I saw this and it looks like a cool idea, but it’s kind of expensive, for a shaft… I’m curious if anyone has one and has an opinion. I’m particularly interested in whether anybody has experience using it with a bat top – I’d seen some reviews suggesting this could cause problems with removing the shaft, but they were pretty old and seemed to be based on a “prototype” model.
May the search be with you…
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FWIW, Smallcab sell a clone that might work out cheaper https://www.smallcab.net/smallcab-shaft-sanwa-p-1726.html
I’d go with the Phreakmods over that Smallcab one. Phreakmods are the originators and the quality is pretty good. I own a couple of them for my LS-32’s and Sanwa/Hori Hayabusas. Also to answer your question, they work fine with battops. I have used a standard plastic battop on it and a wooden one I have.
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Unless you live in Europe there really isn’t a good reason to get the Smallcab one over PhreakMod.
Small Cab - 19.95€ = $24.45
PhreakMod - $26.95
PhreakMod is $2 more if you order from ArcadeShock and use coupon code “JASEN” it ends up being less, but brings more options with colors.
I really like my black link, it can just be a pain in the ass to ship them to Europe
Originally I was going to ignore this thread (because I didn’t have anything to contribute), but then I remembered that I actually own one.
To answer @pennybags questions.
“but it’s kind of expensive, for a shaft”
I can understand that mainly because it cost more than an actual Seimitsu or Sanwa joystick, but they’re very useful when it comes to traveling and even storing sticks. Just knowing you don’t have to worry about the joystick getting messed up is a nice thing. The quality pretty great too, this isn’t made from cheap material. These are made from some high quality stuff and come in a vast amount of colors.
“I’m particularly interested in whether anybody has experience using it with a bat top – I’d seen some reviews suggesting this could cause problems with removing the shaft”
Bat top installation is pretty easy and playing around with it, it doesn’t feel any different from a standard JLF joystick.
Everything pretty much feels the same as if a ball top was put instead. I will only say that it’s harder to pull off with a bat top than a ball top. I feel like you have a better grip with a ball top. It’s not impossible, but it can be a bit of a pain. However I remembered that it was recommend to lube the joystick before use, which I haven’t done yet so maybe that’s the reason why it was a pain. Anyways here’s two pics so you can see how it’ll look.
tl;dr They’re worth the money, battop feels the same (and fits perfectly) as with any joystick although it can be a bit of a pain to pull off.
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This pretty much answers all my questions. Thank you.
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