Which joystick?

[ringram]

OK, time to build a new cabinet. I've been lucky that my old one (an old Q*Bert cab) came with some old Wico leaf joystick and buttons.

Now, I'm looking at the offerings from Happ, and there are more than a few options. What's the difference/preferance between the joysticks, ultimate/super/competition/etc?

And I know this is may be a real newbie question, but what is a cherry microswitch, and why does it seem to be so important?

[Fozzy The Bear]

A cherry microswitch is one manufactured by "Cherry"  they are the best quality and have the best service life. They also click better and feel more accurate than the cheaper ones.

The difference in sticks is personal choice... avoid the "Super" if you can, they're not the greatest stick on the planet. Competitions are good if you must have Happ sticks.

You should also look at Sanwa sticks.....

Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

[Crowquill]

There are plenty of options and it's mostly a matter of personal taste.

There are differences in height, switch type, type of actuators & restrictors, the "throw" of the lever to trip the switch, etc.

I'd suggest you read up a bit more. Oscar had a pretty good review comparing the three main types of Happ sticks: http://www.oscarcontrols.com/joycompare/joyreview1_2.htm

There are also a lot of individual reviews for most any stick available over at Retroblast: http://www.retroblast.com/hardware.html

There's also information about each stick in the Wiki.

Out of the three common Happ sticks, I'd pick the Competitions, then Super, then Ultimates. I actually don't think that the supers are that bad, they're just a bit different with their larger handles and stronger spring. The ultimates are pretty much trashed anytime you read a review. On the other hand, they were the default joystick that shipped with pretty much every game released in the early 90's.

[Jeff AMN]

What types of games are you going to be playing? I went with a pair of Perfect 360s since I play a lot of shooters and fighters and I felt that I needed the smooth feel. The Happs Ultimates are nice as well.

I really want to use Sanwas on my next cab, however.

EDIT: Oops, yeah, I meant that the Competitions are nice, not the Ultimates. Sorry.

[ringram]

I found this little review on the 3 more popular Happ joysticks. I guess it really comes down to how you want it to "feel".

http://www.oscarcontrols.com/joycompare/joyreview1_2.htm

[pointdablame]

The Supers and Competitions are both very decent sticks in my opinion.  The super has a more round feel due to the actuator and the Comps have a more square feel.

The ultimates are just horrible though... avoid them at all costs.