While many people joined the mechanical keyboard hobby over the course of the past couple of years, I’ve been lucky enough to have been around to see all of the changes that have followed this surge in popularity. One of the undeniably best changes that has come about as a result of the COVID-based surge in mechanical keyboards is the sheer quality and number of prebuilt options that are available on the market today. Whereas back when I first started the hobby, you’d pick up something like an Obins Anne Pro, DAS Keyboard, or maybe even a Leopold, there are now at least a dozen different brands I can think of off of the top of my head besides these three which are still around as well. However, it’s at least evident to me that not all of these mechanical keyboards are created equally. Knowing full well that the hobby can be daunting to those just now joining, I suspect that the nuances between some of these brands may not be the most evident. So, let’s go through a quick rundown of...

Image credit @zhugunic https://drop.com/talk/67372/gl-2-k Do I need an amp? What are these acronyms like DAC, DSP, or DSD? What even are all the components that make up an audio chain? Let’s take a beginner’s look at the core, essential building blocks of a digital audio chain, and lay it plain what each piece does. We can cover the major pieces separately, but I’ll still include a few tips to optimize playback here. Please hit the little bookmark button and feel free to check and share this guide whenever you need a reference! For people who need a visual and audible explanation, or are worried it would take too long to get a working knowledge of the audio chain, here is my YouTube video on this subject that is just 7 minutes long!  I like writing though, so let’s get started with an overview, then break it down into what each piece does and how an upgrade would benefit the final sound quality. Signal Path Image credit @SpeleoFool https://drop...

Hey DKC! We’re rolling out a new site feature, and wanted to give Drop Keyboard Club members an early look at how it works (with a bonus giveaway for DKC members who try it out 😉).  What’s this about a giveaway? More details can be found at the end! The short version: we will be giving away two $100 Drop Rewards credits to participating DKC members who contribute and tag their photos to the DKC Lounge Battlestations section during the first week!  THE PRIZES: Both winners described above will win the same prize—$100 of Drop Rewards issued to their account after the giveaway concludes! What is Product Tagging in Photos? Product tagging allows you to tag any products in a Photo post—both those found on Drop currently, as well as write-ins that will be manually approved and allow you or others to request new products that we don’t yet carry.  With the feature starting out as a DKC exclusive, it will only be available to DKC members. For this early access period, please make your...

As we publish more articles in the "Mech Keys How-To" series currently ongoing, navigating the various topics and finding previous articles will only become more difficult. This thread will serve as a table of contents to help add some structure to the whole project. Feel free to also suggest future topics in this thread, as it will surely be easier to identify gaps and opportunities for further exploration when viewing everything as a whole. Mechanical Keyboards Introductory Topics Mechanical vs Membrane Sizes and Layouts of Mechanical Keyboards Staggered and Ortholinear Layouts Low-Profile vs High-Profile Keyboard Designs Build Materials and Other Case Design Considerations Selecting Your First Mechanical Keyboard (The_Manic_Geek) Keycaps Keycap Materials Keycap Profiles How To Design a GMK Keycap Set (GMK_Andy) The GMK Color Matching Process (GMK_Andy) Switches Introduction to Mechanical Keyboard Switches (ThereminGoatMK) The Three Main Types of Switches...

The multitude of options available in the mechanical keyboard world can be extremely daunting for a newcomer to the hobby. This article (and subsequent posts) will explore the various aspects to consider, along with a brief analysis of those key factors.  Topics include:  Size/Layout (you are here) Staggered vs Ortholinear Low-Profile vs High-Profile Build Quality Size and Layout General Size and Layout considerations If you’re new to mechanical keyboards, chances are your current or old keyboard is a standard full-size membrane keyboard. This layout and form factor has probably worked well enough for you until now, so you might be wondering - why should I need a smaller keyboard or a different layout at all? For most people there are two main reasons to deviate from the tried-and-true full-size keyboard layout; ergonomics and aesthetics (primarily minimalism).  40% and Smaller Image credit: @davephoto If you’re particularly hardcore about minimizing desk space usage...

Among life’s great questions—Why do we exist? What is the key to happiness? Where is the remote?—stands one that continues to vex music lovers and newcomers to the audiophile community: What is an amp? How It Works Lots of us might have a basic idea of what an amp does, but exactly how it functions (and the many benefits it can provide) are larger questions worth considering. The word amp is derived from the latin word amplificare, which means “to expand” or “to enlarge.” The basic function of an amplifier is to increase the power of a signal by taking energy from a power supply and converting it to a larger amplitude—therefore boosting that signal. When sound is recorded, an electrical signal is generated through a series of vibrations and fluctuations in air pressure. First, sound waves move a microphone diaphragm back and forth, and the microphone converts that movement into an electrical signal. Then, a recorder encodes that signal as a pattern in a certain format...

If you’re just now stepping into the world of custom mechanical keyboards, or trying to expand your switch catalogue for upcoming builds, all of the phrases you may see on a switch sales page can be confusing. Where more seasoned keyboard veterans might scoff at me for making a claim like this, I can assure you that even after having purchased thousands of switches myself I still come across new, strange ways of vendors trying to sell me switches. While I don’t have the space here to go through every single one of the quirky selling gimmicks I’ve seen over the years, I figure it might be worthwhile to give a loose guide to help people out. So, in this article I’m going to cover the things that you need to both look for and ignore when buying your next set of switches! Type and Manufacturer Image Credit: @BMa1 While this may seem an incredibly obvious suggestion to be made as something to look out for it, it isn’t entirely without merit. To new people coming into the...

Hey everybody! Thank you for purchasing your Drop CTRL Mechanical Keyboard. We hope you’re enjoying it so far. If you’ve landed here, you probably want to take full advantage of the keyboard’s features so you’ve come to the right place. We’ll start with the basics, then we’ll move on to complete custom configuration. THE BASICS Default Hot Keys Hold FN + listed keys to activate LED Keys Fn + A: LED Pattern - Select previous Fn + D: LED Pattern - Select next Fn + Q: LED Pattern - Decrease scrolling speed (for animating patterns) Fn + E: LED Pattern - Increase scrolling speed (for animating patterns) Fn + Caps Lock: LED Pattern - Change scrolling direction (left to right, right to left, bottom to top, top to bottom, radial center to edge, radial edge to center) Fn + W: LED - Increase brightness Fn + S: LED - Decrease brightness Fn + Tab: LED - Toggle breathing effect Fn + X: LED - Toggle all LEDs off/on Fn + Z: LED - Toggle mode (keys + edge, keys only, edge only, all...