Breaking in joysticks and buttons?

[Jdurg]

Since I just finished wiring up my first ever Control Panel and started playing some games (Yeah, it sucks when you figure out how to hook it up to your laptop, your surround sound, and your 42" HDTV before the cab is built), I've noticed that the controls seem to be taking some time to "break-in".  The 8-way competition joysticks in particular.  They seem to have taken a while to get a bit "loose" and I'm just wondering if this is normal?  Now that I've logged quite a few hours, I seem pretty comfortable with the sticks, but you can still notice that certain directions still feel a little bit "tight" compared to others.  I guess it's just something I wasn't expecting.  It is fun breaking them in though.   

[Ginsu Victim]

Probably the difference in being used to using leafs in the arcades all those years, then switching to a switch-type.