Modding My Fightstick As A Beginner

Adapted from content originally posted to Instagram on May 28, 2021 and June 5, 2021.

I wasn't planning on modding my first fightstick so soon after getting it...but I did.

For the sake of comfort, I changed the joystick's default balltop (with a diameter of 35mm, the standard size among fightsticks) for a bigger one (with a diameter of 45mm). My hands aren't HUGE, but I felt like they were big enough for me to feel a little uncomfortable with the default balltop.

Immediately after changing it, I did think "huh...this looks a little silly". But as of June 24, I've been doing fine with it. And hey, the extra color is a nice touch.

(I wonder if I would've just grown more accustomed to the smaller-sized balltop if I stuck with it. Also, 45mm balltops are severely lacking in terms of style/appearance compared to the standard 35mm ones. So if I ever think about customizing my fightstick's appearance in the future, I have to consider the possibility of downgrading sizes and whether I'm OK with that)

A few days after I changed the balltop, I swapped 6 of the default buttons out for "silent" ones (see: the buttons toward the left). To illustrate the difference...the default buttons have a nice, meaty "clack" sound to them when pressed, while the silent buttons have more of a "dull thud". Although I like the noise that the default buttons make, I also live with family at the moment. And while I haven't gotten any noise complaints yet when playing at night, I decided to switched the buttons for peace of mind + in case they're needed in the future 🙂

Both of these modifications required me to open up the fightstick with a screwdriver and tinker with the parts from the inside -- a bit intimidating for a beginner like myself. Changing the balltop was straightforward enough, but changing the buttons was...much less.

Maybe it's because I'm not that great at using my hands to do this kind of "modification work", but I had a tough time pushing the buttons out of the fightstick and inserting new ones while being careful not to accidentally damage anything. Disconnecting and reconnecting the internal wiring of the buttons was sometimes frustrating too, as some wires were pretty stubborn and refused to budge (I had to use pliers at one point!). By the end, some of my fingers were definitely a bit bruised 😪 

All in all, I’m good on attempting any substantial parts-swapping for awhile. Many fightstick owners show the results of their modding, but few talk about the annoyances or problems that come with that process. And though everything worked out fine with my fightstick and I've been using it for fighting games ever since, don't expect a post like this to be a regular thing 😂 

- SPECIFIC PARTS DETAILS (for those curious) -
Balltop: Seimitsu LB-45 (Yellow) purchased from Focus Attack
Silent Buttons: Sanwa Denshi OBSFE30 2nd Generation (Black) purchased from Arcadeshock