rings. While the others usually involve a metal bell hanging on a hook of some sort and then swinging a bit to ring, this one, instead has the bell hanging on a nail in a piece of wood. That piece of wood is attached to a simple string and you
actually see that string "pulled" to ring the bell. The bell itself does not swing, the string is "pulled." There seems to be no way that any force could create that action.

The spectator, of course, can examine all the pieces and assemble the unit himself which really conveys fairness. All the parts have been "aged" to look antique and utterly ordinary. The wood parts seem to be simple pieces of wood with holes through them or nails hammered into them. Even on close examination they appear entirely ordinary. They are not, and that is a real tribute to the workmanship and the method.

I don't want to say much more because I don't want to even give a hint to the actual workings, they are that good. This is one of those items that I really hope remains a secret with only those who own one. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen much in magic any more.

I really must say that this, the Wenger Spirit Bell, along with Craig Filicetti's Multi Dimensional and the Zoran Lit Candle Mystery have really restored my faith in ingenious inventors and meticulous builders of great magic. And, to be honest, I think this item is a little underpriced.

If you can afford this, you will not be disappointed and I believe that this will not be collecting dust in your magic drawer or on a shelf as so many magic props do. You'll use this. On a scale of 1 to 10, this one gets 10's all around in every category you can imagine.

Great review John, thanks!

Heck of a review John!

BTW I still think you write the most brilliant ad copy on ebay. You are a true wordsmith.

Guys check out flinnermagic and see some really wonderful magic auctions.

Thanks for the kind words, Rick. BTW I got your PM and will visit your website and check out the item mentioned. Take care.

Thanks for the review John.

Nick

You are certainly welcome. One thing I should add. When I buy a magic item that is of moderate high cost ($400 isn't crazy high, but it's not $20 either!) there is one thing I ALWAYS expect. And, that is, that it works perfectly, first time, right out of the box. I don't want to have to adjust it, tweak it, call the builder....anything....I want to turn it on and it works.

That is exactly the case with the three items I mentioned. The Wenger Bell, Filicetti's MD and Zoran's Candles, all worked perfectly, fumble-free, exactly as they should first time right out of the box. That is a real delight.

I have had other items, many highly praised on this forum, that did NOT work correctly and, in one case, the item was even returned for a full refund when the builder's own adjustment suggestions failed to make it work. And, you wouldn't believe all the "praise" this thing gets here!

But, the Wenger Bell worked perfectly first time and has done so every time since. It's already been through a set of AAA batteries, I've played with it so much! This is a GREAT item.

Is this going to be available from any dealers in the UK?

Having recently been charged huge amounts of customs duty + import VAT + post office handling fees on a similar priced item from the States - I'm not going to risk it again.

Hi Caliban,
I understand the problem with import duties. With the internet customs officials in some European countries have actually tracked down the retail price of a product on our web site and were prepared to fine us and the customer.

This brings up huge issues, both ethical and legal. As a company we only list products for their real value for customs declarations and insurance purposes.

The Wenger Spirit Bell is a very low quantity item and is only available on my site. If we offered it through dealers the markup would far exceed the customs fees. You would have to add 40%.

My advice is to calculate the fees before you make any international purchase to eliminate surprise costs.

Hi Bob,

I can see your point. It's actually very difficult to calculate fees in advance because there are something like 14,000 catagories with different rates for each - and they're not really published anywhere for the public. So it all depends on which catagory they choose to clasify the goods in - which, with magic props, is not always the same one!

You would probably be looking at around £60-£70 in total for this - but there's no way of knowing for definite until you get the bill. Unless anyone has ordered one in the UK and can say what they paid ... ?

Great prop though!

Update: the Wenger Spirit Bell delivery is still in a backorder situation, We're estimating current orders to be delivered in 4-6 weeks.

This delay will probably get longer as I'll be showing the device around at both the LVMI and Magic Live conventions.

So today is probably a very good day to place your order and get in a much shorter line.

Update for the order from july?

simon

Belgium

Thanks for telling us how the bell that I and others have works.

I hope that Bob's workings of his bell stays a secret. Unfortunately , that doesn't happen much in magic any more.



Ray

Unbelievable. If the working of the common Spirit Bell was a revelation to you, I'm sorry. I don't feel I "tipped" anything almost all magicians don't' already know and I'm pretty sure it was no revelation to most of the other magicians on this forum. In a nutshell, I didn't tell you or anybody anything they didn't or shouldn't already know. In fact, most of the ads for such items talks about remotes and such which pretty much reveals the basic secret anyway. It's like revealing that a Vanishing Cane collapses. Do you think they don't know all the dice and cubes like Wissman's and Filicetti's don't work with electronics. The ad for the former even offers two different types of receiver!

Anyway, if my review bothered you, I'm sorry, but I think it helped most magicians make a more informed decision.

I am talking about the lurker reading your post.

When I pull out my bell, am I going to hear, "I read on that magic place on the web about using a magnetic flux field,is this how your works?"

When the next NEW bell comes out, are you going to tell everyone how Bob's bell works also. After all it would be considered old by then and magicians will know how it is done anyway. If I was a betting man, I would say that you will.



R