I am interested in purchasing the mentalism effect "Synonymental" that is featured on Tannen's website. Click here for description of effect: http://www.tannens.com/cart/cat256.html

The question I have is whether one, after learning the methodology behind the effect, can make his own set of 18 cards using different words. Specifically, the effect relies on a spectator placing a cigarette, pencil, and coin onto certain face down cards. The cards are turned over, and each card matches the item freely placed onto it by the spectator.

I would like to adapt the effect and eliminate the cigarette since it is impractical to have cigarettes on hand (I'm not a smoker, and here in California, smoking is becoming taboo if not downright illegal in public places!). I would like to substitute a ring or a key, perhaps, for the cigarette.

Is this possible once one purchases the effect and learns the methodology behind it? My guess would be that it is, but I just want to be sure before I spend the last few dollars in my wallet.

Thanks!

Yes, this is possible, as I recall. Owned it years ago.

Thanks, Tom! I thought that the effect would be "customize-able" (is that even a word?). Too bad the creator hasn't updated the effect and done away with the cigarette as one of the items used.

Thanks again for your reply!

Yes, I have this one. I work in French, so I have adapted the words with my own language. You will buy a method more than a trick. Simple but effective.

Thanks, Rivardjlr! That's what I'm looking for: a method that is definitely adaptable. Time to go to Tannen's website and part with some $$$.

You might also be interested to know that Mellon's "Synonymental" is performed and taught on the fourth volume of Richard Osterlind's "Easy to Master Mental Miracles," which should be hitting the streets any day now.

It's fairly easy to make this yourself and as was stated previously in this thread, can be adapted to other presentations.

Sounds like a nice effect, but do you really want to carry 18 cards around with you and do all that dealing? Why not use three business cards, openly write 'something' on them, and then have the participants select three 'commonly available objects and place them on 'any' card. Of course the objects and the words on the cards match!

Simplify.
JD

Why, we'd love to do it that way. Now, exactly how did you manage that, by the way? That would be no gaffs or gimmicks, right? (I hope)...

Hopefully no swami gimmicks, either.

It appears the cigarette is no longer one of the items. According to the advertisement at Hocus-Pocus, the objects used are now, are a quarter, ring and a pen. I just ordered it, so hopefully, this is indeed the case.

I was compelled to get it after seeing Richard osterlind's performance of this on his 'Easy To Master Mental Miracles' DVD.

On 2005-02-14 02:52, kevvy wrote:
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It appears the cigarette is no longer one of the items. According to the advertisement at Hocus-Pocus, the objects used are now, are a quarter, ring and a pen. I just ordered it, so hopefully, this is indeed the case.

I was compelled to get it after seeing Richard osterlind's performance of this on his 'Easy To Master Mental Miracles' DVD.
[/quote]



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The set I got from Tannen's still had the cigarette reference.

I'm not too impressed with this effect for one major reason. All of the cards cannot be shown to the spectator to contain random, different words as it is made to seem in the ad copy. Only about the first four or five cards can be shown from what I can recall after playing with the effect. This also means that the cards that are discarded during the effect cannot be shown either. Sort of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?

Has anyone found a way around this problem?

I just received my set. Although it does include a card that has cigarette printed on it, they provide a way for you to use the card that has "ring" or "watch" card instead.

However, I don't like the method the instructions provide for revealing the ring or watch. I feel it is extremely transparent. I prefer to use the method Richard Osterlind used on volume #4 of his Easy To Master Mental Miracles DVD set. But using his method for the watch in row #2 will require making another set of cards.




Check out the Richard Osterlind DVD I referred to. (This DVD contains other really good effects.) He displays several cards to the audience.

I really don't see why you can't show all the cards. There are no duplicates among them and to think that an audience member might spot similarities between the objects is "thinking like a magician." By the way, this is not a new phrase. Ronnie Gann said it to me about 25 years ago. I was questioning his use of the standard Mental Epic and that's what he told me.

Please don't take that as an insult. Just think about it. You show all these cards and they all contain different words. What are the chances, really, of someone saying something like, "OH! There is one card that says coin and another that says quarter!" And this is before they even know what is going to happen.

As far as showing the discards, again that is well taken care of. The first time you show all the other cards. The second time you show the card to the left and right, and finally you just gather up the discards. It should just look like you are speeding things up.

On another thread we had a discussion going about getting away with things and the proper state of mind for the magician. If you have the right "attitude" and just think in your mind, "Look, here are a bunch of different cards" you will NEVER get questioned.

Of course, all of the above applies to a "real" audience, not magicians!

Richard

PS Quite often we look for flaws in the "method" of an effect instead of thinking of how to fix them with our "presentation."

I agree 100% with Richard in his assessment that.

"Quite often we look for flaws in the "method" of an effect instead of thinking of how to fix them with our "presentation."

I would add one must realize that the method and presentation are one in the same in the world of mentalism. And that it is your abilities you are presenting not the method or prop as is in many instances the case in a magic act.

Cheers

Jack