From trash to treasure.

2013-08-19 17.32.03 (resized).jpg

2013-08-22 17.17.58 (resized).jpg

2013-09-13 18.28.41 (resized).jpg

There was a Cheetah up in Michigan that sold on Ebay not too long ago. It was rough. No back glass. But it had a blue cabinet instead of black. It looked like it would be a pretty pin when cleaned up.

I'd like to have a Cheetah but I have no more room.

I have a decent Big Game, boards are fully rebuilt, everything works perfectly, BG has minor cracking near the bottom. Recent flipper rebuilds. PF has some light wear but is almost entirely intact (swirl marks). Plays awesome.

Any idea of the current market value?

I want your Cheetah, PM sent.

(take the highest offer)

Mike, your game plays very nicely!!

I'll start the bidding at 1kCAN.

2k was my offer with the insert wear.

Brian, thank you for the beautiful Nine Ball. Plays great. Love my Stern Magic. The last game to ever leave my collection.

Stern Magic 1 (resized).JPG

Stern Magic Pinball Playfield (resized).JPG

Must admit I've never played a Magic or Trident as far as I know.

I'm a sound set junkie. Most of these classic Sterns we are discussing here have the sounds that jazz me. Big Game sound set was a hit from day one. Nine Ball has some cool sounds. Catacomb took a bit to grow on me. And there is Seawitch, screaming witch that she is. Dragonfist has a nice sound set. After living with these sounds it is hard for me to go back to chimes like Trident and Hot Hand.

If I had the room, I would like to have both an Ali and a Meteor. But both pins, especially Meteor, has that humming sound that drives me nuts. With Meteor I guess it is supposed to be a Meteor crashing into Earth. I know Meteor looks like a blast to play but that humming....

Bally's sounds were..ahh... interesting, I suppose. Look at this rare 326 unit Bally Voltan. Beautiful game. But what is it with those Bally sounds? They make a great looking pin seem mediocre.

And Gottlieb had a catalog of strange sounds that I just cannot wrap myself around. Here is Genie. Beautiful game to look at but those sounds...

Magic is a gem.

Trident is a turd, dont waste your time.

I would say: The one that plays better. As that is of paramount importance vs looking nice. If you have both, then you really have a sweet copy!

The blue cabinet has the better prototype roms. Much better sounds. Although the Green cabinet is better looking. The better sounds win out!

i was offered one for $1200 cdn about 6 months ago

Trident and Hot hand had that crappy sound board like the rest of the MPU100 had. Sounds of late 70's digital cash register comes to mind.

Very few chime games from Stern but when you find one, they sound great! The only manufacterer to use a wooden box as the chime box. Others used plastic. The wood gives the Sterns their special chime sound. Stern cime games are few: Memory Lane, Stars, Pinball, Stingray.

Had a chance to play a decent "Pinball" and wasn't expecting much. Was pleasantly surprised with it as it was one of their very first efforts.

My restored Cheetah with NOS Bill Davis cleared playfield and prototype roms with green cab went for way north of that.

Cool, thanks for the info.

I'm sure it did. I've got the ROMs installed on mine that don't allow the bonus collect over and over. It makes it way more fun to play.

Check out the video of Genie with Hulk sounds using the all in one board. Much better.

I had a Magic many years ago and it did nothing for me game play wise. But your copy sure is pretty! =)

One of the prettiest Stern playfields.

I had those roms too but opted for the prototype roms given the choice. The better sounds especially the bonus countdown is worth it.
Just set the game up steep and that shot is not nearly as repeatably doable.

I will just set this right here....

20180819_113630 (resized).jpg

20180912_175000 (resized).jpg

OK. My operator friend who sold of most of his pins picked up a Memory Lane. He set it up with a quarter per play. I'll have to go play it.

Which plays better? Star Gazer or Fathom?

There is a Fathom at Cactus Jack's. Maybe they don't have it set steep enough but it does nothing for me. It is a beautiful pin but from the first moment that mealy mouthed voice says "Fathom" and that rhythmic sound starts I start losing the thrill of the chase. I'd rather play Interflip Dragon.

That's like asking if a blonde or a brunette is better in bed...let's just say those two are bolted to the floor, Seabitch is for sale and Meteor is newer to the collection. I need more time on it.

I wouldn't mind owning a seawitch; Nice change of pace with that weird layout.

When / where was this exactly?

Stilltryin for 4800 on that seawitch, lol.

go away...$4300

Star Gazer all day, every day.

Interflip Dragon is a great game....brutal as hell.

You got that right. It looks like a pushover. It isn't.

Those two are pretty comparable, Fathom has a more traditional layout while SG is pretty unique.

QS beats both of them.

your QS is the only one I have played (at least for one that actually plays well). I have always been curious, are the flippers intended to have as much travel as they do? They go further than any other game (even the always trap GTB premiers).

BBAAAAAOOOOOOO

<Now back to your regularly scheduled Classic Stern Programming>

Only for the color green.

Wow, I had never run across the existence of alternate ROMs for Cheetah until now! I thought I was pretty expert on the Classic Sterns, but just goes to show there's always more to learn. The "blue cabinet" ROMs are not mentioned on IPDB.org, but I got the copy from PinMame so I look forward to trying them out!

I've heard about "alternate ROMs" for Dragonfist, Iron Maiden, NB. Would love to find where to get them.

Different from the roms on IPDB for Dragonfist?

My Cheetah the proto roms (blue cabinet). And once I heard the sounds for the regular roms, that are supposed to be in the game, they just sounded weird to me. More likely because I'm just used to the proto ones. I assume the rules are the same, just the sounds are different.

I'm going to have to try the proto ROMs . It may be a good trade off from the updated rules.

I don't think the rules are different...just the sounds. There were a different set of roms someone made for Cheetah that did change the rules for the left orbit bonus collect, but that is different altogether than the proto ones Stern issued.

saskatoon kijiji about 2 months ago. pins seem to move slower in the summer. not even sure it sold or ad was pulled.

Yes, I currently have the roms that limit the bonus collect. It might be worth changing out if the sounds are that much better.

Anyone that thinks any classic Stern is a better playing game than Fathom is living a lie. Remember, rare does not always equate to good. I love the classic Stern machines but c'mon man... we all know how any why they were made. There is a reason that back when these Stern machines were available they did not earn as well and were cheaper machines to purchase, compared with Bally and Williams.

I just recently played Fathom and Seawitch and I thought Seawitch was way more fun to play than Fathom.

And Seawitch is like number 6 on my Classic Stern list for players.

But, each to their own.

Is Quicksilver really head and shoulders the best player of the classic Sterns? I can't answer as haven't played one. Want one though

Everyone is entitled to an opinion but I just can't get over how the shots in Seawitch are not properly lined up with the flippers. That right orbit area is a dumpster fire.

One reason I like classic Sterns is that you can set them up to be very difficult, while still remaining very fun. But it's harder to fix how the play field is designed.

True the build quality nod goes to Bally of the day. But the think out of the box playfield design, drop targets that sweep instead of brick, smooth flow vs chunky/clunky...nod goes to Classic Stern. Prof in the pudding....My Fathom has been off legs for the past 2 years in favor of my Stars in its place.

EBD however is bolted to the floor as is Paragon

What impedes that right orbit shot is that thin flexible metal "gate". I've seen someone mod it to a curved metal rod gate with spring instead as the original was missing. I think it helped that shot a lot.

I am a firm believer that your opinion of a game is in response to the exact tables that you have played over the years. The newer the machine (of the same title), the more similar one plays to to another.

So, these early solid state games have a MUCH wider gap of how one title of the same name plays to the next. I think that is one reason people seem to have such strong opinions of older machines. The older the machine, the wider the opinion gap.

Possibly it would only take one single experience on a Star Gazer or Quicksilver to change my mind. I have played two examples of each for a very extended time (many multiplayer games for hours) to learn to detailed rules of each table. I have decided that neither are worth owning. I suppose I could change my mind but that is probably just as likely as someone who does not like Fathom, playing a different example of it and changing their mind on the spot, erasing all the negative playing experiences in the past 15 years.

Truth be told, my favorite Bally game is my Mr/MS Pac-man. Every other single Mr/Ms I have ever played was absolute crap. Lamps/switches not working, flippers not aligned, ect. Yeah, I know. Flame away.

Back on topic, I don't think you could buy a decent Seawitch for less than 2500 these days. The other two are basically impossible to price since it's a sellers market on those 2 titles. Could you buy one for 3K... maybe a beater. 5K gives you a better chance at them but you can't buy one for 5K if you can't find one for sale. A few have been "built" from parts or populated PF's. That's seems to be the way to go if you are on a budget.

So everyone who doesn't think as you is living a lie? Ok....

Actually I think two of the classic Sterns are better than any Bally, and I have several of the Bally games, and enjoy them as well.

Hope it doesn't keep you up at night.