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Jersey Jack owners, your experiences?

huggers

huggers

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Joined
Sep 22, 2016
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West Dorset
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Andy Hug
Starting to gently (repeat, gently) consider my next pinball and I'm thinking about a JJ. I'm very drawn to WOZ particularly which I have had a very quick blast on and the film is kind of special to me. Few questions for the JJ owners or indeed anyone in the know. Okay so, second hand WOZ or perhaps Hobbit, what am I looking at, 6.5k ish? How hard do you think it might be to track one down? How are they reliability wise? I hear good things about the build quality and I wasn't overly impressed with GB build quality wise, I do know WOZ had board problems initially. Also, has anyone removed a back box from one of these? Is it do-able? Any other impressions from people who've owned them much appreciated. I would ideally go NIB Dialed In but I just can't justify that sort of expenditure.
 
WOZ is on its 56th or something update. So JJP have really poked, prodded and tweaked this machine to make it what it is today. I have the second gen 7.5v boards. However they are on third gen boards now. Not had any problems with mine. In a home environment it really shines.
JJP craftsmanship is second to none. Very much like Bally of old.
 
I owned The Hobbit and Dialed In, both briefly. I think they are hands down a fantastic manufacturer, the tables are a work of art and support for the games has been largely excellent.

However I've failed to find the games having the 'special sauce 'of the top 1990's BW games, I'm not sure what that is, from the large screens which are beautiful but you don't get time to watch them, to rule sets and so on. As I'm not 100% a player, I didn't hammer them or perhaps give them chance, especially with Dialed In.

I also love to mod and the new machines leave very little to do. I played Woz at NLP and really liked it, I didn't expect to. For Hobbit, I sold my LOTR and quickly regretted it, as beautiful as it was, it couldn't compete as a game - and they were too close as themes to really justify both in my collection.

If you're looking a NIB new machine, it has to be JJP in my opinion - Stern feel pretty cheap at the side of them. IMHO


For Hobbit Smaug LE I did a straight trade for TWD LE, which I love, despite the questionable build and I spent a lot of time adding mods and am happy I did so.

For DI, I took a 10% or so loss as I was keen to get the space and cash to do something else.
 
WOZ has the best light show I've seen on a Pin. Owned mine a year now and no inclination to move it on. I had one of the small light boards fail (2nd gen) replaced under warranty, and recently one of the spotlights has started flickering. Waiting on Phil for a replacement bulb which are 12v DC and seem difficult to get hold of?
 
Bought a WOZ LE from here a year or so ago, from memory for £6k or just under. It had had board problems - well documented by the owner, so completely transparent - but was fixed up and working. Since then I've replaced two further boards and hopefully that will be that.

You ask about build quality. I can't comment technically, but as a player, you can feel the difference. When I switch from any other machine to the WOZ it feels like going from a Skoda to a BMW. Nothing wrong with a Skoda, but the WOZ feels more solid - quality - and the attention to detail on the finish puts the new Sterns to shame.

Doesn't make it a better pinball to play necessarily, but it feels good...
 
Just make sure the woz has replaced boards and you are fine - JJP excellent quality and something not to worry about otherwise.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
I was after a WOZ, & a Hobbit Smaug came up, was bit unsure as never even played it & some think its bit dull. All I can say is that I love it, so many modes to work through & after playing it a while, (getting better at it!) find am looking at screen more & more.
I think that probably works best in HUO, as when on location, most people wouldn't want to keep paying to learn what to do, so move on to another pin.
Mine in set up alongside FH, TAF, & CFTBL & find it is completely different experience to those. Other people are always drawn back to it, sound, lights etc.
Build quality seems very good, had to tweak ramps etc when first got it, but now all good.
Backbox comes off easily I think, as was told last owner had to have it removed to get into house. I've removed TAF backbox before & there are a lot more connectors in that than TH.
 
One more thing, if you do get a Hobbit, be sure to fit a ground loop isolator, as it cuts out all the unpleasant noise on start up, especially if you have volume up high. Have no idea why JJP didn't fit them as standard (think they did on WOZ) & only cost a few £
 
jjp quiality second to none i have sold the last 2 woz huo for £5500 so within budget the led boards are hit and miss the last 2 i have had where early ones and neither had ever had boards
 
Cab, made of plywood. No different in construction to any other machine
Playfield, ply/clear. Once again really no different. problems reported with clear (no different to any other manuf)
Assembly. Never had to do so many tweaks to a nib game (and i've had 6).
Mechnaisms, mainly WPC so tried & tested.

In summary, despite the JJP cult members, it's not really any different to any other makers product. It's certainly solid but then again, so is my EM Joker Poker and my Ghostbusters. Not rushing to buy another just because it's JJP.
 
You found GB solid? I found it kind of light weight. The playfield mechanism was really flimsy
 
I guess it's down to interpretation. I'd agree there isn't a huge amount wrong with it. Just doesn't feel premium to me. The play field mech especially. You yank it out skew whiff half the time. The new lock down mech isn't as good as the old one. The cab feels really light. I dunno, to me it didn't feel like a 6.2k product. Obviously I don't have a JJP to compare it to.
 
The only 2 manufacturers I've had NIB are Stern & JJP.
Had: nascar, ACDC, Star Trek, Kiss, Ghostbusters NIB. Unboxed & was all fine, only had 1 problem with an opto on ST which Phil promptly fixed.
Had: Dialed In. Rear rail fell off, Poor clear (scratching), skillshot not working, trapdoor 3mm higher than the playfield, opto gone on theater (poor fixing), Constantly blowing 12V fuse, Screen now acting up.

1:5 for Stern, 1:1 for JJP problem wise (would probably get better the more I own).

Now I'd say that really they aren't the same thing; Stern is more operator orientated so I'd expect their product to reflect that.

This isn't another Sten vs JJP thread but I'm saying don't expect perfection or greater reliability because my experience doesn't bear that out. No better, no worse.
 
It does seem JJP have ramped up production a bit of late and quality control or testing isn't what it used to be. I guess due to the high demand and competition they need to get these shipped.
 
I have the hobbit swapped for my twd le with Spadge, they do seem very well built but I am no expert.
Not played the game enough to say how good it is, but love the feel and depth so far.
Much better toys and playfield quality than most of the Modern Sterns, but then I think Star Wars is so cheap Arthur Daley should be selling it not Phill, but I loved the gameplay ?

I would definitely think about a di, looks lovely, and also the new one. Hmmmmmmmm best game ever I bet :rofl:
 
I have a WOZ, a Hobbit Smaug and Dialled in arrives 2nd Jan, I think they look and feel a class product, i'm sure they can be as problematic as most pins but i bought them because i liked them. They are a draw to anyone who comes round and are well received.
I'm not a great player so i am always finding something new with them the more i play which keeps me interested.
I am a little concerned with the list of tweaks DI will need to get it perfect but with Phil@Pinball Heaven for support and this forum plus all the experience of the guys on here in my area i'm not worried, it will be fine.
My biggest worry is i seem to be filling all my space with JJP machines, not so bad i suppose but it's an expensive hobby and and i do like others especially as my absolute last machine i was buying was 2 machines ago and i haven't played the Pirates machine yet.
I can resist anything except temptation!
 
If you want a quality Pinball machine with proper software, proper engineering and proven longevity, buy a Bally Williams DMD game with a diamond plate playfield

Nothing comes close
 
My Woz was noticeably better built than any Stern pin I've owned. Heavier cabinet, thicker clear coat, sturdier playfield mechs etc. That's undeniable. Some of the Stern's look like someone farted and wafted a smidgen of clearcoat onto the game
 
DRD said:
If you want a quality Pinball machine with proper software, proper engineering and proven longevity, buy a Bally Williams DMD game with a diamond plate playfield

Nothing comes close
Click to expand...

Yes they are absolute tanks bit whilst I've enjoyed the ones I've owned, as we know they generally lack the depth of the more modern games.
 
I am the lucky owner of no. 30 WOZ so one of the first off the production line. It has the first generation lighting and it’s not missed a beat. It also has the screen printed graphics direct to the wood and it is truely amazing. The quality of it and finish is beautiful. The machine is super sturdy and is one heavy beast. The backbox come off, we had to do that to get it into the man cave and was no problem no more difficult than an old Williams 90’s game. The gameplay is spot on, it sits along side my TWD LE and is totally different but they’re a great match together.

Good luck in the search :thumbs:
 
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