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Neuromancer Regular user 121 Posts 
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Hi,
actually I couldn't believe there isn't already a thread about this, but the only one I found was a three year old topic, but that guy didn't like brass or copper sets. (I don't have those restrictions) So anyways, I am normally a card- /everyday-objects-guy and I want to start with cups and balls. So I'm looking for a good set to start with and am in need of recommendations. I saw the Penguin Magic c'n'b set -> http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/742 and was wondering if you guys would recommend that? The reviews on that side are outstanding... I'm willing to spend around $100 - give or take - so if one set is highly recommended and it costs $20 more, fine. But I can't afford $250+ as some (surely excellent) sets are. I would also appreciate any tips on what to look for (weight? how they fit into each other? etc.) Thanks for your help!! 
//Edit: 100th post!!! *yay* 
cya
Neuromancer |
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Mr. Woolery Inner circle Fairbanks, AK 2149 Posts
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If you can't handle the cups yourself, I'm going to suggest starting with charming cheapies ($20 Uday brass or aluminum or copper) and learn the basics of handling before you decide on a more expensive set. Spend the rest of your $100 on reference material for learning the cups.
Lance Burton uses three coffee mugs you can get at WalMart for $1.09 each. Penn and Teller use disposable plastic beer cups. Bill Malone uses the cheap plastic cups you get for $.99 in three colors (he did buy three sets so he could have matching colors, though). These guys can afford much fancier cups, but they went for cheap ones. Why? It is all they need. Yeah, a really nice set of cups that suits your hands will be more pleasurable to perform with, practice with, just sit and play with. But I submit that you can't really tell what you will want until you have played around with a few different sets of cups for a while and have a very good idea of what you are doing with the trick. Or I could be wrong and a stranger on a message board will send you to the perfect cups and you will find your cup bliss on your first set. Or you could end up like Bill Palmer and have a collection that is the envy of every cup user in the world. Does he have his perfect cups yet? I bet he could blow most of us away with three paper cups and wadded up tissues. -Patrick |
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Sir Richard Special user 650 Posts
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1st, I think using regular coffee cups or any other regular cheap cup is "selling the steak, not the sizzle." We are in the business of doing things that attract the eye. Magician's cups are created for a purpose, one of which is to catch the eye of the audience, enticing them to watch your act. Street buskers that do cups & balls like the late Jim Cellini & Gazzo use expensive cups that do what they want them to. Gazzo's cups cost $400 bucks the set, & he dosen't use cheap plastic beer cups that the slightest breeze can blow off of your table right in the middle of a trick...as what happened to Penn & Teller during one of their performances. I recently added a set of these, They are nice and heavy, take a tennis ball for a final load, come with a set of knitted balls, a set of mini-tennis balls, and a nice carry bag. The Penguin cups won't take a regular tennis ball for a final load. If you're interested, PM me & I'll tell you how to save an additional 10%. You can read my review on the page as well: http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S12896
Sir Richard.
"In the land of Murphy there is but ONE law!"
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djkuttdecks Special user Portland 662 Posts
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The copper morrissey cups are a great starter. ORRRR the aluminum classic cups from RNT2 are GREAT! I have two sets of those myself and highly recommend them to any starter
http://www.rnt2.com/index.php?dispatch=p......id=30204 For $49.00 I don't think you can go wrong at all. -Lee |
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BCS Inner circle 1083 Posts
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Neuromancer… Do a Google search using…
what cups to buy site:themagiccafe.com and you will find all kinds of postings regarding buying Cups. I see you have enough to get into the for sale sections here; here is a listing for the Cups you asked about… http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......rum=76&0 They are not a bad set of Cups if you get a clean set without jagged mouth beads. If you can wait… keep watching the for sale section… there have been some RNT2 Cups listed that are really not that far from your price point. I suggest buying the best that you can… you will enjoy them better (the pride of something nice), better things typically last longer and if you choose to sell them I would think that you would have a better chance of moving them. Good luck finding a set that you like, Bruce |
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SimonG-97 Special user 508 Posts
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My first set cost £20 from davenports magic shop, still use them , in fact when I finally get a cups n bals with 3 loads I will probably use taller plastic cups , to acomadate a bigger final load.
don't get me wrong nice cups are nice n everything , but buying a deck of david blaines split spades don't mean your as good as david blaine , the same as buying a nice extraagent set of cups, its skill that counts |
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Sir Richard Special user 650 Posts
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Quote: I disagree with this in part. Yes, skill is important, as is entertainment. But "eye-candy" helps draw the crowd!
...the same as buying a nice extraagent set of cups, its skill that counts Sir Richard.
"In the land of Murphy there is but ONE law!"
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BCS Inner circle 1083 Posts
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Simon… I don’t think anyone was suggesting that a nice (or extravagant) set of Cups was a substitution for skill.
Sir Richard… I agree with you about eye-candy; one could be the best magician ever Cups wise, but if you were using basically trash as Cups or props, probably most would not give you the time of day, or in your case throw mony in the hat. I am not saying that one could not be amazing with paper cups, plastic tumblers or coffee mugs… everything needs to be taken into consideration; the routine, your performing personality, the props and the right venue for the routine to be successful... and yes one needs skill. Thanks, Bruce |
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Sir Richard Special user 650 Posts
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One of our club members who books our club shows does about 300 to 400 library shows a year. He uses plastic cups he bought a Wal-Mart for a buck apiece; however his backdrops alone cost him 4 grand, go figure. ?????????
Sir Richard.
"In the land of Murphy there is but ONE law!"
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24314 Posts
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Whee! Library shows! Big time! Do the same bookers book the rotary club and Lions club shows as well?
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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Sir Richard Special user 650 Posts
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Quote: I don't know, but last year he had 169 shows booked for June & July. Our seasoned performers don't get anywhere near that much! He also books club shows for many non-profit club shows, that's why we can have the lecturers that we do. just had David Regal in for a lecture, BTW.
On 2011-06-04 18:32, Bill Palmer wrote: Sir Richard.
"In the land of Murphy there is but ONE law!"
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TheRaven Special user 597 Posts
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Yes you can perform with a wadded up tissue and a paper cup, but if it isn't a financial hardship, I don't think it is necessarily a bad idea to get something half-way decent right off the bat. I just ordered the Bazar de Magia's Cups and Balls from Penguin in brass for $60. A better price than most. I have the matching combination cup and like the size, heft and quality level for a moderately priced cup.
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BCS Inner circle 1083 Posts
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Raven... Good luck with the Bazar de Magia's Cups; I think you did well getting brass. I would recommend copper or brass over aluminum any day... to me aluminum just does not feel right, too light having no soul; but that could be just me.
Thanks, Bruce |
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AndrewJ New user Travis County, TX 70 Posts
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I love the Bazar de Magia's aluminum cups for the same reason I went with an Ibanez electric guitar, or preferred sculpting with faster drying materials. I just connect with that ethic to work fast, work light, and get it done right the first time.
But, as I said, it would be nice to have cups that didn't blow over in a gentle breeze. I only own those cups because it was the best apparent fit for my wants and budget at the time. I do very much want a nicer set of cups and am saving for them, even. THEN I will feel more at ease making a broad generalization. It's just that, right now, they don't feel soulless to me at all. I'll probably like them even more after filing away those hideous mold lines -- to be fair.
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boxjumper Veteran user 362 Posts
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I started with Morrisey Aluminum cups and they served me well for years. I'm now using the brass Johnson cups which have a better grip and heavier which I prefer.
BJ |
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panlives Inner circle 2087 Posts
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Quote:
On 2011-06-04 18:32, Bill Palmer wrote: Snicker!
"Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?"
"To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time." "The dog did nothing in the night-time." "That was the curious incident," remarked Sherlock Holmes. |
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts
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After selling all my expensive cups, I found this classic set at a great price. Please note, the bag does not come with the cups and instructions.
http://www.magicinc.net/irelandcupsalumi......ial.aspx These cups are specially made for Magic Inc. by Morrissey Products of Canada. |
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panlives Inner circle 2087 Posts
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Quote:
On 2011-06-04 02:59, Mr. Woolery wrote: Good thoughts - although I am not sure Bill Palmer can be emulated. His Museum, grounded in practical and academic insight, is staggering and entirely unique.
"Is there any point to which you would wish to draw my attention?"
"To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time." "The dog did nothing in the night-time." "That was the curious incident," remarked Sherlock Holmes. |
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rsylvester Loyal user Trying to learn to BP a duck in 269 Posts
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I like Lance Burton's coffee cup routine. I kind of like using regular props. Also popular now are small tea cups. So I made this set for less than $25. The tea cups are from World Market --$5 each They had a World Mkt logo on the topm which I didn't like. Some red enamel paint, like you use for model cars, fixed that. The balls are foam balls that you can sand and paint. You'll need to sand them just a little, then bought cover them with some gold metallic enamel paint, similar to the red paint. ($3 each for paint, $5 for a big bag of balls) at Michael's or Hobby Lobby. I also used the gold paint to put an edge around the top. I think they look good, and I can practice with them until I get so good I decide I can't live without a really expensive set. Or I may just keep these. What do you all think?
Click here to view attached image. |
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24314 Posts
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Quote:
On 2011-06-06 00:14, wmhegbli wrote: Well, Willyboy, these cups are really not suited for a normal cups and balls routine, unless you use those cruddy pompoms that come with them or a set of sponge balls. Jim Ryan actually did use a set of these. I know, because I have them. (He had two sets. A friend of mine has the other). As long as you don't stack the cups, you will be okay. But they are disastrously light, and really not the best cups around. When I had Morrissey make the Laurie Ireland cups in copper, I had them lengthen the skirt by 3/16", which made them useable with normal crochet balls. Later, when I compared the copper ones to early Ireland cups, I discovered that I had restored these to their original specifications. BTW, Laurie Ireland never used a set of these. He spun his own set out of steel. I have that set, too. Posted: Jun 6, 2011 2:12pm -------------------------------------- Quote:
On 2011-06-06 12:51, rsylvester wrote: Are these cups actually that color? They look pink. I wouldn't use foam balls, simply because of the weight. As far as Lance Burton's coffee cup routine, he didn't do that "because he can." He did that simply to be different. This is okay, actually. But I don't really recommend being a cups and balls snob or elitist until you have something to be an elitist about.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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Posted: Jun 4, 2011 01:19 am 
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