Getting rid of those awful sticks (PS3 Pad)

[Goafer]

I took apart my SixAxis controller to see how easy it would be to perform a southpaw modification to it (swap the sticks round for leftie style). Turns out it's more tricky that I'm prepared to try.

 

But whilst I had the controller open, I noticed that the thumbsticks are remarkably similar to the 360 ones. So after a rummage round inside and pilfering some sticks from an old 360 pad I took apart to paint but never put back together, I have a more comfortable pad:

 

 

 

The only bit of modification needed was the stick that slots into the outer stick needed cutting/filing down since it caused the 360 sticks to sit too high and rub against the front cover of the pad. I used wire cutters, but I'd recommend sanding them down to keep a nice smooth stick.

 

Easy to do and much more comfortable due to the concave 360 sticks. I'm tempted to do the same thing to my Dual Shock pad, but it's less than a week old and still has that new pad feel to it. Would be a shame to take it apart and tinker with it.

[flameboy]

hmmm cool idea...I don't have the guts or the sticks to do this as tempting as it is.

[Goafer]

hmmm cool idea...I don't have the guts or the sticks to do this as tempting as it is.

 

Sticks are quite cheap on eBay. It's really not that difficult. All you have to do is unscrew the back, take the circuits out, take the sticks off, snip the end off of the inner stick bits (about a mm or two should do it. Trial and error is how I did it), put the 360 sticks on, put everything back together. The hardest bit was putting the pad back together. The L1/L2/R1/R2 bit is quite tricky to slot together.

 

The only things that set it apart from a standard pad in terms of quality:

Slight (and I do mean slight) roughness when moving the right stick to the right. All other movement is smooth as before.

Moving the sticks fully in any direction reveals the inside of the controller slightly. The 360 pads don't have as much of a dome at the bottom of the sticks.

Light grey sticks look ugly on a black pad. Could buy some black ones off eBay though.

[MATtheHAT]

I love stuff like this. Especially those guys that build and modify fightsticks.

 

It reminds me of a picture I saw other day.....

 

Which I can't find. It was a similar idea to yours, but they moved the left stick up and swapped the position with the D-pad.

[Eddage]

I'm am definitely going to try this, in fact....

 

 

 

 

 

...Just bought some 360 sticks off eBay, should be fun!

[S.C.G]

The sticks on the PS3 pad are awful but usable, I don't use my PS3 that much - in comparison to my Xbox 360 - so it doesn't bother me that much, especially as the main games I'll be buying in the future will all most likely have Move support but if I'm honest I'd much rather have 360 sticks - and triggers - on my PS3 pad but I just cba to modify a pad so I deal...

 

But kudos to you Goafer, that's one fine mod-job of course it'd look even better if you were able to buy one of the new controllers that actually have black sticks but they are probably quite expensive still and that'd be just purely for the sake of aesthetics.

[flameboy]

you can buy these:

 

 

thats solves the concave/convex problem! I've never really had the other problems that most people seem to...but this is a problem when your playing for a long time your thumbs just don't fit on it.

[Goafer]

I love stuff like this. Especially those guys that build and modify fightsticks.

 

It reminds me of a picture I saw other day.....

 

Which I can't find. It was a similar idea to yours, but they moved the left stick up and swapped the position with the D-pad.

 

 

Would love to have a pad like this, but I'm no good with circuit boards.

 

But kudos to you Goafer, that's one fine mod-job of course it'd look even better if you were able to buy one of the new controllers that actually have black sticks but they are probably quite expensive still and that'd be just purely for the sake of aesthetics.

 

You can buy black sticks for about £3 off of eBay (red and blue ones too if that floats your boat). I just don't have an eBay account and aren't really that bothered about the aesthetics of it.

[nekunando]

you can buy these:

 

 

thats solves the concave/convex problem! I've never really had the other problems that most people seem to...but this is a problem when your playing for a long time your thumbs just don't fit on it.

 

Or you could buy a packet of these..

 

 

 

Would love to have a pad like this, but I'm no good with circuit boards.

 

That would certainly be an improvement but the triggers would need to be sorted out aswell as they are horrible

 

Whatever the case, the analogue stick on the Nunchuk for the Wii is far superior to those on the PS3 or XBOX 360 controllers..

[MATtheHAT]

That's the one!

 

Personally I prefer them the way they are, but I can see the benefit for those used to a 360 pad. The only thing I don't like about the DS3 is the Triggers (L2/R2), they truly suck ass - especially if a shooter uses them with no option to change to R1/L1.

[Goafer]

That would certainly be an improvement but the triggers would need to be sorted out aswell as they are horrible

 

That's where these come in:

 

 

They're pretty good, but I keep losing mine. They're on pretty tight, but if you lay the pad flat they're resting on them and if anything is put on top of the pad they ping off and are a bastard to find.

 

Only £3ish pounds from GameStation so I've got a few sets for when I lose them.

[Nintendohnut]

I've always had a few problems with PS pads like people above. I find the stick position a little uncomfortable (that picture looks like an awesome mod to fix my problem though!) and the triggers are curved the wrong way as Matthehat said. I also found the grips a little small for my huge and extremely manly hands. But Goafer your mod looks awesome, with the new 360S you get an all-black controller (including the sticks) so if you could get one of them it would fit with the look I kinda hope Sony release a new design for their pad in a year or so (as it will be around the time, in the past, that we would be expecting a new console) to sort out my issues. To be honest, they should probably make one just for me. I think it's incredibly selfish of them not to have consulted me already, to be honest :p

[Shorty]

Or you could buy a packet of these..

 

Goddamn. I really want some refreshers now.

[flameboy]

Goddamn. I really want some refreshers now.

 

me to! I kinda needed to go to the store anyway but couldn't be bothered however now my yearning for refreshers has toppled me over.

[Daft]

You can't fix the PS3 triggers, it's not the shape so much as they are literally as spongy as shit.

[nekunando]

You can't fix the PS3 triggers, it's not the shape so much as they are literally as spongy as shit.

 

In fairness, it's the shape and the feeling you get when you press them They're quite possibly two of the worst buttons ever to grace a controller..

[Daft]

I agree, I just meant you can fix the shape but there's nothing you can do for the feeling that they're going to break every time there are micro changes in the room's air pressure.

[Deathjam]

In fairness, it's the shape and the feeling you get when you press them They're quite possibly two of the worst buttons ever to grace a controller..

 

Maybe they were aiming for the gamecube pads triggers as those felt glorious. When I play smash bros with that pad, it feels so damn comfortable. Shame about the z button.

 

That said, I dont have the all same problem others do, even though i swear my hands and feet make me feel like I suffer from gigantism. The sticks are fine and the pad is relatively comfortable, although I did get "crab hand" after a lengthy session back in the day of the ps2. I do concede that the triggers are goddamn awful. Nowhere near as responsive as they were on the ps2 pads.

 

Would like to attempt a mod of my pad but past practice has taught me that I will end up breaking it if I do.

[Cube]

If you hate the controller enough you can always do what this guy has done.

[flameboy]

If you hate the controller enough you can always do what this guy has done.

 

Ben Heck does so much awesome stuff! He created a one handed 360 mod as well for disabled gamers!

[Caris]

I've never understood the hate for the PS3 pad, yeah the 360 one is better but the PS is still fine.

[Daft]

I've never understood the hate for the PS3 pad, yeah the 360 one is better but the PS is still fine.

 

[Goafer]

Since other people seem to want to have a go at this, I thought I'd put together a quick tutorial whilst I was doing my second pad. Turns out a current Dual Shock pad is much easier to put back together than an old SixAxis (not sure about the early DualShock pads or later SixAxis ones. There have been several revisions). If you look at your L1/L2 buttons and see if there is a separate bit of plastic between them. If the divide between them is part of the back panel (no seams), it's easier to put back together. If the divide between them is separate from the front and back, it's a bit tricky, but doable. I have no patience and I managed to get it back together.

 

 

Stuff You'll Need

 

 

Wire cutters to cut the sticks with

Hex set to take apart the 360 pad

Screwdriver to take apart the PS3 pad

PS3 Pad

360 Pad (or just the sticks)

 

Taking Apart the 360 Pad

 

 

3 screws on either side and 1 in the middle under the barcode sticker. It took me a while to find the middle screw since I figured there would be one under the bigger sticker. It's the smaller barcode sticker that the screw is under.

 

 

I unplugged the rumble motors to make things easier. There are no screws holding the circuit board to the front of the pad, so just jiggle it around for a bit and it should come away, revealing the lovely sticks. They just slide off of the electrics. I didn't bother reassembling the 360 pad as it was pretty knackered anyway. I had a look to see if the PS3 sticks work on the 360. They do, but you'll need to stuff something down the hole of the PS3 sticks as they are deeper than the 360 ones.

 

Taking Apart the PS3 Pad

 

 

Six normal screws. There are no screws under the stickers, so you don't have to worry about battered/missing stickers on the finished product.

 

 

The battery is just rested on a plastic tray. Unplug it from the board (just pull it).

 

 

This screw holds the board to the front of the pad. Unscrew it and juggle the board free. The rumble motors are soldered to the board so be careful not to yank them out. I didn't really touch the motors, but they seemed to be secure to the front panel, so be careful not to yank at the wires too much. There isn't much room to maneuver the board to get to the sticks.

 

 

The inner stick has to be cut since the 360 sticks are shallower than the PS3's. I cut mine about here, but you could cut less and keep cutting more to suit. I wasn't precise with either of my pads and they work just fine. Trial and error is a good bet. Just screw the circuit board back onto the front of the pad and you'll soon see if the inner stick is too long.

 

Then just put the pad back together the same way it was taken apart. Don't forget to put the battery back in though. I did that on the first one!

[Retro_Link]

Do the 360 sticks keep their tighter feeling of control, or is this simply just a case of getting some concave sticks.

[Oxigen_Waste]

err...

 

 

It's not even expensive... And it's absolutely perfect, you have my word.