Is the Madcatz Alpha a good small form factor stick?

Tech Talk
1

I need a small arcade stick to use since I need something a little more portable. Is the stick comfortable to use? Does it fit in your lap? Is it even worth modding for the sake of having a small stick? Tell me :smiley:

2

I wouldn’t use it. Get a MadCatz WWE Brawlstick if possible from last gen, or even one of those mini wooden cases from SRK Trading Outlet.

3

Aight, I do have an iCade core laying around somewhere that I can mod. But the thing is, good PCBs are hella expensive. I would’ve bought the zero delay one from focus attack but it’s not compatible with the brook converters. Do you think I should buy some sort of crappy 3rd party controller for a PCB?

4

Hmm, if you want to use the Brook Converter in the first place, Brook PS3/PS4 PCB is hella good and costs only slightly more than a converter. You need Xbox support instead? Padhacking with the last gen MadCatz Fight Pads for Xbox 360. I’m sure there are other options too.

5

I can vouch for a brawlstick or any madcatz SE as the base body. My two portable sticks use an SE base. The metal panels give it good weight and it can be very portable when paired with a link from phreakmods. Opening the stick to mod is easy as it only requires the six screws on the bottom to be taken off to access the internals, and there is enough space to install another PCB in there if you place it properly. I even installed neutrik passthroughs on them for detachable USB cables in addition to two extra boards. The stick sits on the lap well and can have art swapped out with lamilabeled or vinyl prints if you care for another layer of customization.

In regards to the alpha, it’s small and does fit on your lap but is too light for me. The stick is very portable and can fit anywhere with a link, however modding options for joysticks is limited, and installing new parts requires a bit more work.

In regards to PCBs, if you’re confident in soldering then just get a phreakmods cerberus or a Brooks PCB for PS3/4. Good ones are expensive, but considering the functionality of them it is well worth it. You could get away with a Cthulu if you need screw terminals, but those are your cheaper options if you want a cheap board to install. If the console doesn’t matter you could use the rockcandy pads that are on sale at amazon. They go for ~21 shipped for the 360 pad, and the board is very simple to hack and should be compatible with brooks converters.

6

Purely casing-wise, in terms of sticks in a similar size-range as the Alpha, you’re probably better off with an old Namco stick, or an Exar Exaprize.

Going just slightly larger, the Mad Catz SE/Brawlstick/TvC/KE casing can’t be beat.

7

Yeah the Madcatz SEs are something I considered but I’m going to have to look a little harder online to find one. The reason I even considered the Alpha is because it was 20% off at my local store. For the Cthulu, where can you even find those now since the website that sells them no longer takes orders?

8

There are people in trading section selling small form / portable empty cases for low prices. Check there if you cant find SE/Brawl

9

Haven’t looked ad gdlk.co in awhile, so didn’t know toodles was not taking orders. If anything, as many people are saying, the trading outlet here is a great place to look. You should be able to find someone willing to sell a SE shell or a Cthulu PCB there, and ebay may be a place to check for the SE as well.

10

It’s a very small joystick and uncomfortable to use for me. It has around the same footprint as an iPad Air.