Spinner or trackball?

[The cranky hermit]

If you could only have one or the other in your MAME CP, which would you pick, and what kind?

[Zzap]

I had a similar dilemma (which was mostly cost driven), and decided on a 3" Happ trackball. I guess a trackball can be used in some games where a spinner is meant to be used, but a spinner can't be used for a trackball game  

...or just make the control panel bigger...or modular!

Zzap

[Tailgunner]

Spinner for me, more of my favorites are spinner games.

[Bill_S]

Trackball.  
Gotta have shuffleshot & world class bowling.
Not to mention the trackball can double as a mouse for windows in case tweaking is in order.

[paigeoliver]

Trackball, based completely on the fact that trackball games outnumber spinner games in Mame about 5 to one (if you count PC games, then they outnumber spinner games about 5000 to one).

[The cranky hermit]

Ok. Which trackball would you use, if you could have any single trackball for free?

BTW, is the Happs 3" the same thing as the Atari 3"?

[Apollo]

Spinner for me but only because Arkanoid and Tempest rock and I don't really play any trackball games ( never really got into any as a kid ).

[TalkingOctopus]

Trackball - Useful for computer navigation plus great games like missle command and centipede.

[SirPoonga]

tball, you can use it as a makeshift spinner.

[u_rebelscum]

Trackball.

Ok. Which trackball would you use, if you could have any single trackball for free?

I'd be happy with any of the 3" happs, wicos, or betsons TBs.  If push came to shove, I'd probably get the happs high-lip (aka golden tee) trackball.
 

BTW, is the Happs 3" the same thing as the Atari 3"?

Yes, the happs 3" normal TB is the exact same case as the original atari 3", but with different optical boards.  

And the newer happs models, "high lip" (aka "golden tee") and "high ball", are almost the same too.  They differ from the normal normal happs model by one single piece: the top-half of the case.  When they're mounted correctly, the user cannot tell the difference between the normal and the high lip models; however the high ball is different in height and feel.

[MinerAl]

You could use two spinners, one x axis and one y axis, for etch-a-sketch style controls in trackball games.

[gndprx]

You could use two spinners, one x axis and one y axis, for etch-a-sketch style controls in trackball games.

hahah, sounds like an etcha-sketch

Be rather hard to hit a good hook or slice in golden tee using two spinners.  

Shuffleshot, Shuz, GoldenTee, WCBowling and a host of others are the reason I have trackball only.  The few spinner games I may play, the trackball is plenty usable for those as well.