Mechanical Keyboard Sound Isn't That Simple
Figure 1: I couldn't think of a more literal way to represent this article if I tried... Looking back just a few years ago, there’s no doubt that the huge influx of people that joined the hobby at the peak of the COVID pandemic were drawn to keyboards by way of YouTube, TikTok, and other audio-visual content platforms. Even as the output from these content creators has waned in recent months, their collective impact and legacy on the keyboard hobby is rather firmly etched in the history books. As a result of all of their sound tests, build logs, and opinion videos, the message is clear to any new person joining the hobby: mechanical keyboards are all about the sound. Thock this, clack that. Whether it’s keyboards, keycaps, or even singular switches, seemingly everyone new to the hobby meticulously pores over each component of their keyboard not in an attempt to figure out how it will feel in hand, but how it will sound as they’re furiously grinding their way out from...
Mar 27, 2024
I got two comma keycaps and no period keycap. Also, at least half of the shine-through characters are partially blocked or shaded from behind because of some manufacturing thing. I took lots of pics and reported both issues to MD support on Saturday. Haven't heard back from them, yet. Anyone else noticed shadow bars blocking light coming through the keycaps?
Yeah, I have noticed. It's not really a big deal for me or anything, but it is an interesting oversight on massdrop's part.
“While this should provide you with the additional keycap, it is likely the keycaps will also have this issue with the shadows, so please keep this in mind.”
So, it’s a nice way of saying that “this may just be how it is”, and as long as I don‘t feel as if I got the worst version of the CTRL, I’ll just live with it. I’ll replace the keycaps.
But at $200, even though it’s far from the most expensive keyboard out there, it’s still a premium product. I would have expected someone in the production process to have noticed it, found it unsatisfactory, and held production to a higher standard.