Hi from the great Pacific Northwest!

[-musubi]

Hi all, I just realized I never created one of these intro threads and have already been a bit active in the artisan forums.

Anyways, I'm from the Seattle area and started with the classic Logitech k800 keyboard. The backlighting was the best thing ever and I still have it to this day, but of course I was eventually curious about mech kbs, so about 2 and a half years ago I got my first being a CM Storm Quickfire Ultimate with brown switches.

However I never thought to customize it or even switch out the keycaps, except I did apply my own o-rings to make it even more quiet. However a few months ago while I was getting hooked deeper into the headphone hobby, I saw an overlap with mechanical keyboards and eventually found massdrop, Reddit, and Geekhack.

Soon, I decided to get a pok3r seeing as it was a popular, accessible, but customizable keyboard and the 60% layout looked just so minimalistic. Then it went all down hill from there. I started getting into different keycaps, purchasing way more than I had even keyboards (still only have these two) and then just a few weeks ago, when I had vowed to never get into artisans and that it was ridiculous to pay more than $10 for a single keycap, some switch within my body activated and all of a sudden I had to have every artisan. So now I am on the holy grail adventure of obtaining a bbv2 and wondering how it'll ever be possible

if anyone has any tips on getting there, I'd appreciate it! So far I've been trying to enter all the latest raffles and giveaways, even participating in the events that go on in the threads (actually managed to "win" a clack vent one day but my accounts too new) but still have yet to win, so it's definitely been a tough time. Dang this was a long write up, sorry if you read it all.

TLDR: had mech kb a while back, never customized, got a pok3r, addicted to artisans now after vowing not to

[rowdy]

Welcome to Geekhack!

You found Massdrop already?  You are doomed

It's normal to have more keycap sets than keyboards.  Look at it this way - you have to have at least one keycap set with each keyboard, stands to reason, right?  Then at least one replacement set for each keyboard, I mean some of those stock keycaps are terrible!

So now you're at two keycap sets for each keyboard, and that's just for starters!

Artisans could be your downfall though.  They are pretty, very pretty indeed.  You can get almost anything you want at a price (with a couple of exceptions).  But the best advice is to settle on one design and colour (or one design and a couple of colours), put some money aside, and just bide your time.  One day when you least expect it one might turn up.

Good luck

[exanile_tabasco]

Welcome.

The Poker may be a really generic place to start, but it has so many options, being standard 60% form factor and whatnot. There are many like it, but this DSA-clad wood-shrouded Poker is mine 

I'm not so into artisans (not a professional aesthetic IMO) but I can see why people get sucked into buying them. 

[Bromono]

If I lived in Seattle... The last hobby I would have is keyboards... I would be drinking so much of that amazing beer, hiking all the time and taking artsy photos of everything.

One day I will live there...

[-musubi]

If I lived in Seattle... The last hobby I would have is keyboards... I would be drinking so much of that amazing beer, hiking all the time and taking artsy photos of everything.

One day I will live there...

Haha definitely lots of nice hikes to be had here, once the weather warms up a bit it'll be prime hiking weather!

[xtrafrood]

Hi welcome  I didn't see a mention of what switches you chose for your pok3r. I'm guessing you bought brown mx?

[-musubi]

Hi welcome  I didn't see a mention of what switches you chose for your pok3r. I'm guessing you bought brown mx?

Oh whoops! actually got blues cause browns were too mushy even though, definitely don't regret em!

[xtrafrood]

Confirmed! Browns are not always the best!  )

[-musubi]

Confirmed! Browns are not always the best!  )

Haha I would say they're probably the safest switch to get when you have no idea what to get I got some 62g zealios coming though, excited to try em and build my first board! Probably gonna try to go a winkeyless b.mini

[ander]

-musubi:

Hi from the Northwest too (Vancouver, BC). I've never used a 60% board, but I understand their appeal. I probably would use one if I did most of my work in an editor like Vi or eMacs, which are set up to let you do everything without removing your hands from the home-row area. I've no doubt that time-and-motion studies have proven it's more efficient, despite the learning curve—and don't even get started about the extra desk space.

However, rather than spending hundreds of bucks on fancy Pokers and so forth, I don't understand why more 60% people don't just get vintage Mac M0110 boards:





...and map them however they wish. Vintage T-mount Alps switches rock, and M0110s are so cheap you can practically buy them by the six-pack.

Of course unmodded, they are old-school noisy, but it's amazing what you can do with them. And they look so retro-cool IMHO.

[xtrafrood]

-musubi:

Hi from the Northwest too (Vancouver, BC). I've never used a 60% board, but I understand their appeal. I probably would use one if I did most of my work in an editor like Vi or eMacs, which are set up to let you do everything without removing your hands from the home-row area. I've no doubt that time-and-motion studies have proven it's more efficient, despite the learning curve—and don't even get started about the extra desk space.

However, rather than spending hundreds of bucks on fancy Pokers and so forth, I don't understand why more 60% people don't just get vintage Mac M0110 boards:

Show Image

...and map them however they wish. Vintage T-mount Alps switches rock, and M0110s are so cheap you can practically buy them by the six-pack.

Of course unmodded, they are old-school noisy, but it's amazing what you can do with them. And they look so retro-cool IMHO.

Mmmm that profile too. Does it require matrix wiring? Oh, I see there is a converter for it hmmm. I'll have to bookmark this :cool:

[ander]