3x3 A Look Back on the GAN 12 UV, 3 years later.

[Bingus Ringus McDingus]

Man, it's been a lot of history with this cube. 5.01, 4.86, 4.75, 4.69, 4.48. This thing has been through the world and back. But, despite its hype and the release of GAN cubes after this, the GAN 12 stays strong.

The performance is incredible as always. Out of the box, I guarantee you that IT WILL POP. It does not perform well without lube, just like your mo-

Adjustment is easy. My blue thing is set to 2, my clear thing is set to 3, and I use hexagonal magnets on the strongest setting, which still provides a smooth guiding feel without the CLUNK of the WRM V9.

Incidentally, I picked this cube over the V9 for that very reason. The beautiful quality of this cube is that regardless of how strong you set the magnets, it's never clicky. It flows incredibly well, and when turning fast, the magnets are not noticeable in feel but always helping stability.

Since this cube is too similar to the 11 and 13 onward, I'll be comparing it to my XS.

It's crunchier and not as quiet, but with my preferred lube setup (Compound X, DNM, and Mystic) it becomes nearly as quiet as my XS when they are setup identically.

They both cut very well, but the 12 feels more stable in small corner cuts than the XS, mostly due to the light weight and the loooooong core magnets. Notably, the XS suffers more than the 12 at very high angles, but who's cutting over 45 in a regular solve?

The 12 feels similar to the XS in the fact that it feels like you are turning absolutely nothing. They are both light, fast, and smooth, with no hint of resistance or sandiness. Of course, lube will change this, but it's worth noting.

The color shades are of course perfect, and the UV coating is VERY helpful with my hands being perpetually dry (I swear, my hands eat more Vaseline than a 2007-era Rubik's brand.) My only gripe is the lack of a stickered version still available, but hey, I own an SM, so that's cool. (I'm not selling it. EVER.)

The only downsides are the fact that it's pretty hard to get the setup right and that it's more prone to pops than the XS. For the setup, just follow my instructions and you should be okay, and the pops should be negligible. Honestly, I felt as if I just needed to say something at least a little negative so I don't feel like I'm blowing hot air.

Bottom line? Better than the 11. Better than the 13. Better than the 14. Better than the V9. I still love it.

 

[Kami]

how much different is the xs from the x?

 

[Bingus Ringus McDingus]

how much different is the xs from the x?

Realistically, not very. It turns a bit lighter and feels a bit more refined, but overall the difference is negligible.

 

[Kami]

Realistically, not very. It turns a bit lighter and feels a bit more refined, but overall the difference is negligible.

hmmm... strange. also i found a kid willing to trade a stickered gan 11 m pro for my tornado at my comp. i kinda feel like i should have taken him up on that

 

[CatoWeeksbooth]

I'm not sure what I'm doing differently from the original poster, but I've been running my Gan 12, 13 and 14 at the factory settings since I got them, and I've never experienced a pop. I've seen it happen in other people's videos, but I don't know what they do to make it happen.

 

[Bingus cuber]

I have the GAN 12 as well, and it is a great cube. In my opinion it is the best GAN release, and a fair contender to all the new Moyu cubes. It has gotten WRs, so top cubers love it as well.

 

[qwr]

I'm not sure what I'm doing differently from the original poster, but I've been running my Gan 12, 13 and 14 at the factory settings since I got them, and I've never experienced a pop. I've seen it happen in other people's videos, but I don't know what they do to make it happen.

I heard in some videos that early models had a popping issue and GAN has since fixed it. I have no idea if that's true or not

 

[Garf]

Man, it's been a lot of history with this cube. 5.01, 4.86, 4.75, 4.69, 4.48. This thing has been through the world and back. But, despite its hype and the release of GAN cubes after this, the GAN 12 stays strong.

The performance is incredible as always. Out of the box, I guarantee you that IT WILL POP. It does not perform well without lube, just like your mo-

Adjustment is easy. My blue thing is set to 2, my clear thing is set to 3, and I use hexagonal magnets on the strongest setting, which still provides a smooth guiding feel without the CLUNK of the WRM V9.

Incidentally, I picked this cube over the V9 for that very reason. The beautiful quality of this cube is that regardless of how strong you set the magnets, it's never clicky. It flows incredibly well, and when turning fast, the magnets are not noticeable in feel but always helping stability.

Since this cube is too similar to the 11 and 13 onward, I'll be comparing it to my XS.

It's crunchier and not as quiet, but with my preferred lube setup (Compound X, DNM, and Mystic) it becomes nearly as quiet as my XS when they are setup identically.

They both cut very well, but the 12 feels more stable in small corner cuts than the XS, mostly due to the light weight and the loooooong core magnets. Notably, the XS suffers more than the 12 at very high angles, but who's cutting over 45 in a regular solve?

The 12 feels similar to the XS in the fact that it feels like you are turning absolutely nothing. They are both light, fast, and smooth, with no hint of resistance or sandiness. Of course, lube will change this, but it's worth noting.

The color shades are of course perfect, and the UV coating is VERY helpful with my hands being perpetually dry (I swear, my hands eat more Vaseline than a 2007-era Rubik's brand.) My only gripe is the lack of a stickered version still available, but hey, I own an SM, so that's cool. (I'm not selling it. EVER.)

The only downsides are the fact that it's pretty hard to get the setup right and that it's more prone to pops than the XS. For the setup, just follow my instructions and you should be okay, and the pops should be negligible. Honestly, I felt as if I just needed to say something at least a little negative so I don't feel like I'm blowing hot air.

Bottom line? Better than the 11. Better than the 13. Better than the 14. Better than the V9. I still love it.

I kinda feel the same except for the 11 M pro. I got mine frosted, but after a while the plastic became glossy. I want to try a UV coating test on it since it’s still decently fast.

 

[artless1der]

Thorough as usual kind sir

I have not tried this cube (or very many Gans)
however
I do concur about the overly storng magnets on the WV9

From my experience with both the YS3M UV BC and the Weilong V9 UV BC

My theory is that Moyu got a real good deal on A LOT of magnets for the YS3M and so they then also used them in the WV9

While the magnets in the YS3M are medium-strong feeling, they are not overly strong
however
The plastic of the YS3M's pieces is quite thick
whereas the plastic of the WV9 pieces is quite thin

So in the WV9 these same magnets end up closer to each other
and are therefore much stronger *sigh*

also, I don't much like the overly high prices and esp the darker green Gan cubes have

 

[Bingus Ringus McDingus]

I'm not sure what I'm doing differently from the original poster, but I've been running my Gan 12, 13 and 14 at the factory settings since I got them, and I've never experienced a pop. I've seen it happen in other people's videos, but I don't know what they do to make it happen.

Huh. Maybe it's the new batches, but mine popped a lot when I got it. Mine was also at loose tensions though, I guess they changed the factory defaults.