My NIB GnR LE (#2657) showed up yesterday – sharing some initial impressions of the game. This is my first JJP purchase. My first extended session with it was at a friend’s place last weekend – let’s just say after that I was now more anxious than ever for mine to show up. You could imagine what a pleasant surprise it was getting the call on Monday that mine had arrived and was going to be delivered during the week.
Overall, this is an amazing pinball machine. I’m completely enamored.
What am I liking? Well, pretty much everything. But, more specifically:
Visuals: The cabinet and red powder coating are gorgeous. Playfield is packed with striking features that pull you into the GnR world. Large monitor is fantastic, as are all the visuals displayed on it. Top notch programming here.
Shots: Great layout with variety of shots. The orbit is butter. Upper playfield is cool and I love locking balls on the guitar headstock. I played a song recently where the right ramp return dropped the ball in front of the upper right flipper to hit the inner orbit, rather than return it to the right flipper – I had no idea that mechanism was in there. I could go on….you get the gist.
Music: Easy. I’m a heavy metal/rock guitar slinging guy (grew the hair long, played in bands, blah…blah….blah) so when this new pinball hobby I’m now apparently addicted to meets my music style, watch out. Sound quality is OK – I put a PinWoofer in my Zep LE and leaning that way here.
Effects/Callouts: Really, really like them including all the little guitar riffs. Just find myself immersed and really like the callouts telling me what shots to hit next. Also, if I suck, somebody should tell me - I respect that.
Rules: Wow, they are brilliant. I’m just scratching the surface, but they are relatively easy to understand and there is so much to think about while playing. Risk/Reward is amazing on the jackpots.
JJP touches: This blew me away. I have purchased 4 NIB Sterns within the past year (and really like them), so some of these touches were a very pleasant surprise……external vol/headphone jack standard on LE, power supply inside the cabinet in case it is needed, modern menu system – so easy to navigate and find stuff (including the manual in it is really thoughtful), WiFi for updates, ball blocking mechanism so you don’t have to take the balls out when you lift the playfield, pull away monitor attached magnetically, and the playfield being set to 6.5 degrees right out of the box (wow). I’m sure there are some I’m missing.
Quality: I have not had any issues (knock on wood). Had a ball get hung up a few times in the upper right playfield area next to a pop bumper and post, but I could nudge it back into play. Looks like I have the latest playfield protection items (black washers were below the posts). I didn’t scour the playfield looking for any defects – that’s just not me. And if some show up due to extended play, unless it’s egregious in nature, it won’t bother me. I started playing it immediately – don’t plan on adding anything for additional protection. I bought it to play it, not preserve it for a museum. I do understand though, why folks may get upset over certain issues - it’s no fun if something this expensive doesn’t meet your level of expectation – no doubt about that. I’m hoping all of you experiencing issues get things sorted out for the best.
Add-ons: My PinMonk coil cooling fans showed up on the same day! Thanks PinMonk! I don’t want to lose playing time installing them right now. Ha ha. I’ll get them on shortly though. I wasn’t even watching/looking for flipper fade because I was totally engrossed in the game. I’ll see how some upcoming extended sessions go though.
Favorite Moment Thus Far: When Civil War kicks in (about the 1:20 mark), lights going off, balls flying around trying to find their intended target. Unreal. If there ever was a pin to enjoy while drinking beer, I think this is it.
Finally, shout-out to KingPin Games. Christopher showed up with his Dad and they easily moved the machine into my basement, set it up, and walked me through all the features. During the course of this, he discovered the shaker wasn’t working. A quick look through the menu to find the fuse/connector associated with it and after tracing it around inside the cabinet, he reconnected a connector and it started working. Problem solved. I can’t tell you how cool it was to see a Father/Son working together in a family business and providing world class service – just really, really impressed with them, including making sure I knew I could contact them if I needed ANY help with the machine. Also, shout-out to Christopher’s brother Eric for designing such a top-notch machine.
Cheers - I hope you all are enjoying your GnR as much as I am.