Preferred joystick

[M.Schrock]

Just curious what joystick you guys prefer? I am using a generic 4/8 way joystick right now. I have a stand up cab with a wood control panel so the shaft will have to be a little longer. My initial thoughts were the sanwa jwl or seimitsu ls 55. Thanks

[xelnia]

I use the J-Stiks from Ultimarc, which I guess are just clones of the Sanwa JLW, but I really like them. I have an X-Arcade Dual and I swapped the stock sticks for the J-Stiks.

[YesAffinity]

Agreed on the sanwas.  I use 'em (jlf's) in my custom fight sticks.  I also swapped jlf's into my street fighter cab, which has a wood control panel except at the joystick areas, which is a metal plate area. 

I use Happ competition (8-way) sticks in my MAME cab, and while they are great all-purpose sticks, they do not work great for games requiring 4-way, and DK specifically.

If you find good information on how to make sanwa's work in a standard thickness wood control panel, please post it.

[Kewydee_17]

If you find good information on how to make sanwa's work in a standard thickness wood control panel, please post it.

Sanwa Joystick Shaft Extensions will allow JLF's and JLW's to work on wood panels

http://www.arcadeworlduk.com/products/Shaft-Extender-For-Sanwa-Joysticks.html

[Kewydee_17]

I also have a X-Arcade Dual

Swapped out the sticks for Sanwa JLW-UM8. Has a larger balltop 45mm

I find that a heavy balltop feels better for me.

If you feel like really getting flashy with joysticks, have a look at these beauties.

http://www.creativecircuits.net/custom-ball-and-bat-tops.html

White marble balltop? Yes please 

[YesAffinity]

If you find good information on how to make sanwa's work in a standard thickness wood control panel, please post it.

Sanwa Joystick Shaft Extensions will allow JLF's and JLW's to work on wood panels

http://www.arcadeworlduk.com/products/Shaft-Extender-For-Sanwa-Joysticks.html

Clearly I was being lazy.  Thanks, mate!

[YesAffinity]

Well, based on the info here, I went ahead and ordered some j-stiks and extenders for my MAME cab.  I like the idea of being able to switch easily between 4-way and 8-way, and had I known about that feature sooner, I probably would have done this long ago for the MAME cab.

Jeremy - how exactly does switching between 4-way and 8-way work, and does it work well?

M.Schrok, I'll post back with feedback once I get the sticks in and installed, if you'd like.

[M.Schrock]

Id appreciate that. Im thinking about the magstik plus with ball top. Just curious the shipping time since they are located in the uk and im in the states.

[xelnia]

Jeremy - how exactly does switching between 4-way and 8-way work, and does it work well?

Loosen the four screws, turn the plastic restrictor, tighten screws, done. I haven't had any issues with it, so the only "problem" would be the convenience. I don't want to leave my X-Arcade open on the bottom, so I have to remove and replace the bottom panel (6 screws) each time I want to switch.

You might notice mismatched microswitches in the pic. I had forgotten about it until I took this picture, but one of the J-stik switches failed not too long after I got it, so I had to replace it with one from the stock X-Arcade sticks. That would be my only complaint about the J-stiks.