The game needs to be leveled properly (left/right) and at around a 7 degree pitch or else it can give you a somewhat regular SDTM out of the pops. I find that to be unplayable as I don't care for having to constantly muscle a game. When it is set up properly it is fun!

This happens quite a bit on every machine I've played, including mine.

Yeah, it's probably leaning. I almost never get drains down the middle on mine.

Exactly this. When I went down to 6.5, the SDTMs were unbearable. 7.0 - 7.2 was perfect. I have noticed since putting white rubbers (a little more grippy), I get a better ball response off the post and fewer SDTMs as well.

I've still yet to try white rubber in AC/DC. I'm always worried about the extra bounce making it even crazier than it already is.

side to side leveling has to be perfect. I hardly get SDTM drains on mine as well. But it's dialed in very nicely.

Mine doesn't do this that much anymore and mine is at 6.5 deg. I rarely get the bell STDM now either. Shrugs.

I'm not convinced that its the pitch that matters. Instead, each game is slightly different and some do this more than others. Mine is perfect left to tight and around 7 degrees and does this often. It plays pretty well otherwise so I just nudge out of it. I understand there is a post rubber fix though?

Seems like a steeper pitch would make nudging it harder, anyway.

I have had to level my game pretty often in order to avoid the SDTM losses.
Left to right, at the front and the back.

One of the main reasons I don't think leveling is the answer is because the ball comes out of that area inconsistently. If it was always the same then I could accept leveling might redirect it. Sometimes its SDTM. Other times to the left. Other times to the right. I've also leveled mine with a level on thr playfield and this was the result. Avatar has a similar problem. My original game didn't do this nearly as much. But the new one plays so much better than the original in spite of the occasions SDTM.

The slower it comes out of the pops.. the most risk of this. Probably why the pitch helps.

Because Steve Ritchie is the devil and loves to taunt anyone who plays ACDC

One of the most frustrating yet addictive games ever!

Some examples need to be leaned slightly (2 or 3 tenths of a degree) to the right. That slight of a lean isn't noticeable to the player, but greatly reduces SDTM's. 9 out 10 times the ball should feed to the tip of the right flipper. Not the center of the right flipper, not the left flipper, the tip of the right flipper. That's what you're shooting for. No added post sleeve or rubbers are needed.

The one at Lanes & Games is exactly the opposite, lots of balls go down the right outlane but never down the left outlane.

I get lots of STDM from the pops on my Premium as well. Had to raise the right of the machine a fair amount to get it perfectly level, thinking of dropping it down a little bit.

I thought stock there was a little wireform torsion spring on the post in the bell lane to prevent this? Is this not the case? I'm sure the two acdc pro's ive played had this...

That's on the Pro models. Maybe some early premiums and LEs had them, but current and later run premiums do not.

Interesting. Why is it not on the premium models... the SDTM issue is obviously an issue? The swinging bell a bit too aggressive for it?

Well, the bell is to the left of the pop drain, actually.

I don't know the reason it was taken off, but mine doesn't have the spring and I've never had issues. I'm sure someone will know the reason.

Doesn't matter. You can still get SDTM's with the spring there. My pro (with the spring) was fine leveled properly on my slab foundation at home, then started getting way more SDTM when I put it out on location. As mentioned above, I leaned it very slightly to the right and it's fine now.

Pro, premium and LE can all have the problem (or not). If this was happening to me (excessive SDTM on a location game), I think I might consider sliding something (matchbooks, folded up paper) under each left leg. Shouldn't need much to noticeably reduce SDTM's.

Yeah but the bell shot goes through that spring right? On the pro, the ball just rolls back down, typically missing the spring. On the LE the bell smacks the ball back at you - I'm thinking this is hard on that spring...

I agree... the spring doesn't fix the issue on the machines I've played. Just changes it.

It's overall a slightly frustrating design decision imo that really has no 100% solution. Much like the Metallica fuel lane, or the Tron Zen right outlane bounce out. You can make it better, but no matter how level things are, theres always a chance that a strange bounce out or SDTM happens.

That's pinball I guess

Do any AC/DC Premium owners have this issue? When the ball gets in the hole behind the bell and it gets ejected SDTM. On my machine if the ball gets ejected and the swinging bell is up I get 90%+ SDTM. Reminds me of Goose Gossage pitching; fast, straight and no chance of contact.

Where does the ball head to in this situation on other machines? Maybe I can tweak the level to minimize this problem. I've learned to deal with the outline drains and drains out of the pops but I hate this s--t!

Thanks in advance!

On the few times I've hit the hole behind the bell, I think it's only ever hit the back of the bell, and been diverted out the left exit lane.
This has happened to you frequently?

Not frequently, not every game but often enough. If I get the ball in that hole and the bell is swinging, more often than not its going SDTM.

I watch the pros get 100's of millions (or a billion) on a single ball so figure there must be skill in avoiding SDTMs out of the pops - and I need practice more to suck less.

Hardly a pro, but after if gets one by me and the ball saver puts it back into the pops, I will nudge right when the ball gets to the bottom left. Any slight bump off that post will help. It's not a move that will get you hot chicks, but it will keep your ball in play longer.

I'm in agreement. I've felt from the start that the SDTM issue was a machine issue and not a setup issue. It seems like a lot of the earlier builds have it. Makes me wonder if something was done to fix it, or maybe just a batch of the playfields/parts were cut a little differently causing the issue.

I've never had the issue on my Premium and I'm not as anal as most when it comes to leveling it and setting the pitch. But a friend who owns an early pro can't seem to get his right despite trying everything when it comes to testing the level and pitch. And I've played an early pro on location that has the same issue.

It's totally lame! There's a jillion different ways for the ball to dribble out of the pops. If it happens to fast for you to bop the post into the ball up there, then you're going to be okay. But I think it's totally lame to have to mind the ball like that just to start playing. It's lame in multiball and super lame after you've gotten a danger or warning or whatever.

I don't mind the hidden outlane or the bell smacking it back at you, those are cases of "That's pinball," but the feed from the pops is just awful. Every time, as I bend over to slap the side of the machine I think "Here I go again." It feels like I'm helping along a malfunction or slapping a ball that's stuck behind a pop.

Thanks for a chance to get this off my chest!

JM sends the ball out of the pops straight to the right slingshot. If your slings are active it can kill more balls than ACDC's issue. It can be aggravating but that's how it was designed - probably to earn more quarters.

Here's my fix to the STDM drains I was getting...

acdc flippers2.jpg

But... seriously. Once I precisely leveled mine and added the recommended bumper up top- Id say my SDTM drains went from like 20% to less than 1%.

acdc2sdtmfix.jpg

Yeah, this is probably why I don't get them much anymore. Forgot about that. Makes backhanding the bell very difficult but sure beats STDM dribbles.

Is that the king kong version of AC/DC? with some of the scores some around here claim to get, I wonder if that's the setup they have.