Best arcade sticks

lawnspic · Post by **lawnspic** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 3:16 am

Im looking to get an arcade stick, what is a good bet- X-Arcade, Mas, Hori. What do you guys think is the best bang for the buck?

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 3:23 am

I would definitely recommend (if not buying an Agetec and modding yourself) to get a HORI RAP. They use standard parts found in Japanese cabs. Not only that, they just feel right. On that note, and seeing as how you're handy w/ the soldering, you can gut a DC Agetec, put in a Playstation PCB, put the arcade parts of your choice (Sanwa or Seimitsu) solder the leads to the PCB, and viola. $15 or so will get you a PS->PC converter thingy, so you have a stick for all your PS/PS2 games, and MAME as well.

It's an easy mod. I made a few before the wife 86'ed the solder iron.

KBZ · Post by **KBZ** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 7:28 am

ya, go for the agetec for sure. Quality case for a mod.

you could even go for the older hori SS fighting sticks and mod those with sanwa or seimitsu parts. I'm working on one right now..

EOJ · Post by **EOJ** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 8:05 am

HORI RAP is the best when modded with Sanwa or Seimitsu buttons (your preference), as GaijinPunch suggested. That's all I use these days when I play my PCBs - I run it through a PS2>NeoGeo converter into a Sigma AV6000 supergun.

Daigohji · Post by **Daigohji** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 9:42 am

HRAP all the way

Hell, even I managed to mod the buttons on one of those without mutilating myself.

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 10:57 am

The unfortunate truth of the Agetec mod is that Agetec's actually cost money outside of Japan. You can get them for sheckles here, but shipping to the states sucks.

lawnspic · Post by **lawnspic** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 1:51 pm

Im looking at a hori SS fighting stick for the saturn and the Street Fighter Anniversary Edition Arcade Stick right now, dont know what i will have to do to get the hori to work on a Psx though. How do you guys feel about a stick for horizontal shmups do you play better? I only want a good quality stick for shmupping and nothing else, can i get the precision im looking for VS a standard d pad.

I also saw this mod for the SF stick

http://www.arcadestickmonk.com/SFACmod.html

also does anyone know what kind of sticks and buttons are used in the ss fighting stick for the saturn

KBZ · Post by **KBZ** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 7:24 pm

the original parts in the SS fighting stick aren't very good.

They might work alright for fighters, but there's just way too big of a throw on the stick.

I'll be hacking my hori SS to psx the same way I did for my Agetec stick.

I wire all the buttons to a barrier strip inside the box, and from there to a VGA port, and from there it goes to my project box that houses a psx pcb connected to a vga port.

Since there are plenty of adapters, you could simply use a psx pad inside the hori ss box.

I used this guide for hacking the dual shock pcb. Very useful.

http://home.comcast.net/~spiffyshoes/DualShockHack/

and here are some finished hori SS mods from the guy who sold me mine.

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/ben_krismon ... 2316520731

Damocles · Post by **Damocles** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 8:22 pm

Forget any stick that uses Sanwas. For fighters? Sure. Shooters? No. Hell, use anything but Sanwas and Happs (or clones). The throw is just too long to be accurate. Try a T-Stik or Suzo 500. You'll thank me.

Also, X-Arcade units aren't bad. They use Happ Super clones, but are easily swapped out.

cigsthecat · Post by **cigsthecat** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 9:19 pm

Sanwa sticks are awesome. I was able to get a 15 million Ibara ALL with mine, it's accurate all right.

elvis · Post by **elvis** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 9:23 pm

Damocles wrote:Also, X-Arcade units aren't bad.

I'm sorry, but anyone who says "throw away Sanwa" and then follows it with that statement quoted is on drugs. And not your usual drugs either. Those big horse-tablets that knock you on your arse for a month and make you think you're in bat country.

X-Arcade are hand-rapers. I'd say burn them, but fire's too good for them.

Belmont · Post by **Belmont** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 10:10 pm

I wish i could find a good review for an xarcade stick...im seriously thinking about getting their double stick pannel with the track ball for a mouse to use on my mame cabinet. But i dont wanna waste my money if they dont work well with shmups.

lawnspic · Post by **lawnspic** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 10:59 pm

ok dilemma solved, i could not wait to get a stick and got lucky. In my hometown there are two gamestops i was in one yesterday buying my daughter Yoshi for DS, and today i went to the other to find a stick like the one the fellow here just got. The Tekken 5 stick, no i dont have all the time to play and i dont really play fighting games so this looked to be fine. Also in the other thread they stated it was not a RAP Due to the stick, to me its damn close. Anyway i walk in looked around, saw nothing then i look down near the counter and there are two Tekken 5 bundles for 29.99. Oh yeah, you know im snatching that up. The game and the controller for 30 bucks brand new, hell yeah. If i need to mod it in the future i will use that tut in the other thread, but i think this is fine. The quality seems very good, the stick and buttons are nice and silky. Im happy, now im thinking about that other one. Thanks for the input guys really appreciate it

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 11:10 pm

I got my first Cave 1CC on a Sanwa stick. I think that speaks for itself.

Semi OT: Is there a playstation to Saturn converter, which will allow you to use your Playstation controller on a Saturn?

lawnspic · Post by **lawnspic** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 11:34 pm

yeah, at that place toto something, i sure glad i kept my innovation ps2 to DC converter. Time for some Under Defeat. I have never used a stick except in the arcade,(and that happens once in a while because there are not many arcades here) so this is gonna take some time to get used to.

Ok my thoughts now after playing, i need a stick with a much tighter throw. Its good for fighting just not for shmupping. I like very sensitive controls. I heard in the other thread the T-stick was good for that but i cant find it at ultimarc, do they make that? Back to the dpad again.

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 2:35 am

The stick I use is the stock Sigma stick. I believe it uses all Seimitsu parts. The problem is, it's pricey. It runs 15,000 yen if you buy it on it's own. There's a PS cable you can buy for another 4000 yen. There's also a USB cable if you want to take it further, but I have a PS to USB converter, as well as a PS to DC converter already. W/ all that, I have one stick for my Supergun, Mame, DC and PS/PS2.

KBZ · Post by **KBZ** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 7:56 am

ya stock hori sticks tend to have a very loosey goosey throw.

if you aren't REALLY into fighters, then you might as well just go for the seimistu.

rib · Post by **rib** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 2:34 pm

so seimitsu sticks are more precise than sanwa sticks?

Post by **system11** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 3:03 pm

elvis wrote:
Damocles wrote:Also, X-Arcade units aren't bad.
I'm sorry, but anyone who says "throw away Sanwa" and then follows it with that statement quoted is on drugs. And not your usual drugs either. Those big horse-tablets that knock you on your arse for a month and make you think you're in bat country.

X-Arcade are hand-rapers. I'd say burn them, but fire's too good for them.

You have to give him some credit though for mentioning the best sticks in the entire universe - STC / Suzo 500. Absolutely un-fucking-beatable.

lawnspic · Post by **lawnspic** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 3:30 pm

Making as new post

Damocles · Post by **Damocles** » Fri Jan 12, 2007 5:10 am

elvis wrote:
Damocles wrote:Also, X-Arcade units aren't bad.
I'm sorry, but anyone who says "throw away Sanwa" and then follows it with that statement quoted is on drugs. And not your usual drugs either. Those big horse-tablets that knock you on your arse for a month and make you think you're in bat country.

X-Arcade are hand-rapers. I'd say burn them, but fire's too good for them.

Read the next sentence, jerk.

EDIT: In case I wasn't clear enough.

Damocles wrote:Also, X-Arcade units aren't bad.

Unit being the key word here. Take 5 minutes to swap out the stick and buttons and you have a handy-dandy little stick that comes with a handy-dandy little pre-wired encoder.

However, if your angle was that of a person who prefers J-style sticks...well...too bad.

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 12:47 am

STC / Suzo 500. Absolutely un-fucking-beatable.

What is this stick you speak of?

lawnspic · Post by **lawnspic** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 1:20 am

GaijinPunch wrote:
STC / Suzo 500. Absolutely un-fucking-beatable.
What is this stick you speak of?

its the euro stick at ultimarc. i did some more research and there is a slim chance that t-stick or the magstick wil fit in a HRAP. i measured it and its real close and i would have to remove the factory mount to get it to fit. but i dont want to because i dont want that much stick projection. and i could go all sanwa and turn my T5 to a HRAP, but i think thats not going to help me. i hear that they suck for shmups, and not just here(to much throw). if i cant get that mag stick forget it.

Democles- you said the return on that mag stick is loose, look at this vid, that thing looks solid

http://www.retroblast.com/reviews/joyst ... tstik.html

Damocles · Post by **Damocles** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 4:36 am

Not loose, weak. Meaning it has a slow (relatively) return to center. If you take a Mag-Stik apart, you find out that the magnet plays a very small role in centering the stick. As such, most of the centering action comes from the pressure of the switches. In short, you're generally going to move a few pixels farther than you want to. Of course, if you're the type of player who grips the joystick at all times and automatically centers himself, this isn't an issue. Then again, if you're that type of person, you might as well get a Super or Sanwa and be done with it, since the short throw won't matter.

As for getting the stick in...yeah...it's always going to be close unless you're modding a Street Fighter Anniversary stick with that huge base.

Here we go. It's not the T5 stick, but a RAP.

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... 3&start=30

stuntman wrote:
Damocles wrote:How much clearance is there when the stick is finally mounted? I would assume not nearly enough for a Plus model of T-Stik. Knowing that one will fit in there might just make me pick one of these up.
There's virtually no clearance. That's why I cut the last couple of threads off the end of the shaft, just to make sure it didn't catch.

GaijinPunch · Post by **GaijinPunch** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 11:58 am

lawnspic wrote:its the euro stick at ultimarc

Would take me forever to get used to. I'll stick w/ my current ones.

stuntman · Post by **stuntman** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 10:53 pm

With the Mag-Stik, it definitely doesn't feel like there's much force pulling the stick back to centre, but I don't notice any kind of delay. I think it's more an issue of personal preference, and how one grips the stick, than a problem with its design.

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Sat Jan 13, 2007 11:40 pm

Could the Euro Stick / STC be mounted on plywood that's not too thick, but thick enough to be strong? It would be easier to work with than metal.

Damocles · Post by **Damocles** » Sun Jan 14, 2007 5:04 am

It's possible, but a bit tricky. The Suzo has that funky ridge around the base of the joystick that replaces the dust washer. I'm thinking about picking one up for a Red Octane mod, so if anyone has any tips they would be appreciated. Bloodflowers, I'm looking at you.

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Fri Jan 19, 2007 7:54 pm

I suppose it would have to be mounted on or under a base panel with a thin panel overlay to meet the ridge.

Since we're on the subject of EU parts, are the buttons good too? I mean the likes of this:
http://www.arcadeshop.de/product_info.p ... cts_id=554

Damocles · Post by **Damocles** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 4:40 am

Hmm...no maker listed. I'd be careful. Looks like a generic pushbutton...with a Cherry microswitch. Odd.