Beatmania Controller Review

I have been using this controller for awhile now and thought I'd post my thoughts on it. If you are looking for a cheap responsive controller that can take the abuse of some hectic mash session, take a look at this. Strolling through my local Goodwill, I found this:

http://raritiesvault.net/PB270118.jpg

A U.S. Playstation 2 Konami Beatmania IIDX Controller.

The PS2 controller has 7 keys, the PS1 has 5. The PS2 U.S. version has a rounded end near the turntable. The keypad can be ejected out and switched for a right hand or left hand profile. There is also a standard RCA female jack. I've read posts on the Internet of a foot controller being enabled in BMIII, but never sold. You can plug in a pedal from the Drummania or Rock Star into it.

DO NOT get the Rave Discman controller, gamers seen agreed on this fact.

I bought a PS2 to USB converter off ebay for less then $5 USD. When the converter is plugged into my PC, it autodectects a gamepad. Plugging the controller in, I am able to send the gamepad HID data though Glovepie and convert to MIDI or keypresses. Bome's would be another good option.

The 7 "piano" buttons are of very good quality and since they are built as a game controller, seem to have durability and responsiveness in mind. They are spring loaded, I've never had a key stick. Held, they send a continuous signal. They seem to have been made for hotcue mashing.

The Start and Select buttons also have a good response, but since they are recessed are not as good for
beatjuggling and hotcues. I use them as modifiers to switch which deck it controls.

The "turntable" wheel is kinda a joke. It is not velocity sensitive and doesn't work like analog knob. It controls the Y-axis, but merely maxes out the positive or negative value. It's also very tight, and doesn't spin freely. There are mods to make it more sensitive.

References:
http://faqs.ign.com/articles/576/576785p1.html
http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/file/928431/42176
http://vjarmy.com/wiki/index.php/CS_General_Info
http://www.instructables.com/id/Modi...r_s-turntable/

My personal Glovepie script:

Woo! Big ups on this one. Using an actual arcade game controller instead of a controller modded to have arcade buttons seems like a good idea.

It'd be nice to get that jog wheel doing something, though.

Haha, this is awesome. I used to play Beatmania at arcades back in high school, quite a while before I started DJ-ing. It's good to see it used legitimately.

that is incredible. love Beatmania but never thought to take it that far. nice one!

It's awesome to see this posted about here! :D

Sorry to necro this thread, but I think I can add something here the OP hasnt yet covered. Ive been playing the beatmania/IIDX series of games for about 8 or 9 years now, and I can attest that these controllers are incredibly durable.

Ive given my controller an absolute beating in many ways in the many years I've owned it, and its still playing like a champ. To put it in perspective, there are somewhere around 1300 songs in the beatmania(IIDX) game series... Ive probably played each of them an average of at least 5 times each (some songs Ive played once, others, over 50 times). Now, considering that songs can have anywhere from 99 to 2000 notes, means a LOT of button presses. Most mid-level songs have around 500 notes, so Ill go with that average. So multiply those (loosely guessed) averages, divide by 7 for each button, and I come up with 464,285 presses so far for each button! And it still lives on...

Keep in mind, I frequently hit the keys with a LOT of force. This game gets so fast, you end up hitting keys like a jackhammer wether you want to or or not. And theres even been times where Ive punched the controller in frustration, and pounded on the keys with my fists, and still nothing has phased it. Ive effortlessly destroyed many other game controllers before, but this one shrugs off abuse like it was nothing at all. Many other beatmania players attest to their durability also.


As far as the MIDI controller possibilities of it...I personally think the key layout is a lot better than a lot of other pad controllers. The keys are very large and well spaced, can be hit far from their center and still be easily triggered, and the "piano" layout makes it somewhat more musically intuitive than a 'grid' layout (maybe?).

As for the Start/Select, its nice that they're sunken in to keep them away from frantic key action, but theyre really best as toggles, modifiers, ect. as the OP suggested. The turntable the OP covered fairly well so I wont touch on that, but the mod is basically this: open it up, add sheets of wax paper inside, done. Pretty basic stuff.

Also, note there are two different Beatmania controllers; the Japanese one, and the American one. The one in the first post is the American controller. The one I own is the Japanese version:

http://image4.play-asia.com/350/PA.04445.001.jpg

Without getting long winded...
Main Controller Differences

US Controller:
-One rounded end, one squared end
-Priced around $30 for the controller AND game, individual controller could probably be found for much cheaper
-Keys are very rigid, and can take some effort to press until broken in
-Keys are taller and more aggressively rounded on top

JP Controller:
-Squared off at both ends
-Higher priced on average than US controller
-Keys have a softer feel, are much easier to press, depress further into the controller shell
-Keys have very slightly rounded tops, and are much 'flatter' than the US controller


But thats not all! Besides these two gamepads, theres a plethora of other cheap knock-off controllers out there made just for this game as well. For actually playing Beatmania, most of the knock-offs were horrible. But, for beatmashing, clip launching, and stuff that isin't too abusive to the controller itself, most of these could probably work!

[ame="http://media.photobucket.com/image/beatmania%20controller/sharkiegamer777/Controller%2520Collection/ControllerCollection029.jpg"]Beatmania controller image by sharkiegamer777 on Photobucket[/ame]

So, thats about it, hope I had enough to necro this... I could talk about it a lot more. :o Ill be using my controller in true beatmania geekdom fashion, for playing clips from sample decks... and in the 8th smple slot, loop recorder. :D Have fun, keep practicing~