2

A cheap Arcade Stick will require you do the solder thing and do stuff.

Let us say a Joystick is $20.
And Buttons at $2.50 each.
So $45 total for parts.

A cheap Arcade Stick is like $30 maybe?
So then total is $75.

And more money if you need to buy tools.

So how about this?
http://shoryuken.com/forum/index.php?threads/148229/

3

Aren’t solders expensive? If not, how much do they cost?

4

If you want to go super cheap.
Then I say $15 for soldering iron and $10 for the solder?

Then you need wires for maybe $5.
Quick Disconnect will be $4 online?

So total now will be $99.

Then still you need to buy tools if you do not have.
Crimper, wire cutter, so add more cost.

Something to make hole bigger if the cheap Arcade Stick requires hole widening.
Because a lot of those Cases require making the 28mm hole into 30mm to fit Sanwa and Seimitsu.

5

Have you checked Gamestop? I swear the store by me has like 50 of those things brand new in the back room but none out in the actual store except for one buried under used guitar hero crap.

Also with thanksgiving/christmas coming up, there’s usually some sick deals on these things. Didn’t madcatz have a buy one get one free for $150 on the TE last year? Find a buddy and split it. Also lots of stores had the TE on sale for round $100 which is almost what it would cost to buy a cheap stick and mod it anyways.

6

it’s not that solders are expensive, its that you’ll end up buying a soldering iron, wire, quick connects, solder, a wire stripper and possibly desoldering braid, a file, etc. I know because i did one myself for the first time recently. Unless you have an interest in modding yourself for fun, then you should buy the one suggested above.

7

We get a lot of people who make a Thread asking the same thing.
And we every time always recommend to not buy something cheap in mind to mod.
Because it was always end up costing more or the same as higher-end Arcade Stick.

Then those who do not listen to us, well, they come Posting after and feel sorry.

How much did it end up for you after the mod?
So that Dwight Siyluy would know what to expect.

8

well in the UK everything costs the same in £ than it does in US$, so its immediately 30% more expensive. I got original arcade stick for £35, buttons £20, soldering stuff and the rest peripherals maybe £35. I had fun and it was educational, but its not economical. I haven’t put a new stick in yet, but its on my mind.

9

You could buy an already modded SE.

Here’s one for $80 shipped. Great deal if you can’t get a TE and want a cheaper modded stick, and it just happens to be really recent. That’s slightly cheaper than what jdm mentioned.

10

There was a guy I helped in 2009.
He spent $190 to mod Mayflash.
Laugh.

density., I linked that above already.

11

Haha, i guess its like an addiction.

12

that is a great deal for a dual modded stick… cheaper than if you do it yourself…

13

You can get the WWE Brawl Stick for about $80. Then you just need to drop about $60 on a Sanwa JLF and 6-8 buttons. It is pretty much a Madcatz SE with different art and a slightly different button layout. The button layout is easy to change.

14

Including tools (drill, hole bit, soldering iron, hacksaw) and paint, the total cost of TwinTail was over a hundred bucks (just slightly less than a TE). And that’s for a $40 base stick.

15

Cheap does not equal cost efficient.

Let me say that again, underlined, in a large bold font:

Cheap does not equal cost efficient.

If you want it customized, your best bet is to get one of the BrawlSticks, add a JLF, whatever buttons you want, and get your artwork.

If you don’t really care about all that and just want Sanwa stuff without fancy colors, wait for a $100 TE sale or check out the sale thread.

You’ll end up paying at least $100 no matter how you go. Any less, and well… you get what you pay for.

16

I got my TE-S for $65 second hand. It has all genuine Sanwa parts(I checked, all legit parts, no clones). It just depends what you can find while surfing your local classifieds. Sure, it’s got a few very minor scratches and the plastic cover over the art was peeling in a corner, but it works perfectly.

17

There should be a sticky titled “YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR” and/or “FOOLS AND THEIR MONEY ARE SOON PARTED”.

New players also need to start realizing that buying a used stick is probably the best investment you can make. Stick are almost like Used cars where they decrease in value, but they dont lose their usability value. Dual modded for $80? F*CK YEAH!

18

Is the Hori Fighting Stick VX moddable?
I don’t really want to spend that much money on my first arcade stick, so I was thinking to get a pretty cheap one and replace it with a good joystick and buttons.

19

If you’re wanting to replace anything with “a good joystick and buttons”, add $30 for the buttons and $25 for the stick. So already you’re looking at an additional $55 for anything you get. This makes an SE/Brawlstick $105, a Hori VX $115-130, a Mayflash $90, and so on.

If you’re looking for something cheap with Sanwa parts, seriously get a used TE from the trading outlet.

20

The Hori Fighting Stick VX/V3 was my first arcade stick and my first mod. It can be modded with a JLF and pushbuttons but will require at least a soldering iron.
It is a worthwhile first time mod but it ends up costing around the same as a tournament edition if you count the time spent working on the stick.
I would recommend this stick if you plan on getting into a fightstick mod. There is a thread for this on SRK for more information

21

If you can find a madcatz SE somewhere for cheap, it’s probably the most cost-effective to mod. Since all the parts are Sanwa clones, and use quick disconnects, you can do a full mod with just a screwdriver and some elbow grease.

Emphasis on finding one cheap. If you’re gonna get a new SE for the purpose of modding, you might as well buy a TE instead, IMO. Check your local games stores, craigslist, etc. I found an SE at Movie Trading Company once for $20.