Upgrading my Ducky One 2 Mini into an Enthusiast Keyboard!

Today we mod out the Ducky x HyperX One 2 Mini mechanical keyboard, and attempt to make it enthusiast grade (but not really lol). Bit of switch modding, lubing, painting, all that stuff!
Original review : • NEW Ducky One 2 Mini b...
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[@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.

[@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.

[@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

[@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?

[@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

[@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.

[@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

[@GtsAntoni1]

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

[@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.

[@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

[@SaYDiEShApEr]

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

[@kennuimuffins2426]

Absolute mouthful of a name.

[@patrickaldea5550]

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

[@imafirinmalaser]

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

[@ShaiyanHossain]

this is the way

[@whiffysole]

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

[@kanyewest6931]

12:40 “sticky keys opens”

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@senseofpermanence]

Loved the Nausicaa on the background.

[@user-xo2ut8uf4u]

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

[@Theo-jw6hz]

Really enjoyed this video man. Great content as usual.

[@BlercNet]

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

[@TaeKeyboards]

μείνε ασφαλής φίλε μου

[@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

[@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

[@CovaBreh]

that backspace sounds RIDICULOUSLY brilliant

[@harrisonkelly8280]

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

[@ryankohan4164]

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

[@vvparadise2384]

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

[@iamjustanadam625]

The guitar picks coming in clutch 👌

[@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 😁

[@adyotnigam2510]

the sticky keys be like beep

[@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.

[@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017]

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

[@nabongfs]

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

[@egbt2147]

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

[@TaeKeyboards]

oh yeh, you a reveluv??

[@egbt2147]

Yesssss I am 😉👌

[@MisterMayhem17]

Your desoldering job looks immaculate. My goodness.

[@alexmanriquez8079]

dude i could watch you mod keyboards for hours

[@sidneynguyen9116]

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

[@zzzx7738]

TWICE? i see a man of culture

[@splitzkee_]

Sounds way better nice job

[@dylanpovich8850]

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

[@placeholder3863]

poor chair/stool always being painted on

[@Estrupalega27]

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

[@mrfaade304]

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

[@stardustpink]

The sound is amazing 🥺❤️❤️

[@colodesu8546]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@stephanderriks4384]

what kind of keycaps did you use?

[@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.

[@Animifritt]

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

[@speaktobrett]

Great video as always Mendez

[@TaeKeyboards]

thansk bruv

[@rice4u]

and here i thought having a ducky was already enthusiast.

[@ihatehumans5185]

lol

[@faxoncrack9462]

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

[@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.

[@troygom59]

the sound quality on this video is insane

[@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 ;)

[@irsyxd486]

Is that twice video u played on the monitor?

[@TaeKeyboards]

yupppp

[@lris6318]

That chair has gone thru WAR

[@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

[@bradenlee1453]

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

[@Flo-xz3pb]

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

[@austinh863]

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

[@Meraik]

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

[@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

[@bro6801]

That chair you spraipainted on is crusty

[@johnzelaya7338]

getting a aluminium case would sound so nice with this

[@ramlyndonramirez7791]

Your music choice is amazing

[@VisualCalculus]

that mustve been the most tedious shit ever

[@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

[@EileenTheCr0w]

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

[@possumcode]

Yay. Spend your time, not money. Great video.

[@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 :(

[@Deactrals]

thgirud

[@I3urton]

Prettttyyyy coool! The soldering turned me off a little from getting one and modifying it to my taste, but this gave me some pretty cool ideas ... one could take the top plate to a milling shop and have them make an aluminum cover, OR one could make a mold out of it and recreate it with epoxy resin. That would make a neat project of its own and I haven't seen anyone do that yet - although I haven't looked, either. Guess I have some research to do. :)

[@jakejohnson6300]

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

[@pepavasata6790]

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

[@erictan2330]

Our guy needs an iFixit kit 4:32

[@YoloVib3s]

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

[@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.

[@kennymon3]

Holy ur pc is spying on u like that mandolorian ad pops up right after you open the mando toy. Lol 😂 14:33

[@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

[@_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.

[@YaBoyA1pha]

12:42 Sticky Keys: Heyyy

[@Splatec]

xd the sound test is so SATISFYING

[@ammonsharp2936]

those gmk jamón keys look amazing

[@thatkeyboardgirlsha3442]

YOU'RE FKING AMAZING. I've been planning to make a keyboard using the wooden case for the royal kludge, but with the Ducky one 2 mini cherry red switches and rgb. keycaps i have these cherry blossom PBT doubleshot design. ahhh

[@KENTOSI]

You sir, have a lot of time in your hands :-) Nice video. It really is a labour of love.

[@jykeebs8630]

13:01 BRUH did you have to take apart the keyboard, lube AND resolder that single switch just for this comparison?? Props to you my man👌

[@TaeKeyboards]

nah i left one stock lol

[@jykeebs8630]

@@TaeKeyboards welp thats another level... Hurts my ocd but not my keyboard😁 great video! Builiding my first keyboard soon!

[@Billy_The_Frog]

@@TaeKeyboards oof, my ocd

[@connorkintzele9239]

Hands up best build I’ve ever seen great work

[@yllib2012]

Certainly sounds good.

[@Coa.66]

bruh when he swiched the keycaps i was like give them to me . good work keep up

[@vincentvanderkrogt]

I feel sorry for that poor stool on 5:09. It has seen a lot of paintjobs in its life.

[@TaeKeyboards]

haha, I have 2 of them. And they've legit been used for years.

[@croissantstastegood]

Oh my god those switches sound sooooo nice0_0 Now I wish that I had at least ordered tactile switches on mine:_)

[@isaaclabra6183]

Wow this looks amazing !!!!

[@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.