LS40 vs LS58 vs LS32,all the mods and some experiments

[Costra]

Hello. Ive been a happy ls32 user but since i spoke with a friend wich is really into stick modding, i went into experimenting a little. As i normally like "soft" sticks first i tried the ls58 with the "short throw" mod.

https://focusattack.com/kowal-ls-st-sho ... -joystick/

At first i didnt like how it feel. It really does feel "cheaper made" than the ls32 and it seems to have a bigger dead zone in the middle. But after some minutes playing i realized that i was able to perform slightly more precise and smaller movements than with the ls32. Not by much, but a little.
That made me thought i can maybe improve it little more buying an ls62 and taking the shaft into the ls58. The ls62 has a shorter shaft, very similar to the ls32. So i went and bought an ls62. Changed the shaft on the ls58 for the ls62. I also used the ls62 spring wich seems softer (wich i like). Tryed it and felt similar to the ls32 but with less dead zone. This should be good no? Lets see. My friend gave me an ls40 wich it seems to be very similar to the 32 but with less dead zone and longer shaft, but after 10 minutes trying it i didnt like at all.

Then i went ahead and made some tests for the science. I tried to move the smallest ship movement possible with my hands on dodonpachi and recorded it.
My surprise was that the results were like this, from top to bottom, the more precise to the least:

1. LS40
2. LS58 with short throw mod
3. LS32
4. LS58 with the ls62 shaft
5. LS58 with the ls62 shaft and the short throw mod

For the science i also tried a keyboard wich similar results than the LS40, but as this is not the objective of this topic we will obvious this.

That made me realize that the LS40 wich i didnt like at all at the begining allows the more precise movements. it could be that im not used to it but, how can it be that the ls58 with the ls62 shaft and the short throw mod, wich is the one that has the smallest dead zone of them all, is by far the less precise?
This tests seems also that is almost ordering the size of the shafts of those joysticks where the longer shafts is making them able to perform the smallest movement in the game. Could this be the case?
I always thought that is preferable a small shaft to be more precise, but that doesnt seem to be the case, but on the other hand a smaller shaft is probably faster making the inputs? Im quite confused at the moment. What are your thoughts on this?

[bigbadboaz]

on the other hand a smaller shaft is probably faster making the inputs?

As you said. If you don't have the precision in your hands to control how quickly the switches are being activated, at some point this becomes a disadvantage. There's a point of diminishing returns for almost anything.

[Rastan78]

it could be that im not used to it but, how can it be that the ls58 with the ls62 shaft and the short throw mod, wich is the one that has the smallest dead zone of them all, is by far the less precise?

What kind of input were you doing for this test? Sounds like maybe were pushing the stick all the way to the gate? In that case it makes sense that the stick with the smallest dead zone could produce the largest movement. The lever first hits the switch then continues until it hits the gate and stops. Then again it travels just a bit farther on the way back to neutral as the switch is released.

What you should probably do for making the tiniest incremental movements possible is just barely tap to where you're hitting and releasing the switch without bottoming out all the way to hitting the gate. Getting the feel for where the switch activates on a particular stick is a learned skill that will take developing muscle memory a bit.

If that's what you were doing (microtapping) then the variation could probably be down to human error on the inputs. It's possible to do a very short input on all of these sticks.

In thinking about the appropriate stick for yourself I wouldn't simply think for shmups smallest dead zone and travel automatically equals the best. It could depend on your playstyle. If you play fast and loose and ride the gate a bigger dead zone gives you a bit of room for error. Tiny dead zone would mean more errors such as accidental diagonal inputs and also a touch longer to return to neutral coming back from the gate. If a player is very experienced and uses mainly small tapping movements only sporadically hitting the gate and making few input errors then a tiny dead zone might be more desirable.

I think the LS-32 is considered all around a great stick bc it is well balanced. Precise enough for experts and forgiving enough for beginners. It might not be a bad idea to go with that and don't look back. Then focus on other areas to grow as a player.

Then again Seimitsu just released a new stick that is an upgraded version of the LS-56 called the SEL-70. This might be my favorite stick so far besides the LS-32. So give that a try if you want to go even further down the rabbit hole lol.

[Costra]

it could be that im not used to it but, how can it be that the ls58 with the ls62 shaft and the short throw mod, wich is the one that has the smallest dead zone of them all, is by far the less precise?

What kind of input were you doing for this test? Sounds like maybe were pushing the stick all the way to the gate? In that case it makes sense that the stick with the smallest dead zone could produce the largest movement. The lever first hits the switch then continues until it hits the gate and stops. Then again it travels just a bit farther on the way back to neutral as the switch is released.

What you should probably do for making the tiniest incremental movements possible is just barely tap to where you're hitting and releasing the switch without bottoming out all the way to hitting the gate. Getting the feel for where the switch activates on a particular stick is a learned skill that will take developing muscle memory a bit.

If that's what you were doing (microtapping) then the variation could probably be down to human error on the inputs. It's possible to do a very short input on all of these sticks.

In thinking about the appropriate stick for yourself I wouldn't simply think for shmups smallest dead zone and travel automatically equals the best. It could depend on your playstyle. If you play fast and loose and ride the gate a bigger dead zone gives you a bit of room for error. Tiny dead zone would mean more errors such as accidental diagonal inputs and also a touch longer to return to neutral coming back from the gate. If a player is very experienced and uses mainly small tapping movements only sporadically hitting the gate and making few input errors then a tiny dead zone might be more desirable.

I think the LS-32 is considered all around a great stick bc it is well balanced. Precise enough for experts and forgiving enough for beginners. It might not be a bad idea to go with that and don't look back. Then focus on other areas to grow as a player.

Then again Seimitsu just released a new stick that is an upgraded version of the LS-56 called the SEL-70. This might be my favorite stick so far besides the LS-32. So give that a try if you want to go even further down the rabbit hole lol.

The experiment i made was with microtapping. For sure it was possible to make very small moves with all of them, but it just happened that the micromovements that i was able to perform with the ls40 were smaller (like almost half) than the ones made with the ls58 with the ls62 shaft and the short throw mod. Wich confused me. I didnt know about the SEL-70, ill have a look, thanks.