Advice on pinball machine angle

musicman282

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When I purchased my pinball machine I never leveled it because I thought it played fine. I spent some time yesterday adjusting the levelers and actually reducing the angle in order to get the level to be at the level recommended in the manual. I feel like the game plays a lot better at the setting. It was going way too fast and the shots were much harder to hit.

This got me wondering what other people do? Do you guys use the factory recommended angle or make it play faster? I feel like the machine was probably designed to be operated at a certain angle which makes gameplay the most enjoyable. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I just "feel" like the lower angle makes it play better.

I'd appreciate the opinions.
 
When I purchased my pinball machine I never leveled it because I thought it played fine. I spent some time yesterday adjusting the levelers and actually reducing the angle in order to get the level to be at the level recommended in the manual. I feel like the game plays a lot better at the setting. It was going way too fast and the shots were much harder to hit.

This got me wondering what other people do? Do you guys use the factory recommended angle or make it play faster? I feel like the machine was probably designed to be operated at a certain angle which makes gameplay the most enjoyable. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I just "feel" like the lower angle makes it play better.

I'd appreciate the opinions.

Yes it definitely is designed to be operated at a specific angel and many machines have a level in the ball shootout lane so you can easily see if it's out of place or not. Leveling the machines completely changes how they play in my opinion.
 
Yes it definitely is designed to be operated at a specific angel and many machines have a level in the ball shootout lane so you can easily see if it's out of place or not. Leveling the machines completely changes how they play in my opinion.

Mine has the level in the shooter lane. It was at the steepest angle possible when I got it and I lowered the angle. I just think the designer probably has a certain "flow" in mind and if it is set at the incorrect angle, the game won't play as designed.
 
I believe only some of the newer games from certain manufacturers have the level by the shooter. Some games with steep ramps (Dr. Dude comes to mind) may be hard to hit the ramp if they're set too steep.

None of my games have a built in level. I usually just play with them until I get a good match of speed and playability.

--Luke
 
Another thought...

For some, EMs a just too slow and they stack two by fours under the back legs to get a more extreme angle to get the speed going. For me, I prefer EMs to play like they did originally (and yes they can be pretty slow compared to newer games).

--Luke
 
Some games had a level underneath the apron. I bet somebody here knows which games had this.

Also, making the pf angle steeper doesn't always make the game harder (even though it's faster). Slingshots were designed to bounce the ball sideways towards the outlanes. A steeper pf reduces the sideways bounces, and also makes it easier to trap and hold the ball on a flipper than a shallower pf slope.
 
I like mine to play fast, I like the intensity of being focused and good timing, so my machines are raised up pretty high on the back legs.
Everywhere I go, the games seem so slow. Slow to me is boring.
Except the EM's of course!!
 
6.5%-7% pitch for the "normal" player.

Bally's recommendation is 6.5 degrees. The Adams Family and many other had a bubble level near the ball shooter so that you could find 6.5 degrees. Operators want the playfeild to be at a steep angle so that you drain quikly and need to coin the machine again.
 
After playing a ton of games on my roadshow at the factory recommended angle. I believe messing with the angle adversely affects the game play because it messes with the overall flow of the game.
 
I bought a digital level for this, and try to set my games around 6 degrees. I've heard 8, but that's been from people with newer DMD games...and I don't own any.
6 degrees seems to be a good point for speed, even on EMs I've had. I tried 8 on my last EM and it was retardedly fast.
 
There is an iPad/iPhone app called Gyro Toolbox that will show you angles. When I got my Pinbot, it was set at less than 4 degrees. I moved it up to the Wililams recommendation, which I think was 6 to 7 degrees. I had manually set my Taxi with a level and compared it against the Gyro app, and it was right on.
 

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There is an iPad/iPhone app called Gyro Toolbox that will show you angles. When I got my Pinbot, it was set at less than 4 degrees. I moved it up to the Wililams recommendation, which I think was 6 to 7 degrees. I had manually set my Taxi with a level and compared it against the Gyro app, and it was right on.

TiltMeter is a similar iPad/iPhone app. it works fairly well, though i wouldn't guess that the accuracy is any better than 0.5deg or so (all depends on the calibration to "level" or 0deg). it'll certainly get you in the area though. i'd guess Gyro Toolbox is similar.
 
I like mine to play fast, I like the intensity of being focused and good timing, so my machines are raised up pretty high on the back legs.
Everywhere I go, the games seem so slow. Slow to me is boring.
Except the EM's of course!!

Ah, so you like to set your games up to be easy, then! ;)
 
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