TurboStick v. Ascii Stick

[MrBroadway]

Which is better? Yes, I know Sigma and Hori trump both, but just between these two, which is the superior build?

[GohanX]

Ascii stick, but I'd rather use a regular pce pad than either one.

[shubibiman]

They both suck.

[toymachine78]

The turbo stick definitely sucks. Its light and feels cheap. The directional stick action is mush too.

[Necromancer]

I've never used and ASCII Stick, but I can say for sure that my TurboStick is way better than my Acemore Freedom Stick or Quickshot turd.

[MrBroadway]

The ASCII stick is essentially the NES Advantage. I haven't seen anyone mention anything different with it in terms of build quality.

[Black Tiger]

I don't like sticks compared to pads, but as sticks go, I really don't like the Advantage. The TurboStick is great because you can hold it in your hands like a pad and the turbo settings and slow-mo are cool to fool around with in some games.

[Gredler]

The Ascii and Turbo sticks are basically large d-pads, a rubber membrane ontop of a pcb that gets pressed together to make a connection. I highly recommend trying to get something that is microswitch based (like the hori), the feel and action of the microswitch is hard to go back from after using

I'll say one thing about the Hori, even though you're not considering, and that is about the variable condition from unit to unit. The metal materials they used to construct the Hori are prone to corrosion/rust, so make sure you see it before ordering it. I picked on up and had to do a lot of work to get it working properly, and to generally make it more comfortable to use (rust/corrosion is not comfortable to rest your hands on). The microswitches in the joystick became unresponsive, and the corrosion build up on the base and the bottom of the stick's shaft cause the stick to grind while playing it. After modding the stick it's easily my favorite arcade stick I own, but it was not cheap overall to buy and parts to fix it.

I've been meaning to update a thread in the mod forum about it, but I've just been so busy lately I haven't had time to properly document my experience and put it up there. So many obey pet projects, so little time

[MrBroadway]

I just really wasn't wanting to spend the money right now, especially as I'm more in need of just anything. Sticks > pads for me, especially for shmups, as pads cramp my thumb after a while. I can handle second-rate so long as it's not complete crap.

I'm not in love with the NES Advantage, and I have enjoyed ASCII's sticks for the PlayStation and Saturn, so there's that. I just haven't handled that PCE knob yet.

[Gredler]

I just really wasn't wanting to spend the money right now, especially as I'm more in need of just anything. Sticks > pads for me, especially for shmups, as pads cramp my thumb after a while. I can handle second-rate so long as it's not complete crap.

I'm not in love with the NES Advantage, and I have enjoyed ASCII's sticks for the PlayStation and Saturn, so there's that. I just haven't handled that PCE knob yet.

I am fairly certain that the turbo stick and ascii sticks are all the same innards, for the most part, the form factor and buttons will be the biggest difference between them

[WoodyXP]

Which is better? Yes, I know Sigma and Hori trump both, but just between these two, which is the superior build?

Neither is better than the other, they just have different case designs and the Ascii is a bit cheaper.  They're both good sticks but I recommend spending the extra money on the Hori Fighting Stick.  If you can't get over a little rust then there is also the Fighting Stick Multi, which comes in a plastic case and goes for around $50.

[imparanoic]

this joystick is good, i had one 2 decades ago

http://magweasel.com/2009/07/16/i-love-the-pc-engine-xe-1-pro-he/

[wilykat]

If I had a choice, I would hack a NES Advantage.  It's already got rapid fire and slo-mo. Just needs some voodoo work to replace the original chip for NES with a different chip for PC Engine or TG-16 and rewire buttons accordingly.

Maybe I'll see if I can find NES Advantage and do a writeup?

[imparanoic]

Hori fighting stick or the hori multi fighting stick are the best, rare like hell, they are like Porsche 911s, the micomsoft xe1 are like golf r, while the  ASCII Stick feels like a standard 1.6 ( non turbo aspirated/no dsg, vtec or even dohc ) stationwagen, slow, clunky and not very responsive, i sold mine for HK$80 (US$10) cos i hated it ( but i got it for free)

[TR0N]

Neither go with the hori fighter stick or if you have the money a pce xe-1 pro.