Reddit mentions of GoolRC NEW Non-slip Dancing Step Dance Mat Mats Pads to Pc USB

-mostly copied from an old post of mine.

Cheapest option/starter option, buy a cheap ~$15ea usb soft pad from amazon like these then tape them to a hard floor or a piece of plywood ~$35ea at most hardware stores.

Most of the cheap pads are considered cheap because the buttons sensors get warped overtime; specially when played on carpet. So taping a cheap pad to hard floor or a board usually makes it a "good" pad. The board also gives it weight and makes it harder to slide around on carpet. I've played on several boarded pads and they always work better than non boarded.

Why usb and not an old ps2 pad? Almost none of the adapters support 2 arrows being pressed at the same time. Some that work do exist but they are hard to find. There is a work around for the 2 button issue here but unless you already have an adapter I'd just buy a usb ready pad. Idk about xbox or newer pads/adapters, they may not have this issue.

Want foam? This is something you can easily add later. Put some puzzle exercise mats together or cut up a yoga mat and just set your boarded pad on top. You can cut to size and tape to the board so it wont slide. Again tape pad on board then tape on foam. This will give the buttons a nice hard surface to click on but still give the entire pad some cushion. I suggest 1/2in thick. Thicker is more expensive and thinner is a waste of time/money.

Hands on/serious option, build your own. ~$150 depending on materials used and how elaborate you want to get but ultimately the best option for modding and re-usabilty. - if it breaks, you know how to fix it because you built it.

Expensive/best of the best option.
Best pads on the market right now are http://www.precisiondancepads.com/ 4 arrow pad OmegaGX $350-$365ea with everything connector. These should still be taped to a board or used on hard surface so they don't warp. These things are an investment but totally worth it. In my opinion they are better (more sensitive) than the arcades. Yes I really mean that. -side note- This company started off as 1 guy building them himself in his basement because he didn't like the quality of pads on the market.

I recommend the OmegaITGX - basically has plywood under the nonarrow parts to give it more of an arcade/hard feel and makes the buttons seem more resessed. But after just checking their site I am not sure if they offer it anymore. Might want to email them about it. I havent tried a regular GX but I do enjoy and love the feel of my ITGX. - I have had a button sensor stick but it was easy to open and clean and haven't had a problem since. -edit they don't make the ITGX anymore.

Has to be Metal? This is where some problems come in. Most of the "good" reputable companies (Colbalt Flux, Blueshark, Red Octane) are long gone and you'll most likely only find them used on ebay, expect to pay ~$300. You can also play the ebay gamble and get a random unknown brand but seriously who knows how good its really going to be.

The last option is to buy real arcade pads but that is a lot of extra work and not really worth the cost. They are hard to find because they usually only come with a complete machine. I've heard they cost ~$500 but I've never seen a real price tag. Then if you want it to work with anything other than the official machine you pretty much have to solder the sensors to a controller or keyboard. It'd be cheaper and probably better to just build yourself if you're willing to go through this much work already.

TL:DR Get a cheap usb pad and you'll probably be fine as long as its on a hard surface. If you want quality then build your own or spring for the precision dance pads.

You can get a DDR pad for about 20 bucks on amazon you also need a ps2 to PC converter same thing with a pump dance pad. I found a DDR pad for about $7 at a old game shop maybe search for some there if you don't want to buy online. But you still need a converter. Or just get this http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0076H4D8A?cache=8431cfcb1e6baee2459d10aa9639a3d2&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1409875417&sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1