Improving on the X-arcade, advice needed.

[Skitterleap]

As I've been reading these forums, I've understood that the X-arcade has a less than stellar reputation among the cabinet connoisseurs (you guys.) I still believe it is a fair piece of equipment for the common man (me,) but when the people in the know tell you that you can get a difference that is leagues better, I tend to listen.

The X-arcade Tankstick works for me, mostly because I am not building a cabinet. I use it mainly as a fight stick for my console gaming, for which it does the job nicely.

But now I want to improve on it. I want to make it even more a dedicated fight stick. If you guys would share a small portion of your expertise with me, I'd be very thankful.

at the moment, I'm looking at Sanwa parts, as I can get them easily enough from http://www.gremlinsolutions.co.uk/ordersanwapushbuttons.php (I'm Swedish, and from what I've seen, this is pretty much the go-to european store for parts)

But as I look around the store, there are a multitude of buttons and none have anything but a serial number to explain what they are.
What should I be looking at to make a fight stick? Saying money isn't an issue would be false, but money at the levels these buttons are at isn't. if you tell me a 4 dollar button is clearly better than a 2.50, I'll go for the 4 dollar button.

Obviously, I'm also interested in replacing the sticks themselves, and would appreciate tips on that too.

[JDFan]

Thing is each person is going to have differing opinions on what is the best since each person has different preferences they are looking for in a button\stick (ie. concave\convex top, audible feedback\silent, distance of throw\sensitivity, etc., etc.) and what one person finds to be the best may be the bottom of the list for someone else and vice-versa, so what I'd suggest is get a couple buttons each of the various types you feel you might like and actually try them out to find which you prefer for the various games you play. Then once you find the ones you like best order a set of them (sure you may wind up wasting a few $'s on parts you wont use in the end but it is really the only way to actually feel the differences) - Plus some of the buttons you don't like can always be used for things like the admin buttons so that they aren't a total waste of the funds.

[Skitterleap]

You're right, and that does sound fair. For the admin buttons I was just planning on leaving the X-arcade stuff in. How about this:

When I was in Japan, I played a lot of Tekken in the arcades. Is there any way to find out what parts the standard tekken machines shipped in Japan are kitted with? I can't find anything googling, but maybe there are resources for these things?

[JDFan]

From the Namco Tekken arcade manual ( found HERE - http://www.arcade-museum.com/manuals-videogames/T/Tekken%20Operators%20Manual.pdf ) it lists the following part #'s for the joysticks and buttons :

DESCRIPTION
PART No.
Joystick 8way Brent Fast Action Type
61000017
Push Button - Yellow
60200266
Push Button - Green
60200267
Push Button - Red
60200264
Push Button - Blue
60200263
Push Button - White
60200262

[ramos8414]

You should get seimitsu or sanwa parts.

[shponglefan]

Having tested a handful of joysticks/buttons, my preference for fightsticks is the Sanwa JLF-TP-8YT joystick and 30mm Seimitsu PS-14 buttons.

[Skitterleap]

JD: Although that doesn't show the brand of buttons, that is still an incredible resource. Thanks!
Shpongle: Many thanks. It's true what JD said, that different people will have different preferences, but I really appreciate the personal opinions such as this. As I don't really have a set opinion of my own, I think as long as I get an upgrade that is generally recommended as being "Good" (Like Shpongles recommendation here) to avoid the traps if there is that one button that no one likes, I'll probably learn to love whatever I get.

[BadMouth]

Be aware that the Japanese buttons require a larger mounting hole than what is currently in the x-arcade.
Mounting depth could also be a concern if using the screw-in versions.
Look up the measurements for the buttons you plan to use before buying them and make sure they will work.
I don't recall anyone ever swapping Japanese buttons into an x-arcade, but I'd like to see it done.

For the joysticks, JLFs are generally considered the best for fighting games.
You'll have to make your own adapter plate to mount them in the x-arcade.

Here is my thread about mounting JLFs in an x-arcade:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,106307.msg1126516.html#msg1126516

...and another x-arcade modding thread:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,120271.msg1276100.html#msg1276100

[ark_ader]

The only mod I can think about is getting cherry micro switches for your controls.  I hate the clicky-clack on the joys and buttons, but once I sourced a bunch of cherries, it was all ...cherry gravy....

The only other suggestion is to wire a KADE in your X Arcade if you have the USB version.  It seems the kids on this site like mashing more than 6 connections at one go, which the poor X Arcade USB controller cannot keep up with, but with the KADE for $20 you can add another USB port on the back of your Xarcade just for PC use.  It works great for trackballs and spinners (mouse hacks). 

[Skitterleap]

Thanks, Badmouth, that was the kind of information I needed. To be honest, I was hoping to be able to more or less just replace the gear. Drilling out the holes a bit to fit a slightly larger button wouldn't take much, but fitting the stick in there looks like a great way for me to ruin my tankstick. If it takes that much to do it, I might as well take it that final step more and build something. I think I'll look into making a modification for my livingroom table by cracking a console controller open and jerryrigging the buttons to it.

Thanks everyone for the insight! I'll take off and leave you to it until I've made this new project reality.