What Stick/Controller Should I Buy? Read the Guide on Pg 1 Before Posting

[d3v]

Mad Catz Tournament Edition or TE series. $145 to $175 not including Special or Limited editions.
Wider layout than the SE, with a leveled flat top. The TE also features a compartment for USB cable storage. The are some minor variations between different TE sticks, most are cosmetic.
*Note: Older releases of the TE the ones with a Rev A PCB have reliability issues.

Quality: High better than the SE/ TvC series, Full Sanwa Parts

Reliability: Older version had issues with the PCB, this was improved with the Rev B board.
Also it been reported that the door to the cable compartment can break.

Ease of Mods: Uses standard Sanwa parts so it easy to mod. Plenty of 3rd party options for modding such as replacement panels and side pieces. Most common sticks to mod here on Tech Talk.

Additional Info on the Mad Catz TE series. courtesy of D3v.
TE Differences (Breakdown in 3rd post)

Hmm, I believe this should be expanded a bit. At the very least, the TE ‘S’ should be separate from the TE. Also need clear indication which ones have the Rev B board.

[Darksakul]

I though only the Round 1 TEs ever had the Rev A board. That later models had the Rev B.
And I understood that the TE S series have a completely different board from the Rev A and Rev B.
Correct me if I am wrong.

Making up a Difficulty Scale for Modding
From a scale of 1 to 5. This will factor in installing Buttons, Joysticks and replacement panels.
This will not factor replacement art or any painting.

1. Easy: Standard parts drops right into place, reasonable access to all parts.
   2 Medium Easy: Still uses standard parts, access can be difficult/ time consuming
   3 Moderate Difficulty: Requires minor case modding or appropriate mount plates
2. Medium hard:
3. Hard: Requires Heavy modding using tools to cut, grind or drill to fit replacement parts.

[d3v]

I though only the Round 1 TEs ever had the Rev A board. That later models had the Rev B.
And I understood that the TE S series have a completely different board from the Rev A and Rev B.
Correct me if I am wrong.

Not exactly sure which (ask MarkMan for what’s what on this). But the TEs still need to be subdivided considering the great number of variations of the form factor.

[networkingyuppy]

Arcana Heart PS2 pcb is similar to the T5 stick.

[GeorgeC]

Keep in mind this is a beginners Buying guide, Not a modding guide. I only include limited mod info for the purpose of selecting a stick to purchase. I am not concern with the actual in depth modding or each variation of each stick as it goes outside of the scope of what I want to do here. If anything I will scale back the modding info. The Sticks I did marked with a price is still sold with a MSRP price tag as per Google searches for online retail stores and Amazon.

GeorgeC thats alot of info I will take it into consideration. Maybe a rating system for Ease of Mods would be a good idea

I forgot about Qanba.

You’re welcome!

BTW, I sincerely apologize if my comments came off as harsh. That was not my intention.
The only thing I really objected to was calling the HRAP 2 SA’s button lower quality… LOL My post was kind of an impulsive response to that.

[Darksakul]

You’re welcome!

BTW, I sincerely apologize if my comments came off as harsh. That was not my intention.
The only thing I really objected to was calling the HRAP 2 SA’s button lower quality… LOL My post was kind of an impulsive response to that.

We all get that way. Any ways if you don’t mind, I would welcome further proof reading. If you want PM me the corrections and I will edit them in.

D3v I took your suggestion and message MarkMan as he is the authority on Mad Catz sticks. Perhaps this guide too much for only one person to get everything accomplished.

[spenzalii]

Good stuff. If I’m sober enough over teh weekend I may be able to pitch in on this

Good idea not to bring customs into this. That’s a whole other ball of wax

[rtdzign]

I may have missed it, but you forgot to mention the Hori Fighting Stick 3. It is identical to the FS Wii for the most part.

Also under American Style sticks, you should mention the Nuby Tech Street Fighter Anniversary Collection sticks. They use Happ knockoffs, but are medium easy to mod with iL parts.

[Klasher]

So, it seems almost impossible to get the Madcatz TE here in the Netherlands for a decent price.
None of the shops that sell them want to deliver internationally.

So, I’ve been looking at the shops here and I’ve found 4 sticks

Madcatz SE (yes they still have them) 50 euros
Real arcade pro Blazblue 70 euros
Tekken 6 80 euros (with game)
Hori V3 120-130 euros

Now to be honest, I don’t like how the Hori V3 looks and would rather have a MC TE.
So, now I’m debating between the MC SE and the Blazblue.

(Note if someone knows how to get an MC TE in the Netherlands please tell me =P)

All advice would be appreciated

PS. this will be my first stick

[Darksakul]

So, it seems almost impossible to get the Madcatz TE here in the Netherlands for a decent price.
None of the shops that sell them want to deliver internationally.

So, I’ve been looking at the shops here and I’ve found 4 sticks

Madcatz SE (yes they still have them) 50 euros
Real arcade pro Blazblue 70 euros
Tekken 6 80 euros (with game)
Hori V3 120-130 euros

Now to be honest, I don’t like how the Hori V3 looks and would rather have a MC TE.
So, now I’m debating between the MC SE and the Blazblue.

(Note if someone knows how to get an MC TE in the Netherlands please tell me =P)

All advice would be appreciated

PS. this will be my first stick

I did not factor in countries that have issues with shipping. As I live in the United States, I do not normally see thing kind of thing.
The 4 you did pick are all excellent sticks. What you have in mind for your stick and what you want to do with it.

[chuu]

I did not factor in countries that have issues with shipping. As I live in the United States, I do not normally see thing kind of thing.
The 4 you did pick are all excellent sticks. What you have in mind for your stick and what you want to do with it.

i think every country in the world has issues with shipping except the states…even getting stuff in Canada is a pain most of the time.

[Foegrinder]

I would say adjust the prices on the blaz blue stick–$129.95 at just about any retailer- gamestop/amazon. And the VLX is also 299.95 on Amazon and most other retailers

[chuu]

my hope is to pay about 250 with shipping for a used VLX…

[Darksakul]

I would say adjust the prices on the blaz blue stick–$129.95 at just about any retailer- gamestop/amazon. And the VLX is also 299.95 on Amazon and most other retailers

My bad, I took prices off Play Asia and not Amazon. I forgot Play Asia has some really high mark ups.

[Klasher]

I did not factor in countries that have issues with shipping. As I live in the United States, I do not normally see thing kind of thing.
The 4 you did pick are all excellent sticks. What you have in mind for your stick and what you want to do with it.

Well, I’m not that serious with fighting games. It’s just for fun at home, because I think it’s a pain with the normal ps3 controller =P.
Anyways, the HRAP Blazblue stick for 70euros ~ 90-100 dollars. Is that below average price?

(Keep in mind that shops usually take over the price in dollars. So if something is 150 dollars it’s 150 euros here)

[rootnode]

So, it seems almost impossible to get the Madcatz TE here in the Netherlands for a decent price.
None of the shops that sell them want to deliver internationally.

So, I’ve been looking at the shops here and I’ve found 4 sticks

Madcatz SE (yes they still have them) 50 euros
Real arcade pro Blazblue 70 euros
Tekken 6 80 euros (with game)
Hori V3 120-130 euros

Now to be honest, I don’t like how the Hori V3 looks and would rather have a MC TE.
So, now I’m debating between the MC SE and the Blazblue.

(Note if someone knows how to get an MC TE in the Netherlands please tell me =P)

All advice would be appreciated

PS. this will be my first stick

If you’re talking about the wireless Tekken 6 stick bundle I can tell you from my personal experience it is not a quality stick.

Darksakul, I was hoping to hear some thoughts on the Qanba Q4RAF. It seems almost too perfect! I want to know what the community thinks before I part with my cash.

[Shadow2bolt]

Could be worth putting the Hori Fighting Stick 3. Same parts as Wii Stick as well as similar shell and weight only for PS3. £40 (RRP, can get a lot cheaper).

Also here in UK (not sure about other countries), there is a stick called Datel Arcade Pro. It works for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC and is styled like a Japanese stick using its own stock buttons. Poor quality on the stock parts but the modding is practically the same as the Joytron/Paewang Revolution. Goes for £35 (unsure of RRP).

Cause I’m in UK, I’m unsure of equivilant US prices.

[kikimaru024]

Datel Arcade Pro IS a Joytron/Paewang Revolution.

And the buttons are not even microswitch.
All it’s good for is the PCB, and MAAAAYBE the case.

[Klasher]

So I’ve looked around for info about the Madcatz SE stick and saw that they had a problem with a loose washer that could damage the PCB.
But, I heard that they fixed it after the first wave/batch. Now I have a question, how can you see which wave/batch the stick is?

EDIT: soo, the washer scratches the PCB. But if it’s broken, can’t you just buy a stick and replace it? Or am I missing something here

[d3v]

So I’ve looked around for info about the Madcatz SE stick and saw that they had a problem with a loose washer that could damage the PCB.
But, I heard that they fixed it after the first wave/batch. Now I have a question, how can you see which wave/batch the stick is?

EDIT: soo, the washer scratches the PCB. But if it’s broken, can’t you just buy a stick and replace it? Or am I missing something here

Just replace the joystick with a real JLF as soon as possible. It’s for the best really.