ALL Soft Pad Discussion goes HERE

Ke6dRRtY · Trick Member Joined: 28 Nov 2002 Location: Mesquite, TX

WARNING 1: many online soft pad dealers have a reputation for being very unreliable. Sends wrong pad, defective pad, they don't reply to emails. Unfortunately this is even true for official dealers. Your best bet is to probably buy one from a store. (as in offline

) The pickings may be light, but you might get lucky. I will still include all online links for information purposes, but buyer beware.

Anyway, my thoughts on soft pads. The single best soft pad around is probably the Konami DX pad, which can be found at toysnjoys. However the retail is $200 and for that much you could get a metal pad. Other deluxe pad options include the RedOctane Ignition 2.0 which goes for $100, the BuyNShop Ultra DX-Xtreme which goes for $49, and the Cypher Games DX Ignition 2.0 which goes for $40. MYMYBox also has their Premium DX Ignition 2.0/2.5, which is carried by Fry's Electronics. If eBay is your thing, you might find a good deal on a DX style pad here. In general, DX style pads need little to no modding. And depending on who you ask, the price may or may not reflect the overall quality of the pad.

If you don't want a DX style pad (why not?!

) and would rather go the cheapo route, there are a number of options available. Some of these might actually be found in stores, like the Mad Katz Beat pad, DPR2, Naki, and MYMYBox solo and arcade sized pads. You may even find the Official Konami pad if you're lucky enough. Try stores like Fry's (esp. for MYMYBox), Best Buy, GameStop, and Electronics Boutique for these pads. You might, however, have better luck online. The Konami pad can be found at toysnjoys for $60 (it used to be $40, but they've been raising the price. if it can be found somewhere cheaper let me know.) KonamiStyle advertises this pad for 5220 yen (about $44), however it's not on sale at this time. Others can be found at Cypher Games, Buy N Shop, and Red Octane. And once again, eBay has a plethora of cheap dance pads.

WARNING 2: the majority of cheapo pads break down in months, even weeks. Sticky arrows, phantom steps, nonresponsiveness, and tearing up are common. To extend the life of a pad you need to mod it before you use it. Also, some pads may have better performance than others when unmodded, but generally any modded pad would be just as good as any other.

What the heck is a modded pad?! Glad you asked.

Basically what you do is secure the pad on to a large piece of plywood. This stops all slippage and bunching, the two main factors for a pad breaking down. There are quite a few mod guides floating around. You might wanna check out the guides by PitterPanda, Broken Up Arrow, Tommy Gun, Taric25, and Kailin (foam mod for DX style pads). Need_A_Hug_744 also has a mod guide where you open up your pad, which can be performed before a plywood mod. While this mod is intended for a new pad, it could actually save a pad that's beginning to break down. However, if your pad is already disfunctional, it might be best to get a new pad.

As for me, my current pad is the Cypher Games DX Ignition. I got the pad from the seller plegend2001 on ebay. There isn't too much slippage or bunching, and it's very responsive. Unfortunately, I had one of them break down after 3 months of use: the pad would still light with every step but the game wouldn't respond. Whatever the problem is, I think it has to do with the cord and/or the plug. Additionally, this seems to be a common problem with other dance pads, and more generally, 3rd party controllers, when used with a PS2. This may or may not have to do with the plug, like a lot of other 3rd party controllers, fitting a little too snug into the PS2. This might cause the plug and/or cord to deteriorate, thus causing the breakdown. In theory, a simple splicing of the cord would work. I've tried this once and couldn't get it to work, but I've heard of others having success. A possible preventive measure might be to permanently plug the pad into an extension cord, then just unplug the extension cord instead of the pad's plug. It's unknown, however, whether or not this will actually prevent damage, but it may be worth a shot. I'll post further updates on this when it happens.

So everyone, feel free to add your own questions and insight!

Noir · Basic Member Joined: 01 Jan 2003

A lot of people seem to be singing the praises of the chair mat mod as exceptional, but then acknowledging that taping it to plywood is always better because it makes the pad more rigid.

Wouldn't putting it on plywood be worse? As soon as you step on one side, the other lifts up - I would think a stiff chair mat that allows just enough flexibility for stepping on it like that would be best. Could someone tell me what I'm missing?

MantaRay2000 · Trick Member Joined: 07 Nov 2002 Location: IL

if u step one end of the plywood the other end wont go up if u are on a flat surface think about it!

Unless u put it on a metal bar like a teeter-totor...
...Anyways... I don't want to read the mod page for the chair mat mod again so i decided to ask here...again...When doing the chair mat mod do u put the mat on top or under the foam insert?
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Am Fek Smrt · Trick Member Joined: 28 Nov 2002

You generally put the chair mat on top of the foam, with the teeth biting into the foam

Noir · Basic Member Joined: 01 Jan 2003

Well, I'm thinking of my house, which has thick carpet everywhere but the kitchen - it seems like the sides would sink in when stepped on. So plywood isn't a good idea when put on carpet? Maybe the chair mat idea is the best all around then.

Dance_More · Trick Member Joined: 18 Nov 2002 Location: Winchester,VA

my house has thick carpet too and i use the chair mat and the plywood. I put the chair mat down the put my pad over it.

*~*Erica*~*

Mmmmm_Chicken · Trick Member Joined: 19 Oct 2002 Location: Calgary

what mod should i use, i was thinking of the chair mat one because my mom wont let me use plywood because of our hard wood flar (scratches) also should i put my cord in extention cords
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Ke6dRRtY · Trick Member Joined: 28 Nov 2002 Location: Mesquite, TX

Mmmmm_Chicken · Trick Member Joined: 19 Oct 2002 Location: Calgary

im getting a DX pad
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MantaRay2000 · Trick Member Joined: 07 Nov 2002 Location: IL

If ur getting a DX pad then i can recommend The BNS ultra DX. The only problem that i have had with it that when i was putting in the Foam insert the zipper broke off...I'm going to JoAnn Fabrics this morning to see if they can put on a new one.

Dude! I have a new version of the chair mat mod. Heres the story. When i ordered my pad i got 2 bns covers too thinking that the 2 could go on my old cheap pad that hasn't quite yet broken down yet. Anyways The cover only works with the surface of the RO 2.0 and BNS DX. So i thought "sh0t what i m my suppusta do now! i played around with the cover and relized that it was as thick as a cheap chair mat! so now my pad has a pad cover in it instead of a chair mat.
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Final Fantasy Status
IV: Not started
VI: Magitech Research
VII: Disc 2, Glaicer (sp?)
VIII: Disc 3, Right before Lunatic Panadora.
IX: Disc 2, Outside Black Mage village
X: Beating Weapons
X-2: Almost complete with Chapter 3. Estimated %: 97.6 (Using % Guide)
C://Dos/
C://Dos/Run
Run://Dos/Run
-Simpsons Episode W322f3
Also Known as Mr. Wonderful

ninjee · Basic Member Joined: 19 Dec 2002

ive got 3 dance pad's right now. the first one i had was a mad catz one for $20. the 2 others are the DPR2 pad's from babbages [gamestop]. anyway, the mad catz pad is ripped to hell. the insides where the foam / circuit's are is fine. im thinking of maybe taking it apart and see'ing what i can do with it from there. obviously it wont be useful, but just to see if maybe i can come up with some cool idea.

feet like ice · Trick Member Joined: 18 Dec 2002

i ordered my cypher dx pad last thursday and im still waiting for it to come.

hmm why am i posting.

GFBeach · Trick Member Joined: 08 Aug 2002 Location: Georgia USA

GFBeach · Trick Member Joined: 08 Aug 2002 Location: Georgia USA

quote="feet like ice"]hmm why am i posting.[/quote]

Good question.

I'm also gonna try the chairmat idea with my Cypher DXs. I've heard it works well from people who play 6-7 foot songs, but I've been kinda hesitant because I dunno how well it works for people who play 8s-9s (ie: ME

). I'll let you guys know how that goes in a few days.

MantaRay2000 · Trick Member Joined: 07 Nov 2002 Location: IL

ahhh!!!...My BNS DX pads zipper broke, Joann fabrics wouldn't help us and my mom doesn't want to go out a get me a new zipper right now. NOw if they even accept the return i'll have to wait anoter half a month to get the new one. They might even make me pay the shipping cost.
_________________

Final Fantasy Status
IV: Not started
VI: Magitech Research
VII: Disc 2, Glaicer (sp?)
VIII: Disc 3, Right before Lunatic Panadora.
IX: Disc 2, Outside Black Mage village
X: Beating Weapons
X-2: Almost complete with Chapter 3. Estimated %: 97.6 (Using % Guide)
C://Dos/
C://Dos/Run
Run://Dos/Run
-Simpsons Episode W322f3
Also Known as Mr. Wonderful

Am Fek Smrt · Trick Member Joined: 28 Nov 2002

Ryu...the chair mat is by far the best mod thought of so far...it works for all levels of songs.

GFBeach · Trick Member Joined: 08 Aug 2002 Location: Georgia USA

You've done it on 9 footers and it works? Well good!

mattloaf1 · Basic Member Joined: 03 Jan 2003 Location: orlando, fl

Here's a picture of the pads I just got today and modded. If I get any requests for a how-to, I'll make one. Our PS2 is out of town right now so I won't get to test it out for another day or two, but it's VERY quiet to dance on (good, considering we're on the 3rd floor of an apartment building :] ) and it seems very sturdy.

r1ptide64 · Trick Member Joined: 01 Jan 2003 Location: Washington, DC

nice pic!

my current pads are the DX pads from www.levelsix.com, which are the same ones as www.cyphergames.com, except more expensive. i bought 'em cuz they have cheaper shipping, faster shipping (to me at least, theyre in NC and i'm in DC), and i got pissed at cyphergames cuz they wasted 10 bux of my money

.

i have the edges duct taped down to 1/2" thick plywood so they dont slip around.
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i am not riptide. when i joined ddrfreak, i was already r1ptide64 on e-mail and AIM, so i used my old sn nomad.
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RuinerXL · Basic Member Joined: 25 Dec 2002 Location: Chicago

How does the BNS DX compare to the RedOctane Ignition 2.0? Same thing? Clue me in...

Oh, and the Cyphergames DX pad, how does that stack up? It's obviously the cheapest of the DX pads @ $25, but is it as good as a RedOctane 2.0? On the Cyphergames site, it says nothing about a griptite bottom for their DX pad. Does anyone know whether or not it has a grippy bottom?
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