Yeah I didn’t really get into modding until 2010 or so. I joined here in 2009 to read up on parts because it was in late 09 that I got my SE. I felt I reached my maximum potential on gamepad so it was time to try the next level. 2 weeks later and I was already playing better than I ever did on pad. After getting used to the stick I started looking at stick properties and that’s when I went with LS-40. It was a huge upgrade. I also didn’t like the Sanwa button clones so I opted for iL Comps which were really good buttons, but the problem was the height of the SE. I ended up playing on a SE with spacers installed between the bottom plate and body to make up for the lack of height, and even that wasn’t really enough.
I ended up too frustrated with the SE and got a HRAP. Loved the HRAP, but then I said I’m going to build my own panel and layout and I came up with a prototype. Prototype 2 came out later and I need to make a few tweaks and make my first legitimate case. Funny thing is, now that I have the clearance for iL buttons, I’m actually on modded Seimitsu buttons. Those damn transparent smokes with their damn convex button tops… Seriously if iL had translucent smoke comps I’d be all over them and would ditch my Seimitsu buttons in a second. Well, maybe 2 seconds. I’d have to think about how ridiculously much money I’ve spent on my Seimitsu buttons with all the mods I’ve done and still have yet to do.
Anyway by the time I got into the scene Sanwa was already a well known name and that’s all most people were using here in SRK.
i was probably one of the first if not the first person on srk to mount a sanwa with an s-plate in an mdf case in like 2004. god that was a nightmare. i had no woodworking experience whatsoever and had to use a jigsaw lol. back then there was only one sanwa thread on all of srk and nobody had used an s-plate before. and i think the guy who made it and was the resident sanwa expert ran off with a bunch of tech talk people’s money? i bought the stick and s-plate from Rod Keys when himuragames was an online store. anybody know what happened to him? he was so nice and included a handwritten note and some japanese candies with your order, then he disappeared off the face of the earth. in either case, now i know nothing about sticks compared to everyone in this section. sorry about the rant, i wanted to go down memory lane for a bit.
im pretty bummed that the new seimitsu sticks are nothing special, as ive been using a jlf for 10 years straight and i want to try something else. and apparently, each one has some glaring flaw. if they arent going to engineer something that incorporates the best aspects of each of their imperfect sticks, maybe i’ll try an ls-40.
LOL for real? That was probably slightly before my time here. @MarkMan, did you guys buy up all of Sanwa’s JLF stock? I can’t fathom paying $60 for a JLF. I don’t think I’d pay more than $40 for my favorite stick.
I totally believe this!
I checked between 2009 and 2010 and the joystick market was night-and-day between the two years.
In 2009, EVERYTHING – old and new production joysticks – was overpriced because of scarcity and people were marking up parts and complete joystick cases like crazy.
I avoided the markups in 2009 by pre-ordering my original Round 1 TE before the cut-off date at GameStop. Got another one later in the year for much less. It’s all about patience, being smart, and timing if you want to save money!
In 2010, it was very possible to buy older HRAP’s, Agetec Joysticks, and so on for $25 or less… Very decent condition, too!
IF you want to talk about mark-ups…
Look at prices of basic arcade parts on Amazon.com…!
Half the people selling stuff on Amazon.com don’t know what it is they’re selling and the marketplace there is notorious for gouging on many things. E-bay looks ultra-honest by comparison many times!
Search Engines exist for a reason but many people still don’t use them well…
In all honesty, NOBODY here really has to use a Search Engine so long as they bother to actually read the FAQ’s… You generally save money buying parts from reputable dealers linked through the FAQ’s.
IF you have a buddy who will let you try it, I’d really advise scoping out the LS-32 first, and then compare to the LS-40 if you have one available to demo.
Still gonna vouch for the Hayabusa above both the JLF and LS-joysticks.
I think it’s the highest-quality Japanese control lever on the market, period. LS-32 and LS-40 are next-best but I have reservations about those depending on which game I’m playing…
I understand that not everybody can get the Hayabusa now. Availability in your area and Hori’s ability to ship parts to you are bigger issues than cost.
However you choose to demo, I’d suggest testing them out on one of the harder SF2/Alpha titles was well as SF IV and Tekken 5/6 depending on what you have available for tests.
I’ll say this – I do NOT think that SF IV is the best game to use for evaluating joysticks. Not on its own and isolated at any rate. The control on that game is VERY forgiving regardless of whether you use a JLF or LS-joystick. Okay, I admit I found some charged special moves definitely easier to execute with the LS-32… No octo-gate, special actuator parts, OR extreme spring mods needed. That said, SF IV is not the most intense Street Fighter game out there… The pre-Street Fighter IV titles are probably better tests for joystick lever hardware. Likewise, Tekken’s a good test for joystick recentering and dash move executions.
I love to play Darkstalkers 2 with Demitri. I just found the JLF’s recentering and dash move execution to be awful with that game. Likewise, I had serious issues trying to hit diagonal Dragon Punch moves when I went back to SF Alpha 2/3 and tried to play those games with a JLF. I love my retro-games and the JLF’s design issues were what caused me to drop it as game controller hardware.
Lot of people really thinks Sanwa is for fighting game and Seimitsu is for shot’em up.
lot of people thinks all SF games and Capcom game have ever play with Jlf.
lot of people thinks because best players play with Jlf they must play with it too.
lot of people Sanwa is the best because it use in Hori/Madcatz stick…
If Madcatz for example make an original brand of Full Seimitsu arcade stick , maybe with option to choose Ls-XX + PS-XX
and some top player plays with it , there will be top seller.
Hah. I remember that drought. That was pretty sick. There was a turbo long explanation on how the popularity of SF4 has impacted the availability of the part on Lizard Lick.
Personally I’m a Seimitsu fan all the way so when the LS-58 came out I jumped on it hard, now having 2 sticks installed with the sucker but I gotta say right now my all time fave is my mini stick with LS-33 with 56 spring. I love high tension models so to see LS-60 is a softer stick with no PCB is disappointing. Seimitsu is definitely due for a remodel.
But y’know what, if you guys think so highly of this Hayabusa I wanna check it out. After I’m done putting together my K-Stick I think the Hayabusa is on the block next.
Well the best way to learn about/explore a new stick is compare it to the competition.
How does the LS-60 stacks against everything else.
Forget about history and your doom to repeat it.
Indeed! If we can look at the progression of sticks historically and compare, then what is the point? Especially since Hayabusa just came out by itself, we also have something new to compare to.
I think Seimitsu is trying to make the LS-60 their version of the JLF, which is really odd if you think about it since making a LS-56 softer won’t make it a JLF or competition to it. The difference in engage and throw will be enough that people who actually want a JLF will not like it. But if there is really demand for a softer LS stick comparable to JLF, I guess this would be your choice. I wouldn’t have used the 56 as my base though.
…And here I thought the LS-33 was already there as far as Seimitsu making their attempt at a JLF-like joystick with similar feel. [ =>NOTE: Based on what I’ve read and heard… not claiming I’ve played with the LS-33 because I haven’t. <= ]
Nope, no sir… I don’t think that’s the way to go!
I think enough of us were moving away from the JLF to question why you’d want to base a new joystick on that let alone try to get the same feel which was a turn to many people. And look how the Hayabusa turned out in the end! It’s higher-quality JLF clone parts (different actuator, though) ***with a Seimitsu feel!
I give up on trying to figure Seimitsu out at this point in time. I’ll still occasionally buy buttons or balltops from them but they really got to get a clue that their current “new” joystick approach isn’t working.
How well do all their joysticks sell anyway? I don’t think they’d want to stop making and selling either the LS-32 or LS-56 but does manufacturing 5 distinct joysticks really make that much sense? Does splintering the LS-56 line further with yet another softer-spring mod do anything but confuse people more?
LS-33 is kinda annoying because of deflection. Literally bounces back and forth if you release it after being held from one direction. Dare I say its shit. imo.
as for having that may joysticks in their lineup, well, LS-5X series shares a lot of parts, 56/58 are arguably the same stick… it could be a case of throwing everything against the wall and seeing what sticks.
Hopefully LS-60 address some Issues i find annoying with the 56/58.
I still want the LED enable LS-56 to come out looks like seimitsu has given up on it.
looks like seimitsu has given up on it.