QRD Maestro S3 Review: Wireless, affordable & tournament-ready

The QRD Maestro S3 Wireless a tasty option for those interested in swapping from controller to fight stick, or in this case arcade controller. We had the opportunity to get the QRD Maestro S3 Wireless in our hands to put it through its paces, and we were pleasantly surprised by the results as put together this product review.

Leverless arcade controllers - also known as hit box-style controllers - are now quite common and far from as bizarre a proposition as they once were. Leverless controllers have been around now for over a decade in the FGC, and offer their own benefits.

Disclaimer: esports.gg was kindly provided with a sample of the QRD Maestro S3 Wireless by QRD for review. As an Amazon Associate esports.gg will earn from qualifying purchases.

Visually the QRD Maestro S3 has a very clean design, it's a charcoal black with 12 programmable buttons. All the buttons have smooth arcade-style edges to them which allows you to easily glide between buttons to perform more complicated move inputs. The rims of the buttons are transparent which means you’ll get to enjoy your RGB experience, we personally loved the teal and red.

There are six function keys that are all centralised at the top of the QRD Maestro S3, which you’ll need if you want to navigate using it with a console. 

The QRD Maestro S3 works wirelessly via Bluetooth, which is a big perk of the hit box-style controller compared to many of its competitors. The battery life with LEDs on is around 8 hours, and it takes approximately 3 hours to charge. If you do want to use it cabled however, the cable is long enough to not have you hugging the back of your PC or console.

The QRD Maestro S3 Wireless has a solid well-built frame, and fits quite comfortably on your desk or lap as the weight is evenly distributed and its not too bulky. Width wise it's about the size of a 13-inch iPad but twice as thick.

All buttons are black but you have three sets of Green, Red and Yellow buttons to customize the look or color code it to match Light, Mid and Heavy Punch in Street Fighter 6 for example.

The QRD Maestro S3 also comes with SOCD Cleaning Modes, which if you're unfamiliar with fighting sticks might sound like a setting you'd see on a washing machine. However, we're here to educate you on what those modes actually do, and why they are actually incredible important (especially in competition).

SOCD Cleaning Modes -  SOCD stands for Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Directions, and occurs when you enter multiple inputs at the same time. SOCD Cleaning Modes allow you to define what action your controller should take when this happens. If you plan to enter tournaments you will be required to have a controller with SOCD Cleaning, so the QRD Maestro S3 ticks that box. 

The QRD Maestro S3 Wireless comes with four options.

The QRD Maestro S3 Wireless (Check price on Amazon) in terms of price is a good entry fight stick, especially if you're apprehensive of swapping from controller. In comparison, Razer's premium Kitsune fight stick is at time of writing more than twice the price, and perhaps more of a purchase for those who've tested the waters with a fight stick and plan to ditch controller permanently.

The QRD Maestro S3 Wireless is plug-in-and-play when it comes to playing on Desktop, and works natively on the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. However, when it comes to the PS5 it's a little bit more tricky. Sony implemented security measures on the PlayStation 5 to prevent third-party controllers and fight sticks working natively with PS5 games. Therefore, in order to use the QRD Maestro S3 you'll need to use an adapter.

Fortunately, a QRD Blackpill PS5 Wireless Adaptor and Converter is included in the box. This is plugged into the USB Slot of the PlayStation 5 and helps to bypass the additional barrier on the console. That said, my personal experience with the adaptor included was it was hit or miss and very fiddly. If you too encounter this issue, I recommend looking into getting the Brook Wingman FGC Adapter as a long-term solution. QRD even have a tutorial of how to use it on their website.

The QRD Maestro S3 is a perfect fight stick to wet your appetite, and the build quality and wireless functionality make it very convenient to use and carry to your local FGC event. Very easy to set up on PC and get into the action. The only cons of the controller are the spotty PS5 compatibility, lack of visual customization options from QRD for it - if that's something you particularly care about - and the Bluetooth mode has a slight delay.