How to Fix a Dark Pinball Machine | Pinlights Upgrade Before & After

Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama·video·13m 52s·analyzed·Oct 30, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.019

TL;DR

Pin Lights LED upgrade transforms dark pinball cabinets with affordable, app-controlled lighting.

Summary

Enzo from Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama demonstrates the Pin Lights LED lighting upgrade system for dark pinball machines, installing it on Alice Cooper and Labyrinth. The product features magnetic strips, a companion app with granular control, and multiple mounting options (GI or shaker motor). Before-and-after footage shows dramatic visibility improvements that enhance gameplay and reveal previously hidden artwork details.

Key Claims

Alice Cooper is an exceptionally dark game even with LED conversion and clear sling rubbers installed
high confidence · Enzo demonstrates that Alice Cooper remains extremely dark in normal conditions, requiring supplemental lighting even with all standard upgrades
Pin Lights product is not expensive and highly recommended for collectors with multiple machines
high confidence · Enzo states the product is affordable and endorses it for solving a widespread problem, though scaling across large collections becomes costly
The Pin Lights app is flawlessly designed with intuitive game selection, brightness control, and firmware updates
high confidence · Enzo demonstrates the app functionality showing game selection (Alice Cooper, Rick and Morty), multiple lighting modes (cool white, warm white, flasher mix), and device management features
Pin Lights installation can be done via GI connection or shaker motor, with power either tapped into internal supply or externally plugged
high confidence · Enzo explains installation options and notes that internal power tapping requires technical capability, with plug-and-play external power as alternative
Labyrinth's brightness improvement through Pin Lights helps reveal detailed artwork (gold flex) and improves playability
high confidence · Enzo notes that players noticed improved artwork visibility and detail after Pin Lights installation, and credits improved visibility with helping his game skill progression

Notable Quotes

“this game not only has LEDs and everything in it, and we've also put clear slings in, right, to try and help with some of that light bleed, it just is way too dark”
Enzo @ ~0:35 — Establishes that standard lighting upgrades are insufficient for addressing darkness in certain games like Alice Cooper
“the fact that the app is flawless, like it it finds the product, you pick the game it's in. So many options, you have control of the light, the brightness. Um, it's really cool”
Enzo @ ~2:15 — Highlights software quality and user experience as key differentiators for the Pin Lights product
“It's worlds apart. Worlds apart.”
Enzo @ ~7:45 — Emphasizes the dramatic visual difference Pin Lights creates, shown in before-and-after comparison on Alice Cooper
“I literally cannot see the next shot um because it is that dark”
Enzo @ ~7:30 — Demonstrates practical gameplay impact of darkness—unable to identify next target without supplemental lighting
“this game makes you a better player and I feel it has. Um the more I play it, the easier it is becoming”
Enzo @ ~9:15 — Personal observation about Labyrinth's design intentionality and how lighting improvements support skill development
“not being sponsored by them at all. It's just one of those things where I wanted them. I reached out um and uh yeah, the guys are just awesome”
Enzo @ ~12:45 — Establishes unsolicited endorsement based on product quality and customer service experience

Entities

Pin LightsproductEnzopersonGonzo's Pinball FlipperamaorganizationAlice Coopergame Labyrinthgame Rick and Mortygame David Vanessperson Kerry Hardyperson

Signals

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community_signal: Pin Lights represents boutique aftermarket solution addressing genuine pain point for home collectors; receives organic endorsement from influencer content creator
high · Enzo unsolicited endorsement emphasizing value, app quality, and customer service responsiveness; acknowledges reaching out to manufacturer without sponsorship arrangement
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design_philosophy: Labyrinth intentionally designed with darker mood to fit theme; Pin Lights balances visibility enhancement with theme immersion through adjustable warm/cool white mix
medium · Enzo notes using 40% cool white/60% warm white mix to maintain 'mood lighting' and 'theme immersion' while gaining playability; references David Vaness design philosophy commentary
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product_strategy: Pin Lights LED system successfully addresses endemic darkness problem in specific pinball games (Alice Cooper, Labyrinth, Rick and Morty), revealing hidden artwork and improving playability
high · Before-and-after video demonstrations show dramatic visibility improvements; Enzo notes players were 'blown away' by revealed artwork details after installation
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technology_signal: Standard LED conversion and clear sling rubber upgrades insufficient to address darkness in certain games like Alice Cooper; supplemental lighting required
high · Enzo explicitly states Alice Cooper 'still isn't enough' despite all standard upgrades; unable to see playfield shots without Pin Lights supplemental system

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:11

Hey guys, Enzo here. Another one for the channel. Uh, doing something a little bit different today. The guys from Pin Lights, uh, I've been speaking to them because some of the games we've got in the collective, um, are a little bit dark. This is probably the worst of them. Uh, Alice Cooper, very, very dark game. Uh, I've installed those. So, we'll show you the before and afters. We've got a set which have arrived to go into Rick and Morty, which is a little bit dark as well. Uh, we've put a set into Labyrinth. So, we'll show you that as well. And, uh, yeah, just go through it all. Um, come all the way down to Australia. It's a awesome pack. Um, and we'll run you through what's in that and, uh, we'll show you guys and then we'll show you the before and afters. Um, I think this is an important um, product because as much as there's the intent of the designer and the intent of the way a game's meant to be, you know, older games obviously didn't have the light shows that we have today, uh, and some of them even by changing the loads, the globes to LEDs, etc. still isn't enough. This game not only has LEDs and everything in it, and we've also put clear slings in, right, to try and help with some of that light bleed, it just is way too dark. Uh, we've got a light directly above us in this room. Um, so even with this light, you guys can see how dark it is. Um, so what we'll do is we'll, um, uh, I'll switch the camera around. We'll show you what's included, and then we'll run through the differences. Um, the product's not expensive and, uh, we'll put all the links in the description. Um, you know, uh, if I'm shilling the product, I guess I am because I think it's fantastic. It's very slimline. It's magnetic. You can barely tell it's there. Uh, and there's so much control. Um, basically through GI or through the shaker motor. Um, very easy to set up. uh some of the games that don't have uh like a power plug in the cabinet, you then either have to run a, you know, a cable out of the game into a socket, which isn't that great. I'm not a fan of that personally, but what I do like is we just we just tapped into the power supply. So, um look, each own not everyone's capable of doing that. So, I would assume plugandplay is a better alternative. Uh that just means somehow you've got to get the cable out of the cabinet by either drilling a small hole or coming through the coin door or the back um the back of the headbox, however you want to do it. So yeah, look really really straightforward and the app I mean considering this is just a you know a team of guys that were passionate about a project. Um, you know, the fact that the app is flawless, like it it finds the product, you pick the game it's in. So many options, you have control of the light, the brightness. Um, it's really cool. So, we'll show you the app as well in a minute. Uh, but yeah, look, let's jump in. Let's have a look. Um, and yeah, we'll give a shout out to the guys at Pin Lights for this. Um, I think it's a fantastic product and I'd love to have them in all our games. Um, but obviously, you know, when you've got one or two games, that's fine. But when there's, you know, collections of 10, 20, 30, 40 out there, it starts adding up, right? U, which isn't Pin Light's fault or problem. That's the collector's problem. Um, but that's one of the things that comes with the hobby, right? The more games you've got, the more rubbers, the more globes, the more servicing, the more maintenance, the more cleaning. That's just what comes with it. Um, so yeah, let's let's jump in and we'll take it from there. All right, guys. So, we've unboxed um just to show you what you get when you order pin lights. Um magnetic strips, which is awesome. Um we've got the bracket that goes on the inside. Uh there's a couple ways you could do this. You can obviously tape it. Uh we've put ours on the inside between the um the glass uh strip and the cabinet and basically just wedge it in there so it's nice and tight. So, that's those there. Uh and then obviously you got the two pin lights left and right instruction um is on a QR code. There is a video as well. Um we have a shaker motor connector if you're doing it via shaker motor. Uh I wanted to do it on the GIS. So obviously we've got the uh adapters for that. And then there's this awesome board which ultimately shows you everything. Okay. So you can see that. So, that's got everything on there. You also get the all the cables you need, the power supply.

4:52

So, we got all the all the extra cables, cable ties as well, which is really cool. Little tiny cable ties. Um, there's the little acrylic uh backings for the board. Um, which is great cuz obviously it protects that all the mounting and everything as well. And yeah, look, I mean, the guys have thought of everything, right? So, there's that there. What I did want to show you is basically um the app and how it all works. Now, like I said before, one thing I like about this is the way uh the app is. It's very very userfriendly. You can download it on the Play Store. You can download it if you've got an iPhone. Um and it just makes it, you know, really really user friendly. So, what I'm going to do, just give me a second. We are going to move this across. I am going to get my phone and I will show you guys pin lights. So you guys can see that hopefully. So they're the two games that we've got in here. We choose Alice Coopers. Okay. And basically it's as simple as the game can be left on which as you've just seen has come on. And that's how it stays when we switch the game off and on. For this example, I will just switch it off and on. Okay. There are multiple way um settings. You've got uh duct during flashes, tournament mode. You've got your cool and white mix and warm white, your flasher mix. And this is all, you know, adjustable as well. uh turn off GI after how many seconds GI smoothing flash or brightness percentage the device you can update the firmware checks for updates like it is for a a business that was set up by passionate pinball people. Um it is extremely professional and the app is very very cool. Works really well, responds really well. Uh I haven't had an issue at all. Now I'm running on an iPhone. I'm assuming the Android users will have the same experience. So, but yeah, let's do a before and after on the video and uh yeah, we'll we'll show you the difference. All right, guys. So, for full effect, I've turned the lights off in the room just so you can see what the game is like. Uh I will start the game. So, this is my castle where all your my castle where all your no pin lights. The camera is actually no pin lights. The camera is actually helping this look better than what it is. Even though there are no lights, it is very dark in the middle here. Um, and again, we've got clear sling rubbers on this game to really try and get some light into into it. But as you can see, it's really dark. Uh, I actually can't see. And I'm standing behind the camera. I can see the left orbit with the spinner, the ramp because there's a flashing green light. I literally cannot see the next shot um because it is that dark. And this game has an upper playfield which is quite large, right? And comes comes over the front. So, uh, let's turn on this light. All right. So, let's go through this now. That's off. That's on. It's It's worlds apart. Worlds apart. So, we'll go off again. Okay.