I have a much more detailed grading chart in the makings.  And yes, there is a HUGE amount of room for improvement for the BlueShark AND Cobalt Flux.

If my scale were simply percentage-based on how close they are to the perfect pad, Almost every pad would get less than 1/10, and the better ones would get around 4/10 or 5/10.  No pad I've ever encountered is as good as it could be.  I've seen one pad other than an ITG Dedicab that would get over 80% in my judgment.  I'm not sure where SN pads would fall, but I'd guess around the 75% mark.

10/10 = A pad that AAAs itself.

Basically.
Let's think of it in terms of something where perfection (or close enough) has already been found: guitars.

The BlueSharks/CF's would be like my 1980's Squier Stratocaster.
It's an AWESOME guitar with great feel, but a $3000 Gibson absolutely dominates it, no contest.

Hahaha, PS:
BlueSharks/CF's like my eighties Squier Stratocaster.It's is the guitar of the just the feeling which is large you are surprised, but that contest you do not control $3000 Gibson no matter what.

You totally lost me there.  I get the gist though, lol.

Yeah, I wasn't sure anyone here would get the reference.  Everyone at jazz camp would have though. ;P

I'm a band geek.

I've played on 8 different kinds of home pads and the Bluesharks are the best.  Easy.  I haven't tried Fluxes yet but i don't really want to due to their low tech sensors.

Currently I have:

1x http://mymybox.com/ddrmbsgxg.html

and

1x http://mymybox.com/ddrmbsgxg365.html

Function wise they're a 10.  arcade sensors, 11mm thick arrows so my fat ass doesn't break them  (I crack girlie acrilic panels for breakfast with my girth, and even the shader proof ones too)  These things are so big I can take one out and kill someone who tries to break into my house.  Every other pad out there uses the tin foil to circuit board sensor and those are just a waste of money.

These things weigh 50+ lbs and don't move.  I can gallop, cross over and run as much as my heart can take and the pad doesn't move.  The one with bar weights 85 lbs.  I like.

The only part that could be up for debate is the artwork/style.  But that goes without saying as no two persons idea of style are the same.  That debate is pointless.

Anyone is welcome to come over and give them a try.

Beaverton :C

i want to try one of those out though lol

Yeah, that is a bit far.  If you're going to be in the neighborhood let me know.  Right now I play on my 27 inch lcd monitor but I may be persuaded to hook it up to my hd projector....teehee....

The biggest difference between being a kid and an adult is you can blow your paychecks on the cool toys.

BlueSharks rock, but MMB is balls.  They have no sense of customer service.

Correction, Tofu:

MMB has NO customer service. I would know. :-(

Wow, no costumer service?! that sucks. I need one of those pads. I probably would never go to the arcade in weeks if i had that blueshark pad. Is the blueshark pad good quality that is like the arcades? so im just making sure. because that pad looks great! :shock:

Yeah, they have a 0/5 rating by the BBB, with 3 unanswered complaints.

Yes, the BlueShark is about as good as your average arcade pad, for the most part.  As far as I've observed, every other BlueShark has had 1 or 2 minor issues, and about 1 out of 15 have a major problem of some sort.

They do have poor customer service BUT I'll always put up with it until someone else puts out a good metal pad with arcade sensors and arrow panels that can't crack.

Kusangagi:
The reason I'm a Blueshark fanboy is in the sensors and arrow.  If you look on the web you'll be able to find some pics of regular home pad sensors.  They are a single circuit board with a patch of tin foil.  When you step down the tin foil hits the curcuit board and registers a step.  This is VERY inaccurate, more so over time.  The metal Bluesharks use 2 arcade sensors that are very touch sensitive.  I can do hands and knees and barley touch it and the pad will register.  Also the arrows themselves are important.  Most home metal pads have 2 mm thick acrylic or poly something I can't remember at the moment arrows .  These can and do crack.  The metal Bluesharks use 12mm thick arrows.  Next time I'm home I'll take one out and snap a pick.  They're thick.  Crazy drop one on your toe and you'll cut yourself thick....kill someone with a blow to the head thick.

The closest thing to it is the cobalt flux but it's thinner,weights less AND they still use the circuit board contacts.

If/when there is a BOYB in the Oregon area I'll bring 'em and you can take the pepsi challenge.

Pepsikat, damn your so right, i have one of those cheap pads that have the tin foil on the arrows. Guess what? it sucks! thats why I'm interested in this Blueshark pad. i have examined the Blueshark pad and it looks just like ones at the arcade almost. Oh and the metal pad i have; 3 months into it and it cracks. I should show you how bad of a condition its in. I'll probably invest some of my money in that Blueshark pad. But the thing is... which pad is better? Cobalt flux, or Blueshark? Heres another question... which one would you rather buy? I think that kinda relates to the first question a bit.

Cobalt fluxes actually have a sheet of steel on top and another on bottom.  About 97% of the surface of the panel will register a hit.  However, if you don't use them constantly, they'll get stale, and become useless until you take off all the panels, wipe them off completely with a warm, moist rag, then blow them dry, then let them sit for about 2 hours, then put them back on CAREFULLY, then screw the screws back in manually.  If you do any of this wrong, it'll shorted the life of the sensors, the panels, and/or the screw holes.  If you play on them regularly, you can expect to have to do this every 18 months or so.  If you don't use them often, then you'll have to do so on a monthly basis or they become the most useless pads on the planet.

btw, DT200's have special hydraulics sensors that use pistons, pressurisation, copper contacts, and minimal panel movement.  It takes about 3lbs of force and 0.1mm of panel movement to make the panels react by firing the pistons 8mm to their corresponding contact point.
The panels use a layer of 1/4" lexan, a grid of 1/2" acrylic with three 8" cold-cathode bulbs, and a 1/4" fir plywood plank, making for a 1" thick panel in a 3" arrow well.
They're base is made up of 12 layers that can be simplified into 7: foam floor-protector, base plate, reinforced concrete core, plywood layer, framework layer, upper framework layer, panels, and steel cover layer.
I'll be making a prototype over the next month.  If you're in the mood to save $200 and get a superior r equivalent pad, I'd suggest you wait to see what else the market has coming.  Or you could wait for me to make the DT500's this summer, which, if they go as planned, while be the first pad to be superior or equal in every area to the official arcade pads.

Sorry if this seems like I'm just bragging with no backing.  This is all off the blueprints.  They have yet to be tested on the field.  I have a lot of confidence in our ability to produce the best DDR pads the world has ever seen.

No testing + no product = wishful but worthless claims.

Well...I've never played on the cobalt flux so my opinion is only from what I've seen.  I've heard they're good, BUT the deal breaker for me are the sensors and arrows.  Also I like that the Bluesharks are heavier.  They feel more sturdy and I can go flat out and not worry about them turning ever so slightly and screwing me up.  The only thing that bothers me about the 3 inch 85 lb Blueshark is the bar.  It's good for balance BUT if you lean on it you'll bend it.  If you're used to leaning up against the bar like in the arcade it might bother you but if you use it like it supposed to then it wouldn't be a problem.  This is a cost vs quality issue to me.  They could have a heavy bar mounted 3 ways but it would cost more.

You don't need to tell me about the cheap metal pads...I bought two from ebay when I first started playing...when the panels cracked I first duct taped the inside of the panel...that lasted a few weeks...then I got the bright idea of replacing the panels...measured them, went to home depot and bought 50.00 worth of lexan (a better type of plexiglass), shaped them and  photoshopped my own arrows.  They looked cool but they started to crack so it was a waste.

I will say this.  BEFORE I got my Bluesharks I spent about 800.00 in other pads and trying to fix them...so in the beginning it would saved me time, sweat, blood (I knee dropped in shorts and cut the crap out of my knee on that damn lexan) and a lot of cursing if I would have just plucked down the duckets for the good ones first.  It seems spendy BUT 800.00 for a pair is better then 200.00, then 300.00, then 300.00 THEN ANOTHER 800.00 to get the ones you should have gotten in the first place.  Ya dig?

Anyone who wants some picks, PM me your email address and I'll snap a crap load of pics and send 'em to you.  I'm board and awake so I'll probably start snapping now.

Tofu:
Your unmade pads sound good in theory and I look forward to seeing them built, tested and reviewed but until then  Bluesharks are the Cadillac standard.

Pepsikat, luckily I've gotten away with my old, thin plexiglass MMB metal pads.

Being as I'm only about 128lbs, I don't put too much pressure on the pads. I've rarely used them as of the past two years, but before that my neighbor and I would play on them all the time. Yeah, they've got the tinfoil sensors, but if they ever were to go out I would just do the famous mymybox metal pad mod.

I only think I had one arrow crack on me, but I had a couple replacement parts due to a stupid Ebay scammer.

I wouldn't mind seeing what MMB did for the Blueshark to compare to the old ones I have.  

That's cool, if it works for you more power to you.  I happen to weigh 240 so my feet come down with a little more thunder  

I've got a dozen or so pics snapped.  Here they come.  I asked for email then found I can upload picks in pm's...der...

You spent $50 on Lexan and broke it?

How much did you buy and how thick was it?

'cause if it was 1/8", then yeah, sounds about right.  3mm of anything but steel is going to be kind of weak.
Also, the cheap pads have it so that the panels bend.  Acrylic is actually better in this sense, because it flexes better, but Lexan is more solid.  1/4" Lexan is strong enough that it can handle basically anyone, and 3/8" Lexan is what's used in BlueSharks and Arcades.


Yeah, I really need to get these pads built, tested, sold, etc. xP