Pinball cabinet lighting demystified

For pinball owners, enhancing the uniqueness of their machines can be just as fun as achieving high scores! Mezel Mods has long been at the forefront of innovative pinball modifications, including interactive undercabinet lighting and backbox lighting kits. But it can be confusing to navigate the new cabinet lighting options and how they work. In this article we hope to demystify the recently rebooted pinball cabinet lighting kits. These new kits pair dynamic lighting effects available from modern technology with our well original cabinet lighting options to make your game stand out in any room!

What sets lumipin apart?

Advanced LED Technology: All Lumipin Cabinet Lighting Kits utilize high-quality, energy-efficient ARGB LED strips designed to provide vibrant colors and long-lasting performance. Unlike traditional RGB LEDs, which can only display one color at a time across the entire strip, ARGB (Addressable RGB) LEDs allow for individually controlled lighting segments. This means that different lights and sections of the strip can display varying colors and effects simultaneously, creating more intricate and engaging lighting animations. Depending on the kit, the LEDs can be customizable or fully interactive with Stern’s Expression lighting systems, offering flexibility to work with virtually any pinball machine.

Durable, Removable Mounting: All Mezel Mods lighting kits include custom sized aluminum channels, which provide a durable, professional-looking mounting solution. These channels not only enhance the structural integrity of the lighting setup but also help with heat dissipation, ensuring optimal LED performance and longevity. The LED channel includes multiple mounting options for easy installation, whether your game needs a semi-permanent setup using durable 3M VHB adhesive or a removable option with magnetic mounts for metal backboxes and brackets for wood backboxes and cabinets.

Compatability & Full Support Implementation: The Lumipin family of pinball lighting kits provides cabinet lighting for a huge range of modern games. Our modular design allows you to select the option that best fits your game system. Kits are also compatible with Stern Pinball’s Expression Lighting system making them uniquely game interactive. Lastly, you can expand your existing non-factory speaker lights to work with the Lumipin system. If you are not sure which option best fits your needs, use our interactive quiz [link] to help you choose! Our installation instructions and FAQ include written as well as video instruction to facilitate a quick and straightforward install. Additionally, our team is available for installation support to ensure success.

lumipin kit options

Mezel Mods offers five distinct Lumipin lighting kits, each catering to different types of game systems and needs. Let’s explore each option to help you understand which kit best suits your pinball setup.

To quickly find the kit which best suites your needs, use this quick overview.

-For our most simple kit and/or you have a non-Stern game, check out the CLASSIC kit description.

-For a customizable light show for your Stern game that doesn't rely on Stern's Expression lighting, check out the DYNAMIC kit.

-For a fully interactive light show using you Stern Game with Expression lighting, check out the INTERACTIVE kits.

classic

If you’re looking for a straightforward yet stunning way to illuminate your pinball machine, the Lumipin Classic is the perfect entry-level option. This kit provides a vibrant, customizable light show controlled with an ARGB remote, allowing you to choose colors, brightness levels, and dynamic effects to match your preferences. Additionally, Classic is the most versatile kit, as it runs off the pinball service outlet (learn about the service outlet), making it compatible with a wide range of pinball machine systems from Data East, to Williams, Jersey Jack and more. It can also be powered a standard US wall plug if your game doesn’t have a service outlet. If you know the name of your game but not what system it uses, check out this support article.

Key Features

- Easy plug-and-play installation

- Most versatile kit – runs off the pinball service outlet for easy compatibility

- Perfect for those seeking a simple and straightforward kit without add on’s

- Works with some of the best titles of all time- from World Cup Soccer, Twilight Zone, The Addams Family to Medieval Madness, Tron and more.

dynamic

For those who want a lighting upgrade that seamlessly integrates with their Stern Spike machine, the Lumipin Dynamic kit offers a vibrant, customizable light show similar to the Classic. However, instead of running off the service outlet, this kit gets its power from the dollar bill validator, meaning it automatically turns on and off with the game’s power. The kit runs on a PCB system allowing expansion opportunities to non-OEM speaker lights, and other lighting effects.

- Customizable light show controlled with an ARGB remote

- Safe power sourcing using the dollar bill validator power source on your Stern pinball machine

- Automatically turns on and off with the game’s power

PixlWav Dynamic Speaker Lights.

interactive kit for stern speaker lights

3D printed pinball shooter lane protectors

If you have a Stern pinball machine with Stern Expression Speaker lighting this kit is designed to integrate seamlessly with your existing setup. The Lumipin Interactive Kit for Stern Speaker Light allows your exterior cabinet lighting to match the colors and effects of your speaker lights, creating a harmonized and synchronized light show.

- Interactive and synchronized with your game using Stern’s speaker lighting system

- Offers a repeating 23 LED sequence pattern using the signal from Stern’s Speaker Lights

- Available for the continually growing number of Stern Spike System titles

interactive kit for stern expression cabinet lights

The most dramatic kit in the lineup, the Lumipin Interactive Kit for Stern Expression Cabinet Lights, works specifically with games featuring Stern’s Expression lighting system inside the game cabinet. Leveraging the light show of the factories programed 48 LED sequence, this light kit replicates the show outside of the cabinet. This kit is more exclusive in its compatibility however as not all Stern titles have the option to add Expression Cabinet lighting- check out this support article [link] or video [link] to determine if your game is compatible.

- Offers a serial light set up, matching the left and right pattern of the games factory lighting

"This kit is VERY well made with well done video instructions. It syncs with the Expression lights beautiful. I highly recommend this mod."

- Brent M.

expansion kits

If you already have a great light show in your speaker lights from Speakerlightkits.com, PixlWav or Cointaker [links to products/webpages], you can add on to it with our Lumipin Expansion Kits [collection link]. These kits are designed to extend an existing installation in the speakers to the outside of the cabinet. These kits include all the parts you need to add on to those existing lights without unnecessary extra parts. The kit runs on the robust PixlWav PCB system and provides the necessary parts to connect existing lighting.

mystery solved!

We hope this article removes the mystery of finding the right pinball undercabinet and backbox lighting kit. Mezel Mods’ Lumipin Cabinet Lighting Kits offer something for every type of pinball enthusiast. Whether you’re looking for a simple, no fuss Classic, the power-integrated solution with the Dynamic, or a full Stern system integration with the Expression-Style kits, there’s a lighting upgrade for everyone. So what are you waiting for? Let’s get shopping!