Summary
- Maestro S3 is a leverless, customizable controller with mechanical switches and wireless functionality.
- Offers convenient features like an audio jack and a trackpad.
- Compatible with various platforms but requires a separate adapter for PS5 and Xbox Series consoles.
I’ve actively sought out and played fighting games for the last three decades. During that time, I've found that playing on an arcade stick always punches the experience up. But this isn’t a review of an arcade stick, this is a review of QRD’s Maestro S3: a leverless controller. This type of controller bridges the gap between the stick and the gamepad, and to my great interest, has been taking the fighting game world by storm. After spending a week with the Maestro S3, I now understand why.
Some people still use the term "Hitbox" for these types of controllers, but given that Hitbox also refers to a specific brand, I'm going to be referring to this type of controller as a "leverless controller" and an "all-button controller."
Form And Function
Like all leverless controllers, the Maestro S3 is an arcade stick, sans the stick. Its button layout is pretty conventional for this style of controller, with two rows of four buttons that act as your face and shoulder buttons gently curving on your right, and four buttons on the left that act as your directional buttons. The “up” button is lower and to the right, tucked in under the face buttons. I was initially concerned that this would make it feel a touch crowded, but that didn’t end up being the case.
Having the up button placed below the other three sounds awkward, but this layout makes the traditional quarter-circle motion found in most fighting games a breeze to input.
It is compatible with nearly every platform on the market, though you will need to buy a separate adapter for the PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. The buttons are mechanical switches (the type you’d find in a mechanical keyboard), and the controller is also the only wireless leverless controller we could find on the market.
Those mechanical switches are one of the most interesting elements found in this type of controller. Unlike specialized arcade buttons, the Cherry MX-style key switches are easily swappable. This allows for an absurd level of customization. You can swap out all your buttons in a matter of seconds. Since the Cherry MX form factor is the standard in mechanical keyboards, cheap switches are plentiful. I can’t tell you how awesome it is to be able to fully customize the feel of my controller for such a paltry sum.
While I felt like the stock switches were a touch too stiff for my liking, I had them installed for multiple days and they didn’t impede my ability to use the controller. There isn’t anything wrong with them, this is a different strokes for different folks type situation.
I just wish that level of customizability applied to The Maestro S3’s rubber feet. While the feet are easily removable, I wanted a few extra pairs that were a little thicker so that I could modify the pad’s slope. As is, the controller sits perfectly flush, which causes the back to kick up a little when you rest your wrists on the bottom edge. The quick fix for this is to remove the two front pads of the controller, but those front corners will no longer have any grip to them as a result, which can make the controller slip and slide a little more.
A contributing factor to the controller kicking up is likely its weight. The Maestro S3’s body is made of hard plastic, so it is tremendously light. Personally, I wish it had a little more heft to it, but that’s just a preference. The stick is easy to open up, so adding a few weights inside the plastic housing solves the problem.
For those looking to really get into the weeds, there are also multiple SOC modes that will allow you to establish what happens when you press opposing directions simultaneously. There are multiple RGB options, too. You can also alter the lag settings —though I don’t know why you would ever want to introduce more lag to your inputs.
A Surprisingly Feature-Rich Controller
In addition to the basics, QRD has added a number of extremely convenient features that aren’t present in the majority of all-button controllers on the market. For starters, there’s an audio jack, which even my expensive arcade stick doesn’t have. It also has a trackpad, which makes life a lot easier for PlayStation users. While those additions are great, it is the Maestro S3’s wireless functionality that really helps bring it home.
As shocking as this may be to hear, nearly all leverless controllers on the market are still wired. The Hit Box is one of the big names in this space, and their standard option costs more and isn’t wireless. The Razer Kitsune, which many consider to be the premier leverless controller on the market, costs twice as much as the Maestro S3, and isn’t wireless either. It isn’t like it has to be one or the other, since the Maestro S3 comes with a cable.
Admittedly, that cable is about a foot shorter than I would prefer.
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PostsUnfortunately, that wireless functionality is going to matter less if you play on a PS5 or an Xbox Series console, as you are going to need to plug the controller into a Brook Wingman adapter (which also means you are going to have to fork out an additional $50 for said adapter). This is pretty typical among leverless controllers, but it’s still disappointing. I purchased a Wingman for this review, and it works brilliantly, but having to use the wire does undermine the Maestro S3’s marquee feature.
At the end of the day, the Maestro S3 is a reasonably priced, highly customizable, all-button controller. It offers a similar experience to other leverless controllers on the market, but is considerably more feature-rich than its similarly-priced competitors. I personally wish the Maestro S3 had a little more heft to it, and I do find the issue with the feet causing it to kick up a little annoying, but these are problems with easy solutions. Unless you absolutely hate the idea of using a controller wirelessly, or exclusively game on a PS5 or Xbox Series X|S, the Maestro S3 should be your first choice. For my part, I suspect that my hadoukens will be accompanied by the sounds of button clicks instead of stick swivels moving forward.
A Maestro S3 was provided to TheGamer by QRD.
QRD Maestro S3 Wireless Hitbox
Brand QRD Compatibility PS5/Xbox Series X|S (both require converter), PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mobile Buttons 18 - Hitbox configuration, Share, Turbo, Option, Q, L3 & R3 Connectivity Bluetooth, USB Type-CThe QRD S3 is a Hitbox-style controller designed for use with a wide range of systems, even mobile. It can be used wired or wirelessly, and its mechanical buttons can be replaced easily.
Pros & Cons- Highly customizable
- The trackpad and aux jack are nice additions
- One of the only Wireless All-Button controllers on the market
- The back kicks up when you rest your wrists on the front edge
- Having to use an adapter for PS5 and Xbox Series games is a bummer
