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Magnetic Deck by Granell Review:

73% of a deck of cards, one DVD, one gimmick and $30 bucks. Is it gem or is it rubble? Stay tuned to find out.

Effect

This is less an effect and more a utility prop. It (supposedly) aids in your ability to do certain flourishes. Below is a list of the effects found on the DVD:

  • Effect 01
  • Effect 02
  • Effect 03
  • Effect 04
  • Effect 05
  • Effect 06
  • Effect 07
  • Effect 08
  • Effect 09
  • Effect 10
  • Effect 11
  • Effect 12
  • Effect 13
  • Effect 14
  • Effect 15
  • Effect 16
  • Effect 17
  • Effect 18
  • Effect 19
  • Effect 20
  • Effect 21
  • Effect 22
  • Effect 23

Nope. That's not a glitch or a typo. That's the name of the effects. We'll talk more about this problem momentarily. Here is, however, a sample of some of the things that pass for effects: cut a packet of cards and balance it on top of a bottle (yep . . . that's it), Finley's Tent Vanish with a chunk of cards instead of one (why you need a gimmick for this is beyond me), clunky and awkward card controls, etc., etc., nothing much to see here folks.

Method

Again, this is all about the gimmick that you receive with the DVD. As pointed out in the ad copy, it's a magnetic gimmick. Basically you get a block of cards that have been magnetically attached to each other in such a way that you can open them up and do "flourishes."

Ad Copy Integrity

Both the written and video ad copy claim that you can learn "in minutes what pros take months to practice." This is a bit misleading. Much of the stuff shown can ONLY be done with this deck/gimmick and cannot be done with a regular deck regardless of how many months you practice. The few things that do mimic months-practicing pros don't look near as good or clean as they would if you put the time in to learn it without the gimmick.

In some cases, the non-gimmicked method is much easier, and in almost all cases, the non-gimmicked version looks much better and much cleaner. The next claim is that you get step by step tutorials. This is also inaccurate. The entire DVD (with a small exception we'll address in a moment) is done with no talking, just music. I recently reviewed Moneypulation by Lawrens Godon which did the explanations the same way. In the case of Godon's product, it worked.

In the case of this product, however, it does not work because the workings and handling of the gimmick are too complex and intricate to learn without the aid of speech. There were some cases where I watched the video multiple times and tried to figure out how exactly he was utilizing the gimmick. In some cases I just could not understand the explanation. It was too quick, not thorough and not clear.

I'd have to say that, on many levels, the ad copy failed.

Product Quality

The gimmick itself is well made from 808 "Bikes." However, the DVD was a huge product quality fail. As mentioned already, the teaching was not always clean, clear or thorough enough. Other than the very brief "explanation of the gimmick" section, there is no talking. The explanation section is spoken in Spanish and subtitled in English. There were a few lost in translation moments as well as several moments where I had to stop the video to read the text, and then look at the gimmick on the screen and in my hand to make sure I understood what was being said. That's not a total fail. I expect this sort of thing to happen when translating a video, so for the most part this isn't horrible.

The DVD menu and structure itself, however, was a huge fail. First, as mentioned earlier, the effect names are simply numbers. So if you want to go back and re watch a particular effect/section, you basically have to go back and re watch each individual effect until you find it. Further, there is no play all button, and when watching one segment, you can't skip to the next one. You have to stop, go back to the main menu and click the next video. With 23 effects, that gets old real quick. To make matters worse, there is a menu item that will play all the performances back to back. However, there is no option to play all the explanations at once.

You have to click the explanations one at a time, and when you click it, it plays the effect again immediately followed by the explanation; then it dumps you back on the main menu. So if I'm watching the back to back performances and I decide I want to learn a particular one, I have to stop, hope that I noticed the brief text overlay saying which trick number is; then I have to go to the main menu, find (hopefully) the right number, click it and thus watch the performance again followed by the explanation.

What a royal pain in the . . . ahem . . . tushie.

Final Thoughts

The bottom line on this DVD is that $30 isn't a terrible price to pay for the gimmick if you think you would use it. Also, the fact that I found no use for it doesn't mean that no uses exist. But based on watching the performer fumble through a bunch of awkward "moves" and "flourishes" and "effects" and based on a terrible learning experience, and a convolution of stuff that is easier done without the gimmick, I cannot recommend this product.

Final Verdict:
1.5 Stars with a Stone Status of rubble.

4 Comments

  • Dr. J. says:

    TWo things about this product: normally I am proud of a fellow Spaniard when they put a good product out but this one is horrible.

    When I watched this to review it (and this is speaking to the poor menu layout), I could not find the explanation section at all. I kept thinking that either I was missing something or they forgot to film/add them to the DVD. I actually watched the first 10 demo videos on the menu three times before I realized that those ARE [also] the explanations…As Jeff points out, some of the “effects” are so poorly explained that I thought they were just showing you the effect from another angle. Turns out those “other angles” are the “explanations.”

    Just FYI, his name is Grenell, with two ‘Es’ – unfortunately that does not make the product any better.

    Thanks Jeff!

    • Jeff Stone says:

      @Dr. J – Thanks for the post. Yeah, that menu was a nightmare. It was a terrible product. Feel free to post a link to your MLA review (if it’s live) in the comments here. But, as for the name, according to the spelling of his name on the box, it’s “Granell” with one “e” and one “a.” 🙂

      • Dr. J. says:

        My mistake on the typo – I knew that. My head was thinking one thing and something else came out of the mouth (or through the fingers). 😛

  • Emad says:

    i thought you can do lot do with a “magnetic card” like matrix, stealing coins, few control methods – do these cards come apart? is yes it worth something –

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