Well I fell down the custom keyboard world.

Nedb37 said:
So, I've got it together. Typing on it now, in fact.

I think it'll take some getting used to (i might need a wrist rest) but feels really nice. I like the sound but initially it was a little metallic. So, i followed some of the tips @davetherave2 mentioned above (thank you) and did a quick force break mod with some black electrical tape, didn't screw everything back quite as hard and the metallic ping has gone. Amazing the difference that it's made for such a cheap and simple fix.

I'm going to try get a more muted (or even creamy?) sound if possible with some additional or different material in the case bottom. Although I've also got some samples of silent linear switches on the way so, that might be a direction to take.
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Tape mod might be worth a try if you want a more muted sound. Easy to undo if you don't like it.
 
Snaffled myself a Zoom65 Olivia Light edition, just need to decide if I'm going to build it ANSI or ISO. An earlier review on the board said that the keycaps were a bit hit & miss so might be worth getting a good set & building it ISO, either way going to be a nice upgrade from my Ducky Shine.
 
docsonic said:
Snaffled myself a Zoom65 Olivia Light edition, just need to decide if I'm going to build it ANSI or ISO. An earlier review on the board said that the keycaps were a bit hit & miss so might be worth getting a good set & building it ISO, either way going to be a nice upgrade from my Ducky Shine.
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Nice. I got mine up and running over the week, I didn't go with the Olivia set as I wanted ISO as well but now have nicePBT Noel on it.

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Also have put my Della Key Artisan on it was well. Such a pretty board and although I am still getting used to the smaller size this will be a great portable board.

I did have an issue with some switches not wanting to stay in securely so wasn't sure if that was just using the PC plate or just me not pushing hard enough to make sure I didn't damage the hotswap sockets.
 
Very nice, great keycaps:) I have a feeling I'll build it ANSI to start with but no doubt I'll get tempted down the line. Haven't used ANSI before but can't imagine it'll take much getting used to.
 
docsonic said:
Very nice, great keycaps:) I have a feeling I'll build it ANSI to start with but no doubt I'll get tempted down the line. Haven't used ANSI before but can't imagine it'll take much getting used to.
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Noel is one of my favourite keycap sets and colourways. I hope one day there will be another round of the GMK version but it is great the designer has been working with nicePBT to get sets out at a more affordable price point. Also one of the few sets I own which supports full UK ISO as well.

My only problem with switching to ANSI is that I hit the # key because of where I would usually press the ISO Enter. But other than that I have managed to adapt ok to ANSI (still prefer my UK ISO format as my preferred layout).

Now it is time to wait until late July/August for hopefully my other Zoom65 EE and CW88 to arrive and then I can get those built and have one of my "end game" boards arrive.
 
Does anyone have any experience with separate numpads? As in, does it work well, do you use it often if you do (assuming you're likely to be working, rather than gaming).

Same question but for Macro pads, really.

I'm also finding it a bit annoying that lower profile keycaps, DSA etc.. don't seem to be readily/widely available with ISO/International kits.
 
Just want to add I got the Domikey WoB double-shot ABS set some weeks (probably like 2 months) back, great for anyone who wants a WoB proper UK ISO set that supports things like the GMMK Pro 75% layout. In fact, I think it supports every size layout.

I think the only thing people criticise it a bit for is the Drop GMK WoB set is a darker black, but that set doesn't support UK ISO. Costs more as well.

The UK ISO keycap pain and suffering continues lol. I'm happy with this though, the pricing of this set came out around the higher end of what I'd pay for keycaps as well. I think I was around £66 all in on Ali with tax during a sale. Which I think is fair for Domikey, they seem to be happy stating their quality can match/isn't far off GMK, but their pricing is usually around 20~30% less if not more.

I was on the team PBT bandwagon when I started out, cheap and usually felt good. But there is no doubt good quality ABS has much bolder legends and quite honestly, I'm fine with the feeling. No ABS shine as of yet and a very slight texture to the keycaps, so they're not slippery.
 
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Funny you bring that up. I've been very close to pulling the trigger on a set of PBTFans WOB keycaps but been slightly put off by the price which jumps up because of the fact I'd need an ISO kit separately etc..

Well, that and I can't decide between WOB and BOW (my case is black).
 
I think a lot of the cannoncaps and nicePBT caps support UK-ISO out of the box without additional kits and are fairly affordable alternatives to epbt and GMK.

I don't think you can go wrong with either WOB or BOW honestly. I am currently debating what caps I will be putting on boards that are due to arrive over the next month or so (should have zoom65 EE and CW88 by the end of August fingers crossed) and it looks like other boards are progressing well that I have seen. The only one I think which may be delayed a bit is Phoenix but I am sure that one will be worth the wait.

In the mean time I have a ton of switches that need lubing and/or filming and waiting for NRDesigns to do their next nest release (managed to finally get my hands on one and give some of my artisans a proper home)

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But now is very much a waiting game for things to arrive.
 
Audioboxer said:
Just want to add I got the Domikey WoB double-shot ABS set some weeks (probably like 2 months) back, great for anyone who wants a WoB proper UK ISO set that supports things like the GMMK Pro 75% layout. In fact, I think it supports every size layout.

I think the only thing people criticise it a bit for is the Drop GMK WoB set is a darker black, but that set doesn't support UK ISO. Costs more as well.

The UK ISO keycap pain and suffering continues lol. I'm happy with this though, the pricing of this set came out around the higher end of what I'd pay for keycaps as well. I think I was around £66 all in on Ali with tax during a sale. Which I think is fair for Domikey, they seem to be happy stating their quality can match/isn't far off GMK, but their pricing is usually around 20~30% less if not more.

I was on the team PBT bandwagon when I started out, cheap and usually felt good. But there is no doubt good quality ABS has much bolder legends and quite honestly, I'm fine with the feeling. No ABS shine as of yet and a very slight texture to the keycaps, so they're not slippery.
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Done. Got it from a named website I was aware of, didn't have to buy much in the way of extra keys I really didn't need and got an extra bonus when I went to pay; free shipping!

I like the styling of the pbtfans simple base but it was $25 just for the shipping.

So now I'm set for black case, black stabs, black keycaps and a carbon cable. I'm starting to wonder if I should get Oil King switches!
 
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So I finished my Zoom65 build. Overall I'm extremely pleased with it - it sounds fantastic and looks great & has given me a nice insight into the process. I have a few issues I need to address though. The number row has some uneven keys on it so I'll need to dig back in to try & fix this. Currently have all the foam & stand offs installed & suspect this isn't helping. I'm also struggling a bit with ANSI so have also started looking for ISO caps. You're all right about the rabbit hole though :D

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docsonic said:
So I finished my Zoom65 build. Overall I'm extremely pleased with it - it sounds fantastic and looks great & has given me a nice insight into the process. I have a few issues I need to address though. The number row has some uneven keys on it so I'll need to dig back in to try & fix this. Currently have all the foam & stand offs installed & suspect this isn't helping. I'm also struggling a bit with ANSI so have also started looking for ISO caps. You're all right about the rabbit hole though :D

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Nice build.

I see you probably had the same issue I had with the switches around the screw mounting points (which look raised) . I found to get those in properly, was to actually install the switches and you have just enough room to slide the screws into place (well using my ifixit toolset I did)

Also feel free to push down a little harder on those raised switches and they should just click into place. If not then it maybe the plate is a bit lower than it should be so maybe try pulling the PC plate up a little bit as you click the switch into place.

Yes ANSI is a struggle for me some days due to the muscle memory of where I think I should be pressing the Enter key.

I personally didn't install the bottom foam on my board and it sounds and feels nice without it.


Yes it can become a rabbit hole very quickly (especially when it comes to getting artisans lol)
 
Thanks for the tips. I will try some things differently when I get a chance to see if I can fix the raised switches. I've also bought a wooden wrist rest as I find it quite high to type on & then the next step is to wall mount my monitor and get a larger mouse mat, have my eye on the Great Wave 900x400.
 
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Apologies for the poor picture!

Finally got everything together:

Keychron Q3
Replacement FR4 Plate
3mm Neoprene foam
Lubed and filmed Gat Oil King switches
Domikey WOB ABS Keycaps

Feels and sounds fantastic, really pleased. I can and probably will tinker but it's likely to just be switches (I have some I need to lube and film to try) or Keycaps if something else takes me.

My want was for a smooth and functional workhorse, I feel like I've got that.
 
Glanza said:
Anyone like the Noctua OG colour scheme this much? https://drop.com/buy/drop-mito-mt3-noctua-keycap-set?defaultSelectionIds=964761
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I think the colour scheme is great for fans but not sure I am a fan of having it on my keyboard. Plus I haven't used the MT3 profile so not sure how I would feel like going to that from a cherry profile.

Having just splurged for GMK Pink on Navy (base and spacebars) I am chilling on getting any more keycap sets until I have a couple of boards finally arrive.
 
Nedb37 said:
p.jpeg


Apologies for the poor picture!

Finally got everything together:

Keychron Q3
Replacement FR4 Plate
3mm Neoprene foam
Lubed and filmed Gat Oil King switches
Domikey WOB ABS Keycaps

Feels and sounds fantastic, really pleased. I can and probably will tinker but it's likely to just be switches (I have some I need to lube and film to try) or Keycaps if something else takes me.

My want was for a smooth and functional workhorse, I feel like I've got that.
Click to expand...
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