In my opinion, IBM vs. Unicomp is akin to Gibson vs. Epiphone. Given the choice, I don't know anyone who'd prefer an Epiphone Les Paul Standard over an original Gibson Les Paul Standard.
While I agree with you in regards to keyboards, not all Epiphones are bad, and not all Gibsons are good... :))
I never said Gibson is the be-all-end-all. The point was that Epiphone is Gibson's budget line of Les Paul's.
Gotta say, unless you're talking about one-off, handmade guitars from Gibson's Nashville Custom Shop (big bucks!), I think the whole Gibson/Epiphone thing these days is just marketing. People are willing to pay a lot more for a more prestigious name on a peghead, so people will see how much money they had to spend.
It reminds me of computer CPUs.
CPUs are so complex, companies like Intel never know exactly how each one will turn out. So they test each one by gradually increasing clock speeds till they fail, then rate them a few notches lower (and of course, price them accordingly).
Thing is, they need lots of budget-price CPUs too, and often there aren't enough that
won't run at the higher speeds. So they routinely put lower ratings on CPUs that test much higher, so they can fill their product orders. See where I'm going with this?
What's more, if I played some rare Gibbie, I'd be afraid to take it out to jam and gig on it. I'd always worry someone was going to knock it over or spill something on it or steal it. But because the Epi's worth only a few hundred bucks and has no collector's value to speak of, I feel comfortable taking it all over the place. So in that way it's even
better than a Gibson "Gibson".
Ha ha, well, some kinda topic drift here.
I always liked how IBM put gaps where the Windows keys should have been instead of putting a function key or something... It's kind of their way of sticking it to Microsoft, "We COULD have put a Windows key here but we didn't ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
LOL. Nope, they weren't too fond of ol' Bill G. And it is funny what you can say by
not saying something.
Back on topic. Has anyone used for a longer period of time various Unicomp models? Do various form factors have an effect on the overall feel, or are they mostly the same?
You mean the slimmed-down Ultra Classics vs. the full-size Classics? They've all felt the same to me as typing machines.
There's only difference I really notice between IBM and Unicomp boards: 1st-generation M's (1390131, 1390120) are like Rocks of Gibraltar. You type on them and
nothing vibrates or moves besides the keys you're pressing. They're
solid—much more solid than what followed, made by anybody. No Unicomp's ever going to feel like that.
So they clatter a bit more, and aren't as heavy or stiff when you pick them up. But isn't it amazing someone's still making boards with this technology, because they believe in it? I think so... And I like the idea of supporting them.
Stop wasting your time comparing them, I say. Just get one of each and enjoy them for what they are: IBM and "IBM Lite". Life's too short to spend time whining about something like that, IMHO.
As for layouts, I think their new layout is a big improvement over their old one.
You mean putting the Windows key next to the spacebar? Or the 103 thing? What else did they change?
