Silent Assistant pretty much is a modified version. I'm hopping both credit him. I have gotten thousands of miles out of my Enigma.

Hi Ray that definitely was a blast from the past as you know;) I have seen the Enigma gimmick so I'm familiar. Control is very different from Enigma. What I have created with Control gives you so much more than just putting a bill through a glass. I wanted to create a stealth device that you can retrieve in a moment's notice. Look at all the different routines/effects that is shown on the trailer.
I will say that from what I have seen silent assistant is more along the lines of an updated Enigma gimmick i.e. weaker m****t and having to bend or contort your fingers to hold it in place.
Darryl

Bloodkin
for sure Greg Wilson gives Nick a shout out during the teaching of bill through glass routine.
Darryl

Off Topic

I have most of these gizmos or have seen them physically. Here are my 2 tiny little loonies:-

Irrespective of the shape of magnet used, almost all these gizmos (that I have seen) have a curved shaped contact area (the place/spot where an object is made to stick/adhere). Please keep in mind that any curved surface, due to its shape, makes a point/line contact. Whereas a flat surface has a greater contact area.

When using magnets, irrespective of the strength of the magnet the contact surface area plays a very important and vital role. Let's take the case of a magnet ring. Due to its inherent round (cylindrical) shape and with or without a rounded outer surface, makes a point or a line contact with the object it holds. Thus the holding power of a magnet ring will be many times lesser than that of a tiny flat disc magnet of the same strength just because of their difference in contact surface area.

For magic purpose which need holding of a flat surface object (like metal bottle caps, steel coins etc.) I use a simple disc magnet 8mm dia x 2.5mm thick - N40/50 grade (Magnetized through the thickness) hidden under a Band-Aid. This tiny magnet has a much stronger holding power than a magnet ring of the same strength. In case you don't like the idea of using a Band-Aid, you might like to checkout Hank Morfin's 'Any Ring PK Gimmick'. Hank Morfin's 'Any Ring PK Gimmick' will solve most similar problems encountered. With the Any PK Ring Gimmick you will be able to select and use a magnet of appropriate size and strength. Also the Morfin's gimmick can be easily attached & detached.

Damping Of Sound - When a magnet attracts an object.

For this you need to apply a thick coat of matt finish Plasti Dip rubber coating. This does two things - Firstly it helps in dampening the noise when an item is attracted to the magnet. Secondly it slightly reduces the magnetic force of attraction thus making it easy to retrieve the item stuck to the magnet. Plasti-Dip also comes with five specially formulated tints. When combined in various proportions & combinations it can provide thousands of color possibilities. One can even coat a PK Ring or any other type of magnet (that requires sound dampening as well as color camouflage) with the color of one’s choice. The rubber compound can be put to many other uses.

Hope this helps!

Back on topic please . . . and please continue . . .

Control it is for me. I have never been let down by Vanamburg. Sandsmind let down more than a few times.

I just purchased Silent Assistant. I will admit that I was a little leery, because it is a Sansminds product. However, I was very pleasantly surprised! I'm really impressed with the look, feel, and strength of the gimmick. This will certainly be replacing my P.K. ring for many of my routines. I cannot speak about Control, as I have not had a chance to check one out, but I'm curious to read other's opinions of it.

Thanks Brian. To be honest, I would like to see a comparison of the two. If the differences are meaningful enough, I'm going to purchase both of them, I love PK effects so much.

Silent Assistant, was first presented by Penn Jillette under the name Teller.I hope sansmind gives him credit for the original.

That.
Was.
Horrible.

I joke! I joke!

Happy New Year!

I just wonder why Control is aiming only telekinesis kinda effects in the ad and Silent Assistant only vanishes and changes!?

Aren't vanishes possible with Control and will PK effects not work with Silent Assistant?!

Isn't this just the same as Event Horizon by Hand Crafted Miracles?

Ah well...

I definitely want to pick one of these up..but which one ?????
I love to vanish and reappear items and I love some PK effects, I think the vanishes are more magical than having the ability to move objects with your mind so I want the one that will best for walkround......any one got any views or recommendations. Also do any of these 2 effects come with shimmed coins etc ?
Thank in advance

Same here - what I need to know is if the Control gimmick is as low profile as the SA as I'd rather go with that one even at the higher price because it is by Darryl V....But if it's anything like the Movemint one it would be way too bulky and pronounced for what I intend on using it for even if it is stronger.

BTW I really don't like Sansmind exposing of the product for all to see (not really an issue here but the demo can be seen by anyone on Youtube or browsing magic sales websites inc. Penguin, MM, etc.) and think it should be edited to remove the actual goods. No reason to be so blatant about it. I've emailed them my concerns but doubt anything will come of it.

Here is the email I sent to Sansmind:

"Hi,

I appreciate the fact that you provide this gimmick and have gone through the trouble of having it produced and available for working magicians. It seems like a great utility....but one whose "operation" should be closely guarded. Therefore, I have a real concern about your demo video of it where the method is totally exposed....in fact, ADVERTISED.

While I know you are probably targeting magicians as your prime customers, the problem is anyone can view this video on magic seller websites or even find it on YouTube. Exposing such a well conceived idea to laymen or nosy internet browsers dies nothing but hurt the product and potentially tips the secret even without looking for it to anyone who views the video. In fact, there are already comments on the YouTube vids with people saying "Thanks for saving me the $$...I'll make my own" and others who mention it just being a Sanada gimmick with a magnet. Could they maybe have guessed that...yes.....but putting it out there on your actual product video confirms it and leaves no question about the method, which I assume will hurt the sales of it and affect your bottom line.

Please consider editing out the brief visual of the actual "works" and instead let people wonder and/or have to order it to be privy to the method. Thanks."

"BTW....here is one of the YouTube links....read the comments."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11xve0fI524

While exposure might lose some sales, it's not the only outcome. It also *produces* some sales, since there are people who were on the fence - particularly because they didn't know what was included and how much it overlapped with something they already owned.

By clearly outlining what the product is, those people get a clear answer, and can make a more informed decision to purchase the item, knowing they'll be satisfied. I believe the same thing happened with Jeff Copeland's Blackbirds.

Most things are more nuanced than you might at first think.

I read some of those youtube comments, but I'm not sure which ones you were referring to. Many seemed to be from teenagers who probably wouldn't have purchased it in the first place, if it wasn't exposed. So it's not really a lost sale there, either.

I just received Silent Assistant. I like it. It is well made and does what it is supposed to do. It fits nciely on my ring finger. The 1 hour and 5 minute video instruction is detailed and comprehensive covering all you need to know on how to put on and ditch the gimmick, use the gimmick and various routines including changing different items into another item, a nice chop cup type routien using a small paper catsup cup, and a cap in bottle routine. Silent Assistant comes with three (3) "assistants" for you to gimmick items. I also ordered COntrol, but have not received it yet so cannot compare the two utitily items.

Michael

Thanks for that Michael.....please do post a comparison or pro/con of each when you have time to have worked with both....If these are different enough or more suited to one effect vs another I may do just as you have and order both.

Thanks and yes plese do post a comparison. How silent is the silent assistant when vanishing a coin with a wave of the hand? Could you do it one on one with someone in a pretty quiet room?