Metal Pad Help?

[CardiacArrest]

Yes, I know there's plenty of other threads about this, but none tailored to my situation.

Anyway, I planned on purchasing the old ITG machine from my local arcade, but the owner backed out of the deal. So, now I think I'm going to build my own machine. Pads with the bar are preferred to keep the authentic arcade look. Unless anyone has a good idea on how to add a bar to a cobalt flux.

I need some good metal pad ideas. I've heard a lot about the cobalt flux pads, but they don't come with the bar. It seems like the most common metal pads are the ion and the energy pad.

I've seen a lot of good reviews on the ion pad, but it doesn't have recessed arrows. Now, I've never played on a pad without recessed buttons, so I'm not sure how this would affect gameplay. I've also seen mixed reviews of the energy pad, which is about the same price as the ion, but has the recessed arrows.

If anyone can give me any advice or suggestions that would be great.

Link to the ion
Link to the Energy

[TC_Halogen]

Have you heard of the TX series pads? Those pads have bars and I think they also have a slight recession.

[BethanyBangs]

I have a champion pad that says "DDR Game" on it. Works pretty good but one arrow gets jammed o.o for some odd reason. Happens at the arcades too.
Blueshark also makes metal pads i believe.

[darkshark]

I have a TX-6000 Blade Hybrid pad, and it's pretty much just as sensitive as a dedicab, and the TX line of pads are much cheaper than what you're looking at.

[CardiacArrest]

I don't think Blueshark makes pads anymore, but I'll look into the TX pads.

The tx pads don't have recessed arrows. Does it make much of a difference without the recessed arrows (such as during a heel-toe jump stream)?

[darkshark]

Imo you can actually heel-toe better without recessed panels. There is screws+washers that go into the inner corners of each arrow which allow you to support your weight on the arches of your feet so you aren't constantly hitting both panels at once or anything. Works really well.

[Hakulyte]

I actually have exactly that Energy one at home and I'm having a hard time keeping the handlebar stable(the screws under the pad just keep loosening and I'm very tempted to just use something else as an handlebar). Also, what Darkshark said. Those recessed panels are getting a little in the way on harder charts. Everything else is what you would expect from a metal pad which is good but I would keep looking around a little if I was you before making a choice in case you can find something better even if that one is already fairly good. (for it's price)

Something like this based on specs sounds perfect to me:

http://www.ddraction.com/dance-dance...er-arcade.html

Yet considering the price, I'm like oshi- not cool lol.

Technically what I'm saying is..

tl dr;

Soft pad = Cheap/break easily/lol X/Y axis problem/not really good sensivity compared to metal pad
Normal Metal pads = Cool but (Recessed buttons/Handle bar can get annoying)
Expensive metal pads = No problems but costs a lot. ?_?

[darkshark]

I bought my TX-6000 back in early 2006 for $260 on eBay. Have yet to have any major problems with it. (Although the supports on the rear of the bar have snapped off, those didn't really help a ton anyway) The bars on almost any metal pad are FLIMSY as hell, so if you choose a pad without a bar it's not a huge deal, because you might end up using a chair instead of the bar anyway.

[ddrmaniacaaa]

You plan on building your own machine, but you also want to turn down a cobalt flux because it is not manufactured with a bar? contradicting if you ask me. All it takes is less than $30 and a visit to your local hardware store. you can find specifications on google about how to make your own bar, that shouldent stop you from refusing to buy a flux.