Modify your beatmania controller's turntable

NOTE: I am nowhere near the first person to do this. I got my steps for this from http://users.adelphia.net/~kiltz/.

Anyway, modifying your beatmania controller's turntable will allow it to move more easily. The increased sensitivity will especially benefit pinky scratchers who find that they aren't moving the turntable enough due to it being too stiff, but this mod is for everyone who thinks that their turntable would be improved by it being looser.

Step 1 Gather materials

You will need the following:
beatmania controller
Xacto knife
Phillips Head screwdriver (I used the one from a cheap multitool)
Wax paper
Something to cut on (not pictured. Be sure that whatever you use won't get punctured if you press down really hard (the newspaper I used unfortunately didn't work so well).)
Small container for the screws (also not pictured)

Comments

[Sowee]

I want to MAKE one Beatmania controller. Can you answer me, what is that turntable? You spin and it register? Its analog or digital?

[DanAdamKOF]

It uses a quadrature encoder, which is digital. Electronically, it is spinning clockwise, counterclockwise, or not at all.

[Psychopump]

Wow, I've never seen one of these before... Is there any way to hook this up to a DAW PC and use it as a MIDI controller? (like the Mixman DM2...)

[Billkwando]

From what I can tell, the turntable is digital (on/off) and not analog like the DM2. Ironically one of the reason I wanted this game was for the controller and its possibilities (I too own a DM2 and pine for a good homebrew application to use it with).

[DanAdamKOF]

Haha, Neo-Geo.com is everywhere, isn't it? Yes, the turntable gives out a digital signal, which I guess would make it too imprecise for a lot of actual music applications. Didn't really think of that before... Man, this 'ible is from a while ago. I can't believe I still play.

[Billkwando]

We are everywhere, it's true. And we're usually pretty clearly marked! ;)

[DanAdamKOF]

Well, they are Playstation 2 controllers, so you can hook them up to a PC via USB or Parallel Port converters and have them show up as gamepads. If you can figure out a way to have your program read gameport commands then I guess it would work.

[Billkwando]

I'm definitely planning on trying it on MAME. Hiphopmania FTW?

[littlemog92]

i was lucky enough to find mine at a toys r us i bought it for 50 dollars and upon opening i chucked the game cause US versions sucks i just play all the versions on my modded ps2 or on my computer cause american version of this game is sad sky

[DanAdamKOF]

But did you mod your turntable?

[littlemog92]

yes !!! I also started making an arcade controller i actually ad it drawn up on auto cad and everything but i stopped when i got to the housing and because i had a research project i stopped and didnt go on.

[DanAdamKOF]

Super! :) There's actually another way that people mod their turntable: the USA controller has a spring in the white plastic center part with the screw. Some say that removing this spring loosens the turntable to a desirable resistance. Some also combine that mod and the one I detailed for a really loose turntable! Personally I like mine the way it is, but it doesn't hurt to experiment. What were you planning to do for the turntable? Were you going to design one from scratch, or cannibalize one from an existing Konami Official Controller?

[littlemog92]

i was planning on making the turn table out of something that was more gripable but still cool looking and maybe putting a ball bearing axle for the turn table

[Lupus]

Hey, mind if I ask you where you got the controller?

[DanAdamKOF]

It came bundled with the USA release of beatmania. It isn't exactly a best-seller, so it should be relatively easy to find at most video game stores (I got mine at EB Games when it was released). If you end up even remotely liking the USA release, you owe it to yourself to try the import titles.

[Lupus]

Thanks for the help, I was under the impression that it would be hard to find locally. I play DDR and ITG a lot time, I've always wanted to try the other Bemani games!

[Fake_Name]

That's pretty cool. From the look of it, the "turntable" ouput is through a quadrature encoder, which means you could probably adapt it for other uses as well.

[Von Klaus]

how much those things cost?

[DanAdamKOF]

For the American bundle (game and controller), it was $60 or so upon release, and it seems to have maintained that price more or less. The import controller (which has some slight differences from the American controller) on its own costs even more than buying the American bundle.