Arcade Mod - why?
What is the benefit of adding arcade buttons to the VCI-100? I think it looks ridiculous, but surely you must gain something?
The main benefit is just the ability to trigger samples/cue points in quick succession. Try doing any kind of roll with the little rubber buttons and you’ll soon see why the arcade mod is so popular. A lot of people just like the feel of the arcade buttons - they’re nice to smash down on!
i think they look rad too
I thought they make the controller look ugly, but it’s cool that they serve a usefull purpose.
I don’t use the vci but i can definitely see the purpose of the arcade buttons. granted at first i did think wtf, but now i think its a wicked idea.
I just love my arcade mod VCi. First of all i like the way guests or other DJs laughs at the toy look of the VCi. but as soon It/I starts rocking, it´s just like we all give them the finger. Keep smashin´ buttons y´all. 
That routine is still impressive.
Ontop of what everyone else has said:
They are bigger than the original buttons so when your really getting in the zone you don’t accidentally miss the button when doing crazy cue juggles.
The feel of the button is also much nicer, they are triggered much easier and offer a better feeling haptic feedback which makes it easy to trigger them on time when compared to the ordinary buttons.
Wow, that video was amazing. I will never be able to do that. It gave me goose bumps.
Thats no way to think, sure you can do it, it just takes practice and persistence - keep practicing and eventually you will be able to do even better than that
so what im hearing is that it is really only useful for cue juggling. correct?
Cue Juggles,
Cue Plays,
Cue Pauses,
Beatmashing,
Basically anything that requires a button 
Arcade Buttons
I ordered some arcade buttons to mod an old Xponent because I cant stand the rubber buttons on it.
I got the sanswa buttons (same one Ean uses for the VCI mod) from china…and I recived them today. I have to say im not impressed.
The travel in these buttons (meaning the distance from when you hit the button…to when it acually engages) is super long. I would say they have the same travel as any normal computer keyboard. Have you ever tryed to sample (or do any direct button trickery) using a computer keyboard…it aint all that easy because there is latency due to the fact the travel time is so long.
Im sure it takes some practice and Ean certainly can rock the house with them…but im just saying with all the hype about the arcade buttons…for how I DJ…I want a button with the lowers possible travel time.
Im still gonna do the mod because the arcade buttons are a hell of alot better then the built in rubber Xponent buttons…will post pics as it develops…
More about rubber buttons…
Who ever thought it was a good idea to have rubber buttons anyways.
Rubber buttons are like automatic latency. Triggering anything with rubber buttons is going to mess up the direct hit because of bounce back.
Could you imagine anyone making piano keys out of rubber?
I think we can thank Denon for this unfortunate situation dating back to when they first created their “umfamous” dual CD deck. You remember…everyone though they were great untill they realized…after a while…those fancy new rubber buttons would get stuck underneath the square groove they were housed in…God I remember walking into many DJ booths, seeing them and thinking…“oh dear lord…this is gonna be a fun night…”. I also remember my fingers hurting by the end of the night from using them…
Damn you rubber button people…I rebuke you !!!
Personally i’d like buttons like on a cdj on a vci… that’d be the nuts.
i love the buttons on the trigger finger… so nice.
those CDJ buttons can’t take the abuse that the arcade buttons can. go to your local arcade and watch how kids abuse those buttons then go home and do that to your CDJ… I’m willing to bet it’ll take a whole 30 minutes before you have to buy a new button haha.
That’s pretty interesting way of looking at it - i haven’t got a cdj but i just like the size of the buttons when i use em.
I’m not far off getting the overlay and arcade buttons myself soon.
I reckon they’re badass
I cant check as i’m not at my vci but i’m pretty sure you dont have to hit the button all the way to the bottom to get contact, just little taps get you what you want so the travel doesnt matter.
I have arcaded mine and i can say the responsivness of teh arcade buttons is 1 million times better than the standard ones.
Sup bro?
If you ordered the buttons from China there’s a possibility you got some fakes. Sanwa buttons are used in the arcade video game business for controllers (Street Fighter, Virtua Fighter, etc) and are considered the benchmark for quality gear and always used in pro tournaments around the world. I have a pro arcade joystick made of all Sanwa parts that was custom build some years ago and have endured quite a nasty beating and it still performs like new. If you are unsure about how the buttons are supposed to feel, go to a local arcade and look for a fighting game. If the buttons are convex then is Sanwa, if concave it’s Happ.
As for the travel time, distance between the button and the microswitch, while it way be like 3-4mm deep, the feel/feedback/recoil is just right for what BentoSan said. Anything less deep for the microswitch and you may be going for a touchscreen route or hitting buttons by mistake.
Now correct me if Im wrong but for the VCI-100 arcade mod you can only use Sanwa (and Seimitsu) buttons since the Happ buttons have the microswitch base going to deep and may not fit in the steel case?
And btw, you can buy the buttons here on this website (you get the correct size and innards) or go to http://www.lizardlick.com/.