Alpha Bravo Update! Godzilla Pinball Upgrades, thoughts on Pulp Fiction, Avatar, and Uncanny X-men!

[@doctorgadgetix4887]

You do a really good job with your „deep dive“ videos. Looking forward to the next one 👍

[@abpinball]

Thanks so much! I wish I could do those more frequently, but they take a LOT of time! Should have an interesting game lined up for the next one though, stay tuned 😉

[@EquipmentReviewer]

Thumbs up, and subscribed.

[@kevinpfeiffer8034]

Appreciate your commentary / industry news videos. Straight forward and level headed.

[@JK-fv9xk]

I really enjoy your Videos.

[@abpinball]

Glad you like them, thanks!

[@AllPinballFanatic]

so it's bypasses stern amp or pinblaster gets sound from stern amp and then amplifies it again ? does sound gets better in term of quality (not talking about the power/volume).

[@abpinball]

It's poorly documented, but the Spike 2 CPU board has a sound header with two different outputs - a 2-channel headphone output, and a 3-channel line output. This amp must be using the latter - I don't think my horrible crackling noise coming out of the factory amp would be resolved if it was just re-amplifying the factory amp's output.

[@Rikity]

Are you talking about the crumbling speaker distortion sound when godzilla stomps at the end of a ball? I was wondering if that was an error in the sound file. Its just too consistent

[@abpinball]

Mine would tend to do it with heavy bass sounds, including that stomping noise. If it goes away for you at a lower volume level, it's probably amp distortion. If you have a headphone jack you could try with headphones too and see if it is there or not (headphones wouldn't have the problem I bet). It sounds super super horrible when it does it.

[@Mo_Ketchups]

Stern just released a MASSIVE code update flood today!! Seems like at least TEN games got updates, including all three of my “whopping” stash (🤩). Rush, Jaws, & Zilla 70! Great Thanksgiving gift, Stern! 👏👏👍

[@abpinball]

Another benefit of the PinSound amp board I didn't mention in the video - it avoids the loud SQUAWK noise Stern machines make when self-updating! I was playing last night and both Batman 66 and Beatles made the noise as they installed their updates, but Rush and Godzilla, having the Pinsound board, did not 😎 As for the updates, seem like not too many game improvements? I played Godzilla after the update and maybe they did sneak in a few speaker light improvements? Hard to say - they still just keep spinning yellow during the Destruction Jackpot though.

[@patrickmarino3932]

Jersey Jack games really made for home collector. Played Godfather on location game was brutal . Bought one took me a good couple of months to learn the shots . Super fast game. Fun game. Very underrated. Avatar the same you have to learn the shots & super deep code in a home. That’s their target audience

[@abpinball]

Don't disagree with you that they are targeting the home buyer... but that said whether the game is in a home or on location won't change the physics of some of those shots.

[@patrickmarino3932]

@ Yeah I thought the same about Godfather. All the reviews on Avatar say it’s an easy shooter with long ball times . And they were all average players . Hardest shot they said was that spinner at the top of the ramp.

[@patrickmarino3932]

Would be perfect to go with Godfather. Good collection should have both one brutal & one easy game I think

[@ThePayneMaster]

I am looking to buy the Flipper Fidelity speakers for my Godzilla Premium. I see multiple speakers available for purchase. Should I be looking for certain versions?

[@abpinball]

I just added a link in the description to their page with Spike 2 offerings - personally I would nix the bottom (cheapest) choice, and that leaves two - one with 4" backbox speakers like the original (currently $125 US), and one that upgrades them to 5 1/4" ($190). I'd recommend picking between those two depending on your budget, they are both good choices!

[@ThePayneMaster]

@@abpinball Thanks for the reply. I thought that the LE Conversion was only made for the LE version of the game. I live in the EU. So I am limited at the product being available. So the LE kit would be the better choice here for a Premium Godzilla? Since they are bigger

[@abpinball]

@@ThePayneMaster The 5 1/4 (LE conversion) version comes with the speaker plates for upgrading to the larger speaker size, so yes it works on pros and premiums! Having a larger backbox speaker will fill out the frequency range a bit better between those and the cabinet woofer, so it is a nice upgrade vs the 4" kit. Either route is a fantastic upgrade over the stock speakers, though.

[@ThePayneMaster]

@@abpinball Does the LE kit fits the speaker lights?

[@abpinball]

@@ThePayneMaster The stern speaker lights are specific to the speaker size - there is a different version of the kit for 5 1/4" (LE) speakers.

[@doctorgadgetix4887]

Do the older Stern machines (like LOTR) also benefit from upgrading only the speakers or was the code bad at that time?

[@abpinball]

Older games don't have quite the same sound fidelity, with lower sampling rate and mono sound (except for a few even older 90's ones that were actually stereo!) That said, they still hugely benefit from a speaker upgrade IMO.

[@ellbeeyt]

Why the Pinsound over the PinWoofer? I see there appears to be an ongoing war between the two. 🤔

[@abpinball]

I bought the Pinsound product because they were the first to announce a Spike 2 amplifier in that form factor. With that said, owners of PinWoofer products seem happy with their purchases, so bet they are good products as well. I may try one of their kits in the future, and if I do it would likely be the other form factor they have where the amp goes in the cabinet. One advantage of that style is you can turn the knobs to tweak the sound from inside the coin door, without having to remove the translite. Between those two companies and even some others, we are lucky to have so many choices!

[@ryrysonic9]

No coverage on the evil dead pinball announcement & trailer?

[@abpinball]

Just from what we've seen in the videos, Evil Dead looks awesome!!! The topper is off the charts, and I love how much theme integration there is in the mechs etc - can't WAIT to play it. I didn't cover it because I prefer to hold my full opinion until after I've played the game. You'll notice I included footage of me playing both Avatar and X-men, so you the viewer can know my thoughts are based on my real world experience with the game, both good and bad.

[@ryrysonic9]

@abpinball Ah okay awesome thanks! I was figuring you probably wait til you play it at least somewhat which is a good idea! evil dead does look amazing tho! Have you ever played the Scooby-Doo by spooky with that newer interactive topper? It's very cool as well!

[@abpinball]

@@ryrysonic9 I have played Scooby, another packed game! They have one at Game On Pinball, I feel so lucky to have a place not too far with a bunch of new games. Until they opened, San Jose was a bit of a pinball desert! What I have not played yet is Looney Tunes - a friend of mine has that on order though and I look forward to playing it, also looks nice.

[@ryrysonic9]

@abpinball sweet to hear 😁 Scooby Doo is for sure loaded & super fun it's my favorite pin as of now,,was the first nib pinball machine I ever purchased just this year! along with the interactive topper & now we are up to 4 pins already lol! & It's always good to go play local if you can! there isn't too much around my area, I'm dying to play a labyrinth pinball because it looks so well done and everything! Looney tunes is for sure one of spooky's best, only had a chance to play it for a couple hours but was a blast, it really hits the theme with Looney tunes the ball lock cliff thing was interesting and perfect for that!

[@damianhealy300]

Not sure if you have mentioned this recently, but are you interested in swapping out your Metallica to the new remastered version at some point?

[@abpinball]

Dirty Donny forever!!! In all seriousness, I think the remaster looks great and even though it is probably devaluing my copy of the game, I'm glad they are making more so more people can experience how awesome of a game Metallica is. For me, the remaster is just a bit too "metal", I'm not really a metal-head personally and prefer the comic look of the original. So no, not really interested in getting the remastered one personally. And I suppose the value of mine doesn't matter if I never sell it! 🤓

[@croustibat682]

The Xmen design also prevents death saves :D

[@abpinball]

Ah does it! With the flippers offset a bit, guess that makes sense. Not a technique I practice, myself 😅

[@croustibat682]

@@abpinball i dont either, but a friend of mine does. He often manages to get 3 saves off 2 warnings. thats a lot of extra balls XD

[@jdteney]

Pulp is coming. Some LEs shipped to the UK a couple weeks ago. CGC is now being a bit more vocal on FB. Hopefully all us still in get ours soon.

[@abpinball]

I certainly hope so! One of my friends is still in on theirs and I can't wait to see it, it will be spectacular I'm sure - CGC builds a great game, love my MMR! Good luck to all the pre-order holders, hope you get your game soon!

[@veganm8918]

I just got an announcement from the distributor saying that that the games are finally being produced and starting to ship. But I can relate to the video here that after nearly 2 years the enthusiasm for the game has waned.

[@Mo_Ketchups]

I found it’s just not worth having expression speaker lights. For one, my already upgraded speakers won’t fit & I’m happy just setting (for example) my Zilla 70th lights to red & letting the table & mods do the light-shows. That oxygen tank mod w the green light was a nightmare install (at the alligator clips) but so worth it now. I too have Rush & will take your advice on the PinSound amp, but ONLY for “the boys.” 😅👍

[@abpinball]

I believe PinSound is having a Black Friday sale so great time to get one!! 👍

[@Mo_Ketchups]

@ Unfortunately it’s only for a free headphone jack, which I already have on all my pins. My luck! 😅🤦‍♂️

[@dugfreez]

I wouldn’t expect much from the Stern speaker lights. They had some pretty good implementation on Jaws, but most other games have minimum implementation. Add in the poor design of the light rings that you mentioned and get a cash grab of a product. I’m glad the True Diffusers helped with that. I really wish you would have mentioned where you got them from. 😢

[@abpinball]

I will edit the description and add a link! 👍

[@dugfreez]

@@abpinball👍

[@Superdummy803]

I'm curious if you considered the new Spooky game Evil Dead? That game looks amazing. I agree the delays with Pulp Fiction are simply unacceptable. If you're gonna demand a significant deposit, then there should be a fixed time frame for getting the game or you get your cash back. It sounds like you ordered a LE, I got my SE PF back in April. I've really enjoyed the game but it is hard. I'm not the best player in the world but I like to think I can hold my own. I can't for the life of me get good at PF. I'll probably end up selling because I just can't hit any of the shots. It's so frustrating. The game otherwise is amazing

[@abpinball]

Evil Dead looks super cool! I have to play it first before considering purchasing anything though - I've done the "buy upon announcement, before playing" thing a couple times now, enough to learn that at least for me it's not a good idea.

[@croustibat682]

If you just want ot reach wizard mode on TZ, sure, you can do that... just do something else then XD try to do the missions, not just start them. there are 3 other different multiballs, with different ways to score jackpots. I installed the 9.4 prom on mine, it adds one great thing: ball save option for every ball ...

[@abpinball]

100% agree, and that's kind of what I said right? Do the modes etc if you want to have fun! It's a great game, who knows maybe I'll end up with a third one at one point 😂

[@croustibat682]

@@abpinball true, I misunderstood. I got one too, not as nice as the ones you had, but it just plays well and I like it :)

[@MrDirkles]

uncanny xmen danger room = Gold Wings

[@abpinball]

There is certainly a resemblance, but the danger room looks way more interesting to me with a repeatable loop, spinner, and ramp to exit.

[@MrDirkles]

@abpinball yeh they have added/taken some bits but they even kept the yellow and black stripped art design 😂.

[@heppo6]

Sad to hear about cancelling Pulp Fiction order. That machine looks so cool and fun. It was not possible to sell you spot? (If anything for half price or something, to not loose all the money). Great update video, by the way!

[@abpinball]

Sorry I wasn't clear in the video - my distributor helped me find another customer to take over my deposit. There was a transfer fee, which I split 50/50 with the other customer, but other than that at least I got most of my money back. I still think it is egregious to have a non-cancellable deposit without any timeline though - but that's partly on me, too - I knew the deposit was non-cancellable when I put it in. Anyway thanks for watching and for the positive feedback!

[@Pinballgeek49]

Uncanny x men is junk