Andre, I just had some Dark Magic questions for you, and thought posting them here would let everyone benefit if you answered them. So, if you can find the time to answer these, please do so. I’d appreciate it immensely.
The Dark Magic is your signature yo-yo. Exactly how much of it’s actual design process were you involved in? Did you come up with the concept? Did you actually do the drafting for it? Was the “Dark Magic” moniker and artwork yours, or something YYJ added on their own?
Exactly how much use did you get out of the DM in your competition days? Did you actually compete on a serious level with it? If not, what was your actual preferred competition piece?
Some people claim you play the DM entirely stock, just as it is out of the box. Others claim the DMs you throw are upgraded/modded to the teeth. Which is actually the case, and what is your typical DM setup?
Good post Doc. I’ve been wondering some of the same stuff. I kinda wish he still competed, just because it’s hard to find any good video’s of him. The only thing I’ve ever heard Andre say in his vid’s is about a KK bearing. But I don’t really consider that a mod, just an upgrade. But I am looking forward to Andre’s response.
well i’v seen some vids of him competing. i actually have thim on my youtube account. ill show you them later when i get home from school. later. im back. and hears the vids.
as i presume andre is pretty busy and may take a bit to reply heres an interview that andre did that answers some of your question, and its a good read lol it doesnt answer all youe Qs but some! enjoy the read! Dot Ventures
p.s credit for finding this interview should go to Mage1342 as he posted it on one of my topics! cheers Mage1342! ;D
p.p.s sorry for cross posting just thought ud like a read! lol ;D
YoYoJam pretty much gave me 100% control over the design - at the time (2004) I took some rough drawings I made and faxed them over to Dale Bell who runs the YoYoJam factory and production. He took my sketch and made it into the yo-yo it is today basically - I did have complete control in terms of shape and weight and specific cuts on the metal weight ring.
I named it Dark Magic because I liked the overall sounds of it and in my mind if you do yo-yo tricks well it really does look like “magic.” I get that all the time at least and thought it would be appropriate to incorporate in the yo-yos name. The original artwork was designed by Johnnie DelValle and wasn’t necessarily for everyone but a lot of people at the time did get a kick out of the caps and a Chinese company actually copied the artwork on a couple different yo-yo designs they produced even keeping my name! After that we chose to use the current translucent cap design to appeal to a wider array of players - that one was designed by my wife Devon (who also designed the Legacy caps).
In terms of competition I did use it to win my Northeast Regional back in 2004 as well as compete at the 2004 National Yo-Yo Contest where I placed tenth - and of course you see it used in nearly every tutorial out there. It is still my pocket yo-yo to this day. Before it I had previously used the Speeder and Hitman.
For a long time I did play the Dark Magic completely stock - I would simply break in the bearing and go from there. Currently I use a KonKave bearing with no shims and a relatively tight gap - I find the KonKave bearing makes the yo-yo much smoother and the tight gap keeps it responsive for doing regenerations but unresponsive for whip and slack tricks, etc. The best of both worlds.
The Dark Magic is a really good yo-yo. This along with the Hitman are my favorite Yoyojam yo-yos. Reading Andre’ post makes me want to bust out my still in package DM and play it.
Andre: since you said youve used the speeder, and used the dm of course, id love to know which youd suggest for me, i havea speedmaker right now, and im torn between the 2, which would you suggest? Im still learnin a bunch of tricks so yeah give me some advice please!
Awesome history behind the Dark Magic! Mine also travels everywhere with me and it is the only yoyo I actually carry around wherever I go. I play mine as is with one thick shim and it has never let me down. It is the most reliable and solid yoyo out of my entire collection. I think it’s interesting about the caps because I actually wish I had the original caps instead of the caps currently included with it! Thanks so much for all the great information Andre!
Thank u Andre …for every thing,
i have both the bootleg and and original one DM ,and original is original
i will in near future make a review/comparison of both. for now , DM IS awesome ,superb and all…
as i have made my signature , now this wallpaper kind of thing…for DM lovers i made it…
Lol, why would you tell Andre you have a bootleg version of his Sig Yoyo? And I can’t speak for everyone, but I know I have no interest what so ever to see a review of it. Bootleg yoyo’s ruin it for everyone. When people buy bootleg yoyo’s, the original company get’s hit the hardest. They put all the time and money into R&D and that determines part of the price of the new product. Then people buy a cheap knockoff from a crappy company who doesn’t have the strict manufacturing guidelines, nor the money invested into the design of the product, but takes the profit away from the creator. 90% of the time, the knockoffs play crappy, and have shotty production values. Then it has the same effect as shoplifting. The consumer winds up paying more for the original product, because the real manufacture has to recoup the lost money to bootlegs somehow.
Phhhewww…sorry. When I see post’s about bootlegs, it flips a switch in my head, and I get angry. But I feel better now. Don’t take that as a personal attack Jawad, wasn’t meant towards you, just towards bootleg buyers in general. >:(
i also hate them,my post was just to show that how they copy things …that comparison
i have only this original DM…which is a prize i won on this forum, I THANKED him for that
they aren’t available here in Pakistan…its precious for me…I THANKED him for that
hope you got my point.
jawad
but you missed mine! Might wanna read that last paragraph again, “not towards you”.