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Drop + Matt3o MT3 Susuwatari Custom Keycap Set
$130
01 / 22
Drop + Matt3o MT3 Susuwatari Custom Keycap Set
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keyboard_arrow_downmatt3o
2752
matt3o
Oct 3, 2018
Just wanted to give a quick overview on Susuwatari and reply to the most common questions that have been asked so far.
== Let's start from the name.
I wanted to call the set Charcoal, Graphite or Carbon for obvious reasons but they've already been taken or not very distinctive anyway. So I came up with "Soot" which is cute but weak... until I remembered the "Soot Sprites" that in Japanese are called Susuwatari. I like to pick names that leave people with that "what the f*!&$#?" feeling so the name was picked. Consider it an homage but there's nothing else that connects us to Studio Ghibli (for obvious IP issues).
Now, since @YanboWu is like that neighbor old lady and can't hold a secret, you'll know by now that you might get a little extra unlisted surprise...
== Material.
It's ABS. Why?!?! WHY YOU ABS?!
I like PBT and dye-sublimation. They are superior in every possible way BUT, double-shot has its own merits. First of all we have a greater creative freedom when it comes to color schemes. You can't sublimate a color that is lighter than the background for one.
Dye-sublimation is a printing process. You first print the legends on a special paper then with heat and vacuum the ink in transferred into the keycap plastic. Now imagine to have a fountain pen with red ink. It's all fancy and dandy while you write on white paper, but you can't write on a black one. With dye-sublimation is the same. The ink color is "added" to the background color.
Doubleshot is a two stages molding process (hence double-shot). The legends are made of plastic and melt together with the keycap. Hence each legend requires a mold. Hence we can't go crazy with the number and complexity of legends.
Will they fuck up like they fucked up /dev/tty round 1? Things have changed a lot since /dev/tty0, Massdrop has put an engineer to check on production and if they send me prototypes in a timely manner there shouldn't be surprises.
Also. Dye-sublimation is very prone to error, each and every key is printed individually (well not really 1-by-1 but bear with me) and the chances of misalignment are pretty high. With double-shot we have one master and then all the keys are molded on that master. So if Massdrop gives me the opportunity to make ALL legends right, this set should be flawless.
== Why key X and Y are missing?
We are prepping this set since a month now. I usually talk about my creations on Deskthority but the best way to stay up to date is through my blog https://matt3o.com . I always welcome input and criticism, I've added a lot of keys that have been requested in the last month by the community. What I'm saying is, sorry guys, pay more attention next time. Now it's a bit late to make requests... but I believe I still can fix a couple of things here and there (small things).
Please also consider that the tooling has to be redone from scratch, we can't add an infinite number of keys. Adding for example an "option" legend requires adding at least 3 new molds (1.5, 1.25, 1) and 6 new keys. These ain't free.
That is also the reason why we merged as much as possible all the kits together. We are not working on existing tooling, if we leave the numpad alone it would cost a kidney and we would risk of not actually manufacturing it.
That also explains why the huge difference in pricing between 100 and 1000. Once the tooling is done the cost of it is spread among all the keys. The more keys the less impact the tooling has on the final price.
== Are the keys textured or smooth?
There seem to be a little confusion here. People seem to think that PBT is rough and ABS smooth. While it is true that PBT and ABS have different properties and finishes, the texture to a keycap is mostly given by the mold. The molds are sand blasted, the finer the sand the finer the texture, but technically you can have a rough ABS surface and a smooth PBT surface.
In my opinion /dev/tty was a very good compromise. The sides are rather smooth while the top is slightly textured. Susuwatari will probably be smoother.
== Color scheme
I used a color scheme that is rather original. I mean not the colors but how they are distributed. It's not a standard RGB scheme where the key color corresponds to a key function. I like to try new things otherwise the market stagnates. You can totally not like what I did and think that I am a moron and that I killed the keycaps gods... but that's it, there's a monotone kit if you can't live with my colorway.
Honestly what scares me the most is the negativism from other designers and creators. You know, you always get a couple of random internet bullies but when the criticism comes a creator it becomes worrisome. You (we) are the creatives. If we do not try different things, if you don't question the "status quo", if we don't dare... who will?! It's your duty to be creative and it's your prerogative to fail! If all your designs are a success, my dear, you are doing it totally wrong.
== General unpleasantness
I'm old fashioned. I try not to write to a person what I wouldn't say straight to his/her face.
If you don't like the t-shirt of a guy on the street you don't approach him and say "your shirt is so bad that if I vomit on it, it would be an improvement". You just think of it and pass by.
I seriously LOL'ed at some of the most edgy comments and I generally don't care about the dickheads, but please consider that there are people on the other side. People who care about making a great product. If you want to make a point unfortunately acting like a douche is the best way for being ignored.
(Edited)
carlouws
40
Nov 1, 2018
matt3oI'm glad that this will be my first Custom Keycap Set. I'm considering picking up the high profile Massdrop CTRL keyboard. Could it be possible to see a render of this keycap set on a black high profile Massdrop CTRL?
Kevin
5434
Outreach
Jun 26, 2020
Final Update
Alright everyone, it's time for the final update. And it wouldn't be a MT3 Susuwatari update if it didn't have some hiccups involved.
As I mentioned in my previous update, we split the shipments of the keycaps into two segments, the Base, Blanks, Spacebars, Ortho, Ergodox was shipment #1. The Extras, Monotone and Colemak/Dvorak was shipment #2. The first shipment has arrived and has been unpacked by the warehouse, ready to ship. The second shipment that was supposed to arrive (at our warehouse today, Friday June 26th), has been rescheduled by the driver for Tuesday June 30th.
We've put in a special request for weekend labor to start shipping out orders that do not include Extras, Monotone, or Colemak/Dvorak. The exact amount of labor (i.e. number of orders we are able to ship) is highly dependent on the voluntary acceptance of weekend overtime shifts. We can't tell/promise you that they'll ship over the weekend, but we're doing our best to get some moving. Once the second shipment arrives on Tuesday, we'll get the remaining orders shipped out.
The next issue that I want to mention involves people who purchased the Blanks kit (approx 50 people). For some reason, we're still investigating the exact cause- the plastic packaging that holds the keycaps melted and deformed a bit in shipping. We've gone through many kits and the keycaps themselves are perfectly intact. That being said, we don't want to delay your orders, and we don't want to keep perfectly good keycaps from you, so we're shipping them as is. In about 6 weeks when the next round of orders arrive, you can request to swap your set and box with one that isn’t melted.
On that second round of orders, or "extras" that everyone wants to get their hands on. We're trying to wrap our heads around how many we need to get into production, so we'll be re-opening the Susuwatari Keycaps for pre-order on Monday June 29th at 6AM PST. These orders have an estimated ship date in the middle of August. We’ll try to split these shipments as well to get them moving faster if possible.
Okay, I've saved the best for last, and this part is really important. In continuing with Matt3o’s tradition of adding something unexpected in the first runs of his sets, every round 1 pre-order has a special gift keycap included. It's small, so you might miss it if you don't know to look for it, so be careful when you open your box! No spoilers, not gonna tell you what it is, but we think you'll love it.
That's it for now, I will post some updates in the comments thread regarding the progress of shipments, but those updates will not be emailed out.
First round participants get a free coupon information (thread) Edit: Formatting, added photo and links.
First round participants get a free coupon information (thread) Edit: Formatting, added photo and links.
(Edited)
YanboWu
8490
Collaborations
Nov 19, 2019
Hey everyone,
Wanted to share another update on the status of MT3 Susuwatari.
We are currently still working with @matt3o on the final colors for the set. The same issue we’ve noted in our previous update is still something we are working on solving. Currently, we are looking for one more round of color matching on the off-white legends and dark modifiers. In addition, we are fine-tuning the different color modifiers in order to ensure legibility with the various legends.
Our goal is still to these fulfilled before the end of the year. We will share some photos of the next round of color samples when they are available as well.
We want to apologize for the delays and can’t wait to bring this one over the finish line.
vieko
98
Dec 23, 2019
The attitude is what's wrong @bandreadygoband : no one is acting like a baby. There's frustration, there's a bit of comedy and too much radio silence from Drop. Projects like this do take time and delays do happen. Drop should learn from each delay and buffer their deliverables better. They should also consider adding a calendar / timeline / list of milestones to each project right under Description. This would frame the conversation in a positive manner... my two cents!
Happy Holidays everyone!
(Edited)
Kevin
5434
Outreach
Feb 24, 2020
Hey Everyone,
The latest update for MT3 Susuwatari is that our contracted keycap production facility is in the process of getting its re-opening certification after the government mandated lockdown. Our head of manufacturing is scheduled to fly to China from San Francisco on March 1st to personally oversee the resumption of production and operations, and we'll have a better handle on the severity of the production delays at that time. If you missed it, there was an update posted by Matt3o just before the Lunar New Year break on his blog here: (https://matt3o.com/happy-new-year-susuwatari/).
3/5 Update:
Final color samples are on the way to our office now, and we'll be inspecting them and also shipping them out to Matt3o in Italy to get his final okay. Assuming everything is okay'd, then we're looking at an April 6th manufacturing completion date (in China), which means we'd get them and ship them about 1-2 weeks after that. Will have many more updates in the coming weeks as everything is finally coming together.
3/16 Update:
Preparing something more lengthy to post later this week, but the short update for now is that the April 6th manufacturing completion date is looking good as of this moment.
3/17 Update:
There might be a snag that will slow things down, we'll know more in the next 24-48 hours.
3/18 Update:
Lengthy update is posted here.
4/19 update:
Quick update for everyone. A bunch of keycaps are done! Spacebars, Ergodox, blanks, etc- effectively things without legends. Yet another round of samples of everything with a legend has been produced and is being shipped to us sometime this week. That should be the final round of samples, and with that we'll go into production. Aiming for a completion date of May 20th. I'll have more updates in the coming weeks, and photos, once this last batch of samples arrives.
4/29 update:
The latest (and likely last) production round sample is complete and being shipped to us in the US. Will hopefully have photos up next week, and barring major issues- we'll have the final go-ahead on the keycaps.
5/7 update:
Latest set of samples are here and have been measured and reviewed. A few of the legends are still off by just a smidgeon. We've got some feedback for changes to a handful of caps but the majority of the keycaps are going into production. Latest update/estimate is that they'll all be done by June 5th. As usual, more updates to follow as we keep moving through this process. I'll try to get some photos to post as well.
5/27 update:
We're almost there.. I swear. In fact, I've got a couple of "proof of life" photos for you below! I think we're about 80% complete production + packaging and that should be wrapped up in the coming 3-7 days (likely before the June 5th date referenced above). Then it all gets shipped to New Jersey, and finally shipped to you. I will be looking to post something longer and more substantive once we have confirmation everything is made and on-route to us.
6/3 Update: Matt3o has a received his set from the production line (not samples anymore!) and has posted about them here: https://matt3o.com/susuwatari-production-prototypes-tldr-they-are-awesome/ I'll have another update to post in the next 24 hours with how things are coming along on our end. 6/5 Update: Base Kits, Blanks, Spacebars, Ortho and Ergodox are complete. Colemak, Monotone and Extras are expected to be completed on 6/10. Things slowed down because the full production of base kits took longer than expected. With manufacturing complete on 6/10, we've scheduled the keycaps to be picked up on 6/13, and then flown to our warehouse in New Jersey. Currently hoping to get this shipped out of the USA warehouse, to you, around 6/20 (assuming no further delays). Everyone has been so incredibly patient, I've lobbied internally and gotten approval to give all participants of the pre-order something special, I'm still firming up the details on exactly what but we'll be sending out an email once everything is finalized. Regarding the dozens of questions about extras... We absolutely will have extras available for sale in the near future, but our primary priority is to get the pre-orders completed, checked, and shipped. Hit the "request" button and you'll be notified when these are on sale again.
6/3 Update: Matt3o has a received his set from the production line (not samples anymore!) and has posted about them here: https://matt3o.com/susuwatari-production-prototypes-tldr-they-are-awesome/ I'll have another update to post in the next 24 hours with how things are coming along on our end. 6/5 Update: Base Kits, Blanks, Spacebars, Ortho and Ergodox are complete. Colemak, Monotone and Extras are expected to be completed on 6/10. Things slowed down because the full production of base kits took longer than expected. With manufacturing complete on 6/10, we've scheduled the keycaps to be picked up on 6/13, and then flown to our warehouse in New Jersey. Currently hoping to get this shipped out of the USA warehouse, to you, around 6/20 (assuming no further delays). Everyone has been so incredibly patient, I've lobbied internally and gotten approval to give all participants of the pre-order something special, I'm still firming up the details on exactly what but we'll be sending out an email once everything is finalized. Regarding the dozens of questions about extras... We absolutely will have extras available for sale in the near future, but our primary priority is to get the pre-orders completed, checked, and shipped. Hit the "request" button and you'll be notified when these are on sale again.
(Edited)
YanboWu
8490
Collaborations
Oct 1, 2018
Hey everyone,
Super excited about something that I've been chatting with @matt3o for a few years now. Doubleshot MT3 is a significantly more difficult undertaking compared to dye sublimated MT3, there are far more tooling that will need to be created to support the different legends on this set.
As Matteo alluded to in his blog post - "It will be a loooong journey, each legend needs its own tooling, so we need to design them very carefully. It’s not like dye-sub that you can change the design at any time, this time legends are eternal."
The possibility ABS doubleshot tooling opens up is also very exciting - many popular custom keycap sets cannot be done in PBT and we'll finally be able to do those collaborations with designers that want access to more colors.
Finally, this set will be similar in thickness compared to other premium ABS keycaps we've done in the past and we'll keep everyone updated as things progress on this journey.
Super excited about something that I've been chatting with @matt3o for a few years now. Doubleshot MT3 is a significantly more difficult undertaking compared to dye sublimated MT3, there are far more tooling that will need to be created to support the different legends on this set.
As Matteo alluded to in his blog post - "It will be a loooong journey, each legend needs its own tooling, so we need to design them very carefully. It’s not like dye-sub that you can change the design at any time, this time legends are eternal."
The possibility ABS doubleshot tooling opens up is also very exciting - many popular custom keycap sets cannot be done in PBT and we'll finally be able to do those collaborations with designers that want access to more colors.
Finally, this set will be similar in thickness compared to other premium ABS keycaps we've done in the past and we'll keep everyone updated as things progress on this journey.
ProtonDecay
11
Oct 4, 2018
So would a mechanization process which allows easy compensation for row profiles be realistic for the factory producing these? Could it also enable more advanced alignments like side-printing dyesub? The business value of the last bit might make it more worthwhile?
atari.zero.tv
738
Atari Zero TV
Oct 4, 2018
ProtonDecayThe process on this set is not going to be dyesub. See above.
All-over dyesub is already a thing, but I've only ever seen it with DSA.
All-over dyesub is already a thing, but I've only ever seen it with DSA.
YanboWu
8490
Collaborations
Sep 19, 2019
Hey everyone,
It’s been some time and I’m back with a much more substantial update on MT3 Susuwatari. We apologize for how much longer this project turned out to be - but do feel it’s imperative that we complete a project like this correctly with the aim to exceed the expectations of @matt3o and everyone who has joined.
Current Status
First, we need to update everyone on how everything is going. The good news is the end is in sight!
Tooling, which was the most time-consuming part of this project has been completed. We’ve run test shots through the tool and the initial results are promising. I will share a few photos of the initial samples below -
Note the extra thicc keycaps
(Edited)
beebz
0
Mar 31, 2020
YanboWuHi YanboWu,
My name is Barsoum. I understand from following this thread that people have 'drop'ped out of purchasing this key cap set due to the unexpected wait times.
I have recently purchased the Drop Ctrl Barebones keyboard and would love to jump onto this drop (heard raving reviews on MT3 and love the color scheme), is there any way I can also this join and replace any one of those people who left the drop?
I look forward to your response.
Kind Regards,
Bars
Thomas_Tillgren
89
Jun 6, 2020
beebzThere will be extras available once the ones for the GB participants ship, you can ensure that you are notified by pressing the button at the top of the GB page
JaleesaG
1550
Marketing Team
May 14, 2019
Hi all,
We have an update on your Massdrop x Matt3o MT3 Susuwatari Custom Keycap Set. Production for the keycaps is going slower than expected and, unfortunately, we will not meet the estimated ship date of June 28th.
We had test tooling created to start production but found the resulting keycaps did not meet our high expectations. In the end, we’ve changed how we are making the double-shot tools to deliver the highest quality keycaps possible, that will stand the test of time.
We expect to see initial results from this new setup by the end of June. With adjustments and other work needed, we could potentially ship the keycaps in August or September, depending on how smoothly everything goes from here on out.
We apologize for the delay. If you prefer not to wait the additional time, you can cancel your order on your transactions page: https://drop.com/transactions.
Thanks so much for your patience. We’ll be back with another update as soon as we receive the new samples.
Thornkin
236
Sep 17, 2019
JaleesaGAny official updates? We're coming up on a year since this drop happened.
YanboWu
8490
Collaborations
Dec 27, 2019
Hey everyone,
I’m back with another update on the MT3 Susuwatari Keycap set.
Since my last update, we’ve created a few more rounds of samples and ran into a couple problems which made our goal of fulfillment in 2019 impossible. I’d like to share some details of the various problems and solutions we’ve been working on the past month.
Legend Material
We ran into an issue where the second shot of outer shell ABS caused some heat deformation to the first shot (the legends). Since both the legend and outer shell are the same material, the temperature needed for the outer shell to flow will also cause the inner shot soften and deform.
With some additional testing, we were able to address this issue by adding polycarbonate into the legend mix. This allowed the inner legend to retain its shape in the double-shot process.
(Edited)
ralfalfa
10
Jan 27, 2020
YanboWuI wouldn't travel to China knowing the Corona virus is still at large...
Maniack
55
Oct 5, 2018
Before I waste 130 on caps that will turn shiny within several weeks, I'd like to know if you guys give a warranty on that?
I mean come on...
I mean come on...
Rayndalf
364
Oct 15, 2018
ManiackIf you can get a keyset noticeably shiny in several weeks, you'd be doing so much typing (and by extension work of some kind?) that these keys would pay for themselves.
I have experience with some fairly grimy OG doubleshots (cherry and DCS) and have yet to find something unusably shiny... I have boards whose switches felt almost broken till I replaced the housing, but even then the caps weren't noticeably worn (maybe SA shines faster because they lack molded in texture).
If you want to see some shiny ABS just check German eBay and look at some of the cherry boards that were used at a register for a decade, but know that such damage takes many years of use and abuse unless you're licking your finders between each keystroke
I have experience with some fairly grimy OG doubleshots (cherry and DCS) and have yet to find something unusably shiny... I have boards whose switches felt almost broken till I replaced the housing, but even then the caps weren't noticeably worn (maybe SA shines faster because they lack molded in texture).
If you want to see some shiny ABS just check German eBay and look at some of the cherry boards that were used at a register for a decade, but know that such damage takes many years of use and abuse unless you're licking your finders between each keystroke
Maniack
55
Oct 15, 2018
No, I am certainly not afraid of your so called "big words", I am actually quite bored by your attempt to drag this conversation down to your standards and try to beat me there with experience. Since you're obviously not interested in a dialog consider this my last answer to you.
Kevin
5434
Outreach
Jun 29, 2020
FAQ for New Orders:
When are you accepting new orders? Orders will be accepted as of June 29th, 2020 at 6AM PST. When will those orders be shipping? We've conservatively set the ship-date to August 17th, 2020. We'll likely start shipping well before that, and we'll be shipping roughly based on a First-In-First-Out basis. Will they ship internationally? Yes, to select international countries. Due to COVID, we've had to reduce the countries we ship to (because the packages keep getting stuck or returned). How long will they be available for? All kits will be available for purchase for the next 30 days. After that, availability will depend on popularity and inventory levels. The less popular kits (spacebars, colemak, ergodox, spacebars) will likely not be available months from now. Are orders eligible for cancellation/returns? Yes, you can cancel your order anytime up until your order ships (realistically a couple days before it ships because orders get locked and printed about 24-48 hours before they ship). After the product has shipped, you have 30 days to request a refund if you aren't happy with the keycaps. When are the next MT3 Doubleshot colors going to be available? We're hoping by middle/end of August to have another set out. Part of why we're running Susuwatari right now is to gauge demand early, get production completed, and switch the machines over to the next project as quickly as possible. Can I buy a single 1.36u ~tilde~ key for my obscure keyboard that isn't supported? No.
When are you accepting new orders? Orders will be accepted as of June 29th, 2020 at 6AM PST. When will those orders be shipping? We've conservatively set the ship-date to August 17th, 2020. We'll likely start shipping well before that, and we'll be shipping roughly based on a First-In-First-Out basis. Will they ship internationally? Yes, to select international countries. Due to COVID, we've had to reduce the countries we ship to (because the packages keep getting stuck or returned). How long will they be available for? All kits will be available for purchase for the next 30 days. After that, availability will depend on popularity and inventory levels. The less popular kits (spacebars, colemak, ergodox, spacebars) will likely not be available months from now. Are orders eligible for cancellation/returns? Yes, you can cancel your order anytime up until your order ships (realistically a couple days before it ships because orders get locked and printed about 24-48 hours before they ship). After the product has shipped, you have 30 days to request a refund if you aren't happy with the keycaps. When are the next MT3 Doubleshot colors going to be available? We're hoping by middle/end of August to have another set out. Part of why we're running Susuwatari right now is to gauge demand early, get production completed, and switch the machines over to the next project as quickly as possible. Can I buy a single 1.36u ~tilde~ key for my obscure keyboard that isn't supported? No.
atari.zero.tv
738
Atari Zero TV
Jul 27, 2020
Nevermind! Fate had seen fit to make sure I kept that box... I got the cap and it's adorable! My black cat approves :) I'll be writing up a nice review of MT3 pretty soon. I am so damn excited that Drop has this amazing profile and that we will see old and new colorways in the future. I DEFINITELY want to run a colorway in MT3, so I will reach out soon. I have the colors chosen, but I need to work on kit layouts.
Kevin
5434
Outreach
Jul 27, 2020
atari.zero.tvThat's awesome, we're actively looking at signing new designers so make sure you reach out. Also I'm so glad you managed to save your special keycap from the landfill! Matt3o really created a gem.
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