Pinsound is in my IJ. I love it. I have the reorchistrated files loaded on it and it seems like I hear a new soundbite almost every time I play it. Makes me smile. Quality, quality product. Fast shipping from Europe. Amazing.
((I did learn by trial and error to leave the file zipped on the memory stick and let the Pinsound board unpack it.))
~Steveo

None of mine came with a usb stick and i own three... but you do need to use the one he recommends; even the high end SandDisk usb sticks have trouble being detected much of the time. It's hit or miss. Also make sure you update the firmware.

Today I used a USB 3.0 flash drive (Sandisk) 32GB, cause that's all I had. Worked perfectly.
I had already unzipped the files but the pinsound board still did whatever it did, took about 20 minutes to load.
I used 3 different flash drive sizes as I tried all 3 mixes available for LOTR.
The first 2 I used I unzipped the files and the sound board loaded immediately. So interesting this last one took so long.
Anyone have preferred settings for Stern machines (esp lotr). I found the recommended settings for wpc, data east, etc were not ideal.

Ok, I got it up and running last night. My first impression: "Wow!"

It turned out the USB stick I was using was not formatted correctly by my Mac. My work PC would not even recognize the partition my Mac created. So I reformatted the flash drive (a Sandisk Cruiser 8gb usb 2.0 drive), and downloaded Pinsound Studio and pre-loaded my flash drive with the Wooley remix for LOTR.

When I got home, I plugged it in, and it worked. So now I finally have audio on my LOTR! I have played a stock LOTR with working audio, and I have to say this sounds soooo much better. Even if the MPU/Sound board were available for LOTR (rumor has it that the boards will be available again soon), I would advise folks with sound issues to skip the stock board and go straight to the Pinsound board. I have $429 total invested in my Pinsound board with the Whitestar adapter, and the replacement stock MPU/Sound boards (if they were available) retails for about $435, so around $450 shipped. I think the Pinsound board is a much better option, and it cost about the same as the stock board.

I'd also be interested to hear what settings people are using. I'm having a hard time balancing out the volume of sounds, speech and music.

You can address these by using the ducking settings, you set a percentage by which the music will lower its volume when speech/Sfx/ or jingles are placed. This goes in the config file

This can be really really hard to nail down completely, you may have one or two things that always jump out as louder, because the average volume is higher than the other sound clips; this is just a factor of how our ears work - you would have to lower the volume of the sound clip itself to totally “fix” it

Glad you like the mix dude!

Just posted my latest Getaway orchestration to Pinsound forum (release approval TBD). This time all Nirvana.

Does anyone have a spare set of Pinsound mounting brackets they'd like to sell me?

What exactly are you referring to (pic or link)? Also, what machine platform will the PinSound be going in? I don't know if I have what you are looking for, but happy to look when I get home tonight as long as I can figure out exactly what you need.

Installing a PS board on a STTNG and need the mounting brackets, reference photo attached. They include these with every board, but I acquired this from a friend who didn't have them.

327-large_default (resized).jpg

When did you buy your kit? I've never seen this, and have bought 3 of them, but about a year ago; maybe they've changed to cut costs?

Yes, these are the extensions for fitting PinSound into various platforms (I know Data East requires them as they were included with a JP install I helped a friend with). Previously, when ordering PinSound you would designate platform so they new to include or not include the extra pieces. I don't know if I have them or not since my platform didn't require them, but I'll check tonight when I get home as I saved everything and packed it away in the original box.

PS - I'm not giving you my PinSound keychain!

As suspected, mine did not come with the mounts since I did not need them for my pin.

Thanks very much for checking tho...

My LOTR board came with a set i am not going to use. I will PM you.

Has the shaker been released yet?

I think the coding is there for your own (I don't have one), but that the official has not yet been released. I think I remember reading something to that affect in the regular PinSound thread recently.

I just installed Pinsound on my STTNG with Pinball Shark's awesome re-orchestration, but the music drowns out the call outs and voice actors terribly. The mix sounds fine in his Youtube video, so I'm wondering what adjustments I may need to make to the board settings so it's not so uneven? Thanks in advance for any tips.

(I've also posted this on the STTNG forum)

You may be missing a config file -there is a 'ducking' configuration that allows you to set by how much percentage to turn down the music whilst a callout or sfx is playing. The config should be in the root of the mix folder

Thanks, I just checked the root folder and saw there is a config file.

Can you post the contents? You can make adjustments to it

I reference how to do ducking and gain in my guide: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/tantrums-guide-to-pinsound

Have you emailed the PinSound guys? I'm sure they would sell you what you need. Just let them know you are moving your PinSound from one platform to another (who cares why).

Few days ago, no response.

I don't have any experience with Pinsound Studio, I'm just a casual hobbyist. Although not opposed to learning. But I only have a Mac and unless I'm mistaken it's only available for PC?

Here is the link, not sure what shipping is. https://www.pinsound.org/shop/index.php?id_product=28&controller=product&id_lang=1

FYI, the two brothers created this product on the side as they are pinball enthusiast from France (hardware & software engineering). They also have full time gigs, so sometimes it may take a few days for communications. Also, not sure if/what pinball festivals are in Cali, but they have come to TPF (Texas) the last few years with lots of product so that saves on shipping if the timing is right.

Just edit the config file in your text editor, you can just copy and paste it into the pinside form

Don't need studio for this. You can manually trial and error just be adding/editing config files.

Thanks, much appreciate the tips!

The mix sound perfect in my game, but I imagine a combination of different speakers, tone settings, balance settings probably cause variations in how the mix performs.

You can adjust the volume of the music by putting a gain.txt file in your music directory (within the mix). Include one number in it (0-20, default being 10). Try an 8. If you want the music quieter, put a lower number. If you want it louder, but a bigger number.

That did the trick, many thanks. Had to bring it down to 5... speakers must be out of whack or something. The remix really does give the game new life.

Glad it worked to your liking! Pinsound rocks!

Does anyone know of a US distributor for the pinsound board compatible with LOTR?

I’m not aware of anyone in the states who carries the Whitestar kit for LOTR. I had to order mine from France. You may want to contact some of the State side vendors and find out if they have the kit, and just don’t have it listed on their website.

Seems there is a new version out. Pinsound+ see pinsound.org

Native 2.1 stereo, shaker port, led strip port, hq sounds?
Need to see some comparison to see what is different. Seems like the old me isn't for sale anymore on their website.

Differences I notice.

1)RCA out. convenient if you want to hook up to another amplifier (like your home theater system) or want to record. I can live without this.

2)Headphone "station" connection. Looks like a cat5 cable connection that I can only assume will run to a proprietary breakout board with headphone jack and volume control that you can mount up front. Cool idea, depending on cost. I bought a $10 cable from amazon to extend my original PinSound headphone jack, I got a 4pole cable so the speaker mute still functions Works great.

3)Shaker port. Supposedly this is on the original card too. Not yet supported in software fully so hard to tell

4)Led strip port. This I really wish I had. I've got some speaker lights that this could probably work well with.

I think when they're mentioning Native 2.1 and HQ sounds, they are comparing a Pinsound to a stock soundcard. I don't think there is anything new here regarding the new card.

I hope they update PinSound Studio. There are still some inconsistencies with it and the Data East sound engine.

All in all, I just got my Pinsound on black Friday, so I'm bummed not to have the newest, I did save a little bit of money.

The website implies that the old board does not support a shaker... I am not certain if this is the case, but see the little comparison photo about the features available jn the old vs new board.

If the shaker is not supported in the original, I will be SUPER pissed. I have bought 6 of these boards and have supported them big time on here - I bought the last 2 because of the shaker support supposedly “coming soon” ( for the last 1 YEAR!)

I think the software support is there for old board. With pinsound studio you can associate sounds to trigger two different output siganls. I believe what's missing is an interface board with relays to control the external shaker. I think some people just made their own interface board but the pinsound guys say they are working on their own hardware add on board.

One year, that's nothing. I've been waiting for the shaker solution since TPF 2015 when I bought my pinsound! I have some mods I want to trigger with sound cues on my Ash Vs Evil Dead retheme game.

I love the work they have done with pinsound which is an incredible product and worth every penny. However they lag a little with speed on implementing promised features and the depth of their documentation. There is a bit of a learning curve to make a custom sound mix.

I remember reading that about the shaker. I hope the hardware when it surfaces works on both boards. I was mad enough frying a $40 LEDwiz on a project, I’m not going to DIY something on a $400 card.

I hope the software comes around as well. It doesn’t play well with Data East so making mixes is especially tough.

Unfortunately there's no more link to the PinSound-Studio Software.
I have to ask Nicolas, what the intension is or if there's another version available soon?
My idea was to support channel B of the older boards to use LED-Stripes or something similar.
Channel A is always working and can be used for shaker drive, etc.
And I hope we will get that last support for the older boards!

It's still not clear to me how to implement the shakers in the existing boards. Averell posted many months ago a relay/shaker solution he had created, but I am not sure how you got the software to know when to actually do the shake?

Nicolas told me, that there's a firmware revision and a new Studio-Software available, soon.
Both types of boards will support channel A and B of the extension connector.
PinSound will also release their own shaker assembly, then it will be much more easier for all the customers to have a shaker in their Pinball Machines.
At all you need the PinSound-Studio Software to swich on the shaker if a sound is played by the PinSound-Board.

Well thanks for clarifying - So does this mean that we must use the new pinsound software to trigger the shake? I thought I would just be able to program it directly. At this point I have almost finished my other projects, i will be able to build the shaker relay.

Averell are you doing a pinsound and shaker on your terminator rebuild? That was my thought to do but thought they would have a kit by now. Does this mean the older boards are obsolete for the shaker?

No, in the other thread Nicolas confirmed the old board will (EVENTUALLY) support the shaker. I guess the delay is because they want to create a complete add-on that will plug into the board, so people aren't DIYing and blowing up their board.

Today he told me, that both Boards will support channel A and B.
We have to wait for Firmware update and PinSound-Studio Revision.
Don't worry, you can use the PinSound-Shaker if available soon, or custom made like I did.