videos

I wanted to take a moment to point to some of my favourite pinball resources online.

First up, the videos.  Far before I ever had a machine, the videos were there, calling out, enticing, keeping oneself occupied late Saturday evenings when one should really be asleep...

The most important is the PAPA Youtube Channel, wherein you can watch the world's best performing in tournament play, with incredible commentary.  My only critique is that they should put a PZM mic on the machine and include the machine noise higher in the mix, and have it pushed down by commentary only.  PAPA people, you listening?  Email me for technical details, let's do this...

Here is the finals match for Pinburgh 2012:


Pinball.org has an amazing list of pinball tutorial videos, that take you through the ruleset of many popular machines.  This list here has the tutorials but also gameplay videos.

CGR pinball is a youtube channel with some great tutorials.  Some linked above, but this is a youtube channel so easy to subscribe.  some of the older videos use this amazing 3-camera screen, which I LOVE, and lament the abandonment of.  But, enjoy a few great tutorials that utilize it, including the 3-part Addams Family one...


Now we enter the realm of PINBALL REPAIR.  Oh yes, you were watching pinball wizards do their thing, you were watching pinball reviews and fantasizing about which ones you'd purchase with a lottery win, but here's the real meat of it:  fixing the actual pinball you have.  

This channel belongs to one Clay Harrel, aka the Pinball Ninja.  He may be the best pinball repair specialist in the world.  If not the best, then certainly the most useful.  It was his quest to fix 500 machines in 365 days that got me back in to pinball.   Now his repair blog is nearing 800 fixes, and is on a private site, accessible via $20 donation.  (a total value)  more on that later, but his video channel features some indispensable knowledge.
Absorb:


Finally, I have such a nerd-crush on Jeri Ellsworth, whose channel is brimming with electronic tampering, much of it related to pinball.

Here she is dropping some EM science: