Have a LE on order. I was told by the distro that production starts at the end of January. Of course, after watching the live stream Fri night, I would like it now.

I know a couple of folks have asked if there is a pic of the topper on a LE, but looks like there is not. If anyone here is good with photoshop (or something else) could put a pic of that topper on the LE, I'd be forever grateful and may consider you a hero, at least for now.

I don't think the topper looks good on the Premium - just doesn't "flow" with the black/white backlight. But my suspicion is it may look great on the LE.

But, I'm a noob and didn't even know what a topper was a few weeks ago. ha ha.

As a noob I'm starting to see that each step of this process of a new pin is kind of exciting (will it be made?, when will it be made? who will design it? when is the reveal? art? playfield?, etc....)

Now that we have them ordered, it will certainly be cool as heck when some folks here see their machines and we get pics and initial feedback.

I'm going with Kashmir for first play. Big move as it's highly unlikely I'll make it through the song with all 3 balls. ha ha. On second thought, maybe Immigrant Song - short and awesome tune.

Well that looks kinda sweet, as suspected.

As promised, you are my hero......for now. Seriously, thanks for putting that together - really helps.

The blue will definitely look different in person - you can see various shades of blue in the promo photo. Specifically, take a look at the border around the back box - totally different shades, but that's expected based on how the light hits it. It will absolutely look different in person and actually different in everyone's location - the actual type of lighting you use (LED vs. incandescent vs. fluorescent, color temperature - i.e. 5000K vs 3500K, intensity) makes a HUGE difference in color perception.

As an example, we had just had our basement finished and walls painted with a light blue/gray and the contractor asked what LED temperature we wanted so we plugged in 2 different ones - I believe it was 3500K and 5000K. We were stunned how different the walls looked - like 2 completely different colors. We picked the bulb based on how we wanted the basement walls to look.

One other thing I was thinking about after the pics came out. I really like the blue border surrounding the playfield and think it really meshes well with the playfield colors/lights. Considering how much time is spent looking at pins from this perspective, that's a big factor. I'm really anxious to see how that blue playfield border looks with the lighting we have.

Also, I've seen some photoshopped pictures with 5 different alternate colors - I wouldn't choose any of them over the blue. Maybe it's just a tough art scheme to find something that works? My thought was a soft blueish/green would look best. If I had any photoshop skills (I don't) I'd give it a whirl.

I'm in the Chicago area and so is my Distro. Distro received my LE this afternoon. Being delivered to me this Thursday. Rock n Roll.

Abt Electronics in Glenview, IL. I posted a story here in the Community/Stories section about this - I didn't go to Abt a couple of months ago to buy pins....but now I will have 3.

Delivered at midday......#77 in the house (for 1977). Took a few pics and then back to work. Sooooo painful waiting for workday to end, but another busy workday so it flew by. Got about 10 plays on it now though. Delivered with 0.93 code. Was very difficult for me to break away and post this. ha ha.

The Good:

The blue is a keeper - very hard to see in pics, but there is an underlying metallic look. No way I'm changing it.
It's snappy - just a hoot to shoot. So crisp - I have a JP Pro and AIQ Premium (not shown in pics - they are 90 degrees offset to the left of the LZ LE) and I have to say there is something about this pin that is different vs. those. My first Steve Ritchie so I'll chalk it up to that. Have it at 6.5 degrees.
Music - um, of course (but I'm a guy who carved Led Zeppelin in his 8th grade desk, so a bit biased)
Lights are cool - quite frankly though, I was focused on making shots more than the lighting
VERY happy with the right ramp and side ramp shots - saw a decent amount of rejects on a recent livestream on the right ramp, and heard about difficulty on hitting the "side target" on the pro.....however, I'm hitting both of these at a decent clip (and I kinda suck), so thrilled because I was concerned about this.
Multi-balls vs. single ball are perfect for my taste - just an enjoyable mix

The Bad:

Chip in the Invisiglass at the very top. Ugh. I contacted Distro - needs to be replaced.
The Electric Magic spinner stopped spinning. After 2 needle nose pliers repairs, it's working again. Seemed like it needed to be slightly bent inward as the arms were rubbing on the brackets and preventing it from spinning (yes, I was pissed....but glad it's working now!).
At first glance, it definitely looks like a barren playfield compared to my other 2 pins. Clearly, this is getting to some folks who are trashing it. Although this is in "The Bad" category (you know...first impressions and all), it's not an issue once you start flipping. Music, Magic Spinner, and awesome snappiness takes over.
Sound quality - a bit underwhelming, so slightly disappointed. I'm a musician and bit of an audiophile snob though, so take with grain of salt please. I know folks have recommended a sub - will no doubt be doing that as it's a minor investment compared to the price of this thing.

Have no idea what I'm doing code wise, but will work on that.....

Now if you'll excuse me, I have something to go do. Cheers!!!!

Edit: Added comment on sound

Led Zep 1 (resized).jpgLed Zep 2 (resized).jpgLed Zep 3 (resized).jpg

I haven't looked at the blue vs. any particular other colored feature - just in general, I really like how the blue looks as a "package', if that makes sense. Art (specifically, color taste) is subjective (some would argue VERY subjective) and don't forget lighting makes a big difference - how color is perceived by the eye depends very much on the type of lighting (LED, Incandescent, etc...) as well as the color temperature (3500K, 5000K, etc..). I'm just beyond thrilled that the blue looks great - I had already started trying to figure out who to go to for powder coating and what color to go with. Nope, sticking with the blue. Others may change it. You'll know relatively quickly once you get it, on whether to stick with it or swap it.

Hey all, regarding the EM spinner, in my post from last Thursday evening, I had written…

“The Electric Magic spinner stopped spinning. After 2 needle nose pliers repairs, it's working again. Seemed like it needed to be slightly bent inward as the arms were rubbing on the brackets and preventing it from spinning….”

I know there are a few “cooks in the kitchen” here with this issue, but I wanted to give an update and try to detail specifically what I did.

Update: After the 2 needle nose plier repairs on Thursday, the spinner stopped spinning again after about 10-15 games on Friday, so I went in a 3rd time with the needle nose pliers and made the adjustment again. In addition, during that fix, I put some 3-in-1 oil on a Q-tip and dabbed it where the spinner wires go through the bracket holes. 3rd time was a charm – I put an estimated 8-10 hours on it since that 3rd fix attempt and it has worked flawlessly. In fact, I’m pretty sure that last adjustment, with oil, has allowed me to hit 70 spins with 1 shot (I pick that goal now for my first tour mode – ha).

What is happening (as myself and others have already pointed out) is the spinner wire is too close to the bracket where it enters the bracket hole – it rubs on the bracket. What I did is take the needle nose pliers and grab the vertical part of the spinner and twist. I twisted my hand in the direction where it will appear that you are pulling the wire out of the bracket hole (this hand direction twist will vary, clockwise or counterclockwise depending on what side of the spinner you are on and in what position you have the spinner). As an example, on the right wire, if the vertical portion of the wire is below the bracket hole, you will twist your hand counterclockwise.

I did this on both sides until the wire almost came out of the hole in the bracket (but not out). After reading what Steve Ritchie wrote, it’s possible this had the effect of both bending the wire slightly AND spreading out the bracket, because that’s kind of what happened – the pliers are obviously much thicker than the gap between the wire and the bracket so I had to use the bracket for leverage to bend the wire and I did notice some flex on the bracket. How much of my fix was bending the wire vs. bending the bracket – who knows, but it works. I actually did this TWICE to each wire side during the 3rd attempt – I was on a mission to never pull the glass again to fix this. Please note I did not have to disassemble the EM in any manner. I just turned the machine off when the spinner was raised – it stays up.

Keep in mind that metal actually has spring back properties (think of a paperclip) so it has to be tweaked enough so the spring back (wire and bracket) don't put it back in the rubbing situation. If you are wondering why, after 10 initial games, it would suddenly start rubbing – well, not sure on that one. I’ll chalk it up to machine break-in and the wire and bracket finding it’s “resting” position after some banging the ball around. Is it possible that hitting the spinner causes some movement of the wire and bracket enough to create the issue – certainly possible. But it looks like if you create enough gap, the issue will be fixed, hopefully permanently. But, don’t worry so much about that…..and don’t fret – if a noob like me can diagnose and fix this all on my own, all of you will be golden.

DISCLAIMER: Not claiming this is the only way to fix this. It’s just the method that worked well for me.

Questions? Let me know.

One last thing…..this game is awesome. I’m hooked. New AIQ code came out and I haven’t even plugged in my USB stick to update it (no offense to Mr. Elwin – AIQ is awesome). But I’m too busy trying to complete a 2nd tour mode. Also, almost all of these songs are timeless – I simply don’t tire of them. Kashmir on a pinball machine? Come on now – what could be better? Maybe if Steve Ritchie is reading this, he could talk to Tim Sexton and ask for those first 2 shots on Kashmir to be a little easier? Pretty Please?

Thanks for posting the drawing - this is what some of us had already determined and fixed accordingly, but it's much nicer to see a visual representation than read a rambling post (like my last post....ha ha) trying to explain it. The funny thing is, I did a drawing with a close up showing the issue of little/no gap and wanted to post that instead of my rambling post - however, it was so bad I feared that it would be mocked for generations of pinsiders so I crumpled it up and threw it in my trashcan. Luckily, the trash is being picked up this morning, otherwise I'd almost be tempted to post it here for laughs.

Quick update on my spinner: I have 240+ games on my Zep LE since the 3rd adjustment I made with the needle nose pliers (also had added oil) and it has worked perfectly - not a single issue and it's ripping.

I think it would be important to understand what you did to that ball such that it is not only hiding from you but has become incredibly camera shy.

Seriously, I think I see it - just to the left of the orange lit insert. As Chetrico mentioned.....guessing may not be level side-to-side. I have my Zep LE at 6.5 degrees, totally level side-to-side and I have had no ball hang ups (I take that back....maybe 1-2 times on the EM Spinner, but a simple nudge fixed it). Of course, could be manufacturing "tolerances", but check leveling first. I use the PinGuy app and has worked quite well.

I installed the PinWoofer GT 8in Spike-2 Super Kit this morning on my Zep LE. I opted to use the cabinet speaker that comes with the kit to replace the stock LE cabinet speaker - the PinWoofer is a slight upgrade in quality over the stock LE cabinet speaker. I also ordered the amplifier mounting bracket in blue. I kept the backbox speakers the same. I worked with Dan this morning - this was my first PinWoofer install - he was very responsive and helpful. I also spoke to him after the install to discuss the settings I came up with and give him some initial feedback. I was planning on doing a full review shortly after I get it fully dialed in (next 1-2 days), but thought I'd share a quick blurb here in the meantime because the question was asked.

In short, get it. Some may opt for just connecting a subwoofer, which I'm sure will offer an improvement, but my experience in music equipment - both listening and performing (I'll spare you the details, but I had long hair at one point) tells me this pin needs an amplification source upgrade. I cannot comment on the difference between the 2 approaches though as I've only listened to the difference between the LE stock sound and the PinWoofer kit. I can tell you that the difference I'm hearing is significant, both with music, sounds and call outs. It's important to note.....music (like art) is subjective and we all hear things in our "own way" if that makes sense so when I say "get it", it's based on my musical experience, preference, taste, etc...I'm sure others will weigh in with their thoughts.

Overall, the sound with the PinWoofer upgrade was what I was hoping for with the stock LE, but sadly the stock sound was disappointing, IMHO. For what we paid for this pin, in my opinion, this sound upgrade is a no brainer. My suggestion is upgrade as you see fit, but this pin needs an upgrade.

Again, full review coming shortly, including install notes and settings.

p.s. I thought this pin was addictive BEFORE the sound upgrade......

The LE did not get an amplifier upgrade. They all have the same 3 channel amp.

PinWoofer GT 8in Spike-2 Super Kit: Led Zeppelin LE install, quick review, setting optimization

As follow up to my previous post (shown above - I’m allowed to respond to myself, right? ha), I wanted to share some more details around the experience of installing this PinWoofer system in my Led Zeppelin LE. This was my first PinWoofer install.

Install:

I kept the LE backbox speakers (Kenwood) the same, so the install was the amp system and cabinet speaker. Overall, I would rate the install as relatively easy with little technical knowledge required. There are instructions to download from the Pinwoofer.com site as well as a video from HurryUpPinball that I highly recommend – I actually followed along with that video step by step. The only hurdle I ran into was how to connect the existing backbox speakers to the PinWoofer harness speaker wires (there is a connector mismatch here). I reached out to Dan and he responded immediately (early on a Saturday morning) and walked me through the 3 options. I utilized the enclosed splice connects because I didn’t want to get my soldering iron out – ideally, soldering is probably the best way to go, but the splices were easy and the connection is great so it’s a very solid option.

It’s important to be patient with any connections on the boards – some may require some jiggling to detach. Don’t crank anything too hard without understanding how snap-fit features work. Also, tidy up those wires – either with existing wire routers or the enclosed wire ties. On the cabinet speaker, I had to slightly pry open one of the speaker connectors from the harness and also slightly bend up the speaker attachment point to be able to have an appropriate angle to push the connector on.

Overall, installation concerns should NOT be a factor when considering this system.

Backbox Speakers:

Some are suggesting that the Pyle speakers may be a small upgrade over the Kenwood stock speakers that come with the LE. The only way to know for sure is to do an apples-to-apples comparison so I have a set of the Pyles arriving early next week. I’ll do a comparison vs. the Kenwood speakers and report back for those interested. One thing is for sure, the Kenwood speakers sound entirely different (in a really good way) with the PinWoofer amp vs. the stock amp.

Sound:

I spent numerous sessions over the course of 4-5 days dialing this in, both the PinWoofer amp settings and the machine settings. Right out of the gate it probably won’t sound very good, so please make sure you adjust settings. The ones I’m using right now are below. You may find that something else works better for you. I went heavy on the music….because…well, this is a Led Zeppelin pinball machine. It’s interesting to note that all the songs have different dynamics to them so it was a bit difficult to find a setting that works across this group of songs, while also balancing the game sound effects and call outs.

PinWoofer Amp:

Bass Freg: 1:00 (clock position)
Bass Vol: 2:00
Backbox Vol: 12:00
Treble: 12:00
Volume: 3:00
Gain: 3:00

Game Settings:

Music Attenuation: -10
Speech Attenuation: +3

EQ (Backbox):

31Hz (+5), 62 Hz (+3), 125Hz (+1), 250Hz (-1), 500Hz (-2), 1kHz (-2), 2kHz (-2), 4 kHz (-1), 8 kHz (0), 16 kHz (0)

EQ (Cabinet):

31Hz (0), 62 Hz (+1), 125Hz (+3), 250Hz (+4), 500Hz (+6), 1kHz (+6), 2kHz (+4), 4 kHz (+2), 8 kHz (+1), 16 kHz (-1)

Game Volume:

Usable range probably 6 - 20. Sweet spot for loud playing is 15-17 with 15 being a good overall rockin' volume. I go to 17 after a couple of beers. Some may find 15 too loud – I’m not one of those people. (side note: my guitar rig is a MesaBoogie Dual Rectifier into a Marshal 4x12 speaker cabinet so for those guitarists out there you will probably understand.)

Overall Sound:

I’m beyond thrilled with how this is sounding – the game just takes on a different feel. The additional tweaking has made an improvement over my initial adjustments. There is clearly a lot of headroom in the PinWoofer amp to drive the speakers without distortion. With the stock system, I tinkered until I couldn’t ticker any more, had the volume at like 50 and it was just…..well, bad, in my humble opinion. The PinWoofer is a sound game changer for this pin. While tinkering I realized just how much of the game sounds come out of the backbox speakers vs. the cabinet speaker. Being a pinball noob, I really hadn’t been paying much attention to this until the Zep LE showed up.

I’m getting tight bass and drums from the backbox, with crystal clear game sounds and call outs. The stock system was like a jumbled mess of sounds and got worse as the volume was increased. Here, you can crank the volume and maintain that tightness and separation of sounds. It was definitely a challenge trying to balance the frequency ranges here – I don’t need shrieking vocals nor piercing guitar solos when playing it loud so you’ll see the EQ settings compensate for the mediocre midrange quality of the Kenwoods. Will be interesting to see if the Pyles can improve this.

Are there any downsides? Well, if you get crazy with the volume and certain EQ frequencies on the backbox speakers you may get some glass rattle. I worked on the settings to eliminate/reduce this at high volumes and feel it’s in a good spot. GT actually stands for Glass Tamer so there is technology built into the amp (frequency filtering, I believe) that helps to reduce glass rattle. The only other thing is you may have some static/hiss during start up that was not there prior to the install – Dan assured me that is normal and nothing to worry about. It’s important to note that this static/hiss is not present during gameplay.

Questions? Feel free to post or PM me. Happy to help!

Oh, almost forgot…..I haven’t touched my AIQ Premium nor JP Pro in the 2 weeks since the Zep LE showed up. It’s THAT good.

This may be the best $66 (includes taxes and shipping) I've ever spent. Just installed it this morning. Tired of opening the coin door to adjust volume. Also, there are times the family would prefer I use headphones - ha ha. Headphone sound quality is serviceable, not great, but will definitely work.

Zep volume control (resized).jpg

I was literally in the middle of playing, in between games (my games are short - I kinda suck), and saw the email from Stern. Downloading new code as I type this. Should be up and running with it in 10-15 minutes.

Nothing better than a successful update! Played 2 games. Love it! A couple quick observations:

- You may have noticed that sometimes when you start a game, the EM spinner is raised and just sits there. You ask it politely to please go away....but it takes awhile. Well, this is fixed - it disappears quickly.

- Song sales. I don't feel like such a loser anymore. I swear I would crank a song on 0.93 code and glance up and have....like....2 gold records and the song is almost over. I'm like wtf? I know I suck but I don't suck that bad. In my 2nd game on 0.95 code I had 5 gold on Good Times Bad Times and then 7 gold on Communication Breakdown. Never happened before. I'm actually confident I can hit that new Wizard mode eventually.

Rock on. Love this game even more.

And, yes, that is #77.....for 1977. Epic year for Zep.

Zep code 0.95 (resized).jpg

Come on now! I've never sniffed that. I get excited when I see a 5.4 Icarus.....and of course I gank every shot when I have a good Icarus. Noob pinballing at its finest.

Pin down. Well, this kinda stinks. Looks like the the Rubber O-Ring around the drop bank crapped out. Anyone else have this issue? Seems a bit early in its life for this to happen. I called the distro, who said they will contact Stern on Monday to order a replacement part. I asked for 2 of them. Luckily, Pinball Life is nearby and looks like they carry them so I'm putting an order in there - guessing I'll get them much quicker.

I was, literally, in the process of dialing in the sound for the Pyle backbox speakers (will post a quick update shortly on that) and now I'm sidelined.....

My afternoon plan was to drink beer and play Zep. My day is ruined. ha ha.

Led Zep rubber 1 (resized).jpg

Led Zep rubber 2 (resized).jpg

Led Zeppelin LE PinWoofer Backbox Speaker Showdown!

The Contenders: Kenwood KFC-1366S vs. Pyle Blue Label PL53BL

I set up my equipment including a spectrum frequency analyzer, cross-over mixing equalizer, sequenced condenser and dynamic microphones, and a flux capacitor for good measure. OK, that last one should be the giveaway that I made that all up.

Here's what I really did....

I installed the Pyle on the left side and kept the Kenwood on the right. I listened to a variety of songs and passages to make sure it was as apples-to-apples as it could be, taking into account left/right channel mixing. I kept the settings the same based on my previous post (#2155) where I dialed in the PinWoofer with the Kenwoods. I also listened at different volumes.

The verdict: Pyle speakers are the clear winner. I installed the Pyle on the right side and am going with those moving forward. (The good news is I'll repurpose all 3 Zep LE speakers into my AIQ Premium)

Overall, the Pyle had a bit better bass response, but really shined in the midrange. The vocals, callouts and guitar solos were much more clear and could be played at a higher volume while still maintaining their shape vs. the Kenwoods.

As soon as I get my O-Ring replacement (see my recent post) I'll finish the setting adjustments and share what I came up with - based on what little I did I do believe a few adjustments can improve the sound slightly from what I reported before, to take advantage of the Pyles.

Just a side note, if you do get a Pinwoofer and go with the Pyles, the install ease alone is almost worth it vs. connecting the Pinwoofer harness speaker wires to the Kenwoods.

Funny you mention that.....it crossed my mind to see if my AIQ Premium or JP Pro have that size and then I decided maybe I should just play one of those instead because they both have been ignored for the last 4 weeks.

But because you (Hayfarmer) are so inspiring in these forums, I checked the manuals thinking, well, I think I will do that now.....sadly, neither game has the 1 3/4" size I need. oh well.

Based on an update I received this week, Stern is hoping to get Topper production going in mid-April. Looks like it was delays with parts, which, for anyone who has been following the massive supply chain issues for raw materials recently, should not be surprised. Shortage of plastics, metals, cardboard, electronics (specifically, semiconductors), etc....In addition, shipping containers are stacked up at ports so anything being imported is having delays.

And, yes, for those wondering....these shortages are affecting the production of pinball machines.

It's a mess folks. Hang in there and enjoy what you have to play right now!

Installed the PinMonk Tibetan Breeze v1.5 SPIKE 2 Flipper Cooling kit today for my Zep LE. This was my first purchase/install of this kit.

Verdict: Um, yeah, must have. Tested it and 30 minutes after continuous play I was able to backhand the right ramp. Previously, without it, that was a dead shot after about 15-20 minutes.

For me, it's simply a gamechanger because that's my most consistent shot along with the center ramp (and, well, of course the spinner when it's up). Posted my best Kashmir effort (when starting game with this song) with 8 gold records and actually made it through the entire song for the first time. Don't underestimate the importance of this to me - one of the greatest songs ever created and have been annoyed I hadn't made it through yet (yes, I'm a newbie player).

Only issue was the brackets for both the right and left didn't fit neatly into the space - I ended up sanding away portions of both - took me about 3-4 iterations each. I didn't want to remove more than was necessary - they fit perfectly though with what I sanded away. Not a big deal - easy to do, just some extra time. Install, other than that, was....ahem, a breeze. I'm sure it's impossible to create brackets that fit every game so no issue and this will be a must have for any of my pins that have flipper fade. For me, for what we spend on these pins, it seems that having more consistent flipper power/control is a no brainer for $120.

Just my 2 cents......hit me back with any thoughts/comments.

Received some requests to post pics of the Tibetan Breeze install, specifically showing how much had to be sanded away in order to fit. Here ya go.....

Hope this helps!

1) Both installed fans
PinMonk both fans (resized).jpg

2) Left Fan Closeup (pic taken from the right)
PinMonk left fan 1 (resized).jpg

3) Left Fan Closeup (pic taken from the left)
PinMonk left fan 2 (resized).jpg

4) Right Fan Closeup (pic taken from the right)
PinMonk right fan 1 (resized).jpg

5) Right Fan Closeup (pic taken from slightly off center to the right)
PinMonk right fan 2 (resized).jpg

Yes, that's about right. It was slightly different for the left and right but the general area of the bracket and amount removed was relatively similar for both. Can you get the information you need to make any slight modifications from those pics?

Has anyone else had issues with high percentage of rejects from the left scoop? Just a couple of weeks ago I started getting about 50% of the balls that were hit directly into it come right back out. The switch appears to actually depress and then pop back (from the sound I hear) but zero "credit" for the shot. Very frustrating as you can imagine with how important that shot is, and how much (in general) I stink at making the exact shot I want.

It's a L bracket shape so I decided to push down on the top of it last night (I removed the top plastic piece), thinking maybe over time hitting the back of the L was causing the top to move slightly upward, making it more difficult for the shot to be held in there. It really seemed to work.....for a little bit of time then I was at about a 25% reject rate. I'm a relative noob with pinball repair like this and didn't want to keep pushing on it anymore if there is something else I should consider. I attached a pic - there doesn't seem to be any noticeable wear/structural defects that I'm aware of. Thoughts?

Zep scoop (resized).jpg

My best guess is 1/8" should be enough, maybe slightly more than that. I'm looking at a tape measure right now trying to remember how much I took off so bear with me. Only way to know for sure is for me to pull them out and measure, but I don't have another set of brackets, so would be hard for me to get an exact amount. Let me know though if there is anything else I can do to help and don't be afraid to ask for whatever you need. Cheers.

Left Scoop Reject - input needed. Hey All, I posted this 2+ weeks ago and unless I missed something I didn't get any thoughts/feedback so I thought I'd throw it out there again. I still have the issue. One additional piece of information: I never have a reject from the top scoop. If this is "part of the game" so to speak, meaning that I can never expect 100% success with a shot into the left scoop, that's OK - wouldn't mind some verification one way or another. Cheers.

It rattles out - hits the back metal plate (L bracket) and rattles slightly and bounces out. The kick out mechanism (plastic post in bottom of hole) activates a couple seconds after the ball rattles out so there's some indication to the pin that it was in there, however, it doesn't give any "credit" for it being there meaning I don't get credit for whatever I'm supposed to (i.e. free ball, tour multi-ball, etc...) because I assume the ball needs to be actually resting in there to activate the free ball, tour multi-ball, etc...

It's rattling out about 25% of the time and seems to be on cleanly hit shots from the tip of the right flipper. Weak shots don't rattle out.

Flipper strength is standard factory settings - I have not changed them (right and left are at factory default of 255). I cradle on the right flipper and hit that shot off the tip of the right flipper so it's a fairly strong shot and sometimes it rests in the hole and sometimes it just rattles out. I've never had this issue until the last 4 weeks or so, so something had to have happened I'm assuming....I just don't know what.

I assume you are referring to raising the incline so the ball is somewhat slowed down when entering the left scoop. I'm already at 6.6 degrees and simply never had this issue until 4 weeks ago so I'm more...err.....inclined (groan) to believe it's something else going on that could be fixed. I did send an email to Pablo at Stern (thanks to zaki for suggesting that). Hopefully he has some ideas. I'm contemplating adding a small piece of foam to the back of the L bracket to "lessen the blowback" but it's a pain to get back there without dismantling some stuff.

Ugh. I'm going to play some JP and AIQ until I can get this fixed - just frustrating. I know, the horror of having to play other pins (ha ha).

I had not cleaned/waxed prior to the issue happening, but did clean/wax a couple of weeks ago because I had the glass off again trying to figure this issue out, so just decided to clean/wax (it's admittedly kind of therapeutic). No difference either way with the issue after that clean/wax.

I reached out to Pablo at Stern and he responded right away. I sent him a slo-mo video of the issue. The ball goes into the scoop area and rattles around (kind of in a circle) and flies back out. He said he has never seen or heard of this before and is looking into it. Really happy with the communication - he's very responsive and truly wants to figure this out.

Have no idea how to "embed" a video in a post, otherwise I'd include it.

Get yourself that Pinwoofer system with the Pyles. You will enjoy it so much that your taxes will automatically pay themselves with that smile on your face. I've also heard your taxes go up if you keep the stock system - ok, not really.

Seriously, if the budget allows for it, in my opinion it's the 1st priority mod for the game....because, you know, it's a music pin and all.

Here's the slow motion video of left scoop reject. This was from a right flipper cradle.

Thanks to Hay for video posting instructions and to rb14 for sharing the pain with me. Seriously, I was struggling to believe that no one else was having this same issue.

I fired it up again last night (after avoiding it for a bit), and sure enough - reject city. Hit several shots from the right cradle and had about 2/3 get rejected, including one when extra ball was lit - that one ganked out and ended up going SDTM. I turned off the machine.

I also put the PinMonk fans in because after some extended play I could not backhand the right ramp - was really frustrating. Now it’s not an issue, regardless of how long I’ve been playing. Totally worth the $ for what we spend on these pins and it’s relatively easy to install. (Note: I just recently bought them for my Iron Maiden and GnR based on my experience with them on Zep)

Also, for others who were asking about backhanding the right ramp out of the box….I have had no issues with it and didn’t need any flipper adjustments. I have a LE.

On a sour note….my left scoop is still having issues with “catching” the ball, so pin down for now - I’m considering it unplayable due to frustration. Stern has responded and is working with me to fix it, but it’s progressing a bit slowly. This is why we need multiple pins in our collection! (That’s what I tell myself anyway)

Here's my previous post on it showing the slo mo video......could compete for national champion of Ring Around the Rosie.