Advice Wanted: Modding my DDRU Pad

[Ctwizzy]

Ok so I just got DDRU and being a first time DDR player the pad seems good to me. I read a lot of posts of people saying to mod the pad, which makes sense.

I was reading this guide here: http://www.angelfire.com/pro2/softpadmod/ I liked this more than the others due to the fact that the builder implemented some raising underneath the arrows, as the DDRU pad has no raising under the arrows, so I have no idea if im hitting it or not, which makes some dances harder as I move down the pad and am no longer hitting the area even though I think I am.

So im going to build this mod this weekend and I'm going to pick up the items this week. For those who have done this before I just have a few q's regarding some of the materials.

1. How thick should the ply-wood be?
I found some plywood in my garage, cheap crappy stuff 0.3cm, white glossy top. Though could be particle board or some other man made composite wood. I found a ton of it in the garage and just sawed enough off for the board to sit on top of now. Im taking it this wood wont be enuf as its not heavy enough to weigh down the board.

Alternatively I do have a thick piece of wood but its 2" too short for the pad on the width, a shame really would have been perfect.

2. For the raised areas, would it be best to use a hard-foam, or would card-board work just as well? The guide im following used the remaining vinyl... though I personally dont think thats a good ideas. I just want enough of a raise so that when the clear vinyl is on top I can still be able to feel the arrow locations.

My options are cardboard, thin styrofoam pads or the vinyl. Cardboard is the cheapest but would mean Id have to stack multiple pieces to get a certain elevation. If I can find styrofoam pads only thing I would have to worry about is them snapping under the pressure. A friend of mine told me to use mousepads for all four arrows (though I no longer have mousepads lol).

So what would be a good durable material to use under the arrow steps?
How thick should I be aiming for?
Should the pad fill the entire area, or just enough to cover the actual arrow (Maybe even custom shape it to the arrow?)

3. A vinyl cover seems like a really thick option, im guessing it works but im a skeptic, is there anything that can be used thats protective but maybe a little thinner? Or is this the defacto standard? I just dont want the pad not registering movements because the vinyl is getting in the way, or keeping a button pressed down due to the pressure.

4. To keep the vinyl down, some have said to staple it down, I have a friend with a staple gun, so this is possible. Would it not be a better idea to just get a drill and screw in 8 screws (4 corners and middle) that way in the future if the pad does screw up, I can just unscrew and fix the pad. Or can I not just duct-tape around the sides and edges?

5. Double sided carpet tape is used to keep the pad on the board, If i ever remove the pad its going to tear the pad to pieces, Im thinking of lining the bottom of the pad with duct-tape where the carpet tape will touch the pad. This makes sure if I remove the pad it wont kill it, my only worry with this is that the carpet tape wont be able to stick to the pad as well as its no longer touching the fabric but duct-tape.

Another idea I had was to buy Velcro strips and use those to keep the board in place. I have no idea how much that would cost, but might be a better idea than to tape it down. Any thoughts on this?

6. IF this works out well, and thats a big IF Ill probably end up grabbing a MadKatz pad (I know they suck but there are no other alternatives) and doing the same, I would install use the twist plugs in the bases (the kind when you assemble a desk) you know insert then turn the key to lock in place to join two boards together for doubles or vs. My question is, how much room is there typically needed bewteen two pads? I just want to make sure i leave enough room on the right side of tha board that I could hook up a second if needed.


I appreciate any input anyone wants to contribute.

[Bemani Dog]

I did a variant of the plywood mod once myself, only I layered plexiglass on top and used that pegboard material on the bottom (only without the pegholes). I think the material you are describing is exactly that.
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[backs]

I've had a modified Konami softpad for about ~2.5 years now and it still works great. THe thing is though that you have to mod them out of the box. That I did with mine was put it ontop of some maybe half inch plywood I found on my garage, Duct taped the pad down on all sides with it then covered the top with some thin plastic that I cut off from an ipod poster. I suggest doing something like that to protect the arrows or they may get torn up over play.

[ChilliumBromide]

1) 1/2" plywood is your best bet. You can get it thicker, but it's not necessary thicker. Thinner might bend or crack.

2) Thick cardboard would work, but it's a little soft. I'd recommend you use the vinyl.

3) Vinyl works fine. There isn't really all that much other stuff you can use. I tried duct taping some pads to some 1/4" plywood boards once, and it worked, but not very well.

4) Duct tape is too weak. Use Gorilla tape, staples, nails, or screws.
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