Hey guys,

Alex here.

So I just got this in from Lulu today, as this was just released not long ago. That was some fast shipping.

Let me start off by saying that I do not own any of Seamus other works, so I cannot compare this to what he has released in the past.

I bought this because on Facebook I saw something relating to this book, and started to dig further and then my curiosity peaked and I ended up buying the book which was inexpensive for a magic book.

What exactly is Calibration?

A way to tell a spectator a name of someone that they are thinking of.

This can be propless if you want it to be, but you can also use it closeup, over the phone, skype, on stage, parlour, you name it.

I have not done it yet, as I only read through it twice, but I will explain more below about the apparent drawbacks, if you can call them that, and what the audience sees.

And no, this is not like Fraser Parkers name guess work, this is different altogether, though the streamlined process once through you end up at the end getting to a similar place most if not all name guesses get to. I will explain.

In this offering, Seamus has taken an old idea that has been around for centuries, and combined that idea into a name guess. you do not have to guess someone name, you can do this with anything, a fruit, vegetable, country, any word from any book, etc, etc.

This old idea, though I am not sure Seamus would want me disclosing it here, is something that all of you at one point had in magic sets as a child.

What the audience sees, or your spectator is, that you have them concentrate on a name, and then you ask them three to four questions, and you would apparently know the name.

This reminded me a bit of the Peter Turner name guess from Bigger Fish 2, so those that have seen Peter do it, then this may look similar, but it is different due to the process that you undergo to get there.

Now, I am not saying the process is a bad thing, it all depends on how you look at it and want to perform it. The best bet and Seamus says this in the book, is that you can use some light memorization and have this with you anytime, anywhere, and doesn't hurt to try it out.

Basically, you will be able to get the first and second letter of any name thought of, and then you can use if you want other principles combined with Calibration to get the other letters, for example, if someone thought of the name MARK, and you are 100 percent sure the first letter is an M, and the second letter is an A, but lets say you grow a blank, and cant for the life of you figure out the other 2 letters, well you can use different principles, the ones that come to mind for me would be something along the lines like, Banachek, Michael Murray, Peter Turner, even maybe a mini Train Tracking.

Now, this is nothing like Train Tracking, but if you read that book, and you either A) use it, or B) want to have a reason to use it, you can combine it here, and use your imagination to the type of questions you will be asking the participant to think of.......this is just an idea if you get stuck, but this release Calibration assures you, you will get the first 2 letters without a doubt, then you can decide how to get the other letters, or if I give you an M and and I, and I know its a guys name, what name comes to mind, MIKE, or even MICK.

Another idea, if you are not sure, lets say the name is JAKE, and you have the J and A, and you think the name is JACK. You can take out your business card, and write down both, and cross one out, and then say I am getting this, like a Jake, or Jack.

to the spectator it will seem as if you guessed the name from their mind, due to the fact that the process is never revealed, since they will not know, this is whats in the book, and what first got me interested in this was Warren Thackeray, as he uses it in NYC, and he even developed his own system for it.

This can A. Be propless if you put in some memory work B. semi-propless by just using a few business cards, or C. full props on stage or close up by using a sheet of paper & pen

I am not 100 percent sure if I will do this yet, since I first need to test it out, and try it to see how it works. I know it works from Warren, and Seamus, but until I do it, I cannot say if this is a worker or not, since I have personally not gone out and even tried it out. I will have my first chance on Thursday for a few friends.

This is one of those ideas that some people might say, why didn't I think of that.

And I know some people might not like the process behind this, and to some, it will go unnoticed, as remember, the props don't really matter in the end it is the experience and what the spectator remembers.

I will be honest first time I read through this, though I understood the concept, I was like, what, Im confused a bit, I understand whats going on, but how is this streamlined.

Then everything became clear, and I began to understand what was being explained, as I had done a similar effect before using a thought of drawing, and nobody had ever questioned the props being used.

Even if you try to copy the method, if I tell you the process and what is being done, you will not be able to emulate it, as I know the research that Seamus had to go through to get the book to where it is now took a long time, and you just cant make it up, well you can, but you will struggle a lot, as it is very specific.

Can this be done in another language_ I would see why not, as I will not be trying it in English, but Spanish.

Is the method see through - I personally don't think so, since I mentioned I have used this old method before in other ways, and nobody questioned the props.

Again, you can use zero props, requires memorization, and your spoken words, or opt to use light props.

I can report back more on Thursday or Friday with the first performance of this.

Thanks

Alex Alejandro

Excellent review. Thank you, Alex. Look forward to your follow up report.

Any updates, Alex?

I have been road testing this for 2 weeks

my thoughts will be posted tonight

All in all this is a good product.

I have done it about once a day for the past 2 weeks.

I failed about 2 times, but now I do everything in my head.

Memorization helps

and can now get quick enough to do it on the fly.

good update to a classic

alex

Thank you for the update. I'm assuming you're going the fully propless route, rather than using the business cards you mentioned in your initial review? And did any of your participants cotton onto the "magic set" principle you referenced above?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Martin,

Only one of them but he was a magician.

The others did not.

And yes fully propless

Though the business card route can be used as well

Alex

Thanks Alex.

Alex, I have read MANY of your reviews on magic café. Your review for this product is much more tempered than others in which you are much more enthusiastic. You say this is "good". You have chosen not to use words like "great" or "excellent". Is the reason due to the spectator reactions which may have just been okay?

I just want others to be aware of this. Reviews are a funny thing on the magic café. It helps to have some perspective.

BMW guy,don't stop reviewing mate like so many others have,yours are the best on the Café imho
True spirit of the magic Café

Thought the same thing.

Though my second thought was that maybe Alex wants to start being a little bit more modest with his reviews (which might be good idea).

Still yet, this review turned me off of the product.

Yes, the review turned me off too and others that I have spoken to. This is not a bad thing, Alex. When others make the decision NOT to buy something due to a review, it is just as useful as when reviews cause them to buy.

Hey guys,

In all honesty guys,

after having read the whole book, road tested the effects, and sunk everything in.

I have to say that some will like it, others will not.

Not saying this is a bad product, by all means, it is different.

I don't want to say too much about what this is for fear of exposing the method, but some of you might have figured it out.

Even if you think you know the method, it will be hard to make this from scratch. I know I already tried once.

Kudos to Seamus for working very hard on this, the passion shows throughout the work.

The effect you already know, but most will probably read this and say, there are other methods available that will allow you to do the same thing, without having to go through the hassle of either a) memorization (which I opted for) b) using your business cards

Now I will say that I will not be performing this every chance I get.I will perform it on sporadic occasions. I already road tested it, and while initial results werent all that positive, and then afterwards they were.

All in all, again, reactions were good, not astounding, or great, the effect accomplished the job.

Some will love this others will dismiss it, it all depends on your persona, performance style, and what you want to accomplish with your magic.

Good thoughts

Alex Alejandro

I was also interested, but not so sure now.

Could this be used just for star signs and be effective and convincing?

Hi Mindguru,

Yes you can use these for star signs, words from a book.

I think one advantage of this is that you can do a book test, and have them think of a word.

Then you can reveal the word using Calibration.

I think the book test word thing is way better than guessing a name, in my opinion.

Now there is justification for what you will attempt to do and read their mind.

Alex

Thanks for the response Alex.

This implies that the process is best suited to words which are random, than words which are part of a set list like star signs.

I've just read this. In many ways it's a bit of a mess. No real logical process; tricky for the spec to follow; and tricky for the performer to follow! And the instructions are all over the place. This may be the most confusing manuscript I've ever read.

As Alex said, this is based on a very old principle, but I've always suspected this principle holds unexplored possibilities within it. I don't think this explores them particularly convincingly, but there is the kernel of something strong here. I think some further exploration by other minds could lead to something potentially very powerful that would play as real mindreading.

Possibly...

Thanks for your review Martin.

This sounded good but I was dissapointed with Seamus's previous releases so decided to wait for proper reviews.
This made me decide not to get this.

Actually Michael, if you are interested in the prop-less name/divination plot, and have spare cash, I would recommend maybe checking this out. I would call it an interesting, if haphazard, exploration of a core idea. Ironically, I think the version using the props (pen and paper) could be the strongest.

Having said that, there is one entirely prop-less effect here that has potential -you pick up on eight or nine words possibly related to the person they are thinking of, and give a reading that results in divining the name. I feel there is something potentially very powerful in it. It will get your brain ticking, at least.

I'm not sure what all the confusion is about. I went on my lunch break today say by the water with my buddy and he said: Hey can you do something?

I said sure, least than a minute later, I revealed the thought of name: John.

Perhaps it's presumed you have grasped the idea after reading the first description. There are no fruits and planets involved, only the name.

It's quick.

I memorised three, three word sentences. If you are sassy you can put your own presentation on it that works.

I'll make a video. ( With Seamus permission)