Well it has been two weeks since I bought my very first fight stick (Madcatz SE) and already problems have stopped me from playing. The roundhouse button had been randomly sticky the past few days and while the stickiness is now gone, the button press won’t register in game. So my question is this: Should I use the warranty to get it repaired or should I replace it with some Sanwa buttons instead? Having watched videos on how to replace the buttons, this looks like it could be doable but I’m still not sure. Any advice that would be greatly appreciated?
I would say replace the buttons since the warranty is only for a limited time and they will be bound to break again eventually. Having Sanwa buttons and a joystick (if you intend to upgrade that too) will make your executions better in general also.
It is one of the easiest arcade sticks to mod. My suggestion would be from my own personal experience is to write down what color cord goes with each button and then take out all the buttons at once. Then install them in one by one while putting the connectors back on. The first time I did it was I took out a button and put the new one in and found it tougher since I had to pull out the connectors for the older buttons and they would get in the way with the newly placed connectors.
It is overall a very simple process and should not take very long at all.
Replace buttons most definitely, and I think you should replace the stick too…
http://www.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=175882
The buttons and the stick are bootleg parts made by madcatz and the buttons are so crappy they will break trying to get them out… it shouldn’t take to much time out of your life to do this lol…
EDIT: Getting new bootleg parts from Madcatz does not solve your problem…
Thanks guys, this has been a great help. The buttons I found aren’t that expensive so I should be good to go. And Bull you’re right, if I just did the warranty repairs then I would be stuck in the same situation about a month from now as well lol.
Actually when I tried to pull out the first button from the connectors with pliers the stupid thing wouldn’t come out. I ended up pulling so hard that the middle black part (I think its called the cap) got pulled out with the connector wires and a spring and little silver ball flew across the table.
So, yeah the buttons will possibly break as you pull them out but it doesn’t matter anyways. It is also good to get rid of the joystick because it may have a lose washer in it which can scratch up the PCB board.
From everything I’ve heard about the SE’s, it might just be less stress for you to take the opportunity to replace the parts right now rather than get a new set of lower grade parts and go through this issue all over again. This is actually what convinced me to just get a TE right from the start… In the end, you end at a similar cost and the SE requires more work… That and the fact that the TE just looks sexier…
But yeah… I digress. As several people have stated already, just replace the stuff so you can put it out of your mind and focus on other things.
I recently had to replace buttons on my TE stick for the first time. It was really easy to do.