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Details

Gonzo

Jose Lac' Quest

Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc.

(Based on 3 reviews)
Developed and Engineered by Mark Allen
Additional Effects and Handlings by Alex Linian


EMPTY HANDS. ROLLED-UP SLEEVES. BARE FOREARMS. PURE AMAZEMENT. AN INNOVATIVE STREAMLINED NEW HOLD-OUT DEVICE.

A wondrous, secret gimmick that enables you to spread your fingers wide open and show both sides of your hands completely empty. Roll up your sleeves to just below the elbow to show your bare forearms. Spectators clearly see both sides of your hands and arms before and after each stunning effect. Everything happens in full view as you deliver miracle after miracle.

GONZO IN YOUR SPECTATOR'S HAND:
Put a bottle cap on your spectator's outstretched hand; snap your fingers, and the cap instantly vanishes or changes into a coin.

GONZO IN YOUR OWN HANDS:
Show your hands, fingers and arms 100% empty --- then, in a blink, produce and vanish a coin, a bill or a stick of gum.

GONZO YOUR LUBOR'S LENS:
Use your Lubor's Lens to make an object "look" invisible; then show that the object is really and truly gone! When we say that Gonzo gives you the power to show your hands, fingers and arms completely empty, we're talking real-world, nothing's there, 100% clean. Period. Stand in front of a mirror and take a look at yourself. Roll up your sleeves, wiggle your fingers, spread them wide open, and slowly show both sides of your hands and forearms. That's exactly how your spectators will see you before and after every absolutely killer Gonzo miracle!

WATCH THE GONZO DEMO NOW...
Show your bare forearms and your hands and fingers 100% empty on both sides (and, if you like, have your spectators examine them before and after every effect.)
Works with any normal long sleeve shirt, sweater, jacket or hoodie - anything that allows you to roll up your sleeves and show your bare forearms.
Button ups, vests, and jackets are NOT required.
No safety pins, sticky stuff, thread, or complicated hook ups of any kind!
No loops to secretly hold or manipulate. Nothing attached to your clothes.
Nothing ever ditched into the pocket or pants. With Gonzo you can wear any type of pants: Jeans, dress pants, or shorts.
Customize Gonzo to your specific arm size with a simple one-time process; once completed, you can put your Gonzo on or take it off in seconds.
Extremely comfortable --- you'll wear Gonzo all day and not even know it's there.
Instantly access Gonzo at any point in your performance.
Works best with small objects like coins, candy, rings, bottle caps, gum, etc.
Complete with Gonzo Hold-out, special Gonzo goodies, and cool custom Gonzo transport pouch.

ARM YOURSELF TO AMAZE, ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES AND GET GONZO TODAY!

Reviews

Bryce Kuhlman

Official Reviewer

Aug 14, 2023

I have more holdouts than any person probably should. Some are insanely complicated (and expensive). Others are mechanically simpler, but tend to require a lot more practice and understanding of body movements, timing and misdirection.

The one drawback to almost all of them is that they require you to wear a jacket.

One of the nice things about Gonzo is that you can do it with your sleeves rolled up (or pulled up if wearing a sweater). Let me be clear here: you still need a long-sleeved shirt! Short sleeves or tank tops will not work.

The mechanism itself is relatively simple and easy to attach to your body. However, like almost all holdouts, you’ll need to spend a bit of time fitting it to your body. The DVD clearly explains the way to do this. All you need is a pair of scissors.

One big difference with Gonzo is that that the “extension and retraction” is done somewhat manually during a natural motion. The benefit of this is that you can do several vanishes & productions without having to move your body in any way. The drawback, however, is that you’re somewhat limited on your angles of presentation. If you’ve got a small group of people looking down at your hands, it’ll look great. But if you’re working for a larger group and need to show your hands empty while they’re facing you head-on, you’ll need to be much more careful with how you position your arms and body.

One side note, before I forget: there will be a bit of noise during the extension / retraction when you first start using the gimmick. Thankfully, you’ll need to practice a lot. The noise will lessen the more you use it, eventually going away entirely.

One very important point: the default end effector is a magnet, so whatever you’re planning to attach to the holdout needs to be magnetic. Thankfully, the product comes with a 3” square of steel shim, as well as a shimmed penny. The DVD also includes a good discussion of how to “magnetize” other objects using household objects.

If you really have no way to magnetize your object, like a borrowed dollar bill, the product also includes a “clip” addon. It requires a tiny bit of extra motion, but definitely expands your options.

The DVD covers all of the basic moves required for vanishes and reproductions, in addition to some really cool versions like “snap” versions and using an audience member’s hand as cover. There’s also a discussion on the (minor) changes required to vanish longer objects.

There are also 5 full routines with various objects: coins, Tic Tacs and even Lubor’s Lens (included).

Finally, there’s another addon that allows you to make the holdout retractable without going near the hand that’s vanishing objects. You’ll still need to “extend” it manually, but hiding it can be done using movements similar to many other types of holdouts.
(Top ▲)

James Sanden

Official Reviewer

Jan 10, 2016

"Gonzo” by Jose Lac’Quest is a very clever and innovative approach to the holdout. This gimmick allows for an open and instant vanish of an object in full view, despite the performer’s hands being clearly empty, both before and after the vanish. It looks absolutely incredible. This alternative evolution with the holdout began with the Raven, popularized by David Blaine, and has had many incarnations over the years.

In addition to vanishes, the “Gonzo” can also be used for transformations and appearances. Objects that can be used include coins, bottle caps, cigarettes, and gum; essentially light objects that are long and thin or no wider or heavier than a fifty cent piece. In addition to a number of handlings for the basic effects described, several additional ideas are shared on the DVD, including delaying the vanish/appearance, a coin to Tic Tac box, sending an object into an iPhone and a handling using a Lubor’s Lens. In particular, I appreciated the inclusion of effects that weren’t dramatically visual, while still remaining extremely magical.

The instruction is by Alex Linian and is complete, clear, organized and extremely well thought out. He covers not just the effects, but setting up the gimmick, adjusting it, angles and the fine details that will make the effect as powerful and practical as possible. The gimmick itself is of high quality, well made and includes the props necessary to perform a number of effects out of the box, as well as additional material necessary for the assembly of props for additional effects.

The first question that most will have after watching the demo video is if “Gonzo” looks as good in real life, followed by how practical it is. It does look as good as it does in the demo, but that level of visual magic comes at a price: it’s fairly angle sensitive. This doesn’t completely limit its practicality, but it does reduce the number of situations in which it can be performed. Ironically, the closer the spectators are to the performer, the more effective the gimmick will be. However, the gimmick can be very easily rung in and out of play, moments before and after the effect, meaning it requires no setup prior to performance, can be used, or not, based on the whims of the performer and the situation, and minimizes the time angles are an issue. Mr. Linian also offers a number of very clever and practical techniques that will increase the practicality of the gimmick dramatically. In addition to being aware of angles, the only other limitation is that the performer must be wearing clothing with sleeves that can be rolled up. This can be a jacket, sweater, long sleeve shirt or a hoodie.

The “Gonzo” holdout doesn’t have the flexibility of a traditional holdout, though it does allow for more visual vanishes. Though other holdouts can accomplish similar effects, the “Gonzo” has distinct advantages others do not, including a casual get ready, the ability to show one’s hands empty before and after, and fairly reasonable angle limitations. Examine the drawbacks and advantages and, if you have an application for which the “Gonzo” is a solution, it’s an excellent choice of holdout.
(Top ▲)

Doc Johnson

Official Reviewer

Apr 21, 2015

PROS

The vanishes look awesome! After seeing the device and the instruction, I think this is a very good tool to show a very clean vanish. The device also works very well to make an object re-appear.

Clearly, a lot of thought was put into this device. It comes with different accessories and he has really put this through a lot of roadwork.

In performance, you can roll up your sleeves, show your arms and hands are completely clean and then cause a coin or variety of other small objects to vanish and/or appear.

The device is very good quality, and with reasonable care, it should last a very long time.

You will need to get set up in advance with the device, but in performance, the get ready and reset are very easy. You could wear this device for an entire show without problem.

The instruction is very thorough. He covers a number of effects including coin vanishes, productions, coin changes, coin penetration into tic tac box, and many more. He also demonstrates effect with other items, such as bills, batteries, etc. He also shows a wide variety of effects, such as a coin that is pulverized into little pieces. He has high tech effects, such as a coin or battery that vanishes and/or is produced in/from an iphone. This routine uses an iphone app. The app is called “card to phone” by Halskov. The App allows you to put a variety of objects into the phone. He also shows a really cool effect using the Lubor’s lense and a cigarette. All the effects are very strong.

CONS

You must really customize this device to you. You will need to work on getting it set up so it works for you.

The device is designed to cause a single item to vanish and re-appear.

This device is designed for people up close and looking down at your hands. This is designed for close-up, not parlor or stage effects. He talks about different ideas to cover exposed angles.

This is probably not for the strolling magician, unless your audience is a very small group in a controlled setting.

VERDICT

This device will take a bit of work to get it just right for your body, but it is very powerful and lends itself to very strong magic.
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