Wow, Thanks a lot for all the enthusiasm and suggestions.
I’m sorry for hot specifying this earlier, it’s not the top texture that I’m bothered with, but during the actual action of pressing the key, with identical switches, when I used the PBT caps it feel so scratchy, dry, and kinda sandpaper, but right after changing it to the ABS the action felt really smooth. It felt like they drastically changed the switch characteristics by quite some margin.
pbt generally has a more "dry" feeling compared to abs. most people actually see that texture as a sign of quality over ABS but it really depends on your preference. what keycap profile do you like?
I’ve been accustomed to the OEM profiles on the filco, but considering most keyboard cases currently are significantly taller, I think i need to compensate it with the cherry profiles. That's another issue I also had with the Keychron Q series I tried, the angle with their OSA (?) profile and thicker case profile felt too aggressive, although admittedly I tried it standing up.
Not sure about full size. The only one that fits that description is the kangaroo which hasn't gone into GB yet, but it's left handed, like 4kg and approximately 550 usd for the kit which is probably way to much for a keyboard in your eyes... I link the IC thread if this interests you (the thread hasn't been active in a while but on the snagzkeys server the runner did say it will happen) - https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=108740.0
more enthusiast full sizes are generally very uncommon in comparison to the other layouts. Top mounted tkls (and tkls in general) are far more common at decent prices, It would be easier to find a tkl top mounted board, and then buy a numpad alongside it.
Wow, the roos really piqued my interest, such a bummer its southpaw though. Not sure if I’d be able to embrace the TKL just yet. And also, is the filco top mounted ? Can’t seem to find any info abt it, as far as I’m aware its tray mounted (?)
If you want to try everything see if there is a keyboard meetup near you, you can try a lot of things out to see what your preferences are.
Thanks, will definitely keep an eye out.
In terms of aussie vendors, I mainly go to Dailyclack, Switchkeys and Cafege for keyboard stuff, daily clack especially has a lot of great deals on gmk sets, I mainly buy internationally for keyboards and Artisan keycaps that aren't being proxied by a aus vendor. It does depend on the product and where I can get the lowest price for it.
Noted! Thanks
Mine was modded back when those parts were easy to get and customs/better keyboards were not.
These days the parts are extremely hard to find, if not impossible and customs and better keyboards are a dime a dozen. The industry just isn't the same as it was when I got it.
WASD is pretty much a more up to date Filco (same OEM manufacturer and base design), it's a solid board, but not your best bang for the buck. For one, it has Costar stabs which can be made to perform decent but if not you're stuck with them and it lacks hot swap, which, once you try lubed switches you'll probably never go back. I purposely didn't really mention any specific brands because Ajazz is pretty much the lowest of the low and Filco is pretty average these days (at best and that's if you ignore features) so all you need to do is go a bit upscale of the AJAZZ and you'll match (or beat) the Filco in almost every way. Don't get me wrong, I love my FIlco but once you reach a certain point keyboards have diminishing returns, that point is getting lower and lower and if you're willing to lube, that point almost vanishes entirely. With lube (and maybe some stabs) you can make a cheap keyboard feel and sound almost as good as the absolute best high end plastic keyboard and a cheap aluminum keyboard sound and feel as good as a high end one.
I see, that sounds like a really fair point ! Thanks
Regarding ABS vs PBT, sound-wise they aren't that different unless you get thin, then they're amazingly bad, my first PBT were thin and cheap and it completely turned me off PBT for a years. Thin PBT is the devil.
In terms of feel they can vary a TON. My current ones feel like typing on fine powdered sugar, another set is more like sandpaper, the ABS feel like typing on an oil slick, like Rhienfo said, it depends on what you like, personally I like the rough ones. As for wear and tear, after 2 years of abuse the PBTs are like new while all the ABS are just wrecked, not just slick but clearly worn down (I'm really hard on caps, I once destroyed a set of legends on a cheap keyboard in a week).
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Yea, my apology, I should’ve specify more on the action. I dont really mind the touch sensation, it’s primarily the keystroke feel and sound that I’m most concerned of.
