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Posted in Mechanical Keyboards
kevbruh
0
Nov 30, 2025
cstm80 spacebar stabilizer size offset sucks
i had to torch up a hot end of a nail and create some pressure to get them to stick. black friday moments. diy vibes
u can use a soldering iron too but they should make those stabilizers more tight but other than that the keyboard has been one of the milkiest ive ever had.
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Posted in Battlestations

triptrishul
0
Nov 26, 2025
Best Kedarnath Tour Package for a Seamless Spiritual Journey
Planning a pilgrimage to the divine Kedarnath Temple becomes effortless with our well-designed Kedarnath tour package. Starting from Haridwar or Rishikesh, this package ensures a smooth, comfortable, and spiritually enriching journey through the majestic Himalayas. From transport arrangements to accommodation and meals, every detail is managed with care so you can focus fully on your devotion. Experienced guides accompany you throughout the trek, offering support, safety tips, and route information. Whether you’re traveling solo, with family, or in a group, the itinerary is crafted to fit your comfort and pace. This package also includes Yatra registration, medical support, and assistance during high-altitude travel, ensuring a safe and memorable pilgrimage experience.
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Posted in Battlestations

favjacket
0
Nov 22, 2025
Sons of Anarchy Vest
The Sons of Anarchy Vest embodies rebellion and brotherhood. Inspired by the iconic TV series, it’s a rugged symbol of loyalty, power, and classic biker style.
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Posted in Drop Hub
rasee31
0
Oct 17, 2025
Keyboard Meetup A Perfect Blend of Music and Creativity
Keyboard Meetup 2025 is an exciting event for music lovers where professionals and beginners come together to share their passion and talent. Join us to learn new techniques, connect with experienced artists, and explore the world of musical creativity. This meetup is the perfect place to enhance your skills, exchange ideas, and be inspired by a community that truly loves music.
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Posted in Mechanical Keyboards

triggidy
9
Oct 8, 2025
Frankenswitching: Creating a Monster
As I sit here surrounded by extracted switch components, I thought I would share a short guide on one of my favorite aspects of the hobby - frankenswitching! If you have never heard the term before it refers to the practice of disassembling factory made switches and then putting the pieces back together in a new configuration to create a custom switch. Like Lego with switch parts. And just like the building blocks, frankenswitches can be configured in limitless ways. In this guide I will go over the history of notable frankenswitches in the community as well as share my own explorations with the intent of helping you to get started creating your own “monsters”.
Please be warned, creating frankenswitches can get very expensive. In most cases, it requires buying multiple switches to create a single frankenswitch. This can double or triple the price of the switch very quickly.
Phoenix stems and Boba U4T housings combined for extreme clickiness.
A Brief History of...
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Posted in Mechanical Keyboards

triggidy
9
Sep 2, 2025
An Introduction to Artisan Collecting
There are so many wonderfully talented people creating artisans. So many amazing sculptors, incredible resin artists, and creators executing very high-quality designs. I myself am a fledgling artisan maker along with my friend, daftprophet. And although we are still learning about the many intricacies of creating keycaps ourselves, I thought I would write up a guide on the subject. Hopefully, this will help you to start creating your own keycaps if you feel so inclined. To start, I am going to go over what artisans are and also the different methods of obtaining them. This is meant as a quick primer to the hobby, but there is so much to learn on this subject. I encourage you to explore further if you find this interesting.
Cold cast artisans. Image courtesy of daftprophet.
What are Artisan Keycaps?
Artisan keycaps are generally tiny sculptures, most often made out of resin, that you can place on your keyboard switches. You will also find “blanks” in standard keycap...
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Posted in Mechanical Keyboards
ThereminGoatMK
558
Aug 26, 2025
When Worlds Collide: The Intersection of Switches and Rubber Domes
As I’ve started out a couple of different articles over the years, I tend to lurk in the help channels of the various keyboard platforms that I am on from time to time. While I do this somewhat to try and help out with any switch questions that are going otherwise unanswered, a larger part of this is so that I can try and keep tabs on what the average consumer feels, thinks, and asks questions about related to keyboards. After all, if suddenly dozens or hundreds of people brand new to the hobby start asking about magnetic switches or what our favorite Hall Effect style keyboards are, it’s probably a sign that this may not just be the flavor of the month for keyboards. And while I could sit and talk about some of these larger trends in community interest that I have seen and am currently seeing developing in the community at large, or line out a list of the most common questions that I come across, I want to spend this article talking about a rare treat that I only encounter every so...
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Posted in Mechanical Keyboards

HubertTheMad
436
Jun 5, 2025
A Primer on Keyboard Foams
Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Which piece of foam stays and which piece of foam goes?
TL;DR
Foam impacts the build process of building a board, sound, and typing feel, but how much or little that impact is depends on a variety of factors.
Foam, especially the 'PE' foam sheet, does tend to give boards that “foamy” sound signature.
There’s nothing wrong with liking a foamy sound, and there’s also nothing wrong with not liking foam either.
Experiment with different types and combinations of foams to figure out what you enjoy!
Article Sections (CTRL + F To Jump To These Sections)
Intro
Disclaimer
Why Use Foam?
Build Process
Sound
Feel
Types of Foam and Dampeners
Conclusion
Intro
“FOAM! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!”
Okay, okay, as you can tell, I’ve had Edwin Starr’s “War” stuck in my head for the past few days. I’m joking of course, because like other aspects of our beloved keyboard hobby, whether you use foam or don’t use foam is a matter of preference. I know you...
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Posted in Mechanical Keyboards

HubertTheMad
436
Apr 9, 2025
Preference and How Not to Sweat the Small Stuff in Our Keyboard Hobby
TL;DR
Many things are subjective in our hobby.
Critical thinking can go a long way. Learn as much as you can.
Find out what you enjoy, and remember that we all enjoy different things.
Don’t take anything personally and don’t worry about what you can’t control.
Remember that there’s another human on the other side of the screen.
At the end of the day, we’re all connected by the love we have for this hobby.
Going to a meetup can remind you why you fell in love with this hobby and is pure happiness!
Article Sections (CTRL + F To Jump To These Sections)
Intro
Disclaimer
What IS Preference?
Figuring Out YOUR Preferences
Why Is Critical Thinking Important?
Where Do Content Creators Fit Into All This?
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff!
Intro
Okay, I know what you’re thinking. What does the main picture have to do with keyboards?
At first glance, absolutely nothing! However, I wanted to set the mood right off the bat. This article (and the picture) is meant to be a...
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Posted in Mechanical Keyboards

HubertTheMad
436
Apr 1, 2025
Group Buys and the Aftermarket - Purchasing Tips
A recent GB that fulfilled for me - GMK Blue Alert R2!
TL;DR
Please exercise caution. This is not a foolproof guide.
If you are hesitant or aren’t comfortable, do not feel like you have to buy or join.
This article is for those who are new to group buys or buying on the aftermarket.
Never feel bad about asking questions.
Be financially responsible and don’t have FOMO.
Research as much as you can. Knowledge is power.
Article Sections (CTRL + F To Jump To These Sections)
Intro
Disclaimer
What Are Group Buys and What Is the Aftermarket?
Group Buy or Aftermarket Purchasing Tips
FOMO and Financial Health
Intro
My "flawless" JRIS65 R1 mechmarket purchase.
“THIS is flawless!?”
When it comes to purchasing items on the aftermarket, whether it be r/mechmarket, the mechmarket discord, eBay, Mercari, or any website where you aren’t buying items that are sold by a vendor directly, it can be a bit daunting to either buy or sell for the first time. There are many written...
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Posted in Mechanical Keyboards
ThereminGoatMK
558
Mar 26, 2025
A Small Plea Against "Switch Harvesting"
First and foremost, I think that it should be said right out of the gate that you are entitled to do whatever you want to do on your own behalf and this article is not a provocation to fight with you about your decisions. However, in my pursuit of wanting to cover as many topics about switches as I possibly can, I realize I have not yet covered ‘switch harvesting’, one of the practices that I’m becoming less favorable towards as the years go on. Rather than trying to cover the history of this in a not so unbiased fashion, I figure I might as well try and convince you all as to why I feel this way about this process. After all, you’ve read my opinions more than once before on this website…
In the earliest days of the custom mechanical keyboard hobby, years which start around 2008 and span to 2012, the vast majority of custom keyboards were built using switches had already had previous lives in other keyboards. Given that there were few if any switch manufacturers selling switches...
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Posted in Mechanical Keyboards

HubertTheMad
436
Mar 4, 2025
How to Become a Keyboard Content Creator Without Burning Out
What DaVinci Resolve looks like usually when editing sound tests.
TL;DR
This article is geared towards beginning content creators or those interested in content creation. If you're a content creation veteran, this may not be useful for you.
These are just my opinions. What may work for me may not work for you!
This is NOT for someone who is focused solely on making money from being a keyboard content creator or to maximize views, likes, or subscriptions.
There is no foolproof strategy for success.
Create, create, create. Take the leap and put out content, even if it isn’t perfect.
Networking is key!
Take Breaks When Needed.
Article Sections (CTRL + F To Jump To These Sections)
Intro
Disclaimer
What IS a Keyboard Content Creator?
The Fear of Failure
How 1: Create, Create, Create
How 2: Find out what YOU enjoy
How 3: Networking
“Mistakes”
How 1 (Create, Create, Create) “Mistakes”
How 2 (Find out what YOU enjoy) “Mistakes”
How 3 (Networking) “Mistakes”
Not Taking...
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Posted in Mechanical Keyboards
ThereminGoatMK
558
Feb 19, 2025
How To Know Too Much About Keyboards
Every now and then, one of the questions I’ll get from a reader of my articles circles around trying to figure out why I know seemingly way too much about mechanical keyboards. “Where did you learn all of this information, Goat?” While having been around as an active part of the community for several years now and talking with other people in various places has certainly helped me learn quite a bit, the simple answer that I usually toss to people who ask that question is that I read… a lot. Yes, that’s right, reading. Given that the modern mechanical keyboard scene started around 2007-2008, and with vintage enthusiasts having interests that stretch multiple decades backwards from there, a lot of the core, fundamental knowledge base of this keyboard community was carved into stone in the form of solo written articles, blog posts, and forum arguments. In fact, I’d go as far as to argue that a good majority of the history and foundational knowledge that makes up this hobby is in the...
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Posted in Mechanical Keyboards

HubertTheMad
436
Feb 9, 2025
Large Boards (Full-Size And Similar) And Why I Love Them
Pikatea Long Boi
TL;DR:
Easy transition to mechanical/custom keyboards from outside of the hobby
Great way to get people into the hobby
Layout for almost every scenario you’d need a keyboard for
Not as common as other layouts, so they tend to garner more attention when released
Full-size layouts influence cool projects
I’d love to continue to see more $150-$350 offerings. CSTM100, perhaps?
Article Sections (CTRL + F To Jump To These Sections):
Intro (Why I Love Full-Size Boards)
Disclaimer
What IS a Full-Size Board?
Reason 1: Easy Transition Into Mechanical/Custom Keyboards
Reason 2: Bigger… Is Better?
Reason 3: The Keyboard Triangle And My Preferences
Aesthetics
Sound
Feel
My Wish(es) For Full-Size Offerings In Our Hobby
Conclusion
Intro:
Okay - you got me. That picture of the Long Boi by Jack/Pikatea is not technically a full-size… But in terms of sheer size, it definitely would classify as one!
Many of us started our typing journeys on a full-size keyboard...
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Posted in Mechanical Keyboards
ThereminGoatMK
558
Jan 29, 2025
What Even Is An "Artisan" Keycap?
Wouldn’t the proper phrasing for these be “artisanal” keycaps and not “artisan” keycaps?
As I was looking through the ‘Mech Keys Guide List’ here on Drop a couple of weeks ago, I was surprised to see that there were effectively no articles detailing arguably one of the most unique and interesting niches of the mechanical keyboard community – artisan keycaps. In fact with each passing day I find myself sinking further and further into the depths of artisan keycaps and have gained an appreciation of them that far surpasses any expectations I could have ever had after getting my very first one. Despite artisan keycaps being fairly ubiquitous in this day and age, and with beginner friendly storefronts like Drop selling alongside prebuilt, accessible mechanical keyboard kits, I still find that those freshly diving into the keyboard hobby have a very skewed (mis)understanding of these kinds of keycaps, why they are priced the way they are, and all of the variety that exist out there...
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Posted in Mechanical Keyboards

HubertTheMad
436
Jan 25, 2025
O-Ring 60% Boards And Why I Love Them
Top Left: CustomNeko (Bakeneko With Through-Weight) With KKB BoW And Accents, Top Right: Cannonkeys Bakeneko60 With GMK Norse, Bottom Left: Ciel60 With KKB Abyss, Bottom Right: Jixte60 With GMK Analog Dreams
“Simplicity is boring, but I still love it.” - Sukant Ratnakar.
When I first got into the hobby back in 2017, there was no way that I would’ve thought that I’d enjoy a 60% layout keyboard. Sure, maybe a 75% (I didn’t use the nav cluster for non-work situations, and when I was at work, I needed a numpad) in order to retain the function row, or, at the very least, a 65% where I had dedicated arrows, but a 60%? Absolutely no way! I need dedicated arrows! I need a function row!
It’s funny how preferences change, huh?
For the next installment in my “Why I Love” series (the first was the “Why I Love Prototype Runs And Helping Keyboard Designers” article I wrote a few weeks back), please allow me a bit of your time to explain to you not only why I love 60% layout keyboards...
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Posted in Mechanical Keyboards

HubertTheMad
436
Jan 13, 2025
Desoldering, Mill-Maxing, and Why You Might Want to Learn Both
Thanks to StoryboardTech’s fantastic article, you finally learned how to solder! Or at least, you’re committed to learning. So, what’s next?
Well, if you’re brave enough, why not learn how to desolder as well? And when you feel confident with that, how about Mill-Max? You don’t necessarily have to know or learn how to solder before learning how to desolder or Mill-max, but in my opinion, getting comfortable with soldering is a great step towards learning how to do the other two, and if you know how to solder, you can practice desoldering and mill-maxing to your heart’s content since you’ll already have the tools from learning how to solder! Well, at least most of the tools.
Let’s start off with the good ol’ disclaimer section first, however.
Disclaimer
These are my own opinions and my own thoughts, and if I’ve learned anything in life, it’s that we all do things in slightly different ways. Whether it be deadlifting, desoldering, Mill-Maxing or even baking...
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Posted in Mechanical Keyboards

HubertTheMad
436
Jan 6, 2025
Keyboard Sound Tests And Room Treatment
Old Picture Of Mics I Used To Have/had Access To A While Back
"Which mic should I buy to record my keyboard sound tests? Do I have to sound-treat my room to make my recordings better? Should I not have my mic attached to the desk I’m typing on to avoid picking up desk noise?"
Whether you’ve had one of these questions or all of these questions (just like me when I first started), I’m hoping that this article will give you sufficient answers to the questions we think about when recording our sound tests.
Like with the majority of my content, these are just my thoughts, and I encourage you to continue to research your questions by watching videos or reading other articles. Just because I give my opinions in this article doesn’t mean that other people’s opinions are wrong, or that you should just listen to me. I'm not an expert at any of this stuff, and I'm just scratching the surface of audio. There is so much that goes into mixing and recording that to pretend that I know...
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Posted in Audiophile

TheDuffer
0
Jan 6, 2025
Right ear keeps cutting out
So I have a PC38x headset that I bought a few years back. I moved away from home for work, and left the headset there with my gaming PC. I used it maybe 2 or 3 times before I left, and it always had the problem of it cutting out in my right ear phone. It makes like a crackling noise like something is loose, and then cuts out the audio entirely. Sometimes it works for a few minutes, but inevitably cuts out on the right side again. I am wondering if there is a fix? Or could I be shipped a new one?
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Posted in Mechanical Keyboards

HubertTheMad
436
Dec 31, 2024
Why I Love Prototype Runs and Helping Keyboard Designers
The Migra TKL Prototype by Thebloodyez
“This is my keyboard. There are many like it, but this one is mine.” - William H. Rupertus.
In another life, if Major General William H. Rupertus, the Marine who coined the United States Marine Creed, had been a keyboard enthusiast, we might've gotten this line instead.
All joking aside, this has been an article that I’ve wanted to write for quite some time. There are many reasons why we love the keyboard hobby, and today, I wanted to introduce you to one of mine—prototype keyboards and helping keyboard designers by joining prototype runs. Now, it’s not risk-free, and one should weigh the pros and cons of joining a prototype run, so I encourage you to pay attention to the disclaimer portion of this article.
I know that there are prototype runs for keycaps, switches, and other cool things in our keyboard hobby, but for this article, I’ll be focusing only on keyboards. Also, please know that not every prototype run will be handled...





















