Moog Music Forum

Ok, I have an idea.
Previously I mentioned that I thought it would be neat to make a Moog pinball machine.
However while I do have experience in restoring pinballs, I simply don't have the money.
Enter Kickstarter, the crowd-sourcing site for interesting projects.

If I went ahead and proposed to do a Moog pinball via Kickstarter, how much money do you think it would take?
I could find a used pinball machine no problem on ebay for $500-$2000.
I'd paint the sides, but get pros to do the back glass and playing field.
The sensors and targets could trigger actual analog synth circuits and sampled analog sounds.
The pinball could then be loaned to Moog for use at Namm shows, Moogfests and perhaps finally reside at the Bob Moog museum.

Any thoughts? Ideas for what could be on the backglass or playing field?
Sound like a viable project that people would back?

Money would go to:

1. A pinball machine
2. Artwork
3. Software
4. New rings, rubber, targets, balls, glass and other pinball parts
5. Custom electronic design and parts including electronic sound circuits
6. Musician(s) to write music played
7. Insurance
8. Initial transportation/shipping of the target machine
9. Various supplies and services to make this idea a reality

Donators would receive their name in the display credits of the machine (if possible), but at least included in printed copy about the machine.

Internally, the sound circuits would be completely Moog.
Moogerfooger circuit boards, vintage synth boards and samples of Moog synthesizers and music performed on Moogs.

Here again was my quickie mock-up...

If I ever win the lottery, (which is unlikely, since I don't buy tickets), I would send you $30k to make that a reality!

Screw having sampled sounds, I'd make the backboard/scoreboard thing a rack with a Voyager RME, and half a dozen Moogerfoogers.

as a pinball junkie myself, this is my newest wet dream! (TMI? sorry )
and you could scratch the musician to write music fee off your list, I'd do it for free!

Cool idea.

I can see it being interesting, hitting a bumper and triggering a sample and hold or something.

A further idea is to use a large flat-screen video monitor as the backglass.
This would allow the scores to be overlayed upon artwork or video and facilitate digital artists to do the graphics.
It could also utilize MIDI, so the music could be done and loaded into the machine more easily.
One could also play external synths from the pinball.

Part of my enthusiasm for this project is the amount of web articles and in-convention buzz something like this could generate for Moog.
Unfortunately I also took a look at Steve Ritchie's Wikipedia page (a pinball designer) where it states it took $2mil and 16 people to develop a machine.
While I think it could be done for less, that still suggests a considerable challenge.

Cool idea. I used to fix pinball machines when I was a kid. I resurrected a dead one for a neighbor, spent zero $ on parts. Easy to restore solenoids, etc. Learned that stuff from fixing my dad's model trains.

That progressed to synthesizers.

Synthesizers, pinball machines, and choo-choos. There's no hope for me

If that showed up in my Kickstarter newsletter, I'd donate as much as possible!

MC wrote:Cool idea. I used to fix pinball machines when I was a kid. I resurrected a dead one for a neighbor, spent zero $ on parts. Easy to restore solenoids, etc. Learned that stuff from fixing my dad's model trains.

I'm guilty too. I had a large H.O. railroad.
One learns quick about diodes across solenoids, eh?

I dunno. I just think a theme pinball like this would be cool.
I've heard of several custom pinballs selling for as much as $100K to film producers and rock types.
Not that this one would be sold, but it shows it can be done for considerably less than $2 mil.

I'd also like to finally do velocity sensitive flippers just like synths have.
Faster you hit them; harder they hit. Totally possible electronically.

The machine could use optical and magnetic sensors, LEDs instead of lamps and other improvements to make it more reliable too.
They even make LED lamps with the same bayonet socket pinbase and voltage. Screw right in.
One good graphic artist, one good Flash or other CG artist and a decent programmer and I think I could swing everything else.
I'm just not sure there will be enough enthusiasm via crowdsourcing.
It'd have to be sponsored or privately donated at least partially.
And then the question.. who owns it afterward?

Love it! I'd chip in on Kickstarter or the like, towards that...

Just found this thread--awesome picture!

If you ever decide to do this, let me know.
(I designed the sound system for Sega, Data East pinballs and did the music and sound design on around 50 shipping pinball machines)...
you can google me to get my contact info (p.s. I'm not the Nobel winning astrophysicist )

Brian Schmidt

I never saw this thread.

It would make a wonderful memorial. I'm not sure what Monica would think of it. Or what would be done with it when made.

Or, go modular!

http://www.specialstagesystems.com/system-overview/

slabwax wrote:I never saw this thread.

It would make a wonderful memorial. I'm not sure what Monica would think of it. Or what would be done with it when made.

FWIW, I go by Daphne these days. It was a nickname Kevin gave me many years ago. It's a reference to an old movie called Westworld.

This year is the 20th Anniversary of the Synthfool website. A pinball would be a very fitting tribute to Kevin.

An idea....

How about a software virtual version instead ?

If he was still with us, I would have gladly donated and shipped an empty pinball cabinet and piles of parts to Kevin for the project. Fact is I never saw this thread until now but strangely, I've seen the picture of the Moog pinball machine on Google Images over the years and never thought to look into that.

I've been doing pinball for a long long time and through I exchanged email with Kevin in his later years, I never knew he had interest in Pinball. I have 15 machines, mostly Electromechanical, in my basement and most I restored myself. Strange coincidence of timing I suppose but I know of at least two other guys here that have had or still have machines. Must be something about the demographic (age) and some amount of technical curiosity and aptitude. Kevin emailed me once and told me that he always enjoyed reading my posts and coming from him, that meant a lot. I would be very happy to see something come out of this, even if it were 5 years from now.

So to this day, I've got boxes and boxes of parts, and a Gottlieb System 80 wide body pinball cabinet with the bottom board, a head from a System 1 machine, plenty of know how and parts like a score motor, reels, switches, etc, etc, just NO time. And I've also got piles of synth projects that have been my priority and will continue to be for the near to mid term.

Kevin popped up again in an Oberheim thread on another forum. He was playing a 4 voice that he had restored and most of the comments that I read were just glowing, with regard to how great 'the guy playing it' made it sound; Obviously, a synth just sitting there makes no sound so it was all him despite the greatness of the synth itself, resurrected from what was likely an unplayable heap.

Ultimately somebody said "It's Kevin" RIP.

But back to the point if anybody has any ideas about how to move a Moog themed pinball machine forward, maybe for Moogfest 2017, I'd be up for contributing some time, ideas and parts.