I'm working on building my 4th custom now. Calling it 'El Guapo'. This thing has taken longer and cost more than I care to admit, but it will be soooooo worth it. Once it's done I'll post pics

Glad Amon's stick is holding up. That was a quick 1 night job to solder up his TE and dual mod it. L_O's project is getting underway. My builder and I made a switch to a different wood stock than I originally planned, but it will be worth it in the end. My son now wants his own stick. I'll probably get him one of the new acrylic cases that should be out soon (http://www.tek-innovations.com/arthobbies/images/tekcase/displaycases.jpg). If he doesn't like it I'll use it. Actually, I'll use it anyway, so it makes a perfect excuse to have a 3rd joystick in the house!

If I were recommending someone looking for a stick, I'd tell them to get a Madcatz TE 360 version without hesitation, even if they have a PS3. Since you've got genuine Sanwa parts out the box, there's no functional reason to switch those. The only thing you may need to swap out is the restrictor gate, if you don't want the square gate (if you're used to an american arcade, you will know the difference with a circular movement and catching the 4 corners) or the balltop for a battop. The only real reason to swap anything is for aesthetic purposes. There are a slew of colors and art templates to replace them with, and a number of places to get it printed, laminated, etched, etc. I recommend the 360 version because it's much easier to dual mod to work with a PS3 (you can go from PS3 to 360, but it takes more work).

The TE is by far the easiest to customize, but it's not the only choice. Hori has been in the game for a while with their HRAP line. The joystck may be authentic Sanwa (or Seimitsu, depending on the model), but they often use knock off buttons. They are pretty easy to replace though. Some of the newer HRAPS (http://gearmedia.ign.com/gear/image/article/107/1071903/hori-real-arcade-pro-v3-sa-review-20100224035702637_640w.jpg) have authentic Sanwa parts straight out the box, like the TE. The only thing is, the newer Hori sticks are harder to come by. While you can find their older style on Amazon or Ebay, the newer HRAPS may be imports.

The Madcatz SE is interesting because of it's size, which makes it portable. However, they have knockoff buttons AND joystick, so they won't feel as nice and do break. On a budget, it will do the job, and you can modify it as easily as the TE. That said, with the deals you can find now, for the price of a SE, 8 buttons and a Sanwa JLF joystick you could probably buy a TE outright. Also, since the SE slopes at the edges, it makes getting artwork a little harder and a plexiglass top nearly impossible. Still, you could do worse.

One other stick has surfaced that has been popular, but not why you think. The Datel/Joytron/Mayflash (depending on where you go) Arcade Pro (http://ellastoreuk.co.uk/product_images/m/818/medscalePack_Shot__09095_zoom.jpg) is, in a word, a piece of crap. The stick feels horrible and the buttons are mushy unresponsive dreck. BUT, it is the only stick on the market that natively supports PC, PS3 AND Xbox 360 without a converter. Most people (like myself) get the stick, gut the PCB, and put it in a custom stick. Now, with a little work, you can put real arcade parts in one (the case itself really isn't that bad). Then you have a stick close to the size of a SE that you can use on yoru current systems. But you will only find them online, and there is the worry on how rare they will be (how they cracked M$ security chip is a grey area...)

Now, all the above mentioned sticks are Japanese style sticks, with either a Viewlix layout (first 2 buttons slightly lower than the remaining 4/6, which go in a straight line, like so: http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/layout/shift36_s.png the MadCatz use this) or a Astro City or Blast City layout (Buttons going in a downward arc like so: http://www.slagcoin.com/joystick/layout/sega1_s.png the Hori line uses something similar). If you're used to american parts, with heavy springs in their joysticks and buttons that click when you mash them (think a SFIII or Marvel Vs. Capcom cabinet), you have to go the custom route, as there are no mass market companies that make sticks with those parts. That's a whole other ball of wax that I'll need another post for (assuming anyone even cares)