GAN

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Revision as of 18:51, 4 November 2018 by Galaxy (talk | contribs) (→‎GAN Air SM)
Gan
The GAN logo
Company
Founded: unknown
Location: China
Years Active: 2011-present
Areas served: Worldwide
Website: [1]
Production
Products: See below

Gans, Ganspuzzle, or GAN is a puzzle brand created by Ganyuan Jiang (江淦源) who set the first Chinese 3x3 national speed-solving record (in 2007). He was also the co-founder of the GuoJia cube brand. They released their first cube in 2011, the Ganspuzzle I and have since innovated in 3x3 and their cubes have been used to break many world records, including the current 3x3 single & average by Feliks Zemdegs. They sponsor many top cubers, such as Max Park, Feliks Zemdegs, and Sebastian Weyer through their system called GAN Gurus

2x2

Gan 249

Released October 2017. Gans' first 2x2. Received a lot of attention as their 3x3s were many peoples' mains already, however it was generally considered to be a flop. Dull shades and the sliggish feel were the main contributions to its demise. A magnetic version was also offered as the GAN 249M

Gan 2160

Releases 2016? A large 2x2 160mm across each edge made up of 8 GAN 3x3 storage boxes as the cubies. Was meant to store 2x2s, but as it used a 356 core it could be used as a fully-functional 2x2.

Gan 249 V2

Released December 2017. It features a honeycomb design on the corner contact points and an overall smooth feel. The Stickerless version features a bright stickerless color scheme, primary plastic internals, while the black plastic version features the GAN Full Bright color scheme and black plastic internals, as well as many features taken from their 3x3s. A very nice second attempt.

3x3

Ganspuzzle I

Released March 2011.[2] A 3x3x3 cube notable for having a stickerless design, when such cubes were still rare. The Gans I was a fast turner, but would lockup quite badly. It's main competitors, the GuHong V2 and Zhanchi V1 were much smoother and effortless to turn compared to the crunchy, unstable Ganspuzzle I which would frequently pop, seemingly at random, even when turning lightly.

Ganspuzzle II

Released May 2011.[3] A redesign of the original Gans, this one came with stickers, and had far fewer lockups. A sluggish cube straight out of the box, although speed improved after many solves. Despite popping being significantly reduced, it could not compete with Dayan cubes, and never really gained much notoriety.

Ganspuzzle III

A 3x3x3 cube released August 2013, with a second version (Gans III V2) released in November. One major problem was the lockups and the 'flexing' due to the long edge pieces which was a major downside, however this cube was considered a success, and this is the first Gan cube many people remember using.

Gans 357

Released March 2014. Called the 357 because it's a Gans 3-layered 57mm cube, and marked the start of their naming scheme which they have used in every cube since. It was known for having light and crispy buttery smooth turning, a very distinctive difference between other cubes of the time and became many peoples' mains, but did not get much traction compared to the cubes like the Moyu AoLong. This is due to the sheer number of ridges on the pieces; both edges and corners. The edge bases were enlarged to resolve the 'flexing'. As well as this, the plastic was altered to a softer one than the Gans III to help provide more of a buttery feel like the DaYan cubes, and possibly the original WeiLong. An improved "ultimate" version was later released, for people who prefered the larger size over the now-standard 56mm or 55.5mm cubes.

Gans 356

Released early 2015. This cube was a smaller upgrade over the 357, which debuted screws in every piece; corners, edges, and centres. This was when most people first heard of the Gans brand due to this cubes absolutely effortless corner-cutting anywhere: up to 50 degrees and 30 reverse, which essentially reduced lockups to those very inaccurate turners. It had the same buttery smooth feel as the 357 but noteably the clackiness and flimsiness had gone away. The 356 also debuted the first version of the GAN box V1. Some cubers, however, reported fairly serious catching issues on the cube however there are mixed opinions on this. The general consensus now is that the factory tensions were different on different cubes, so you had to set it up yourself.

Gans 356S

Released May 2015. A Gans 356 with a different ridge layout on the pieces, however it was quickly discontinued for unknown reasons, and the 356S V2 was debuted.

Gans 356S V2

Released December 2016. Updated Gans 356S. Four variants were offered: the 356S V2, 356S V2 Lite, 356S V2 Master, and 356S V2 Advanced

Gans 356 Air

The Gans 356 Air was released in August 2016. The goal of this cube was to retain the buttery smooth feeling of other 356 variants whilst making it quieter, lighter, and generally easier to turn. It was the first cube to use the original dual-adjustment system called Gans Elasticity System (GES) that allows users to swap out the springs to adjust the feel of the cube by changing the spring compression between eight versions. Originally, clear nuts were the preffered option but now most cubers use green or yellow. It was extremely quiet, fast, and buttery compared to it's main competitor - the AoLong V2. It is endorsed by Feliks Zemdegs, Sebastian Weyer, Max Park, and other top speedcubers. Four variants were offered: The Air Grand Master(which came with all the GES nuts, a metal tensioning tool, a bag, and a card), Air Master (which came with 3 GES nuts, a bag, and a metal tensioning tool), Air Advanced (which came with a tensioning tool), and the standard Air. Later three more non-magnetic versions were released; the Air S, Air S Master, and Air Ultimate which the Air UM, the first magnetic cube, was based off of.

Gans 356 Air UM

The GAN Air UM was released in January 2017. At the first mass produced magnetic 3x3, and at the time, the only one. It was the result of a collaboration between Cubicle Labs and GAN. Cubicle Labs did the magnetism, while GAN made the “U”. U stands for Ultimate, which meant this was a GAN Air Ultimate. The Ultimate was an Air that had the pieces glued together and the screws in the pieces removed to reduce weight. It was also set up by GAN, and had more GES nuts and accessories than the standard Air. The magnets in the UM were considered weak compared to the other magnetic cubes at the time (GTSv1 M and Valk M), but the magnets are stronger than the ones usually used on modern cubes. A prototype (later named as GAN Air 473, which was given away.) was used to break the former 3x3 world record of 4.73 seconds by Feliks Zemdegs. Many of the top cubers, such as Max Park, Feliks Zemdegs, Kian Mansour, etc. used the cube as their main. Many criticized the cube for being very loud and crunchy, compared to the relatively soft Air. Some also had problems with the magnets falling out. In 2017, a limited edition version was manufactured which was a Air UM with Max Park's set-up pre-installed and some newer features. 639 were issued to mark Max Park's 3x3 ao5 WR of 6.39

Gan 356 Air SM

The GAN 356 Air SM was the highly anticipated successor to the GAN 356 Air UM. There were a number of small changes that transformed the crunchy and loud UM into a soft and smooth cube. There is a GES v2 system that is slightly looser than the GES v1, which theoretically allows for a faster cube. In addition, there are slots for the magnets, which ensure accurate placement and fixed the problem of dropping magnets. The biggest change was the honeycomb design on the pieces, which is what contributed to the soft feel. Curiously, GAN said that this was to retain lube, but the cube eats lube. However, the price seems less justified than th UM, since there was no gluing of the pieces, and magnets would be easier to install due to the slots, yet the cube is $3 more expensive. The cube seems less clicky and stable than the UM, but is softer and faster. The magnets are ever so slightly weaker on the SM. This cube is considered the one of 3 cubes that are unanimously considered the best on the market - the SM, Valk M, and MF3RS2M. The GTS2M and Huanlong are considered too fast, and the Valk Power is considered too heavy. In October 2018, GAN will release a new 3x3 called the Gan 356 Air SM 2019. It is simply an Air SM with a slight internal piece redesign and the new GES v3

Gan 354M

released July 2018, it is smaller than most cubes but many people like the smaller size, especially for one-handed solving. It was the main of many speedcubers like Max Park and Dana Yi due to it's plush, fast, and controllable feel. Despite this, it was considered a failure by many people against it's competitor, the MoYu WeiLong GTS3M since it was very fast and at times uncontrollable compared to the super-snappy and stable GTS3M. In November 2018, it was debuted as the first ever cube in the GANINFINITY line.

Gan 356R

Released October 2018, along with the 356X. It is Gans first ever 'budget cube' but is still likely to be more of a mid-ranged cube retaling for about $15. It has been described as the 'GAN 3566S V3' and even GAN themselves have called it the '356S Revival', however this cube now has the GES nuts system but retains the buttery smooth feel. However, without self-magnetizing it, the cube was essentially useless as the turning was very fast, just like the 354M. It's main competitor, the YJ MGC, far outstripped it due to it's more stable feel, was cheaper (at $12), and was factory-magnetized. As well as this, the YJ MGC V2 will debut a GES-like system and will retail at a similar price of $19.

Gan 356X

Released October 2018 along with the 356R. This is the highly anticipated new flagship 3x3 from GAN with two revolutionary new features; the first ever magnet replacement system, GAN Magnetic System (GMS). This system allows you to change the magnet strength of the cube in the edges (i.e. not corners) to highly change the feel of your cube adding to GAN's philosophy of more customization. In a teaser video, GAN boasted that you could change the magnet strength in 30 seconds, a feature previously unimagined. The magnet options are strong, medium, weak and null (non-magnetic). The way you change the magnet strength is by simply missalligning the middle layer by about 45 degrees and simply pushing the magnetic rod through the visible magnet slot in the edges, replacing the one already inside. The second feature is the new GES+ which allows for tool-free tensioning somewhat like the MoYu Spring Compression System featured in the MoYu WeiLong GTS3 lineup. In the new GES, there are also only 4 colours of nut with Green pre-installed. The way this works it that on the nut there are four settings that are visible as numbers, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0, and these numbers mean how long the spring will be, not how tight the cube will be. So, the tightest setting, 0.6, compresses the spring to 0.6cm to make the cube tighter. The fourth setting simply says 0, and is to take the nut out. The puzzle retails as between $56 and $62 making it the most expensive non-limited edition cube ever released. This is largely due to the magnets adding on an extra ~$10. Despite the high price, most cubers consider it the best, quietest, and by far the smoothest cube you can buy. The cube is already the main of many cubers like Max Park, Feliks Zemdegs, Seung Hyuk-Nahm, and Tanzer Balimtas.

4x4

Gan 460M

Released May 2018. Gans' only attempt at a 4x4, it features visible magnets and and the honeycomb design. It has had mixed reviews, with some switching to it over the GTS2M or WuQue M but many sticking with the latter options.

Megaminx

GAN Megaminx

Expected release November, December, or January 2018/19. The GAN megaminx has been teased by GAN and a few prototypes have been made. One is the main of Feliks Zemdegs. It will compete with the X-Man Galaxy V2 M and the people who have felt one (like scramblers at comps) say it is very close to mathing or has already matched the performance of the Galaxy line.

Rubik's Speed

GAN has collaborated with Rubik's to make two speedcubes for the Red Bull World Cup. They feature many GAN elements as they were mostly designed by GAN, however they also have tiles. They are farely average cubes, certainly not bad, but not top of the market. There are currently only a 2x2 and a 3x3

GANINFINITY

Gan 354M INFINITY

Released November 2018. The Gan 354M INFINITY is the first cube of the GANINFINITY series of custom cubes. The main idea is that this cube is a 354M, but with nine options that you can customize and the factory will produce your personalized speedcube on-demand. This service is designed to compete with on-demand custom cubes by stores, such as SpeedCubeShop or CubeDepot. As of 03/11/2018, we do not know how much these cubes will cost.

There are nine options on a custom "menu" similar to the Cubicle Custom service and the options are as follows;

• The colour of the plastic, which you can choose between Black, White, Primary, Red, Pink, and Blue. A notable omission is Stickerless, which GAN attributed to the difficulty of producing stickerless cubes with a custom colour scheme, however the last option lets you choose stickerless shades.

• The second option is the centercap colour, assuming you want to have a black cube with a primary cap, making an illusion cube. However, this is a mostly trivial option.

• Next, you may select the core, which will change the GES nuts, and the options are the same as the GAN 356X; IPG v5 and Numerical IPG, which will allow you to tension hands-free, a feature unseen on the original 354M.

• The sticker options are the normal Gans shades, half-brights and full-brights, however you can now select full-fitted stickers (not that you would want to, but hey, more options) which have been unseen on a GAN cube since the notorious 357.

• Again, a feature unseen on a standard 354 is different magnet options, however these are not interchangeable like in the GAN 356X. This is because you select one magnet option and you don't get the others. The magnetic options are standard; Clear 3*2, Yellow 3*1.8, and Green 3.16 and there is no Magnetless option.

• The GES Nuts are V5 or Numerical depending on your core choice and are as seen on the 356X; Yellow 3.4N, Green 2.5N, Blue 2.1N, and Purple 1.8N. As in the magnet choice, and extra case with the remaining GES nuts is not shipped.

• A lubrication option is next but I do not know what the lubes are, as they won't translate

• The second-last option is also not known since I cannot translate.

• The last option is for stickerless shades (you can have pink replacing either red or orange).

As well as the customization options, you can have four pre-customized options that are mass-produced if you want a good, pre-set-up speedcube without having to choose your options. These cubes aren't produced on-demand, and are similar to the Air UM Max Park Signature Edition, as they are essentially the base cube customized and set-up as the cubes' namesake wishes. These cubes are:

• Feliks Zemdegs Edition 354M

• Dana Yi Edition 354M

• Leo Borromeo Edition 354M

• Yi-Fan Wu Edition 354M

Lubrication

Gans Magic Lube

The Gans Magic Lube was released in August 2017. It is a low-medium viscosity piece lubricant designed to be used in Gans puzzles.

Gans Sticky Lube

The Gans Sticky Lube is a fairly low-viscosity piece lubricant that is slightly thicker than the Gans Standard Lube that was released in June 2016.

Gans Standard Lube

The Gans Standard Lube is a low-viscosity piece lube released in August 2016.