DDR: Does the pad make a difference?

[Thunderbird]

I've noticed it's a lot easier to full combo certain songs on Konamix now that I'm using my RedOctane pad. Before I had it, it seemed really hard to full combo even 1 foot songs. At that time, the only one I had been able to do was After the Game 6-Panel Basic. Almost full comboed Dive during that time (ONE Good).

Now that I'm using the standard RedOctane pad, I've been able to full combo After the Game, Dive and B4U (all 4-Panel Basic).

So I ask you. Does the pad make a difference? :)

[EWild]

Hmm.. dunno, haven't used one. :(

[AlexMax]

Most Defeniatly.

Soft Pads differ from each other a little bit, but I paid $19.99 for a Mad Catz Beat Pad durring the summer and through semi-constant use (and no modification) it is only now begining to rip at the back. And it still works like new.

However, if you want maximum performance from a soft pad, get it modded. DDRFreak (http://www.ddrfreak.com) has a tutorial on how to mod soft pads, and almost any pad short of the shitty pads that are $9.99 that you can get off of Amazon can be improved with the modding. More soft pad discussion can be found here:

http://www.ddrfreak.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=33798

Hard pads are not worth it. They are hard plastic, which by definition will be loud, and will not be sensitive at all, unless you feel like standing on a pad that you actually feel yourself pressing buttons on.

Metal pads are expensive, and are the place that most people get easily shafted on due to shoddy construction, etc.. There is a thread of discussion over at DDR Freak that will explain further, as I am totally confused on the issue myself.

http://www.ddrfreak.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=35033

The best solution, however, is to make your own metal pad. It takes an investment of time, and requires a little sodering, but a step by step guide by a guy who made his throguh trial and error is listed below, and the nice thing about it is that if it breaks, you built it, and know how it works and would know how to fix it if something went wrong. People have been prassing this guy's design since he posted it, resulting in THREE incarnations of the thread because the first two got too full. Hsi guide is newbie friendly, meaning that you don't have to know TOO much about how to build stuff to build one from his guide.

http://www.ddrfreak.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=34645