Kartis Bill Change 2.0
Kartis
Tango Magic
Reviews
(Top ▲)
Should I say it? Dare I? Fine! I'll say it . . . this kind of crap is what's wrong with magic today! For $40 bucks you get a 6 minute (yes . . . six minutes; I timed it) video, a crappy prop, and a totally dishonest video trailer. Oh and of the 6 minutes, 1 and a half minutes is the video teaser. So you get 4 minutes and 30 seconds of so called instruction.
Let's look at a few things:
- Ad Copy
- Instructions
- Gimmick
Ad Copy
The ad copy is crap. It's a total lie. First, the written ad copy says " . . . with no apparent movement the paper visibly transforms into a bill right before your eyes." With no apparent movement my arse! The only way to create the change is to give the bill a big fat huge flicking shaking motion.
Secondly, the video trailer shows a performance where the performer performs the change and then immediately hands it to the spectator. Bee - Fricken - Ess! That cannot be done. Finally on the actual product packaging they're photographs lie. It shows a picture of before the change and after the change. The "before" picture is crap. The way he is holding the gimmick would actually expose the gimmick. Not only that, but it shows the paper being fully unfolded . . . can't happen, due to the nature of the gimmick.
Instructions
As mentioned, the instructions are four and a half minutes long. First the performer - I think he said his name is Tango - jumps right into using the gimmick as if you already know how to handle it and use it. When I first opened the package and looked at the gimmick, I had no idea how to open it and get it set for performance. It was very awkward and delicate. I was afraid I was going to break it. So the fact that they never really show you how to handle and use the gimmick makes this an even bigger failure.
Further, as mentioned above, due to the nature of the gimmick, when it's in its paper form, it cannot be fully opened. The paper has to remain partly folded. It cannot be viewed up close, and when you give it the required big fat huge shake that they claim is "no apparent movement," there is an accompanying big fat noise to go along with it. Further, if you watch the presentation in the trailer where he tries to buy a newspaper and hands out the bill, you see a big fat huge flash of the gimmick.
Gimmick
Regarding the gimmick itself, it functions just as it looks on the video. However, it certainly is not a close up item. The only possible venue I can see this working is on stage or maybe a platform/parlor setting. Even then, you've got the noise to contend with. There are so many better versions to do effects like this, that I have a hard time seeing the benefit of this one, particularly when there are versions when the money CAN be handed out for examination.
Final Thoughts
Even though this likely could work in a stage setting, I have a really hard time recommending this simply because I have no interest in supporting a company willing to be so dishonest in their advertising and packaging. This claims to be an improvement over the original version. I just simply can't imagine that there's a product out there that's a worse version of this one.
Final Verdict:
half star with a Stone Status of pure rubble.
(Top ▲)
The Kartis Bill Change 2.0 is an extremely clever prepared paper to bill. If you watch the promotional video, you’ll see it's quite fast and startling. The gimmick appeals to the inner twelve year old magician in the same way we are endlessly fascinated by the annual releases from Tenyo. After watching the short DVD instructions, I sat and simply admired the construction of the gaff.
The instructions are clear and concise. Since its a Tango product, they are available in both English and Spanish. About half of the instruction time is taken up with “street” magic demonstrations. Speaking of the “street” demonstrations, there is a bit of deception in the promo. At one point, the magician pays for a newspaper by changing the paper to a bill and gives it to the vendor. Nice idea but just not possible.
At a recent public performance, I took the opportunity to use it as an MC piece in a parlor setting. It didn't garner much reaction. I believe it was just too fast. The beauty of Page’s Easy Money and its successors is the slow, deliberate change of paper to bills. The Kartis Bill Change 2.0 doesn’t offer that.
The Kartis Bill Change 2.0 is another product aimed at the “street” performer or better named guerrilla performer. At $40.00, you get a well made gimmick that with care should last. However, I believe that you should put the $40.00 towards a more useable and magical effect.