The Slab MX: a MONSTROUSLY cool controller!

Today let's check out these monster Slab MX all-button controller from ArcadePCBs. They have that sandwiched transparent acrylic design, utilize full-size key switches, and then also allow for lots of fun customization features. Just check out the LEDs and that huge OLED screen! I'll show you how to make use of some of these features and then offer my thoughts on the unit as a whole.
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Twitter: @AFightstick
Thanks to ArcadePCBs for giving me a review controller. Check them out if you'd like to order a Slab MX (or Mini) for yourself.
www.etsy.com/s...
Check Gp2040-ce.info for documentation and LED Shortcuts
Firmware update if you need it: github.com/tro...
Art template if you need it: drive.google.c...

[@hotshotsh1]

1:47 hey thats me :) I went ahead and did the same switch swap and it works fantastic!

[@HushMySweet1]

Nice! Glad the switches worked out for you. I ended up really enjoying them too. (I hope your Gief is out there bodying people with easy slides, lol)

[@vthegrigori9137]

Doofus King Ghidorah head. You're killing me, Smalls. Seriously, though, this thing looks great. Great vid!

[@HushMySweet1]

lol, that one actually looked really sharp on that monochrome display. Certain images are overly detailed, or sometimes not detailed enough, but that one didn't lose anything in translation wildly enough. Thanks for watching/commenting as always, dude!

[@Syxic]

I was waiting for this one, have a Slab MX ordered and your videos are always very informative and helpful

[@HushMySweet1]

Hey, thanks for watching (and for being an OG subscriber, lol). I appreciate the comment and I hope you dig the MX when it arrives. You'll have to let us know what you think of it when you get your hands on it.

[@Dex2R7]

It's really hard for these controllers to compete with the Haute42 controllers on price and quality. It's nice to support small businesses but at 3x the price it becomes hard to justify.

[@sethsez]

I love Haute42 and agree in general, but at least these offer more traditionally-sized leverless buttons for a large controller (H42's T series uses all large buttons), and H42 doesn't offer Brook models or extra-large screens (I'm not aware of anyone who offers the latter, actually). I'd still go with a H42 board, but this does differentiate itself.

[@HushMySweet1]

I thought the quality was good and that the Slab models were different from Haute in a couple distinct ways, but I get what you're saying. H42 are pricing very competitively and that's tough for a lot of smaller vendors to compete with. I have some vids planned on some of those products soon here, so we'll see if there is a chink in the armor or if they have this gen all but locked up. Thanks for watching!

[@momo.ru-kun]

Haute42 is cheap but they also cheaped out in quality. I have the M13, M16, G16, and Hauteboard.. all of them have PCB delamination issues. And, the replacements that I got also shows early signs of delamination. The problem with Haute42 is they skipped some manufacturing process in curing the PCB lamination to get the price down. When you have PCB delamination combined with oxidation and other factors, the connections such as solder joints lifts from the board. While they may look and feel ok now, in 6-8 months if you are unlucky they will be an overpriced paperweight

[@momo.ru-kun]

If I have some time, I'll make a video discussing different quality of PCB manufacturing. I do have experience on this because for 10 years I worked for Xbox controllers.

[@HushMySweet1]

@@momo.ru-kun That would be interesting to see. I don't know enough about PCB manufacturing. How soon would be the video? I'll look out for it.

[@deminator1472]

Love the Kong x Godzilla art. I have fond memories of playing Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee on the gamecube back in the day. We need more games like that! Cool little device too. The little OLED screens are becoming more commonplace in these sandwich style boxes, like on the Haute42 I recently got. Keep up the great content!!

[@deminator1472]

Also big shoutout to Creeps and Babes, some of the best artwork there is!

[@HushMySweet1]

Thanks for watching, dude! And that GigaBash game looks a bit like a spiritual successor to GDAM Melee, so maybe I will have to check it out after all. It looks solid, but if nothing else, maybe a fun experience with the kids. And I totally agree on the OLED screens. Changing the splash screens is getting addictive, lol.

[@Mandydeth]

I really like the concept of the short stem/low profile MX style switches to get that proper button height. My question to the manufactures of these boards is why not have the top acrylic be thicker so traditional mx switches sit more flush?

[@HushMySweet1]

The top acrylic on this one is actually very thick compared to most others. I think the slides are passable without overhauling the switches, but I doubt most users prioritize slides in a device since I so rarely see them mentioned. (Maybe if there were more Gief players out there, but be careful what you wish for, lol) Anyway, thanks for watching!

[@Mandydeth]

@@HushMySweet1 Perhaps I should have chose my words more carefully. Not that the top panel be thicker, but have the profile of the top panel be higher to meet the keycaps. Ironically I am a Gief main, so being able to do standing 720's on a leverless is a shopping point for me. I've been using the Slab Mini with decent success, and I've been eyeballing this one.

[@HushMySweet1]

Ah, right on. The switches will change out just as easily in your Slab Mini version if you want to grab a set of those low stem variants just to try. But yeah, if you're a Gief main, I would definitely encourage it just because you'll benefit from the change much more than most users. (And then if you like them and decide to upgrade to the MX, you can just swap those switches to your bigger model). Thanks for watching, dude!

[@SoundToxin]

The amount of effort you put into these reviews is really cool. Trying out the other switches, custom art for the little screen and other software tweaks. I don't personally play any games where sliding seemed important, but I have heard that asked about controllers in the fgc a lot, so it's probably helpful to a lot of people that you covered that. I agree with you that I prefer these controllers at a bit of a bigger size for lap play, especially for ones that I'll mostly use at home.

[@HushMySweet1]

I really appreciate that, dude! I wondered how much effort was apparent to a viewer, but I typically try to put these through the ringers and spend some quality time with each device, so I'm thankful it doesn't always go unnoticed. (And yeah, I am kind of glad that as a scene we've started to throttle back on the small-for-the-sake-of-small devices, and are leaning into the what's-the-optimal-size-for-best-comfort area.) Thanks for watching!

[@cordellboss]

I didn't know about those sinoarcade switches I just ordered them for my slab mx. I had also placed an order for cherry mx speed silvers but i might prefer those sinoarcade ones over them.

[@HushMySweet1]

The caps come from Sino Arcade on Aliexpress. I think I bought the Punk Workshop low stem switches on Aliexpress too but can't remember the vendor. They do make a nice difference if you need cleaner slides though. Thanks for watching!

[@operatingsauce]

I need that art on my stick.... Great vid!

[@HushMySweet1]

Thanks, dude! I appreciate the comment and you watching!

[@gyrotta]

can you send a link to the low stem switches or better yet do you know where else to buy them since i found some on aliexpress but apparently they're no longer available even though there are 4 in stock

[@HushMySweet1]

I got mine from that aliexpress seller you mentioned and I also see that they are now unavailable to purchase. I don't have another source ready to go, but you could try reaching out to punkworkshop directly to see if they can sell to you direct or at least point you in the right direction. Thanks for watching!

[@qcks1799]

Hi there whats isnthe difference betwen a low profile swicht to a low stem one??

[@HushMySweet1]

Hey, good question. So, low profile switches have a reduced height beyond regular full-size switches. Most of these all-button controllers use some variety of low profile switch (usually red) just to keep things thinner and more portable. The device here in this vid is a bit atypical and uses full-size switches similar to most keyboards, so a pro is that there are many more full-size switch options out there. One of those options was a low stem variant I found. It's still a full-size switch, but the length of the stem was shorter than standard, so when they got installed, everything just sat a bit lower. Hope that helps. Thanks for watching!

[@strangerturtle929]

Hey this is a dumb question, but I am making a fight stick with a sanwa joystick. Which way is up?

[@HushMySweet1]

So it depends on a few things: at what angle the pin connection sticks out (if the joystick has one), if you're using a standard wiring harness, etc. I am assuming you're using a Japanese-style lever (Sanwa JLF or equivalent). The connection usually sticks out to the side, so like in line with the buttons). You can mount it like that with a standard 5-pin wiring harness, and then, if you find it is wonky in testing, then you can reorient. A lot of times the reorientation is easier than it seems because you can just remove the GATE and then remove and turn the joystick PCB 90 degrees, and put the gate back on to lock it in that new direction. You won't need to unscrew/rescrew is what I'm saying. Hopefully these ramblings made sense. Good luck with your build!

[@strangerturtle929]

@@HushMySweet1 I figured out that the pins on sanwa denshi are at the top right when looking at it from an overhead view and using a brook cable

[@braveheart0317]

I've checked their etsy store but the shipping in my region is to damn expensive plus custom tax. So i getting the haute42 m16 this week.

[@HushMySweet1]

That's a shame with the shipping/customs, but I hope you love your M16 device! You'll have to let us know your thoughts on it. Thanks for watching!

[@braveheart0317]

Yeah it sucks but fightbox, haute42 they have resellers in my region cheaper than what you get in the u.s.

[@unicron8soundwave724]

The last time i got a great Kaiju Videogame wuz the release of the dlc + game = Dawn of Monsters As far as 3D it has been UFO Robot Grendizer

[@HushMySweet1]

Thanks, I'll check them out! (And thanks for watching/commenting!)

[@unicron8soundwave724]

@@HushMySweet1 Bueller Bueller... Bueller

[@HushMySweet1]

@@unicron8soundwave724 I bought Dawn of the Monsters and my kids have been playing it. I didn't know the Robot Grendizer franchise before you mentioned it, so I didn't get that one. I'm still thinking about that one I mentioned in the video. My time is pulled a million different ways though so IDK. Looks like something I would have purchased had it been available 5 years ago though.

[@unicron8soundwave724]

@@HushMySweet1 Awww thankz for what you do 🕹️👾🎮🎉

[@Dizintegrator]

Fyi if you're looking for a middle ground between a VERY LOW PROFILE switches and NORMAL CHERRY switches, try Tecsee Medium switches. Their base is compatible with standard cherry mount and they're lower in profile and actuation distances etc. Imo they make low profile switches obsolete, but its just an opinion.

[@HushMySweet1]

I'll have to look into those! I had never heard of them, but you know me: Gotta try everything recommended in the fightstick world. I'll see if I can snag a set somewhere to test.

[@crazyskull921]

Are the edges of the acrylic sharp at all? Like is it uncomfortable on the wrists or palms during gameplay? Also how does it fair to the snack box micro xl?

[@HushMySweet1]

The edges are beveled smooth and I noticed no discomfort. Also, the footprint is fairly similar with the length of the devices being very close to the same; however, there is more palm rest on the Slab MX and then the Slab MX has better feeling aux buttons and then has the little OLED perks and such.

[@crazyskull921]

@@HushMySweet1 how’s lap play? Is the bottom slippery at all?

[@HushMySweet1]

@@crazyskull921 Good weight for the lap IMO. The bottom is that same acrylic, so it is more slippery than some. Because of its weight, I didn't find it concerning but if you game in sweatpants or some slicker type of pants, then maybe?. I suppose if that was the case, you could always apply some adhesive foam backing if you find you need more, but I didn't think it was an issue that obviously called attention to itself.

[@crazyskull921]

@@HushMySweet1 Gotcha. Do you prefer this over the snack box micro xl? Im debating between the two

[@HushMySweet1]

@@crazyskull921 I like this one over the XL.

[@DakodBleu]

Wish i could pay you to make me a godzilla minus one mixbox. Your work is incredible.

[@HushMySweet1]

Hey, that's high praise! Thanks for your nice comment and thank you for watching!

[@crazyskull921]

How do I get in contact with your artist? Want to do a godzilla minus one design because yours look so good.

[@HushMySweet1]

instagram.com/creepsandbabestudio

[@tesoufgc]

Great review! What is the difference between both that are ps5 comptatible? Why are they selling both version if they hve the same compatibility? Except the screen maybe?

[@HushMySweet1]

I was being thorough since they used to offer both, but I think they've transitioned more toward the Pico version with the screen and away from the Brook Fusion in the last couple of months. The devices were very comparable as you say, so it probably makes sense to go all-in on one over the other, especially if there are some cool screen and LED options when you use the GP2040-CE stuff. Anyway, thank you for watching!

[@cordellboss]

The brook PS5 version are for those who don't want to deal with compatibility that is external or outside of their device. It is a more immediate solution for those who want to hit the ground running with the device at tournament settings and such basically it makes it a competitor to the razer kitsune. The pico version is for those who like to tinker with the software of their devices and don't mind using a dongle if they attend tournaments. It's usually for people who are on PC but this doesn't mean that the device isn't compatible with consoles it just isn't immediately.

[@tesoufgc]

@@HushMySweet1 make sense! Brook is starting to become irrelevant for producers if they use a pcb board but it’s nice to have them when they are used with arcade buttons for easier upgrade

[@tesoufgc]

@@HushMySweet1 not sure if you have the answer but is the gp2040 only compatible with ps5 fighting games too or is it compatible with all ps5 games?

[@VariantNYC]

yeah yeah yeah how much is it? H42 nr1

[@HushMySweet1]

$150+. If price is the primary concern, then Haute will probably always have an edge. Thanks for watching all the same!