(Topic ID: 229153)

NIB problems: JJP vs. Stern

By TRAMD

5 years ago

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67 posts
34 Pinsiders participating
Latest reply 4 years ago by Pinchild
Topic is favorited by 6 Pinsiders

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Quoted from TheGunnett:
Mo stuff, Mo problems! It’d the price of innovation. I hear a lot about what killed pinball and I think it has a lot to do with the fact they kept trying to one up the last machine and became overly complex and complicated.
What makes Sterns reliable is why most people complain about them! Simplicity in components ( Better themes and challenging rules also)
I manage a fleet of machines and whenever we see something new like the tailgate on the new GMCs that folds down in several stages my mechanics always so that going to be expensive to fix!

Innovation? Most of the mechs used have been around for decades. LCD's are fairly new to pinball, and they rarely have problems.

Sterns reliable? The new Spike-based machines are less reliable...cheap boards and power supplies.

The problem with NIB Stern games is they are trying to squeeze too much into a short period of time (in terms of both R&D and manufacturing). Iron Maiden is a great example. The Premium/LE has lot's of problems with the added goodies. Pro is much more solid. So, you get to spend an extra 2k and have more headaches...make sense?

Back in 2004, the SAM-based machines were much more reliable. My LOTR is just crazy reliable and it's been in the wild briefly (shows, arcades). Back in those days, the Stern designers weren't forced to build 2 games (Pro, Premium/LE). Added models/features and shorten the time-to-market and the result is bugs.

I'm pretty shocked the op claims 0 problems with his Stern games. Impressive. It's a crap shoot, that's for sure.

snaroff

Quoted from Maken:
Never buying NIB again. Stern Iron Maiden was my first and last.
Was pretty worried about getting a shit playfield going in due to all of the problems with Stern playfields, and sure enough, immediately after unboxing I noticed that my playfield was ribbed to all hell. It's laughably bad. Had to turn down the brightness on the backbox light just to try and hide it from my eyes while playing. Ugh.
Never again.

My PF also has hideous grain (though the clear is absolutely smooth). https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/iron-maiden-issues/page/10#post-4450797

I recently added Pinstadium lights...for me it reduces glare significantly and the lines aren't as visible. PF looks snazzy. Since the GI is really lousy, might want to try them for yourself.

snaroff

Quoted from PtownPin:
Buying NIB games is a crap shoot.....I've owned several Stern, all the CGC remakes, and all the JJP games. I've had way more problems with Stern games than any of the others.

And the Premiums often have more problems than the Pro. IMDN is a perfect example...spent a couple hours today working out sarcophagus issues. Kind of a slap in the face to "pay up" for some extra features that are poorly implemented.

snaroff

Quoted from Maken:
Great suggestion. Unfortunately the visual reflections or artifacting on metal ramps and wireforms created by the exposed SMDs on the pinstadium lights drive me crazy.
Do they have a 'frosted' version? Something like that might work.

Photon Merger to the rescue (https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/new-pin-stadium-lights-official-announcement/page/67#post-4667421). Sounds like it should released fairly soon...

snaroff

Quoted from pinnyheadhead:
Don’t listen to Pinside BS that Stern doesn’t give good customer service and not even try for a new PF. Stern sent me a new PF on my SMVE that had ghosting a year and a half later after unboxing and I was not the original purchaser. They didn’t ask for any proof of purchase or anything. Distro never got involved.
Call Chas and say your PF on IMDN looks kind of messed up. Say your TWD, ACDC and other sterns you own never had a problem. Say who the game was purchased from also. They will give you an email to send pics and see what they say. They have great customer service from my experience. Good people

I wish it were as simple as you imagine, but it isn't. Stern does give good customer service...no argument on that.

The issue is Chas/Pat don't have the authority to replace all PF's with imperfections...so it becomes a judgement call involving Stern management. I've owned many NIB Stern games and on this issue, I decided not to "fight" for a new PF. I can safely say that neither Pat or Chas would simply send me a new PF...that's for sure. And to really fix the issue, they would have to send me a populated PF, since swapping isn't trivial. So...it is a big deal. On one occasion, Stern send me a new populated PF for a defective AC/DC years ago. My distributor did the PF swap, and I can tell you that getting Stern to send/install the populated PF was time consuming (and involved a lot of folks).

If my clear coat was as wavy as the visible wood grain, I have no doubt Stern would take care of me (and Maken). In this instance, since the clear is smooth, I decided to live with the visible wood grain (but obviously wish that Stern's PF supplier would take more care sanding these PF's).

From the players perspective (with Pinstadium lights installed), my PF looks awesome.

snaroff

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