Drift-Proofing First-Party Gamepads: Gulikit TMR Stick Review + Tutorial

[@Nerrel]

10:51 Ignore the "my right" graphic in this shot. The clip was supposed to be flipped relative to what you're seeing. Lift from the THX2 ALLGAMEFANS side. Also, THX 2 all game fans.

[@mix3k818]

I wonder what your thoughts are on the state of AAA games. It looks like the really bad stuff is finally flopping lately.

[@inazuka5672]

could you tell me what song is playing at 5:10? It seems like Tom Jobim's waves and Zelda remix (🙂🔪 not asking)

[@CosmicTornado1]

You also mentioned that people should use “an old toothbrush” to clean up the flux residue. I have never soldered before, but I’ve heard that if you ever use a toothbrush during this process it needs to be a clean, new one. An old toothbrush could be misconstrued to be one that’s had toothpaste on it before, and that could damage the board (from my understanding). Maybe I’m the idiot here, but that was just a concern I had

[@armaxxx]

What about the "you bad boy" at 11:48? should I ignore that one too?

[@andreighinescu4946]

the "That Tears of The Kingdom was not very good" small print was very clever

[@Name_cannot_be_blank]

i love when he does stuff like that

[@Icarus975]

@@Name_cannot_be_blankwhat part of the video is it shown

[@Antigen__]

​@@Icarus9758:36

[@spacewhalemilk]

And accurate. TOTK exacerbated BOTW's flaws, while removing what made it good. (IMO)

[@HOTD108_]

​@@spacewhalemilkSuch as?

[@realkingofantarctica]

They used to call me the "Drift King" back on the assembly line.

[@MaximumRK]

RTGame and Nerrel actually uploaded the same exact second for their most recent vids, funnily enough

[@rawtoast1112]

I love RT he's so funny

[@JerryDX]

​@@MaximumRKIt wasn't?? There's a gap of at least 30 minutes.

[@GIR177]

GAS GAS GAS

[@YZYGWD]

Donkey kong?

[@Cinnacal]

So happy that Nerrel stopped using that text-to-speech voice from all his other videos and started using his real one instead

[@KennethConnally-np9it]

Nerrel could describe grain shipping regulations for 20 minutes and it would be hilarious and worth watching 3 times

[@SurgicalSituation]

I was just about to comment this. I don't know why but this guys comment is so damn rewatchable, even though he talks monotone and his content is dull geek stuff.

[@ShakerGER]

Yeah I am sad about the text to speech in the assembly; I am glad I don't need the guide. :)

[@pphead9960]

I was just thinking about that. If he was my teacher I’d probably get an A

[@Toro563]

Two nerrel videos in one month, we are eating good

[@DeusVult838]

It’s a Nerrel buffet at this point

[@GexLifeQuotes]

"I’m drifting more than a Mario kart at Nintendo Headquarters. This must be the switch port." -Gex

[@CowLiver]

+2

[@seraaron]

This is so much work for something that should have been fixed from stock. I've tried replacing the sticks on a drifty PS5 controller and even with my proper soldering station, hot air, etc, I still couldn't get one of the sticks to work properly. It was so easy to muck something up, like accidentally removing a microscopic resistor

[@ibrahimtamimi7561]

bro im tellin u rn dont even try to work on sony controllers they r hell

[@icyjiub2228]

That sucks that you couldn't get them to work, I sound like an asshole here, but I soldered some less expensive Hall effects in my Dualsense, as the first soldering project in several years and was able to calibrate them to great effect.

[@jorge69696]

Maybe you skipped the calibration part.

[@Slipdash]

I love how you gave them all different personalities lmao

[@MathewWithOne_T]

I really enjoyed all the celebrity cameos in the 2nd half, I recognized at least 0 of them. Our little Nerrel has made it big! I'm expecting this amout of production value from every video henceforth

[@CyberKnightProbably]

We live in the timeline where the LEADING game companies now put out hardware that speed runs their lifespan on usage.

[@atmatey]

Yeah, it’s disgusting

[@CorruptedDogg]

And consumers just keep buying new controllers as replacements instead of holding these companies accountable.

[@eighteen-naked-cowboys]

@@CorruptedDoggOh fuck off this isn't the consumers fault. What do you expect? people stop using their $500 console because the controllers keep breaking?

[@poleve5409]

​@@CorruptedDoggwhat are you even supposed to do then?

[@Awesome_Nova]

​@poleve5409 By not buying their products, I guess. But as an individual, you don't have enough power to a corporation's policies, and trying to convince millions of individuals who consume products via operant conditioning to independently stop comsuming is a waste of time. More effective tools are organized, targeted boycotts, legal action, and regulations, but those require a lot more effort to do than one individual can do

[@mrsnulch]

The production quality of Nerrel's videos is top notch every time. I'm not even particularly interested in hardware or electronics but now I am.

[@nikkeli3942]

Another video to my "Nerrel videos to fall asleep to" playlist

[@gangganggang2219]

Can you please share this playlist

[@gamemaster955]

I second that please 😊

[@Maguarkwo671]

This planned obselence NEEDS to be made ILLEGAL in EVERY country. It is absolutely disgusting that the customer needs to go out of their way to fix these issues. Not everybody has the skill or knowledge to install hall sticks.

[@dangdudedan8756]

good luck

[@friendofp.24]

I'd imagine it's difficult to objectively prove a company is intentionally making products to fail. But we all know they are.

[@chemergency]

I'm honestly planning to just quit gaming altogether and focus on my 30+ year backlog of retro games for the rest of my life once this generation is over or once FFVII Remake Part 3 or Half-Life 3 comes out and I've played it. Video games blow ass now and aren't going to be worth keeping up with for much longer.

[@poleve5409]

​@@chemergencybro maybe you just play bad games

[@poleve5409]

​@@chemergencywe're getting a new mario and luigi game

[@This-Was-Sparta]

Damn, well wishes recovering from the long covid. I've seen/heard what it does to people, absolutely hellish.

[@ZeroCiero]

Game reviewer, tingle rater, controller fixer. Nerrel is a real renaissance man

[@OnTheArchipelago]

Well said

[@ZeroScore]

I have no intention of modding my controller, but I watched this whole thing because Nerrel can even make AI-voiced tutorials funny.

[@scutoid-backrooms]

what even is going on with this AI voice lol

[@VetriVade]

I was considering purchasing these. Thank you for your dedication to controllers

[@yeagmatic]

Holy shit. Ive been looking so long for the perfect controller and I think this is it at 7:30 - D-pad in the Playstation position (for fighting games and platformers) - Tactile d-pad (it even looks similar to the one on the Vita) -TMR* sticks (for racing games) - Gyro (for shooters) On top of all that it has a bunch of other things I dont need but are still cool, like bluetooth, hall-effect/micro switch triggers, back buttons, etc I think I can finally put my Dualshock 4 to rest. Thanks, Nerrel.

[@snyders2]

the ending of this video is WILD

[@jacksonlovesnintendo]

Nerrel and his AI friends are so nice !! 👍🏻😇☺️👍🏻

[@theZodiacGriller]

Dont mess with me man

[@TastyCornSnack]

Thank you for giving SEGA the credit they deserve

[@flamestoyershadowkill6400]

The six-axis had magnetic sticks also.

[@BlueEyedVibeChecker]

@@flamestoyershadowkill6400 Have you ever seen inside of a Sixaxis or is that just what Sony told you? I repair controllers, these days more than ever before, and PS3 controllers are among the most of them, behind only Joycons and the Dualsense. But the Sixaxis also made other concessions such as the rumble being omitted entirely which makes it bad value regardless considering the price point of them at the time.

[@flamestoyershadowkill6400]

@@BlueEyedVibeChecker aware of that. The shells are thinner compared to the ps2 controller as another detail.

[@BlueEyedVibeChecker]

​@@flamestoyershadowkill6400 The thing that killed Sixaxis controllers for me was how light they were. Sure it was a small difference, but it was big enough for me that it felt like I was barely holding anything and that made it feel so... Uncomfortable? Underwhelming? I can't put a label on it, but it felt off. I like a bit of weight to my controllers, PC mice, etc. Though that's just a personal gripe for me.

[@whatsf2]

I’ve been WAITING for these, my two pairs of joycon have been drift free for a year now edit: very nice music choice for the tutorial section lol

[@Davaroni]

Listening to people go in depth about really specific technical things is my favorite type of video.

[@sullumeent]

I laughed out loud when the "miracles" song dude was on the magnet; amazing homestuck reference

[@SW-zb6bf]

Planned obsolescence is pure evil

[@wwyattMC]

The Violent J magnet joke at the beginning caught me so off guard. You're the GOAT Nerrel.

[@guigondi7671]

I find Nerrel videos to be FASCINATING! He covers such a wide range of knowledge that i can barely understand... videos are well edited too!!!

[@leoncca]

You narrate very well, the text to speech accusation is very dumb

[@animeking1357]

"Fuckin drift, how does it work? And I don't wanna talk to a Nintendo employee, y'all are lyin and getting me pissed." - Insane Clown Posse probably

[@mcluigi117]

Nerrel, I love watching you grease up your stick. Keep up the good work!

[@iquemedia]

the TTS bit was so gd funny this is why I love your content homie

[@WilliamMurphy-wp79]

Wave is one of my go-to chill out albums, was surprised to hear it in a Nerrel video.

[@Taxidii]

Nice to see some Brazilian Bossa Nova being used by non-brazilian channels

[@smartperson1]

This is a great overview and review. Thank you. I've been curious about the TMRs since their announcement.

[@s_callahan]

idec about controllers i just wanna hear nerrel talk and learn something new i love this guy

[@ChevalierSilver]

Nice video. Your quality is super consistent

[@H786...]

thank you, ive been so invested into the switch pro controller on PC yet even I didnt know you can calibrate it.

[@TapDat52K]

Get better Nerrel! Also great guide. Love the voice AI changes!

[@GabrielFerreira-mo3hu]

Good music selection for this one Nerrel.

[@Yoshifan22]

Im actually happy to hear someone else having issues with a ps5 controller drifting. I had to buy a new one because the drift got so bad. I was in the process of soldering a new stick on but unfortunately I had to step away from it for a bit and my youngest decided to play demolition with the circuit board. Having an actual answer to this overwhelming fear I have with these new, expensive controllers is nice at least

[@ryanroche2442]

The TTS disassembly segment started to sound like an airplane safety video

[@Willie6785]

dude I got myself a gulikit, despite some issues with the dongle sometimes not picking the controller up, the build quality on them is pretty great (still room for improvement tho). Tons of features as well. The hall effect sticks and the back paddles are great, and 2.4ghz is a must for me. I tried 2 8bitdo controllers before and neither of them were satisfying enough (the face buttons on both occasionally double clicked as well)

[@rainbowkrampus]

I have a KingKong2 and while I do like it, it did require some fiddling. Hopefully if they get enough attention they can sort out these manufacturing issues and become a genuine threat to the console manufacturers and force them to abandon these garbage planned obsolescence tactics.

[@theZodiacGriller]

Most entertaining guide I ever borked My controller is bricked, but on the plus side I can't play totk anymore, LETS GOO

[@auxiliarion]

comtroler

[@Cliffordlonghead]

how

[@MetricPolygon]

KZbin asked me what I thought of this comment and I want you to know that I gave it the highest smiley face rating available

[@hylianbran7273]

I love the Saturn 3d controller so much that I put switch joy con sticks in it because I just can't get enough of buying replacements. Man, disposable controllers are AWESOME!

[@MagnaLynx21]

None of my controllers, apart from childhood N64 controllers acquired from an eBay bundle, have ever experienced any drift issues and I'm so glad because while I enjoy soldering, doing anymore than that is a nightmare.

[@AngelBolt]

I have no intention of re-soldering my controller, but goddamn it this is still fun enough to watch.

[@AngelBolt]

I've also decided to not get a switch 2 whatever unless it has hall controllers.

[@H786...]

omg i didnt even know how the screws were JIS everyone just says to use phillips in the teardown guides you are legit

[@UkraineJames2000]

17:13 "If this still doesn't work, then god dammit, man" I felt that.

[@MakiW2409]

I won these sticks from one of guli kit's raffle back when no one could buy it. And i can confirm something about your claims, on the Dualsense these sticks are perfect and easy to calibrate!

[@hotarubi_]

Nerrel on that Bossa Nova wave.

[@PoopaPapaPalpatine]

It's nice to see something someone is passionate about, even though it's like listening to a foreign language.

[@Bobson_Dugnutt_Esq]

Thank you for dropping the text to speech. I think we all suspected that your real voice was multimodal and consisted of many different accents, pitches and modes of inflection

[@scutoid-backrooms]

genuinely willing to listen to this whole soulless ai monologue because the content is so informative

[@icyjiub2228]

I did this a few months ago with some Hall effects on my launch dualsense and had a great experience, apparently those TMR sticks are basically perfect but these are good enough for now.

[@Coaltergeist]

You mentioned Sega using HE sticks on the Saturn which I didn't know about, but there's also the launch model sixaxis controllers from Sony.

[@DoctorMario606]

I have a gulikit king kong pro 2 and its the best controller ive ever gotten my hands on. I got like a year or 2 ago and its still really good

[@rainbowkrampus]

Mine had a couple issues that needed to be sorted out. But they were minor fixes (just had to take it apart and file off some excess plastic) and the sticks have never given me any issues. Definitely the way to go for PC or Switch if someone is afraid of soldering for some reason.

[@thatguyfromrezero5846]

Thank you so much, Nerrel. Keep up the Lord’s Work.

[@NessyBoy64]

Nice work Nerrel!

[@bobvella7228]

think it's interesting where nerrel puts his effort, soldering and hex editing his controllers and skipping benches in hollow knight.

[@PrincessRinsicles]

The reveal of your real voice at 8:45 was very exciting, it sounds much better than the AI one you use normally!

[@orwellianson]

New Nerrel video! REJOICE!

[@heyitsmort7744]

Nerrel can teach anything :) love how liable this channel is /j

[@Chavelo_00]

LMAO I got no desire to swap sticks at the moment but I had to see the whole vid, the text-to-speech AI part of the vid was definitely worth watching

[@razordmg64]

Had to comment because of the banger music selection. Love from 🇧🇷

[@deterlanglytone]

"Sega has been using hall effect stick for decades" and I've been using my imported Sega 3d Saturn Pad for that time too, the stick is perfectly working. If I remember the reason why though, and forgive me if you mention this in the video, I might forget to mention it otherwise so I am commenting before finishing, the creator/design didn't like the designs he was seeing from the other companies, so used this tech instead as it it was superior in his eyes.

[@ArcueidBrunestuddo]

Funny how the Dualsense Edge has module joystick replacements yet Gulikit couldn't figure out how to make a hall effect version despite announcing they were making one and canceled it. Instead if you want hall effect on Dualsense Edge you'll have to buy a kit that requires soldering which defeats the purpose of being module.

[@ChaoticD3sTroYeR]

I like how you used multiple different narrating Text to speech voices after the quip of people thinking your natural voice is one anyway, Gave me a good laugh. 😂😂

[@smartperson1]

8:30 CORPOARATION 😅

[@odiedodieuk]

New Nerrel video on literally anything, even something I don’t care about and won’t even attempt myself: You son of a bitch, I’m in.

[@XBladenoJutsu]

Fun fact. PS3 controllers used magnetic sticks too. Not sure about PS1 and 2 sticks though, but they probably did too because I don't remember them ever causing me any issues back in the day.

[@schwarzenhead5685]

They actually did not. The sticks themselves and the potentiometers were a fair bit larger and less precise than modern ones, thus less prone to wear and tear. PS1 and PS2 controllers also calibrate themselves each time after powering on when you do a full rotation of the sticks.

[@XBladenoJutsu]

@@schwarzenhead5685 Good to know. Too bad they went back to pots for the PS4 and 5 sticks, especially PS5 since that was the time when people were finally taking notice of Hall Effect tech again. They could at least offer a replaceable Hall Effect solution for their overpriced controller.

[@Hysteria98]

Nerrel really flexing his voice acting skills in the second half, god damn.

[@setherly9137]

I'm listening to this video while playing Bloodborne with my drifting Dualsense. ☕️

[@isaacwinters6954]

This is my ASMR

[@Justeego]

Dual shock 2 didn't have hall sticks but a built in calibration, just rotating the sticks was enough to center them, now show me how planned obsolescence isn't a thing

[@nikopierrot]

Is there something for Dualsense Edge planned or available? I keep seeing mixed things online and I know Gulikit promised Hall Effect for the DS5 a few years ago. I mainly got an edge to be my "everything" controller on PC and future-proofing it would be nice.

[@108kitsune]

8:07 glad to see you are working on sounding human, Nerrel_AI

[@Covarr]

I was waiting and waiting for that one TikTok voice. You know the one.

[@SeasoningTheObese]

The game industry replicating the 80s crash nearly 1:1 is only a positive at this point. Literally asking for $1000 to play the same games you already bought.

[@KE-yq2eg]

If Iwata was still alive, this Joy Con shit wouldn't be a problem.

[@ForgetfulPretzel]

The GOAT returns.

[@jeffholce2176]

I love you nerrel! You make the best videos!

[@LinkiePup]

Probably won’t be going through the hassle, but Imma stick around anyways, because I like you Nerrel man. Tell your AI overlords hello for me.

[@nevahmalseht]

violent j magnet being my beloved

[@Suggestive_Carp]

I really appreciate your passion

[@soulsolis3096]

I just feel the need to say, I own a DualSense Edge for the simple reason to put hall effect WITHOUT soldering, and before you call me a moron, which you may be right, just know I couldn't know in advance that the Edge sticks CAN'T be re-calibrated yet, I'm still very much hoping Gulikit reaches the ability to re-calibrate them, cause that would make this 200$ controller the best controller ever made imo.

[@Grimmzy30000]

even though you briefly touched on it, finally I have validation in how much a pain in the dick it is to replace joycon sticks. Good hustle here though, thanks for going through the work of troubleshooting and testing these jawns in a thorough manner! +1 on using a soldering kit to get comfortable using a soldering iron - that was my intro into learning how to solder correctly. Since then I used a solder sucker and some testing keycaps to repair some previously busted keyboards and build a left-hand keypad (from a split ergo kit that was in the scraps and b-grade parts bin and leftover switches from an absolutely toasted keyboard). and +1 for adding more solder on a join that's stubborn. Surprisingly this video is a nice tips/tricks/tutorial on someone doing their first practical solder job!

[@108kitsune]

Honestly I love how many features I will never use controllers have

[@JFTSwiertz]

thank goodness nerrel posted, i can finally have my opinion on these things i like.

[@irregulargamer1352]

Oh boy a new nerrel video

[@ShakerGER]

All of your vids are always facts facts facts rapid fire. If you aren't 100% sure you say it. I love it.

[@metroidhunter2861]

that second computer voice sound like George Woodman from Deadly Premonition

[@Kiyuja]

to be fair. When I was new to the channel I also thought you were using TTS.

[@AeonFM]

Coincidentally bought an 8bitdo pro 2 yesterday w/ hall effect haha

[@Snooopy28]

those controllers and 8bitdo are goated

[@rightrudderleftstick]

5:11 why not try installing shims underneath the stick to bias it back into center? Like maybe a thin triangle of kapton tape right under the side of the base that is in the direction of where the center is offset, to push it back towards center

[@MozTS]

sounds like a stupid idea that will make the stick mushy

[@rainbowkrampus]

Been using the GuliKit KingKong 2 for awhile now and it's in tip top shape. Manufacturing does seem to be an issue for them. Face buttons on mine didn't have all the flashing removed, so they started squeaking and sticking. But opening it up and filing off the excess plastic was pretty simple. If you don't want to mess around with learning to solder (why? it's easy and a valuable skill and makes you look cool and sexy) I can recommend the controller. Though if you want to use it for Playstation I think you're SOL and need to learn to solder, which you should anyway.

[@hgmd3284]

i might do this for my switch lite once it starts drifting

[@thatsruffdog]

I’ve had 2 dual sense controllers for over 2 years and I have not had drift. I got a pair of Joy-cons in 2018 and 2019 and probably stopped using them all together by 2020 cos they were ALL horribly drifting. Since then, I used 2 3rd party game pads and a pro controller. Oh, and the GameCube controller I got at goodwill a few years ago still had no internal defects.

[@ValkyrieTiara]

Nerrel? You good, homie?