Any benefits? Any disadvantages?
Way late to the party, but I'll throw out some:
Advantages: In the case of a 4-way, you really want a short stick and you will get an extra 1/8" inch of usable height. Not a big advantage, but something. Some import buttons can be shorter than US buttons. This can give a little extra meat as far as threads are concerned.
Disadvantage: The thinner the control panel, the cheaper the panel will feel. If someone is slapping it to press buttons, the thinner the panel, the more it will feel and sound like a "drum" than a solid extension of the the cabinet body. Thin wooden control panels are a pet peeve of mine
![Smiley :)](http://newforum.arcadecontrols.com/Smileys/default/smiley.gif)