Comet for sure
http://www.cometpinball.com/
Art is a fellow pinsider and a great guy...he will take care of whatever you need

Comet, IMO. You're going to get a million different responses on this though, and there's already a ton of posts about the various places.

Comet

I've gotten almost all of mine from comet. Good stuff. I'm a big fan of the frosted ones.

Definitely comet. Art doesn't have kits for games, but I think the LEDS are personal preference and someone else's kit might not look good to everyone. I highly recommend the 2 smd fluted bulbs, and the crystal fan shape bulbs.

China

Not sure I understand the question... LEDs generally run at the same voltage as the incandescents (6.3v, except for flashers and a small number of exceptions such as the 24v bulbs that light the Black Hole and Haunted House lower playfields)

Cointaker, there I said it!

I've purchased from both Pinballbulbs and Comet and have been happy with both.

I use Cointaker too, but I hear a lot of good things about Comet so I might give him/them a try next order.

Correct. Seems like the OP may have been wondering about power usage/heat generation. LED's draw less current; therefore less power usage and less heat.

Also, Pinball Life's LED's are very cheap and pretty good. Comet's are better, but just a little more cost. Depends on what you are looking for.

I've purchased from pinball life myself and was happy with the product and the price.

Comet. For the same amount of money you would spend on a kit somewhere else,you can Led 2-3 pins with Comet.

Comet or Cointaker are a sure bet. Don't waste your time or money elsewhere.

I exclusively use comet and have been very happy with my results after using other companies.

I just put a order for 2 of everything at Comet pin to see what leds look good in x y z spots. I've only heard good things about comet.

I have never used comet but cointaker has been great for me and excellent service

another pretty decent supplier is NiftyLED. no doubt about Comet either, Art's been creating some nice custom bulbs too.

I've actually purchased from all the big pinball LED companies and find Comet to be the best looking, best priced and best customer service. The others are really, really good too but I highly recommend comet.

I've used them all as well and Comet is the cheapest and great quality aswell. But if you need a full kit for a machine I use Cointaker...

I've purchased from both Cointaker and Comet. Cointaker had great customer service, no restocking fee on returns, and they shipped the day after I ordered. Their LEDs were of good quality (I bought both flashers and a random assortment of others) and priced a bit higher than Comet.

I ordered from Comet 5 days ago. It took 4 days to ship my order so that was surprising based on the reviews here. There is a restocking fee for returns but pricing is very competitive. I can't vouch for the quality of the LEDs yet but I couldn't imagine they'd be inferior to Cointaker's based on what people are saying here.

Pinball life my self very good stuff and price is better

Comet gets most of my LED $'s. Very quick shipping on the orders I have done. Love the selection and variety of bulbs.

I would also say comet, but with a caveat. Namely that no one sells the best of everything. In my case having bought some of comets blinkers for my jp rather disappointed. They blink much more often than that original 455. They also blink in unison an awful lot. Not saying one or two, but the entire row will blink altogether 3-4 times in a row every minute or so.

I noticed that too with the blinker bulbs. I was hoping to get something a little more randomized like with the incandescents. Did you find another supplier for blinker bulbs that blinked a little more randomly?

Other than that, I've been happy with comet's bulbs and prices so far In fact, I just put in another order recently for a machine I was starting to convert over to LEDs.

Sorry About that, we were on leave for the Holidays.....and had 12 days of orders backed up.

Regarding blinking bulbs, It can be hard to put circuitry in that will override some signals from a game, and achieve the "desired" blinking rate.
However, if anyone can design the bulb, I am certain all vendors would be interested in carrying.

We have tried "Fast" Blink, and "Slow" Blink, but it is so inconsistent, depending on both game, and desired "blinking" interval, unique to each application.

I got about 5 from Cointaker to test with in my TZ, and I noticed that they DO blink at different rates, and not all that fast. *However* - When the GI is dimmed (anything below 6) they won't blink at all, and then when it comes back up to full-on, they will ALL blink at once. (Only that once - after the first blink, they seem randomized.)

Pinball Life with ablaze lights. VERY affordable and I have never had an issue. Plus he accepts returns if something is messed up.

Personally, I'm mainly looking to put blinker bulbs in older games that used incandescent blinker bulbs before they were computer controlled. The blinking rate seems fine--it's just that the rate seems to be identical between bulbs, rather than blinking at slightly different intervals.

As for making an adjustable blinker, could you cut a rectangle in the side of the metal base and put a recessed slide switch or a round hole with a recessed potentiometer in there? I'm not sure how tight for space things are inside the base since I've never taken one apart.

Great Idea, and I truly wish I was a smarter person.

China is great at copying things. Non of the main factories have ever seen a pinball machine,
so I have learned that if I can send a prototype, a gerber file and parts, it is likely to be able to
reproduce.

How to invent one, test, ensure reliability and compatibility, are all steps to work from a functioning
prototype.

After that are costs and demand. A new base, or anything requiring new tooling, is generally absorbed
with 10,000 to 20,000 units, but when a few hundred or a 1000 are needed, the tooling costs are upfront.
So to share, a new product, before and after production, is close to a $10,000 expense, and volume needs to be there to justify.

I dont mind doing this, but find myself insanely short of time to develop products at a faster rate then
the hours I do now.
Because of all of that, I end up fielding many emails, and many absolutely brilliant ideas from you guys, but find myself in need of help in the sense of saying, get me a working prototype, and I can take it from there.

I cant truly speak for other vendors, and I do know that pinball life advertises that they will help with
ideas as well, and I would believe that CT, and others all want, what you and I want....

So perhaps, any idea, any prototype, to any vendor, is in the best interest of all of us.

I certainly would want a controlled blinking bulb too!

Just as an example on how this works in a single LED project, Ill reference the postings for a Darker purple. To date, I have spent maybe $1500 and more hours then I can count on this project, and I have protos that failed my customers expectations, and mine again this week. Its like the 14th or 15th version.
It leaves me two versions left, and after that, if they work right, great.
If they fail, I have to declare I am defeated, and move on.

Same with the flame bulb, I have a working proto in hand, and now await production samples
to share and get user testing....

Lastly, even after its all done, the price has to be receptive to the market.
I dont believe people will pay $4-$5 a bulb to recover development costs, and make it a viable "business" investment. Amortizing a 5-10 year period to get a return, isnt really sound, so
doing this, as others do as a "hobby" or a desire to fill a need, is more my motivation.

It is with my sincere apologies that sometimes trying to sit on both sides of the fence, as
a fellow pinhead, and a "business", that causes the hardest decisions to be made, because in any direction, I am unable to satisfy 100%.

As we see in threads, and posts, one failure, one missed shipment, one bad NIB experience,....anything, is food for negativity and confrontation. Something I have to avoid at any cost, for my health.

But, I will keep trying, and as before, perhaps with all the people we have, and so many truly brilliant minds, a solution can be created, and any vendor would be happy, I hope, to put in production.

Keep throwing them out there...it is certainly welcome, and the best way to begin to achieve anything
that helps us all.

Art

Wish I could. I have no background in electronics design, unfortunately. I can cobble things together or repair things well enough to make them work so long as I have an example and documentation to look at, but building from scratch is a bit beyond me, unfortunately.

Eh, it's just the drama that is pinside and people who never learned patience. Don't let that get you down. You're an asset to the hobby, and it's awesome what you've been able to contribute

I've been trying to find a product of some sort that I can make, but I haven't found anything yet that someone else hasn't already made, something within my current abilities, and something that wouldn't cost king's ransom to produce.

Not sure I follow the overriding signals from a game. The 455's are used as a GI bulb. In a DE System 3 game they are either on or off. Even leaving the game in attract mode in which they are always on there should be no signals to override?

Yep, that's the same way with early Gottlieb games as well. You explained it much better than I did above

Can a non techie/newbie swap out the bulbs of a pin or should a tech be called in for that? I just got a kit for my IJ4 from pinballbulbs and I'm kinda scared to open the box.

Anybody can do it, though sometimes some disassembly may be required to get to certain lamp sockets. Also, make sure that the machine is turned off so that you don't accidentally short something while you're changing the bulbs.

I am happy to stand corrected for anything I say....I truly am a pin collector for 43 years, but still no talent with a soldering iron.

As Blinker Bulbs may be used in GI or Backboxes, even inserts, and different games have either "on" or "off", others have fades, controlled blinking, etc.
When someone buys blinking bulbs, they often have a use and expectation of function.
Its obvious, current blinkers dont satisfy everyones needs.

I guess its my assumption that a variable, user controlled blinking rate would solve this.
What I meant was with the myriad of games, even using a blinking bulb in a Capcom Pinball Magic,
I would expect there are games and locations where even a variable bulb might have some issues.

Part of this may also be based on my recent, and current failed attempt at 6.3V, AC/DC RGB strips.
We could not find a way to prevent attract mode, to resetting the stored settings.
So they will be released, we hope, for GI only, only for AC. They work great in either...but forgot to think about attract settings....

Its in you...its likely just patience...with 3D printing, all you need is an idea. Tim, at Mezel Mods, is a great example and perhaps opportunity to turn that idea into a prototype.

Many ideas, just like yours, pop up on pinside, and it just takes someone to tweak it and work it into reality.

An easy example are all the bumper cap options. John (Zitt) has made amazing Star Trek Caps, Aaron, has created Chrome decals, Hooked, and Tim, I think maybe Gio and Steve, have made for new releases.....yet so MANY are waiting to be made! Spirals for TZ or other. RS related ones, and on. Almost every game is an open market.

I think there have been threads and dozens of great ideas, just waiting for execution.

Anyway, back to bulbs, and sorry to hijack the thread, because, I respect all vendors and genuinely am uncomfortable here, I have my usual opinion.

Every LED vendor has there strengths and weaknesses. Every customer has different tastes, needs, and expectations. We all, as vendors, IMO, do our best. Find one that you are happy with, and support them. As new products come to market, no reason not to try them.
At the end of the day, its still pinball, and I believe it is about being happy and enjoying this blessing...to have this invention... to just play pinball.

I used to use Cointaker but again...shipping monger fees applied and the bulbs are more expensive that Art's. At the end of the day Comet's LEDS are awesome and you have a slew of them to choose from + shipping wise...he's cheaper.

I would love to do a conversion on one of my machines, but it's a daunting task if you don't want to purchase a kit. Looks like a lot of trial and error.... and purchases to find the right mix.

This is why I always buy from Art...he is always reachable, always informative, always helpful, always friendly and very humble....a true asset to the pinball and pinside community.

It will take you about two hours to figure out. And it;s well worth it.

Yep, just get a small handful of different types of bulbs to try out and spend a few hours playing around with them. Then once you figure out which ones you are happy with, order them in bulk.

Understandable and like I said happy with everything else I have from comet. At the same time when something is sold as
"1 SMD 5050 #455 SUPERIOR BRIGHT SLOW BLINK NATURAL OR WARM WHITE. NOW IN BOTH BASES!" and specifies "On a back box, where you want a graphic to blink, when it currently is not. In a GI area, for a desired blinking affect."

One would expect it to act like the old #455 Bulbs you are replacing.

I think I will assemble a sample pack at comet. At least this could give me an idea.

You could start a post asking if anyone has a list of what bulbs they used to do their LED conversion of the machine in question (or post in the machine's fan club if there's a thread going). I got a good start on my Shadow conversion by looking at several bulb-by-bulb LED replacement lists that people had posted for it.

Ultimately, I had a full list of the bulbs I wanted to start with (and the locations where they would be placed) when I made my order from Comet, but I also ordered a few other types of bulbs just to try them out. Over the months I've swapped a couple here and there (wanted less powerful flashers in a few spots, still tinkering with lighting for the upper playfield). But still spent less than I would have getting a pre-made kit, got exactly what I wanted, and I think I'd be doing the same tinkering even if I'd bought a kit since there will invariably be something you'd have done differently than whoever designed the kit.

Having said that, if you like the look of a kit (especially if you're able to see one in person) and don't mind paying a bit more for convenience, it's certainly the easiest way to go.

I used comet leds on my Getaway. I used non-ghosting in inserts and super brights in the gi. Results look great and I am very pleased. I was worried the flicker would bother me but I barely notice. Even with premium bulbs, cost was way less than most kits. I liked Comet's website best and selection of bulbs. Art was also quick and patient to answers all my newb questions.

I ordered some stuff from pinball life with no issues. but comet seems to be the way to go pricing and service has been proven hard to beat! will be using them in the future!