got them washers today. also did the survey 
mad a vid, hopefully you won’t mind.
I can’t wait to get my silencers. They should be in soon, I believe.
Edit: Got them! Can’t wait to try them out later on tonight!
awesome video, the fat washer is a few thousandths thicker than the stock Sanwa version, the skinny is a few under. We thought both did a great job with sound but this type of testing is PERFECT. There has been some criticism of the Sanwa washers in creating a “mushy” end point. So I wanted to go with a softer thicker rubber and a skinnier rubber to see if we could get the sound dampening and improve performance. Now all I need is a 50/50 split on how likes which! lol… Thanks for the video.
Great vid hibachi! Every attempt I’ve made to make my own ended up similarly to the thicker washer. I ended up trying to compensate by trying to hit the buttons harder with my homemade washers, but it seemed to be more trouble than it was worth. Haven’t got my test set in yet, but I can’t wait to try them out.
Armi, are they the same materials as the Sanwa version?
The material is similar, I do not have sanwa’s exact specifications, but it is a similar type of foam.
Hey Armi,
Just got the paddings in the mail today and had a chance to compare both of your paddings to the oem sanwa silent button. I prefer the skinny washer because it allows for more plunger depression, but still has the silencing effect. I actually prefer them over the sanwa silent buttons. I did not like the thick padding at all because it allowed for very little button depression and I had to hit it really hard for the button to activate. I would recommend those for really hard button mashers =) I completed the survey and will be sending you a pm.
Keep the input coming! I thought people would like the thinner stuff 18 responses to go!
Next up are the LED pads… Even though you don’t need modded silencers with Pele lighting, guess that means we might have something up our sleeves
Survey filled out. I preferred the fat because I’m a masher. Subjectively it dampened the sound more than the Sanwa washer. Button travel is definitely shorter than with Sanwa washer but it feels better.
The sound from the skinny was still too “clacky” for me but is a good compromise for those who want some dampening that’s closer to the Sanwa no washer feel.
maybe we do both…
- Masher Mat
- Silent Slims
Just opened a box with some new stuff… coming up soon LS-32 Round gates!
quick question, will you need a tighter spring for the ‘quieter’ Zippy/LS-32 microswitches? I assume they are softer.
They are softer but because the LS-32 has a stiff spring to start and the micros work with a lever arm, the difference is very very small
They’re still making -32 round gates?
That’s funny because I’ve looked online (out of curiosity – I don’t use those gates anymore and stick to square gates on the Seimitsu joysticks) and it doesn’t appear that any other store carries the round gates anymore or I just haven’t found the right place before today.
Me? I stopped using the round gates after I got used to the Seimitsu square gates. The levered microswitches made a huge difference for me… I couldn’t get used to the square gate on the JLF. Night and day difference between the two joysticks, I tell ya… I think a lot more people would find Seimitsu joysticks and other levered microswitch-based joysticks easier to use if they gave them half a chance. I don’t regret my switchover at all.
Loose as it is – the LS-40 is about the same tension as the JLF --, the LS-40 is also easier for me to use for the same reason as the LS-32. I still prefer the LS-32 for platformers and sidescrolling shooters (I think the LS-40 is too loose for shooters at least) but find I can use the LS-32 and LS-40 equally well with most fighting games – CPS-2, SNK Neo Geo, poly fighters, etc.
I was very surprised that you had those silent kits for the Zippy joystick/LS-32… I didn’t think it would work with the LS-32 for the same reasons we’ll never see an optical-based LS-32. Shows what I know about joystick engineering!
P.S. – I repeat once more – as certain as I am that I WILL get a silent Zippy kit with short shaft Zippy joystick in the future, I doubt I’ll ever get big into the silent button scene. I don’t have a compelling reason to convert every joystick I own and would rather get skeleton buttons for artwork’s sake. As it is, I have way too many empty/stickless joystick bases… Maybe if I get a girlfriend or live-in roommate, I might have to get the silent parts!
finally got them today! and i have to agree what hibachifinal said. i had to hit the fat foam button strongly. but it sounded a lot quieter than the thin ones. thanks bryan for the foams. are you going to slightly increase to the size of the thin ones just a little but it won’t as big as the big ones?
I’m pretty sure he meant ParadiseArcade’s own LS-32/Zippy round gates
or its old stock rising from the grave haha.
PS - whats the word on those tougher LS-56 springs? 
Old stock… we uncovered some old plates and will be making our own for when these are gone
Just need to take pictures! Been asking Susan when she’s going to post them, I’ll bug her again tonight
As of right now the feedback we have gotten for the most part is that the our skinny’s are the same or similar sound dampening to Sanwa, the fats are better, but they decrease activation. We are going to look for another very soft foam in a slightly thicker form factor for another option. We will wait for a little more feedback, but since the skinnys are close or better than Sanwa’s and don’t have the same level of mushiness at the end that Sanwa’s have, we will probably be offering those soon…
Got the washers yesterday and filled out the survey!
After playing with them for a bit I have had the same trouble as everyone else with the fat washers hindering the activation of the button. I had to mash a bit hard to get the button to work on the fat, but I do like its silencing effect. However since the skinny one did not affect the button at all and had good silencing; it was the one I liked the most.
Voted for skinny.
I got my washers yesterday and filled out the survey voting for Skinny as I ran into similar issues getting inputs from Fat when playing normally.
Same as the majority, preferred the skinny as the fat just made it too difficult to activity the buttons.
Did notice that even 2x skinny would still be thinner than 1x fat, perhaps doubling up on skinny’s would be a happy medium (couldn’t test of course)?
PS: I fear I must’ve missed something, wheres the feedback form?