1st custom keeb after years of off the shelf need your ideas!

[Blastoise]

Hi Everyone,

I’ve finally decided to take the plunge on purchasing my first custom. Keep in mind I’ve had off the shelf mechs for several years but haven’t been able to make the jump. My budget for the pcb and body is $500. I’m looking for either a 60% or 65%. I don’t mind a wait. 6 months 2 years Whatever. Good things take time.

If you have  any sources on research for materials etc. I’d love to read them. Second if you have gb or specific manufactures for me to consider I’d like to check them out.

Best,
Blastoise

[arydi]

That's a bit like asking what kind of car you should buy.  It's good that you're interested in "going custom", but what are you expecting by going custom? 
Depending on your needs and expectations it is entirely possible you could be satisfied with an off the shelf $90 keyboard from NewEgg.

If you want to get the most out of this new hobby, you're really looking at a lot of time and effort in research, time, money and trial and error.  It's up to you if it's worth it. 

As with any "high-end" hobby there is no real endgame outside of an exit strategy.

You have been warned.

[Leslieann]

It's far far worse than buying a car.

Other than a few small shops, you're stuck waiting around for group buys, paying, then crossing your fingers something shows up. There may be a nice 65% you like tomorrow, 2 months ago or it could be a year before another starts, and it could be up to 2 or even 5 years before you get it, if you get it. Or you can brave the used market where you will pay a 20% markup. Yes, mark UP, they rarely go down because they had to deal with the above and you can't exactly go buy another can you?

And thanks to Covid you can't even count on Chinese suppliers at this point, the KBDFans KBD76 v2 sold out in around 24 hours and had thousands on the wait list. Even if you could buy it, that could take 4 months to arrive.


All this means, there is no recommendations on something like this, you have to sit around the interest checks and group buys money in hand waiting for one to come along. That or wait for KBDfans to get restocked (couple months then wait months for delivery).

[jamster]

According to my preferences, the only thing I would gain from going custom would be for a totally non-standard ergo layout.

Anything 'standard' custom, i.e. 60% through to TKL, would be a step back, because I would have to settle for (IMO noticeably inferior) MX-style switches.

So yeah, what do you want going to a 'custom' board? Beyond of course a 60-65% layout which is already available off the shelf?

If you've not tried them yet, you really owe it to yourself to try alternative switch technologies before coughing up $500 for a case that holds MX switches.

[Stev!e]

This hobby will drain your wallet, you have been warned.

If you want a board asap, your best bet is to go to KBDFans and build a board out of parts from there. KBDFans is generally the best place to start for people getting into the hobby. If you want to spend extra and are willing to wait 5+ months for a board or keycap set to arrive, joining a group buy will yield a higher end product overall.

No matter what, do LOTS of research before diving in, as this is your board. You want to make it something you're proud of.

[Blastoise]

Thanks for all the input everyone. At the end of the day I believe that this custom keyboard is more than a thing to type on. I think it’s art and I want to put my money towards something I find beautiful. I don’t think this will be a single purchase but many purchases down the road. Just jumping into the rabbit hole and getting ready for the ride.

[lakeboredom]

My first custom was a sandwich mount so thankfully it worked out my millmaxing the pcb. That was just dumb luck tho, how many poor fools millmax their expensive top mount customs is devastating to think about. You're going to want to go through your; Hotswap is cool, ehh now hotswap is pointless phase, before dropping $400+ on a custom. That being said, start following the ICs on here immediately or risk missing out on your grail. Always get extra pcbs, build multiple for each board incase you like different types of switches. Yeah... Good luck.

[Leslieann]

If you've not tried them yet, you really owe it to yourself to try alternative switch technologies before coughing up $500 for a case that holds MX switches.

You're going to want to go through your; Hotswap is cool, ehh now hotswap is pointless phase, before dropping $400+ on a custom.

This^
Buy a cheap hotswap, GMMK  or something first, figure out what you want from a $500 board before you spend $500 on a mistake.

[Blastoise]

Going with a cheap board first. Thanks for the advice everyone!