Title: Stand Up Assembly
Artist: Inaki Zabaletta
Producers: Vernet Magic
Link: Available At Your Favorite Murphy’s Magic Dealer
Retail Price: $18.00 USD
Learning Difficulty: Easy to Medium depending your depth of card sleights
Notes: Includes downloadable video. 12 min (approx)
Includes:
Well here’s a refreshing change to what’s become the normal with magic reviews. A product that for once doesn’t feel the need to include an instructional DVD along with the trick. I almost forgot these kinds of things used to exist! So what do we have here? Stand Up Assembly is as its name suggests: A parlor or stage version of a four ace assembly routine. The “stand up” part comes from the selected spectators actually standing on the cards as they change from aces to indifferent cards before all assembling behind the leader ace in the cup on stage. The routine has been done before but what Inaki Zabaletta has done is taken a lot of the sting out of the complicated sleight of hand moves usually involved and simplified it using some gaff cards. You’ll still need to know how to do a top change, so if that’s not already in your arsenal now would be a good time to practice it. However the good news is that most of the heat isn’t on your hands at the time you have to do the change. A little misdirection and playing footsy with the spectator and you should be fine.
The instruction booklet is two pages long, and is a little light on the illustrations. Unlike a lot of magic I seem to be reviewing these days Stand Up Assembly doesn’t spend a lot of time talking about every minute detail of this trick. It says “Do a top change here” or “a Braue’s addition” there. In some ways this is refreshing because I personally know what they’re talking about but I can see how this maybe frustrating for a newer magician. This is why books are your best friend people, but I digress. For those who prefer the visual aid of a video there is a download link. The file size is around 126 MG and basically just shows you what the book describes doing along with a live demonstration of the trick for a studio audience. Though I found the video to not be necessary, it was a thoughtful and useful addition to the product.
What can I say about working with this trick? It is fun to perform. It’s very visual, and it’s intended for stage work. Yeah you could do this in a small audience setting, but it really does play better for a larger audience. You exchange a lot of fancy sleight of hand work for gaff cards, but the gaffs are pretty good being of a tried and proven method that should be familiar to many of you. Eventually the cards will wear out but you should be able to make your own replacement set fairly quickly provided you have a certain special something. So if you’re looking for something to add to your stage act and you don’t want to drop $5,000+ on a Zig Zag illusion then this maybe your next best option. Check it out!
When I give my product scores below I am measuring them on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 Being absolute the worst score possible, and 10 being the absolute best, making a score of five average. The four points that I grade upon is Product Quality, Teaching Quality, Sound & Video Quality and Overall Quality.
Product Quality: 8
It’s a good trick. It’ll last a while, and it performs well.
Teaching Quality: 8
The instructions are to the point, and the video is a nice additional aid.
Video & Sound Quality: 8
The video and sound on the accompanying video isn’t bad for an internet download.
Overall Quality: 8
The Stand Up Assembly scores a solid 8 across the board. It’s a reliable, fun to perform, stage version of a classic trick without the use of heavy sleight of hand.
Have a product you want reviewed? Want to see if it will stand up to the Draven Seal of Approval? Contact me directly at draven@williamdraven.com to find out how your product could be on the next Draven Reviews! Don't forget to like my blog where all my reviews are posted at www.williamdraven.wordpress.com.
Artist: Inaki Zabaletta
Producers: Vernet Magic
Link: Available At Your Favorite Murphy’s Magic Dealer
Retail Price: $18.00 USD
Learning Difficulty: Easy to Medium depending your depth of card sleights
Notes: Includes downloadable video. 12 min (approx)
Includes:
- Instruction Booklet
- Gaff Cards
Well here’s a refreshing change to what’s become the normal with magic reviews. A product that for once doesn’t feel the need to include an instructional DVD along with the trick. I almost forgot these kinds of things used to exist! So what do we have here? Stand Up Assembly is as its name suggests: A parlor or stage version of a four ace assembly routine. The “stand up” part comes from the selected spectators actually standing on the cards as they change from aces to indifferent cards before all assembling behind the leader ace in the cup on stage. The routine has been done before but what Inaki Zabaletta has done is taken a lot of the sting out of the complicated sleight of hand moves usually involved and simplified it using some gaff cards. You’ll still need to know how to do a top change, so if that’s not already in your arsenal now would be a good time to practice it. However the good news is that most of the heat isn’t on your hands at the time you have to do the change. A little misdirection and playing footsy with the spectator and you should be fine.
The instruction booklet is two pages long, and is a little light on the illustrations. Unlike a lot of magic I seem to be reviewing these days Stand Up Assembly doesn’t spend a lot of time talking about every minute detail of this trick. It says “Do a top change here” or “a Braue’s addition” there. In some ways this is refreshing because I personally know what they’re talking about but I can see how this maybe frustrating for a newer magician. This is why books are your best friend people, but I digress. For those who prefer the visual aid of a video there is a download link. The file size is around 126 MG and basically just shows you what the book describes doing along with a live demonstration of the trick for a studio audience. Though I found the video to not be necessary, it was a thoughtful and useful addition to the product.
What can I say about working with this trick? It is fun to perform. It’s very visual, and it’s intended for stage work. Yeah you could do this in a small audience setting, but it really does play better for a larger audience. You exchange a lot of fancy sleight of hand work for gaff cards, but the gaffs are pretty good being of a tried and proven method that should be familiar to many of you. Eventually the cards will wear out but you should be able to make your own replacement set fairly quickly provided you have a certain special something. So if you’re looking for something to add to your stage act and you don’t want to drop $5,000+ on a Zig Zag illusion then this maybe your next best option. Check it out!
When I give my product scores below I am measuring them on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 Being absolute the worst score possible, and 10 being the absolute best, making a score of five average. The four points that I grade upon is Product Quality, Teaching Quality, Sound & Video Quality and Overall Quality.
Product Quality: 8
It’s a good trick. It’ll last a while, and it performs well.
Teaching Quality: 8
The instructions are to the point, and the video is a nice additional aid.
Video & Sound Quality: 8
The video and sound on the accompanying video isn’t bad for an internet download.
Overall Quality: 8
The Stand Up Assembly scores a solid 8 across the board. It’s a reliable, fun to perform, stage version of a classic trick without the use of heavy sleight of hand.
Have a product you want reviewed? Want to see if it will stand up to the Draven Seal of Approval? Contact me directly at draven@williamdraven.com to find out how your product could be on the next Draven Reviews! Don't forget to like my blog where all my reviews are posted at www.williamdraven.wordpress.com.