Ducky Shine 3 Or KBT Pure Pro as a first mechanical keyboard?

[qwack]

Hey guys,

I am about to buy my first mechanical keyboard, after having used extensively an Apple Wireless keyboard (chiclet-type) for the past 4+ years. Although it was what I needed when I got it, I have overgrown it and can barely stand typing on it these days. I am not sure what is wrong — the short travel, the force needed to actuate the keys, the fact that I have to bottom out to type, all of these? Nevertheless, it may be time to switch to a mechanical keyboard.

Since I'd like a TKL with an azerty layout, I am limited to the following models:

- Corsair K65
- CM QuickFire TK
- Ducky Shine 3

I am not too fond of the color and design of the Corsair, the CM is a bit larger than the other two (yes, those 2 extra centimeters count), so I'll probably go with the Ducky, although it's significantly more expensive because of options I don't need (all those lighting modes). I can accept the extra cost given the quality of the board, but I would like to know a thing or two before I committ to the purchase:

— what is the material used for the body/frame of the Shine 3? I'd like to avoid soft/rubberized material, as I find (matte) plastic better looking and easier to keep clean.

— is it possible to replace LEDs with sockets later, so as to be able to switch LED colors easily? It's not something I'll do as soon as I get it of course, but at some point I'll have to play with the fireworks Plus, if I'm able to do it, I won't mull over the choice of LED colors when I purchase it.

— as for the switch color, I ruled out Blues because of their noise; since I write quite much everyday and regularly play games, I'm still a bit torn between Reds and Browns. I know that both have their advocates for both gaming and typing. I'm leaning towards the Reds — somehow I fear there will be too much of a bump witht the browns. I must have been traumatised by the bump of my current board. I know I'll have to adapt in any case, but do you see any reason why I should prefer one rather than the other? I feel that, if needed, it will be easier to adjust/mod the feel of the red switches (with o-rings or the "trampoline mod") than that of the browns. But maybe I'm mistaken, or overthinking it, and any of them will be enough of an improvement over my current keyboard that I don't have to care?

(for what it's worth, if I buy a board with reds today, I might get one with browns a few months down the road, but I'd rather know if there's a big mistake to avoid right now)

[Puddsy]

1. It's matte

2. not with sockets, but if you get white LED version you can get LED color changers

3. I prefer reds, but you can certainly make the argument for browns. Some people have a really bad reaction with browns if they haven't tried any other switches.

[Defect]

First time I heard anyone say a brown has too much bump lol.

Personally I think reds are amazing.  I just have a hard time using them because of all the board swapping I do, but they're great once you figure them out.

Ducky is great!  Lighting is Unnecessary but awesome when you wanna show to kids or something.   That sounded creepy.

[tbc]

you're looking for 'sip sockets' for swappable LEDs

[OnTheBrink]

My first mechanical I fell in love with (not the first I owned), was a Ducky Shine 2.

You can see the comparison I made on my youtube channel to the Filco (YouTube.com/offthebrinktv). Many people praise the Filco but I felt the Ducky far surpasses it and is a great starting point.

I have mine in reds as well. White LEDs and I just ordered the color changers for $15.

I can't sway you one way or the other but the quality is superb, the LED functions are great, the media controls are intuitive and the case is clean (absolutely no branding).

[qwack]

Yes, I find the clean case really appealing. Moreso than the lighting, in fact. Good thing that it's not rubbery too. Thanks TacticalStache for the precision.

2. not with sockets, but if you get white LED version you can get LED color changers

That's what I wanted to do, unfortunately they are only available with purple or blue LEDs in the layout I want, hence my question. I'll probably get a purple one (looks cool, easier on the eyes), if I want to change later I'll have the choice between replacing them with white leds and use color filters or installing SIP sockets (yes, that was the term, thanks tbc) as shown here.

I've just seen that amazon.fr sells those boards too, they are priced higher than at other retailer's but their exchange/warranty policy is much more attractive (in case anything's wrong or I don't like it, I have one month to have it either exchanged or refunded). I'll go with MX Red switches and purple LEDs then. Thanks alot for the feedback guys.

[qwack]

Heck, I've just noticed that they also offer the KBT Pure Pro with white LEDs, with red and brown switches, priced so that I could get both for the price of one Shine 3. Since I'm used to compact layouts and key modifiers, I'm wondering whether it would be a better solution as a first mechanical keyboard. Looks like I have some more reading to do!

edit: and then there's the Race 2, with a 75% layout that seems perfect to me...