On Feb 19, 2016, RCP wrote:
You will not be sorry. It's a fantastic set.

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......orum=109

On Feb 20, 2016, Chessmann wrote:
Peter, if you want opinions, do a Café search on "Triception". Believe me, you'll see no shortage of reviews and thought from folks at the Café over the last few years, and their opinions won't be any worse than any newer ones you may find.

Here's mine: Bob Swadling makes very good quality items, and Mark Mason is exceptional when it comes to customer service. If you want the items found in "Triception," I don't think you'll find many - if any - who would criticize a purchase decision.

On Feb 20, 2016, videoman wrote:
The other factor you need to consider is the time.
Ordering similar components from Todd Lassen or Jamie Schoolcraft could take months.
Depending on what Mark Mason has in stock at the time you order you may have a bit of a wait for a Triception set. But it's almost certain that you won't need to wait as long as you would for Lassen or Schoolcraft, and thre's a very good chance it will be in stock for immediate delivery.
Another factor is that Lassen and Schoolcraft can be much harder to contact and that can cause frustrations too.

But then again, there is certainly nothing wrong with getting a couple things from Johnson or Tango to get your feet wet.
And if you decide to upgrade in the future you will have a practice set, which is nice to have, and could also use it as a back-up.
The more you get into it the more you will discover what you like and need and what you don't, and you may find that certain other things present themselves as well. For instance, you might get an idea for a great storyline for a routine. But the only problem may be that in order to perform it you need a "tails" shell but you bought a "heads". There are a lot of things along those lines that could possibly pop up.
So I wouldn't be afraid to look at the used market as well. I just this week sold 2 Johnson ex shells, one heads and the other tails, and each for under $20. When you get more than 50 posts you will have access to the buy/sell forum here on the Café. Many times using a cheaper gaff is like swinging a lead bat, when you get a truly precision set suddenly moves and sleights may become easier.

Chances are whatever you buy first won't be what you end up using the rest of your life. When I first decided I wanted to use larger dollar sized coins I bought Ike gaffs, and couldn't understand why anyone would spend a fortune on Morgans because the spectators don't care, it's the same effect, right?
I thought these "silver elitists" were silly. Well guess what? Now I'm one of them and only use Morgans.

I know it's common for folks to not want to waste money and get the end all, be all from the get go, but that rarely happens. Over time your tastes and needs will almost certainly change.
Get something basic and cheap to start off and start practicing right away. Don't waste time saving up for the ultimate coin gaff. You can still always get that later and you'll have a better idea of what you want.

Now having said that, I'm going to come full circle and say the Swadling Triception set is probably the best bang for the buck currently available and checks off pretty much all the boxes for folks who aren't sure what they want or what they are going to need.

I wish you the best of luck on your journey.

On Feb 21, 2016, pabloinus wrote:
Peter, if you don't have it, I suggest to star with a Hopping Half set first, you get more gimmicks, in my opinion is more versatile, more readily avsilable from different mfgs, Johnson set is inexpensive and very good. With Tricpetion you start with a set with a fli...r, which is not as easy as the other gimmicks to master.
Triception is a great set for sure.

On Feb 21, 2016, Poof-Daddy wrote:
If my reviews (and somewhat constant cheerleading) helped you make the final decision to get Triception, Let Mark know I know he stays off the Café, but I have told him many times that myself and several others are consistently putting his name (and quality / value) out there in his absence.

I am not affiliated with him in any way shape or form and gain nothing from promoting his stuff. I have just met him several times and talked to him many other times on the phone thru the years and think he sometimes get quietly underrated when all the "Big name custom guys" get discussed.

Best of luck with your new set when you get it. Definitely check out the original "Triception" routine and "4 No More" from the DVD. My two personal favorites. Then you may want to look into some other DVDs / Books on Shell work and flipper work

"Flipped out" by Craig Petty (great dvd - all flipper)
"Silver Surf 2" by Joshua Jay (small book on Troy Hooser's flipper work)
"Metal 3" by Eric Jones
"An Extension of Me" by Eric Jones (see Oxy Clean routine)
"WGM Expanded Shell" by L&L Publishing (good shell routines)
"ShellRaiser" (DVD by Troy Hooser)
"Shell Shocked" by Barry Taylor (good dvd if you can find it)
and a plethora of gaffed coin stuff by David Roth on various dvds.

just a starting point of where you can go with the coins in this wonderful set.

On Mar 3, 2016, tonsofquestions wrote:
It occurs to me to ask here: does the Triception set have a fl****r with an internal b**d, or is it external? If it's the latter, how does the g****e compare to a normal fl****r, which is usually quite wide? It seems like the e*****c could allow it to be much smaller.