With all due respect, either my gimmick sucks or the instructions suck because I've tried at least 6 times and only once did it actually core out the lemon and that took at least 5 times me inserting the gimmick back into the lemon and trying again over and over until if finally sucked it up.

And no, you cannot just "pull it out", unless you want to stretch out the hole and the lemon won't seal right without any evidence...

I have nothing further to say about this, either the coring gimmick isn't great or the instructions are lacking.

I don't use the handling supplied as loading the note in the gimmick then loading the gimmick in the fruit doesn't work for me. Loading the note in the fruit first is done in seconds then loading the gimmick is just as quick with a little practice. I now just need a way of introducing the lemon and so far I feel the Bill Malone method may be suitable for a to the point, punchy routine rather than having to do another routine like chop cup to get the fruit in play. Hope this helps

When you use the gimmick to core the fruit, leave you thumb over the end that doesn't go in the fruit to create suction, then gently remove the gimmick not letting your thumb off and this should do the trick

I agree with the above, this is what I've been doing and it works fine. This is a similar gimmick to that Yigel Mesika released and he also supplied a black rubber type of cap that inserted in the end to create the suction.

I know. It's what Cody tells us to do and it's what I've been doing.

I would like to try and shed some light on the subject. First off, the gimmick does not suck. In fact, in my opinion, it is the single biggest step forward in bill to lemon methodology ever. Having said that, keep in mind this is not my gimmick, it belongs to the French magician Nourdine. His brilliant concept allows you the ability (luxury) to be able to have the loaded lemon in the volunteer’s hands as the sealing gimmick is virtually undetectable.

Concerning Patrick’s initial assessment, his comments are certainly valid given his expectations of the gimmicks function. When using the tube puncture gimmick, it will sometimes function as described in the original instructions. However it will sometimes not function in that matter; in other words you will make the necessary insertion but no matter how much of a ‘seal’ you create nothing will come out in the tube. This is also very normal and nothing to be alarmed about. In cases like this (which in my experience will be about half the time) you simply need to take some tweezers and pull off the end of the lemon manually. Also, do not be alarmed if there is little (or no) pulp in your preparation tube. Again I find that about half the time the tube is completely empty. The reason for this is that there is really not much in the center of a lemon anyway. The MAIN purpose of the piercing gimmick is to create the exact size opening for the sealing gimmick.

I think the misconception concerning the prep of the lemon that it should work in a similar manner like the old trick where you dip your straw into your soda and place your finger on the end of the straw to hold the soda in the straw. This is not an accurate comparison for the functioning of this gimmick.

Patrick, with this new information I encourage you to give the above the preparation a try. Use the tube gimmick to pierce the lemon. If the ends comes off great, if not use tweezers to pop it off. Insert the bill into the sealing gimmick and then seal the lemon. I guarantee you, the finished product will look amazing!

Anyway, thanks for listening and thanks to all those that chimed in trying to help. The explanation of any magic trick can certainly be a difficult thing. I am sure that Patrick is not alone in his initial frustration with the preparation. For those that have purchased this from me, I will be adding a quick video to the instructions folder outlining the above concerns. It really is a non-issue, but never the less should be address so that everyone is on board and can start to enjoy this wonderful new gimmick.

Sincerely,
Cody S. Fisher

Here is a brief review for Citrus: The Next Generation. The product comes in three sizes, of which I have the larger ‘C1’ version.

In the package you receive two gimmicks, one for preparing the fruit and one for performance, plus a few pages of printed instructions. There is no DVD or online tutorial.

The gimmick for preparing the fruit is pretty much identical to one that used to be supplied with Mesika’s Bill in Lemon. It has already been discussed in this thread and does what it is supposed to do quite well.

The second gimmick is where the real value and originality lies. It is a simple but brilliant idea that allows you to load a bill (or card) into a lemon or orange, and then seal the fruit so that it can withstand very close scrutiny. I think this is a genuine advancement in methods for Bill in Lemon. The spectator can handle the fruit very freely and could even cut it open themselves – if you wanted to risk a nervous spectator slipping with the knife and cutting their hand.

The Citrus gimmick is well designed and the C1 size works well with all bank notes, including the plastic notes we now have in the UK. I haven’t seen the smaller versions, but I am told that they are harder to use with plastic currency. The C1 gimmick is perfect for oranges and would also be fine with a large lemon.

The instructions supplied are fairly brief and cover only the basics of preparing and loading the fruit. You will have to supply your own routine, and work out your own choreography for vanishing the bill and getting it over to the lemon. This is really a utility prop and best suited to performers who already have some experience with this type of routine. If you already have a Bill in Lemon/Orange routine, there's a good chance that the Citrus gimmick could make it stronger, although you may have to change the way you vanish the bill, and some existing methods don’t work well with this gimmick. I’ve previously used Scott Alexander’s Final Cut, for instance, which his not really compatible with Citrus.

Citrus is not cheap. Obviously you are paying for the idea and the development costs, but for the price they could easily have included all three sizes of gimmick in the box as a package. If you showed the gimmick to a normal person and asked them to guess how much it cost, the answer would probably be about a dollar. To a working performer, though, it’s definitely worth the price, as the gimmick is a real game changer for this type of effect. It should last a lifetime, but you would need to be very careful not to accidentally throw it away after a show!

My only niggle with the advertising copy is the claim that the fruit can be put on display before the bill is vanished. This is slightly misleading, as it refers only to the audience’s perception of the effect rather than the reality. All it means is that you could pull out a lemon while the spectator appears to be still holding the bill beneath a handkerchief. This is equally true of virtually every other Bill in Lemon method, so is not really a feature exclusive to this method. To be clear, unless you work out some clever handling that isn’t in the instructions, you cannot put the fruit on display before you load the bill.

Does the bill need to be rolled tightly or folded in any specific way? The only part of the Final Answer I hate is that you have to roll the bill tightly.

Yes, you do have to roll or fold the bill quite tightly. This is probably true of most Bill in Lemon methods where the actual bill is loaded.

I currently change the signed hundred to a $1 via TT bill switch. Can I load the bill as it is folded in the TT or will I have to fold it/roll it smaller?

Well ... that question is more complicated than it sounds. I will PM you to avoid revealing too much on an open forum.

I would also like to know this

Yes, you would need to fold/roll it smaller.

My bud Michael Dustman got this for me for Christmas. Looks promising. The star trap was an incredible discovery and I’ve been using it for over a decade, but I,m looking forward to giving this a whirl.

I have used this in a few shows and I'm very happy with it.

The lemon is in their hands and I casually ask them to look it over
and make sure it's a real lemon. That's how good it looks and how confident
I am when using it.

Cody's tips are great.

Woodfield

If I buy the largest gimmick C1, is it still possible to use for lemon ?

I've used the largest gimmick on a lemon. I think it flies but I don't know that I'd let them hold it as it's definitely too big. That said, without a second real lemon to compare it to... I dunno, I'll bet most people wouldn't notice. But I don't think it's ideal.

Travis

Would CITRUS work with a potato (baked or unbaked)?

No

Bummer, but thanks for the speedy reply. I should have asked before... Any suggestions for the best bill/card in potato approach?