Keyboards: What got you interested?

[Morning Song]

I have over 60 MB of MIDI files! Maybe I should start the world's largest MIDI collection.

60 megs of *MIDI*? That's a little bit insane already!

And i mean that in the best possible way.

[vils]

I was just a normal computer user when I started my search for a KB to my Facit computer. I ended up here and started to think about how keyboards used to be.
Before I had contemplated to get a DiNovo KB... I got a SMK-85 to my facit, a HHKB pro2 to myself. But it didnt end there: two Ambras, a model M, a Filco brown, a Filco Zero and some other finds. Worst part: I want more.
Keyboards are like knives, most people dont reflect on them. Its something thats just taken for granted. People buy computers for $1500 and a KB for $12. Or they get a new kitchen for $15000 and knives for $75 (in a set where most arent used). I have always wanted to use the best and this site made me realize ive neglected the keyboard.

[Half-Saint]

...and while you mention Ambras... does anyone have spare keycaps?

[EverythingIBM]

60 megs of *MIDI*? That's a little bit insane already!

And i mean that in the best possible way.

I collected all of the MIDI files from my old DOS games. Great tunes! Especially when ran through high-end MIDI equipment, or the old windows 95 style for that old retro sound. That's the great thing about MIDI, you can always make it sound different so it doesn't get boring the first time you listen to it.

[audioave10]

To answer the question: Partial blame should go here at this forum. I've often
collected Geek-Toys starting with audio equipment in 1972. I've had a Marantz
tube-amp, Mcintosh amplifier and many other pieces of audio excellence. When
PC toys became my latest vice, it was the big gaming PC (I have two). Then, all of a sudden, I noticed I was missing a quality part of the system. That's when I found this place and a few others. After that, studying the mechanical world of the keyboard became natural.

[orange]

I built my first computer in the summer of 2008 and bought a Saitek Eclipse keyboard for it (not sure of the exact model; it was the one with the blue backlighting). Because I'm a l33t h4x0r (kidding), the paint started to wear off on some of the keys (ironically, the "a", "s", and "d" keys were all worn off but the "w" wasn't). Also, the caps lock light stopped working fairly soon after I bought the thing. It wasn't that important since I rarely use caps lock but it still bothered me. The "2" on the numpad also stopped working well after a while too (you had to hit it pretty hard to make it work).

A few weeks ago I started researching keyboards. I looked around on Newegg and didn't find any that I really liked. I read some stuff about Das Keyboard so I looked up some reviews. Apparently it can cause problems during boot for Windows users or something; it just seemed like some people had serious problems while using the keyboard. One reviewer mentioned that it would be better to get a buckling spring keyboard, and they either recommended a Customizer 101 or a Model M.

I bought a Customizer 101 like two weeks ago and my Model M 1931401 came yesterday. I can only keep one (money's tight and I only really need one keyboard at the moment), so I'm trying to decide. As soon as I started typing on the Customizer I knew that I was hooked. And thus an obsession was born.

[gr1m]

I kinda go through this process of saying  "I want the best" when it comes to things I touch and use every day.  One day I realized that the keyboard is thing I touch and use the most everyday.

This. After putting money into my rig and achieving good FPS in all games, I wondered why I wasn't happy. I stepped my 20" monitor up to a 24" and that brought on a lot of happiness. Then it got me thinking. At the computer, I do two things. Look at something and touch something. I just upgraded what I look at, so why not what I touch. So I got a new mouse, but something was still missing; I had a G15, how could I possibly buy a better keyboard???

Cue mechanical keyboard awareness.

[muchadoaboutnothing]

Pain when typing for extended periods of time on a rubber dome (less, but still present on Lenovo ThinkPad scissor switches) lead me to look into getting a new keyboard because my MS keyboards with the "ergonomic curve" weren't doing it.

Bought an ABS M1, it was much better. Father stole my ABS M1 and I didn't get it back.

Thus I bought my first Filco. From there, I descended into madness.

[itlnstln]

Even the Topres on the HHKB make my fingers a little stiff if I use it for a long period of time.  I am on one of my Cherrys today for a little break.  Hopefully, the "Who" keyboard (or whatever it's called) will come out with Cherry browns and the HHKB layout.

[1839cc]

One day I was investigating key blocking since that has always been an  issue for me on certain old games. That led me here for the first time.

Exactly one week later I found myself looking through used keyboards in a  second hand store where I found a Dell AT101W. I bought it for 4.50  USD. While it had a more defined feel than the HP rubber dome I had been  using for years, I knew it wasn't quite what I wanted.

That was the day I joined geekhack.

Since then I've been trying different switches so I could make an  informed decision about which keyboards to buy. At this point I'm still  missing some of the basics like buckling springs, blue cherries and  original white ALPS, but I think I've already found my preferred switch.

I'll definitely get a model M because it is THE classic keyboard, but  I've always liked a quiet tactile key feel. I'm sure that puts me in  some kind of minority.

Anyway, that's my  story. I hope it wasn't too boring.