Well I fell down the custom keyboard world.

[davetherave2]

Made another visit to Prototypist this weekend and picked up my GMK Maestro set + Salvun for £180 plus other bits!

Well happy with the bubble75 now. Spring swapped my CJ switches with TX 67g springs bag lubed with 105 oil. Feels awesome to type on and aesthetically its gorgeous!


snip.....

That is lovely. Just opened up my set of Maestro just to take it in and get prepared for my Vertex Angle (now they are starting to ship). Although missed out on the Accent kit on PT have managed to source it via one of the other vendors through their extra sale.

Got the Halo 65!

Out of the box, with brown switches, I must say i am loving this more than I thought, especially the Spacebar. It sounds like i am hitting a pebble with a satisfying thock each hit.

Good weight to it, compact, feels solid and the fact that it's $140 i think it is a bit of a bargain. I was going to open it up to do the tape mod but I don't think it needs it.

I got the palm rest and a free set of black shrine through caps too. The palm rest does show up the skin oils though.

snip...

2.4ghz dongle is magnetised

That is a very cute little board there.

I have to say I am actually falling in love with using my Zoom65 more and more given that I have been daily driving it for a few weeks but I still think my heart belongs to TKL's.

Speaking of which have seen the next TKL that I am going to add by Meletrix Studios (Zoom TKL/87 - whatever they eventually decide to call it) If it comes close to the quality of the Zoom65 then this could be a new budget king in the TKL custom space for the price to features they are offering. Plus love the colour ways they offer for them as well.

I will certainly share my next build when it eventually arrives in a couple of weeks.

 

[davetherave2]

I saw another review of the Zoom65 and almost bought one, but then i realise it's too similar to the Halo 65 with the biggest differnce being the knob. Since I already set my mind to getting an Alice board, which is also 65%, it becomes redundant to have too many 65%.

I just got to wait for Keychron to release their Q8 in white...

Totally get it with that. Although I am not a big Alice fan (probably because I haven't used it). I am waiting to see one specific Alice "Final Home" designed by CruelWorld to see if it is as beautiful as I hope my TKL will be from him and I think they may be my only Alice board in my little collection.

I preordered the accent kit having realised how little extras there would be, super glad i did! Really makes the kit tbh.

I was gonna join the GB for XOX70 but bailed having seen the Saevus Cor65xt board, it ticks every box for me! GB starts on the 7th at Proto and ends on the 30th.

Having got the QK65 i don't see a need for the Zoom65 now, it would literally be buying it for the sake of owning one and thats it. Zoom TKL looks interesting but not sure if i want another right now, i want a 1800 next i think but not seen anything i want yet. Almost picked up a Odin v2 but talked myself out of it haha.

Yeah wish I had but I have sorted it now and honestly the price difference was like a couple of pounds so I am not too worried about it. Just have to wait now for them to arrive. Hopefully they will get here before my Angle does but if not then it can happily wait to be finished.

Absolutely love my Odin v1 and was the board that got me into this hobby. It is certainly one chonky board with that big brass weight in it but still a lovely thing to behold. Pleased that they made the V2 accessories compatible with the first but I just want to get hold of the V1 Solder PCB so I can make it ISO which the HS PCB is not sadly.

I saw the Cor65 on BlackSimon's GB review and glad that they updated the issue with the key spacing but it is not a board for me.

Love me an 1800 layout and will certainly be trying to get hold of one of the J series 1800 layouts when they eventually become a thing.

 

[davetherave2]

Finally it is the season of GB's starting to get delivered.

My Vertex Angle has finally been sent and now waiting to leave China (hope it isn't stuck due to another lockdown)

My Maestro Accent kit has been shipped (super excited that I will have everything for the Angle build)

Also managed to source GMK Gateway Extras from the AUS GB Vendor for a friend who is a massive portal fan - Although Import and Custom duties are rough lol.

Now also seeing that Matrix 3.0 boards are making their way to Korea means hopefully it will be a late Nov - early Dec delivery for us here in the UK.

So hopefully I will have some updated pics of boards soon. (now to go and start lubing switches in preparation)

 

[davetherave2]

There's quite a backlog at felixstowe from what i've been told so i would expect delays tbh. Good to see things moving though, hopefully it'll all recover soon enough.

Well Vertex air shipped all their boards but I have a feeling that it may have got stuck due to another lockdown in the area that is was meant to be sent from. Just waiting for that tracking number to get an update.

But I should have Gateway on Monday due to it coming via DHL so can't complain there with it coming from all the way over from the other side of the planet (Australia).

But hey they can delay as much as they like to give me some time to focus on one maybe two builds and not have too much of a backlog and have a bazillion switches to lube as well in preparation.

Also debating on getting myself an early birthday present with the next nrd drop this weekend as well.

 

[davetherave2]

Well I did get another NRD Nest to my collection (darling) at the weekend as an early treat to myself and still waiting on movement of my Angle (still trying to decide what switches I am going to put into it - so the longer it takes the more chopping and changing I am doing in deciding what I want to put into her)

Hoping my Maestro accents make their way to me this week so I can have them ready for the Angle but I suspect again they may not be here till next week at the earliest (at least they are on a plane now heading over to the UK)

 

[davetherave2]

Got me a Q0 to augment the Q3 with for work purposes. Keeping my eye out for a TKL i can use for play, now.

At some point, i'd like a low profile wireless keeb to carry with me to the office but having spoken with Keychron, they've confirmed zero plans as it stands for an ISO version of the K5.

Well the Zoom87/TKL will be wireless (bluetooth).

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1628015303 For the Build VOD.

If this can stay close to the US pricing then this would be a good "budget" entry I think.

They have confirmed ISO on an additional PCB not the one provided but the fact they are looking to do a bare bones as well as fully assembled version is certainly a nice change to get people into this crazy hobby at something that is inline with the pricing of some of the high end gaming keyboard makers.

 

[davetherave2]

So today finally my Vertex Angle arrived and my god this thing is just gorgeous. Seriously the MatrixLabs coating is outstanding and just so nice.


The Box


The Backside


The Internal weights with default badges (have custom ones to put in)


All the sparkles


Front with Moonstone (so so blue)





Red Alu Plate ^ or Black PVD Plate (with different switch selection - still deciding which will fit my theme)



Testing out key cap selection for final build

 

[davetherave2]

Read this thread with interest, can see this easily becoming the next money pit for me.

Maybe I can get rid of the sim racing stuff I don't use, to make it OK in my mind by way of man maths.

Oh it can. I have fallen deep into this already, but I feel I am now at a stage where I calming down some what and don't want to have everything purely because of FOMO.

I think I am probably getting up to my max number plus one board and these next few are going to be reserved for special boards I think.

Once you join, its very hard to leave. You'll start collecting boards before you know it and end up with 4 or 5 maybe more. Don't even get started with keycaps and artisans is a whole other level!

Artisans I fell deep into but now have dialed that back a lot (mainly because the key maker has changed their sculpt and I prefer the older style).

 

[davetherave2]

I want to dip my toe into the world of custom keyboards. Not so much a s a hobby, but to just build a nice single board.

Looking this thread I might be out of my depth regarding budget! Some of your builds are insanely expensive!

What manufactures should I being searching for, for the lower end of the pricing market?

Can anyone point me to where I could buy a second hand board / bits? Not seen much at all in the MM and don't fancy chancing eBay.

I mean it depends on your budget really. If you are looking for a nice looking and feature packed board then you could look at the Zoom TKL or Zoom 65 these are designed as well specc'd and premium grade entry level boards but more budget conscious. If you want everything then you could get the Assembled Version of the Zoom TKL that has been recently announced.

But as others have said you could look at the Drops, Keychron and GMMK's of the world as well.

 

[davetherave2]

So the finished product:









So happy with how this turned out.

 

[davetherave2]

Are they the Hoshizora switches? How are they?

Yes they are. They feel better after a little bit of lube on them. They feel really nice and have a lovely sound to them in this board. I got them mainly because they were sparkly more than anything but they turned out better than I could have expected.

 

[davetherave2]

The board i really want Saevus Cor65xt might not meet MOQ, so gutted! I spoke to Jae from Prototypist having visited there last weekend and he said it's not selling too well right now. Then Streamline on discord (the GB starter) clarified it as well, it's still very far off from 200, only around 60 so far....

I remember seeing this on a BlackSimon Stream and I know he had some concerns about the overall design but I think it was more the high price for this which I think may have turned a lot of people off.

Personally something just doesn't sit right with the layout but then again I still consider myself finding my feet still in the hobby and finding what works for me.

The bottom certainly is nice looking but I just don't like that exploded look I guess from my limited 65% experience.

Thanks for the kind words on my board. Really happy with how it turned out and shared a lot more images in the PT sub channel of the build before showing the final ones that I shared. I even tried it with Pink on Navy and also loved that look as well.



But as my second solder build I am really happy with how this feels and sounds, also really happy with my improved soldering skills (pays to get the right sized solder wire lol)

Now to wait for the next round of boards to arrive and it is now going to be a toss up between either my CruelWorld or MatrixLabs boards arriving next. November/December is going to be a busy couple of months building boards.

As well as building a Freebird TKL for a friend.

 

[davetherave2]

GB for the Zoom TKL starting 15th November - 29th November @ $179

I am contemplating it as they are lovely looking units, the only issue I saw was the RGB bleed from the left side top, but not sure how visible that would be from a normal seated position (I watched the Alexotos stream) - I may have to wait for extras as I know I am probably going to have import duties to pay on at least one board between now and the end of the year. So may pick one up as an extra.

If it comes with ISO support as standard then it may sway me a bit more.

 

[davetherave2]

Reddit - Dive into anything

www.reddit.com

I might be reading this wrong but I think ISO is a standard option.

However, i've not done a GB before now so i'm unsure. Am i correct in thinking that this isn't a limited sale, just timed and i can order at any point in the 2 week window without worry of missing out?

Oh they may have updated the units as originally ISO was only going to be supported via an additional PCB that could be purchased as an extra item. (I haven't checked in on the Meletrix discord recently)

Yes you can order at any point during the two week window and be sure to secure your purchase.

I think like the Zoom65 this will be a rolling GB/In Stock sale. Also if you don't get it in the GB the vendor will usually have some extras to purchase afterwards (usually priced around 10 - 20% more than the original GB price)

 

[davetherave2]

Well this afternoon I decided to add a Geon Works Frog (F13 WKLTKL) to my growing collection. (still amazed that some were available after the 2am drop) So got a purple board (A-Stock) with a few extra items to try out with it.

This was very much an impulse buy for me and hopefully will tide me over till I can my hands on some other boards due.

 

[davetherave2]

Quite a few people i know went fo rit too, the Green and Silver pretty much sold out instantly but the B stock Black and purple are still available. Was quite tempted my self but it would mean having to sell the Mr Suit R1 as i don't need 2 TKL's tbh. Did you try some different tadpoles with it as well as extras?

Yes I got some 50A and 70A tadpoles.

Yeah I was shocked to still see A stock available like 12 hours after they went on sale. I was hoping they would be out of stock to stop me but I guess it was just destined for me to add one to my collection. Also got an FR4 plate as well to try that out as well. Plus my usual extra PCB so I can have two builds. I think I will use some of my Lavenders in this build and then figure out what key caps I will put on top of it, may try Pink on Navy on this one.

 

[davetherave2]

Nice! I have a Frog TKL too! Some pointers that I've learned since rebuilding mine around 50 times .

- Tadpole mounting is stiffer that you might be used to if you come from gasket mounted boards (its basically top-mount). The stock leaf alu plate plus 50a tadpoles feel great to me though
- Don't over-tighten the screws, just lightly tighten. I found this makes the sound better
- Don't use the tadpole directly under the spacebar switch. Really improves spacebar sound
- On the topic of spacebar, it really benefits from long pole switch there
- If you're going for a clackier build, only use ABS keycaps
- I find typing on it really comfortable with lighter springs (55g) compared to 63.5 I had before. I think its because it's a bit of a stiffer board

I have mine built with mx blacks and it sounds great!

Enjoy it!

Thanks for the tips. I will certainly be having some fun with it. I am super excited to get one. I feel like Geon's boards are revered in some respects by the community and so to have one in my collection will be super satisfying. As it is purple I have plans to either put Lavenders, Auralites, HaluHalu's or put the remainder of my EV-01's in there.

But knowing me I will probably find another purple switch and go that works colourwise I am using that. lol.

 

[davetherave2]

Couple of sound tests of my space65

First one without spacebar foam
Second with spacebar foam

Built with;
GMK mecha-01
TTC Holy Pandas
POM plate
TX stabs
Plate foam
PE Sheet
no standoffs

Graystudio - Space65 Sound Test

Finally got my Space65!Quick sound test and break down of the buildGMK Mecha-01TTC Holy PandasTX stabilisersPOM platePlate foamPE foamNo case foamA nice Popp...

youtu.be

Graystudio - Space65 Sound Test 2

A build up from the previous sound test. Modded the spacebar with cutout foam to fill the gaps to reduce some of the hollowness. #graystudio #keebs #space65

youtu.be

Nice videos.

That is one flexi board as well. Was surprised at how much it was bouncing just from the space bar alone.

Both sounded nice. But I think I prefer the sound profile from the second video.

That is a very nice looking board as well. Love the Chaos Theory Artisan as well very pretty

 

[davetherave2]

So has been a while and so thought I might update based on a few things that I have received recently before the onslaught of boards that I have arriving over the coming weeks:

GMK Patisserie (such a nice set)





(temp on board until it goes on one of my newer boards)


MW Demon Girl

(The sad moment you get a new set and are displayed with this)


But happy with how the set turned out (photo's show the pinks as more peachy than they are in real life)


Tried to colour correct to get the pinks looking a bit truer to what I see in my hands. Although it did wash out the green spacebar set a bit too much in this one.


Now it is simply a waiting game for me to get hold of some of the stuff I have had on order for almost a year now.

Although did manage to bag the GMK Noel deskmats finally so will be happy when they finally arrive. I may not have the GMK version of the set but I do have both nicePBT versions (hoping with GMK seemingly powering through sets at the minute we will see a round 2 of this ran)

 

[davetherave2]

I’m very tempted to get this Lego keyboard base kit, only £50.

Kit Adam

The first model of KBDcraft mechanical keyboard with a lego case and a fully customizable keyboard Core. I PRODUCT PAGE: https://rama.works/KARAPREORDER OPEN FOR A LIMITED TIME (UNTIL DECEMBER 31ST)EXTRA MANUFACTURING SLOTS ARE AVAILABLE UNTIL EXHAUSTION PAST THIS DATE. NOTE: This is a PREORDER...

kbdcraft.store

It certainly looks like a fun board from what I have seen.