Can't wait. Now if only the topper would be available soon after that. Topper colors will definitely look best on the LE.

Haha I know wishful thinking. Covid has messed up a lot of this. At least I got my black knight topper.

I only watched a minute of it and it was enough for me. I don't want to spoil the fun. It is a 4-ramp monster of speed and flow with a cool opto spinner magnet toy. I've been playing the Beatles this week and the opto spinners on that game rule.

Apparently they got shut down 30 minutes in by FB because of DMCA copyrighted material and can't leave it online. Just shows how tight LZ is with the material and artwork. That's the cost of landing a grail theme sometimes. I watched a minute or two of the video live but don't want to spoil discovering the game myself when I get it. The gameplay looked amazing and that is all I needed to see. Maybe in a few months I'll get the free insider account just to see the rest of it.

I'm trying to think of other games with four ramps? Whitewater had four ramps which is another favorite game. Has there ever been a game with four all-metal ramps? Avengers has 3.5 metal ramps I suppose!

This is an owners thread. It is about fun and helpful discussion of a game we have already made the decision to buy. Stern haters and JJP sycophants please drain this thread.

I'm trying to think of first day items for this game. Main thrust is protection.

- Shooter lane protectors
- https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/apron-edgers-playfield-protection-for-stern-metal-aprons
- There were some pictures of a metal guide hitting the playfield. Find anything like that and put a washer under.
- Turn off the chirp knocker and install a real knocker (prevent ear damage)
- Quiet fan mod. I already have one 3D printed, wired up and ready to go.
- Verify mylar in any drop spots
- Mylar at the ball trough entry

To me it should go in the back right corner or on top of one of the pop bumpers. The pop bumpers are something that scream to be modified. The flat pop caps don't do anything for me and I have replaced them on my last several Sterns with much better looking caps. Looking forward to seeing what mod builders come up with.

I did order a Jimmy Page double neck guitar keychain for the game off of eBay!

One of the switches in the ball trough is out of adjustment, broken, has a broken wire or maybe there is a piece of debris in there jamming the switch. Either way, it is great to see that Stern is back to installing the coin door switches!!

The wording on the feature matrix is a little misleading. The LE has upgraded speakers only. The SPIKE three channel amp (2.1) is no different on the LE and the equalizer will be in software menus. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I'm pretty sure on this. As mentioned above, even the Pro sounds great. Having 2.1 sound with separate volume and sound controls for the cabinet speakers is a way better system then having fixed crossovers built in. Stern gets bashed a lot but their current factory stock sound system is darn good. That said, the only real upgrade that is needed is to connect an external sub for that extra punch. I already have the external sub sitting waiting for my LZLE.

Yeah software EQ is the way to go compared to anything but an expensive audiophile EQ. Cheap hardware EQ adds noise and distortion and the nice one is not worth the price in this situation.

The distributor here will be getting the LEs around the end of the month and one will be dropped at my house shortly after. I have a spot opened up in the lineup and external subwoofer standing by. I'll be cutting some wire for the subwoofer connection this weekend. It'll be soldered right to the cabinet speaker using jacketed 20 gauge wire. Using the speaker level input on the sub, the wire size is meaningless so no need for heavy gauge. I also need to wire up a silent cooling fan so it is ready to go on day one. Speaking of day one, I just remembered that I need to order a knocker from PBL and threw in one of their new SPIKE mod power supplies while I was ordering. The knocker is always a day one mod for me or at least disabling the screech knocker until the real knocker shows up. Ramble over.

Not sure why these mod makers insist on making the protectors in colors? It makes the original colors on the plastics all washed out and terrible looking. I will wait until there is a full set of clear available. It usually doesn't take long even if we have to wait for the playfield protectors people in Germany to make a set.

Last night I messed around with printing a hermit. It came out pretty nice.

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Very nice software update overall. Not being the greatest player on earth, things like this expression lighting update get me fired up even more than added wizard modes .

I will try to keep on topic of connecting LZ to a subwoofer without going into a very long winded technical discussion.

The difference between the direct wiring to the sub's speaker level input (alligator clips) and connecting to the sub's line level (Pinnovators) is mainly one of safety and convenience. Sorry to say there is little or no difference in the sound. The sound all basically comes from the same place and its not like there is more distortion or added noise on one output as compared to the other. There are a lot of variables including the crossover frequency setting on the sub, volume setting on the sub vs volume setting on the pin, equalizer/crossover/cab speaker volume setting on the pin and the brand and quality of the subwoofer. I don't doubt that some setups sound better, but the differences are anecdotal based on the many variables or even a placebo effect.

Not to discount the Pinnovators product. For the price and what you get, it is a good deal and I recommend buying them to anyone on the fence on which method to use. As mentioned above you are buying a level of safety and convenience over the alligator clip method. With the Pinnovators, its plug and play with connectors instead of wiring and clips. The cable exiting the pinball machine from Pinnovators kit is a low power signal. You could literally strip that cable back and short the wires together without damaging the expensive Stern SPIKE CPU board.

On the other hand there is the Alligator clip method. Nothing wrong here sound wise, and in fact this method might deliver a more solid low end bass punch below 80Hz with higher fidelity to the original bass signal out of the SPIKE. What you lose with the alligator clip method is the safety factor and foolproof installation. You are running a high level speaker signal out of the machine. If for some reason you short the wires together or the wires pull out of the subwoofer while the game is being played and the wires short/touch together, it could cause damage to the SPIKE CPU board. People might also be skittish on connecting alligator clips and maybe stripping the wires and connecting them properly to the sub, rather than the Pinnovators simple plug and play.

So what it comes down to is these are simply two different ways to connect. One is safer and easier and a little more expensive. The other is perfectly fine but comes inherently with a reasonable risk and technical know how no different than connecting a stereo receiver to a speaker.

Just quickly I will add that the SPIKE CPU board actually has four separate sound outputs! They all have some technical compromises when it comes to hooking up a sub. Pinnovators chose to use a different connection point (CN4) than what I would have designed for, but they did so with good reason. As mentioned above they were being very conservative and making sure nothing they sell will damage the Stern CPU board and all while still providing crystal clear sound.

OK this makes more sense. You have a good ear! As I mentioned there is a small difference in the sound depending on the output you choose from the SPIKE CPU. Pinnovators hooks up to the left and right stereo output that is going to the backbox speakers. That output connector CN4 has a capacitor on the CPU board to filter out the really low bass sound below 80hz to keep from stressing the amp or backbox speakers with low frequency bass that it is too small to put out anyway. This simple filter basically lowers the volume on the deep bass rather than eliminating it. So when you plug that filtered signal into the subwoofer, it's naturally playing the mid level bass louder than the deep bass. This is exactly what you describe and I don't doubt that it adds some punch to the sound even if the really low bass is not that loud. I also suspect you have the crossover on your subs set to the higher level like 120 or 160 Hz instead of 80 Hz which is where I set mine? I suggest that you make sure all of your subs have the crossovers at the highest setting since you prefer having more mid-lows.

In contrast connecting to the cabinet speaker (or CN1 in the backbox) give you the full spectrum of bass sound without the low frequency filter, so the mid lows are not elevated in volume compared to the deep low. This produces a more traditional subwoofer output that you feel more than you hear!

I can explain this and yes, it is a concern. The backbox speakers are connected to ground and the cabinet speaker is not. Connecting two games to the same subwoofer using the alligator clip method can potentially run into grounding issues when connecting more than one game. Once again, I go back to what I said above: the Pinnovators has been designed to provide an extra layer of safety and assurance that will play nicely with the SPIKE machines and not damage the CPU. If you are using the gator clip method, I do not suggest running more than one game if you see issues like this. As a side note, I kind of wonder if Lermods has grounding issues on the outlets in his gameroom...

Not sure exactly what the point you are making here is from the aspect of the Gator clip method? Or are you saying no subwoofer at all either way? Just to clarify. Connecting a gator clip to the cabinet speaker is the exact same thing electrically as connecting to connector CN1 on the CPU board. I will also note that connecting the Pinnovators to the CPU board connector CN4 is electrically the exact same thing as connecting gator clips directly to the left and right backbox speakers. Just to be a broken record: the Pinnovators adds a level of safety over the gator clip method and I would not be concern about it damaging the game. That is the reason people should spend the $35, rather than a reason they should not.

Trace the wires from the cabinet speaker back and you will find they connect directly to the CPU at CN1.

As for Stern; in the game's feature matrix Stern is actually advertising that they are providing sound output for external devices. This output comes directly from the CPU... And once again I will go back to my statement above and my analysis of the schematics: Pinnovators has gone above and beyond to ensure that this device will not harm your CPU board. By choosing to install it on the same connector as the backbox speakers, they are actually providing an extra layer of protection compared to connecting to the line level output or headphone output. The speaker level output from the amplifier on the CPU that Pinnovators are connecting to at CN4 is much more robust and harder to damage compared to the low level outputs for headphones or line out. So Pinnovators has actually gone one step further than what Stern has provided as recommended external connecting points.

Edit: as a side note, the Pinwoofer GT product also connects to the speaker level output on the CPU rather than the Line Level.

OK now I totally agree.

As another side note, in researching all the ins and outs of this question, I talked myself into buying a Pinnovators to try on my LZLE instead of the gator clip method.

Good to know. That just just makes the case even stronger for only using one pin per sub if you are using the alligator clip method. Another plus in the Pinnovator column! Fortunately I have more subs than I do Sterns at this point.

Have the knocker, quiet fan mod and mod power supply kit in hand. Ordered the deluxe speaker light kit. It doesn't look like there will be a speaker cutout design for LZ, but you never know. Still looking for some pop cap upgrades. I am assuming there will be a few to choose from in not too long. Also, still looking for a full set of clear plastic protectors.

They have the lights they just don't have the little acrylic cut out designs for Led Zeppelin like they do for many other machines.

Fortunately the ball drops off both ramps to mylar before rolling over the switches. Not sure why a lot of games drop the ball directly onto the switches, but at least we won't need the Cliffy switch protectors.

I have a few items too. For now I'm going to try to make my own Hermit. I know the white is kind of proper and looks good, but I want to try to color mine more like the traditional Tarot card that it came from. It will probably turn out bad because I am no artist but will be fun to try. I also have this cool guitar to find a spot for that doesn't block any view. Looks just like the Les Paul Jimmy uses. It might end up on the wall haha.
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I don't really disagree, but statements like that can bring out the torches and pitch forks in pinside faster than saying that all playfields get dimples.

Yeah I am hearing maybe by this weekend. If not, should be next week.

Practiced painting the Prototype hermit tonight. I think it looks pretty cool. When the game gets here I'll measure things up and 3D print one to the proper size. I'll print the lantern separate with white filament so I can add the flickering Flame LED.

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That blue really does look great. I've seen people trying to figure out what color to change it to and even had some photoshop images. In the end I think the answer for me is blue. Anyway, it's getting close now. I hope to have it within the week if not sooner. Just got the speaker light kit yesterday.

So far it looks great in every game room pictured! Picking mine up at the distributor tomorrow at 10am. I have a spot opened up and it will look great for sure!

Unboxed mine and everything works perfectly right out of the box including the spinner. The clearcoat is the best that I have seen. Perfectly flat and no pooling or wood grain. The Expression lighting is better than I expected. The integration into the side of the game makes it totally neat and unobtrusive with no clutter, yet it is bright as shit when it wants to be. There is frosting over the LEDs and because they are inset, they can be angled towards the back of the machine. This makes them comfortably bright for the player without seeing the burning hot center of the LED itself. The mirrored backglass also looks amazing in person. The whole games looks great and I love the blue rails, especially when it is in the game room lighting. It really pops in my lineup.

We picked up two LEs today and my friend waited to see what mine looked and played like in person before opening his. He was pretty sure ahead of time that he would like the game, but figured he could sell it instantly if for some reason he didn't like it. Anyway the game blew us away and he is on his way home to open his LE.

The game play is top shelf Ritchie with Elwin inspired ramps. All of the ramp shots are satisfying and fast and ready for combos. The left ramp is really tight for backhanding. To me this is great, so it's not too easy to cradle and backhand like the left ramp in ST or the right ramp in ACDC. The left orbit, to upper flipper, to upper ramp is one of the most satisfying combo shots ever. It's tough to hit, but when you do it's hard not to step away and do a Tiger Woods fist pump. The Led Zep integration is also really cool with the video clips and riffs along with some cool sound effects on the slings and other shots. I love spinners so the importance of the spinner in this game just plays right in to my taste. Software is not as early as the Stern game of old on release. .93 feels pretty good and I can't wait to see what else is in store.

The game looks great in the lineup and will look even better with the topper and speaker lighting kit. Will be installing some shooter lane protectors before playing many more games. I might pour a margarita and have another game right now though...

Yeah the shaker seems fully implemented. Feels good! Also, someone asked about lights on the apron behind the flippers. Yes, it has them and they really light the game up even in my dark game room.

Just a couple of notes.

First is a nice surprise on the game play. Having owned Ironman and other games with toys that rise out of the playfield, I'm used the ball getting slowed down by the Iron Monger when it hits the back of it and has to slowly make its way around and down to the flippers. With the Electric Magic assembly, it can pop up in front of the ball and most of the time the ball simply passes through it keeping the game flowing. I realize this should have been obvious, but I'm so used to Ironman, MM, LoTR, etc that this is a very welcome change. Not to mention being able to hit the shots behind it after ripping the spinner. As much as I like the typical bash toys, this is definitely next level in game play.

A side note. Stern changed the colored rings surrounding the speaker cutout from plastic to metal. The metal is powder coated the same blue as the rails. Normally this sort of upgrade in quality would be welcome, but I would prefer the translucent plastic because of the way it looks with the new speaker lighting kit. At least the LE has the Kenwood speakers which are white and light up really nice, so the kit will still look incredible anyway. Eventually I'll replaced these metal surround panels with some plastic cutouts. I would have bought white or orange or possibly the turquoise cutout while I was buying the speaker kit if I had known. There are a ton of colors to choose from that would look great ( https://www.speakerlightkits.com/Type-13.html )

It is super thick plastic and sits on a metal plate underneath that goes all the way to the edges. So it shouldn't be able to be bent upward to break like a normal plastic can. Perhaps in a perfect end blow, but even then PTFE is pretty darn tough especially when it is that thick. I won't say that it can't break, but it shouldn't. That said, I'll be buying a replacement plastic or two just in case haha. The hole it comes out of in the playfield is also completely lined with thick metal, so there should be no issues with playfield damage either.

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OK seems like only on the very first game; probably got dislodged while moving or something. I will note that I had a friend with an Ironman and his Iron Monger would not always close properly which caused all kinds of havoc including air balls. I never had any problems with either of the two Ironman games that I have had, but this is worth keeping an eye on for LZ. This type of air ball is particularly bad because it is more of a Dukes of Hazard launch than a harmless rebound like a normal airball off a target or post.

I have had zero spinner issues so far, but I have less than 20 plays on my game because I've been busy. I have to think there is something going on here that is one of two things.

One, maybe the spinner is getting hit hard up high while the assembly is still rising/lowering out of the playfield and just bricks instead of going under and spinning the spinner? This would bend it backwards and cause issues. This could possibly be fixed in software by only raising/lowering the assembly when it is safe. This being a Ritchie game with no stop and go aside from a single saucer, there are not a lot of options along these lines when there are no balls moving on the playfield.

Two, maybe the assembly is not sitting flush and the ball is hopping at the entrance into the spinner? Or maybe it is the metal protector plate embedded in the playfield sitting up a little high at the entrance and the ball is hopping off of it? Running my finger across mine it is sitting flush and maybe sticks up a single mm.

To me both of these things should be fairly obvious to people having problems if that is what is happening. I suppose other things could be at work. Please post more up close pictures of the spinner when it is failed. Maybe the wire is not crimped into the spinner well and it is rotating?

That doesn't look like anything more than the spinner wires bent a little too wide so there is too much friction. I would bend it in on both sides so the spinner can move left and right a tiny bit and it should run freely. It would not look like that if the problem was caused by the ball hitting too high because of jumping or hitting when the assembly was moving up and down. A little precision lube will help too most likely.

Sorry but this makes no sense. When the spinner is horizontal the ball should not come close to touching the spinner. Otherwise the ball would not go under the spinners as it goes by. The rotation point of the spinner is around 1/4 inch higher than the top of the ball. If the magnet is pulling the spinner towards it, it will be at an angle backward that would lessen the blow or make it avoid the blow all together. The pictures I have seen all show the mounting holes being too close together and the spinner is being pinched in between them. A spinner should be able to me moved back and forth close to an 1/8 inch. Mine seems a little tighter than that, but the ones on my other games including the opto spinners on the Beatles have some play in them like they should.

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The Expression lighting thus far seems to be very overlooked. The wow factor is very high there and the design is sleek and hidden.

Yeah it is that and a whole lot more. Because the Expression lights are embedded in the side of the cabinet in a routed out slot, they can be angled a little towards the back of the game so they cast a ton of light onto the playfield without being too bright to the player. The LEDs have a frosted cover over the hole they are embedded in that acts like a bulb condom. So from the player perspective the lights on the side of the cabinet can make cool visual effects displays like chasers and sound meters, but at the same time are operating as a light show lighting up the playfield in full color bright GI lighting. So visual effects and lighting effects at the same time. Pinstadium lights are bulky, in the way and have to be pointed down so they are not too bright on the player. They are simple, mindless super bright GI lights providing lighting effects only using built in code from China rather than directly coded for the particular game. Let's hope expression lighting is here to stay.

OK, one more post before bed. I took a close look at the opto spinners in Beatles and LZLE in my game room along with the pictures people have posted of the malfunctioning spinners and the fix that Steve Ritchie posted and have a pretty good theory. I always put precision oil on all of my game's spinners. Over the years I have noticed that all good functioning spinners have a little play back and forth left and right if you hold the bottom edge in your finger tips. The mounting brackets on LZ seem to be a little too close together and there is only a little bit of play compared to the opto spinners on the Beatles. Even still there is more play on mine than it appears there is on the ones pictured here as malfunctioning.

My recommendation is to only bend the brackets and not the spinner unless the spinner itself has been bent for some reason. If you can't move the spinner left and right at least a little bit (1/16+ of an inch or a couple of mm) then you need to bend it further and put a tiny amount of oil if possible while you are in there.

The brackets are built into the ball guides that goes through the assembly. They are held down it appears by the posts on either side of the spinner entrance. It might be possible that there is some play there if you were to loosen those posts and move the guides open a bit. It would not take much to make a difference. For now a little bending should help. I made a crude drawing if people can't visualize what I am fumbling to say. As I mentioned this is just a theory, but I think this is likely the issue.

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Lets see a better picture from straight on like the one you posted before.

I've been busy all week but got some time to mess with the game some more last night and this morning. I put a double layer of mylar in the shooter lane, protectors under the front edge of the apron, subwoofer hookup, real LOUD knocker, and speaker light kit with new orange speaker surround plastic.

As mentioned in a previous post, Stern switched from plastic to powder coated steel for the speaker surround colored rings. Normally something like that would be an upgrade, but the metal doesn't allow the speaker lights to shine through. They still look decent, but having the translucent plastic takes it to another level. They didn't have a great shade of blue, so I went with the orange surround to match the game and it looks fantastic!

I was able to get some meaningful plays in too and really enjoying the integration of the rules with the fast and flowing playfield layout. It reminds me in some ways of Ironman which is one game that I really miss. IM had the bogie mode that was built from combos, LZ takes that to the next level. I love the flow of Steve Ritchie games and having the "Combo" inserts lighting when you hit a shot is going to make this game a constant challenge to see how many combos I can get.

I 3D print my own simple protectors, but a fellow pinsider has taken the design to the next level and offers a number of colors. Before buying a 3d printer I always would put a strip of mylar under the metal apron to keep it from digging into the clear coat. To me the full plastic protector is a much better method. For the price, this is a no brainer:

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1192-apron-envy/04424-apron-edgers-stern-metal-aprons-with-riveted-eye-bolts

I ordered volume 1 & 2 from Etsy and they showed up yesterday. I suppose they can be just attached to the apron or other places, but I am very picking about clutter and bolting on toys and things just because they are there. If I find a nice spot for them on the back panel or something I might double side tape a few in.

The real reason I got them was to possibly scan them an make some new spinner decals. To me the picks would be the perfect size for this.

My shooter works ok, but it was really poorly built. It had mold lines around the edges that I had to try to sand down. I don't like the Stern shooter enough to pay $90 for it, so I will be looking for an alternative shooter and housing sticker when they come available.

And yes, I still would like to see another option or two on the pop bumper caps.

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Its not the apron that is being protected. It is the playfield that the metal aprons cut into. I have seen fairly new HUO games cut to the wood through the clear coat. Look at the 5th picture in this ad. The one with the apron removed:

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1192-apron-envy/04424-apron-edgers-stern-metal-aprons-with-riveted-eye-bolts

Just let Steve Ritchie do a devil voice. Not sure why it has to be British. Just make it cool.

I can only see the one side of the spinner in your picture and it is definitely all the way up against the side. Is there a gap on the other side to let the spinner spin freely?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/led-zeppelin-le-thread/page/31#post-6114295

Through the vent holes on the bottom of the cabinet. Remove one staple and push the plastic screen up a little to fish the wire out.

I was kind of surprised to see that Stern put out a pretty darn nice rule sheet for the game on their website.

https://sternpinball.com/game/led-zeppelin/

The combos being built into the rules and even having inserts to light is one of my favorite parts of this game. I used to love the bogie mode in Ironman and now this takes that to the next level. It only works on a Ritchie style playfield where shots can flow from one to another. As soon as I hit a shot, I pick and focus on a lit Combo insert and try to move from shot to shot. The ultimate rush is including an upper flipper ramp in the combo. It doesn't happen often enough for me but when it does, the shot satisfaction can't beat.

"Prism tape" used for fishing lures would look great up there. There are a lot of cool colors and patterns.

https://smile.amazon.com/s

Does anyone else think it is odd that Pinstadium is pimping their products for the Premiums and LEs? Why on earth would anyone want to put those things in a game with Expression lighting? Especially when the Pinstadiums will basically block the view of the expression lighting from the players perspective.

The following is my latest theory. In essence there are two problems with the spinner that are not really related. The mounting holes being too close and having to be bent outward to avoid binding is a separate problem if you ask me. Bending the tabs outward fixes that problem but the other problem remains.

The rising and lowering of the spinner assembly is the key because the spinner is vulnerable for a moment in time when the ball can whack the spinner up higher than normal when the assembly has lowered slightly into the playfield. Think about it. The only thing that makes this particular spinner different than every other spinner ever put into a pinball machine is the rising and lowering. To me the problem here is hitting the spinner as the assembly is either rising or going down into the playfield. So instead of hitting down low and simply spinning the spinner, the ball is hitting higher on the spinner, smashing it backwards as it bricks on the spinner and bending the arms forwards towards the player. Bending the arms like this will cause the spinner to lean so the bottom is pointing forward toward the player. Each hit like this will bend it slightly more. Once it is leaning far enough then the ball can start hitting the bottom edge more, but I think this is definitely a case where the chicken is coming before the egg. If hitting the bottom edge was the problem, this would eventually happen on every other spinner on every other game.

One of the keys here is to try not to hit the spinner as it is coming up or going down. Hitting it while the assembly is not fully up is a bad shot to begin with because you are not going to get a good spinner rip, so at best the ball will not be lost down the middle after bricking off the half risen assembly. Hitting while the assembly is in motion risks losing the ball and is simply a shot that a good player should avoid to increase ball time if you can help it. The added benefit is decreasing possible damage or bending of the spinner.

As mentioned above, a sort of fix would be thicker or at least tougher arms on spinner itself. The secondary helper is trying to not hit the spinner as the assembly is in motion.

IMO this is a minor design flaw in the game and the spinner should have been somehow protected as it is rising and lowering. So even if you are careful, there will be some regular repair needed on the spinner. Not a huge deal in home use and I have not had to do anything but one quick bend in over 100 games. I'm not sure there is a permanent fix at this point either. Notice the two metal posts that pop out of the playfield on the backside of the spinner to block the ball path so it doesn't escape being caught by the magnet? Stern should have put posts like that in front of the assembly too and had them pop up as protective barriers any time the assembly is in motion up or down. Or maybe a drop target in front of the entrance? Either would block the ball from hitting high on the spinner as it is in motion up or down. Another solution would be to have the assembly pop up and down instantly like the trolls in MM rather than cranking slowly up and down using a motor. In that case it would be extremely rare for the spinner to be hit high because the timing would be nearly impossible. I suppose another solution is to only raise and lower the spinner while the ball is in one of the two saucers the game has and never while balls are in motion. To me this would spoil the flow of the game, so I am willing to live with it as is.

This is a great shooting game and though I do consider this a minor flaw in the design, it is should be easily overcome in home use with a little maintenance every so often as long as you understand what it going on.

Just wanted to show off some pictures of my new mods for Led Zep. I have a pinside shop Space Coast Pinball and will be selling these for the time being. From the first day I got the machine, I noticed the ugly diverter mech on backboard and figured someone needed to make a dress up kit. Eventually after designing and 3D printing just a cover, I made two more versions of increasing complexity to fill the whole corner. So there is the basic cover only, cover with nice looking wood Gibson guitar and the deluxe version with guitar and my custom designed, hand painted, 3D printed Zosa amp.

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1312-space-coast-pinball/by-game/2932-stern-led-zeppelin-le

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Yes, it looks amazing for sure.

Way back when, I listed three dream themes on RGP. Two of them have come true and I bought them NIB: WPT and ACDC Back In Black. The third theme that is still yet to be fulfilled is the Three Stooges. Three Stooges would be epic. Imagine Curly doing the woob-woob-woob as the ball goes through the spinner or the nyuk, nyuk, nyuk as it is in the pop bumpers?

Twice now I have hit the upper ramp using the left flipper. Basically I was shooting for the right orbit and hit the tip of the upper flipper and rebounded perfectly to the upper ramp without ever flipping the upper flipper.

This is good. The faster it moves the better as far as it not getting whacked when it it not fully up.

Pinside is having issues. If you click on the pictures, you can see them.

I'm really enjoying having both the coin return and pop bumper Objects in my machine. They really fit in well. Andy and I tried all of the pop cap colors on my machine and I really like the clear. I've been waiting for a pop bumper mod for this game and I'm happy with this one. The mount that it is on is really nice because it fits perfectly in less than five minutes and lets you turn it to the perfect position without sacrificing sturdiness. It also doesn't block the view of the ball or my guitar amp mod in the background!

Now I am about to install the new .98 software and hopefully it will wipe out Skyking GC high score. At least he didn't post a picture the GC score above!

Honestly I am a fan of the Refinery, but I like the factory blue better for the cabinet and I am never a fan of powder coating ramps like that. I agree that orange with flake would look good.

Yeah the sparkly white looks amazing with the Zep 3 artwork

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/led-zeppelin-le-thread/page/60#post-6171064

The new software is awesome. The EM moving twice as fast and only moving when the ball is known to be away from the flippers is a simple solution for the spinner bashing issues. So everyone needs to install the new software and tweak the spinner to be perfectly straight and put the issues behind (hopefully).

The lighting effects keep getting better too. I have the left ball save turned down to be a little harder to get, because the game is a little easy and I don't like virtual ball savers. Looking forward to hitting 1.0 before not too long!

https://sternpinball.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Led-Zeppelin-Rulesheet.pdf

Cool that color does go well in the machine. I will have to update that store page to include that blue purple as a new color option. Also the guitar mount option if people want to use their own guitar as you did.

I finally have time to experiment with new places to mount a guitar that look good. I obviously have the deluxe guitar and amp in my own machine, but it would be nice to have the second guitar in the game somewhere so I can have both the single and double neck guitars in the game. I'm going to try above the upper flipper and/or maybe on one of the ramps.

20210302_220426 (resized).jpg

I got the Mothership sticker from Lermods. It is really nice quality and cut using a sign cutter instead of being a normal sticker. This helps it conform nicely to the 3D shape of the airship with no air bubbles. The decal is an option with the lighting kit, but I emailed them and they were really great about providing just the sticker at my request.

https://lermods.com/shop/ols/products/led-zeppelin-pinball-rgb-illumination

The guitar mods can be found in my shop assuming those are the ones you are after. Both Lermods and Mezel Mods have some nice mods for LZ too. Recommend getting some shooter lane protectors and plastic protectors while you are outfitting the game.

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1312-space-coast-pinball/by-game/2932-stern-led-zeppelin-le

I only wish that the armor showing up means there might be a chance of getting toppers sometime soon.

I've never really been a fan of the epilepsy warning taking up space where there could be something meaningful.

20210402_094638 (resized).jpg

I hadn't really thought about it, but I might. Either way, I plan on posting the file here for people to print themselves if they have a color printer.

One more picture. This is my new keychain.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/lifestyle/pluginz-black-marshall-guitar-plug-keychain/k47727000000000?cntry=US&cur=USD&source=3WWRACCBD&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjPaCBhDkARIsAISZN7SOgSTMQxsYbix58PADtD2mfNHmzuNBB58EglnOsCKgW3CPv-fhMVkaAhedEALw_wcB

20210402_103955 (resized).jpg

OK. Here is the .png file. You should be able to print this in the proper scale at home or your local CVS, Walgreens, etc, or any online printer. It is in standard 4x6 inch photo format. Simply print on 4x6 and choose no cropping if there is a selection. I used 3M Super 77 glue to put mine on since it comes right off without leaving anything behind. The red area is a little bigger than it needs to be so you can trim to fit without leaving any white outline.

No Quarter.png

Edit: Haha I have had a number of people asking me to sell them on my Space Coast Pinball pinside store, so I'll try to print some this weekend. Feel free to use this file to print your own, but please don't print to sell!

Funny in the early days most people were ordering the double neck. Recent orders are for the single neck mostly so it has basically evened out. Personally I have the single neck in mine. I'd like to work on a second location for the other guitar. I just need to make a generic mount I suppose. My friend Dan sent me a picture of his. It shows how it is made to just barely stay inside the edge of the backboard so there is no way to damage or snag while lifting and lowering the playfield. I could have made the amp smaller and put a guitar on either side but the scaling looked totally wrong and the amp was way too small.

IMG_20210403_072626 (resized).jpg

As an electronics engineer, I have to chime in here because I don't want to see you guys damage the subwoofers. There are two types of inputs for subwoofers: Line Level (LFE) and Speaker Level. As noted the Polks have both inputs and the Klicsch just have the Line Level. The difference here is not just the connector type, there is a huge difference in the voltage levels between the two types of inputs. The Line Level is a low level input that doesn't go above 2 volts, the speaker level is only limited by the power handling of the amp and speaker and can be 30 volts or more. So basically by clipping onto the sub and using that adapter, you will be connecting things that were not meant to be connected together.

If you are limited to a line level input on your sub, I would STRONGLY recommend using the Pinnovators subwoofer adapter. This adapter is designed to convert the voltages to make them compatible and protect BOTH the expensive SPIKE CPU board and the subwoofer input from damage.

https://pinnovators.myshopify.com/products/pinsub-spike-spike2-stern-kit

More info I found with duckduckgo:

https://geoffthegreygeek.com/audio-levels/

OK, we can agree to disagree, but just a couple of notes. To keep the voltage down, I would lower the volume on the cabinet speaker in the SPIKE menu. I would put it way down because the subwoofer basically overpowers the cabinet speaker anyway. Second, when you clip onto the speaker in the cabinet, you are actually connecting/tapping directly to the CPU board. That is where those speaker wires come from... You are right, probably won't hurt anything, but this is the main reason the Pinnovators product even exists. Personally I have a cheap Polk and use the clips, but using the speaker level inputs on the Polk. The Klipsch definitely sound better than the cheap Polks, I have one in my living room for the TV and it rocks. We have a Costco opening nearby soon, so maybe some day!

I'd say LZ has been the best game I've had from Stern as far as the early software and fast updates. Considering we are already to 1.0 and the quality of the last couple of releases, I look forward to what is to come. I only have about a half dozen games on 1.0, but the differences are noticeable. With the spinner now perfectly adjusted and protected by the software from getting whacked when the EM is moving, it really rips. The spinner now rips like a opto spinner should rip and the sound effects are amazing. There was a while that I was concerned about the design of the EM and maybe having to adjust the spinner often, but the new software has made me a believer that there is nothing wrong with the hardware design. The EM is truly awesome. Now I just need to get these cool rules together in my head, so I can regain the GC score on my machine.

Small release overall which points to a quick bug fix:

LE V1.02 - April 14, 2021
==========================
Fixed:

- Game:
- Fixed a rare issue which could cause a game to get stuck in a reboot
loop.

- Band Boost:
- Fixed an issue that could cause a ball to be added into play when
multiball was not running.

- High Scores:
- Fixed an issue that could cause the Icarus X high score to record
incorrectly.

Tweaked:

- Lights:
- Changed the Electric Magic Spinner light show to keep the GI level
consistent as the spinner rotates.

- Moved to System 2.74

- Updated to nodeboard firmware v0.69.0

- Added Standard Audit "Total Power Ons" which will display the number of
times the machine has been power cycled. This audit was added in
system 2.45 and is not included for display.

LE V1.01 - Internal Release

Takes me about 10 minutes to download an update. Maybe there's a server problem like happened to pinside recently haha?

The amplifier stack portion of this mod is 3D printed. I finish them off by spray painting black and then hand painting the Marshall logo and white knobs. The logo letters are very very small so when looked at in detail up close they're not perfect but from the players perspective it looks great.

The guitars are replicas which I actually buy as is. They are made out of wood then painted and clear-coated. They're by far the best replicas in that scale that I could find but once again if you look at them really close they're very nice but not perfect. It's also hard to get a good picture of the mod in the machine because there's so many different lights and reflections.

Personally I have the single neck guitar in my machine. It just a matter of preference I like the way the colors look a little better. Seems to be about 50 50 for people who bought them. I've not received a single complaint from anyone who's bought one.

They fixed it in the software a while back.

Yeah that is strange. Looks like the changed the mounting and also the spinner itself. Crazy that it could even think to come completely out! Need more pictures of recent build date machines to compare to.

Yeah the ratings are not something that is scientific and the pinside system is filled with issues. It needs to be used as a very rough guide especially when looking at the game for playfield layout and fun as the most important things. Not to mention there are people who abuse the system and knock other games down to boost their favorites and others who base ratings on what they have been told by podcasters. To me, low ratings on this game are probably people who haven't played it much and especially haven't played it since the last couple of software releases. Same thing happened to Star Wars. It is a great game but rated lower than tons of lesser playing games.

Pretty stoked about the toppers coming out. Seems like Stern sends toppers out to a couple of distributors at a time. Hopefully Flip n Out is high on the list, I ordered it the first day they were available!

Oh man!! Congrats. Now I feel like a kid again. I can't wait. Hopefully it is not too much longer.

I have both and agree. The games feel nothing alike aside from tons of flow and satisfying ramps.

http://tiltforums.com/t/led-zeppelin-rulesheet/6878

It will come back up on its own if you don't hit an eject but it will only be a two ball mb at that point. Also, the jackpots will be minimized because the eject shot is a hurry up. Hitting the eject brings another ball out into the shooter and makes it a 3 ball mb to start with. The rules are pretty nuanced. Check them out in my previous post above yours.

https://www.pinballlife.com/super-lube-all-purpose-oil.html

Awesome! Who did you order from?

Oh man is that awesome! Who did you order from?

I adjusted my spinner after the new software fixed the bashing issue and it has been fine since. New had an issue with the rubber breaking. Are you using Titans or something other than the stock rubber?

I usually put in full size plastic protectors clear for at least the slings and flipper lanes. Not only do the metal washers look terrible they can stick to the artwork and pull it off of the plastic. They should be removed as soon as possible after getting the game.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/led-zeppelin-le-thread/page/78#post-6243691

Can't wait for my topper! I got the red decal from Lermods. It looks great; even better now that I know it matches the topper.

20210430_131429 (resized).jpg

I used a little foam under R2D2 and filled the cracks.

I ordered from Zach too. No word yet, nothing but crickets. The original email said they would notify us when shipping. I ordered the first day pre-orders were taken.

The way this works in the past, Stern ships batches to the retailer and then they ship them out. Presumably Stern ships them in the order the retailers ordered...

Where did those pop bumper caps come from?

Should be no need, the game should have come with cabinet protectors.

What makes them turn? Just vibration?

My topper just came in from Flippin Out. No notification email, so was a surprise. Yeah baby!

20210505_160211 (resized).jpg

I love how loud my R2D2 topper is. It lets you know there is something significant up there moving and not just a piece of plastic. I'll be installing it later tonight and can report back.

must be a bad opto on the EM assembly. Check the wiring to start.

I plugged mine in and it is quieter than expected. Doesn't seem obnoxious or anywhere near as loud as R2D2 for that matter.

It does look awesome up there as does my Viking rune shooter.

20210505_214642 (resized).jpg

Have you run the switch test to see if the opto is working?

This is a problem that can happen on any spinner in any game. I've had to bend spinners on a number of games to get them to sit straight up and down. The difference here it he spinner is out in the center and fairly close to the flippers, so it is getting blasted hard and often. Maybe the new spinner is made with thicker wire? I haven't seen one but I suppose I should get Stern to send me one. Mine has only been tweaked twice and has been working perfectly since the software update that keeps from hitting it as it is going up or down. That software rev was the real key.

Another thing to keep in mind is this is an opto spinner that spins real freely and for a long, long time compared to a normal spinner with a drag switch slowing it down. Once you get the spinner going, there is no reason to continue shooting it - especially in multiball. Concentrate on locking balls, cradling balls, ramps, loops and targets while the spinner is spinning. Hitting the spinner will only potentially slow or stop it and very rarely speeds it up unless you hit it just right. If you hit it on the bottom it can bend the wires. So hitting the spinner while still ripping is not only a bad shot from a strategy standpoint, it can also be damaging.