I Wish I Had Known This Before I Bought My First Custom Mechanical Keyboard | Beginners Guide

In this video, I’m gonna try to talk about what almost 2 years of playing with a custom mechanical keyboard (s) has taught me and maybe help one or two souls out there. So think of it as a small but perhaps interesting beginners guide to the grand world of custom keyboards.

Keyboards shown 🛍️
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Keycaps shown 🛍️
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Other items shown 🛍️
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Gear used 🎬
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Chapters 📋
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00:00 - Intro
00:15 - Prologue
01:02 - Your First Is Gonna Suck (Keyboards)
03:10 - GMK Isn't Everything (Keycaps)
08:16 - Of Switches And Stabs (Switches & Stabilizers)
12:07 - Accessorize Me (Accessories & Tools)
13:47 - Now Go Forth And Build (Closing Thoughts)
15:03 - Thank You

Outside of YouTube 🖼️
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[pyrobunny_mdpl]

Been in the hobby for almost a decade, or around there at least, and the most important lesson I try to teach people who ask me questions is to avoid FOMO. Being afraid of not getting a specific board because of a hype train and limited production runs is a serious threat, and has made some people I know want to quit the hobby. It's important to remember that the hobby has exploded in recent years, especially over lockdown, and there are TONS of good keyboard options coming out, and more and more people are making designs and group buys. There will be another board that will come around that you will like even more, and you will have the chance to get the boards you missed in the future. Try not to stress yourself out over not having enough money for a board right now, especially with new boards being announced every week!

[denwest]

All i wanted is just a new keyboard... 12hours later i joined a subculture

[AnzelLmao]

"Don't stress it, just try it."

As someone who has been in the hobby for years and has been giving advice to his viewers, your quote is the best piece of advice that I think beginners need to embrace. Amazing video, keep it up man.

[falrexion]

My biggest issue is spending the $100+ on keycaps. Every discussion I've heard goes on about how designers need to be paid for their time and how small the individual orders are, but the amount of plastic is only worth a few bucks and once they've set up manufacturing, the per unit cost is very low. I can't wait for more people to get into this hobby so they fall down to something a bit more reasonable. Also PBT all the way

[StillthatguyJake]

This is most definitely one of the best "beginners guides" I've ever seen, be it keyboards or otherwise! You did a great job of giving real-life suggestions and didn't inject too many of your own preferences into the guide at all! I'm pretty deep into the hobby now (Probably close to two dozen custom boards sitting near me and another dozen in boxes waiting to be unleashed) and I wish I had sen this video before a lot of the choices I made early on. That being said, having gone through the experience much like yourself, I can attest that your advice and suggestions are very much accurate and things I would also recommend to others! Thanks again for taking the time to create this....even if I am late to seeing it! Heck, it still holds true a year later so you clearly did something right!

[CVerse]

I was so lucky I had a friend who was also into keyboards. She went so far as to buy over 120 different switches to make a sample kit and even labeled each one! After trying all of them I realized just how tiny the differences are with the feels of each switch, sound tests definitely does not tell the whole story.

For my first keyboard I went for Holy Pandas lubed using Star Wars GMK keycaps on a Keychron Q6 keyboard. I’m gonna build it soon but I’m excited!

[wsippel]

GMK has been around forever, because they were originally part of Cherry. I believe it became a separate company after an employee buyout, when Cherry wanted to shut down their internal keycap manufacturing (and possibly exit the consumer space altogether). Cherry is a division of car supplier ZF Friedrichshafen, and ZF reportedly wanted to shut down consumer keyboard production entirely a couple of years ago - Cherry's main business at the time was switches for industrial and automotive applications under the Cherry Industrial Solutions brand, anyway. Then the mechanical keyboard craze happened, so they kept Cherry alive, and rebranded Cherry Industrial Solutions as ZF Electronics.

[che-weihsieh]

As someone who is dipping both feet into audiophile and keyboard hobbies, the Keychron prebuilts are good enough for my thinning wallet.

[muCephei_]

When I began this hobby, I didn't know if I should go for linears, tactiles or clickies as if I should only like one. After almost two years, I have a board for each type of switch as I enjoy using all of them for different reasons and I like to cycle through them. This keeps each type of switch fresh every time you use it and prevents from getting bored of only one type of switch. An important thing to remember in this hobby is that if you give switches a chance long enough you can begin to like it even if you didn't like it at first.

[kaozer]

the best advice i can give having recently built my first custom is to see if theres any custom keyboard communities around. i was able to find some local hobbyists and got to try a few keyboards to see what i liked. ended up building a GMMK with durock T1 swtiches. ive been very happy with it.

[evilkamatis]

bruh, you just made me subscribe all because of how well the video is edited and everything. The way you narrate and put out a simple guide for everyone is lowkey mesmerizing. I've seen a lot of videos regarding 'beginners guide' into this hobby but you just uncrowned all of my favorites and I will be moving forward be using this video as an introduction to this hobby. Well done!

[BruceNtwayne]

As a fellow 2-year hobbyist, I agree with these points and also want to add that this realization is mainly possible only bc of the abundance of alternatives nowadays compared to 2 years prior.

[KommonCents_]

I just bought a wooting 60HE and dont feel a need to d3lve into "custom boards" any more than that, its truly amazing and comes from the factory in excellent quality imo

[qwaser]

Nice video for those who are looking to build their first board! However, I would like to add to the topic of switch lubing.

I have observed that most new people entering the hobby seems to lube their switches for the sound, and lubed switches SOUND GOOD, but bear in mind that once you use that set of switches enough (a month or two of heavy usage, your mileage may vary), the LUBE WILL SETTLE. The switches will still feel smoother than stock, but the sound will basically "default" back to how it sounds stock, minus the scratch sound at best. Personally, I wouldn't recommend relubing considering that the cycle just repeats itself and it is, to me, a huge waste of my time. So, in the end, just use the board and I'm sure you'll learn to love the stock-ish switch sound after some time.

We watch content creators build keyboards with lubed switches all the time but this one is hardly ever talked about in the past 2 years ever since the hobby popped off. I often read suggestions to "lube it to make it sound better". Well, generally, that's true, it does sound less scratchy long term, but the distinct lubed sound will slowly fade away with continuous use.

Also, Durock/Everglide stabs are overrated. I understand the hype, but ever since its release, there has been several new stabs that came to the market with new features and are WAY easier to tune than Durocks and Everglides, Tx stabs, for example, is my current favorite.

[ethurn]

My first mechanical keyboard was a Keychron Q1 (ver. 1) with Gazzew Bobagums, I remember a lot of nitpicks I had about the key feel, the keycaps, the layout, the case color, and the switches. Almost a year later, I’ve given away that board and spent a couple hundred dollars on different types of switches and JUST NOW decided that in order to make my “endgame”, I have to manufacture it myself.

[mixeddrinks]

In regards to switch testers and small packs of switches like those 10 pack switches, I will say that sometimes it ain't bad when you can grab a few and replace just specific keys such as the space, shift, enter, backspace or the specific keys that you use for gaming. For speed or extra thump thock.

[Grimloic]

8:48-9:07 Totally agree with this - I also don't recommend switch testers to my friends for this exact reason. Hitting a single switch just isn't representative of how it will feel across a whole keyboard. Great video!

[austinwmartin]

Built my first custom keyboard after watching for the past three years and listening to countless switches and cases to figure out what I like. I ended up paying $160 USD for what I wanted and I'm in love. The board looks and sounds exactly how I was hoping and being able to build it with my son was such a joy!

[itswindytiabia]

I'm really glad I stumbled onto this video. I officially got into the hobby last month and had been researching the type of switches, keycaps, and bases I wanted. This hobby actually taught me how to budget and feel okae with not buying 'high-end' parts because I wouldn't have as much appreciation for them for now—which is a point you made in the video! I learned to appreciate the growth that could come out of this hobby with every keyboard that I could build and that convinced me not to gun for a $600 build on my first buy! :') Thank you for this video, I'm glad I saw it while I need the advice. I'll try it, before I buy big :D

[MatthewEncina]

So many great points made in the video and such a refreshing critical take on the scene. Enjoyed watching.