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geekhack Community => Keyboard Keycaps => Topic started by: StayFrosty on Fri, 04 December 2015, 14:08:20
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So i was just wondering do most of you like to buy already designed color scheme full sets of keycaps like this:
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/tai-hao-pbt-keysets
or would you like to customize your own color schemes to whatever color you want if given the option?
a lot of people misunderstood what i was trying to get it so i kind of rephrased it haha.
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I have some designs in mind for myself, but I'm always open to preset caps if there's a little history involved, like Skidata+, or themed caps that scream your eyeballs out, like Troubled Minds.
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I buy sets of keycaps, e.g. Dolch or Beige, then customize the Esc, Shift, Alt, Del, and arrow keys as I can.
I do it this way because I favor double-shot keycaps, especially nice, thick, GMK keycaps, and it's really the only way to customize with these keycaps.
If WASD offered comparable keycaps, I might go that way but that's not what they offer from what I understand. Qualities other than color and key switch matter to me at least as much, namely being double-shot caps for longevity and being thick enough for the old school feel and feedback that I remember from the Jurassic period.
I believe WASD sells a nice board though as I've bought 3 bare boards from them, one of which I'm using now.
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I buy sets of keycaps, e.g. Dolch or Beige, then customize the Esc, Shift, Alt, Del, and arrow keys as I can.
I do it this way because I favor double-shot keycaps, especially nice, thick, GMK keycaps, and it's really the only way to customize with these keycaps.
If WASD offered comparable keycaps, I might go that way but that's not what they offer from what I understand. Qualities other than color and key switch matter to me at least as much, namely being double-shot caps for longevity and being thick enough for the old school feel and feedback that I remember from the Jurassic period.
I believe WASD sells a nice board though as I've bought 3 bare boards from them, one of which I'm using now.
o i see, thank you for your input but i wasnt really talking about materials part haha. ofc double shot pbts are better, but im talking about the customization part. Do you like to customize the key color scheme yourself or buy sets that are already made by someone else.
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There have been so many sets released over the past few years, that I find there isn't anything that'd I'd customize beyond what's already out there. If anything, I find it difficult NOT to buy a new set when it comes out.
That being said, if I came up with a color combination that didn't exist out there, I'd probably put together a group buy for it instead of going to WASD. Nothing against them, it's just that I'm not a fan of their key caps.
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I do a variety of things, mostly mixing and matching among sets along with caps harvested from vintage boards.
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If WASD caps were the same quality of other sets on the market I'd definitely prefer to customize it. But as it stands they just aren't up to par with that thin ABS. That being said, a lot of the group buy sets from GMK and SP have great colorways so I'm not too upset.
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The concept that you can define your own legends is interesting; however, WASD quality is not tolerable, its caps are insanely cheap, they feel extremely light, that the idea to pay for them is just out of question. In the other hand, there is no much reason to use weird layouts that require special legends, while ANSI rocks and you can find a plethora of high quality sets that fits it in double shot or sublimated.
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yea i know their quality isnt great. but i think alot of you misunderstood what i was trying to ask. i wasnt talking particularly about pbt, abs, or anything about the material of the keycap.
i was just wondering if you like to buy a made color scheme key set like skidata+, or be able to customize your own color schemes.
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I rarely mix and match, just use whatever was given in the first place.
I let the artisan on the Esc row to define my mood.
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I sort of like things to look as "stock" as possible. So yeah, definitely preset styles. Especially two-toned.
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yea i know their quality isnt great. but i think alot of you misunderstood what i was trying to ask. i wasnt talking particularly about pbt, abs, or anything about the material of the keycap.
i was just wondering if you like to buy a made color scheme key set like skidata+, or be able to customize your own color schemes.
If I could design my own keycaps on GMK/SA quality caps, I would over the premade sets like SKIDATA, Dolch, etc. A lot of designers make great designs though so I'd still be interested in sets (like Pulse, Deep Space, etc).
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yea i know their quality isnt great. but i think alot of you misunderstood what i was trying to ask. i wasnt talking particularly about pbt, abs, or anything about the material of the keycap.
i was just wondering if you like to buy a made color scheme key set like skidata+, or be able to customize your own color schemes.
If I could design my own keycaps on GMK/SA quality caps, I would over the premade sets like SKIDATA, Dolch, etc. A lot of designers make great designs though so I'd still be interested in sets (like Pulse, Deep Space, etc).
where can i get my hands on some GMK keycaps?
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yea i know their quality isnt great. but i think alot of you misunderstood what i was trying to ask. i wasnt talking particularly about pbt, abs, or anything about the material of the keycap.
i was just wondering if you like to buy a made color scheme key set like skidata+, or be able to customize your own color schemes.
If I could design my own keycaps on GMK/SA quality caps, I would over the premade sets like SKIDATA, Dolch, etc. A lot of designers make great designs though so I'd still be interested in sets (like Pulse, Deep Space, etc).
where can i get my hands on some GMK keycaps?
Unless there's any group buys (https://geekhack.org/index.php?board=70.0) running at the moment, your best bet is classifieds (https://geekhack.org/index.php?board=59.0).
GMK sets are generally a bit more expensive than other sets, and have fairly high MOQ, so group buys do not happen as often as other manufacturers, and small runs are almost unheard of.
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yea i know their quality isnt great. but i think alot of you misunderstood what i was trying to ask. i wasnt talking particularly about pbt, abs, or anything about the material of the keycap.
i was just wondering if you like to buy a made color scheme key set like skidata+, or be able to customize your own color schemes.
If I could design my own keycaps on GMK/SA quality caps, I would over the premade sets like SKIDATA, Dolch, etc. A lot of designers make great designs though so I'd still be interested in sets (like Pulse, Deep Space, etc).
where can i get my hands on some GMK keycaps?
As indicated, group buys and the classified. Understand that outfits like GMK don't offer custom keycap layouts in the manner that WASD offers them, that is, in single customer quantities.
You can get custom caps from GMK, in any color want, with any design you want, provided they are purchased in sufficient quantity to justify the tooling and machine time. Group buys essentially are the way to spread-out the cost of a custom wholesale order from an industrial supplier. Many group buys struggle to meet the dreaded minimum order quantity needed before outfits like GMK or SP will produce keycaps.
What WASD does with keycap choices is rather unique and unusual with essentially, on-demand turnaround. However, doing so, limits what they can offer, namely key caps with printed legends. Legends that will wear off eventually.
Consequently, keycap enthusiasts preferring permanent double-shot ABS or dye-sub/laser-etched PBT keycaps, buy complete keysets, because it is the about the only way to get such keycaps.
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Or we just dye our PBT keycaps to our own flavour :)
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I have yet to find a complete set that I like. I have found tons of combinations that would be what I'm looking for but I'm not quite ready yet to convince myself to spend $250+ on a set of caps that I will end up selling in a week..
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I have yet to find a complete set that I like. I have found tons of combinations that would be what I'm looking for but I'm not quite ready yet to convince myself to spend $250+ on a set of caps that I will end up selling in a week..
I have not seen a single key cap set with that price tag, yet. Only if you buy a bunch of subset along with it.
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I have yet to find a complete set that I like. I have found tons of combinations that would be what I'm looking for but I'm not quite ready yet to convince myself to spend $250+ on a set of caps that I will end up selling in a week..
I have not seen a single key cap set with that price tag, yet. Only if you buy a bunch of subset along with it.
Sorry I should have said "on a set of multiple caps to get the set I want". In essence building my own from various sets. I just havnt found the one yet that I have to have so I would have to piece it together from multiple sets.