Oh, I just want to point out that this thread isn't just me asking questions! I'd like us to chat about keyboard typing feel too! I am interested in hearing all of your experiences.
With plate vs pcb mounted, plastic case or aluminum case, "tuned" switches? Stickered switches?
I can't share too much myself, since I don't have that much experience with different setups.
A GON Nerd60 with a GON plate, a TEX flat aluminum case with custom bronze weights added at the bottom, modded clears with 78g springs and a GMK set. If you want even more weight add a full bronze plate to the bottom of the case, the more thickness you add the more weight you will have. The cost? May be over $500 USD.
The typing feeling is multifactorial, there is no an isolated characteristic that makes it all.
That's an interesting idea, I haven't though of putting Gon innerds inside a Tex case. I considered Shine 3 with the Tex Case but there's no real reason why the Shine 3 had to be it. The case won't be available until "hopefully the end of Spring" (which is June). GMK keysets don't allow the backlight to shine through, however. I know a guy on OCN who says he thinks the Tex case is of very good quality.
Hey,
I am typing on a Ducky YOTH right nowm which I got this afternoon. My biggest problem here is that the leds are below the switch, meaning the Vortex PBT w/ POM keycaps don't work because the backlighting won't go through unless I install it upside down. To my knowledge there isn't a single PBT keycap for backlighting that will work in my situation. Because of this I am seriously considering returning this keyboard.
That's too bad..
Have you already bought the Vortex keycaps?
How do you find it in terms of typing feel?
I hope that everything works out for you in the end, tell us what you end up doing and good luck man!
Cheers!
Thanks,
I got the keycaps before I got the YOTH. I knew I liked the keycaps so I bought them and installed them on my old keyboard, the Storm Trigger. Then later I decided on YOTH as the replacement, and only then did I realize the problem. The keycaps cannot be returned, but the YOTH can minus charges. I am willing to go crazy and spend like $800 on the PERFECT keyboard, but saving this keyboard just to collect and then buying another keyboard is a bit much, although I am considering it. I can also take this time to figure out if the 60% form-factor is actually for me. One thing of note I just realized though: It's a 10% restocking fee. That's already -$17. It had "free shipping" and MKB.com wants another $9 to "recoup the shipping charges". Now we're talking $26. I have to ship it over there. That's another $10 and possibly more. So now we're talking $36. So I actually have to ask myself whether the keyboard is worth $169 - $36 (aka $133).
-I knew this was an issue... but I use the numpad as a macro pad (Enter numpad mutes, 1 opens up downloads folder, 5 opens up Foobar, and 6 opens up Skyrim data folder which takes many clicks to get to manually). With the 60% setup I don't see any way to macro all three keys in a way that is one-touch activation and won't take away keys I normally use in typing or use in gaming. The only key I can think of I can freely rebind is the \ key because it's not the forward slash. (I foresaw having to remap tilde and quicksave/quickload for Skyrim but that can be binded to ; [ and ] respectively without issue.)
-The YOTH has the cable going from the left side of the keyboard. My computer is from the opposite direction and there is no way the computer can be from the left unless I revamp the entire setup I have here. Plus, it's a small USB slot which is more fragile.
-The caps lock key cannot be lit unless caps lock is on.
-The red LED is not as quite as bright as I'd like it to be. If I turn on the blue LED then it gets brighter but that's not red anymore.
And of course, the keycap problem which was the deal-breaker for me. I do enjoy the feel and build of the keyboard, it is surprisingly heavy from its all-aluminum construction as opposed to the Mini. I want to like the keyboard. I like aluminum, the Ducky brand seems cool, I want to support a Taiwanese company from where I was born, I loved their Making of the YOTH video, but at this point I'm not sure if I can live with all the cons. I am pretty picky about these things, and I'll probably find multiple problems with every single keyboard I review though.
The Vortex Keycaps feel good. I enjoy the textured feeling more than I thought I would. Now I think about it, I would like it if it were even more textured. The keycap changes the sound of typing by a bit, the sounds are a bit lower now, maybe it's because the keycap is thicker. The value is also very good. We're talking a PBT keycap set that works with backlighting for like $33? Such a keycap set is hard to find no matter the price and they could have probably gotten away with charging double that. It's not perfect though. The lighting doesn't go through the POM plastic very uniformly on some keys. It is most obvious with the @ sign upon the number 2. There are dark spots in the curvy line. (Oh yeah, and only the symbols light up, which people have been complaining.) On my Storm Trigger at least, I can see that the bottom of a letter is less well lit up than it should be. For example, in the letter "G", the very bottom of that letter is a bit dark. I think this could be fixed if the POM "legends" were placed closer to the center of the keycap instead of close to the very top. It's just not quite as uniform. So I could think that the reason why the keycaps are so cheap is because there are still some quirks. But overall I would say it is a great value, it does something almost no other keycaps can do, and it makes a nice typing sound. Generally it just feels higher quality to type on than stock keycaps. I am hoping for a keycap set that will have all of these issues fixed, and I am willing to pay more if I can actually get better (something which is oddly hard to do in the keyboard world, lol).
And sure, I will post about what I ended up going with and my thought process behind the decision. I find myself typing a lot and being indecisive though. Kindda wanna just say "shut up and take my money", receive the perfect keyboard, and that's that.
Hey,
I am typing on a Ducky YOTH right nowm which I got this afternoon. My biggest problem here is that the leds are below the switch, meaning the Vortex PBT w/ POM keycaps don't work because the backlighting won't go through unless I install it upside down. To my knowledge there isn't a single PBT keycap for backlighting that will work in my situation. Because of this I am seriously considering returning this keyboard.
That's too bad..
Have you already bought the Vortex keycaps?
How do you find it in terms of typing feel?
I hope that everything works out for you in the end, tell us what you end up doing and good luck man!
Cheers!
I found some people do customize the caps of the ducky mini regardless:
http://imgur.com/gallery/TwxO8
backlighting is not as important as having your favorite caps on your favorite keyboard for some people.
Cheers!
Hmm, unfortunately I am really looking to be able to use red backlighting with my PBT keycaps.
I still have like 28 days left to decide, so I have time to try it out more and decide if I like the 60% format.
maybe wait for reviews on the pok3r? it will ship with an aluminium case and plate-mounted cherries.
the case is not 100% flat, however..
You know what I realized?
The Ducky YOTH and the Storm Trigger both have approx 3% incline when measured from the lowest row of keys to the top row of keys. I suspect others measure it from the bottom of the case to the top of the case, and with the YOTH (since it's a smaller form factor and same amount of rise with less run means a steeper incline), it's possible to get like 5% incline measurement depending on how you choose to measure it. I am fine with 5% incline, I have decided. Kmac 2 incline is acceptable. Ducky Orion incline makes me want to puke though.
A 60% board (like the poker II, v60 or ducky mini) w/Tex aluinium case?
Appreciate the suggestion.
I didn't realize there was a version of v60 with red leds. Or, maybe it was the Poker 2 that never had options for red leds. Anyways, this is indeed an option and I am weighing it in my mind.
Finding a flat keyboard is going to be your biggest issue if you want a heavy keyboard, most customs have some angle built into the case. I had a poker with an MKC case for a while and it was an ok weight, not really that heavy but not light. If you can forget the angle Duck's keyboards are really heavy. I've heard that KMACs are really solid but they aren't flat.
If you really want every item on your checklist then making your own custom is probably the best option.
Also typing feel is very subjective you'll have to try everything for yourself in order to know what you like.
As mentioned in my quote above, I have decided a 5% incline is forgivable but I don't want any more. The Duck Orion I've been suggested in the past has like a whopping 11% incline I heard. That sounds like utter insanity to me. The Kmac 1 and 1.2 are flat with feet. If I took off the feet, it's perfectly flat. 1.2 has better anodizing than 1 I heard. I am not allowed to post a thread in the classifiends of this forum because I am a new member here, otherwise I'd be yelling BUYING KMAC 1.2 and try to offer a high price to coax somebody into selling... But I can settle for Kmac 2 without too much sadness. And of course, it doesn't have to be the right switch, I can hire somebody for that.
