Best 4-way joystick

[Matt Berry]

I want to add a dedicated 4-way joystick to my latest revision of an arcade controller. I've searched the archives and it seems like there are a lot of options but no clear cut winner. Betson qix what are the dimensions on this? Pacman aniv, wico, j-stick - too many choices. Let me know what your favorite is and why(especially if you've tried a few)

[Lilwolf]

I have a wico 4 way and love the pacman aniv joysticks.  

Even with the microswitchs they seem to have a more classic feel.  

But wicos are good also (and cheap when you can find them... plus use them without a mounting plate)

never tried any of the switchable.

[fredster]

Ultramarc sells that 4way/8way joystick.  It's great for mame. You can shift from one type to the other with a click.

It's expensive, but it appears very durable and it works great.

[Matt Berry]

Having a 4 / 8 way isn't a huge priority. I'm looking more for a dedicated 4-way, one I plan on having at a diagnol for Q-bert, and such and another for Donkey Kong, pacman, galaga, ect. I've already built a few different controllers over the last 7 years. So this one I'm going all out on. I have a bigger trackball (3" happ well worth the money, as it is a lot nicer then the one from ultimarc), Slikstik spinner(which is awesome), a few pairs of 8-way joysticks, and more buttons then I'll ever need. The only thing left to buy is a dedicated 4-way joystick, and I want it to have a good feel and solid play especially in donkey kong or pacman. Cost isn't a factor quality is.

[Apollo]

I have 3 MsPac/Galag 4 ways from Happ and they are excellent.

[NoOne=NBA=]

Alot of this depends on what YOUR idea of what makes a 4-way good is.

The Wicos have a really nice feel to them, but the throw is a little longer than some other sticks.
The T-stiks in 4 way mode have a really short throw, but a stiff spring.
The J-stiks have a nice feel to them, and a softer spring than the T-stiks.

I've got a modular cab, so I can swap out whichever sticks feel best for a given game.
I personally prefer the rubber grommet sticks for MOST games (leaf-switch, or micro, doesn't matter much to me).
The spring sticks don't feel as smooth to me as the grommet sticks.
I use T-stiks when precision is more important than smoothness.

For Q*Bert I actually use my T-stiks, in 8-way mode, because you get the same corners as a turned 4-way, but the stick feels more precise to me.

[KrawDaddy]

The Betsons have a long throw and they work nice on a wood CP

Ive got a few pics of them on my CP:

http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=10;action=display;threadid=21952;start=320

Theres a 4 way and a diagonal

[spiffyshoes]

So far I have a PacMan revolution joystick which works ok, and a Sanwa P360 Optical JLF joystick.  Out of the two I like the Sanwa better.  It has a shorter throw, fast reaction time and feels very smooth not to mention it

[Dexter]

If you don't need 4/8 way switchable the ms pac man/galaga reunion has lovely movement, but the shaft is tiny so mounting to metal is recommended. The ultimarc 4/8 way stick is brilliant, I've just finished a cocktail table with one on each end.

[Matt Berry]

How long is the shaft on the Betson or sanwa joystick?

[spiffyshoes]

The shaft on my PacMan revolution is about 1 in. from the top of the joystick to the bottom of the ball.  The shaft on the Sanwa is 1-1/4 in.  If you routed out the bottom of your wood control panel you could mount the sanwa in 1/4 in. thick wood and it would feel great.  Or you could top mount it and just sink it down by about 1/4 in. under the plexi.

[seanp]

The ultimarc 4/8 way stick is brilliant, I've just finished a cocktail table with one on each end.

Are you referring to the T-Stik from ultimarc?  I'm a newbie trying to decide how to get started, and I'd prefer a switchable 4/8 way stick if it can work halfway decently.  I don't need perfect classic 4-way feel, but I want something that won't screw up a game like PacMan.  

-Sean

[Hoagie_one]

i was amazed by the short length of the throw on the t-sticks they are fine, but it is really wierd at first

[Matt Berry]

Oh man, this decision is starting to look like all the other one's I've made for this control panel, I'll have to buy a bunch of different ones to see which one feels the best. I've already got a whole pile of extra buttons because I wasn't sure what color scheme I wanted to go with this time. I'm on my 5th prototype layout, you'd think after my original one I've used for the last 7 years this would be easy, but as the pile of parts grow, so do all of the tweaks and design changes. What do you think about optical joysticks vs microswitches, is one faster and more precise over the other? Hopefully you guys can help me narrow down the field so my mound of joysticks doesn't get too high  

[NoOne=NBA=]

If I could only keep two sticks on my cabinet, for everything, they'd be T-stiks.

[deadmoney5]

I love my T-stik plus

I switched out the t-stik microswitches with cherry ones...the ones that came with the t-stik were too stiff for me...but with the cherry's they feel great to me

[Lilwolf]

The real question is whats the BEST 4way joystick..

The quesiton is the T/J Sticks better then a pacman stick?  

Sure you get swappable... which is amazingly cool... But if you don't care (hotswappable control panels or frankenpanel) so you will have a dedicated 4way...  Whats the best.

I like the mspacman joystick over the wico (tried both close to the same time and really liked the new mspacman/galaga joystick).

Anyone have a T/JStick (or the Omni) and a new mspacman stick to compare them?

[Matt Berry]

For those of you who have and love the T-stick did you also try the J-stick too? What configuration did you get, normal bat top or did you spend the extra dough for the ball top? Remember this is for a dedicated 4-way, Speed and percision is the key. I hate not making the ladder in Donkey kong because I didn't hit the up solidly enough. Granted that is on my old CP with Happ 8-way competition sticks that absolutely suck with 4-way games, but I'm trying to eliminate that problem on my new CP with a good solid 4-way. This new project has been a few years in the making and I decided early on that money isn't a factor, quality is. This by far is going to be the best CP that I've made yet. That's one reason I'm on my 5th layout already and I don't even have my dedicated 4 way joysticks picked out yet  

[spiffyshoes]

Well I don