Small detail, but one I always love, is the buttons still having the letters A and B on them. A lot of button replacements or mods tend to not have the letters on them, and while it's not a major feature. I feel like that small detail goes a long way in making the final product look less like a mod and more like a professional or official product. I enjoy details like that, and I do prefer to keep most of my devices looking as stock as possible. I'll modify screens, replace parts, but in the end, I still want someone to look at it and say oh cool you have this? And I can show them all the neat stuff I modded into it just by letting them use it. The slate project and the Unhinged SP from boxy pixel both have a professional sleek design that is enticing to look at, having small details like stickers or labels just adds that official product or professional look to it.
The design had me thinking it was an official product for a second. I would love to use it but I don't know how to solder. I bought a mod chip for my old Xbox a few years ago but I can't really do anything with it.
16:43 BTW I loved the "NOENTIENDO" name on the Slate label, it's funny because in spanish means "I don't understand" and in some countries they called Nintendo like that
I would love to see a plastic option for any of these shells in the future. The aluminum is certainly fancy, but I still prefer the look and feel of plastic.
Couldn't agree more. It would bring the cost way down also. Though I wonder if the reason it hasn't been done yet is due to something like that compromising the screen structural integrity.
i'd love a plastic shell if only so it would match the rear piece. the mix of metal and plastic on the finished product just looks sloppy to me. almost half-assed
L.E.D diffuser is really nice, boxy pixels shell I believe allowed you to put your original one into the shell. However I couldn't get mine to stay in place, so I ended up using your technique from the Gameboy macro mod, put kapton tape onto the light holes on the outside, and filling the inside with a little hot glue. I did end up trying to put the light tube in on top, which worked well overall. I love how detailed and advanced people are capable of making older technology these days.
@@Wedeemgaming much like this build but horizontally, shrinking a bit on the sides after the buttons. There is a bit of space taken by the side “bumpers” on the OG casing. Granted it is not much, but smaller is smaller xD The other option i thought is uso g a game boy micro board, which is split from the dpad side. But that would require a screen mod that currently does not exist.
Maybe you should be a little more forthcoming and tell everyone the cost of the model shown: Brass shell is $204.99! Brass buttons are $59.99 ... add in the screen and this whole thing is is $329.97! (Not including taxes, S&H or discounts). That's ridiculous. Brass is one of the cheapest metals out there at $2.25 a lb!
@@juanrubio5479 it cost me 172.00 to build mine. But I didn’t get the brass and I got my gba for free from a friend. That’s half the price of a pocket off of eBay.
Yea for this money assuming you have to buy everything youd be an idiot to not just buy an Analogue Pocket. Theyve really missed a trick by pricing out most of the market. Its a stunning design but just isnt worth the cost
@@hywel4767 can’t argue with you there. I really don’t like scalpers so I didn’t see the pocket as a choice. I sure the hell am not waiting over a year. Fuck scalpers lol.
6:48 I'd solder the wires to the driver board while it's disconnected to avoid having a soldering iron anywhere near the LCD - it very easy to overheat it and cause discoloration
Yeah, that happened to me. The guides I looked at when I modded my GBA all did it with the board on the screen and now I have a dark spot on it, so yeah, remember not to do that
It took it one step further but the boxy pixel is a full metal shell... Curious it the bottom case is personal preference or the original shell. Why not a complete metal shell? Just thoughts that entered the old noggin!
My only gripe with this mod is the lack of lens options for the display. Otherwise, this is THE mod I've been hoping for. Love the more compact design over the Boxy Pixel offerings, and the plastic button option is genuinely useful for designing the right pairing. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, I'll be designing a setup for it soon and preordering soon after.
They took everything that is good about the Boxy Pixel and mixed it with a more compact form factor similar to some of the Chinese Gameboy like handhelds or even the Gameboy pocket!
@@makho ok I didn't say you took anything, I just meant it had similar elements from box pixel that was good... Just because it's your mod doesn't mean it isn't inspired or similar!
@@Wedeemgaming Bro you literally said "They took everything" lol, makho worked hard on this. He didn't take jack. Both products are great and I can't wait to own both mods and support both of the creators. It's a game boy at the end of the day. They're all going to be similar with their own twists.
@@bradleycaravana6856 they didn't mean "took" as in "stole", rather "took" as in "included" It's like saying Nintendo took everything good about the vita and added more power and better controls. It's not an accusation, it's saying it has all of the good qualities of the previous thing, but with additional good qualities. And @makho, cool tf down with the attitude. It's not good pr, and getting angry over nothing in the comments section will put people off buying your thing.
what a time to be alive! all these great kits for gameboy advance gaming.i have been watching Makho for a while and i enjoy his videos as much as yours.great video as always Tito
Yes my fellow Brit...that challenge and the fact I invested about £50 in my agb-001 Advance with IPS panel conversion and battery mod...and a lot of time and cursing...tut..oh and I don't have a donor hinged Advance either...good luck with yours...hope the shipping (or postage) and tax works out ok
It would be nice to be able to have a matching housing for the back, like the og boxy pixel. Hopefully, mahko considers that after the initial run on these units.
I might be wrong but the product page says kit includes both front and back plates - chiming in just because I'm planning on ordering one and wouldn't if there's no back plate
Once again a great video Tito. I’ll say this- putting together my Boxy pixel unhinged kit sucked. It didn’t fit together right with my IPS screen. I told BP about this and they blamed MY ips screen! They tried saying my kit wasn’t from funny playing, even though I definitely had the funny playing package they come in. In the end I had to purchase another screen- from China- and then file down the back screen cover to make it fit. Quite pissed I spent 95$ for a kit that didn’t work. So the Slate already looks like a better alternative.
@@MachoNachoProductions The IPS driver board would not fit. and it ended up destroying my ips screen's ribbon cable. I reached out to them and emailed pics. they insisted "That's so weird", and "you must not have a funny playing kit". I sent more pics, and they said all of their kits have never had this problem, and that the Driver board didn't look right. So i bought acheap ass ebay IPS screen, and it worked fine. I ended up filling and grinding the back screen cover down so it would fit better. But this is what we do in the name of progress. I dont entirely blame BP. There are a lot of variables to deal with when designing something around a lot of knock off products. and, maybe, my IPS kit was a fraud?
Makho is a freaking legend. I'm super happy to see that he's providing these kits. I do wish that there was a little more finish to the product - meaning, the BP has a matte looks/feel vs seeing the machining details. But other than that, as always this is a really well thought out product. It's nice having options and competition in the market. Nice job Makho!
This is the mod i'm looking for. The hinges gradually gives in from opening and closing so i want the clam close feature removed and just a solid perma open GBA SP. Problem is it's sold out fast.
While my personal preferences won't pull me away from the Boxy Pixel Unhinged, the Slate is one gorgeous looking product. And more options in such a niche market is always a good thing! Thanks for another phenomenal video!
I find this kind of funny, not in a bad way, just with how much many people dissed the original 2DS for being a non clamshell design, but now today this and the GameBoy Macro are really popular mods.
Just a few notes: I missed it if it was mentioned but the Nintendo logo comes from your donor console. My light pipe for the LEDS was not put into the shell so I put it in myself with a tiny dab of super glue. My kid just came in a normal cardboard box with bubble wrap. No plastic case.
That's tempting... And technically it's a no solder mod if you're not worried about the brightness. You could set and forget so for those that are crap at soldering (ie, ME!) that's not a bad option.
First, I very like the Gold and Red color, it have a old school Famicom feeling that Iike it 👍. I very like this Slate SP, it don't feel so much complicated to install and his smaller form factor is great imo. The GBA line of console can still have something to suprise us and that's cool. Now with got so many option to customise, upgrade, revive our handheld system that, like pokémons, I want to catch'em all ... but my wallet don't want 😅. Great video 👍
Gerat video, and the production detail is top notch as usual. Under "cons", I would definitely have listed the incompatibility to mod a headphone jack in this one. While not important to some people, a lot of folks like the ability to plug in their headphones, especially while using on a noisy bus or airplane. Still, this is a beautiful mod.
@Tee Hee So just because YOU don't like the quality of GBA music, means no one else should have the option to use headphones? Then congratulations, that's the most garbage argument I've ever heard.
@Tee Hee No fits here. Go back and read my original post. I suggested that the inability to mod in a headphone jack should be listed as a con, because having more options is always better. Numerous SP mods have this option, and I was commenting that it's a shame the Slate does not. You are arguing that because you don't like the quality of Gameboy music, and that "most people don't" (which I disagree with), then it's no big deal that the Slate doesn't have the option to mod a jack in. Since when is having MORE options a bad thing? You don't like the quality of the music. Good for you. For everyone else like myself who can look past the low quality audio, we just want the option to listen to the scores of Golden Sun, Fire Emblem, Advance wars on headphones while commuting, on a plane, etc. That was my point. Have a great day 🙂
@Tee Hee I'll be honest, I didn't know this was a thing. Still, that's somewhat limiting (and likely more expensive) than just modding in a headphone jack for those who don't need a rechargeable USB-C battery and are fine with using regular alkaline or regargeable AA's. But you do bring up a good point about this mod's scope. I don't know enough about the GB modding scene to know how easy or difficult it would be to add support for a headphone jack into a mod like the Slate. I am curious, after everything you said about how much you hate Gameboy music, why you have a mod allowing you to use the headphone jack if you never use it?
@Tee Hee Oops yeah I had AGB on the mind since that's the system I've been doing the majority of my mods on lately haha. I don't like using and having to carry around headphone dongle adapters so this wouldn't be an ideal solution for me but for people like yourself who never use the audio-out anyway, this could be a good option.
@Tee Hee Fair point. I just prefer the form factor of the AGB myself, as the AGS is a little cramped for my hands. But hard to argue with it's portability.
Best thing to me is the color options via buttons and the rear shell. I like my modded stuff to have some personality and not look like everyone elses.
I love the look, but like with the BoxyPixel versions, it comes down to affordability, and aesthetics. The metal shells are awesome looking, great for presentation, but I want the vibe of tossing my Gameboy in my bag when I go out for the day, and playing it during my downtimes. Having a console that's more premium looking, can draw attention from people, and honestly.. I wouldn't want to touch it after I'm done, considering how much I'd end up spending on it. I'd love to see one of these companies, or Makho come up with a design that utilizes similar plastics to the Gameboy Color, DMG, Pocket, etc. That could be sold at a lower price point.
I got the unhinged full mod in aluminum red and I have to say it’s one chunky boy, but I love the weight and thickness of the body, plus the usb type c charger and aluminum buttons feel so premium.
Note for everyone: I just did this mod with the metal cnc buttons and I had to add the A and B membrane because there was too much clearance. I also had to snip the center circles in the A and B membrane. Also the R button was very tight I had to trim some of the plastic to allow enough clearance
Hey man I’m having the exact same problem where all the metal buttons A, B, and the D-pad do not fit snug and rattle a ton. I tried putting the membranes back on but they didn’t seem to fit correctly with the metal buttons. I’d appreciate it if we could chat a little bit and you could give me some tips.
@@bchd8829 did you snip the L and R pins on the board? This step isn’t in the video but is recommended on the install guide. Also if you use the membranes make sure you cut flush the small rubber centers. I ended up using the dpad membrane and the A and B membrane and it feels great
Should not have to do that much self work with the price it costs. I was debating reshelling the sp I just got myself for my birthday with an sp shell or the CNC slate and now I really don’t wanna get the slate
I ordered my kit as soon as I saw this video 2 months ago. It just arrived today. The entire packaging is top notch! It even came with an awesome Pokémon sticker. I love the included case!!
I can’t wait to build mine. I’m planning on making it based on Bass.EXE from MegaMan Battle Network. It’s a Black Slate that’s going to have a Translucent Purple back and the Extremerate Gold Buttons.
This looks super sleek. Love the shorter height and the extra rounded corner on the screen. I'm not a huge fan of the slant though, would prefer a totally flat front. I do wish a metal back was available as well
Really torn on this vs boxy, i love this form factor and really excited to see more GBA mods doing this either way! Kinda wish they made a plastic shell like this, with that simple slim form factor being more pocketable would be nice, id be afraid to pocket and carry around such a nice metal or brass shell without using the carrying case which kinda defeats the smaller form factor.
I've bought a slate kit, screen and shell, have a donor console fully functioning ready to go, eagerly awaiting shipping. I went for a dark black and silver with a transparent blue shell. When I get the soldering done, I feel like I will use it every day. I don't mind the brightness feature being mapped to the select and triggers at all. In fact, I think it completes the mod. I'm excited to build one
I honestly like the look of this one a lot more than the SP Unhinged. I definitely love the fact that the screen is laminated. One thing I hate about the unhinged is it has that screen gap where stuff can get trapped and it's super easy to tighten the back piece too much leaving that yellow screen bleeding.
I have a question. Do the metal buttons have any chance of damaging the button contacts on the motherboard? I like the way they look but I'm worried about possible damage.
Definitely a really good concern but I'm sure if the button post on the bottom of the button is the same size as the contact it should cause any damage. However, I know nothing so don't listen to me, just a opinion that could be complete wrong!
@@albertoheras7684 the dome is pretty tough so I think it should be fine! For me maybe I'll go with aluminum button instead of brass though. My childhood SP, the face buttons were somewhat unresponsive so I literally had to peel those domes off and use alcohol to clean them up, so I think I know how sturdy they are
god i love your channel, its one of my new favorites. you're up there with Ahoy, GVMERS, Retro Future and others with this sort of editing and content. i am so glad to say that i was here before 100k. and i am suprised that you havent made it past 100k..... *YET*
Aesthetically, I like it better than the boxy pixel one, but one con you forgot to mention is it doesn't have room for USB c charging or headphone jack mods like BP, I think? If I was gonna make something like this, I'd probably wanna do those too. Go all out with the mods
I love the look of this mod, but I don't really understand why they wouldn't offer a back plate. I'm not an engineer, but it seems simple enough. This is already a premium priced product, you are going to spend about $150 for the shell and screen (not including your discount code, ofc).
Excellent video. Beautiful mod. By the way, any chance you could start including latency tests/comparisons for aftermarket screen mods and consolizers in future vids? Thanks!
@@MachoNachoProductions Totally agree with Alexander! If you can fit this in somewhere to your videos' "features" section or something, it would add a lot of value to people who are on the fence about the image retention/ghosting issues that a lot of these IPS screens suffer from. The 240p Test Suite is an excellent program to view different screen tests, and the "Shadow Sprite" menu selection is the BEST way to test those ghosting/image retention issues.
I hope that someday someone will make an SP slate with the cartridge slot on top, like every other GB before it. Give it a GB pocket form factor and it would be the best GB ever
If you can still use the membrane with the metal buttons I would suggest that. Wouldn’t want to damage the motherboard. I also imagine the buttons would rattle and lose most of their “spring-back” without the membrane
I was very close to getting a SP Unhinged recently as I also ordered an Analogue Pocket but wanted to use a dedicated GBA machine for GBA games and keep the Analogue Pocket for GB/GBC games, due to the fact that GBA games on the Analogue Pocket put the annoying Black border around, lowering the usable Display area when playing GBA games. I just wish the Slate had a USB C Port, that would have really changed things for me. Your review has decided to make me wait. I can live without the USB C port with the improved portability being more preferred anyway. I'm going to wait it out and see how these Gameboy Slate's are viewed by owners and will most likely head in that direction. As always, top notch work Tito.
If you care about usb c that much, then just replace the original charge port for it. Having been lucky to get my hands on an early sample. I love it. Can't wait to get on the final product
@@RiotSRetro Lol, sadly, I am not good when it comes to doing this type of stuff. I am a Tech guy, but I'm more of a Software/Application person. I will see what the rates of prebuilt models will go for, and if they're reasonable, I'll probably take a dive.
I never understood why A+B buttons have to be slanted that way. They should be slanted the opposite direction as that's naturally where your thumb aligns. No fault of this case though it's just how the GB was designed. Very cool shell replacement!
That Slate mod is slick! Cant wait to give it a go to have one of my own. Thanks for the time and effort you put into your videos, much appreciated Tito! 👍
Just received and built mine, it's beautiful. I ordered the machined buttons however and installing them without the membrane made them loose and the whole system kind of rattles when you move it. They functioned fine but I just really didn't like the feel / sound of it so I went back to the standard with the membrane.
should be the same as stock if you glue the axle pins in. Without glue, it will still work but it will just be wobbly and doesn't feel as good. I'm not saying stock shoulders feel good but it should be unchanged from stock.
This is really cool, but why isn't there any plastic versions? I've been seeing alot of aluminum shells, which is cool, but they're all way over my budget for modding.
I don’t know how I feel about this. I think this looks absolutely gorgeous, but I love the original SP’s shell. I think if I had to do this, I’d have to get a second SP.
What was the reason to go with the plastic back? Did I miss it? Boxy offers a full aluminum housing for the same cost. I thought you were going to tell us wireless charge included by default but it's just using the old battery with no mods. Aren't most people going to be sourcing a custom color back shell for extra money too? Most of these GBA SPs out there are full of scratches. Sorry if I sound petty but I wouldn't want to spend cash to only do half the job of the competition.
Man I just recently discovered your channel and I gotta say your vids are rad. Excellent demonstration of the mods themselves, and I absolutely love that you say "this is what it should look like." Deffo subscribed here. :)
I dig the form factor of the slate, but prefer an all metal enclosure. Maybe they'll make a back half eventually? Until then, I think the box pixel design looks the most premium, which is really the point of these for me.
This looks compatible with the GameCube GameBoy cable! My main criticism of the other metal shell was that it wasn’t compatible with it. I know it technically is if you remove the plastic bits shell of the connector, but I don’t want to remove it. I’ll probably buy this just for having this tbh.
I'll be honest, if you have a 3d printer at home, the unhinged original looks very appealing, since you can skip the proprietary buttons by printing them and it allows for bigger batteries. Though I haven't had a GBA in over 10 years ever since I got a DS. And right now I got my hands on a GPD XD, which to my surprise, fits perfectly into the grip for my 3DS XL, it only blocks the L2 and R2 buttons but other than that it's what I'll be using for GBA on the go really.
Never owned a Gameboy, but this is pretty cool. I would painstakingly remove all visible machining marks before I even considered putting it together. Not a dealbreaker but that would bother me too much to leave as it is. I don't begrudge them for skipping it, since it'd just drive up costs more and most people probably don't care.
Man, the case that was part of the thumbnail is just gorgeous. you know what would be neat if this could work, if anyone remembers the famicom edition for the game boy micro, having the trim of the shell from the outside be a metallic red + the inner look of the that resemble the gold labeling and we can add black buttons.
Not a fan of the original DMG design for the GBA because of the triggers. I know I'm in the minority but the AGB-001 form factor is my favorite. I agree with your choice of brass, it looks stunning and in time it will form a gorgeous patina!.
![[UNCUT] The Loyal Pin ปิ่นภักดิ์ EP.6 (2/4)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/GgeGQOP10RQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Small detail, but one I always love, is the buttons still having the letters A and B on them. A lot of button replacements or mods tend to not have the letters on them, and while it's not a major feature. I feel like that small detail goes a long way in making the final product look less like a mod and more like a professional or official product. I enjoy details like that, and I do prefer to keep most of my devices looking as stock as possible. I'll modify screens, replace parts, but in the end, I still want someone to look at it and say oh cool you have this? And I can show them all the neat stuff I modded into it just by letting them use it. The slate project and the Unhinged SP from boxy pixel both have a professional sleek design that is enticing to look at, having small details like stickers or labels just adds that official product or professional look to it.
Definitely have to agree, the small details always make it looks like a stock product... Almost as if Nintendo always meant for it to be this way!
The design had me thinking it was an official product for a second.
I would love to use it but I don't know how to solder. I bought a mod chip for my old Xbox a few years ago but I can't really do anything with it.
16:43 BTW I loved the "NOENTIENDO" name on the Slate label, it's funny because in spanish means "I don't understand" and in some countries they called Nintendo like that
Haha yeah I noticed that too, pretty funny detail
Autism SP, It's made for me
I really like that the slate is compatible with regular bottons, it helps give you more options for customization
It’s definitely one of the best features!
@@MachoNachoProductions that looked like Nintendo actually made that the slate is high quality
I would love to see a plastic option for any of these shells in the future. The aluminum is certainly fancy, but I still prefer the look and feel of plastic.
Couldn't agree more. It would bring the cost way down also. Though I wonder if the reason it hasn't been done yet is due to something like that compromising the screen structural integrity.
I too would love to see an injection molded plastic offering
i'd love a plastic shell if only so it would match the rear piece. the mix of metal and plastic on the finished product just looks sloppy to me. almost half-assed
Agreed for gameboys a high quality abs is what im used to feel in my hands , also cheaper
SAME!
L.E.D diffuser is really nice, boxy pixels shell I believe allowed you to put your original one into the shell. However I couldn't get mine to stay in place, so I ended up using your technique from the Gameboy macro mod, put kapton tape onto the light holes on the outside, and filling the inside with a little hot glue. I did end up trying to put the light tube in on top, which worked well overall. I love how detailed and advanced people are capable of making older technology these days.
We need a version of this for the original GBA (horizontal), making it a bit more compact. Looks superb. Great video as always.
Curious how they could possibly make the Horizontal GBA more compact!
@@Wedeemgaming Maybe it'd be easier to enlarge a Micro? Lol
@@Wedeemgaming much like this build but horizontally, shrinking a bit on the sides after the buttons. There is a bit of space taken by the side “bumpers” on the OG casing. Granted it is not much, but smaller is smaller xD
The other option i thought is uso g a game boy micro board, which is split from the dpad side. But that would require a screen mod that currently does not exist.
Maybe you should be a little more forthcoming and tell everyone the cost of the model shown: Brass shell is $204.99! Brass buttons are $59.99 ... add in the screen and this whole thing is is $329.97! (Not including taxes, S&H or discounts). That's ridiculous. Brass is one of the cheapest metals out there at $2.25 a lb!
It's absolutely beautiful though, but not at that price.
@@juanrubio5479 you’ll be waiting over a year to get a pocket lol
@@juanrubio5479 it cost me 172.00 to build mine. But I didn’t get the brass and I got my gba for free from a friend. That’s half the price of a pocket off of eBay.
Yea for this money assuming you have to buy everything youd be an idiot to not just buy an Analogue Pocket. Theyve really missed a trick by pricing out most of the market. Its a stunning design but just isnt worth the cost
@@hywel4767 can’t argue with you there. I really don’t like scalpers so I didn’t see the pocket as a choice. I sure the hell am not waiting over a year. Fuck scalpers lol.
6:48 I'd solder the wires to the driver board while it's disconnected to avoid having a soldering iron anywhere near the LCD - it very easy to overheat it and cause discoloration
Yeah, that happened to me. The guides I looked at when I modded my GBA all did it with the board on the screen and now I have a dark spot on it, so yeah, remember not to do that
@@charlesmalmasson9698 same :-( had to order a replacement LCD
Ah man I'm so excited! I've been waiting for this one specifically for quite some time now
I always liked the Unhinged Boxy Pixel shell but the Slate just looks even better.
Both are great!
It took it one step further but the boxy pixel is a full metal shell... Curious it the bottom case is personal preference or the original shell. Why not a complete metal shell? Just thoughts that entered the old noggin!
My only gripe with this mod is the lack of lens options for the display. Otherwise, this is THE mod I've been hoping for. Love the more compact design over the Boxy Pixel offerings, and the plastic button option is genuinely useful for designing the right pairing. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, I'll be designing a setup for it soon and preordering soon after.
They took everything that is good about the Boxy Pixel and mixed it with a more compact form factor similar to some of the Chinese Gameboy like handhelds or even the Gameboy pocket!
@@Wedeemgaming I didn't take shit from boxypixel, this is my own mod AND it came first (it was just not on the market until now ish).
@@makho ok I didn't say you took anything, I just meant it had similar elements from box pixel that was good... Just because it's your mod doesn't mean it isn't inspired or similar!
@@Wedeemgaming Bro you literally said "They took everything" lol, makho worked hard on this. He didn't take jack. Both products are great and I can't wait to own both mods and support both of the creators. It's a game boy at the end of the day. They're all going to be similar with their own twists.
@@bradleycaravana6856 they didn't mean "took" as in "stole", rather "took" as in "included"
It's like saying Nintendo took everything good about the vita and added more power and better controls. It's not an accusation, it's saying it has all of the good qualities of the previous thing, but with additional good qualities.
And @makho, cool tf down with the attitude. It's not good pr, and getting angry over nothing in the comments section will put people off buying your thing.
what a time to be alive! all these great kits for gameboy advance gaming.i have been watching Makho for a while and i enjoy his videos as much as yours.great video as always Tito
Thank you Lee!! 😁🙏
Played one of these at MGC. Very sexy! Also very heavy :)
Nice! Totally agree, Ben, it’s one good looking mod and boy is it hefty 😁
Fancy seeing you here, Ben!
@@MachoNachoProductions or this one can I buy this one ??? Thank you so much too im on ebay or offer up im seriously buying one thanks buddy
@@MachoNachoProductions I reported youre videos to TH-cam I hope they get taking down for not helping me have a good day 👍🏿
Been following Makho's progress with this and I think he's done a great job designing it, gotta find a way to get one to the UK!
Yes my fellow Brit...that challenge and the fact I invested about £50 in my agb-001 Advance with IPS panel conversion and battery mod...and a lot of time and cursing...tut..oh and I don't have a donor hinged Advance either...good luck with yours...hope the shipping (or postage) and tax works out ok
It's about £50 to get it shipped first class fellow britbongers
It would be nice to be able to have a matching housing for the back, like the og boxy pixel. Hopefully, mahko considers that after the initial run on these units.
I might be wrong but the product page says kit includes both front and back plates - chiming in just because I'm planning on ordering one and wouldn't if there's no back plate
@@andrewan6633 the back plate that it comes with is for the top half, you still require the backplate from a normal gba sp shell, for the bottom half
@@andrewan6633 no you donut, he means that both sides match in color and material.
It would add a few more dollars to the sticker price bro.
@@shellshock10 exactly my thought
Once again a great video Tito. I’ll say this- putting together my Boxy pixel unhinged kit sucked. It didn’t fit together right with my IPS screen. I told BP about this and they blamed MY ips screen! They tried saying my kit wasn’t from funny playing, even though I definitely had the funny playing package they come in. In the end I had to purchase another screen- from China- and then file down the back screen cover to make it fit. Quite pissed I spent 95$ for a kit that didn’t work. So the Slate already looks like a better alternative.
So sorry to hear that Ian. What was the issue with the fitment of the IPs screen?
@@MachoNachoProductions The IPS driver board would not fit. and it ended up destroying my ips screen's ribbon cable. I reached out to them and emailed pics. they insisted "That's so weird", and "you must not have a funny playing kit". I sent more pics, and they said all of their kits have never had this problem, and that the Driver board didn't look right. So i bought acheap ass ebay IPS screen, and it worked fine. I ended up filling and grinding the back screen cover down so it would fit better. But this is what we do in the name of progress. I dont entirely blame BP. There are a lot of variables to deal with when designing something around a lot of knock off products. and, maybe, my IPS kit was a fraud?
Makho is a freaking legend. I'm super happy to see that he's providing these kits. I do wish that there was a little more finish to the product - meaning, the BP has a matte looks/feel vs seeing the machining details. But other than that, as always this is a really well thought out product. It's nice having options and competition in the market. Nice job Makho!
it comes in multiple colors and all the aluminum anodized shells are bead blasted. What you are asking for already exists
@@makho that's awesome - didn't even realize that and didn't really research much either to be honest.
Gorgeous! Slow clap for everyone involved, You've earned it!
Totally agree 🙌
This is the mod i'm looking for. The hinges gradually gives in from opening and closing so i want the clam close feature removed and just a solid perma open GBA SP. Problem is it's sold out fast.
Pre-Order is up. Choose a color to order.
You can pre-order. Just make sure to choose a color. It ships out in June
While my personal preferences won't pull me away from the Boxy Pixel Unhinged, the Slate is one gorgeous looking product. And more options in such a niche market is always a good thing! Thanks for another phenomenal video!
I find this kind of funny, not in a bad way, just with how much many people dissed the original 2DS for being a non clamshell design, but now today this and the GameBoy Macro are really popular mods.
"Who is Makho?" is gonna be a thing of the past.
Great design!
I read it as "Makhno" - and wondered how it was that a long-dead Ukrainian anarchist was making GBA mods...
the price is ridiculous
Me seeing this video and checking my wallet: ah shit, here we go again.
Sorry about that 😅
Just a few notes:
I missed it if it was mentioned but the Nintendo logo comes from your donor console.
My light pipe for the LEDS was not put into the shell so I put it in myself with a tiny dab of super glue.
My kid just came in a normal cardboard box with bubble wrap. No plastic case.
Glad you're doing the full intro again for Retro Renew 🥰
Ha to bring it back 😁
@@MachoNachoProductions Agree, your intro is SO catchy and one of the reasons why I click on your videos (as petty as that seems lol)
Absolutely no-one:
Tito: *The LED light diffusers and light pipes just so neat!!*
That's tempting... And technically it's a no solder mod if you're not worried about the brightness. You could set and forget so for those that are crap at soldering (ie, ME!) that's not a bad option.
Been waitin for this video! Such a cool gba mod
Yet ANOTHER fantastic video, Tito! This is awesoem I am for sure getting this!
First, I very like the Gold and Red color, it have a old school Famicom feeling that Iike it 👍.
I very like this Slate SP, it don't feel so much complicated to install and his smaller form factor is great imo.
The GBA line of console can still have something to suprise us and that's cool. Now with got so many option to customise, upgrade, revive our handheld system that, like pokémons, I want to catch'em all ... but my wallet don't want 😅.
Great video 👍
I’m glad you noticed the famicom look, that was my goal 😁
I'd like to see a headphone Jack mod done to this.
The size is perfect.
Never knew I needed this until now!
The brass slate with the clear red back gives it a bit of a Famicom color scheme. Looks good.👌
That was the look I was going for 😁
Man, this channel and MVG is the reason why i paid internet
So glad you’re enjoying the channel! MVG is a fantastic channel!
Makho is elite
Gerat video, and the production detail is top notch as usual. Under "cons", I would definitely have listed the incompatibility to mod a headphone jack in this one. While not important to some people, a lot of folks like the ability to plug in their headphones, especially while using on a noisy bus or airplane. Still, this is a beautiful mod.
@Tee Hee So just because YOU don't like the quality of GBA music, means no one else should have the option to use headphones? Then congratulations, that's the most garbage argument I've ever heard.
@Tee Hee No fits here. Go back and read my original post. I suggested that the inability to mod in a headphone jack should be listed as a con, because having more options is always better. Numerous SP mods have this option, and I was commenting that it's a shame the Slate does not.
You are arguing that because you don't like the quality of Gameboy music, and that "most people don't" (which I disagree with), then it's no big deal that the Slate doesn't have the option to mod a jack in. Since when is having MORE options a bad thing? You don't like the quality of the music. Good for you. For everyone else like myself who can look past the low quality audio, we just want the option to listen to the scores of Golden Sun, Fire Emblem, Advance wars on headphones while commuting, on a plane, etc. That was my point. Have a great day 🙂
@Tee Hee I'll be honest, I didn't know this was a thing. Still, that's somewhat limiting (and likely more expensive) than just modding in a headphone jack for those who don't need a rechargeable USB-C battery and are fine with using regular alkaline or regargeable AA's. But you do bring up a good point about this mod's scope. I don't know enough about the GB modding scene to know how easy or difficult it would be to add support for a headphone jack into a mod like the Slate.
I am curious, after everything you said about how much you hate Gameboy music, why you have a mod allowing you to use the headphone jack if you never use it?
@Tee Hee Oops yeah I had AGB on the mind since that's the system I've been doing the majority of my mods on lately haha.
I don't like using and having to carry around headphone dongle adapters so this wouldn't be an ideal solution for me but for people like yourself who never use the audio-out anyway, this could be a good option.
@Tee Hee Fair point. I just prefer the form factor of the AGB myself, as the AGS is a little cramped for my hands. But hard to argue with it's portability.
Best thing to me is the color options via buttons and the rear shell. I like my modded stuff to have some personality and not look like everyone elses.
I love the look, but like with the BoxyPixel versions, it comes down to affordability, and aesthetics. The metal shells are awesome looking, great for presentation, but I want the vibe of tossing my Gameboy in my bag when I go out for the day, and playing it during my downtimes. Having a console that's more premium looking, can draw attention from people, and honestly.. I wouldn't want to touch it after I'm done, considering how much I'd end up spending on it.
I'd love to see one of these companies, or Makho come up with a design that utilizes similar plastics to the Gameboy Color, DMG, Pocket, etc. That could be sold at a lower price point.
I got the unhinged full mod in aluminum red and I have to say it’s one chunky boy, but I love the weight and thickness of the body, plus the usb type c charger and aluminum buttons feel so premium.
this looks gas
It’s amazing 👍
Natural gas, highly refined, or crude? 😝
Note for everyone:
I just did this mod with the metal cnc buttons and I had to add the A and B membrane because there was too much clearance. I also had to snip the center circles in the A and B membrane. Also the R button was very tight I had to trim some of the plastic to allow enough clearance
Hey man I’m having the exact same problem where all the metal buttons A, B, and the D-pad do not fit snug and rattle a ton. I tried putting the membranes back on but they didn’t seem to fit correctly with the metal buttons. I’d appreciate it if we could chat a little bit and you could give me some tips.
@@bchd8829 did you snip the L and R pins on the board? This step isn’t in the video but is recommended on the install guide. Also if you use the membranes make sure you cut flush the small rubber centers. I ended up using the dpad membrane and the A and B membrane and it feels great
@@duke_8747 I snipped them but only on the one side that makho did in his video. Good tip on the membranes I’m going to try that
@@bchd8829 definitely snip both sides if you end up taking it apart. Let me know how it goes
Should not have to do that much self work with the price it costs. I was debating reshelling the sp I just got myself for my birthday with an sp shell or the CNC slate and now I really don’t wanna get the slate
Holy...I was going to preorder the brass, but that one is over $200! All others are $94. Might go for a gold/silver theme instead.
Honestly the gold aluminum one looks pretty sweet too
it's $94 for a piece of plastic...
@@benjamin8399 It's metal
@@benjamin8399 aren't they all metal? Just different types of it. I don't see a plastic one offered (not that I'd pick it if they had it anyway)
@@ixac_ Sorry my bad I thought that only the brass one was in metal!
I ordered my kit as soon as I saw this video 2 months ago. It just arrived today. The entire packaging is top notch! It even came with an awesome Pokémon sticker. I love the included case!!
I can’t wait to build mine. I’m planning on making it based on Bass.EXE from MegaMan Battle Network. It’s a Black Slate that’s going to have a Translucent Purple back and the Extremerate Gold Buttons.
Nice dude! Sounds like an awesome build!
I've got to say, I'm not really a fan of the milling marks in the brass shell (d-pad and button bays).
They don’t bother me too much but they will offer a stone washed version which should look pretty awesome
Great video again. This kit is beautiful. I was thinking of modding my original GBA but now I may have to go with this one.
Glad you enjoyed the video 😁
This looks super sleek. Love the shorter height and the extra rounded corner on the screen. I'm not a huge fan of the slant though, would prefer a totally flat front. I do wish a metal back was available as well
U big turkey, the slant is because you didn’t use the shorter dao lmfaoooooo
@@pixelatedsethtube1271 Dao? Do you mean dowel?? And no, the bottom half literally tapers off in a slant. You can see it in the video
@@NormalPsyche Ohh yes I was thinking that. My apologies you are correct it does have a slant
Really torn on this vs boxy, i love this form factor and really excited to see more GBA mods doing this either way! Kinda wish they made a plastic shell like this, with that simple slim form factor being more pocketable would be nice, id be afraid to pocket and carry around such a nice metal or brass shell without using the carrying case which kinda defeats the smaller form factor.
a variant on this with a headphone jack and usb-c charging would be just PERFECT 😍 this already looks amazing though 💛
I've bought a slate kit, screen and shell, have a donor console fully functioning ready to go, eagerly awaiting shipping. I went for a dark black and silver with a transparent blue shell. When I get the soldering done, I feel like I will use it every day. I don't mind the brightness feature being mapped to the select and triggers at all. In fact, I think it completes the mod. I'm excited to build one
my boy with the clear base, homage to the king who gave it to us
That intro makes me want to buy a soldering kit 😎
Still waiting for that all plastic option of this mod 😒
Hopefully that becomes an option
What do you recommend for a good quality aftermarket shell? I like the translucent red you used. Thanks bud!
when that brass gets all the oils from your hands on it and tarnishes it too, will be nice
I honestly like the look of this one a lot more than the SP Unhinged. I definitely love the fact that the screen is laminated. One thing I hate about the unhinged is it has that screen gap where stuff can get trapped and it's super easy to tighten the back piece too much leaving that yellow screen bleeding.
I have a question. Do the metal buttons have any chance of damaging the button contacts on the motherboard? I like the way they look but I'm worried about possible damage.
Definitely a really good concern but I'm sure if the button post on the bottom of the button is the same size as the contact it should cause any damage. However, I know nothing so don't listen to me, just a opinion that could be complete wrong!
@@m4xQ ahh you are right. That probably will make it less of an issue. Thanks.
@@albertoheras7684 the dome is pretty tough so I think it should be fine! For me maybe I'll go with aluminum button instead of brass though. My childhood SP, the face buttons were somewhat unresponsive so I literally had to peel those domes off and use alcohol to clean them up, so I think I know how sturdy they are
I think it's more exposed to corrosion without the membranes.
god i love your channel, its one of my new favorites. you're up there with Ahoy, GVMERS, Retro Future and others with this sort of editing and content. i am so glad to say that i was here before 100k. and i am suprised that you havent made it past 100k.....
*YET*
Aesthetically, I like it better than the boxy pixel one, but one con you forgot to mention is it doesn't have room for USB c charging or headphone jack mods like BP, I think? If I was gonna make something like this, I'd probably wanna do those too. Go all out with the mods
I love the look of this mod, but I don't really understand why they wouldn't offer a back plate. I'm not an engineer, but it seems simple enough. This is already a premium priced product, you are going to spend about $150 for the shell and screen (not including your discount code, ofc).
Excellent video. Beautiful mod. By the way, any chance you could start including latency tests/comparisons for aftermarket screen mods and consolizers in future vids? Thanks!
That’s something I’m definitely going to start working on.
@@MachoNachoProductions Totally agree with Alexander! If you can fit this in somewhere to your videos' "features" section or something, it would add a lot of value to people who are on the fence about the image retention/ghosting issues that a lot of these IPS screens suffer from. The 240p Test Suite is an excellent program to view different screen tests, and the "Shadow Sprite" menu selection is the BEST way to test those ghosting/image retention issues.
I hope that someday someone will make an SP slate with the cartridge slot on top, like every other GB before it. Give it a GB pocket form factor and it would be the best GB ever
That would be neat! Xipher made an awesome shell that does that. I would check him out on Instagram. I’ve been meaning to take a look at it also
If you can still use the membrane with the metal buttons I would suggest that. Wouldn’t want to damage the motherboard. I also imagine the buttons would rattle and lose most of their “spring-back” without the membrane
I was very close to getting a SP Unhinged recently as I also ordered an Analogue Pocket but wanted to use a dedicated GBA machine for GBA games and keep the Analogue Pocket for GB/GBC games, due to the fact that GBA games on the Analogue Pocket put the annoying Black border around, lowering the usable Display area when playing GBA games. I just wish the Slate had a USB C Port, that would have really changed things for me.
Your review has decided to make me wait. I can live without the USB C port with the improved portability being more preferred anyway. I'm going to wait it out and see how these Gameboy Slate's are viewed by owners and will most likely head in that direction. As always, top notch work Tito.
If you care about usb c that much, then just replace the original charge port for it. Having been lucky to get my hands on an early sample. I love it. Can't wait to get on the final product
@@RiotSRetro Lol, sadly, I am not good when it comes to doing this type of stuff.
I am a Tech guy, but I'm more of a Software/Application person. I will see what the rates of prebuilt models will go for, and if they're reasonable, I'll probably take a dive.
I never understood why A+B buttons have to be slanted that way. They should be slanted the opposite direction as that's naturally where your thumb aligns. No fault of this case though it's just how the GB was designed. Very cool shell replacement!
While I'm personally not interested in this mod it's still really cool and obviously it's always nice to have more options. The brass looks beautiful.
I was super excited to try this aaaand then it requires soldering. Unfortunately outside my skillset. Still incredibly cool!
I love it, but I would prefer that they sold the back as well. The mish mash of color isn't exactly perfect.
That Slate mod is slick! Cant wait to give it a go to have one of my own. Thanks for the time and effort you put into your videos, much appreciated Tito! 👍
I truly adore the slate
I would love to see one of these for the PSP. The metal and tight tolerances would look and feel perfect.....
Just received and built mine, it's beautiful.
I ordered the machined buttons however and installing them without the membrane made them loose and the whole system kind of rattles when you move it.
They functioned fine but I just really didn't like the feel / sound of it so I went back to the standard with the membrane.
The problem is that with the same price just for the case, you buy something similar and complete that runs emulators, like the RG35xx.
Nice video as always, keep it up Tito! One question: How do the shoulder buttons feel compared to the models from Boxypixel?
should be the same as stock if you glue the axle pins in. Without glue, it will still work but it will just be wobbly and doesn't feel as good. I'm not saying stock shoulders feel good but it should be unchanged from stock.
This is really cool, but why isn't there any plastic versions?
I've been seeing alot of aluminum shells, which is cool, but they're all way over my budget for modding.
I felt like the only person who doesn't like having everything be metal.
I don’t know how I feel about this. I think this looks absolutely gorgeous, but I love the original SP’s shell. I think if I had to do this, I’d have to get a second SP.
Ordered. Can’t wait to put it all together.
Nice!
Great video as always Tito. Got a slate preordered myself - the red one with a black back and black plastic buttons.
Nice dude! You’re going to love it!
What was the reason to go with the plastic back? Did I miss it? Boxy offers a full aluminum housing for the same cost. I thought you were going to tell us wireless charge included by default but it's just using the old battery with no mods. Aren't most people going to be sourcing a custom color back shell for extra money too? Most of these GBA SPs out there are full of scratches. Sorry if I sound petty but I wouldn't want to spend cash to only do half the job of the competition.
Man I just recently discovered your channel and I gotta say your vids are rad. Excellent demonstration of the mods themselves, and I absolutely love that you say "this is what it should look like." Deffo subscribed here. :)
Thank you 🙏☺️
I dig the form factor of the slate, but prefer an all metal enclosure. Maybe they'll make a back half eventually? Until then, I think the box pixel design looks the most premium, which is really the point of these for me.
I have to agree, with the plastic back it looks to Frankenstein for me.
This looks compatible with the GameCube GameBoy cable!
My main criticism of the other metal shell was that it wasn’t compatible with it. I know it technically is if you remove the plastic bits shell of the connector, but I don’t want to remove it. I’ll probably buy this just for having this tbh.
Time for the thick Boi slate Mashup! It would be a cool Frankenstein expirement haha
I want one!
I think I would prefer the back the same material as the front
i love the plugs while price comparison lmao
I wouldn't trust myself to mod my beloved SP this way, but this is awesome. Gosh I love the GBA.
It’s much easier than it looks, I’ve never done anything like this and I finished in under an hour!
I'll be honest, if you have a 3d printer at home, the unhinged original looks very appealing, since you can skip the proprietary buttons by printing them and it allows for bigger batteries.
Though I haven't had a GBA in over 10 years ever since I got a DS.
And right now I got my hands on a GPD XD, which to my surprise, fits perfectly into the grip for my 3DS XL, it only blocks the L2 and R2 buttons but other than that it's what I'll be using for GBA on the go really.
This looks good! I've recently bought the GameBoy Advance SP Unhinged along with the EZ-Flash Omega: Definitive Edition and I'm having a blast!
The slate is nice and all but what I'm waiting on is the Thiccboy SP from you and Brinkerhoff Systems!
Never owned a Gameboy, but this is pretty cool. I would painstakingly remove all visible machining marks before I even considered putting it together. Not a dealbreaker but that would bother me too much to leave as it is. I don't begrudge them for skipping it, since it'd just drive up costs more and most people probably don't care.
Awesome ❤ but i still can't deside wich i should take of the three 😅.
Great Video as always Tito 😉👍.
It’s a tough decision for sure
I wish we could use an AGS 101 screen in this.
That's a thing of Beauty
I love the Design, its like my childhood get Upgraded
Man, the case that was part of the thumbnail is just gorgeous. you know what would be neat if this could work, if anyone remembers the famicom edition for the game boy micro, having the trim of the shell from the outside be a metallic red + the inner look of the that resemble the gold labeling and we can add black buttons.
Man, that GBA looks awesome. I sure wish there were PSP mods like this.
Could you show us a video on how to get oem sp screens in the unhinged sp I’ve tried and it looks too big
Not a fan of the original DMG design for the GBA because of the triggers. I know I'm in the minority but the AGB-001 form factor is my favorite. I agree with your choice of brass, it looks stunning and in time it will form a gorgeous patina!.
I love the patina that brass produces. Unfortunately there’s a clear coat to keep it form oxidizing. I could sand off the clear coat though 🤔
@@MachoNachoProductions Have it media blasted. It will leave a nice matte finish and patina well.