Under $100 mechanical keyboard for gaming and typing, possible?

[gr1m]

Give me $100 for my tenkeyless Cherry black TG3. Just like a red Deck tenkeyless; made by the same OEM.

After realising how much shipping would cost me if I bought new, was your offer $100 shipped?

[xavier]

All right. Steelseries 6Gv2 finally came today. I did have a chance to test it out in the shop before purchase. Well, what can you test if you have about 5 minutes to make a decision in order not to look like nuts? So I concentrated mostly on one thing - were those damned black switches so awful? Since I'm writing this on the 6G they apparently weren't.

Impressions? Yes, this thing IS stiff. But it's way better than I expected. It's definitely usable, you can actually write a text with it and (maybe because you don't have to bottom out) it definitely improves writing speed.

Erm, "not bottoming out" is probably more my feeling than reality. My girlfriend just complained about the clicking...

Of course I can't make a result from an experience lasting just few minutes. I'll give it a week or two and we'll see. Right now it looks more than good.
And yeah, according to current rate it cost me quite reasonable $84 including tax. No shipping.

[itlnstln]

It sounds like you got a good deal on it.  Congrats, glad you like the 'board.

[xavier]

Thanks. It's still a bit early for conclusions. The 6G has some drawbacks from my point of view. For example the layout is not perfect (I prefer US layout), the blacks are stiff especially for pinkies and the keyboard is surprisingly high. This is probably similar to any mechanical keyboard.

But overall the 6G keyboard is a solid piece of hardware. And in comparison to anything I got so far it's just stunning.

Speaking of height, I could really use a palmrest. Of course it might be just a habit from low profile domes. Any recommendations?

[gr1m]

Do you mind sharing where you bought it from? I asked you  before and you don't seem to want to give it up.

[randku]

How many of you have had this much trouble deciding what to buy? I'm levitating back to the Filco tenkeyless Otaku Cherry Brown. However, I do not want to pay $50 on top of a $121 keyboard for shipping and customs. Is there ANY way I can avoid this? Maybe find somebody selling one on Ebay?

The only times that I cannot decide what to buy are usually the times when I never was planning on buying the item in the first place and I had just made a thread for the hell of it. Is this really the case? I thought I actually wanted a mechanical keyboard.

I obsessed with it for a while, I thought I wanted blues, then browns, then blues again. I finally decided on the blues solely because I loved the idea of the audio feedback, and I liked the sound itself after listening to a bunch of audio clips.

I had my eyes set on the Filco Otaku 104 key with N key rollover, but I ended up buying the Scorpius M10, because I like tinkering with things, and I decided that if key connections start failing, then I'd turn it into a project, replace the controller and add diodes for N-key rollover.

Then again, I'm pretty much insane. You should probably just go with the Filco. You won't have to invest in another keyboard for YEARS. Remember that. Rubber domes wear out pretty quickly, but mechanical boards will keep working for DECADES.

Newegg has the Irocks with browns for 90 bucks if you want to go for that instead of the Filco. The layout's a bit wonky, but you could save some money by going that route. I'm pretty sure it's n-key.

EDIT: If by any chance you're a student, das offers a 32% discount, and you could grab a silent DAS for ~$90 shipped.

[gr1m]

But I think DAS keyboards are ugly. My dilemma is this: I don't want to pay $200 shipped/taxed/customs'd for a $121 Filco, but I want a $121 Filco.

I found a really old for-sale thread here on GeekHack that has a NIB non-Otaku tenkeyless Filco with browns selling for $120 shipped in Canada. I PM'd the guy, wish me luck. Wish me luck that he still has it on him I mean.

[xavier]

Do you mind sharing where you bought it from? I asked you  before and you don't seem to want to give it up.

It's from a local reseller from Prague. I think I've mentioned it.

Edit: AFAIK they don't normally send their goods abroad except for Slovakia.

[gr1m]

Alright. The idea of the Das is growing on me more and more.

[gr1m]

I'll keep that in mind. I wonder if they sell Filco keyboards at the NYC Asian Escort place.

[chimera15]

lol  Maybe you can get a girl that will wear the keyboard bra at least. lol

[muchadoaboutnothing]

But I think DAS keyboards are ugly. My dilemma is this: I don't want to pay $200 shipped/taxed/customs'd for a $121 Filco, but I want a $121 Filco.

EKB won't fake customs values so you're left with a tough choice there unless you can find someone who will.

It could be worse. I had convinced a guy in the Philipines to buy a Filco. He wondered how long it would take to get to him. I fed the shipping calculator Wednesday ship to the Philippines (got the city/zip from the guy) from Diamond Bar with the shipped weight (4.6lbs) and exact package size.

[strike]The shipping was more than the keyboard. $136 (he wanted an NKRO Tactile Touch) for Tuesday arrival (International Economy) and $141 for International Priority (arrive Saturday). He said he'd have to think about it because he has to pay customs on top of that.[/strike] EDIT: majestouch got back to me and replied that they use USPS on international shipments, which is a bucketload cheaper ($67 for 2 Tenkeyless', $71 for two 104 key boards to the Philippines).

Despite that, he said he'd have to consider it, but EliteKeyboards may make out better for it- he's considering ordering two.

I told him to come here and see if he can find another person in the Philipines that wants a keyboard. That won't help you on customs (they'd double), but it would probably help tremendously with shipping if shipped in the same box.

[gr1m]

Alright, win. My prefered Canadian store, NCIX just listed the 6GV2 for $99 ($107 shipped), backorder (but probably more accurately, preorder). Placing order right now.

I'm excited, this is gonna be my first non-rubber-dome keyboard.

[gr1m]

No congrats? Or "At first I saw you considering a Filco and was like YAY, but then I saw you bought a Steelseries and was like **** U"s?

[washuai]

You chose the blacks for more than the discounted DAS browns - you really don't like the DAS look, eh?  Congrats on your first mech board, it should build you some fingers of steel.

[gr1m]

I play guitar anyway so I'm willing to wager that my fingers are more than strong enough for Cherry Blacks, and if they aren't, the extra exercise can't hurt. I actually do repetitive finger strength exercises for hours on end. Can't shred without finger strength breskis.

You chose the blacks for more than the discounted DAS browns - you really don't like the DAS look, eh?  Congrats on your first mech board, it should build you some fingers of steel.

Yeah. It was an inexplicable hatred. The USB hub bulge + the glossy finish (on a keyboard? seriously) just killed it for me. The Steelseries is minimalist like the Filco which I like. No tenkeyless but on the plus side, I didn't spend $200 on a Filco. Besides, all the posts about how Cherry Browns are not very stiff (less force than rubberdomes, amirite?) kind of made me want to levitate towards blacks so that I could use a veritable tank of a keyboard instead of a soft, comfortable one.

[wellington1869]

I play guitar anyway

what do you play? (ie, make and model as well as genre)

[gr1m]

Currently rocking an el-cheapo Ibanez. I play metal and neoclassical (Paul Gilbert, Michael Romeo, etc.). The sterile "8 million notes per second" music that people say has no soul because they can't play it.

[ricercar]

What do you think of {preston reed | kaki king | michael hedges } guitar style?

[wellington1869]

The sterile "8 million notes per second" music that people say has no soul because they can't play it.

lol, i've said that. and yea, i cant play it  

I'm a former metal head now mellowed out a bit. My latest love is an el-cheapo gibson melody maker. Absolutely love it even tho its the equivalent of the rubber dome keyboard of the guitar world ;-)

[gr1m]

I respect all guitar styles and all guitarists. I don't respect guitarists who don't respect shred. Like Ted Nugent. But Stranglehold wins.

[wellington1869]

I just bought an el-cheapo Nady wireless system. from Target! lol.  Havent tried it yet, but it actually got decent reviews online.
Pairing it with sony infrared wireless headphones running out of my amp. Together, in theory, I should have a completely cordless system that, as a bonus, wont bother my neighbors one bit.

[gr1m]

I'm old-fashioned when it comes to equipment. Guitar -> cord -> amp -> air -> ears.

[SpatiallyAware]

I'm relatively new to the mechanical keyboard stuff..

I started out with a tenkeyless filco w/ blues

I realized that I didn't like the release point when playing FPS so I bought a tenkeyless w/ blacks.

I hated blacks for everything (way too heavy for typing and IMO for extended FPS gaming) so I bought a tenkeyless with browns.

Browns are awesome for gaming but sorta stink for typing so I bought a 104 key w/ blues (again) for work.


So I then wanted a clicky keyboard at home and thus ended up with a tenkeyless with fukkas.  Fukka fukka fukka.


Long story short - IMHO, for 'my style' of gaming, browns are the only decent choice from Filco.



......and I still want another tenkeyless with blues for at home.  It's a disease.

[itlnstln]

What do you think of {preston reed | kaki king | michael hedges } guitar style?

I love me some Kaki King.

[wellington1869]

I'm old-fashioned when it comes to equipment. Guitar -> cord -> amp -> air -> ears.

ya, i cant afford that (my neighbors would kill me -- try turning up an amp in a manhattan apartment building. I even got complaints about my ibm M keyboards back in the day).  

they're doing marvelous things with headphone amps these days though.

[Zensuji]

I'm relatively new to the mechanical keyboard stuff..

I started out with a tenkeyless filco w/ blues

I realized that I didn't like the release point when playing FPS so I bought a tenkeyless w/ blacks.

I hated blacks for everything (way too heavy for typing and IMO for extended FPS gaming) so I bought a tenkeyless with browns.

Browns are awesome for gaming but sorta stink for typing so I bought a 104 key w/ blues (again) for work.


So I then wanted a clicky keyboard at home and thus ended up with a tenkeyless with fukkas.  Fukka fukka fukka.


Long story short - IMHO, for 'my style' of gaming, browns are the only decent choice from Filco.



......and I still want another tenkeyless with blues for at home.  It's a disease.

What's wrong with the release point on blues? I'm just trying to decide between brown and blue at the moment (mostly game) I do fully release the key though. It seem like its mostly preference as I keep seeing some prefer blues for gaming and some brown.

[washuai]

I've a BC Rich Warlock Platinum.  I haven't been able to figure the year from the serial number.  Guitar Center had their tag wrong, but they honored the $100 less retail price.  This one is a year or two before they started putting the locking tremolo's on the platinum warlocks and I forget when they completely removed the tremolo altogether.

I love the guitar, though I definitely would prefer a locking tremolo and it does have a minor fretboard flaw, so I have to seriously clamp down on my bass E string or it will sound wrong.  Last I checked the guitar is worth more than I bought it for, so its all gravy to me.

If I was buying a guitar now, I'd probably get a dimebag or a thunderbird, or maybe even a V (well in addition to an acoustic/electric), since it would be easier to handle.  I still like having a guitar that's even more monstrous than most bass.  I have the BC Rich hard case, though, not the coffin one (only other case that will actually fit it).

Both my amps (the mini Marshall I can clamp to my belt) and the Gorilla a buddy gave me are small & I can attach headphones, so I don't annoy my neighbors.  Even though I'd definitely love me a half stack, there just isn't any point.  These people freak out, if I leave the bathroom or kitchen fan running.  Oh yea, my neighbors that party and either live band or karaoke are tone deaf people with some revolting taste in some kind of bland country crap that makes bad rap sound good.  For them, I'd be tempted to hook up and musically harass.  My singing isn't much better than theirs though, so I'd probably be better off just getting a real stereo & speakers and scaring them with some Cannibal Corpse.  On the flip side, I would pump some opera, while I was at it.  However, I actually like the people in my building, so I'd feel bad about torturing them more than the  other neighbors.

My favorite music to play is blues (though I'm not good enough), followed by rock, surf, classical and well just about whatever.  Most of the time, what I'm playing doesn't really match the metal looks of my guitar.

[microsoft windows]

Currently rocking an el-cheapo Ibanez. I play metal and neoclassical (Paul Gilbert, Michael Romeo, etc.). The sterile "8 million notes per second" music that people say has no soul because they can't play it.

I play metal whenever I cut down a large tree.

[gr1m]

I can't stand V guitars. Playing them is so awkward and I could never get used to the "stick one horn between your legs" position. B.C. Rich guitars have dumb shapes but I love the headstocks. I also have a deep dislike for the Dean Dimebag guitars: the Duncan pickup they put in them is not the pickup Dimebag used, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. They're milking his name to sell mediocre, overpriced guitars. The only guitars I would ever buy myself are Ibanez Prestiges or Japanese ESPs. Since I already have an el-cheapo, the next step is a not-so-cheapo.