You can use any deck, but it will require some advance preparation. I can’t say more without tipping the method – Bob suggests it will only take you ten minutes to set it up though in my experience it takes slightly longer. But it certainly doesn’t take very long and doesn’t require any great skills.

The effects

The DVD teaches four routines which will run through briefly.

Out of this Galaxy – under the premise of a memorised deck, the performer separates black cards from red in a freely (genuinely!) shuffled deck.

Got The Vibe – in a sense a basic ‘find the spectator’s card’ routine – but with a pseudo-psychological presentation which makes it very effective.

4 of Any Kind – from a (genuinely) shuffled deck the performer can find any four of a kind chosen by the spectator.

Covert Vibrations – this is a second ‘out of this world’ type effects – but with an extra climax – once the performer has separated the reds and blacks without looking at them, he also separates the cards into odds and evens!

The routines all necessarily rely heavily on dealing through the pack which is the only thing I can find to criticise about this. That means I would only want to do one routine utilising the Vibe principle in a set. But on the plus side, the deck itself could be used for any other routines you do with a normal deck (ambitious card, triumph etc.), so this isn’t a deal-breaker.

What are the scores on the doors?

I couldn’t resist that UK television reference – sorry! Teaching is clear and comprehensive. The effects are essentially self-working – which gives you plenty of time to work on presentation. Bill Wisch (who teaches Covert Vibrations) also gives you an idea to use the principle in another way which would be mighty powerful in a whole range of effects. This is a great little release which comes recommended.

Available in the UK from magicshop.co.uk for £17.99 (at the time of writing) – or slightly cheaper as an instant download.

Review copy kindly provided by Murphys Magic to whom dealer enquiries should be directed.

The post Vibe – Bob Solari – Review appeared first on Bicycle Cards.

If you can drag yourself away from Wimbledon (or just want a distraction) here are our suggestions for July…

‘A real turn on‘ is a quirky little effect from Bob Solari. When you ‘flick the switch’ the magic happens with this clever little pretty much self-working routine. If you can’t get a laugh out of this then give up! £23.50

We’re just writing a full review on this (so watch this space – early indications are good!) but if the previous volumes in the series are anything to go by the False Shuffles and Cuts Project is likely to be one of the most useful disks out this summer – especially for someone just starting out in card magic. £19.99 [UPDATE – full review here]

Here’s a slightly different sort of cards from the playing cards we normally review and preview. Lee Earle has just released a set of Alphabet Cards under the name of ‘Alphatized‘. As well as looking good and coming on decent stock, they have subtle markings so you can identify the card from its back and a few other useful features – lending themselves to some great magic.  £17.99

That’s all for now. Watch this space for loads more card and close up magic reviews and news…

The post Trick of the month – July 2014 appeared first on Bicycle Cards.