Looking for advice on commericial arcade sticks (PS2)

[Starcade RIP]

Firstly, thanks in advance for any advice you could offer me. I apologize if I'm asking questions covered in multiple threads already--I made an effort to look and did not see them. (Perhaps I'm blind.)

I'm in the market to purchase a pair of arcade sticks for my PS2. I considered going custom build, but I don't have the time, experience, or access to tools to manage it on my own. Instead, I'm looking at a few of the builders mentioned in the major threads on this board.

I'm looking for advice as to whether I should go for a mass systems stick or a x-arcade stick.

http://www.massystems.com/ProStick.html

http://www.x-arcade.com/solo.shtml

I favor the look of the mass stick and can get it in a six-button layout (I'd rather have just six buttons than eight as I'll primarily be using it for Capcom games). The placement of the extra two buttons on the x-arcade stick throws me off. I've considered the hori RAP2, but they seem to be harder to find now that the PS3 models are being released. Also, I've never played on Japanese sticks in my life, and am unsure I'll like the feel. Plus the hori sticks are eight button layouts.

As for the mass systems sticks, I'm unclear of the difference between the Ultimate, Competition, and Perfect 360 joysticks. Could anyone enlighten me?

[tl613]

Ultimate and Competition are basically the same except the Ultimate stick is a lot stiffer and generally not recommended for fighting games.

P360's are known to have a lot of problems and often times flat out don't work because there is extra electrical wiring involved. I believe these are the sticks of choice for MvC players but in general probably wouldn't be recommended either.

Basically Competition is the way to go.

And if you HAVE to choose between MAS and X-Arcade people will tell you to get MAS. Don't bother with its reviews online, everyone here will tell you it's crappy. Bad pcb, crappy parts, and expensive compared to other pre-made sticks of the same cost.

Such as the MAS for example. It uses all Happ parts and while some people here would tell you not to get it either, I don't think anyone would recommend an X-Arcade over it. If you get the MAS just make sure you get it exclusively for the Playstation and don't bother with the multi-system compatibilty. Just use converters instead if need be.

[Rickstah]

MAS > X-Arcade, this is the rule. MAS uses authentic arcade parts while the X-Arcade uses clones.

I'm really unfamilar with American parts though, so I don't know the difference between Ultimate and Comp Sticks. However, I do know about the P360 sticks. They're not activated by a microswitch, rather they use optical sensors instead. So when you spin the stick, it makes a perfect 360. However, this does cause some problems with hitting diagonals. The other 2 use microswitches, so when you move the stick into a direction, you can hear a click.

[final_cut]

And for the price, you could buy a custom from a guy in the trading forums here. I know you said you didn't have the time for a custom, but I'm thinking you meant building one yourself? there are guys here who do custom sticks for more than reasonable prices.

[Starcade RIP]

Thank you for all the advice so far.

As for the custom builders, all the builders I've noticed are priced higher and/or don't offer a warrenty like MAS. Are there some builders I've overlooked?

[tl613]

Customs with shipping will probably run you around $150 to $200 and from what I've read about the quality of them you probably won't need a warranty anyway.

[final_cut]

Well, I know there was a guy called Koi who was selling some stuff for much lower than usual prices, and most of the guys here will just fix an item for you. I don't think most of the custom builders really have any kind of 'official' business, but guys like dreaded fist and Byrdo 'the darkside' have been known to take care of problems asap, and are pretty well known for being cool people here on the forums.

[BigEd80]

Go HRAP1 or HRAP2 and never look back :wgrin:, but I do eventually want to get a MAS stick though

[SupraFist]

Get the hrap1 or hrap2 or just find the tekken 5 stick. those are definitly better then x-arcade. stay away from them. between mas or these, i guess its up t o your preference.

[tl613]

If you've never played on a Japanese stick and are unsure about it I don't know why you would go for a HRAP or T5. But to be honest I never played on one either until I got my HRAP and I love it. www.arcadeshock.com has HRAP2's but at $120 each then shipping then getting Sanwa buttons you're probably looking at about $180 each.

People are saying go to EB or Gamestop and get a cheap T5 like they are plentiful. I don't know where these people live but in the San Francisco Bay area they certainly aren't.

But if you want a new "commercial" stick with a real American arcade feel then go with MAS. If you get it straight from them you're looking at about $125 each, or go to resellers like www.estarland.com or www.alphaelectronics.com to save a little bit of money.

[True Grave]

Modify the Streetfighter anniversary stick with Happ parts, and you've got yourself a industry grade stick.

[Starcade RIP]

Those Street fighter anniversary sticks seem to be out of stock on all the web vendors I've checked and selling for up to three times the sticker price on auction sights. It would be cheaper and less effort to just buy a MASS.

Could anyone think of a reason I would regret getting a six button layout instead of an eight? I can't think of any games I commonly play that the eight button layout would be nice for... unless I get in an old NEO GEO kick.

[tl613]

I tend to get 8 button layouts just in case a game I play needs all of them. For fighting games it's never mattered but I also use my MAS and HRAP for MAME so sometimes it's nice having the buttons straight across. You can use these:

http://happcontrols.com/pushbuttons/52621200.htm

That way in case you ever need the extra buttons you can easily put them back in again.

[Starcade RIP]

Thanks for all the advice! The prices are definately better with those links you gave. I'll have to mull over the buttons choice.

[Starcade RIP]

Another question occured to me- did you order your stick multi-platform with USB or do you just use a converter? If you use a converter, is there a lag-free one you could recommend?

Thanks again for all the help.

[Starcade RIP]

So before I place this order, does anyone have any experience with good PS2 to USB converters? I've seen a few posts about radio shack ones, but I'm guessing there are better ones out there. Any ideas?

[tl613]

I have a Radioshack one (not the DreamGear one) and it works fine with my MAS and HRAP2 but others on the forum say there is input lag, no corner recognition, and inability to register multiple button presses. Otherwise you can try these:

http://www.gamersection.ca/product_info.php?cPath=26&products_id=192

Don't have one myself but hear they are really good.

[True Grave]

Those Street fighter anniversary sticks seem to be out of stock on all the web vendors I've checked and selling for up to three times the sticker price on auction sights. It would be cheaper and less effort to just buy a MASS.

Really? I guess I just got lucky when I bought mine for $50+free shipping around Christmas time, before they became harder to find and got a lot more expensive.