pop’n music ASC
Arcade style controller for pop’n music, a popular Japanese arcade music game.
When I built this controller, there were few options for arcade-perfect controllers and they all came from overseas, meaning very high shipping costs for something this big and heavy. The controller is actually quite simple so I decided to just build one myself.
I sourced the button assemblies (buttons, LEDs, switches), a special control board for pop’n music, and birch wood for the body. Birch is strong, durable, looks good, and reasonably priced. Using a real arcade cabinet, I measured the dimensions for the body and button spacing.
The controllers made by other companies are basically rectangular boxes — I designed mine so that the top panel overhangs by about an inch on all sides. This provides an easy grip when moving the large controller and shaves off a bit of weight too.
While I knew the buttons would be loud while playing, they turned out to be even louder than I expected. To reduce the noise, I took an old t-shirt and cut out rings to fit between the buttons and their bases. This worked great at damping the sound without drastically changing how the buttons felt.
