David Thiel is a legendary pinball sound designer and audio engineer with 30+ years of experience in the industry, starting at Data East in 1987. He has become the industry standard for sophisticated audio design, working with major manufacturers including Jersey Jack Pinball, Stern Pinball, Multimorphic, Deep Root Pinball, American Pinball, and CGC. Known for his work on iconic titles including Harry Potter, Pulp Fiction, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Hobbit, Dialed In, Alien, and TRON: Legacy, Thiel is recognized as equivalent to lead designers in other disciplines and has composed 100+ original songs alongside orchestral arrangements and comprehensive sound design packages.
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Lonnie Rap has 'touched more pinball projects than any human being on the planet'
David Thiel is currently working on a new pinball project with Mark Richie, who also collaborated on Pulp Fiction
Action Graphics company went out of business owing employees about four months of salary
Audio/sound designer referenced in KB; worked on Harry Potter and Pulp Fiction sound design
Sound designer ('Mr. Sound') working across Stern, Jersey Jack, and Highway to Help; hired by Deep Root as part of their design team
Sound engineer known for work on Jersey Jack's Hobbit, Dialed In, and Pirates of the Caribbean; reportedly in conversations with JJP about Godfather but unable to align with Eric Minier; worked on Deep Root's Raza
Sound designer for Harry Potter, responsible for 50+ songs, sound effects, and audio atmosphere; critical to software integration
Audio engineer/sound designer; interviewed in Harry Potter featurette
Sound designer and audio engineer; worked on Pulp Fiction and Harry Potter pinball audio; accepted invitation to appear on Jason's upcoming podcast
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Pirates of the Caribbean was David Thiel's first pinball machine in 2006, designed by Dennis Nordman
David Thiel returned to pinball in 2006 after being retired from Microsoft, reconnecting through Pat Lawlor and Lonnie Rap
Richard Denton's code from Data East games may still exist in current Stern games
David Thiel did audio work for Data East's first five pinball machines between 1987-1989
TRON: Legacy's audio design by David Thiel includes slingshot sound effects that are only clearly audible through high-fidelity direct audio capture
David Thiel's career spans from Gottlieb's Q*Bert's Quest through Data East to modern work with Stern, JJP, CGC, and American Pinball
David Thiel's audio work on Data East tables like Time Machine and Monday Night Football 'holds up incredibly well' with dynamic music that changes based on current pitch
David Thiel's audio package is the largest audio package of any pinball machine ever created
David Thiel has recorded 50 songs for Harry Potter, the biggest music package in pinball history
David Thiel has returned to Jersey Jack Pinball to work on Harry Potter
David Thiel is the best audio/sound designer in pinball
Many players replace the Star Trek original soundtrack, which emotionally affects David Thiel
David Thiel composed all the music in Star Trek (2013) note-for-note himself
David Thiel is working again with Jersey Jack Pinball
David Thiel is arguably the greatest sound designer in all of pinball history
David Thiel is arguably the greatest sound designer in all of pinball history.
Stern's AC/DC (Premium) represented a turning point in speaker design quality after customer complaints.
Reactor (1981) for Tim Skelly was David Thiel's first video game audio work.
Thiel worked on approximately 30 pinball machines since 2006.
Thiel emotionally invests approximately one year into each pinball game composition.
Jersey Jack Pinball provides superior audio hardware and creative freedom compared to Stern.
Almost all Williams pinball games, even DCS-era machines, were mono because Williams didn't believe stereo was worth the effort.
Thiel uses Cakewalk as his primary DAW and has invested 17+ years and ~$2,000 in upgrades.
Stern had a monopoly on pinball audio work when Thiel re-entered the industry in 2006.
60-75% of a Stern SAM system's ROM image is dedicated to sound due to CPU and memory constraints.
Music licensing reviews from licensors are very rare across pinball machines; primarily just call-out reviews to ensure nothing disgraces the license.
David Thiel has accepted an offer to appear on Jason's podcast to discuss pinball audio design
David Thiel sound designed Stern's Star Trek game in 2013
David Thiel was recently approached by Jersey Jack but scheduling conflicts prevented his participation in the project
David Thiel was released from Deep Root Pinball's exclusive contract in 2020 to serve as sound designer for Pulp Fiction
David Thiel's departure from Jersey Jack Pinball caused a noticeable decline in their games' sound quality
David Thiel has 40 years of experience as a pinball audio designer
Pulp Fiction pinball contains over 300 speech calls extracted from the movie
David Thiel is responsible for the game's audio
Milestar Electronics was created as a rebranding of Gottlieb due to Columbia Pictures acquisition contractual constraints
David Thiel previously worked on a game for another manufacturer that Pat Lawlor denies/downplays
David Thiel is now exclusive with Deep Root Pinball
Competition between multiple pinball manufacturers is better for game quality than monopoly conditions.
John Papaduke is returning to pinball game design with Deep Root backing, but is restricted from certain design responsibilities.
Stern Pinball held a monopoly on commercial pinball manufacturing from around 2000 to 2012, a period of over 10 years with only one manufacturer.
Audio on pinball machines is the only optional sensory element compared to visuals and gameplay.
Deep Root has assembled Williams legacy designers including Barry Osler, Dennis Nordman, and John Borg.
The Hobbit at Jersey Jack took so long to develop that it forced Thiel to seek additional clients in 2015, his worst financial year since 2006.
Alien Pinball development used a bare-bones simulator to get 80% of the project done before developers had physical machines.
Thiel is traveling to Germany for Pinball Universe event with 10am-8pm Saturday appearance including talks and audio autopsies.
David Thiel is now exclusively working with Deep Root Pinball as their audio designer.
Deep Root's aggressive public statements in This Week in Pinball initially seemed 'crazy' to Thiel, but direct conversation with Robert Mueller changed his assessment.
David Thiel initially declined the Pirates of the Caribbean JJP composing job due to Disney licensing restrictions
We're potentially entering a new golden age of pinball
Memory technology has improved approximately 388 times from 1980 to 2006 in storage capacity
Pirates of the Caribbean was Thiel's first pinball game after a 17-year hiatus from the industry
Thiel worked at Microsoft from 1993-2000 in advanced user interface research, focusing on interactive sound and personified interfaces
Q*bert Quest pinball machine used audio code provided by Thiel, though he was unaware at the time and not credited
Lonnie has touched approximately 59 solid state pinball projects across his career
Modern Stern Pinball SAM system provides approximately 26 megabytes of audio storage space
Dialed In is a Pat Lawlor game featuring extensive backbox speaker redesign and audio work by Thiel
Studio-based pre-rendered audio limits interactive responsiveness compared to real-time FM synthesis in pinball games
David Thiel has worked on approximately 20 pinball machines since rebooting his career in 2006
Pinball designer/developer at Stern; mentioned as part of ideal team for dream Star Wars project
Pinball audio/music composer; previously worked at Jersey Jack; reportedly working with JJP again according to Kaneda's sources; praised for exceptional sound design on games like Pirates of the Caribbean and The Hobbit
Sound designer; worked on Stern Star Trek (2013); known for polished sound integration; randomly selected for Fifth Element sound
Audio engineer hired for Potter; unable to overcome JJP's slot-machine sound design approach according to Kaneda's assessment
Pinball artist/sound designer at Deep Root Pinball; creates music and sound effects for Deep Root machines
Sound designer credited on Harry Potter; some community mixed reactions to specific sound effect choices
Pinball hall of famer who worked on Deep Root project; Jeff Teolis expressed pleasure at working with him despite project's failure
Referenced in context of Pulp Fiction audio/sound design (implied from game discussion, though full context truncated in source)
Sound designer and freelancer; recently approached by Jersey Jack for a title but scheduling conflicts prevented participation; worked for Deep Root Pinball on unreleased games
Composer/sound designer for Alien pinball game; praised for atmospheric music
Audio engineer/sound designer creating all dialogue call-outs and audio implementation for Pulp Fiction, including dual profanity/clean versions; formerly under exclusive contract with Deep Root Pinball
Pulp Fiction game designer/representative; claimed game sounds amazing; contrasted with owner complaints
Sound designer for Alien; communicated code improvements to Kevin Manning
Composer/audio designer at Jersey Jack; created music and orchestration for Harry Potter's 96 modes; credited with thousands of hours of work
Audio engineer/sound designer credited on Harry Potter; host acknowledges his work but argues it cannot overcome design limitations
Audio/music composer who created 50-song package for Harry Potter pinball
Designer of Alien Pinball; Kaneda credits him with excellent music/theme integration but criticizes overall game layout and design, suggesting better version could eventually be made
Audio designer credited for TRON: Legacy's sound design and audio package
Sound/music designer for Star Trek (2013); praised by host as best audio designer in pinball; reportedly upset when players replace his original soundtrack
Composer/sound designer; departed Jersey Jack Pinball for Deep Root Pinball; rumored to be working on Galactic Tank Force music (Kaneda unsure of name/attribution)
Legendary pinball sound designer with 40+ year career spanning video games (Qbert, Reactor), Microsoft Research (interactive audio), and ~30 Stern and Jersey Jack Pinball titles since 2006
Guest on previous episode discussing audio topics; industry figure with audio expertise
Audio designer for Pulp Fiction; confirmed game uses mono audio by default
Pinball audio designer, appeared on Straight Down the Middle podcast discussing Pulp Fiction audio
Sound designer who worked at Stern 2006-2016; did sound for Mustang; friends with Thompson since 2008
Sound designer for Pulp Fiction, formerly at Deep Root Pinball, worked extensively on dialogue recording and bleeping system
Legendary pinball sound designer; career spans Mattel Electronics (1980s), Data East pinball (1980s-early 90s), Microsoft research (1993-2000), return to Stern Pinball (~2006-present); known for audio design on Pirates of the Caribbean, Dialed In, and numerous classic games
Jersey Jack Pinball sound designer who commented on Eric Meunier's design approach and novel mechanics
Camera operator for the unboxing video
Audio designer for Harry Potter pinball; credited with creating largest audio package of any pinball machine
Sound designer for Alien Pinball; Paul Daniel cited his sound package as exceptional
Sound designer; Walt credits as accessible, encouraging, and influential on his sound design thinking; contrasted with other dismissive designers
Pinball designer; recently hired by Deep Root Pinball
Legendary pinball composer and sound designer; former Jersey Jack Pinball audio contributor; credited with making JJP games sound exceptional
Sound designer working on Harry Potter for Jersey Jack Pinball; Kaneda expresses confidence in his work specifically
Sound designer for Pulp Fiction; defended audio quality against show floor criticism
Praised audio quality of Pulp Fiction; Kaneda questions truthfulness given player complaints
Sound designer/composer formerly at Jersey Jack Pinball. Departure marked shift to 'tinny and metallic' sound design; Kaneda hopes for return on Harry Potter project.
Team member on Pulp Fiction development; credited alongside Mark Ritchie
Music composer for Alien pinball; mentioned during overview segment
Sound designer on Pulp Fiction; described as 'arguably the greatest sound designer in all of pinball history'
Audio designer with 40+ years experience; created audio package with 300+ speech calls for Pulp Fiction; sourced content from entire vocal stem of movie
Barrels of Fun game designer mentioned in raffles context; unclear if present in chat
Sound designer for Q-Bert's Quest, guest speaker at upcoming event
Sound designer credited for Alien Pinball audio/music; described as 'one of the greats' by Richard
Audio/sound designer working with Deep Root; mentioned as contributor to creative studio work
Sound designer for Dialed In, friends with Pat Lawlor since 1983, previously worked on CSI game
Sound designer referenced in discussion of potential ongoing Alien pinball updates.
Original Raza audio designer at Deep Root; audio package retained for DPX Raza
Audio/sound designer; mentioned as contributor to Deep Root projects; appears to have been consulting or collaborating on audio work
Sound designer contracted by Deep Root Pinball
Sound engineer; worked on Pirates of the Caribbean (Jersey Jack), Hobbit, Dialed In, and Alien; now exclusive with Deep Root Pinball; will handle sound for multiple Deep Root titles
Pinball audio artist with 35+ year career; worked on Data East titles (1987-89), Gottlieb, Stern; known for Pulp Fiction and Harry Potter sound design
Sound designer; formerly with Jersey Jack Pinball and Deep Root; worked with Data East and Gottlieb; provided information on Milestar naming
Deep Root employee; cited as having declined to discuss company problems due to NDA constraints
Composer of music for Data East Laser War, including 'Return to Base' theme
Audio/music designer for Harry Potter; brought back by Jersey Jack to work on licensed John Williams music integration and strategic audio implementation
Sound designer on Harry Potter; described as top-tier audio engineer in pinball
Lead on music/sound for Harry Potter; previously worked on Star Trek at Stern and briefly at Deep Root; highly regarded sound designer
Audio engineer/designer credited with 90+ custom handcrafted audio pieces for Harry Potter pinball
Sound designer for Pulp Fiction; created audio package with 250+ dialogue lines and original compositions
Pinball sound and music creator; seminar presenter at Pintastic 2017
Q*Bert video game developer and Gottlieb video game programmer; discussed game development challenges
Freelance composer and sound designer for Jersey Jack Pinball's Pirates of the Caribbean; presented seminar on game audio and music composition
Sound designer and composer for Heighway Pinball's Alien Pinball; played game at show and co-presented Dialed In! seminar
Sound design for Harry Potter Pinball; described as industry legend
Sound designer for Alien and Queen, described as 'huge pinball legend'
Sound designer for Pulp Fiction Pinball; described by Zach as 'arguably the greatest sound designer in all of pinball history'
Veteran composer and sound designer for the game
Renowned pinball sound engineer who created new audio package for Queen v0.91
Audio/dialogue designer for Pulp Fiction pinball; programmed 250+ lines of dialogue and composed original music
Audio designer for Queen pinball machine
Sound/music designer for Harry Potter Pinball; described as 'industry legend' in press release
Sound designer with career spanning Gottlieb, Data East, Stern, JJP, CGC, American Pinball; known for Harry Potter, TRON: Legacy, Pulp Fiction audio
Audio engineer who created seven original songs plus sound design for Pulp Fiction; present in chat during stream
Audio engineer for Pulp Fiction; praised for extensive sound design and balanced music implementation
Pinball industry figure attending Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown.
Jersey Jack sound designer; described as 'absolute legend'; created sound packages for Hobbit, Dialed In, Pirates
Composer/sound designer; created music for Harry Potter Pinball; praised for Battle for Hogwarts composition
Sound/audio designer credited with music and audio work on Harry Potter
Audio/sound designer credited with Harry Potter sound work; referenced for quality contributions to game assets
Sound designer and composer returning to Jersey Jack Pinball for Harry Potter; known for work on Pirates of the Caribbean and Alien pinball titles
Sound designer on Harry Potter Pinball; brought back for the project
Staff member who departed Spooky Pinball; mentioned in staff changes update
Sound designer for Harry Potter Pinball; noted as returning to JJP projects
Pinball audio/sound engineer; produces high-quality audio work on pinball games
Barrels of Fun designer (David Vaness) who appeared on Jeff's podcast; discussed software release timeline problems affecting modern pinball development.
Audio engineer/designer who created Pulp Fiction manual and formerly worked on Jersey Jack manuals
Sound designer for Harry Potter and Dialed In
Sound designer on Pulp Fiction, praised for quote integration and soundtrack work
Audio/sound designer; composed 100+ original songs for Harry Potter plus licensed John Williams orchestral theme
Sound designer who previously worked on Stern Pinball projects (had left Ghostbusters project before Jerry took over); guest at 2008 Texas Pinball Expo seminar; local to Seattle area.
Audio engineer/sound designer for RAZA; handles music, sound effects, and voice acting production
Pinball sound designer; recognized as equivalent to Christopher Franchi but for audio; involved with Theraza and Deep Root Pinball projects.
Audio/sound designer for Alien; praised for 'bang-up job' on audio design
Legendary pinball sound/audio designer with 30+ years experience; worked at Data East (1987), Jersey Jack Pinball, Multimorphic, and now Deep Root; known for sophisticated audio design and historical perspective on pinball technology.
Sound designer at Deep Root Pinball; working with Stephen Bowden on game designs
Pinball industry figure and recent Pinball Profile guest speaker at 2018 Expo
Music and sound designer credited on Indiana Jones and other pinball machines; described as 'the legend'
Audio/music composer for Harry Potter pinball
Audio engineer; rumored to be handling Harry Potter pinball sound design; known for Pulp Fiction audio work
Sound and music composer for Wheel of Fortune; praised by hosts for audio package and thematic cohesion; 'does awesome sound and music work'