Product Review: Mameroom.com Quad Control Panel Kit

[Kordova]

I believe it was sometime around the second grade when I learned I would never be an artist.  I won’t go into that story, but since then I have learned that not only can I not draw a straight line on a piece of paper, but also that I certainly cannot cut a straight line with a table saw.  It is with this knowledge that I began searching for a suitable alternative to building my own 4 player control panel for my new Mame cabinet.  After months, weeks, and days, which need not be cumulative, I decided to go with the 4 Player Control Panel Kit from Mameroom.com.  With that, I offer to all of you, collectively The Internets, my lessons learned and things I wish I had known yesterday regarding my experience with the Mameroom.com 4 Player Control Panel Kit. 

Out of the box I was quite surprised with kit.  The pieces were all accounted for and intact, this is asking a lot from FedEx.  All parts were securely packed into fitted sheets of Styrofoam.  The only downside, after several days of travel, the Styrofoam gets a bit messy, have a vacuum at the ready.  Below are a few notes about the pieces themselves.

Construction/Quality:
The materials used for the controller are both durable and light.  Comprised of pre-laminated MDF board, the materials are easy to move around yet sturdy enough to handle being relocated with relative frequency.  The mica like PVC laminate use on the board is sufficient but leaves a little to be desired around the edges.  The cut edges and drilled area of the laminate are quite brittle and will chip on you if you’re not careful.  The stuff is really sharp to boot.  Take care when inserting locking cam posts or wood screws.  The design however really prevents any resulting blemished from being seen from outside.  Any blemishes around the drilled sections of the control surface or more than covered by the control button bezel. 

Assembly:
The assembly is just right for the “average man” and yes this includes women.  It requires about 24 short wood screw and 16 locking cam posts be screwed into the underside of the control surface.  While this is no daunting task, do be sure you have an electric drill/screw driver handy, as otherwise your resulting Carpel Tunnel will prevent you from every using your wonderful new control panel.  The wood screws are the support system for the bottom panel and the locking cam posts are used to attach the side panels onto the underside of the top panel, confused yet?  When screwing the long thin supports to the side panels, be very careful.  A couple of them are rather long and if you screw one side in all the way before the other, they may crack. This didn’t happen to me, but be on the lookout.  Once all parts are in place, it was just a matter of turning the cam locks and screwing on the bottom panel.  When turning the cam locks watch out for your knuckles.  They are pretty close to the top (couldn’t have it any other way) and you may scrape your hands on any holes cut for controller parts.  Additionally, the two front angled pieces should probably go on last.  It’s a bit of a tight fit if they go on before their adjoining sides because of their angle cut edges. 

Fit and Finish:
As previously mentioned, the PVC laminate is sufficient for its purpose.  I received the panel with no major scratches or bits.  Small note however, I did have on very shallow semi-circle scratch on the top control surface of the panel that looks to have been caused in some way by the CNC Router used to cut the pieces.  This strikes me as unlikely, knowing the mechanics or such, and a one-time thing.  Luckily I am having some custom made artwork designed that will cover it.  The joints of all the side panels are a little disappointing.  The gaps between them range from 1/32 of an inch, all the way up to 1/8 of an inch.  But this is nothing that a black marker, paint, or putty could not fix.  Aside from the gaps in the corners, the top and bottom panels secured to the side very closely.  The bottom panel is secured to the main unit by several long, thin pieces inside the unit.  Though I am sure the CAD designer at MameRoom.com attempted to prevent this from happening, the long thin strips are a little closer to the edge of the side panels the needed in a few places.  As such, the bottom panel extends a little further from the body of the panel than desired.  While this would not be the case in a perfect world, I take solace in knowing that it is the bottom of the panel and invisible as such.

Cost/Value:
The kit itself will run you $149.99 plus shipping.  Considering the size and weight of the parts necessary for a 4-Player controller, the shipping itself was quite reasonable at about $29.  I don’t yet have many hours on the panel yet, but so far, everything seems great. 

Custom Design:
For the price, I am not sure you can beat the custom design option at $19.99.  Just use your head when designing.  Placing admin buttons on the right side of the panel will most likely interfere with the first player joystick chassis.  I learned this the hard way. 

I hope this review helps in your choice of control panel.  My experience with mameroom.com so far has been great.  Please let me know if you have any questions guys. 

[DeLuSioNal29]

Great review.  I also have had experience with the Mameroom Quad Panel Kit and I have posted it in the review section here:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=79636.0

Any pics of yours to share?  I'd love to see them to show the imperfections you were describing.

~ DeLuSioNaL