Ducky One TKL build quality vs. MK Disco, Leopold FC750, Ducky Premier

[ninjacore]

Greetings!  First time poster, so go easy

I currently have a Ducky Premier and LOVE it.  Before it, I owned two CM Quickfires (Pro? and Rapid) and could definitely tell the difference between them and the Ducky, even with the Ducky's PBT caps swapped over.  Typing on the Premier is just extremely satisfying.

Now, however, I'm really in need of a TKL board (80% - need arrows and the F(unction) row).  I've been looking quite a bit and have it narrowed (I think) to:

MK Disco TKL
Leopold FC750
Ducky One TKL

I'm mainly looking for any build quality experience, specifically in comparison to my beloved Ducky Premier.  Is the internal build on all Duckys the same?

General opinions on these boards would be appreciated as well, though I'm already aware of the following:
*Cherry vs. costar stabilizers - I've used both and neither bothers me
*I prefer PBT caps, so that'll be an added expense with the Disco
*I would be leaving backlighting off 99% of the time, so no value add there.
*I'm okay with the clone switches on the Disco

Thanks!

[Harms]

Hi there, do you need F keys? The leopold is a 65%ish keyboard, so it has no F keys. You should get the Disco over the Ducky One. The Disco has RGB lighting and is a quality board. However, the Disco has MX clone switches if your okay with that. Some clone switches are actually smoother than Cherry MX switches. IN the end if I would go for the Disco. The leopold does not havwe a standard bottom row from my knowledge (I can be wrong). Therefore, getting keycaps will be harder.

[ninjacore]

FC750 has the row of function keys (you may be thinking of the FC660?).  I do require those, however.

I forgot to mention that backlighting adds no value for me.  I would likely leave it off 99% of the time.  I mainly like the Disco because it's a Ducky OEM.

I'm okay with the clone switches on the Disco.  From what I read, they're very similar to MXs, but with a slightly more pronounced tactile bump (I'd be going for Browns in all of these, unless Clears were an option).

The Leopold comes with PBT caps, which I prefer, so I wouldn't be swapping them out immediately, but I wasn't aware of the non-standard bottom row.  I'll keep that in mind.

Any idea on build quality?  Does the Ducky One provide the same typing experience as the Disco (aside from the switch difference) since both are made by Ducky?  Would they feel the same as my Premier?

[chryos1029]

If I'm not wrong, these 3 keyboard are using cherry stab, which is intolerable to me as they are really mushy.
I would say these boards' build quality are sub par except for the keycaps I supposed?
Ducky Premier and Leopold FC750 comes with a great set of PBT keycaps and if you are a person that doesn't have keycaps sitting in your house, then these 2 will be a great choice.

The only reason that I will get MK Disco is only RGB lighting, which serves no use at all and they also use KBT switches, which people say that they are pretty similar to MX.
Ducky is releasing a RGB TKL keyboard soon, maybe you can wait for it if you really need RGB?

Otherwise, go for either Leopold or Ducky Premier.
Both of them are great choices 

[ninjacore]

I already own the Premier...  Trying to get a TKL board as close to it as possible.

It's possible I'm just not that discerning, but the Cherry stabs on my Premier don't bother me.

[ninjacore]

I edited my OP to make it a bit more clear and underlined my primary question.

I'm really leaning toward a white board (plus, I don't really care about backlighting), so that might even narrow it down to just the Ducky One or Leopold FC750.

I'm digging into all the reviews I can find on those two now and comparing them to reviews on my Premier.  I would really like the new board to feel the same as the Premier.

[chryos1029]

How about Ducky One PBT that is currently available on mechanicalkeyboard.com?
It has a green font and white case, beautiful board 

[ninjacore]

How about Ducky One PBT that is currently available on mechanicalkeyboard.com?
It has a green font and white case, beautiful board 

Did you read the OP (or even the title of this thread)?  Like, at all?

[Harms]

FC750 has the row of function keys (you may be thinking of the FC660?).  I do require those, however.

I forgot to mention that backlighting adds no value for me.  I would likely leave it off 99% of the time.  I mainly like the Disco because it's a Ducky OEM.

I'm okay with the clone switches on the Disco.  From what I read, they're very similar to MXs, but with a slightly more pronounced tactile bump (I'd be going for Browns in all of these, unless Clears were an option).

The Leopold comes with PBT caps, which I prefer, so I wouldn't be swapping them out immediately, but I wasn't aware of the non-standard bottom row.  I'll keep that in mind.

Any idea on build quality?  Does the Ducky One provide the same typing experience as the Disco (aside from the switch difference) since both are made by Ducky?  Would they feel the same as my Premier?

Oh my bad ahash . Well then that leopold has standard spacing. If you do not care for the RGB lighting I would go for the leopold. They are known for their quality and on top of that you are given PBT keys, which is a huge bonus. I would take PBT keys over backlighting anyways . The Disco would give you the same quality as the Ducky One, since there from the same OEM. However, they would not feel exactly the same because of the switch differences and other general things. In the end I would personally go for the leopold.

[ninjacore]

Yea, I think I'm leaning toward the Leopold.  I am really liking the white case option on the FC750 and the Ducky One and that isn't an option with the Disco, plus it has lighting in place of PBT caps, so it's really down to the Leopold or Ducky.  I already have the Ducky Premier, so I might as well try a new manufacturer.  I'll probably order soon unless others pipe up, telling me the Leopold is a noticeable drop off in build quality from the Ducky.

[NewbieOneKenobi]

Just out of curiosity: how's Filco generally regardes vs those less than commonplace you mention here?

[ninjacore]

Just out of curiosity: how's Filco generally regardes vs those less than commonplace you mention here?

I kind of excluded the Filco MJ2 because it lacked some of the features of these other boards, but still carried the big price tag.  I know they're high quality, I just didn't think the feature set justified the price.

[chryos1029]

How about Ducky One PBT that is currently available on mechanicalkeyboard.com?
It has a green font and white case, beautiful board 

Did you read the OP (or even the title of this thread)?  Like, at all?

I thouht that you are choosing between ducky one and leopold?

All of the boards I mentioned have a tkl variant

I'm sorry if I wasted your time by giving some useless advices.

[ninjacore]

How about Ducky One PBT that is currently available on mechanicalkeyboard.com?
It has a green font and white case, beautiful board 

Did you read the OP (or even the title of this thread)?  Like, at all?

I thouht that you are choosing between ducky one and leopold?

All of the boards I mentioned have a tkl variant

I'm sorry if I wasted your time by giving some useless advices.

Sorry, my response was a bit snippy...

I didn't find what you said particularly useful because the Ducky One was already a board I mentioned in the OP that I was considering.  I had fairly specific questions in my OP regarding the build quality of the Ducky One vs. the Premier and the FC750.

Thank you for your suggestion.  The Ducky One remains in the running, though I'm leaning heavily toward the Leopold at this point.

[QuincyJones]

Aren't the ducky keyboards just cheaply made, off-the-shelf keyboards from a factory in China (minimum order 500) with a 250-300% markup?

The first post reads like paid advertising. GO GO GADGET HIVEMIND!

[ImO]

Aren't the ducky keyboards just cheaply made, off-the-shelf keyboards from a factory in China (minimum order 500) with a 250-300% markup?

The first post reads like paid advertising. GO GO GADGET HIVEMIND!

Responded to the wrong post... Sorry! Can not find the delete button...

[ImO]

How about Ducky One PBT that is currently available on mechanicalkeyboard.com?
It has a green font and white case, beautiful board 

Did you read the OP (or even the title of this thread)?  Like, at all?

I thouht that you are choosing between ducky one and leopold?

All of the boards I mentioned have a tkl variant

I'm sorry if I wasted your time by giving some useless advices.

Sorry, my response was a bit snippy...

I didn't find what you said particularly useful because the Ducky One was already a board I mentioned in the OP that I was considering.  I had fairly specific questions in my OP regarding the build quality of the Ducky One vs. the Premier and the FC750.

Thank you for your suggestion.  The Ducky One remains in the running, though I'm leaning heavily toward the Leopold at this point.

I'm sorry if I'm misreading the situation, but
I think what is lost in translation is that Ducky, at least at one point, also sold TKL of thier "premium" series but it might even been the G2Pro (the mother of Premier). From what I understood he refered to Premier TKL and not the ONE version.
But it might just be me who are misstaken.

Anyway, you can look for a secondhand Ducky G2Pro TKL cause I know for a fact that G2Pro sold in TKL. Can't recall seeing Ducky Premier TKL on the Swedish market though.

I have only good experience with Ducky but I can't commen on the other one you mentioned since I haven't tried them out.
Good luck hunting!

[ninjacore]

Aren't the ducky keyboards just cheaply made, off-the-shelf keyboards from a factory in China (minimum order 500) with a 250-300% markup?

The first post reads like paid advertising. GO GO GADGET HIVEMIND!

In that it's well-organized and concise?  Yes, I could see that.  Thank you?

I'm sorry if I'm misreading the situation, but
I think what is lost in translation is that Ducky, at least at one point, also sold TKL of thier "premium" series but it might even been the G2Pro (the mother of Premier). From what I understood he refered to Premier TKL and not the ONE version.
But it might just be me who are misstaken.

Anyway, you can look for a secondhand Ducky G2Pro TKL cause I know for a fact that G2Pro sold in TKL. Can't recall seeing Ducky Premier TKL on the Swedish market though.

I have only good experience with Ducky but I can't commen on the other one you mentioned since I haven't tried them out.
Good luck hunting!

Ah, okay, I didn't know that the precursor to my Premier came in TKL.  I have the full size (I agree, I think that's the only way it came).

At this point, I'm sold on trying a new manufacturer (the Leopold).  A TKL Ducky Premier ancestor would be ~ 10 years old at this point and probably be lacking some of the features I've become accustomed to (removable cable, better caps, improved build quality).

[SpAmRaY]

Aren't the ducky keyboards just cheaply made, off-the-shelf keyboards from a factory in China (minimum order 500) with a 250-300% markup?

The first post reads like paid advertising. GO GO GADGET HIVEMIND!

There are a few different variations of ducky keyboards some are indeed not as nice with a lower price and a different feature set reflecting that fact. However the premium boards are very well made and will stand up against any other high end mass produced keyboard.

The very early ducky boards did have some issues but they've greatly improved since then.

I've got 3 full size ducky boards the shine 2, shine 3 and a premier and they are all very well made.

I also have a full size Leopold FC900R with thick pbt caps and use it daily, it is also a quality keyboard.

To the OP I think the Leopold tkl would be a great choice.

[ninjacore]

Thanks!  Just ordered the Leopold FC750 in white with brown switches.  Hopefully it's as satisfying to type on as my Premier.  I'll make sure to post back with an update.

[Erzegovaz]

Good choice man! leopold for life!

[HeeCh2ei]

Thanks!  Just ordered the Leopold FC750 in white with brown switches.  Hopefully it's as satisfying to type on as my Premier.  I'll make sure to post back with an update.

White case is great, congrats.

[ninjacore]

Thanks!

HeeCh2ei, what sort of cap profile should I be looking at if I wanted to replace some/all of those on the FC750?  I ask because it looks like you've done the same

[HeeCh2ei]

Thanks!

HeeCh2ei, what sort of cap profile should I be looking at if I wanted to replace some/all of those on the FC750?  I ask because it looks like you've done the same

Stock Leopold caps is almost a cherry profile. They have exact the same dimensions, but don't have that significant radius between the top side and four other.
Gray-blue blank set on white 750R is Leopold made. Red esc on the black 750 is in OEM profile (and I am ok with it).

[ninjacore]

Ok cool, so Cherry profile caps mix well with the stock Leopolds for the "interior" keys?

[SpAmRaY]

Ok cool, so Cherry profile caps mix well with the stock Leopolds for the "interior" keys?

But why would you want to?

Also the Leopold caps are PBT and a good many cherry profile caps are ABS, just another difference to think about.

[ninjacore]

Haha I hear ya, but we can't just be happy of course

I'll keep that in mind

[HeeCh2ei]

Ok cool, so Cherry profile caps mix well with the stock Leopolds for the "interior" keys?

For any key. Both cherry and leopold profiles have exact the same sizes.
OEM caps are taller and have a larger top side.

[ninjacore]

Well, it's been a journey

Bought the Leopold FC750R w/ browns and liked it, but then got curious about some others, so ended up also buying:
KUL ES-87 w/ clears
Pok3r w/ clears
Leopold FC660M w/ blues
Leopold FC660M w/ browns
Leopold FC660C w/ topres

I knew I would be reselling most of them and would lose a bit in shipping, but wanted to give those boards and switches a try.  I honestly thought the Leopold Topre board was going to be the one for me, but after using it for a little under an hour, I was pretty sure it wasn't.  It was nice to type on, but definitely "slower" than my preferred mx-browns and just generally not enough of a step up from mx switches to justify the 2x price tag.

I did find, however, that the FC660 form factor is perfect for me and in the end, I settled on the FC660M with browns.

So now I'll revisit my initial question: build quality comparisons.

I can definitely say that the Leopold build quality is right on par with the Ducky Premier.  The typing experience is almost exactly the same, to be honest (comparing the brown switches across all three - Ducky Premier, FC660M, FC750).  Caps feel great on both, sound is roughly the same, and keypress is generally similar.

The only difference I have noticed is likely due to the cap profile.  I believe the Premier has OEM profile caps, which are taller than the Step Sculpture 2 caps on the Leopolds (similar to Cherry profile).  It's probably just a learning curve, but I have noticed lower accuracy so far on the shorter, Leopold caps.

Any who, just thought I'd give an update.