A word on flat softpads...

dylanâ¢ · Trick Member Joined: 27 Oct 2005 Location: versailles KY

i use a konami soft pad
it works fine
but i can't AAA for poopy though
there's nothing wrong with a soft pad
but i am getting a cobalt flux for christmas

Mariogirl · Trick Member Joined: 09 Sep 2005

DDRgypsy · Trick Member Joined: 24 Oct 2005 Location: So Cal, USA

Well I have $40 soft pads from Fry's and they work just fine for me, though I play on a hardwood floor so they slip so I put one of those grippy sheets you put under thick rugs which has reduced slipping to a minimum. After reading this thread, I am now beginning to suspect my pad is the reason I can't AAA, but also because of this thread I am completly confused as to what other kind of pad to get. I'm on light-standard so I guess the kind of pad I dance on won't really matter much until I get to heavy and get really nit-picky about my score(which I am starting to....

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mouseish · Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 9:55 am Post subject:

I threw this in acouple other softpad topics and it seems helpful, so heres something to make your softpads less of a pain and actually last a year or two:

http://silentaftermath.com/justin/CT20

Jun · Trick Member Joined: 25 Oct 2005 Location: Corn

mouseish · Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2005 4:47 am Post subject:

Im throwing it in the main softpad thread finally. The point of throwing it in the other softpad threads is to answer them. They get locked and are gone. We'll see how long this lasts. When I did it with 1/4 inch wood paneling and 1/8 inch acrylic it lasted 6 months and only broke because it was on some rocky floor. Now that its got 3/4 inch MDF and 1/4 inch lucite, I'm expecting a year or more out of it. We'll see how it works. So far its the only pad I've been able to get consistant SDG's on (arcade/metal/soft/CF)...

edit: theres 2 links that are similar Ive posted lately. One is for a metal pad mod and the other for the softpad mod.

edit one more time: are you not seeing the lucite panels on the top of the pad? They are clear, but thats what makes the pad last so long.

Joel Stud?! · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Location: The ILSTU

My Konami is starting to misfire after about 1.5 months. Not bad considering my pitiful attempts at 1/16 runs on ITG 11's. My left arrow is going down the pooper but I might be able to fix it with a little inscision where it's bunching. But for now I'm pulling out the Madkatz, the ones I got in July 04, which suprising, after a year in the corner, not folded correctly, still work. I'm modding it to fix sliding and bunching, but I'm finding it to be noisy. Right now I just have it taped to pieces so the top doesn't rip, but eventually I may mount it on panels, that way I can still fold it!

mouseish · Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 4:41 am Post subject:

folding the pad is the root of about half of the problems you are having. If you bend it back and forth enough, it will stop working properly.

dancin_freak · Basic Member Joined: 20 Dec 2005

my mom bought me a Madcatz pad for Xmas, but i don't get to open or play it til Xmas, obviously. is this a good brand? does it slide or mess up a lot? please help...

Joel Stud?! · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Location: The ILSTU

Madkatz will be fine to begin with. I would suggest duct-taping it to the ground as you move on to more advanced levels, and eventually doing a full mod on it. But for now it should be fine as is.

Odyssey · Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:37 pm Post subject:

Yeah... my softpad (not sure if it's Konami or 3rd Party... look about the same as a Konami) recently died. What I did was I got a piece of wood (Pretty dang large...), some blue flooring material (anyone who has installed Pergo flooring knows what I mean) and the pad and 4 cardboard squares and stapled them together via staplegun. It lasted me 3 and Â½ months... I can JUUUUUUST repair the conductive material between the arrow and the sensor with cotton, but that can only last so long...

It was a good pad while it lasted. Moral: ALWAYS MOD YOUR SOFTPAD.
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dancin_freak · Basic Member Joined: 20 Dec 2005

hey, everything most people say here about soft pads is that they suck and Colbalt Flux or whatever is a god. If you have a softpad that slides, simply buy one of those mats that you put under rugs to keep them from sliding (the clear ones with the teeth on the bottom) and tape your dance pad on that mat and there ya go! it doesn't slide anymore and you don't need to staple wood to it, which im sure can really do some bad harm to it.

Note: this only works on carpeted floors... but then again, if you have a hard wood floor, the grip on the bottom of the pad should hold it still.

Plus, i know a few people who have used a Madcatz soft pad for over a year with no problems at all! They take good care of them and NEVER fold them up, like others here have said, folding it up is a waste of money.

kaosskratchet · Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:58 pm Post subject:

Joel Stud?! · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Location: The ILSTU

Ok, if you want a soft pad to last, feel better for use, and get better scores, just do a cardboard mod. I did this a few days ago and it works great.

1) get a cardboard box.
2) Cut 4 equally sized pieces, each large enough to span the space between the corner buttons on either side of it, but not hitting those buttons (that will cause problems).
3) Duct tape them all down, cvering all of the cardboard and center of the pad (which should be completely surrounded by cardboard) with the tape. Use long strips that go all the way across the pad. Viola, you have a well modded soft pad.

Pictures to come.

thisisbobo · Basic Member Joined: 26 Dec 2005 Location: Torrance, CA

i picked up a bundle: 2 itg [red octane soft pads] and itg for $29.99 @ best buy. just thought id give everyone a heads up. i modded one of the soft pads with ply wood/tape for now and it works great! ive only ddr'ed for about..a year off and on and can do some 8 footers. im still a newb. :[

zapman98 · Basic Member Joined: 03 Jan 2006

my gamestop soft pad lasted about 3 weeks

It worked amazingly on beginner and light. Once I started doing 8 and 9 footers the pad deteriorated quickly. First my down arrow and then my left arrow both experienced the "linear button" problem (ie they won't respond if any other button is being pushed down), and there's a lot of bunching and misfires. My Konami soft pad lasted about 2 months but then the down arrow stopped working. From my experience, soft pads are good for learning, in fact, you'd be stupid not to start on a soft pad. Try the game for a while and progress before you spend some real money...but standard~heavy absolutely requires at least a foam pad unless you plan on going through a soft pad a week.

thisisbobo · Basic Member Joined: 26 Dec 2005 Location: Torrance, CA

Gemini_Evenstar · Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 3:29 pm Post subject:

I really don't see what everyone's problem with the soft dancemats are.

I bought myself the DDR Extreme 2 and dancemat bundle pack and it goes pretty fine. But my friend got himself one of those MadCatz ones... ugh. Those things are horrible!
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KirryW · Basic Member Joined: 10 Dec 2005

Hi guys. The red octain ignition pad is a great pad. It has really sensitive arrow keys so it is easy to press them. You can hit them pretty much as hard as you want and nothing happens to them. I have one myself right now. The first pads that I bought, were flat pads that lasted me less than 40 days every time. Really annoying. After the third time, I just ended up getting a red octain ignition, and it has been great. I'm really happy with it.