Should You Build Your Own Keyboard?
Summary
TLDRThe video discusses how the mechanical keyboard building hobby has become more accessible due to increased inventory, cheaper pricing, more variety of parts, and abundant helpful online information. It highlights how group buys and limited stock used to be barriers to entry but now in-stock options at various price points allow more people to get started. Experienced builders and content creators have made guides and videos to help newcomers learn what parts work best. The host encourages anyone interested in building a custom mechanical keyboard to dive in and enjoy the process.
Takeaways
- 😊 Mechanical keyboards are more accessible and easier to get into than ever before
- 👍 More keyboard parts are available in stock now compared to the past
- 💰 There are more affordable options nowadays for keycaps, switches, kits etc.
- 🔧 Assembly is easier with helpful build guides, hotswap PCBs, pre-lubed switches etc.
- 🛒 Group buys and limited quantity raffles are less common for getting keyboard parts
- 📈 The popularity and competition in the hobby continues to grow
- 🎨 There is more customizability and variety when building a mechanical keyboard
- 😇 The community is welcoming and creators are happy to help newcomers
- 📺 There are many great YouTube channels and online resources to learn from
- 👣 It's best to take your time and enjoy the process when getting into this hobby
Q & A
What made the author first interested in mechanical keyboards?
-The author first got interested in mechanical keyboards through using gaming keyboards that had mechanical switches. He started realizing enthusiast-grade keyboards were built better than just gaming keyboards focused on flashiness and marketing.
What issues did the author initially run into when trying to get into keyboard building?
-The author had difficulties finding parts in stock. Many components were only available through raffles, group buys with long wait times, or were expensive and hard to obtain.
How has inventory and availability changed recently in the keyboard community?
-Vendors are now better able to keep popular items in stock due to increased demand and capital. There are also more budget-friendly in-stock options available.
How can beginners now more easily build their first keyboard?
-Options like hotswap PCBs, factory pre-lubed switches, and step-by-step build guides have made the assembly process much more beginner friendly.
What fully-built keyboard options exist for those wanting an easy entry point?
-Fully built keyboards allow new entrants to get a solid functioning keyboard out of the box without needing to source all the components separately.
How can people customize and improve a pre-built keyboard over time?
-Pre-built keyboards can be upgraded gradually, with new keycaps, switches, cables, deskmats, and other accessories allowing customization.
What YouTube channels and online resources does the author recommend?
-The author highlights creators like alexotos, Taeha Types, hippotech, dailyclack, randomfrankp, badseedtech, and glarses for guides and info.
Why does the author think now is a more accessible time to get into keyboard building?
-Along with improved availability of parts, there is also vastly more helpful information online from enthusiastic creators willing to assist new community members.
What tip does Andy from Omnitype have for new builders?
-Andy suggests not rushing for your endgame right away and instead enjoying the process and journey into the hobby.
Where can you see and hear more of the author's keyboard builds?
-The author mentions starting an Elemento Keys YouTube channel for posting keyboard sound tests and streams.
Outlines
😀 Introduction to getting into the mechanical keyboard hobby
The first paragraph introduces the video, which aims to explain why the mechanical keyboard hobby is more accessible now than ever before. It provides background about the host's journey getting into mechanical keyboards through gaming keyboards. It also mentions the difficulty initially finding parts due to limited availability.
😊 More available inventory and cheaper pricing makes entry easier
The second paragraph explains how more brands are producing mechanical keyboard components at scale and accessible prices. Vendors are also listening to hobbyist demand to keep popular items stocked. Cheaper in-stock options allow more beginners to start building keyboards, further increasing the hobby's popularity.
😃 Wider variety of parts caters to different needs and budgets
The third paragraph discusses the wider variety of mechanical keyboard parts now available to suit different budgets and needs. Options range from expensive premium keycaps to more affordable PBT alternatives. More components being produced means greater chances of sales for expensive items. Pre-built kits also allow easy entry without picking individual parts.
📚 Abundant helpful online information and guides
The fourth paragraph highlights the wealth of helpful online information, videos, communities and build guides compared to the past. Several YouTube channels and creators are mentioned which focus on different aspects of mechanical keyboards. These resources allow easy education and decision making when selecting parts.
💡 Tips for getting started - enjoy the process and don't rush endgame
The final paragraph shares tips for getting started from experienced hobbyists. The key advice is to enjoy the process and not rush to endgame immediately. Taking the time to appreciate each step leads to fulfillment.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡mechanical keyboards
💡keycaps
💡group buy
💡PCB
💡switches
💡lubing
💡stabilizers
💡gaming keyboards
💡vendors
💡content creators
Highlights
Mechanical keyboards are more accessible now than ever before.
Gaming keyboards introduced many people to mechanical switches, but enthusiast keyboards take things to another level.
Group buys and limited availability previously made custom keyboards hard to obtain.
More in-stock options at various price points have increased accessibility.
Cheap, in-stock keycaps like PBT are alternatives to expensive, limited GMK sets.
More competition and demand creates opportunities for sales on premium items.
Build guides, hotswap PCBs, and factory lubed switches simplify the assembly process.
Fully built keyboards allow easy entry for beginners without customization.
Small mods over time let you gradually customize a pre-built keyboard.
The wealth of online guides and communities provide valuable help for beginners.
YouTube channels like alexotos provide exceptional build guides.
Don't rush to end-game; enjoy the process and journey.
Consider a budget-friendly board to start and upgrade over time.
Pick keycaps, switches, and other parts based on your preferences.
Building a keyboard can be rewarding for gaming, work, or as a hobby.
Transcripts
I think getting into the mechanical
keyboard hobby is more accessible than
it's ever been let me
[Music]
explain I've been interested in
mechanical keyboards for a few years now
sort of interested being the keyword
there along with a lot of other people
out there I was first introduced to
Mechanical switches through gaming
keyboards like a bunch of different
gaming keyboards that I've used over the
last couple years but while working at
the mkbc studio we get a lot of random
packages showing up at our door and we
started to slowly get these really
highquality mechanical keyboards like
this key Cole and when I started using
these Enthusiast grade keyboards I
started to realize that all those gaming
keyboards even though they use
mechanical switches they're just built
to be flashy or highly marketable and
there's nothing wrong with gaming
keyboards there are plenty of people out
there who still love their Logitech G
Pro or their steel series Apex but
there's this whole other world of people
who are building keyboards and taking it
to a a whole new level and it's not just
customized to fit your style visually or
to look nice but to make your typing
experience feel and sound exactly how
you want funny enough right around this
time I did a little editing work for a
channel called ski with P he did live
streams of building keyboards and as
someone who loves tinkering with
electronics watching him meticulously
build these keyboards made me want to
try it myself but that's where I ran
into some issues as I started looking at
different keycaps and keyboard kits I
was very quick to realize that
at that time it wasn't that easy to just
buy the parts that you needed a lot of
these components you'd find would be a
raffle or they'd be out of stock or
they'd be really expensive or they'd be
in something called a group buy which is
essentially a Kickstarter where someone
would design something like a keycap set
but that order wouldn't go into
production until x amount of people
agreed to place an order and because of
that it could take months or even years
before you ever actually got the thing
you ordered so just as quickly as I
started my keyboard building journey I
ended it but now it's 2024 and there
have been a lot of changes to the
industry to the point where I think it
is easier to get into the mechanical
keyboard building hobby than it ever has
been and that's based on four different
reasons inventory pricing variety of
parts and the amount of helpful
information and just before we start
there is Decades of history behind this
hobby so everything I'll be talking
about is fairly broad there will always
be exceptions that I won't cover in this
video and just to back me up I invited a
few creat that I really respect to help
me explain a little better so like I
mentioned before it is really easy to
give up when you spend hours online
maybe days online researching for that
perfect keycap set or the right color
keyboard kit that you want only to be
met with like a low chance raffle or
really long wait time but some Brands uh
like will just use Vu or even qk being
Cordy keys out laabs stuff like that
they have done more stuff on scale at an
accessible price point uh the other
thing is vendors listening to the demand
of the Hobby and being like okay well we
can now get in stock product because
we've been running a little bit longer
we have a few extra dollars in capital
so we can invest towards that as well so
in today's world you have more of a
chance of researching parts and finding
things that are in stock and able to
ship out immediately cheaper options
that are in stock mean more people are
able to start their building Journey
which in turn creates more popularity
and more competition if you've ever been
searching for keycaps before you may
have seen the letters gmk and that's
because they're a super popular very
high quality very expensive ABS key cap
but as a less expensive option you can
look for something called PBT key caps
they're made out of a different material
and they're generally much cheaper and
there's some people out there who
actually prefer the sound profile or the
durability more than gmk but that's all
subjective but that's kind of the fun
part about this is everything is
subjective some people might like one
thing way better than the other and
that's totally okay and with more
companies creating in stock products you
have the better chance of something not
selling and going on sale in the future
so maybe that premium item you've had
your eye on will be on sale for a more
affordable price I've jumped on more
sales than I like to admit from places
like space cables drop kinetic Labs I
actually just used the novel Keys New
Year's sale and bought five pairs of key
caps for like a little over $200 there
are gmk sets that are $200 by themselves
so companies like Omni type had a lot of
of success with products like this the b
2 line which sold for over $500 and
there were super limited quantities but
through the success of this they started
working on this the Omni type power
light which is about a fifth of the
price and available in stock our b 2 run
we only we had 500 units
available and we had 8,000 people sign
up for our raffle form we couldn't make
them fast enough for the people that
wanted them well then the goal is to
make this lower cost injection molded
board as close to the experience of that
$500 board as possible um with the
constraints that it presents that was my
goal and I think in my opinion very
biased but I think I came pretty close
like I think it's pretty
close when you have it built and your
typing un it as far as sounds and
feel it's pretty comparable to
something that cost four or five times
more this is actually the first keyboard
that I've ever built from start to
finish correctly I lubed all the
switches I lubed all the stabilizers all
thanks to Alex's videos and Not only was
it really fun but the process of
building the keyboard made it that much
more special to me since I did every
single part by
myself and with a variety of Parts out
there the actual task of putting the
keyboard together is far less daunting
than it ever used to be the power light
came with a handy little build guide
with step-by-step instructions hot swap
pcbs are usually only about an extra $10
and they eliminate the need of having to
learn how to solder and most switches
now are Factory lubed and sound pretty
great out of the box and while I highly
suggest hand lubing your switches for
the best experience if you value your
time more than your money you can grab
something like these kinetic Labs Moon
V2 linear switches which are hand lubed
with krytox 205 grade Z and they feel
fantastic with zero effort
needed or maybe you finished this whole
video started researching some parts but
putting everything together still feels
very daunting and you just want a nice
keyboard a lot of keyboards have been
releasing as fully built kits where you
don't need to get your keycaps and
switches separately personally I think
this is a great thing as a ton of people
can get into the hob
for a lot cheaper and without having to
worry about group buys and worrying
about picking out Parts basically like
the entry way or the entryway drug and I
think going this route is a great idea
because you immediately get a keyboard
that works well straight out of the box
if you're going the pre-built route
there's probably going to be a couple
sacrifices you make but there are so
many great options at different price
points that sound really solid right
away this warier sk71 is under $100 and
sounds like this straight out of the
box but maybe after a little while you
want to change things up maybe you want
a new set of keycaps or you want to
switch the style of your switches maybe
you want to try tactiles or you want to
try linear there are so many different
small parts and mods you can do to your
keyboard to gradually make it fit
exactly how you want and even when you
think your keyboard's totally complete
there's also a ton of accessories you
can do to complement it custom cables
there's a ton of different desk mats you
can get some Artisan key Caps or you can
even get a macroad like this one from
Treasure which brings me to my next
Point available helpful information I
think it's not just a case
of things are now in stock and
affordable like switches key caps
keyboard kits pre-built kits even I
think it's also that there is so much
more information about what you should
buy and why you should buy it that makes
it so much more user friendly like you
don't have to go down some rabbit hole
of a page that was made in 2006 and has
four responses to find what you need in
the keep you looking to get the amount
of information on the internet now
versus say 10 years ago is just
exponentially higher there are so many
great YouTube channels Discord servers
websites build guides that have so much
information for you to look for and have
so many people who are willing to help
you try and find what works best for you
I've learned so much from so many
different creat creators online and each
person I've talked to just seems
genuinely happy to see more people
getting into the hobby there's creators
like alexotos and tea types who both
post some great videos on some of the
most premium keyboard builds you'll ever
see and they also both have some of the
best guides to lubing stabilizers and
switches I've personally used both of
them there's hippot Tech who focuses on
a ton of great budget keyboard options
and different ways that you can make
those keyboards sound and feel better
daily setup Tech has some great videos
one specifically where he made a
keyboard that Marquez actually used for
a while and it was under $100 there's
also people like random Frank P or bad
seed Tech that focus a little more on
gaming oriented mechanical keyboards and
then there's glares who actually visited
the studio pretty recently to make a
frisbee keyboard video and after having
a long conversation with him during his
visit that's what inspired me to make
this video and I even started a small
YouTube channel for keyboards um
Elemento key is now a channel where
we'll be posting just sound tests of
different keyboards we're working on and
I'll be streaming there from time to
time so yeah if you've ever been even
slightly interested in building your own
keyboard whether it's for gaming whether
it's for work whether it's just cuz you
think building things is fun I highly
encourage you to go check out some of
the creators I mentioned before and just
dive in if you had one tip for somebody
who was looking to get into to building
their first mechanical keyboard what is
the like the best piece of advice you
can give to them I think okay this this
might maybe apply for every hobby is
don't rush for end game like there is
absolutely no reason to rush enjoy the
process of the hobby like any hobby
right enjoy that process more than just
chasing that end goal but I mean if
that's your thing you want to chase an
end goal do you but I think enjoying the
process is way more important than
chasing that uh final keyboard that's
going to end the entire Journey for you
you know thanks so much for watching
please consider subscribing for more
awesome content from other people at the
MKBHD Studio and because every good
keyboard video Needs Some solid typing
sound tests here's a little Montage of a
couple of the boards I have in my
collection
is
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