Help a Noob Pick/Critique His First Mechanical Keyboard!

[YoHoJo]

After lots of research and tons of great online resources such as this forum, mechanical keyboard reddit, and mechanicalkeyboards.com I have finally figured out which board and switches I want as my first!

I've decided on the Ducky Shine II, Blue LED Backlit, with Browns!


I plan on keeping it stock at first, but later ordering some blank keycaps from WASD.

Some questions:

What do you think about my selection?

How's the build quality etc. of the board?

I'm thinking of getting the dark grey colored blank keys from WASD, do you think they will look okay mixed with some white+backlit keys?
I plan on leaving various key stock(white+backlit, maybe the WASD keys and the top number line, and replacing of the others with dark grey blank keys), and do you think in general that dark grey keys would like nice on a black board?

Besides WASD, can you recommend any other website/sellers who make good quality blank keys?

With the Ducky Shine III just announced, is it worth waiting, will shine III have that many 'great new features' or should I just jump the gun and get my shine II now?

Thank you all in advance for your feedback.
And my apologies if this is the wrong section!

[Turbo Slaab]

Browns are an excellent switch for your first mechanical. Not a huge fan of WASD keys though.

[YoHoJo]

Browns are an excellent switch for your first mechanical. Not a huge fan of WASD keys though.

Yeah the seemed like a good balance between noise and pressure etc and just seemed right for me based on readings.

Why are you not a fan of WASD care to explain?
Also who do you prefer/suggest then?
From what I've seen/read (not terribly much ) people seem to praise them, and the price and customization options also seem very nice to me.

Also care to explain your profile picture, I see it everywhere (keycaps), what is?!

[Turbo Slaab]

http://wiki.geekhack.org/index.php?title=Click_Clack

I'm just not a fan of the colors they use or the feel of them. It's all subjective though. If you want a specific color scheme or other cool designs, they are the only choice.

[Grim Fandango]

Besides WASD, can you recommend any other website/sellers who make good quality blank keys?

For what you are paying, you could also get PBT keycaps from feng (somefeng geeky) or Qtan's ebay or webstore. They are also OEM profile like the stock and WASD keycaps. You should pay attention to their relative height though. It may not bother you , but I hate it when matching keycaps and the height is off.

Is there any particular reason why you are taking a backlit keyboard if you are going to replace the keycaps, and not use illuminated legends anyway? Opinions differ, I am of the "dont like blanks and illuminated legends are harder to read than printed ones and distract me" persuasion. Then again, illuminated keyboards look kind of cool, and so do blanks. I must say that I also really like the stock option in the picture. Illuminated white keycaps are kind of unique, and I am a big fan of the white keys / black case "piano" color scheme.

Browns are a nice safe switch to begin. They are kind of a middle of the road option, and also my personal favorites.

[YoHoJo]

Besides WASD, can you recommend any other website/sellers who make good quality blank keys?

For what you are paying, you could also get PBT keycaps from feng (somefeng geeky) or Qtan's ebay or webstore. You may also want to go the cherry profile doubleshot route, in which case you can check out the various group buys overhere, or keypop, originative etc.

Is there any particular reason why you are taking a backlit keyboard if you are going to replace the keycaps, and not use illuminated legends anyway?

Good question.
I think at first I'm going to just keep the keyboard stock, and I like the look of it.

And even after I do get blanks, I think I will still leave some original keys(for looks, and because I don't want to memorize some of the non-alphabet keys).
I think I'll like the look of having mostly blanks but a few backlit keys too.

So you're saying that the quality of feng's and Qtan's keys are just as good/better and may provide some alternative choices for me?

I have no clue what cherry profile doubleshot means , and I've seen the group buy section on the forum but I'm not exactly sure what it is. KeyPop? originative? Other alternatives to check out for keys I assume?
I'll look them up too.

Thank you!

[rowdy]

Welcome to Geekhack!

My first modern mechanical keyboard was a Ducky Shine (version 1).  Now I have 2, plus a QFR plus a KeyCool.

WASD keycaps are not backlight friendly i.e. the backlighting will not shine through.  But you can get Ducky keycap sets, in gray too, that do show backlighting.

MX browns are a good middle ground if you haven't tried (m)any switches before - I have MX blues, blacks and reds.

Yes it is worth waiting for Ducky Shine 3, unless you are really impatient.  I has really neat extra backlighting mode

[YoHoJo]

Welcome to Geekhack!

My first modern mechanical keyboard was a Ducky Shine (version 1).  Now I have 2, plus a QFR plus a KeyCool.

WASD keycaps are not backlight friendly i.e. the backlighting will not shine through.  But you can get Ducky keycap sets, in gray too, that do show backlighting.

MX browns are a good middle ground if you haven't tried (m)any switches before - I have MX blues, blacks and reds.

Yes it is worth waiting for Ducky Shine 3, unless you are really impatient.  I has really neat extra backlighting mode

Is there a such thing as blank and backlight friendly?
The WASD(or insert X brand blank keys here) I plan on getting will be blank, and I don't really care weather or not you can see the backlight through them since they will be blank (It would look cool to have blank keys that are illuminated blue though). However I will keep some stock keys on.

Is there any sort of ETA on the Shine III, as far as I could see the only huge difference was lighting modes, the shine II has 'reactive' mode which seems the coolest to me anyways, and I didn't see many huge benefits/differences between SII and SIII.

[Lycoth]

Yes it is worth waiting for Ducky Shine 3, unless you are really impatient.  I has really neat extra backlighting mode

Ooer, what's the new backlighting mode? I couldn't find any new features that had been revealed yet D: (aside from the new spacebar)

Also, I ordered the exact same keyboard as OP a few days ago! White keys, brown switches and blue backlight, definitely looking forward to getting it. It's my upgrade from a Cherry Brown Filco Majestouch 2 (For the backlight)

[CommunistWitchDr]

Order direct from the user imsto on the forum. Thick pbt blanks. If I recall blanks are around 50 a set.

[Grim Fandango]

I think the difference you may be missing is the material the keys are made of.  For example,  PBT is a different kind of plastic from ABS.  There are some advantages.  It does not develop "shine"  as easy,  they generally have a rougher surface texture that many enjoy,  they do not yellow over time,  and provide a slightly different "feel". 

Other differences are the process with which the legends are made.  Cheapest and ugliest is pad printed.  Laser etched is another option that generally looks better abd lasts longer.  Dye sublimation is another even better option because the color runs deeper in the material and will never wear off,  youll find these in pbt keycaps.  Double shot is a method that you often see in cherry profile abs keycaps.  I dont know the specifics,  but basically there is an additional color plastic used in the mold to create the legends.  It will also never wear.

Different people like different things,  but generally pbt and double shot abs are much more popular than regular abs on the forums.  The variety and color for pbt that you can find is a little limited.  When it comes to double shot abs,  all kinds of exotic color schemes exist.

I can however recommend wasd in general.  I have dealt with them in the past,  also on complicated orders and have nothing but good experiences with them.

You can look up all these differences on the forums or on the deskthority wiki.

[rowdy]

Ooer, what's the new backlighting mode? I couldn't find any new features that had been revealed yet D: (aside from the new spacebar)

Also, I ordered the exact same keyboard as OP a few days ago! White keys, brown switches and blue backlight, definitely looking forward to getting it. It's my upgrade from a Cherry Brown Filco Majestouch 2 (For the backlight)

This post http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=42836.msg920033#msg920033 has a video showing off the new Duckys.,

[Lycoth]

Ooer, what's the new backlighting mode? I couldn't find any new features that had been revealed yet D: (aside from the new spacebar)

Also, I ordered the exact same keyboard as OP a few days ago! White keys, brown switches and blue backlight, definitely looking forward to getting it. It's my upgrade from a Cherry Brown Filco Majestouch 2 (For the backlight)

This post http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=42836.msg920033#msg920033 has a video showing off the new Duckys.,

Thanks. Sorry for missing it. It's quite nice, fortunately it's not gamebreaking so I won't be upset that I got the Shine 2 instead of waiting

[YoHoJo]

Ooer, what's the new backlighting mode? I couldn't find any new features that had been revealed yet D: (aside from the new spacebar)

Also, I ordered the exact same keyboard as OP a few days ago! White keys, brown switches and blue backlight, definitely looking forward to getting it. It's my upgrade from a Cherry Brown Filco Majestouch 2 (For the backlight)

This post http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=42836.msg920033#msg920033 has a video showing off the new Duckys.,

Thanks. Sorry for missing it. It's quite nice, fortunately it's not gamebreaking so I won't be upset that I got the Shine 2 instead of waiting

Aw yiss :0 we can be twinsies!
Yeah I also saw the video and was going to link him.
Nothing major, maybe 1 or 2 new backlight settings, a (maybe) ugly spacebar, and maybe some other small tweaks in build but nothing huge I saw.

I think the difference you may be missing is the material the keys are made of.  For example,  PBT is a different kind of plastic from ABS.  There are some advantages.  It does not develop "shine"  as easy,  they generally have a rougher surface texture that many enjoy,  they do not yellow over time,  and provide a slightly different "feel". 

Other differences are the process with which the legends are made.  Cheapest and ugliest is pad printed.  Laser etched is another option that generally looks better abd lasts longer.  Dye sublimation is another even better option because the color runs deeper in the material and will never wear off,  youll find these in pbt keycaps.  Double shot is a method that you often see in cherry profile abs keycaps.  I dont know the specifics,  but basically there is an additional color plastic used in the mold to create the legends.  It will also never wear.

Different people like different things,  but generally pbt and double shot abs are much more popular than regular abs on the forums.  The variety and color for pbt that you can find is a little limited.  When it comes to double shot abs,  all kinds of exotic color schemes exist.

I can however recommend wasd in general.  I have dealt with them in the past,  also on complicated orders and have nothing but good experiences with them.

You can look up all these differences on the forums or on the deskthority wiki.

Thank you very much. I just assumed WASD were PBT, so WASD makes ABS huh?
I might still consider them, but now that people are suggesting some alternatives I'll definitely be looking into those too!

Order direct from the user imsto on the forum. Thick pbt blanks. If I recall blanks are around 50 a set.

I've check that thread out, very appealing colors indeed! It seems like the only choices are the dark grey and the blue correct? They look great individually and together, I'll definitely consider!
From his thread:

MAN that looks nice, and it'll look even better blank! Thank you.