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JamesTong Eternal Order Malaysia 11213 Posts |
I would appreciate if I could get some feedback from everyone on the size of regular balls used for their Cups and Balls routine.
I noticed that some use 1 1/8 inch and some use only one inch balls. Gazzo prefers bigger balls due to his nature of work. How about the others? How about those with smaller hands? Is the 1 inch or 1 1/8 inch balls the standard size used today? Thanks in advance for the feedback. |
Scott F. Guinn Inner circle "Great Scott!" aka "Palms of Putty" & "Poof Daddy G" 6586 Posts |
I don't think there IS a "standard". Many sets come with 7/8" balls. The cups from Johnson Products are smaller than that. Cups come in so many different sizes, and so do balls. I think it is important to use balls that are SIGNIFICANTLY smaller than the final loads in order to get maximum impact. For example, using small cups (say with a 2 and 1/8 inch mouth) with 1 inch balls and producing 2 inch final loads would not, IMO, be nearly as impressive as using, say, 1/2 inch balls for the body of the routine.
"Love God, laugh more, spend more time with the ones you love, play with children, do good to those in need, and eat more ice cream. There is more to life than magic tricks." - Scott F. Guinn
My Lybrary Page |
JamesTong Eternal Order Malaysia 11213 Posts |
Thanks, Scott. Your view is certainly helpful in my research.
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Mr. Muggle Special user 999 Posts |
I almost always use 7/8" balls that have a good amount of weight to them because they fit well and I can look totally natural with them. Personally, I don't like balls smaller than 7/8"...maybe it’s because I know that they are much easier to 'work' with.
As a general rule, I always try to handle the largest ball possible without compromising my quality of magic...if I use a 1" or 1 1/8" ball I am forced to change the format of my routines, so I normally don't use them. Your question brought a new one to mind, though; I wonder if most Cups and Balls workers use the same size balls in their 3 ball routine as they do in their Cups and Balls. If not, I'd be interested to know why.
"Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it because you're not really looking. You don't really want to know the secret... You want to be fooled." - The Prestige (2006)
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cfrye Special user Portland, Oregon, USA 940 Posts |
I use 7/8" marbles with a crocheted yarn cover, so they're more like 15/16" (23.8mm).
Curt |
sethb Inner circle The Jersey Shore 2719 Posts |
I always thought that the size of the balls basically depended upon the size of the performer's hands. I have somewhat small hands, and so I use the 3/4" Morrissey crocheted balls. In a pinch I guess I could use the 1" balls, but I feel more comfortable and confident with the smaller ones.
The only other factor would be the size of the "attic" in the cups, and how many balls need to be there at any one time during your routine. Although much is often made of whether a cup can handle three balls at once in its saddle, many routines do not involve that situation. Maybe my routine is much simpler, but I have never needed to have more than one ball in the attic at a time. SETH
"Watch the Professor!!" -- Al Flosso (1895-1976)
"The better you are, the closer they watch" -- Darwin Ortiz, STRONG MAGIC |
Richard Evans Inner circle 1379 Posts |
To some extent, the size of the balls depends on the size of the cups. I like to use balls that have a little bit of weight to them, but have no particular preference for size or covering. At the minute, I'm using the nice leather covered mini baseballs from Christian Jedinat and the jade crocheted glittery balls from Brett Sherwood.
I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I only lock every other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three. Elayne Boosler
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Dave V Inner circle Las Vegas, NV 4824 Posts |
I started out buying cups, then balls, then trying to figure out how best to use them. After several failures (and a full shelf of experiments) I finally took the reverse approach. Only one routining decision came into play: Will I be handling three balls at once, as in a 0-3-0 with all three balls under the center cup? Or a more easily handled 2-0-2 where I only had to handle two at a time. Once I knew what I wanted to do with them, the new search began.
The large Gazzo soccer balls were so big that I felt clumsy hanging on to them and never felt comfortable with them. I made my own Monkey Fist balls (pictured here) and they were the same size but with an easier grip, and although they were better for me, they still felt "too big." I reduced the ball size slightly, going down to 7/8" and finally settling on 1", and found they were much easier to control. Going any smaller and my finger palm started to look like I had hand cramps. I wanted an "open" look without being so open that I risked dropping or flashing. I then sized my cups accordingly, looking for ones where the three balls would barely fit without jamming against each other. I feel that if the balls are too small in relation to the cups, there's a chance they might think I have the big loads somehow hidden in the cups, and I wanted to eliminate that possibility. I, too, never needed 3 balls in the "attic", so I went for the largest single ball that would fit there for the most visibility. I also wanted cups where I didn't have to open my hands so wide as to again risk dropping or flashing the balls. I sold my Super Animals, and I now have a set of "Babes" and "Love" cups that work beautifully. I can't do jumbo oranges, but for me that's okay. I'm more comfortable with groups significantly less than 200, so for me they work fine.
No trees were killed in the making of this message, but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
You really answered your question yourself (to a certain degree) when you posed it.
There are several factors to consider when selecting a ball. 1) Do you do the three ball display on the top of the cup? If so, then there is a maximum diameter that is dictated by the cups. 2) Do you nest the cups with a ball between them? If so, then the attic space determines the maximum size of the ball. 3) How large are your hands? If you have small hands, you might feel uncomfortable handling a 1 1/4 inch ball. The Laurie Ireland cups were designed to be used with sponge balls. However, the early ones, as well as the copper ones I issued a couple of years ago, had enough attic space to permit them to nest with 3/4 inch balls. The 3/4 inch balls that I provided with these cups were actually closer to 7/8 inch in diameter. Their size was quoted based upon the size of the cork ball used for the core of the ball. Finally, the color of the ball affects its apparent size. A white ball or a yellow ball against a black close-up mat will appear to be larger than a dark blue ball or a red ball.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
Mobius303 Inner circle Lakewood, Ohio 1309 Posts |
I use all shapes and sizes, and have a plethora of cups.
I like the 1 inch balls because of the visibility to my audience. I also use Sherwoods, which are 1 and 1/8th inch. There is some great advice here...listen well. Mobius |
JamesTong Eternal Order Malaysia 11213 Posts |
Thanks Mr. Muggle, Curt, Seth, Richard Evans, Dave VanVranken, Mobius and Bill Palmer for your info.
From the posts here I guess that the common size used would be 7/8", 1" and 1 1/8". And that I believe is based on the similar size of hands we have and also the similar size cups we are also using. |
Tom G Inner circle 2895 Posts |
I use 7/8", as I nest all 3 on top of a cup at one point. I have tried a 1" set
and the nesting doesn't always work be it PF, or Sherwoods. Should note that I use a solid ball, not the covered cork. Tom |
Michael Baker Eternal Order Near a river in the Midwest 11172 Posts |
I have 3 different routines that I do depending on the venue. The cup sizes are different for each, with diiferent requirements for the distribution of the balls before, during, and after the routines. In each case, I use balls that accommodate those needs.
~michael baker
The Magic Company |
SeanD13 Loyal user Bristol, RI 263 Posts |
I use a 7/8" ball with my cups, because that is the max size my cups will handle with 3 balls nested.
It was not to long ago that I was searching for a set of cups on this very forum. Here I was given great advice on the size of the balls and the size of the cups. I think you might get an idea or two from the Topic. What it all comes down to is that it is up to you and your style. When you think about the size of the ball. Thank you, |
JamesTong Eternal Order Malaysia 11213 Posts |
Thanks Tom G, Michael Baker and Sean for your help - really appreciate your info.
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Mr. Muggle Special user 999 Posts |
Quote:
On 2007-03-07 09:32, Michael Baker wrote: Last year I tried working with different size balls while preforming two different routines but had a hard time with consistancy. After many fun hours with little improvement I decided to use one type of ball with two types of cups.
"Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it because you're not really looking. You don't really want to know the secret... You want to be fooled." - The Prestige (2006)
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WoodRat Loyal user California 233 Posts |
I use 1-1/4" knitted balls for my chop cup routine - they have more presence; 1" knitted balls for my regular Morrisey cups - they are easier to handle than the 1-1/4" balls; and 5/8" knitted or 2cm mouse balls with my PF mini's depending on whether I need three balls nested in the routine; So I guess I'm pretty average.
Learn something new everyday.
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rickmagic1 Inner circle MIddle Tennessee area 1544 Posts |
I'm using a set of 1 1/2 inch balls that Frank over at Ambitious Card made for me...they're the best I've ever used!
Richard Green
The Modern Conjurer Coming soon: Victorian Secrets: An Evening With The Spirits! |
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