Where to buy joysticks?

[Richard McTagger]

Hey everyone, sorry if this question has been asked before (I'm pretty new to this and I'm still planning my first build), but I lurked around and checked the main site and FAQ and couldn't find any (up to date) answers.

What I want to know is if there's a specific place that you guys go to buy arcade sticks. I'm looking for a couple of Sanwa JLFs, and I couldn't find anything satisfying on Google: they seemed to either not come with the ball top, or were out of stock. I've read that, at least in the past, ebay was recommended, but I was hoping to get these new (I don't even know if that's a thing), and I have an (unsubstantiated) fear of shopping on ebay.

Also, pretty unrelated, but are there any buttons that are specifically recommended? People here seem to have strong stick preferences, but I've never seen much button talk.

[Vigo]

There are a few places we tend to shop, but not all of them have the JLF on sale. Did you check out the selection at Paradise? http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/

For me, buttons tend to depend on the type of gaming. Based on the fact you are looking for JLFs, I would personally stick with Sanwa buttons if I wanted Japanese style, or Happ if I wanted American Style.

[harveybirdman]

Here's what I've learned...


1) Figure out what games you want to play.  I know that if you're like me you probably caught this fever after seeing a cabinet running hyperspin and every golden age video game known to man.  You might have even done what I did and spent hours downloading PSX ISO's and every PC Engine Shmup that was ever mentioned by anyone as good on any game related message board.  With the caveat of "Build whatever you want," I recommend that you abandon any notions of a cab that plays everything.

2) If you still find that the JLF meets your needs, I've purchased them NITB fron Ebay and I've also bought Japanese style sticks like JLF's from Paradisearcadeshop. Both were satisfactory experiences.

3) If after everything you've read you still can't decide if JLF is going to work for you, buy Groovygamegear's spitfire stick. It's very very similar to a JLF and you can get a feel for that type of stick for less $, plus his store is awesome.

[keilmillerjr]

Paradise arcade has a bunch of mods for the jlf. Check out toodles too.

[stripe4]

Akihabara Shop is also a very good source for Japanese parts. I had a good exprerience buying from there.
https://www.akishop.jp/

[ramos8414]

Nikingstore has them.

[BadMouth]

If you're in the U.S....

For Japanese parts (like the JLF), http://www.focusattack.com/ is my first choice.  They are located in PA.
If they don't have everything I want for the order, I'll check with http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/
They are located  in HI, but offer flat rate shipping.
Those are pretty much the only two places I buy Japanese style stuff from.

For non-Japanese style stuff, http://groovygamegear.com/webstore/ is my first choice.  (in NY)
http://www.ultimarc.com/ is equally well regarded.  They are in the U.K., but have very fast shipping from what I've read on here.

For OEM Happ stuff, I go to divemaster.  See his thread in the retail vendor subforum.
His website is http://www.arcadeemulator.net/, but I'm usually looking for an oddball part so I PM him on here.

If you are in Canada or the U.K. there are other options which might suit you better.

What is best depends on what games are most important to you.  There is no single joystick that does everything great, or we'd all be using it.
I have heavily modified JLFs with optical switches.  I'd probably just go for the silent Omron's if doing it again.
My buttons are Semitsu.  They've never let me down but sometimes I miss the feel of concave American style buttons.  (they keep your fingers from wandering off the center of the button.)

[pappascw]

Im looking to replace my inexpensive HAPPS with something a little better.  Its my first build so still learning.  Mostly playing the simple games like MS PACMAN and GALAGA, FROGGER..

Not looking to spend a lot, are the JLF's you guys are referring to the SANWAs?   ie Sanwa JLF-TP-8YT?

[BadMouth]

Im looking to replace my inexpensive HAPPS with something a little better.  Its my first build so still learning.  Mostly playing the simple games like MS PACMAN and GALAGA, FROGGER..

Not looking to spend a lot, are the JLF's you guys are referring to the SANWAs?   ie Sanwa JLF-TP-8YT?

Yeah, they're not very good for the 4-way classics you mentioned.
I use round restrictors on mine, which make them a bit better.

They are mostly used by fans of fighting games because the diagonals register consistently.
That is important on games where you're required to make circular motions to do special moves.

EDIT: Nothing wrong with inexpensive happs.  If you want to maintain the classic feel, check out the ms pacman reunion stick or groovygamegear's leaf joysticks.

[Vigo]

Or for classics, if you can hunt down some old wico leafs and clean them up, they are great. If you can't find some for a good price, yeah, Groovy Game Gear has a joystick that sounds like a really good substitute, but a bit spendy.