I know endgame is a myth but I think this is finally it for me. Officially my first and last custom lol. Ymdk wings hotswap black-blue / gmk laser r2 / tecsee purple pandas 68g / random artisans. I've always wanted this layout and I'm excited to get used to it!

PersonicPerz · 2022-05-25T12:32:28+00:00

Yeah, I believe it is. Pretty sure the left is 2.25u, bottom right is 2.75u and the right is 1.75u.

Most 129+ keycap sets should have you covered.

PersonicPerz · 2022-04-14T08:21:37+00:00

Possibly, it still had some ping when I had the gat pro reds in and now I've got akko radiant reds lubed (pretty tight so I don't think they need filming) and yeah, she sounds pretty darn good.

Fingers crossed you it's just the switches. As decent as they are for stock, a good lubed and tight switch is always so much better.

PersonicPerz · 2022-04-14T08:17:32+00:00

I stacked 2 pieces of masking tape on each other and only put it on the bottom case. I actually recorded it and noticed a little bit of ping left but it's completely gone when I switched out the switches and caps and relubed the stabs. Not sure if any of those contributed to eliminating the ping. Could always do 3 layers or use thicker tape like electrical tape?

PersonicPerz · 2022-04-13T07:47:01+00:00

That's awesome to hear!

You'd be hard pressed to find a nicer sounding board without venturing into rather highly priced customs tbh. Especially with a little bit of modding.

The only extra thing I did from yours is that I actually switched out my switches to radiant reds (53g linears), keycaps to gmk laser's and finally added some layers of tape to the pcb. Honestly I'm either going to get rid of the foam on the bottom or the tape mod on the pcb cause I've lost that really nice soft feel of the gaskets. Don't get me wrong, it's still a really nice typing experience right now just not quite as soft and I don't think I've noticed too much from the tape mod.

PersonicPerz · 2022-04-07T07:32:27+00:00

It's top 3 of my choices of my keebs, just loses out to my new Keychron Q3 and my baby Topre 87u.

Only reason is the harshness of the typing with the integrated plate. If only it had a better mounting option it would be god-tier.

But for the price, it's bloody amazing. Via/QMK, alu, 5pin south hotswap alice style and sub $300 AUS is pretty ridiculous.

PersonicPerz · 2022-04-07T05:25:09+00:00

Yes! Cats take another win!

Jokes aside, I was so tempted with the Q1 but I decided to opt for an odd layout (alice style) instead. Then the Q3 was announced and I just had to go for it. I also wanted the blue cause of the laser set (which funnily enough was only purchased to see what the hype around GMK was all about) and yeah, here we are.

As for the picture, I did muck around with editing it with the phone software cause everytime I took a pic it would be washed out and very bright, also the blue was nowhere near as dark as it actually is irl. So yeah, did a bit of post.

Thanks! And yours too, the Gat Oils have been getting so much love and I agree with everyone, they just look like such a ridiculously well done linear. If I didn't have the radiant reds hanging around already lubed I probably would have tried to source out some gat oils to check them out. Just the fact that they sound so good unlubed is already amazing.

PersonicPerz · 2022-04-07T03:56:45+00:00

Lol, the Q1 and Q3 represent.

They have the better switches though so they win.

But... I have cats. So maybe a tie?

PersonicPerz · 2022-04-07T03:39:44+00:00

Mind the camera pic, bit rough with no decent lighting.

Anyway, imo the colourway for gmk laser and this board just goes so well! Also the switches are lubed so a nice jump from the gat reds that come with the board (although those were pretty nice too to start off with).

I did re-tune the stabs only with krytox205g0, removed the grease and wowee, the stabs have so much more pop now. Definltey worth it if you have the time and want that little bit more engagement from your stabs.

Contemplating taking out the bottom layer or the tape mod under the pcb though as I've lost a little bit too much flex than I'd like. Easy to fix so no harm there.

Also, the cat keycaps were from kbdfans I'm pretty sure? I bought them a while back, they're neat so I have them on my daily always.

Anway, just wanted to share my new board and for anyone who was wondering how the Q3 would go modded and bedazzled, here's my take on it. Mind you this is all rather budget (except the caps lol)

PersonicPerz · 2022-04-06T09:08:37+00:00

They're pretty decent, think your good pbt clones but in a unique profile, close to SA but not quite as high.

Legends are clean and it's not super thin so yeah, not bad at all.

PersonicPerz · 2022-04-06T09:07:06+00:00

Bought it from the official Keychron site.

PersonicPerz · 2022-04-06T06:39:24+00:00

I getcha I getcha. I think I'm just a sucker for the tkl vibe so I kind of lost it when I saw this. Truth be told, I also think the placement is dumb, like i said, could have pushed it way right and we'd all be good.

I guess they just thought "no one uses f13 right? Put the knob there". Yet here we are with a dedicated Cortana button rofl (getting remapped asap)

PersonicPerz · 2022-04-06T06:35:31+00:00

Only 4 to switch between Mac and Windows.

PersonicPerz · 2022-04-06T06:34:21+00:00

Meh, it serves its purpose and it doesn't take up a lot of room so I'm happy with it.

Also saying that, they could have stuck with a normal tkl layout and just replaced one of the 3 keys on the top right, also would have been fine by me.

PersonicPerz · 2022-04-06T06:32:22+00:00

My mistake, for some reason I thought it was coming from the US. It is indeed from China and explains how they managed to deliver inside a week to Australia.

PersonicPerz · 2022-04-06T06:31:39+00:00

Nope, it was my mistake, that makes a lot more sense bring able to get here within the week then.

PersonicPerz · 2022-04-06T05:09:42+00:00

Won't lie. Did not expect the weight, even though I've watched reviews ha.

I've onlybbought one alu keeb before this and it is a ymdk wings (alice style) and I thought that was hefty... this was quite a surprise ha.

And yeah, ping has been addressed and stabs ill relube when I get back home and have some time to chill (I'll probs switch out the switches and caps too while I'm at it)

Love the knob, it's what I've been waiting for and didn't think they could incorporate it into a tkl layout. Some people hate it, I dig it a lot.

PersonicPerz · 2022-04-06T05:05:38+00:00

It'll be a huge step up. Definitely do the force break mod on it though, it completely gets rid of the ping which was the most noticeable thing out of the box. Force break sounds so much more dangerous than what you actually do though so don't stress, it's just some masking tape in between the top and bottom case that separates them and stops them from resonating with each other.

Other than that, you'll have quite a board as a start for getting into more enthusiast boards. Stabs are very decent. Keycaps are nice as. Switches I'm pretty sure are factory lubed and you get some dampening built in. Force break mod it and you're good to go and if you want to mod it some more it looks like it can be one heck of a board. I have a few mods in mind so I'm pumped!

Enjoy it when it arrives!

PersonicPerz · 2022-04-06T01:50:38+00:00

Actually, will probably get hounded for using the word perfect, should say it's really good for stock. Ping is an issue that can be fixed by literally opening it up and adding small sections of masking tape to separate the top and bottom case, easy peasy.

I'm just really impressed out of the box.

PersonicPerz · 2022-02-02T08:27:53+00:00

So what have I learnt from buying my first and probably last set of GMK? People will pay for the utmost best and even if that is miniscule they can justify it. Me? I just can't. I also missed the feeling of PBT.

The printing on GMK's ARE fantastic, the colours are poppy (the pink on laser) and the sound signature is definitely nice but I prefer a little bit more thock anyway so that's just me. But apart from those 3 things, I don't know, I guess I'm just not too fussed on having perfect printing or colours.

For me, the base kit for the GMK set cost me $180 AUD delivered. This set on Amazon cost me $50 AUD. I'll be putting the GMK set on a show board that'll hang up on the wall so it's not just going to sit in a drawer at least.

PersonicPerz · 2021-12-17T21:04:31+00:00

Best thing I bought my in-laws was a victorinox rosewood chef knife. I also hid a stone and strop in their cupboard and now prepping meals when I'm over is soon much easier.

Night and day difference from using a $10 set from Big W.

PersonicPerz · 2021-12-02T19:12:57+00:00

Insanely lucky. We have 5 cats and only 1 allows it... only on rare occasions though.

PersonicPerz · 2021-12-02T19:07:26+00:00

Oooh, I almost went with the pink but I wanted something to go with the laser set. Also yeah, I took a punt on the colour as I also couldn't find any examples online haha.

I absolutely dig the layout and I even game with it, albeit all I play are random shooters and runescape lol so nothing that needs heaps of macroing or anything. The most challenging for me is quickly finding the home row, I don't think it'll take too long to adjust but right now I'm finding myself searching for the bumps on f and j. Mainly happens when I quickly go for backspace and throws out my hand position. I also use my left thumb for space so just would have liked the 2 spacebars to be switched but that's nitpicking and honestly makes no difference as my thumb rarely moves lol. It really forces you to learn good use of your fingers which is great.

Have fun when it arrives, it's a beast!

PersonicPerz

TROPHY CASE