My distributor has always gotten stern to reply back to me within 24 to 48 hours of reporting any issue. Maybe the distributor is where the breakdown is?

Ikea? Beatles build quality is no different that your SWLE (which I own as well). No Stern is built like JJP...

The quality of materials used by Stern seems to be absolute shit, but I just bought 16K worth of their games because they are a blast to play.

I wish Stern took a little more pride in the overall quality of their products, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon when a putz like myself keeps buying their games.

So 2 games?

Good to see that math is alive and well in Canada.

Yep, Munsters LE and Premium.

I agree with you on overall build quality and QA, however disagree the "materials used by Stern seems to be absolute shit". Depends on the platform.

And yes...as long as we keep buying them, nothing will change. My Munsters Pro is still unplayable...waiting on a CPU board that was suppose to show up today. Nothing like getting a new game with a defective board. Almost 2 weeks since taking delivery.

Um, have any of you complaining about sterns materials ever seen inside a Spooky game? Just sayin.....

Who has a spooky game?

Actually it was after two attempts of my own with no reply from Stern over the course of 3-4 weeks that I then engaged my distributor. Shortly thereafter I received a response they were looking into it. I shouldn't have to go to that length with Stern or any other company. I wish I could say this is a one of experience, but it's not and being echoed by other owners within our leagues. I have no issue with Stern and want to continue to purchase their games. I just hope they recognize to be competitive with this increased competitive market they have to focus on quality and customer care.

Well I just got a Munsters LE. Beautiful to look at and a lot of fun but honestly
The metal back box is very tin like , the on n off switch sucks, lockdown bar is
Bullshit.I have 3 JJP games,4 CGC games
1 AP and Oktoberfest on order they are all built with pride ! I would rather pay another grand to Stern and have them get schooled by any of the guys I’ve mentioned.
Oh yeah the head bolts exposed on the back of cabinet ? Now that takes the
Stern lovers don’t get upset I’m just saying ! I wish AP or JJP was doing the next Elvira

90s williams games had the backbox latch crudely exposed on the back of the the game. Now that takes the Williams lovers don’t get upset I’m just saying (and super coherently, I may add)!

And also, look at this abortion on a Dirty Harry I picked up!!! Hard to believe these kind of lapses in quality happened back in the 90s but it's true. I guess the stenciler was drunk that day and had no consideration for the resale value of this machine 24 years into the future.

I was hyperventilating about this and about to write an angry letter to [email protected], but then I realized you don't actually look at the back of the game and I got over it, a perspective that might help people who are upset that the head bolts are "exposed" on a Stern game.

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And Stern used to have a great backbox latch system....but yeah a couple of extra leg bolts instead is an upgrade.

I'm far from a Stern "fan boy", but I have a hard time sympathizing with your issues. The metal back box is tin like? On/off switch is fine (though location sucks. Lockdown bar latch system works great. Head bolts are functional and out-of-sight. None of these issues strike a chord with me.

My issues are: Noisy fans, common node board failures, poorly sanded PF's, game specific mechanical issues (like the op issue) and overall build quality lapses.

It actually is an upgrade... It is one less tool to have to deal with.

And yet Stern sold out super quick of Munsters LE's - had to ADD another 100.

And they could use up their old WWE gold legs, and have a a lockdown bar that doesn't match the rails.

Carry on buying, it's all good

They have improved on the code side which is good news.

Exactly. Leg bolts are plentiful. Giant allen wrenches are not.

These complaints always seem like people trying to hard to find something to whine about.

The "stern lockdown bar" that Whitey is griping about? I guess he means the latches? They work better, cost less, and are far less complicated than the old spring-loaded contraption that has been a pain in the ass on so many old games. Don't see what the problem is. They found a simpler, cheaper solution that is much less likely to cause issues down the road.

Moving the on/off switch? I mean...I guess I wish they kept it where it was. Because I'm middle-aged and fear change. But like...what exactly is the drawback? I guess if I were 5'4 with a 44 inch waist it might make it harder to turn games on and off but I haven't faced any hardships.

Metal backbox? Yeah I prefer the wood ones. Again, because I'm old. Not sure what the exact drawbacks of the new design are though.

I group these gripes into two areas, legit and trying-too-hard.

Splitting cabinets, instant insert ghosting, those ridiculous "playfield pegs" and peeling off cabinet decals fall in the "legit" category. Moving on/off switches, "exposed bolts" in the backbox, "dimpling" and lockdown bar latches fall into the "TTH" category. All the noise can be a pain to wade through but you know a legit quality complaint when you see one. Maybe even Stern can.

After all they went back to actual playfield support rails, right?

True...but it unfortunately took years of whining. I personally/directly bent Stern's ear on the useless pegs for years. The "last straw" was receiving an AS Pro with wonky flippers and I couldn't fix them until I ordered the rails from PinballLife. If I told you what the OEM price difference was between the pegs/supports, you wouldn't believe it.

Since Stern does listen, it helps to whine about the legit issues (as you suggest).

I think this is what a lot people get pissed about. Stern is saving money on the new lockdown bar, back box design, etc. Is Stern putting those savings back into their games by increasing quality, and consisting offering deep / unique code? No, prices have gone way up, games often come with less and quality has gone down in certain areas.

At least like you said Stern is putting proper support rails and the backboard handle on their games. That's something.

I've owned 2 and they were both rock solid.

I thought I was the only one who liked the lockdown latches (robust, simple, cheap) compared to the old way. Also, the head bolts being on the outside with a size that my pinwrench has on tap, yes please. As an op, they make setting up a game after a move easier. My locations are on timers or wall switches, so the location of the power switch isn't a big deal, but it still annoys me where they moved it.

I don't know what rails cost, but those pegs are dirt cheap. Threaded rod, 2-3 nuts, some shrink sleeve and a rubber bumper on the end. Maybe $5 for a set for all of that from Ace Hardware. I don't have super strong feelings either way, but I know the history that rails are the preferred thing.

Then there are those that just want to complain because something is different. The Stern lock down bar system is perfect and works flawless. Metal backbox works fine and has advantage of display angled up a bit to prevent glare. It makes zero difference to the functionality of the pin. Funny how a common complaint of pins is how heavy they are but with Stern the complaint is that they are not heavy enough. Maybe Stern should throw in 100 lbs of dead weight in the cab then everyone will talk about how they are built like a tank.

As long as it's stable/solid, the lighter the better! Love my DILE, but at nearly 400lbs., it's too heavy! Nearly impossible to get up stairs.

Checkout post #53 from the thread that CPR made. $12 a playfield is why newer Stern playfields are dimpling more severely. $12 on a product Stern has regularly raised prices and lowered quality.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/cpr-playfield-preorders-are-meaningless/page/2#post-4863477

Well, he said the veneer they add, is $12 more, then later throws out square foot prices that Aren't playfield wood prices.
It actually is a good read about playfields, but does not say Stern gets $12 PFs.

Just got a Deadpool pro this week. Lasted 2 hours before a node board crapped out. Was told it was going out Thursday. Nope called for tracking and bitched to them to ship it 2 day. They did and the rep said it will go out today. I’m so pissed I get to stare at this piece of plywood with art on it over the weekend. Never again will I buy Nib. Told the rep it lasted 2 hours and his response was “ya it happens” not even a sorry. At least Chas was cool about it and said sorry when I called him but the customer service rep could give two shits.

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Sad that it takes bitching to get them to ship 2 day in circumstances like this. My Munsters CPU died after 30 plays. Took 2 weeks before I had a replacement (and that's with some bitching).

I've been buying NIB since 2004, and things have gotten much worse with the SPIKE platform. Considering how lightly used they are in the home, can't imagine what arcades are having to deal with.

Did you call your dealer for assistance first or Stern direct?

Called the dealer first he set everything in motion. I was just following up to make sure everything I was told was happening. If I didn’t get involved I’d be down even longer. I just wanted a tracking number from them is why I called. The rep said it would go out Thursday and to call back for tracking today. I did and it still wasn’t done which is why I sent a email back stating my displeasure and wanted an upgrade in shipping. He told me it would go out today but it didn’t. Just venting is all, I can understand after a week it going down but 2 hours? I just hope it’s a fluke and nothing else caused that node 9 to crap out.

Agreed, that is frustrating. Hopefully, it’s smooth sailing moving forward.

Thanks as it’s my first nib purchase and I had to sell a couple arcade games to even think about affording this. I dumped my multi rotary ikari warriors and a shaq attaq lol. Hope I did ok. Was just playing my mb mushroom world pin and my 3 year old told my wife o daddy is playing Mario but not Deadpool, lol fucking kids

Sorry to hear that, but having an arcade I can say that the game quality that I have had with Stern has been exceptional. I think that basically CrazyLevi is spot on. ALL GAMES, BY ALL MANUFACTURERS, IN ALL ERAS have problems. Stern is no worse, and honestly from an operator's perspective, much more reliable than their current competitors. Learn to work on your games, it's part of pinball. It's a good with the bad kinda thing. Most fixes are exceedingly simple to get or keep a game up and running. Just takes a little time and patience and a will to learn. Stern gets WAY too much crap on their build quality in my opinion. We successfully operate dozens of Sterns from all their eras, and have no real complaints about them being "low quality" or "crap".

I will agree after working on some 90 dmd games I lifted that playfield and was blown away about how simplified it was. I’m just mad it died after 2 hours and I want to play it now haha.

Naturally, that totally sucks. But it hasn't been the norm in my experience. The distributor should make you whole, but some distributors are much better than others. They should jump to help you, and if they don't buy from somebody else. They are supposed to be equipped for these sorts of things and the pinball manufacturers rely on and expect their distributors to provide on the ground customer support.

I would also reach out to Stern and tell them about your experience with the distributor. They listen to that sort of thing and they will even pull somebody's distributorship if they aren't servicing their customers properly.

I hope that your game is up and running soon!

Dude, I'm very handy and "work on my games". Very rarely to I need help. Unfortunately, when node/cpu boards crap out, I'm not equipped to diagnose/fix this level of problem. Doubt you would be capable of fixing a SPIKE CPU problem as well.

This notion that "all games have problems" is proof that SPIKE board quality is acceptable is false.

They will send you another one for free if you contact them. I really don't get why people hate this so much. Just contact them, and explain your issue on your brand new game. They stand behind their products, and will replace any defects. All manufacturers have made me whole when I have had quality issues in the past. Stern does too.

I was responding to this. My business partner and I own a pinball arcade, and he still maintains a large route around town, we buy plenty of modern Sterns and operate them all over town easily and reliably. You can hate them if you want to, but your assertion that arcades must struggle with bad Stern build quality is patently false. We have always had no major problems other than normal maintenance on them. In fact, if anything the Lord of the Rings is the hardest game to keep running (although I would say that this is most likely just due to volume of plays for the last 15 years) rather than the new node board games.

Plus one to this. It’s simply amazing how bad they get picked apart here.
Lots of Stern games out there with 10,000’s of plays on them, and nothing but broken wires and wear on the assemblies.

From Deadpool Pro on route since January 6th, 2019 (18 weeks) 5,000 plays based on revenue. It's odd that the EOS arm is what broke off as it just pushes on the EOS switch. Actually ended up replacing it with a WMS plinger/link/pawl assembly, so it will probably outlast the entire machine. Already replaced the switch in the scoop after about 400 plays where a solder leg to the switch broke off INSIDE the switch! Crazy.
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Is that all after 5k plays? And you call that "crazy"? That's nothing.

I've got WMS games with over 50,000 plays and never had a EOS arm break off.

I'll send you my adress!

I just got my BKSOR LE and this thing is built like a tank! Only weakness I can see are the cheap paper thin Plastics. Which is an easy fix, i just fabricated and put on plastic protectors we're needed. Here are two known problem spots.
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Hello there,

If you ever want to sell your Mario Bros. Pin I would be interested.
Respectfully ~Joey

Hey Joey thanks for the offer, I have no idea why I keep getting offers on this pin north of 3k. If you where closer maybe a trade. So i have been up and running no issues except I noticed metal shavings in the bottom of the cabinet shortly after I got the node board fixed. Got tipped off to check the coil stop and sure nuff it’s almost falling off. Easy replacement thank god.