I’m new to this modding scene, and starting out with an EX2. My question for the more experienced is, what makes more of a difference, replacing the joystick microswitches or replacing the shaft/spring/actual stick itself. Is there a huge difference between a sanwa stick and a stock hori stick? Again, this is about the stick itself, not the microswitches (which I’ll be replacing no matter what).
The reason I’m asking is that it would be far easier for me to just install the microswitches and use the stock Hori stick inside the tiny EX2 case.
The Sanwa JLF and Seimitsu LS-32 are the 2 best joysticks. I think the EX2 uses a not so good stick.
All parts of your controls make a difference. It is best to get a Arcade controller that is a custom made or a better HRAP that has real Sanwa or Seimitsu Arcade parts. Also make sure you can change parts out.
If you do this you will save a lot of time, money and frustration playing on inferior parts.
the ex2 joystick shaft is shorter than the jlf shaft. this bothered me to no end. if you have the ability, i’d recommend swapping the stick and buttons out.
And just clean any grit dirt from the shaft, metal ring, bearing and bearing tray. Add some special joystick lube to the bearing from aki / lick. I don’t know if wd-40 will work as a ghetto alternative to the lube though.
Well I’m using a Mayflash stick which I believe used a stock Hori part for the stick, and god knows what for the buttons. After taking a look at why the hell the original stick SUCKED so bad, I saw that there was a gigantic gap between the stick and the microswitches. Now, I don’t know if other Hori sticks have that problem, but I would recommend you entirely replace the whole thing. I put in an LS-32 in its place, after making some alterations to the base that held the original stick in place (not much work, just took a dremel and flattened it), drilled four holes to mount, and I was done.
After playing so much on JLF’s at CTF, I have no clue why people typically prefer it over the LS-32. When the time comes for me to make a new stick from scratch, I’ll be using an LS-32 again.
The JLF is a better made joystick. That is why. It may suck for all non fighting games but it is the best made joystick on the market. Seimitsu sticks tend to use inferior plastic for gates and the like and are not as well made. I have nothing against their sticks but they are made less of durable materials and usually have a few design flaws such as:
LS-32. The stick jumps a bit when you hit the gate and the gates wear out eventually. Still a great stick
LS-33. no design flaws. Seimitsu’s best made stick and the smallest on the market. Great for modding small chasis sticks such as the Hori Fighting Sticks.
LS-40. very short activation distance which can be a major problem. Other than that, it has no real flaws
LS-55. the largest throw and engage of any jap stick. It sucks.
LS-56. the pivot grinds. Still ok if you want a shorter throw for shmups and your stick can’t take anything that’s not the same size as a JLF.
Out of these, the only ones I would use in a custom stick are the LS-32 and LS-33. I actually really like the LS-32 and have one in my stick as I play a lot of non fighters but I prefer the JLF for non-Marvel fighters.