Which podcast is this specifically about? I'm aware of five or six and I'm not sure if you're implying you are affiliated with pinball life or not.

Edit -nevermind- googling Don did it. 52 episodes and I'm betting this is you.

http://www.thepinballpodcast.com/

*The* pinball podcast!

First and foremost, great podcast. One thing I would say is maybe shorten the pods to about an hour and do two a month. I completely understand if that is not doable. Also, maybe have a tips and tricks segment that just throws out a random good scoring tip for specific games that people may not know about. Kind of like a competitive pinball noob corner, or how to put your initials on a game 101. Contests are fun too. More of those haha

Edit: for the highscoring tips, only do it for games that are regularly seen on route or in tournaments, and are not on TPA.

A few things I look for:

-Shorter run times. I'd much, much rather listen to a 20-minute cast on a specific topic than a longer one on multiple topics. It also makes it much easier to find something if I want to re-listen.
-More commentary on the games themselves, rulesets, art, playing them for fun and in tournaments, easter eggs, etc. A couple of podcasts I've listened to miss on this.
-Not too much talk about buying and selling and what who got for what or where they went to get it. It's fun to relive the rush of experiencing some of this stuff but there's plenty of bargain hunting on cable TV already.
-Interviews with a variety of actors in the industry and community.
-Context. Few 'casts do this well. Some assume the listeners are also actively reading things on pinside. Some assume people know what pronounced acronyms like LITZ are or what "Shatzing the inlane" means. My wife doesn't want to listen to things that are half mumbo-jumbo so it's out of the running for car trip listening.
-Entertainment and banter. Listen to The Indoor Kids sometime.

This, it also makes it easier to search for when you want a refresher. IE someone offers you a machine that you don't have experience with.

There feels like a lot of "dry time" on the episodes I've listened to. Pacing and general tone of the show feels off. I still listen to it all the time, but it doesn't flow as nicely as some other Podcasts I listen to (not necessarily about Pinball).

I don't mind the length of the shows, but I'd rather shorter and more content rich over length.

Something that would be time consuming, but having tags for the different topics brought up during your podcast. IE what machines get mentioned. I was listening to the gomez interview and while I originally got there due to your listing it for LOTR for the episode, I found information on fastbreak much more enticing.

I think odd ball game feaurettes are great, exp, spend 6-7 min on breaking down a GTB Timeline, or a Countdown, Sharpshooter 2 etc. Talk about value, rules, restoration unobtainiums, etc. I love giving time like that to somthing to peak my interest. In other words spend a little time on games outside the top 100 type discussions (no not Maverick).

So did anyone get a gift card?

I would suggest booting Don off the show.

J/K I enjoy the show, keep up the good work.

I've been listening for quite some time. Don't take this the wrong way, but you 2 sound a bit bored on the episodes as of late. Or tired. I feel like some steam has been lost over the months. Some bullet points:

1. I would keep it under 2 hours(60-90's the magical time). Any thing more loses the listeners attention. There's a lot of podcasts that are 45 minutes and keep it fresh.

2. A Maverick ban. Plenty of other pins to talk about.

3. New segments, which means at the sacrifice of current segments: Keep new segments, part out current segments, flip ????

4. Talk about pins you never hear about on any other pinball 'cast. Cirsa, Zaccaria, GamePlan pins.

S1500, podcast curmudgeon.

I love your guys podcast.

Featured five. Do it more even if it's a really simple one, maybe for simpler ones with a narrower scope agree on an overall five beforehand rather than individual five for each. Like top five system 11 as agreed upon by both of you. Keep featured fives that are larger in scope to each having your own though.

I like buying and selling stories and disagre with those that say do them less. I like to live vicariously through others.

Bringing dons wife on and the other episode with joel were great, adding a new person every once in s while is a good way to mix things up.

I listen to Podcasts all the time and constantly looking for them and have never come across yours. So my recommendation is get your name out there constantly shamelessly. Say your name over and over and over and over till it gets out there. In your first post you assume we all know who you are. I am on here everyday and have never seen your Avatar and haven't heard of your podcast my question is WHY?. Get your name out there and always include it in everything you do, that is my recommendation.

Good show, I enjoyed it. I agree on what others have said about the running time.

Drink a good size cup of coffee five minutes before the show. Other than that keep up the good work.

^put the episodes on the front page
^shorten the episodes (drastically)
^have more guests each show, with casts as long as yours, more folks chiming in helps keep the show fresh

give the gift card to law, his JM needs a sweet michael jackson silver glove mod.

Firstly, a lot of respect is due for doing this; it must take a lot of effort and time.
Now, seeing as you asked for suggestions...I think the show needs a bit more punch - you guys can tend to meander for periods, so that I often end up fast forwarding for a few minutes (at which point I find you still waffling about the same subject!). Sometimes it even seems you are boring yourselves, as a yawn or two is stifled. I don't think I'm the only one, as people above have suggested you shorten the episodes and drink coffee beforehand!
Otherwise, I do like your discussions of your own games you might have traded, or are repairing, and I also like discussion about specific games. I could take or leave the part out, flip, keep segment, it's kind of stale. Then again, one man's meat is another man's rissole.
Sorry if the criticism is a tad harsh - you did ask for it though! I'm glad to hear you still have passion for the show and are open to feedback. I'm sure you can make some tweaks to make it even better.

Do you listen to pinball podcasts though? When I searched pinball podcast on ITunes this was the first one to pop up. Not sure how you look for podcasts.

I don't use ITunes I refuse to use any Apple Product. Growing up in the 80's My Uncle whom taught me on the C64 and later IBM Clones stated the following after I asked for him to buy us one (after i was brainwashed in Middle school ones we were using) "Son, Apple computers are sh!t and will only ever be used by children and schools, IBM is where the real computing begins" so in his memory I have have carried on the tradition of not using Apple products. Anyways, to answer your question. Yes I listen to Pinball podcasts. I have listened to all the TopCast, Spooky and Coast to Coast. And there was one other one I listened too that one of the guys passed away I believe they cross podcast with TopCast for a couple of episodes. I usually just Google "Pinball Podcast" or "Retro Podcast" every month or so to find stuff.

Just thought of another adjustment to the ongoing possible playing strategy segment. With there only being a few new games out at any given time, maybe a recurring update on what the best strategies are in the new games. Take for instance, with Star Trek and TWD, as new code comes out, I think the strategies are going to change, so updating people on that stuff would be cool too.

I just found out about this thread tonight. Thank you all so much for your feedback. Many of you hit on things that Jeff and I have talked about 'off air' for a while. We have a core group of listeners that comment or PM us after every show, but as a podcast listener myself, I rarely contact the shows I listen to. It's hard to know what everyone likes or dislikes if they don't say so.

We do the show as a hobby, and for fun, but sometimes our recording date rolls around and it's like 'oh no! Time to put SOMETHING out!' and that's not always fun. We just recorded tonight, and I wish I had read this thread before we began. I personally HATE doing interviews, and often skip interview segments on other podcasts that I listen to, but I know they have a part in podcasting and many people are interested in them. That said, I love having guests on the show. I think a 3-4 person roundtable is always more interesting than just two opinions. Jeff and I can talk about a better way to make that a recurring event, rather than just now and then.

I also prefer shorter episodes. I like 60-90 minutes, as a listener. Sometimes, I feel like we rush topics, and that feeling kept us running long for a while now. We will look at areas to trim (is listener feedback too long, in general?), and maybe roll segments through on a schedule, instead of hitting our standbys on EVERY episode.

Anyway, thanks again so much for taking a moment to share your opinions. You were all kind and constructive, and that means a lot to us. If you have other ideas, we are always open and receptive, even if you're worried about being 'harsh'. PM us or email pinballpodcast at gmail dot com, as we share the email account.

Thanks!

Don

Good point. Jeff and I actually both updated our avatars just this week, so they haven't been seen around nearly as much as our old ones...!

I wish you guys did more "Insider info" segments that you can't talk about. Easily my favorite part of most other pods.

I've just listened through all of them in the last month, so I've been able to hear the evolution of the podcast over the lifetime. Nice job.

My thoughts:

* Yes, time to update some of the segments. I think the keep, flip, part out feature has run it's course, and seems to be more inertia than anything else.

* I think a quick editing pass, trimming out some of the irrelevant stuff, would be a good thing. It could help reduce the length and improve the pacing. For example, those moments when only one person is being recorded and we hear a minute of a one-sided conversation. Just trim it out.

* Agree that some guests would be a nice touch. Not even as interviews, just as more people joining in for the fun.

The thing I enjoy most of the topcast stuff Clay did are the interviews.. I think follow ups on those would be really cool. Mark Ritchie would be my vote for first special guest.

I will start to listen to these. Thank you for going the extra yard......

Recording tomorrow with these comments in mind. Thanks for helping us to (possibly) improve the show!

Don

hi don and jeff. i have listened to all of your shows in the last 6 months or so. i enjoy them a lot. i work from home so i have yours and every other pinball podcast playing while i work away at the desk. it is great. i have your sticker on my desk as we speak

i really enjoy interviews with relevant pinball people. love getting all of my updates on whats new in the pinball world via podcasts rather than reading 1000 pages of pinside which i dont do. so i rely on the podcasts to keep me up to date!

i think the keep flip part is kind of getting old. it is kind of your staple but maybe change it up some way where is it similar but a fresh new take. thats my 2 cents for now. keep up the good stuff and looking forward to your next podcast!