Hey SRK. The time has come for me to get my stick built, because I must practice before I return to the scene in August. It’ll be good to be back, but god I’m gonna suck for a while.
Anyway, the issues I’m having with the design are these:
Metal Button Plates vs Wood: I don’t have the equipment to get one of these metal babies cut, but I’ve seen a lot of sticks not using them. What style of buttons should I use if I’m building on a wood and lexan surface? I plan to get Sanwas. From what I can see they’re screw-ins that just grip the surface, am I right? If so, I’ll need to limit my thickness.
Stick Model: I really haven’t completely decided on my stick. I really think I’m going to get a JLF, but I’m a bit worried about the lack of stiffness. How does it feel? Smooth, or loose like less-tight American sticks?
Wear: What’s the average time before failure you guys are seeing in the Sanwa parts? I know they last a good while, but I also know crap fails at our not-terribly-populated arcade on a weekly basis. Should I be expecting to replace things yearly, or can I expect them to last as long as my other controllers?
Use whatever controls they have in the arcade you’ll be playing/competing in, unless you plan to play seriously in console matches only. If it’s American stuff, there’s really no reason to get Jap parts (which I use, btw) unless you hate using American parts.
They’re cheaper, easier to install, more durable, easier to find, require less maintenance (compared to Jap screw-in buttons), etc.
I personally use a wood/lexan set-up when building. The top needs to be pretty thin for both to fit, unless you get creative with it and start routing out the bottom for the rings to screw in and shit.
I’m also pretty sure Sanwas last at least a year of pretty normal use…nothing too heavy.
Seems to be the concensus here that Sanwa parts aren’t as long lasting as Happs. The only experience I have with Sanwa are the buttons on my stick, and for Sanwa is the JLW in the same stick. Why would Sanwas be less durable than the Happs? I thought they were both guaranteed to a million presses or something…
Just curious… just bought some pink 30mm snap ins and matching JLW for my 6 year old’s joystick (she picked the colors and she liked the size), but if I knew they were a lot less sturdy, I would have gotten something else:sad:
american sticks tend to be tougher. but a year is long enough anyway, even with happ parts, you should atleast be changing out all switches atleast once a year depending on amount of use. i change mine out periodically. to me, longevity shouldnt be an issue for any stick. i will say tho, i dont think jap sticks are built for violent play. i hear thats why we never had japanese standard ever since the beginning in arcades, cuz i guess we are just more agressive on controls. and there definitely are very aggressive players in the US
Well, Happ parts are cheaper, so they’re easier to replace if they actually break. Also, the microswitches being separate from the buttons is a plus in my opinion. You can replace only the button or the switch, whichever is broken. Beyond those points, I don’t know of any reason to think of Sanwas as less durable.
honestly, its not recommended to just replace one switch. after a lot of use, the switch wears thin and the engage on the stick becomes bigger. meaning, the stick gets less sensitive(stick has to travel a little further to activate).
its always recommended to replace all 4 switches. same is said with buttons for the same reasons, you just change one, then ppp and kkk could become less consistent
Thanks fellas. I ended up stumbling on a thread in the archive that explained things quite well too. From what I’ve read there, here, and on other forums, a lot of people think Happ stuff is more durable, but the microswitches themselves don’t wear down any faster on a Sanwa. The most likely wear is at the same rate; so really there shouldn’t be THAT much difference in the wear that a Sanwa takes vs the wear a Happ takes.