Happ vs Sanwa Vs whats the difference?

[JOHN HOWARD]

So I've searched around and I'm new to the whole arcade building thing but I know I want to make my own CP, after looking at controls on ebay and such I noticed if something is Happ brand or style it is worth more and a similar story with Sanwa? so my question is, is there a difference? does it really matter or is just a generic set of buttons and sticks worth it? on a side note, where do you guys get your gear?

look forward to hearing from you,

[Gatt]

The controls are very important.  TBH,  I wouldn't buy from Ebay.  There are many sponsored shops on this board that deliver quality products.

Happs - Generally similiar to the controls found on American arcade machines,  especially those of the 80's/90's.
Sanwa - More similiar to the controls found on fighting games,  especially Japanese fighters (I think)

Buttons come in several different flavors.
Cherry switches - Make a clicking sound when pressed,  good but not great responsiveness.
Mini-Leaf - Hybrid of Cherry switches and leaf switches,  much more rapid responsiveness,  many players have reported being able to achieve higher scored by switching to these
Leaf switches - Authentic buttons,  very responsive,  but may wear over time.

Also keep in mind,  some games used a 4-way joystick (Pac man,  Donkey Kong,  Dig Dug,  etc) and are very difficult to play with an 8-way.  8-way joysticks are used for a great many games,  and 8-way games are nearly impossible to play with a 4-way joystick.  There's many switchable solutions to this,  and Ultimarc just released one that can presently be switched via software and down the road might even automatically switch once front ends catch up.

Controls are the most important decision to make when doing anything with MAME,  a bad set of controls destroy the experience.  There are many resources,  if you have any questions as you research,  please ask.  We're always happy to help!

Edit:

Here's a good place to start looking at Vendors...

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/board,2.0.html

Many of them are active members of the board.

[shponglefan]

Like Gatt, there's a pretty significant difference between Happ and Sanwa parts.

Best thing to do, imho, is try out different brands/types and figure out what works for you.  Especially for buttons, since they're relatively cheap.

[harveybirdman]

I suggest you buy some cheaper gear to get a feel for what you like.  Most of the popular sicks have a cheaper version.  While many will tell you that its a total sin to get a Zippyy instead of an Seimitsu LS-32, you can determine if that style suits your need for an 8.95 base price instead of a 21.95 base price.

[Well Fed Games]

http://slagcoin.com/joystick/attributes_brands.html

[JOHN HOWARD]

awesome responses, thanks a heap guys