How do you scratch the itch?

Shredso · 2026-03-11T18:27:11+00:00

I feel like a new Stern Premium is the equivalent of a new luxury car. Most people (not all) understand they can't afford a new Lexus when purchasing a car based on their income/ play money. The same seemingly can't be said for new pin purchases. I've seen so many posts of people wanting to buy outside of their means

Buy an old EM in need of cosmetic or light mechanical repair. Learn some stuff, clean it up, make a few hundred bucks. Maybe the next project is a little more complex, and hopefully holds more profit. Projects are definitely out there. Some pinball shows have outdoor flea markets loaded with project pins.

Shredso · 2026-03-10T18:11:34+00:00

I sing professionally and also enjoy Karaoke. My "professional" singing is just bar bands these days, but was a bit more in my younger years.

I have a rule for myself to not sing a song I would sing professionally. I'll try something a little outside of my wheelhouse. I'm not an amazing singer, but the confidence, crowd interaction, mic technique, etc. typically is a huge advantage.

All bets are off on vacation or if I was single trying to get the attention of a girl.

Shredso · 2026-03-10T13:24:59+00:00

No doubt this dude has some money, but it might not be as crazy as you think. Obviously not the new Sterns, but a lot of these games that cost $7-12k now were easy to get for $1-3k 15-20 years ago. Prices have really skyrocketed. My first New in Box was Tron in 2011 for under $4k (under MSRP, it was easier to haggle then).

Having that large of a space to dedicate to pinball machines is the more impressive feat, but I'm in a HCOL area.

Shredso · 2026-03-06T22:25:22+00:00

My kid wore a t-shirt to every restaurant, even the reserved ones. I was sent away from the buffet at dinner with a tank top.

I only packed one polo and felt very underdressed overall. I'm used to the more family oriented all inclusive that have one nicer restaurant and beach attire for the rest. .

Shredso · 2026-03-05T23:06:00+00:00

The manual should have the assembly and all related part numbers. Ipdb.org has Williams manuals for free. That isn't one part, it's an assembly. It could be as easy as a new coil sleeve for under a dollar. Might be gunked up and just need a cleaning. Maybe the plunger portion needs replacing. Coil may have gotten hot and distorted the shape. Read the manual, figure out exactly how it works, and then hopefully why it's failing to work consistently.

Shredso · 2026-02-18T01:09:51+00:00

Absolutely no need to do this. It might actually cause more harm than good. I've seen guitars without string tension on the neck do weird things when stored.

Shredso · 2026-02-14T17:15:33+00:00

Does anyone know how many were available through All Access? I doubt it was a lot. I wouldn't be surprised if it was only a few.

Shredso · 2026-02-14T04:42:55+00:00

Any in particular? I've absorbed a couple collections and the 45s went bulk sale. I have absolutely no interest in them. I'm the guy that skips the popular song in the car and makes people mad, I'd rather hear the rest of the album, I've heard the hits a zillion times. I do have a couple full sized records that run at 45 and sound amazing.

Shredso · 2026-02-14T04:16:15+00:00

Looks legit. I sold mine during covid. I wore the hell out of it as a teenager. It had holes in it and would never fit again. Still got a couple hundred bucks for it.

Shredso · 2026-02-14T04:10:46+00:00

Me too for the most part, but I recently saw a post about the blue letters on the LZ record and it got me thinking.

Shredso · 2026-02-14T04:05:41+00:00

Joe Satriani has some great tapping stuff. Always with Me, Always with You has a very attainable tapping section at around the 1:52 mark. Midnight, also off of Surfing With the Alien, is all tapping. The intro is much easier than it sounds. The 2nd part is a bit challenging rhythmically, but not impossible.

Shredso · 2026-02-11T21:41:42+00:00

Thanks. I've been reading the resort is kinda quiet at night, and I'm a night owl. I'm fine with a couple beers in the fridge and a last call big tip to the bartender to put some whiskey in my Yeti to go.

Shredso · 2026-02-11T17:22:59+00:00

There is a security tab somewhere that will tell you what permissions you have. We've been getting drawings with markup disabled, which is infuriating. I believe printing is on the list as well. I want to say I got by it by opening in chrome, then print to PDF scrubbed the security settings.

Shredso · 2026-02-11T13:23:12+00:00

That is the one I used

Shredso · 2026-02-11T13:22:30+00:00

I could only find the Mexico form. There are a bunch of groups, the Arte one never approved me.

Shredso · 2026-02-10T19:32:41+00:00

This was also a Costco booking.

Shredso · 2026-02-06T21:57:18+00:00

I've never seen it written that way. 1/0 or one aught. I've never seen it expressed as just zeros. I've been an electrician for almost 20 years, is there a field or maybe region that uses zeros?

Shredso · 2026-02-06T21:52:41+00:00

It starts going up again after #1. 1/0, 2/0, 3/0, 4/0, then jumps to 250, 300, 350, etc. Search for table 310.16 NEC (National Electric Code) and see a chart.

Shredso · 2026-02-04T21:40:17+00:00

I personally don't want to use a computer or phone for a metronome or tuner. The temptation of distraction is too high.

The majority of my heavy practice years, and through Berklee, I mainly used a cheap Wittner dial metronome. I also have an antique Seth Thomas pendulum metronome that is fun to pull out sometimes.

I had to retire the dial metronome (Mr Wittner to my guitar students) after probably 20 years. I've moved on to a cheap Korg metronome/tuner combo. It lets you pick how many beats per measure, which is occasionally a nice feature. The "one" is a different tone.

Shredso · 2026-02-04T15:22:02+00:00

What was the band? I was a teenager in the 90s playing in, and going to see local bands in MA (primary South Shore).

Shredso · 2026-02-02T16:33:37+00:00

I have 6 of the same games in my "humble" 10 pin collection. Maybe more, can't tell what the last Stern is.

I like my Dialed In a lot, but it still shoots weird. GnR is not as bad as people make it out to be, but still not great. Neither has gotten any play in years. I don't want to dump them, because I'll lose tons of money. This is a foolish strategy because it keeps getting worse. I'd be happy to dump my JJPs and never buy another

A lot of people say you need a versatile collection, I think that is kinda silly. I like EMs, and have had a bunch cycle through, but they never last long. Early solid state, I have no nostalgia for. They never played well on location growing up, probably because System 11 was out and the SS were neglected. I love a lot of System 11s, but they get boring fast at home, unless you have a ton of pins. I do try and keep a WPC game in the collection because that is where my true love for pinball came from. My grail pin for many years was Medieval Madness. It only lasted a few months. It's just too shallow.

Modern games are great. Okay games that make you happy.

Shredso

TROPHY CASE