Upgrading my Ducky One 2 Mini into an Enthusiast Keyboard!

[@TaeKeyboards]

Not really a guide, just something I did for fun. And by fun, I mean not fun, because it involves desoldering and lubing, and no one asked for it 🥰

[@akashjaladurgam2374]

I see you swim 🏊‍♂️ inside passion 🌺🌺 love your work. I hope 1 keyboard from you. I will remember it all time ❤️

[@akashjaladurgam2374]

I Resubscribed you 😅😅

[@wasif_1x]

No one asked for it you said but we love it

[@michaelsywak]

I ordered ducky mecha mini with cherry browns and was thinking about upgrading the switches to zealios v2's. does the mecha mini have the some led's that require desoldering?

[@TaeKeyboards]

@@michaelsywak nope. they should be SMD LEDs, so you will not need to desolder any LEDs :)

[@d2cuadrados510]

I'd rather walk on a mile of Legos barefooted than desolder an entire keyboard with rgb switches. You're a madlad XD

[@PinataOblongata]

It's just Lego, not Legos. It's like the plural of one sheep is many sheep. One piece of Lego, a whole bunch of Lego.

[@d2cuadrados510]

@@PinataOblongata I'm pretty sure it's a hole buncha Legi.

[@stilldomi]

@@PinataOblongata its Lego's you can't change my mind

[@PinataOblongata]

@@stilldomi You think it's "Lego is"? A contraction, now? Have you ever heard the expression "not even wrong"? It's reserved for people who are so far from correct, that their postulate couldn't even be granted the consolation of being wrong, because that would imply some sort of sensibility adjacent to the topic, whereas said people aren't even in the general ballpark.. or postcode... lol ;)

[@Aggrofool]

@@PinataOblongata You may want to look at the grammar mistakes and awkward sentences in your own reply.

[@youcher]

a moment of silence for tae having to desolder all that

[@berni_schmorg]

I was just wondering where does all the solder go when you suck it??? Is there a reservoir of some sorts? What if it gets filled up?

[@get_troll]

@@berni_schmorg they can be repurposed if you are big workshop but when you are only a individual user you can only toss it away

[@360Turn]

lol definitely

[@kevinleven7482]

would literally eat my pants for coin asmr 4 From personal use with the “solder sucker” it usually falls right out of the nozzle. Making a subtle mess when soldering A Lot. But you can see he has a tray to to his left to put all the solder he sucked previously 2:18

[@Memann208]

@@berni_schmorg It usually just falls out the tip again. Its important to repeatedly clean your pump though, or else it might clog. I have a cheap pump that you can open at the back to clean it, or you just let it fall out the mouth. I insert the iron for a second inside the tip if ever the solder gets stuck inside the tip and not inside.

[@gi-hyunpaik6286]

For the People who like to compare stock keyboard typing: 0:34 modded keyboard typing: 11:38

[@nicokart6632]

You can also do 13:30

[@literate-aside]

My guy did a generous thing, marred by not watching for a few more seconds 🤣🤣

[@fotixCS]

stock sounds quite nice ngl

[@rr-dy5ij]

fotix it’d sound nice if it weren’t for the springy noise in the stock one

[@finmckenzie8412]

That is so much nicer lubed and foamed

[@johnyjoe2k]

Dude, I just want to thank you so much. You inspired me to mod my old keyboards and to build my own hot swap. I lubed 2 of my old boards, just like you described in your superlube videos, then went even further with one of them, took out the stabilizers, band-aid modded and greased them, then foam padded the bottom case. It made that board feel so much tighter and amazing to type on. Then my hotswap board, I made sure to follow all your directions, I lubed with my own mix of krytox 205/105, greased stabilizers and band-aid padded them, foam padded the bottom case and my god is this keyboard amazing! Am typing on it right now! It was my own bday present to myself and I have you to thank for that! Once again, thank you! Also, realized I wasn't subbed to you, but you've earned my sub!

[@TaeKeyboards]

That's awesome man!

[@chinstrap9115]

And mine

[@Cinekeysbytommy]

12:43 : ''Do you want to use Sticky Keys?''

[@Avolava]

Tommy his little flinch as well lmao

[@ThunderDraws]

oh god yeah please disable that hahaha

[@JFK_Speedwagon]

*Esc*

[@iGoku1]

I use shift to, you know, shift in Minecraft, so I had to disable that fast cuz I love spamming shift in the game 😂😂.

[@el_canal_de_peky]

iGoku speedbridging?

[@BlissOn47]

My mans really stoked for the Twice comeback

[@TaeKeyboards]

today!

[@ja_r6174]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYSrc4iDjretna8

[@eagleroxy2]

JA_EU Don’t self promote

[@KingOpdude]

@Nebojša Ivančević if you can find a Leopold go for it

[@link3457]

@Nebojša Ivančević a ducky or an akko

[@tophrii]

Would love an entire series of modding over-the-counter keyboards to be more enthusiast-like. I did almost exactly the same thing for my GMMK TKL, disassembled, repainted, foamed, and lubed the switches and stabs, and it was night and day difference as well. It was so much fun.

[@ryank09]

That stool probably has more paint on it than my house.

[@roboticvenom1935]

Car would've been a lot better*

[@CaveyMoth]

That stool probably has more dents than my car.

[@patrickaldea5550]

Came for the mods. Stayed for the Twice playing in the background. Hope you're as hyped for the comeback as I am.

[@kennuimuffins2426]

Absolute mouthful of a name.

[@whiffysole]

Always love these kinds of modding videos, hope to see more in the future.

[@SaYDiEShApEr]

That is dedication to the craft desoldering through-hole led and switches! ❤

[@imafirinmalaser]

Bruv, you did such a clean job of sucking the solder out! Honestly, respect fam!

[@Estrupa27]

Where I can buy this keycaps?

[@paugomez3609]

ostias estrupa que haces aqui?

[@paugomez3609]

yo estoy igual, me quiero comprar el teclado Ducky pero no se con que keycaps

[@kelvynchan1998]

@@imSylo. where did you even find the word gmk striker red lmao

[@marsoce2909]

@@kelvynchan1998 its the brand

[@kelvynchan1998]

@@marsoce2909 there's no such thing as red striker 😂 thats gmk jamon

[@dachampion_9993]

That’s some insane de-soldering u had to do there. Kudos to u for that

[@mrtumytums]

I know it was a lot of effort but thanks for making this video. It is really helpful for someone who is new to the real modding work and its great to see the process and effort that goes into it

[@ShaiyanHossain]

this is the way

[@chai9926]

I’ve never refurbished a keyboard in my life, I don’t plan on doing it at any point, and yet this was probably the most engaging video I’ve watched in months

[@NFiniteCombos]

I didn't even consider modding my existing kb. I rather like the k70 from Corsair. I just live the sounds from enthusiast keyboards but don't have the technical know how to do it myself. Maybe I can find someone in Vegas whose good at this and just upgrade the lube and key caps and maybe jump to holy pandas

[@Theo-jw6hz]

Really enjoyed this video man. Great content as usual.

[@user-xo2ut8uf4u]

i would love to watch a series, where you customize/ make popular gaming keyboard sound and feel better.

[@MrHockeyhead019]

would have loved a sound test with the old key caps after the mods were done just to get a feel for how much of a difference the key caps really make

[@BlercNet]

Πώς μου ξέφυγε αυτό το βίντεο; Συγχαρητήρια, για ακόμα μια φορά εξαιρετικό περιεχόμενο. Μείνε ασφαλής

[@TaeKeyboards]

μείνε ασφαλής φίλε μου

[@lachlanjones962]

For sound dampening in a One 2 Mini, I recommend shelf liner. It's a lot thinner so fits nicely in the little space between the pcb and case.

[@TaeKeyboards]

yep my stuff was way too thick lol

[@kanyewest6931]

12:40 “sticky keys opens”

[@thatkeyboardgirlsha3442]

I feel like crying when i watch this video again. this was the first video i watched to help me decide if i wanted to get started on the keyboard building trend....and now i'm a custom builder and i've sold about 10 extremely custom builds....i'm so nostalgic now, thank you Tae for everything

[@snortgfuel]

Wait how did you manage to get 10 comissions in 10 months as a newcomer?

[@thatkeyboardgirlsha3442]

@@snortgfuel plenty of gamer friends who wanted customs n ever since the virus n ppl have been stuck at home they've been wanting to upgrade their setups

[@etn]

@@thatkeyboardgirlsha3442 that’s awesome holy shit

[@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017]

I think this was the best sound comparison I've seen. It really shows what a difference some lube can make.

[@atomic8681]

Honestly I'd buy the new hyperx switch boards if they were hotswappable. Many budget mechs are so much better than the alloy fps (original one).

[@Memann208]

Mainstream gaming brands generally have shit, overpriced boards.

[@vvparadise2384]

If anyone wants to know the song at 5:06 it's Wine and Wishes by Jamie Bathgate. Super underrated song!

[@senseofpermanence]

Loved the Nausicaa on the background.

[@actionmethod]

I just upgraded my One 2 Mini, I used a thick silicone grease to lube the keyswitches and create drag, then I used a rubber hose cut in 1,5m slices as o-rings to dampen the keycap noise. It sound and feels a million times better now.

[@LoneRiderz]

Can you do a video showing disassembly of the Ducky One 2? I need to take one apart to replace a switch and there's no video showing how it's done.

[@znlive5018]

I'm doing the same with my Ducky One 2 mini. I'm swapping Cherry Blues for Kailh Creams, also putting new stabilizers and an aluminum case. Even without the extra 4-pin-leds, mine was a pain to desolder. I would rather buy a new pcb than desolder one more time, but I had the DO2M lying around so why not.

[@sterfry8154]

hey man what's the song at 8:40? absolutely great video btw cheers!

[@v_o_n_a]

+

[@sterfry8154]

@Caleb Shell ur so right thanks!! Could vibe to that for a hot min

[@CovaBreh]

that backspace sounds RIDICULOUSLY brilliant

[@stephanderriks4384]

what kind of keycaps did you use?

[@999samus7]

You have the patience that all your subscribers together don't, great vid, we were all waiting for the other keyboard video to see how far patience can take you with a dirt cheap kb, but this vid is ok.

[@harrisonkelly8280]

The metallic chime when using the switches at the start of the video :((((((((((((((((((((((

[@Meraik]

The switches sounded good before except for the stabs but after modding it’s even better

[@Flo-xz3pb]

does anyone know what those stabilizers are?, or are they stock?

[@Meheheteehee2]

What is that deskmat at 11:37? It looks super clean

[@irsyxd486]

Is that twice video u played on the monitor?

[@TaeKeyboards]

yupppp

[@_reqqz_]

the spring ping before switching the spring was so damn obvious. after the lubing and spring swap the switch sounded so much better the bottom row of switches that didnt have much foam definitely sounded a bit hollow but that was probably because of how little space the case had for foam but the top row with the foam definitely sounded awesome.

[@sidneynguyen9116]

the chair he used to spray paint is crustier than my keyboard

[@EileenTheCr0w]

omg the patience to do this... I could not justify this over buying another board that's already hotswap

[@colodesu8546]

spray a keyboard with line-x to make the unbreakable keyboard

[@jakejohnson6300]

honestly one of the best ones I've heard yet, massive improvement

[@rizetherock]

The spacebar ruins it imo something seems off about the sound

[@TaeKeyboards]

yeh its scratchy. couldn't really fix it. i lubed the housings too. also the keycaps are different. the stock have a looser fit, but some other ones i tried, the spacebar wouldn't even return lol.

[@rizetherock]

TaeKeyboards that’s disappointing, if the spacebar had the same thock and sound as the backspace, that would be incredible for a modded prebuilt keyboard. Nonetheless it was really cool seeing the transformation and effort put into making it ^_^

[@znlive5018]

@@TaeKeyboards Try Cherry housings with the Ducky wire (which seems to be a little bit thicker than the Cherry one), it fixed my problems with the spacebar not returning of feeling extremely mushy.

[@grizzay4097]

I mean no matter how hard he worked for the keyboards that he modded and stuff, we still appreciate that he made them sound so good.

[@rice4u]

and here i thought having a ducky was already enthusiast.

[@ihatehumans5185]

lol

[@Animifritt]

Not even an enthusiast of mechanical keyboards, but thoroughly enjoyed this video.

[@ryankohan4164]

12:50 thats how I test my clicks "YEP good"

[@pepavasata6790]

I'm actually surprised how good it was stock. That was really not horrible.

[@faxoncrack9462]

Does anybody else go into extremely deep thought for no reason as he is working on the keyboard while he isn’t talking

[@austinh863]

after desoldering 168 sockets(84 keys) I feel bad and praise you for this daunting task

[@egbt2147]

Great vid mate! Kinda feels like this keyboard has "Red Velvet" vibes.

[@TaeKeyboards]

oh yeh, you a reveluv??

[@egbt2147]

Yesssss I am 😉👌

[@goat-]

14:49 i never knew you could do that :O

[@haadess]

Thats kinda satisfying

[@jimrossabrena7955]

Lol yes. I bought 200 o-rings that came with a wire keycap puller and I love pulling out the caps four at a time 😁

[@alexmanriquez8079]

dude i could watch you mod keyboards for hours

[@eternalwanderer3785]

Totally understand how you feel, I just desoldered my old Quickfire TK browns (cause I like the form factor), and lubed the switches and stabs (as well as clipped them). Was my first attempt at soldering in years, so I ended up blowing 2 of the leds... everything works though.. but definitely risky. Desoldering is a pain with a pump. Just a question, which pump would you recommend? My cheap pump was getting stuck with solder part way through and had to be cleared so often :(

[@ashleyloh333]

Could you make a video on upgrading a tecware phantom elite 87 into an enthusiast keyboard!

[@doanle1282]

Is there a reason why you didn’t do the bandaid mod? Also, is it possible to do the bandaid mod for the ducky without desoldering? Great video btw ;)

[@WalterFrancis]

Was actually kind of hoping for seeing what to do to a premade board to improve it without removing all the switches. Some sound deadening stuff in the back, lubing stabilizers up top as much as can be done? Not sure about that middle standaoff, I'd be afraid the board would sag there but maybe not.

[@ubberJakerz]

I'm reeaallly wanting to do something like this with my durgod hades.

[@TxwnyHurdle]

Did you do it

[@ubberJakerz]

@@TxwnyHurdle In the process. Desoldering sucked, but it's going well. Swapped the MX brown stems with Polias, so it'll.be very tactile and poppy. Also doing a layer of PE foam on the PCB and cutting some foam to sit between the plate and PCB. Not sure what to do with the case. Maybe some car audio dampening putty.

[@TxwnyHurdle]

@@ubberJakerz that was 6 months ago how did you even know about my comment

[@ubberJakerz]

@@TxwnyHurdle Came back to their video to see how he dealt with the center standoffs, noticed this comment since it was at the top for me lol.

[@TxwnyHurdle]

@@ubberJakerz oh lol

[@bryanvinodh9500]

Mannnnn finally someone that actually did it, 6 pins for each switch... I have a razer tenkeyless Blackwidow chroma keyboard and i bought lubed and filmed gateron browns and yellows to fit in but when i opened it up i didn't expect it to have 6 I thought it would only be like 3-4 and so i gave up.. I guess this gave me some hope Imma try doing it then

[@adyotnigam2510]

the sticky keys be like beep

[@Novica89]

I actually maybe even prefer the keyboard sound prior to the upgrade

[@placeholder3863]

poor chair/stool always being painted on

[@Teklien]

this video makes me very happy the One 3 SF is hotswap!!! I'm also gonna do a silicone pour instead of foam.

[@zzzx7738]

TWICE? i see a man of culture

[@HalianTheProtogen]

Every single mechboard should have sockets. And, more crucially, good sockets; I'm typing on a board with Outemu sockets right now and it sucks royale not being able to use other companies' switches. The spring ping makes me want to do unspeakable things to get away from it.

[@bradenlee1453]

Dang this must have taken days to do. It’s so tedious.

[@graham107]

Can you please review the Kemove Snowfox?

[@nabongfs]

okay i see u on the right, more&more teaser

[@MisterMayhem17]

Your desoldering job looks immaculate. My goodness.

[@bro6801]

That chair you spraipainted on is crusty

[@TheBaileyMidland]

You make amazing and professional content, and all of us in your community appreciate all your hard work and dedication!

[@VisualCalculus]

that mustve been the most tedious shit ever

[@YelovXD]

I had the same foam and I just didn't bother screwing it in, left the PCB freely sitting on the foam and case.

[@Deactrals]

thgirud

[@dylanpovich8850]

bro this was sick you need more credit bc you spend so much time editing and then making the video

[@skiouros645]

Do you think you could try modding an anne pro 2 with gateron black inks? im going to try it before i actually start building keyboards and wanted some tips on how not to mess it up. Thank you!

[@TaeKeyboards]

basically the same as what I did here, but you wouldn't need to desolder the LEDs because they're SMD on the Anne Pro 2.

[@rohana.7760]

Been getting bored waiting for my group buy to fulfil, have a one 2 mini laying around so I’m gonna be trying this in a few weeks when my soldering kit comes. Sounds really good!

[@SupeIex]

I tried to do a similar project on my steelseries m750 tkl, with swapping the switches and lubing them. I ended up buying a small pack of switches to test if I liked them, and if they fit into the keyboard, but unfortunately the pcb was too fragile, and the itty bitty heat that I put on to melt the solder also somehow messed up the copper plates within the pcb, or the resistors used to control the rgb. The rgb went to the trash can, but the keyboard still works, as I'm typing on it at the moment. I'm planning on buying a new keyboard to customizing it a little, but I'm too anxious to solder another board, not knowing its limits, as they are mass production boards that go through a generic furnace, and not a concentrated solder iron. You live and you learn.

[@WoongDavidChoi]

What is the legitimate foam for this? Obviously bunnings one is too thick. Any recommendation?

[@johnzelaya7338]

getting a aluminium case would sound so nice with this

[@mingchan9228]

If its hotswap, I get the north facing orientation of the switches, but for a soldered pcb, I don't understand why they won't go for south facing orientation.

[@francisandreiver2771]

Nice vid as always! But can you do a review of yc66 acrylic keyboard from AliExpress? Thanks

[@troygom59]

the sound quality on this video is insane

[@speaktobrett]

Great video as always Mendez

[@TaeKeyboards]

thansk bruv

[@LightCarver]

You can get a desoldering station for that kind of work.

[@woouinluigh]

I honestly thought it doesn't sound too bad in its stock form, especially for a stock board

[@user-se5xg3vz8p]

Well, it is a ducky board still

[@Oatsy26x]

I don’t entirely hate the keycaps. For a stock keyboard I mean the spacebars pretty cool.

[@bobbursey7492]

do you make keyboards for people if you do how much would it be to make one for me and that could work for nintendo switch

[@Stop_Elitists_Wars]

Loving the final look but for me it's all very loud.. Rubberized keyboards appealing.

[@tripy75]

If only you could put qmk on those boards. I'd like to be able to program the board more than being able to change the switches.

[@abdomination]

I did frog tape and some pe foam. I ordered some 1/8" neoprene I'm going to swap with the pe. I need to do some syringe lubing of the stabilizers but just with the frog tape and the pe it already sounds much better to me. I acutally quite like the machine gun sound and feel.

[@StagnantMizu]

Try too update the ducky mecha mini, I got it and ordered a custom cable, pbt keycaps,artisan escape key, and artisan space and enter. Further I lubed the switches with superlube and a syringe to apply it slowly (used around 3ml for all the keys). I also got a wooden walnut wrist rest.

[@StagnantMizu]

It feels and sounds so premium. The anodized alu case is premium too

[@StagnantMizu]

I also added sound foam in the casing. it feels insanely premium it went from sounding meh to your custom boards just by adding foam, lube(switches and stabs)

[@xmelloniax]

Isnt it cheaper and easier just building a custom?

[@StagnantMizu]

@@xmelloniax not really just anodized aluminium casimg will set you back 100, and then you need a lot more

[@mrfaade304]

big brain thinking wearing grey while you painted with that metallic silver lol

[@Memann208]

Great timing, I was about to mod my own One 2 Mini with lubed Gats. I already lubed the stabs a bit with some Superlube using an interdental brush, but I don't think it does as good as a job than removing the stabs and then lubing it. I just had to wait a bit for all my tools to come in. I already tried putting foam on the board before, and the case doesnt really have a lot of space. Apart from screwing it down, I had a lot of trouble lining the USB-C and dip switches out. I already used like thin crafting foam for that. I was a bit worried about the strong pinging not going away because of the steel plate. Turns out it was just spring ping I guess, which I didnt think it was because the pinging existed on both the cherry and hyperx boards. Though I guess alu plates still give a thockier experience than steel. Never thought of just repainting my case though, I thought I could have just gone for a standard tray-mount metal case like a GH 60 metal case. Might try repainting the bottom part a nice reddish-brown. Wondering how it would look without the top layer though, if it will like give a floating switch design look.

[@Memann208]

Update: Swapped to lube gat yellows with 205. Removing and inspecting the stabs showed they were already lubed well enough. Removed the middle stand-off as well. No foam at all, but I might try putting some weights instead inside of the case. First time modding, and I ripped off one of the pcb contacts on the TAB key while despoldering. Soldering went smoothly though. I'd advise a pump + wick for desoldering, just to make the finishing touches easier. You'd need to have a clean desolder to remove switches.

[@TaeKeyboards]

@@Memann208 awesome stuff! love seeing people mod their boards :)

[@Memann208]

@@TaeKeyboards Thanks! I learned a lot from your channel about modding and custom kits, and thought that it wouldn't be that hard to just buy a pre-built and mod it! Also I tried to pack the foam I had into the space bar instead, and I think it had a pretty good effect on it. Gave it a more thonky sound and I left some clearance to prevent it from hitting the switch / stabs and shorten the travel. Not sure if it's just placebo, but it would be nice to test out! The result honestly reminds me of the difference between Cherry and SA caps.