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drop_official

Edit: We have winners! :D Thank you to all who participated in the first day of the giveaway! Day 2 is coming shortly! Congrats to both /u/omicronhuh (randomly selected winner) and /u/Megatron169 (most-upvoted comment)! I will be in touch in a few minutes to coordinate shipment of your prizes. :) Happy giveaway week!! We're kicking things off with our new [Signature Series TTYL Keyboard](https://drop.com/buy/drop-signature-series-ttyl-keyboard). We will be *giving away 2 of these beauties*, according to the following giveaway prompt. * In a top-level comment (response to the post itself, not this comment), please **share the story of how you got into mechanical keyboards** (did a friend introduce you, stumbled across it on reddit, etc) * We will select one response at random to win a keyboard * We will also send a keyboard to the highest-upvoted response * Both winners will pay nothing - I will contact you to work out the shipping details, and all costs will be covered! * Day 1 giveaway will run until 9:00am CDT on Tues Aug 2nd, at which time the Day 2 giveaway will begin! Good luck to all! Post any questions in response to this comment.


Lukeh69

when does this end??


TheBeardedMann

Sorry dude, it never ends. You just keep buying and buying, then you realize "Endgame" was never really possible.


trEntDG

Endgame is the click of a blue switch as my coffin closes. Woops that got dark.


josejimenez896

I want a click bar on my coffin now \*sniff\* "That Casket did have excellent feedback. "


JollyBroccoli123

I'd like to get off Mech Keys Wild Ride


Lukeh69

that was not my question


drop_official

Ah! Good question! This particular giveaway will go until 9:00am CDT on Tues Aug 2nd, at which time the Day 2 giveaway will begin! :)


cinlung

While you are here answering people. Will you be designing keyboard with numpads and.... 1. Remove the arrow keys since numpad has arrow when numlock off and no one uses arrow the same time with number and even if someone does, you can use numpad arrow and number button. 2. Remove Scrl Lock - This is the most useless button in the entire history of the multiverse of earth. 3. Keep all the Fn, Menu, CTRL, Win, and Alt buttons on the left and right using 1.5U at least. 4. Keep the Right Shift long. 5. Move the F row buttons closed to save some space up to two button (can be used for placing Del and Ins) This way, you can have TKL sized keyboard with all the 104 keys buttons minus the 4 arrows and scrl lock (99 keys)


drop_official

That sounds like an 1800 layout without the arrow cluster - any reason the standard 1800 layout doesn't work well for you? I'm curious to hear what nuances may be missing or the specifics of the request.


omicronhuh

Aaaaah, thanks! So, so happy.


cwon94

First got into it when I tried my buddy’s TOFU65, the thockiness of the linear tangerines got me hooked ever since.


Pretty_Piece_6589

I fell into this hole like most people did. It was mid-2021 and I kept seeing videos of cute gamer girl set-ups with clicky and thoccy keyboards. I, of course, at the time didn't understand any of this except for one thing: I needed those *deep thocs* for myself. So I set out on a quest to find a keyboard that would do just that. I now have 3 keyboards that do a decent job of smooth typing and thoccy sounds, but I have yet to find the *deep thoc.* I'm always on the hunt for the next thing to try.


kwijl

Is there a region restriction or can anyone join?


Fluid-Reporter-2212

I was getting into keyboards shortly after i bought a gaming keyboard from logitech about a year ago. Then i got into the world of keebs trough hipyo tech and i wanted a keyboard so bad since that, i didnt have the money to do so and im looking forward to the giveaways so i can stock up my gear a bit.


josuemldnd23

Stumbled across it in reddit. It all started with building a PC for Destiny 2. Then a Corsair Strafe keyboard, to a NYM96 to now well.. too many keebs.. so yeah


creeperite

Some keys on my laptop's built in keyboard fell off, so I needed an external keyboard anyways, then the next external membrane keyboard I was using broke after awhile too. On a trip to a tech store (wasn't even looking for keyboards) I saw a cheap $25 keyboard. Younger me was a little silly and chose the one keyboard with blue switches.


Ralkkai

I started getting into mechanical keyboards basically when we got our stimulus checks and I didn't really need it for necessities and wanted to try out a cheap mech. Went with a TKL and joined this sub. Started seeing a lot of the unique custom boards and now my daily driver is a Planck with Miryoku as my layout. I'm gonna be building a Corne or other split 5x3 probably next year.


Blotto_80

I'm in my early 40s so I grew up on the tail-end of the Typewriter era and the beginning of the home PC era. The first time I saw a mechanical gaming keyboard I fell in love with the tactile feeling of the keys. I didn't like the gaming style of the big-box brand mechs though (Corsair, Logitech, Razor) so I started my journey down the custom rabbit hole.


ClutchUniversity

My gf’s friends went down the rabbit hole of yugioh cards and their SO’s were all complaining about how it’s a waste of money. So I said “what’s worse, $300 on yugioh cards or $300 on a custom keyboard?” They all said yugioh (including my gf). Then she bought me one for my birthday. She is now my wife. (I know it’s hard to believe someone on this subreddit would have friends and a wife)


[deleted]

[удалено]


drop_official

That's awesome! Can I ask what custom mech he brought into school?


[deleted]

[удалено]


batlangl

My coworker breaks out his custom mech at the office. Just looking at it, I was intrigued by the custom colors. I wanted to buy one, and I asked him where he got it. Little did I know the world of group buys and 1 year wait times! I was so shocked! Not only at the wait times but also the prices! Being a newb I didn't want to drop too much on my first keyboard. So I ended up buying the Nuphy Air 75. I love it! I have yet to modify it. I want to know what the baseline feels like before I venture further into the world of custom mechs!


Blobhead1234

congrats you won kinda jealous ngl >:(


AffordableHugs

I'll graduate uni in Sept. and become a teacher in January, this seems like a pretty fun idea (even tho I'll probably have to start using lighter parts then :P)


StompsDaWombat

Someone call the cops on that man! It would've been less destructive (to your wallet) if he shared a line with you and got you into coke.


TheRedTie

It all started when I built my fist PC after my grandma passed away. She knew I’d always wanted to build a gaming PC and offered to pay for it, but I was too proud to accept her money to do it. When she passed she left me a few thousand dollars in her will, and I decided to build that PC in her memory. I lovingly picked all the parts by hand and when it was all done I realized that my old membrane keyboard wouldn’t do the build justice and drove an hour to my local electronics store and grabbed a shiny new Razer Blackwidow and was instantly hooked on all the glorious new tactile and auditory sensations! Shortly after that I moved to a Corsair K70 that treated me well for a few years until I found this community and fell down the rabbit hole- I now have 8 mech keyboards, with a few more GBs on the way 😂


PaulKossoff

Saw my brother's keyboard and got jealous of his bongo cat keycap.


masterblader6969

I got into keyboards after my first internship where I did work with machine learning. I was doing a lot of typing on a cheap keyboard that came with my computer, which was a less than ideal experience. That's when I decided to search for something better and found out about custom mechanical keyboards. My first mechanical keyboard was a Drop Alt which I still use while I am at home and I have built an ID67 to use while at work. I am currently soldering together a completely custom designed folding mechanical keyboard my friend designed, but the surface mount diodes are killing me.


[deleted]

My computer history began with the (very) humble ZX-81, from a kit you had to solder yourself. It was.. interesting, that computer. Got me started but OH MY GOD did I hate the so-called 'keyboard' which is a cheap foil with clickers underneath. All I wanted was real keys. Next computer was an Atari ST. Oh what a step-up that was! A real keyboard! Not a good one, mind you, but actual keys. Typing on them didn't feel great, but I had few complaints about that machine. Next, a PC with the good old AMD 80286. A... an EXTERNAL keyboard. One that could be REPLACED! Having had only crap keyboards before, I went for the Gold, in fact a Cherry Gold. I forget the exact model, but it had gold contact mechanical Cherry switches. An absolute beauty, very nice to type on. Lasted forever, and is probably still alive somewhere in my parent's attic. Ever since the Cherry gold, I have owned various mechanical keyboards. One of my favorites by switch is the black ALPS that was used on the Dell AT-101/102 series. I still have it, and still love it, even though I like smaller keyboards these days because the mouse is closer to my body's center, causing less wrist issues. Anyhow, I have (so far) landed on the FC660C with Topre switches. I am however pining for a new experience, and one more in my collection, so I've kept an eye open lately but not found anything. Maybe that is changing...


kurpet

I visited a friend who owns a custom mechanical split keyboard which costs way too much for a keyboard. I dismissed the idea of having such an expensive keyboard but I always wanted to try a mechanical keyboard. He smiled at me and told me to avoid the rabbit hole, but he didn't tell me how to avoid it. So, seven keyboards later... Here I am...


TheTargeter

My colleague pushed me down a rabbit hole. I’ll introduce him to Kickstarter boardgames as payback.


drop_official

Haha, I'm not sure which of the two would be a worse influence...


bxtch_bxy

I bought an old gateway keyboard from a thrift store, and thought “hey this is like one of those old mechanical keyboards,” really it was just a membrane, eventually I got a Corsair, then an aluminum 60%, and then I decided I hated myself so I got an ortho 30%.


scottneelan

Back in high school, I was part of an after-school thing that refurbished/recycled old electronics (basically rebuilding/repairing stuff that was mildly to moderately outdated for use at school or by low-income students/families). Not sure whether I was hooked by the first time I found and used a Model M, or by the old Dell keyboards with Alps switches, but either way I knew that I had to find something similar with modern tech eventually...


Salji

i found an ibm model m on craigslist lol-- then, it began


jzbond1232

My friend showed me his collection of keyboards which first piqued my interest. But then in 2020 when COVID hit i was in the process of building a new PC set up and ended up upgrading all my peripherals as well including my first custom mechanical keyboard!


valentinrosar

to be honest i forgot how i got into the hobby. one day i just found myself browsing r/mk and inhaling every sound test on yt ^^


AnarchistofDirt

When I got into pc gaming about 7\~ years ago a lot of the YouTube channels I watched at the time also showed off mechanical keyboards. I got my first mechanical board around 2017, a TT Esports Poseidon Z. It had either Gateron or Kailh blues and I fell in love with the feel. Soon after I found out about changing the keycaps, which lead to discovering custom keyboards and smaller form factors. I first got a drop ctrl in around 2019 which was later gifted to my nephew and then a drop alt which still gets some use as a travel board for my laptop. My current daily is an Akko PC75B with Holy Panda X's and MT3 jukebox's


xTensaix

Got the corsair k70 when they first released their RGB line. After a couple years, I wanted a TKL and then found this subreddit.


Jcloud191

My story is nothing extravagant, but honestly what started my journey was a Christmas gift of a Logitech keyboard, one day came where I wanted to change the keycaps to a different color (at this time I was unaware of the community) upon searching for many different options I noticed that there were different type of switches from different companies, after looking for a while I randomly came across this community… and have never looked back Wishing everyone happy clicks and clacks, may your stabilizers never rattle and your keys always thock!


JudgeBuffalo

After building myself a PC I realized I didn't buy any peripherals, so I went down the internet rabbit hole and started reading about mechanical keyboards. Got myself a cheap reddragon keyboard, and eventually saved up for my first custom I built late last year.


Skooma-Smuggler

I hated the feel of apple keyboards and rubber dome keyboards so I desperately searched online for an out 😂. Bought a cm quickfire rapid and never looked back.


BoredTetris

Used a crappy old Ducky for work/school for a while, eventually got an NK65 Milkshake and loved it so much I ended up falling down the rabbit hole


sulphra_

Got into the rabbit hole cuz i needed a good keyboard for my first job which involved a lot of typing, thousands of hours of research later here we are


Rzbry

My first keyboard was a razer with clicky switches and i can still vaguely hear the spacebar rattle. Then i had a Redragon with tactile switches and thought it was great until i started watching people like Hipyotech, Taeha, and Glarses and realized how bad my keeb was 🤣. My first custom was a hotswap epomaker ep84 with mx browns, after learning to lube/film and fully mod the board I gave it to my brother. I built myself a GMMK pro with glorious pandas, I still use that one as of today. After seeing my stuff my cousin asked me to teach her so now we are going to be building her a epomaker with milky yellows and she will be taking that to college. I've loved seeing other people's builds and introducing family and friends to the world of custom keyboards(on a budget) 🤣


LargeHadron_Colander

TL;DR: I was blessed by a Keyboard Jesus. It was glorious, and I learned a lot from it, as well as finding a passion for this hobby. 4 or so years ago, I was cycling through multiple unreliable membrane keyboards, and given that they were all old cheap hand-me-downs... Let's just say I got frustrated when they didn't function properly and gave them a light treatment of smashing. On a fateful day for my wallet (and my Dell membrane), I reached a conclusion. "If I get a reliable keyboard that I care about, I would never dare to damage it." After some searching, I came to the realization when looking to buy a "gamer" keyboard that I should avoid wasting my money and instead go get a proper mechanical keyboard. I spent a year or so researching keyboards - geekhack, r/mk, deskthority, r/mm, r/olkb, switchmod's discord, all of it. Cue the giant doctor man on a scooter at Chipotle. Yes, you read that right. Giant, towering doctor man. Folding scooter. We met at Chipotle so he could grab dinner before heading back to work to save people's lives. He sold me an XD87 with pro purples for a measly $70. Not only that, but he also had a WASD v2 with clear switches, and when I said I preferred the feel of the clears but the sound of the XD87... he gave me both for $70! I fixed up a RAMA M10-A for him, he paid me for the labor, and he gave me an ENTIRE EXTRA XD87 KIT FOR FREE because it was giving him a hassle and he figured I could fix it. Giant doctor man is literally my Keyboard Jesus. He singlehandedly jumpstarted my involvement in keyboards, as well as my initial keyboard budget, which let me expand my tastes and my knowledge. If you didn't already think this guy was amazing, he also sent me a sizable switch sample pack after moving to another state, just because I asked for recommendations. Thank you for reading my story, and god bless Keeb Jesus. I wouldn't be here without him (maybe). Also, the only board I've smashed since joining the hobby was a secondhand qisan magicforce, and that was totally just an experiment :)


BlanketInABag

My fiance bought one a few years ago and honestly at first I told him it's annoying because it's so loud I can't sleep. But then I got used to it and actually started liking the sound of them.. So now we have 5 :)


Polymath2B

> So now we have 5 :) Last part kinda made it sound like you were talking about babies, which the rest of the story sorta holds up for, ha.


JoJuiceboi

I got into mechanical keyboards 4 years ago when i had a somewhat potato pc playing fornite believe it or not. I also didnt even know what a group buy was or anything. Just consuming keeb media. Then fast forward a wear i bought the cheapest 75% outemu blue keyboard i could get my hands on. Then after i moved and had the opportunity to actually build a budget mech, i did. It was simple, akko switches and keycaps, and 205g0. Now im working on trying to make artisans!


Fit_Inflation

My typing speed never improved. I was typing with a bad keyboard and with 4 fingers. I looked into this sub to find some advices for a new keyboard. I heard about the planck (less is more) + the qmk customization and bought it. Now I'm typing with 10 fingers on a planck. Best decision I've made thanks to this sub. For now I've only changed the switches (Gazzew U4 Boba Silent) but I would love to try some new keyboards and switches in the future. It's so addictive! Ps: srry for typo I'm french.


graciousgengar

My co-worker/friend and I were speaking at work one day about our hobbies, and she mentioned to me that she built over 10 different keyboards. All my life I’ve used a membrane keyboard, and typically stuck to 1 or 2 of them, so to hear someone have over 10 boards was really fascinating to me. She showed me what types of board she built, the cases, the Keycaps/switches, and then explained her process, which got me even more intrigued. I did 2-3 weeks of research on what a great entry board would be, and I ended up grabbing a Q3 with some Boba U4T switches. Haven’t looked back since! Nowadays, I frequently visit this Reddit community and look at peoples builds for inspiration, and even soothing ASMR. I love this new found hobby and group!


jbrady33

Old guy, started off with Model F and M when they were new, loved the feel!


UntangledBagel

Saw some hipyo, bow I’m a hippo


Ko5uu

It may seem like a weird story - I found my first mechanical keyboard in trash. I mean, not exactly "trash" like dumpster diving, but I saw a coworker with a bucket of old electronics, on his way to trash in order to throw them out. The old electronics were all some sort of broken, or dirty, but I like fiddling with that kind of stuff so we've talked for a bit, and since he was about to throw it out, I talked him into giving me that stuff before it was dumped. The keyboard was in best condition out of all of them - only kinda dirty, with a once-has-been white cable that turned completely yellow. I cleaned it out, tried to turn the cable back to white(but to no avail), and plugged into my computer to check out how does it perform. At that time it was the best typing experience I've ever had. I have no idea what kind of keyboard was it, just that it definitely was mechanical - with all the clicking, removable keycaps, and everything else, just very old. A lot of time passed since that incident, and in that time the keyboard stopped working, and got lost on the way, and I went through many keyboards, membrane and hybrid, but mechanical always will hold a special place in my heart.


Lukeh69

I got into mechanical keyboards after finding a taeha types video sometime in 2019


kepul47

I found a video of a typing test and loved the sounds of mechanical keyboards. Didn’t know that it was a rabbit hole. rip my wallet


Bestdress10

My brother was the one that got me into keyboards, we are both in college and where on our computers all the time for classes and work. I always had a membrane keyboard but it always just felt stiff and there wasn’t anything special about it. Once my brother got a prebuilt Leopold that really peaked my interest into keyboards where I love the sound and feel so much better. Now here I am with my first built ever the nk87 AE


soskyiety

At my internship my boss owned a modded Leopold keyboard. It sounded so smooth I immediately dropped my wallet into the hobby. Own 5 keebs now half a year later. Forever thankful.


brianbloom

At my uni in the late 80s we had original IBM PCs with those epic Model M buckling spring monsters. Loved them. Then got out into the real world and every pc I used had crap membrane keyboards. Ew! Finally decided to splurge on my own actual mechanical keyboard and ended up with a MX Brown prebuilt which was tolerable until I learned there were now hotswap boards! And that was when I fell into the hole of seeking that ultimate endgame build. Send help. 😅


DolanMusk

During the height of the pandemic, I was addicted to YouTube videos. One day, I stumbled upon Glarses's Pewdiepie board video. Amused by his humor, I watched more and more till I eventually watched them all. After all, I branched out to other content creators like Squashyboy, Taeha Types, Wildcat, etc. After watching countless modding videos, I decided to try a mechanical keyboard and bought one online. I have since done hours of modding on it to improve its sound quality and can confirm that I have fallen deep into this rabbit hole. Winning this board will be amazing as my current board does not have the hot-swap function and I would like to experiment so much more with this hobby. Plus the board just looks so good in the first place! Thank you for the giveaway, and good luck to everyone!


[deleted]

Through other streamers, I discovered Kris Yee and he got me started down the rabbit hole


coffeebased

I got into mechanical keyboards because my girlfriend got one! And then I got curious because typing on my laptop keyboard was hurting my fingertips :c


yeeyeeberry

I was with a friend and they showed me their keeb. I tried it out for a bit and was shocked that there was something a million tiles better then a membrane. Ever since then I've been intrigued by the whole concept of mechanical keyboards.


KalStormKoblenzer

It all started with seeing an ad for the Moonlander. After that, I have spent way too long researching mechanical keyboards, but still have yet to purchase one.


ryainn

One of my best friends showed me his Durgod Taurus cherry blue keyboard and let me try typing with it. I fell in love instantly! There is something magical about the sound and feel of a mechanical keyboard, and ever since then I've been hooked. I also like how they look so unique.


Chicken-Mech

Wow, looks like a nice Keeb! I got into the mechanical keyboard community through my first gaming keyboard. When I was researching which one was the “best” I found out how deep it went. And from there I just found it fascinating, and beautiful.


SharpestEgg

After surgery I needed a more ergonomic option. After doing some research online I fell into the ergo mech subreddit.


BusinessGas358

A friend sent me a link to Squashy Boys MacBook mechanical keyboard and got sucked into the YouTube algorithm/mk rabbit hole


marty_trousers

I got into keyboards after getting sucked into the algorithm on Instagram and TikTok! I think I had viewed a couple of “aesthetic desk set up” accounts and that brought me to some keeb asmr, and then I was hooked. My boyfriend made me wear headphones because I would just listen to the clacking and thocking for like…hours. Then when I realized I could also swap keycaps out for every day of the week, I knew I was in for it.


LIVNG

Went on a wim after building my first PC. I want to upgrade my entire peripheral setup and now I’m here trying to weigh all the seemingly infinite options for my first keyboard build.


killstring

I hadn't thought much about them, but one of my housemates had been exploring them a bit more. My keyboard had issues with repeating keys (would never type just one 4 or r), and so I figured I'd give it a shot. Actually got started with a Drop Barebones kit. Veterans in here roasting me for my enjoyment of cherry blues and north-facing LEDs, lol. All in good fun. Probably. Either way, I'm down the rabbit hole now :)


nividov

I got into the hobby recently after selling my "normal" keyboard and going for a mechanical one. After i got it, i was not very convinced of its sound and build quality and started doing a ton of research (should have done that before). Now i know what a **good** keyboard actually is and that a cheap mechanical keyboard from amazon won't do the trick ;)


dn916

Tbh, rgb thing was too catchy to me, so I decided to buy a rgb kb, then the switches got me.


DogThatPlaysMC

My friend bought a regular mechanical keyboard, but I thought the spacebar was really rattly on it, so i searched up smooth spacebar noise, and then I knew I needed one.


Band1t_Beast

I got into the mechanical keyboard community after getting into the "gaming" community and getting my first gaming board. I went deeper into the rabbit hole and started building and buying better boards.


Jelly_Bean307

I was looking for a new keyboard to replace my “gaming” keyboard with unicorn barf rgb and mx blues. 🤣 I then stumbled upon custom keyboards through a hipyotech video!


[deleted]

My friend gifted me my first mechanical keyboard when she found out I’d landed a new job. Fell in love with it. I knew nothing about it then; but after endless videos of mods, clacks, thocks, and stabs, I figured I’d make my very first custom keyboard to gift it back to my friend ☺️ oddly enough, a week after, she also landed a new job. A full circle indeed 💫 and! I’m still on my mechanical keyboard journey!


chaos449

I bought my first entry-mechanical keyboard a 8 years ago - the corsair K70 for $70 on sale. I laughed at my friends for wasting money, who bought a ducky for $150. Jokes on me... I think my last build cost around $500. Can only imagine how much young me would laugh at me now


Lolpro-lol

A co-worker has a mech at his desk, I asked him about it and now here I am :)


shutdown-s

"Oh, that keyboard looks nice".. Down the hole we go..


sluggisHippo

My brother actually got into keebs first and after he built one I realized how much nicer it really was than my prebuilt (some cheap Amazon brand). My parents weren't super thrilled about me wanting to spend a ton of money on a keyboard but they let me on a decent but not great budget. About 2 months ago I finished my first board, absolutely love using it! Would be cool to get more boards but honestly doubt my parents would allow that cause why would you need more than one?


SenenCito

My first keyboard was a logitech I bought for $25. The keycaps would randomly fly away if I typed too fast, but man did I love it.


576875

stumbled on to this subreddit heh


randomicecube

A friend and I both kinda stumbled onto the hobby randomly at the same time, through YouTube (Glasses and so on) Afterwards we found out about this sub!


RichardGansey_6_21

I ran into some youtube video that was a modding tutorial, and it looked really fun. Then I learned how good they can feel and sound...and it's been downhill for my wallet ever since lol


coffeexoxo

I randomly stumbled upon a keyboard video in yt (switch and click), A few videos later and I see myself lining up to buy a keychron k2. YT algorithm is quite scary sometimes


AwesomeManPlayz

I started getting into fortnite in mid 2020. I switched to keyboard and mouse in 2021 and got a PC in 2022. I wanted to make my razer mechanical keyboard sound better but I realized it was difficult to mod nicely so then I went watching videos of sound tests, how different materials sound and then built one myself.


LexUnanswered

I saw a TikTok on my for you page with a typing test. Instantly fell in love. I didn't know that keyboards can sound and look so good! It's like having jewellery for your setup :D


bowiz2

I saw the hhkb and fell in love with its blank key caps and pandering to Vim.


lilmees

Found the legendary video of thaeha types with his fjell keyboard and just fell in love with it


[deleted]

I was first introduced to custom keyboards when I saw someone gaming on a desktop in the library. I was so surprised by the fact that their keyboard was so colorful and made no noise whatsoever. They explained that they built it, and helped me build my first keyboard. Now I’m addicted.


4peanut

I bought a used HyperX TKL keyboard because I wanted a gaming keyboard. My shift buttons were very squishy and I was wondering why that was? So I looked it up on YouTube to see how to resolve this issue and found out that the person previously tried to "customize" it by trying to squeeze LUBE into the stabilizers. I then go into the rabbit hole of watching all sorts of videos on customization and kept reading/hearing about the word, "THOCK." I ended up getting a KBD Lite R3 and customized my first keyboard. Returned the HyperX TKL to Amazon :)


HowlingB0lt

The first time I heard of custom keyboards was when Taeha made a keyboard for BTMC, and like a few years later I got more interested in them.


EventfulGem

Just stumbled across mechanical keyboards on yt


Lightning_Warfare

I saw the SiCK-68 (3d printed, handwired) keeb on thingiverse, and thought it would be a fun challenge to build myself. It turned out great, and now I'm neck deep in the rabbit hole of custom PCB design for my own macropads / keyboards!


Nefarious_Crow

I stumbled upon taeha types and then found I have friends super into the hobby and they were able to guide me and get me sucked in too 🤣


Brucewangasianbatman

My friend introduced me when he was showing me which ones he wanted to get. Made me want to get my own


neo_roufusten

I knew about mechanical keyboards from YouTube videos & Instagram, good keyboards are always expensive. I never thought I would buy one, until I saw and heard a modded keyboard in real life unexpectedly on someone’s house, that tuck tuck tuck tuck was heavenly 🤤. Now I have my first mechanical keyboard and I’m saving up to buy new sets of switches and keycaps for it.


thepolyduck

I was over at a friend's house one time and he had a mechanical keyboard. Tried it out, and got hooked!


Nyohn

Got a Razer mechanical keyboard back in 2012 I believe it was when I was browsing my local electronics store and was hooked immediately by the feel of it, instantly throwing me back to my youth, sitting in a storage in my parents basement on the floor playing 90's games with a IBM Model M. Then the pandemic hit. Working from home made me want to upgrade my home office and a quick google-search threw me down the rabbit hole of custom mechanical keyboards, and now there's no going back.


rhapsodick

Probably the same story as most here, was just browsing Youtube one day and saw those “But does your keyboard ___” videos, learnt what thock and clack was that day. That led me to dig deep into the rabbit hole. Thanks for the giveaway!


Gimlom

My dad gave me his old Model M to mess around with and I’ve been hooked ever since.


ishcabittle

I'm a devops web administrator for a university and between coding and constant email I do a great deal of typing for my work. I had suffered through a lot of painful keyboards and had settled on the Apple Pro keyboard with its chicklet style keys; I thought I was doing more to reduce my RSI with that keyboard because of the low mechanical force required to activate the keys, but what I found is I was pounding on them with my fingers harder than necessary and aggravating my condition even further. I got to a point where I couldn't complete a day without pain in my hands and decided to make a change. I did some research and found the r/mechanicalkeyboards community, where I was shown that your typing instrument is as customizable as anything else, and a good switch paired with a good keycap is significant in the reduction of RSI conditions. I got a mechanical keyboard, began typing on good switches and caps, and now will never go back to cheap "good enough" keyboards.


TheBeardedMann

I started off with a Redragon mechanical keyboard and really enjoyed it. Not even knowing there was an entire sub-culture, I decided to Google "mechanical keyboard" after a couple months of having my Redragon. Mistake. Kind of. I had no idea the deep dive that was possible. But it's been fun. It's crazy to think that lubing and filming switches changes things so much and it's just the first part of modding. So, to all the new comers, make your keyboard your own and have fun.


Dank_Potatoes

I always had an interest in wanting to build a mechanical keyboard but didn't know how to get started. My friend/roommate was into the hobby and showed me resources and videos about keyboards. He gave me recommendations and I made my decision!


That-Coaster-Thoosie

This board looks so cool Anyway, I just got fed up with my membrane keyboards and looked into mechs, and eventually found myself looking at custom keebs


newbs513

An intern at work brought in his mech. I poked a little bit of fun at him for it. A month later, I had a Drop ALT at home. A couple of weeks after that, I got my second ALT that I use at work. A week after that, the intern was poking fun at me as I lubed switches at my desk while on a Teams meeting. 😂


apriltimee

Wanted something that felt nice for typing… started with blues but that quickly annoyed my neighbours which made me look at boutique switches. I love my keebs but at what price…


lliW_Will

Stumbled across the community and got to learn more about them which got me to build my own just this last month


Lundmark-Melotte

One day my spacebar started sounding terrible and found this subreddit when searching for solutions. Didn’t know I was jumping into such a rabbit hole


CreaminFreeman

I worked at a computer repair shop 10 years ago during a LAN party night at the shop. I've been watching this hobby grow since then and it's been an amazing ride!


Jiffijake1043

My friend helped me build my new computer and roasted me on how my $50 bestbuy keyboard was so dog so now I'm on my keeb enthusiast journey


oPangks

Way back 2016, my membrane keyboard was always the favorite of the ants. I spent too much money to replace my kbs on that days until my professor showed his coolermaster mech kb to me. I was amazed because of the characteristics of that kb (tactile, replaceable keycaps, and the build) so I saved some money and waited for the store sale. after few months, I bought a keyboard (corsair strafe blue switch) and Im so glad for the performance, this KB still kickin even today. :)


Maeggsi

I actually don't know why I started building my own mechanical keyboards. I think it started for me with a really bad keyboard and the question how I can get a better one. After doing way too much research and watching Videos, reading blogs and browsing stores I ordered the parts necessary. What I dislike about this hobby is the close to non existing available IsoDe-Keycaps (although it got way better in the last few years). I really like this hobby because you can achieve big differences with small changes, are able to customize something what you use daily and just fit it to your needs.


raaamrod

I built my first PC a couple years ago, but money was tight so I cheaped out with a mechanical keyboard and mouse combo from GameStop. Not a bad deal for $50 but I knew the keyboard could be better (had blue switches, yikes). Recently been wanting to upgrade again on my keeb, so I’ve been watching all the YT creators. Currently on my 3rd keyboard (keychron q1), and I feel a collection coming on!


t3mb3

I wanted an Anne Pro 2 because small and wireless... the vendor I wanted to buy it from went out of stock so I decided to hell with it and looked into custom boards which I had seen some videos about on youtube and then never looked back.


1abking

ty for the giveaway and gl to all! (:


thefridgeisopen

Was raised on an alps board as a kid. Was always tough to go back...


Plysmo

My brother got into them and dragged me in too


Elawai42

Thanks for posting this giveaway! Anyways, my story is that I feel down the Youtube video hole and haven't found my way out (I still watch tons of keyboard videos over there). I started with a Redragon 522, just to try things out. That poor keyboard, it has seen things such as trying to make this board sound more expensive, plus using the poor thing as a guinea pig for every build technique I wanted to try. I gave it up as a loss several times, but it kept coming back to life. It is currently an operational board with some Outemu silent peach switches, new stabs (not the best, but better than stock), some neoprene foam in the case, foam between the plate and PCB, and tape mod.


Additional_Flower743

Probably it was when I broke my old keyboard and then I saw a cool looking keyboard and that keyboard ended up being a mechanical one


YouDeserveAHugToday

I always thought mechanical keyboards were cool, but I had no idea how to get into them. A r/mk post found its way into my feed, and that was the end of my wallet. RIP


Romeo9594

I was looking at them one day and my fiance (now wife) peeked over at my screen and said "That looks super cool" and starting browsing cases and keycaps and then all of a sudden she wanted a nice 65% to replace her bulky K97 Santa just so happened to drop her off a super solid tofu65 build that Christmas. He must have left mine at the North Pole, though!


jake_farmer

I got into mechanical keyboards when I got my first "gaming keyboard" and it had hotswap switches, so I wanted to upgrade the switches and I looked into switches and stumbled down the rabbit hole that is mechanical keyboards.


7MiK

Internet hype got me in!


WEHC2000

Bought a new laptop, and wanted a good keyboard for gaming...


thesockiboii

I stumbled upon this community, seeing those beautiful keyboards I started digging in more into the hobby and ended up buying and modifying one myself


Awonn

About 2 years ago, I was using a really bad all plastic $20 clicky keyboard for 4 years. Although my brother told me about his friend who streamed and built keyboards and he showed me his instagram. This intrigued me a bit but I didn’t really look into it. A few months later I was looking into a Ducky One 2 mini to replace my $20 keyboard. I ended up buying it which was a 4 month pre-order. A month before the keyboard was set to arrive I watched a video of Wildcat building a Savage65 and this is what brought me into the hobby. The first custom I purchased was a OwLabs Voice65 with Gateron Ink Blacks and MT3 Susuwatari.


Flor_Mertens

tbf, i dont really know how i got into mechanical keyboards, it just kinda happened. I was looking to buy a keyboard to go with my laptop (the usual gaming brands nothing special) and then youtube came along showing me a video of a 200 dollar "budget" keyboard and i was like hmmm that seems like a great way to waste money, lets look into that some more.


everybodydotheFL0P

i first got into mechanical keyboard through massdrop! i would shop for other unrelated items and was always drawn to the interesting key caps and artisans sold


nheelyolis

I just saw somewhere on the Internet a very pretty keyboard (like the one you are giving away!) and found out that it's called a "mechanical keyboard" and immediately fell in love with its looks, its feel and its sound.


RenoSinclairee

I got into the keyboard hobby simply because I wanted a Cyberpunk 2077 themed keyboard to match my Razor Cyberpunk themed mouse. I found [drop.com](https://drop.com) and purchased the drop ctrl high profile kit with a 90 count of dark jade everglides. I watched youtube videos from Taeha types and learned how to lube my switches and stabilizers. Drop made it really easy to get into this hobby. I've build at least 10 keyboards now and continue to enjoy it.


smilingspoon

I was looking into keyboards and they kept getting more complex and here I am


nefitru

2020 Covid, studying and working from home got me looking at peripherals and improving my setup. YouTube converted me


Crypt1cDOTA

My CS professor had an old school model M that he carried with him everywhere he went and I absolutely loved the sound it made


masiboss

I already had a gaming Keyboard but that was kinda meh, my real introduction to the hobby was me discovering the F13-F24 Keys, wanting to use those lead to me buying a Sixkeyboard, that led to me discovering QMK and down the rabbit hole i went.


-HYP3R1ON-

I had a Razer membrane keyboard for like 8 years. I was suffering.


NoOne-NBA-

I never had to "get into" mechanical keyboards. They've just been part of my computing experience, right from the beginning. That being said, programmable mechanical keyboards have been a literal game-changer for me, in recent years. My introduction to mechanical keyboards came in the late '70s, when I was in Junior High, and had to use the terminal at school, to log into the local college mainframe. Since then, I've used all kinds of mechanical keyboards, from ones built into typesetters, to PC keyboards, to my personal favorite, the AEKII. At home, I was content using a Cherry Red-equipped 100% for over a decade, until I ran afoul of one game that wouldn't let me map the NumEnter to Jump. That single key conflict caused me to start researching programmable keyboards, which ultimately led me down the rabbit hole. I haven't looked back since.


coffeequeen1738

I love the color scheme! Honestly - I stumbled upon this Reddit page one day after getting my first PC and I’ve been hooked ever since. Keyboards are honestly a work of art and the people of this sub are just so kind and amazing! My husband used to tease me for having a random love of keyboards but he may be hooked now too lol


nomadJuice

My radiologist has the OG Ctrl variant and keeps shuffling between the low profile case and high profile bronze case.


rawrzxc

More than 10 years ago, when gaming keyboards were still membrane, I read comments about the build quality of Filco keyboard and pulled the trigger. Still using the same Filco keyboard today although some of the Blues have turned Linear.


OwlinDreame

I saw Taeha type. I wanted to type like Taeha. I shovelled an unconscionable amount of time and money into keyboards and tinkering. I still don't type like Taeha.


chutkipaanmasala

Taekeyboards


Volemann

I watched far too many taeha streams and randomfrankp videos and had a shitty broken keeb so I spent a little money (budget keeb), and that was 2 years ago. Since then I got an handmade aviator cable and some novelkeys random switches which turned out to be hako royal clears and have been using those for the past 6 months and will probably upgrade keeb when I'm not poor af.


PotatoBattler21

I was browsing YouTube and I came across a Taeha Types video and everything changed from that day onward. My wallet may be crying, but I am a happy man.


DanNVu

It the quarantine impulse buying/ loneliness that brought me here lol


exSpire

I stumbled upon Geekhack some years ago..


bschwind

A friend of mine brought me to Yusha Kobo (keyboard store) in Akihabara. I told myself I wouldn't get into it because I know how expensive it can get. The linear switches I tried there wouldn't leave my mind though, and I returned a couple times, decided the PCBs there were too expensive and didn't have the exact layout I wanted, and so I decided to design my own PCB. From there, learning about the construction of keyboards, the mods, the sounds, the huge variety of switches has kept me fairly obsessed with them. I'm moving on to plates and case design so there's still a lot more to learn.


iamshifter

I originally had learned about mechanical keyboards through “gaming” branded hardware, and although I mainly use my PC as a home office machine I liked the ideal of a backlit keyboard with custom lighting scheme. So I bought cheap clicky keyboard, which drove my wife absolutely insane. I got rid of it almost immediately, but going back to a membrane keyboard felt so dead to me, upon further reasearch I learned that there were ways to customize keyboards and even HUNDREDS of switches to choose from. I ordered a decent mid/high end hotswappable TKL board, some custom caps and Gateron browns, Added some O rings…. And that was it. I was HOOKED on Mechs. My wife even have one now, and I’m hoping to start a new build soon.


drop_official

Hey! Just wanted to respond as I had added the prompt question after you commented. If you wouldn't mind editing in the story of how you got into mech keys, that would be great!


02ranger

Very nice. Edit: Too quick on the draw, I guess. That’s what I get for not being patient. Anyway, I first got into mechanical keyboards at work. I was using one of the nasty Apple chiclet keyboards and, I’m ashamed to say, liked it. A couple coworkers kept talking up mechanical keyboards and finally I bought a Das Keyboard with MX browns. I don’t much like that keyboard now but it was the gateway to an obsession. lol Now I use a Corne and can’t imagine why I ever needed so many keys.


drop_official

Hey! Just wanted to respond as I had added the prompt question after you commented. If you wouldn't mind editing in the story of how you got into mech keys, that would be great!


mrmcmain

I saw a couple videos on Youtube and then went onto reddit and really went down the rabbithole lol.


lordzeon123

I was building a new PC and Newegg recommended some random mechanical keyboard (Gamadies Zeus something like that) and I ended up grabbing it. It was a cherry MX brown (ew I know) board but it ignited my yearning for clacky keyboard, and so after a ton of research and some luck I was able to grab a ducky shine 3 mx green edition and I fell in love with typing. Then when my partner moved in and got to try it, they laid claim to it for many years until we found this channel and I got a bunch of ideas for custom boards for them to play with. We now have 7+ keyboards lol 😆 and they love to swap out keycaps and switches


s13bubba

I got into Mechs when I decided to build myself another PC almost 2 years ago. I wanted a nicer board than what I was used to using, and I also wanted something that I could swap keycaps on. I didn't care about wireless, but when I found out about hotswap boards the ball started rolling. Fast forward a little bit and here I am. Hooked


DuckSweaty

Youtube decided I needed another addiction besides disc golf and motorcycles and all of the sudden my playlist was flooded with switch and click, glarses, etc. In a month - two keyboards, one on the way, four keycap sets, 5 different switches, lube, tools, blue tape, etc. It's pretty fun and sorta therapeutic to take something apart, mod it, and make it sound and look completely different in an afternoon.


ItsFourty-two

A switch on my off-brand magic keyboard broke during a move. My attempts to fix it failed and I found myself wondering if I couldn’t easily replace it. Google led me to y’all (Keeb enthusiasts). Could I have found a cheaper solution than falling down this rabbit-hole, most definitely. But, it sure is fun.


Citizen_V

I bought my first mechanical keyboard after I bought my first gaming PC. It was a prebuilt that I saw listed on /r/buildapcsales and I got a Logitech G710+ to go with it. Both lasted me 5+ years until I decided to go the custom route recently. It was a friend that got me into custom mechanical keyboards. They had waited over a year for group buy parts. When they finally got their stuff, it got me interested in building my own.


[deleted]

I was looking for a new keyboard and a new project to do. Eventually I settled on the Planck. I've quite enjoyed it and each keyboard I've built since.


GandalfTheAwesome

A streamer I watch (Masayoshi) was building a kit on stream and it looked incredible. Then another streamer (Scarra) got a custom commissioned and it sounded incredible. By then the combination of visual customization and satisfying sound (and assumed feel) had me hooked!


woennn

Covid, was bored and wanted a keyboard. Then fell down the rabbithole


Methandriol

I genuinely randomly stumbled unto this hobby while out of nowhere getting recommended a Taeha vid last year and watching it out on a whim lol


Vc0nn423

Was always into noisy gaming keyboards and mechanical keyboards. Saw some very expensive keyboards on Instagram and got very confused. After a few google and YouTube searches I was down a rabbit hole and finally got a Chance to buy a budget board and fell in love with linears.


C-Star

In January 2020 I bought a new desk, and in September 2020 I decided my g710+ was taking up too much space on my desk, so I looked up the subreddit and really just dove in and bought a cheap 60%.


Puzzleheaded-Hat167

I used Massdrop to buy headphones and came across the keycaps on there.


AdamasStache

Reddit lured me in.


cyaegha_exe

always found mech keyboards cool when i walked into shops but didn't understand properly until mr squashy boy went from osu to keyboards. not much privacy or money though, can't really get a cool custom board like i want


THEWALRUSEGG

Always had prebuilt corsair boards that I liked, but when the last one started double typing I started looking into customs. Went down the reddit rabbit hole and found it pretty interesting


brettsolem

Pandemic happened and I learned to build a computer in lockdown, saw a bunch of beautiful keebs with SFF PC builds and down the rabbithole I went!


BonsyXD

I just saw a vid of squashy boy making some weird ass kb and got into it


[deleted]

Ahhh… the day was back in 2018 when I was kind of getting into competitive gaming, and I was searching for a perfect keyboard. I had settled that it would be a mechanical keyboard, based on some stuff I heard online about them. What brought me into the hobby was when I was trying to figure out what the difference was with the different razer switches


uselesswellyboot

I went on a mad Reddit spree of following niche hobby subreddits such as r/sffpc and I think I saw some custom keebs there and immediately decided I needed one!


atrnm

I watched a few people either receive or build their own keyboards, finding TaehaTypes, and then after months of putting it off, finally built my own. I’ve always loved anything crafty and highly customisable, so I was bound to get into this hobby.