Anywhere to buy a name cab anymore?

[patm95]

Hello all. I’ve been out of the loop for a long time. I was starting to entertain the idea of building a mame cab (been a goal for over a decade). I went to north coast customs site and seems they are out of business now. Are there any reputable sellers left that sell cabs?

[meyer980]

I think 1up Arcade (and similar) really took this type of market over. They're essentially pre-made emulation cabinets. And, with the right know-how, they can be upgraded into a MAME machine pretty easily. High-end, expensive, pre-built MAME cabinets would have a hard time competing with that.

Casuals can buy the 1up. People who care slightly more can buy a 1up and upgrade it. And the people who really care (like us at BYOAC) will build our own.

There's also AtGames Legend Ultimate machines. https://www.atgames.us/collections/legends-ultimate-arcade-hd-machines

[bobbyb13]

There are still people building legitimate cabinets but few want to pay what it really costs to build them.
To even get apprentice type wages on building a complete machine including all parts, materials, artwork, etc. puts a regular upright into the realm of $4k+ depending on all the details.

And sure it will play games but no matter what parts you change on it, an Arcade 1Up will never be a good long term investment in a gaming machine.
A properly made one will survive decades of regular use.

I built multi machines that have been in a surf shop and pizza parlor in my town for 5 years and counting and I haven't had to perform a single bit of maintenance on either.

No modded 1Up would have lasted so long.

Where do you live?
You DO need to be careful about custom builders though as there are a few guys building what look like ok machines but they are cutting corners on process, over-charging for materials, and offer terrible service overall.

[patm95]

Thanks for the replies. I’m in IL. My brother has a couple of 1ups which are cool but in My mind they do not compare with a real Mame cab. I originally got interested in this around’08. I got the John st Claire book and bought some MDF, couple of coin mechs and some custom tokens. I also got a multi resolution crt that was popular back in the day.  Then decided to go back to school. Graduated and moved into a small house. We are remodeling our basement and was considering if we had enough room for a cab. Was considering buying one of those kits from north coast customs and realized they went out of business.

[bobbyb13]

If you still have those parts and the tube then build one!
St's book is great and you'll find all the help you need otherwise right here.
Just requires some space, time, and tools really.

There are enough generic cabinets floating around your area that if you spend some time looking and waiting that you could find and convert a non-rare original cabinet without angering the arcade gods too.