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Drop CTRL V1 High-Profile Barebones Keyboard

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... / TENKEYLESS (TKL) KEYBOARDS / DIY KEYBOARD KITS / DROP

Drop CTRL V1 High-Profile Barebones Keyboard

Name: Drop CTRL V1 High-Profile Barebones Keyboard
Brand: Drop
SKU: drop-ctrl-high-profile-barebones-keyboard
Price: 200 USD
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 4.206422 (218 reviews)

218

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Product Description

The Drop CTRL High-Profile is just like the original CTRL, but now it comes with a tall CNC-aluminum case that covers the switches. Machined at a 6-degree angle, the case is ergonomically crafted for a natural feel—and it’s quite a bit heavier than before Read More

Review Highlights:

rahulrav

Love it !

Just got my Drop barebones keyboard. I got some Zilents V2 (https://zealpc.net/products/zilents) 67g switches, and Ducky Pudding keycaps. The keyboard looks  & feels amazing !

The only catch with the Zilents switches, is the plastic feet need to be clipped.

bloritsch

It's a chonky boy

I really like the high profile look where the switches aren't as exposed on my old keyboard that wasn't designed for modding.  The aluminum frame is quite beefy, so it isn't going to move around allot.  Hot swap switches mean that you save a lot of time because you don't need to solder.

The hot swap motherboard is designed for 3-hole switches, so the Gateron Aliaz Silent switches I used required removing 2 plastic pegs.  The socket is recessed, so there were multiple times where the soft metal leads of my switches curled in the recess instead of going in the socket.  Using the tweezers from my iFixit kit allowed me to uncurl them from the sides and still use them.

All in all, it's a solid keyboard which let me pick the parts I wanted.  Since this is my first real custom keyboard, I am very happy with the process.

Would recommend to a friend.

See all 218 reviews

Q&A Highlights:

Bd4000

Is this compatible with the Holy pandas?

Frog1591

its compatible with any plate mount switches.

See all 42 questions

Customer Reviews

4.2

(218 reviews)

(111)

(71)

(17)

(8)

(11)

84% would recommend to a friend

By Feature

Sound

SilentLoud

Feel

StiffFlexible

Build Quality

4.6

(5)

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Sort by: Top Reviews

bloritsch

Sep 29, 2021

Verified Buyer

It's a chonky boy

I really like the high profile look where the switches aren't as exposed on my old keyboard that wasn't designed for modding. The aluminum frame is quite beefy, so it isn't going to move around allot. Hot swap switches mean that you save a lot of time because you don't need to solder. The hot swap motherboard is designed for 3-hole switches, so the Gateron Aliaz Silent switches I used required removing 2 plastic pegs. The socket is recessed, so there were multiple times where the soft metal leads of my switches curled in the recess instead of going in the socket. Using the tweezers from my iFixit kit allowed me to uncurl them from the sides and still use them. All in all, it's a solid keyboard which let me pick the parts I wanted. Since this is my first real custom keyboard, I am very happy with the process.

Recommends this product? Yes

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rahulrav

Jul 14, 2020

Verified Buyer

Love it !

Just got my Drop barebones keyboard. I got some Zilents V2 (https://zealpc.net/products/zilents) 67g switches, and Ducky Pudding keycaps. The keyboard looks & feels amazing !

The only catch with the Zilents switches, is the plastic feet need to be clipped.

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MisterHockey

Jul 29, 2020

Verified Buyer

Beautiful Design Aesthetic

Just about everything on this board is great except for a couple of things.

Plate Mounted Stabs - Please stop using these! 99% of custom keyboard builders will pass on a board if the stabilizers are not PCB mounted. The keyboard community would view Drop keyboards in a much better light if they went to PCB Stabilizers.
Firmware does not keep LED settings when the board powers off

Recommends this product? Yes

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phinix

313

Oct 9, 2020

Verified Buyer

Really good keyboard

I finally received my keyboard and was able to mod it properly. For this price, it is really one of the best options we have - for $200 its aluminium, RGB, hot swap, USB-C. It has a specif profile, for myself it is a bit too high on the front, but I always add some high rubber feet to make it easier for me to type on. LEDs settings are a bit cut down to some minimum, there are no cool animations, plus it resets itself when it loses power. Once you receive it, you HAVE TO mod it - clip, lube the stabs (or replace them with something better as those are really crappy) plus band aid mod. I would also add some foam inside the case to reduce echo. I have put on Tealios, but will have to lube their springs as the case makes the ping noise a lot loader. Apart of those, its really decent keyboard. I was going to take off one star for stabs and high front, but what the hell, its just a simple and cheapest option you get out there.

Recommends this product? Yes

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spr0k3t

181

Jul 16, 2020

Verified Buyer

Perfect for entry level

Let's get the important stuff out of the way... Pros:

QMK Firmware so you can customize every single key on the board. Not to mention built in macros.
Decent construction using a sammich mount
Multiple USB-C connections to allow for left or right orientation

Cons:

The stabs are really bad and recommend replacement for something like GMK, Cherry, or ZealPC platemount stabs
Even lubing the switches the board is loud and rattles
North facing LEDs
LED diffuser could be a lot better

So I have the low profile as well as the high profile variants. Both of these boards really need some help to get them on par with other builds I've done. Top Mods: The first thing I did was rip out all of the stabs and replaced them with better ones. While the stabs that come with the board have a very small amount of lube on the wire, it's not in the right spot where the lube is needed, and the stabilizer housing is bone dry. I went with Cherry, clipped, band-aid modded, & lubed with 205g0 and filled the stems with superlube. The stabs fit better but I added some cello-tape to stiffen the mount points to reduce sideways rattle. With the new stabs in place and shaking the mount-plate by itself there's zero rattle. Even with all that, the top still has a horrible sound to it. To dull it down I took some 3.5mm high density foam (similar to neoprene or sorbathan) and cut it down to fit. Using 3M's Super77, I glued the foam to the bottom of the switch plate making sure it didn't interfere with switches or stabs. The end result was so much better... on to the PCB & Difuser... The Tween Layers: So the stabs are done and the middle foam is in place I put the keyboard back together and it still had this hollow echo rattle sound. Looking at just the diffuser and PCB the two of them have the same sound when brought together. So, this needed attention. Personally, the diffuser does not do very good at diffusing where the LEDs are located under the PCB. Also, it rattles. I came up with using thin coats of plasti dip to keep the thickness down and the overall vibration to a minimum. The plasti dip was applied to the top but I left the bottom of the diffuser alone. To help with the LEDs, I cut out a little area to make sure the diffuser was doing its job. The plasti dip did help eliminate the high pitched rattles between the PCB and diffuser. Still when put together, the board was hollow sounding... The Bowels of CTRL: This part was actually super easy. The large rectangular open area just needed some sorbothane. A couple of good thick pieces strategically placed should be more than adequate. I also used a thin sheet of closed cell foam to help with any higher pitched standing waves. The end result helped produce much deeper and richer tones overall. Nothing quite like the sound of a layered polycarbonate case, but way better than the gong-show sound from before. Conclusion: It is a cheap entry level TKL keyboard with LEDs and QMK. I really would love to have south facing sockets instead. I'd also be fine without any LED backlighting. After testing and using both the low profile and high profile... it's no comparison which one is better... they are both about the same with the exception of weight, and it all boils down to looks. The LED diffuser layer is just cheap. I wish it was made out of a different density plastic and the lower LEDs moved inward on the PCB quite a bit to help with a more even side glow, or again eliminate them. What I might do personally is create a 3mm polycarb layer to remove the side glow entirely. For the time and effort in getting the board set up correctly, the total cost was a little higher than I expected for an entry level set up like this one. Would I buy this same one again is a question for another time.

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pandasaurus0

Jul 31, 2020

spr0k3tI think fn+Tab or shift or Z switches the lights between backlights, sidelights, and both.

Vote

fer.real

528

Keyboard Club Member

Jan 15, 2022

Verified Buyer

Showing its Age

There are lots of things I love about the CTRL high profile keyboard. The quality of the CNC and annodization is really nice. It's honestly as good as the group buys I've been a part of. They've got a nice size and weight to them; solid enough to stay put on your desk, but are not to bulky or heavy to take with you. Hotswap isn't too important to me, but I know it's a crowd-pleaser. Unfortunately, it has not kept up-to-date with the trends. After a few years, it still has north-facing LEDs, where most enthusiasts want south-facing. It also still does not support PCB mount switches or stabs, which are by far and away the most popular type in the keyboard community. While plate and case foams were pretty new when this keyboard came out, they're now pretty standard for mid and high-end keyboards. Even GMMK and Keychron sell boards that come with foam standard. It would be nice to see Drop create a v2 to keep the product fresh.

Recommends this product? Yes

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Keycopter

Sep 4, 2020

Verified Buyer

Mine is broken

Mine has at least 7 dead sockets... tried multiple working switches in each one, so I know it's the keyboard. Emailed DROP support and received NO REPLY after TWO WEEKS. Beware!

Recommends this product? No

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jalfonso

110

Sep 23, 2020

KeycopterSo this occurred with the barebones? I was afraid of ordering the barebones as there would be less opportunities for quality checks. I ordered the full set and it worked fine for me. But was thinking of also ordering the barebones.

KoreanJesus21

Mar 23, 2022

Verified Buyer

Honestly I really wish I got another keyboard. I'm past the 1 year warranty by a few months, but now I'm having 3-4 keys which double or triple register. Super frustrating for a keyboard in this price bracket. Looks like it's a common issue with all of Drop's boards as it happened with my ALT as well, and people on forums are complaining about it. No more Drop made boards for me and I hope you don't get one either. Seriously, save your money and spend your $400 elsewhere on other boards (both my CRTL and ALT combined price). Absolutely DO NOT RECOMMEND to anyone.

(Edited)

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FuadLim

Feb 6, 2022

Verified Buyer

Good but not for $200

This is a good keyboard, but I think it is starting to show its age. For the price point of $200, you might expect to be getting a keyboard that would be amazing, but to be honest you are not really getting that much. Other boards within this price range have those in-trend gasket mounts, plate foams, poron inserts, case foams, and all of the bells and whistles. With this, you don't really get any of those. Which makes the board kind of meh and barebones. You need to mod it a lot to get to that specific sound profile that is considered premium. Expect to spend a lot of time modding this to get that, and if you only plan is to get switches and lube them, it's just not enough. The board is good, don't get me wrong. The finishing is premium, and the heft really gives you that premium feel without those brass weights that other custom keebs usually have. It's just a little outdated, and in dire need of a refresh. Probably not a good entry level budget keyboard to get, but I'm sure some of us still can appreciate the quality. P/S: My Drop CTRL came with a slanted keyboard rubber feets. Not sure if it's a QC issue or what, but it is a bummer that a $200 keyboard would have this QC issue.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? No

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A community member

Sep 15, 2020

Verified Buyer

BROKEN. DEAD ON ARRIVAL

Had a dead socket when it arrived. After reading multiple other reviews, this is not an isolated instance. Multiple people are getting keyboards with dead sockets. Beware if you want to take your chances. Customer Support takes 2+ weeks to reply. Edit: I also want to add at least 5 keys on my keyboard do a double press when I only press the key once. Edit 2: After FedEx losing the first replacement and Drop sending me a THIRD keyboard, the one I received was obviously a used product with multiple signs of wear. The screws were completely stripped and I can not even open the back of the keyboard to change out the stabilizers. Awful awful awful quality control. Edit 3: Was able to open up the keyboard despite the stripped screw and discovered, yet again another broken solder joint. This time, the hotswap joint wasn't even attached to the PCB. When I opened it up, the joint literally slid out. It wasn't even soldered to the PCB. This has been the worst consumer experience I have ever received from any retailer.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? No

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dropsuck12345

Mar 11, 2021

"When I opened it up, the joint literally slid out. It wasn't even soldered to the PCB." Same, I literally had this with the first one that they sent to me, and the SAME THING HAPPENED WITH THE REPLACEMENT THAT THEY SENT, LMAO.

Showing 13 of 236

Recent Activity

YanboWu

13w

Hey I'm sorry to hear about the double input issue. Have you tried flashing QMK XAP based firmware for your CTRL? It can potentially address the double input issue. For the Configurator Application If you use Windows, download here. If you use a Mac, download here. [image]

Xyrius

18w

And to think I requested this for an upcoming Drop. I'm disappointed to hear about the reliability. One question though, the north facing "problem" really isn't a problem anymore with most manufacturers making 3.8mm switches.

A community member

43w

Placed an order