As you know, we are big fans of all things arcade sticks here at SDT… Our good friends at Play-Asia (The #1 place for online purchases & importing arcade sticks) recently shared their full catalog of arcade stick offerings with us and we’d like to go over all the offerings in a special 3 part series focusing on different types of sticks! Today we focus on some of the Korean sticks… Click below for the full scoop!
NOTE: Opening/attempting to modify any of these arcade sticks will void any warranty.
The newly released Gammac Fanta Stick is largely based on authentic Korean arcade machine controls. The placement & layout is similar to the official Street Fighter IV and TEKKEN 6 layouts found in arcades all over S. Korea.
For those of you unfamiliar with Gammac, they are a well known (yet fairly new) controller making company based out of Korea. Most notably, they manufactured the arcade style controllers for the PC release of DJ Max Muse-On Limted Edition. Please note that this stick does NOT use Myoungshin or Taeyoung parts. The buttons are similar to Crown buttons but aren’t exactly arcade quality. For the price, the case is quite nice and the PCB feature is really cool, opting for individual settings for both PlayStation 3 and PC use. For those of you who love stick modding and upgrading parts, this stick is perfect for you.
Continuing on with Korean arcade stick offerings, long time contender, Saulabi is in the market with several different versions of their popular 4K series of sticks.
The Saulabi Online Fighter sticks are available in black and white and are pretty much identical in build to the 4K series . The earlier Saulabi sticks used authetic arcade parts, but have since moved to a more clone type lever and similar type buttons. The best feature about the Saulabi is this amazing commercial:
It is fairly easy to mod a Saulabi stick with Fanta/Crown sticks and buttons. Requires basic knowledge of soldering and wiring. For under $50, this is probably the best value out of a stock Korean styled stick, although the industrial design is a bit dated and does not look as modern as the newer Gammac stick.
In general, Korean styled arcade sticks are very popular amongst hardcore TEKKEN players. Most notably with Mishima (Devil Jin, Kazuya, Heihachi) players who require the stick to bounce from neutral to forward at a fast rate.
If you’re interested in purchasing any of the sticks covered today, please check out the links below!
SDTEKKEN.COM - TEKKEN News Resource! 
for Powerful Game.
Also, the voiding your warranty note may have been cutoff.
According to laugh the first stick listed here is garbage and unmodable. I would suggest if you were looking to use a K-stick either make your own or get the Saulabi and mod it with Taeyoung or Myoungshin Fanta to your liking.
I wouldn’t say it is unmoddable, it just takes more effort to mod it. Especially comparing it to the Saulabi drop in solution.
Ok guy, Laugh does know his stuff, but this stick is far from crap, in fact it is 100% better than a Saulabi modded with a Fanta, and here is why:
1. WEIGHT. Heavy enough to be stable.
2. PS Button.
3. The built in Fanta stick works just as well as my two green TTT fanta sticks I’ve played for years. I was doing ch d/f+2, ewgf launch like crazy on this one.
4. Rumble feature for that extra UMF on those CH moves. Just kidding I turned it off.
5. Only question mark is how long does this thing last???
I heard Korean sticks are bad-ass. . .and are good for EWGFs with jin,kazuya and heihachi :)
I’ll never have one though -__-
Shit! these sticks are so DAMN-expensive.
Well atleast Im getting the wireless tekken 6 stick :|
Which is my first stick. . .
I’m happy with the Madcatz TE stick i’m ordering :) The 2nd one though I feel is kinda akward looking for me, I dunno maybe because of the video I suppose.
Ok I never owned a fightstick before. . .and my first will be THE WIRELESS FIGHTSTICK.So will it be able too do ALL THOSE EWGFs on the wireless stick,Like this guy is doing with korean stick is doing??
Hope you can anwser my question MARKY!
You should have no problem doing it on the wireless arcade stick, assuming you can even do those combos in the first place.
Also, the stick he was using was a stickpr Korean arcade stick.
Ok,because I love that move. . .
I have a hard time performing that on the dualshock. . .
lol SORRY for the bad grammar. . .
Hilarious Video!
If your a mishima, or arcade player stick really is the only way to go. I must admit I am a bit tempted to try one of those Korean Style sticks, but will probably end up just sticking to my Madcatz TE.
The EWGF as far as I am concerned is the best move in the game. It just feels badass.
Snake Step Light dash to EWGF I found im possible on a pad. Recenty moved to stick because I started playing the local arcade BR and my EWGF went from about 20% execution from the pad to 100% on stick.
I don’t want to mess with modding so any recommendations for the best stock stick?
What type of arcade stick are you looking for? Japanese parts? Korean? American? If you have a good idea of what style/type of stick you want, I can make some recommendations based off that.
Also, what is your price range?
Well, I guess it would be better to say I’m looking for the best I can get for $100 or less. I don’t really have much knowledge about all the different parts and what not. I have an SCIV Hori Fighting Stick for my 360 and it works fairly well for me. Was mainly wondering if I could do any better in that price range.
I would suggest waiting for deals on the Mad Catz SFIV TE stick. Dell had a deal last week where they sold it for $99 shipped!
That would probably be the best bang for your buck.
Appreciate the advice.
Forgot to say I’m looking for a PS3 stick. :D
Also, if it is for PS3, if you wanna shell out some extra cash, you can get a Hori Real Arcade PRO 3 SA for a good prize. Check Amazon!
So are korean sticks the best???
No, there is no ‘best’, as I mentioned before it’s all about preference.
Mishima players that do use stick tend to prefer Korean style sticks. At least competitive ones do.
Went ahead and splurged and got the HRAP 3 SA from Amazon. Thanks again for the info!
pad player since day 1 stick 4 me iz 2 eazy but i luv my grip on my d pad ready to execute all kinds of mind games and catches
Been playing kazuya for a while now with my sanwa stick and i’m really tempted to try a korean stick. I’m probably going to purchase the salubi but where do i go, or who do I need to talk, to get authentic korean parts?
Contact laugh on SRK forums.
Here’s an FAQ on Korean parts and keep reading down, it shows how to contact laugh.
http://forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php?t=188268
So would you say that Korean sticks are beter than Japanes ones for Mishima players?
I have got HRAP3 modified with sanwa stick and buttons.Just courius is it a real diffrence betwen them or it is just marketing.
Honestly it is all preference and what you’re most comfortable with… But from all the Mishima players I know in the US… they all prefer to use them with Korean sticks (if using a stick at all).
@Demon Eyes:
Trust me, a Saulabi 4k is NOT a worthwhile experience into korean sticks, unless it just happens to fit your taste. For one you need a replacement stick, no way around it because the built in leaf switch stick SUCKS hard compared to every other tekken stick I’ve played on. Second, it’s so light weight, it moves around all the time. Third, I hate the angle, it’s not flat.
The Gammac Fanta Stick, I think, is a fantastic way to try out a korean stick. It’s got that clicky feel I like.
There is another type of korean stick, which doesn’t click, but they do exist and other people do really love them as much as I love my Fanta’s. I personally do not care for them.
Contact Laugh, he’s hooked me up!
I’ve always used the controllers. well i did buy on of those shadow blade arcade sticks about 7 yrs ago when i was out to sea on the USS T. ROOSEVELT. I can remember using it a while back and this one juggle i had a hard time doin with paul was easier to complete on it than the pad. would u say that back dashing is easier on the stick?
Just picked up a HRAP3-SA. I’m curious as to how much different Korean sticks are to Japanese ones (I can wave dash fine on the hori… so I wonder if there’s a noticeable difference on Korean sticks).
jesus fucking christ post the review/podcast already.
Don’t be a nuisance
hey guys, also just ordered a TE should get to me soon.
im a deviljin/kaz player and i was wondering if there are any cool mods for mishimas that i should no about.
(i like modding/building) but this is one of my first sticks.
in australia they where trying to charge $275 for stick pack and i was like fuck that cos the art book is leaked and the stick is sub standard and wireless.
anyways any tips for when i get my stick? im ganna custom art it but thats all i have planned so far.
i know, i have a Huge Saulabi !!!
Markman..
how sensitive are Fanta sticks compared to Sanwas??
Coz, I have a cheap generic stick that I mod(replaced the spring)…and it springs back to neutral very fast…
But it’s too hard…IMO
Since I’m already accustomed to Sanwa & Seimitsu sticks..
Hi LZN,
Fanta sticks are not like Sanwa sticks at all.
The Gammac Fanta stick is probably closest to a Crown stick (another brand of Korean stick).
The Fanta sticks that most Tekken players use(from my experience), are Fanta Taeyoung sticks (hard spring)… they loosen up from repeated use.
the fanta stick is fantastic…
sry i really just wanted to say that. lol
thx for the info Markman..
I hope I’ll be able to build several joysticks using Korean parts..
I would appreciate it if Markman or anyone with a lot of experience with Korean sticks could answer a simple queston. What is the best stick I could buy for Tekken that is comparable to what Korean pros use? I’d really like to stay away from modding a stick as I’ve no clue about modding one. (Or maybe somewhere I could buy a modded stick??) Thanks!
xbox 360 slim kinect…
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I bought the 1st stick, and I got madcatz sf4 tournament edition too.
IMHO, the gammac stick works like charm, it is heavy, the stick is slightly stiff compared to Sanwa (which helped me perform neutral a lot for EWGF), the buttons hoever is disappointing but can be switched easily with Sanwa.
Overall almost half the price of top sticks out there, you couldn’t bargain nothing better than this.