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Comparison of Vendors (GGG vs Ultimarc)
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wweumina:
I've built a couple of cabs now over the last 3 years using the great info on this site/forum with the majority of my gear coming from Groovy Game Gear and Ultimarc and I thought I'd post my impressions for anyone interested in ordering kit.  This also encompasses the experiences of 2 friends in my area that have also purchased from both vendors.

Ultimarc:
Best encoders (the IPac just feels more responsive/reliable, not sure why and entirely possible that there is no real difference)
Best joysticks (option of U360 and Mag-Stik both of which I have tried and like)
Best/Only video card option (I'm using an arcade monitor)
Best Customer serivce and shipping by far (shipping is 5-6 times faster and emails actually get answered)

Groovy Game Gear:
Best button/switch options (doing really good work providing real options in this area, though if you just want standard microswitches this may not be important)
Best spinner (turbo twist is a great product though to be fair I haven't tried the SpinTrak from Ultimarc)
Best lighting options (both lighting controller and buttons though the Nova Gems seem to have been out of stock forever and any mention of the replacements seems to have disappeard).
Best marquee lighting (if you want a 12v solution you can't go past them)

Trackballs seem to be either way and I've only ordered from Ultimarc here so I can't judge.

Overall I prefer to order from Ultimarc mostly because I haven't forgotten I placed the order by the time it arrives, but this is to Australia so shipping to other countries may vary signficantly.
jimmy2x2x:
Not sure I agree with your selection of buttons and sticks for 'best' - what do you mean by that?

Best looking, most flexible, most responsive, shortest throw?

Personally I think Sanwa and Seimitsu take some beating, on both the button and stick front

If you want to try them out, or maybe even a korean stick and buttons I thorougly recommend http://www.etokki.com/

Very fast shipping to the UK and they will mark the value of the shipment down (if you ask) to get around any possible customs charges.

back on topic, I have only dealt with Ultimarc and they are excellent - some of the best CS and fastest shipping I have seen!
wweumina:
Fair enough call on the joysticks.  I actually use Sanwa JLW's on my cocktail but I was looking at the options from these vendors (though the J-Stik from Ultimarc is basically either a a JLW or JLF from what I've heard).  

The U360 is very customisable and I've tried all the restrictor/spring combinations and have got it to a point I'm very happy with.  I've got a friend that swears by his Mag-Stiks though.  

I had a bit of a failed experiment with the Omni-Stik and don't expect it to see action again any time soon.
taylormadelv:
Biggest difference for me personally has been that Andy ALWAYS responds to emails and requests, even on his vacations! I can't say that about Randy, he's blanked me a few times when I ask about product availability.
IMO the ipac is the best encoder I've used.
I really want those "novagem" lit buttons from GGG. Hope they restock soon.
Spintrack vs TT2 looks like a toss up, I think the GGG knob selection is a bit nicer. Happs still sells SlikStiks BTW and they are very nice.
Another little thing is that I get an extra international charge on my CC when I ordrer from Andy but it's worth it.
RandyT:
As Jimmy has touched upon, any comparisons are going to be strictly subjective in nature, based on the needs of the individual, the type of build, the budget the individual is working with, what the individual is used to as far as controls go (different countries tended to have different arcade equipment), and even just plain personal preference.  What may be best for one person, may not be good, or even be an option for someone else.  A good example of this is that I just love a well made joystick which uses a natural rubber grommet as a centering device.  Therefore, I consider pretty much any spring based joystick inferior.  Keep in mind that a natural rubber grommet alone costs more than many complete joystick assemblies, and many who have only played on spring based sticks won't like the feel at all.  So which one is "best"?

As for encoder responsiveness, I would put ours up against not just Ultimarc's, but any other vendor in a heartbeat.  The KeyWiz pushes the envelope as to what is even possible on the PS/2 interface.  Unless you've done some real testing and generated some real numbers, a blanket statement like that one is unfair, even though you couched the statement by also stating that "there may be no real difference".  Of course, in reality, there is a very large group of KeyWiz users who feel differently than you do, so I guess the same could be said about them.

As for the spinners the button hole format of the TurboTwist 2 spinner is a GroovyGameGear invention that was eventually copied by Ultimarc.  If innovation is something one would like to see continued, and have those innovations offered at a reasonable cost, then it makes sense to support those who do it.


--- Quote from: taylormadelv on August 08, 2010, 11:09:44 am ---I can't say that about Randy, he's blanked me a few times when I ask about product availability.

--- End quote ---

Unfortunately answering "product availability" emails pulls me away from getting product out the door, and the above "inventing" activities.  As I am often at the mercy of others when it comes to product availability, every time I have given anyone a time frame, it has always been wrong.  You might as well be asking one of your adult children "when am I going to become a grandfather" :).  So yes, if you ask me these types of questions, a lack of response is often better, for everyone involved, than is one where I unintentionally string you along for weeks upon weeks when my vendors, or internal situations, do it to me.  Better for you to make your design and build decisions based upon what is available now.  If you can wait for something, then you should probably just wait.  If not, then you really don't want to, and when delays strike (and they always do), you will just be very unhappy that you got "bad" information.  Would it really be better if I just cut and and pasted "I don't know." in response to all of those availability queries that jam my mailbox when a popular item goes out of stock?  Trust me, it's a bad situation for me when it happens, and I do everything within my means to remedy it as quickly as possible.  You should be on my end of one of these vendor interactions.  I have $10k invested in the NovaGem 2 project and I get "blanked" on occasion as well.  Very frustrating, but on an entirely different level  :cheers:

RandyT
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