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Drop Signature Series Space Race Keyboard

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Drop Signature Series Space Race Keyboard

Name: Drop Signature Series Space Race Keyboard
Brand: Drop
SKU: drop-signature-series-space-race-keyboard
Price: 349 USD
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 4.090909 (44 reviews)

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Product Description

Your keyboard is more than just a tool—it’s a form of self expression, an extension of your fingers. Part of our Signature Series, the Space Race keyboard features a celestial bronze look in a compact frame that will elevate any space Read More

Customer Reviews

4.1

(44 reviews)

(21)

(14)

(4)

(2)

(3)

83% would recommend to a friend

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Vyrtuoz

Oct 28, 2020

Verified Buyer

Expensive indeed, but so good!

I wanted this kind of keyboard for some time. Waiting (for one year now?) for multiple components to be available to build it myself (same switches, same style of keycaps, plus a metal case). When I saw this nice design, I thought: “I am tired of waiting for other drops to be available. I can afford it, so, why not?”. Then I received the keyboard much faster than anticipated! It is *very* heavy, as beautiful as on the pictures, and fully programmable. I really love it. I am not disappointed by the panda switches. They are as good as told by Internet. I wanted something with a good feedback but less noisy (click) than Cherry MX Blue. Also, the keycaps are really good quality and I love their high-profile sculpted shape. I am much more accurate for typing than with my other less sculpted keyboards. I have the feeling that I may add some O-rings to get a softer bottom out later. But that’s probably just me, I believe they are great right out of the box. Also, yes, the space bar is fluid and nice. I believe that people who are criticizing the price, worse : comparing that kind of keyboard to cheap plastic rubber domes keyboards, have simply no idea how a good quality keyboard feel, and how it is complex to produce them. I believe that buying all these components separately on Internet, waiting months to get them, then assembling everything, is well worth that price. All in all, this is a really great “luxury” keyboard. If you can afford it and you are looking for that kind of device, you will certainly not be disappointed!

Recommends this product? Yes

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vuhd

Oct 29, 2020

Verified Buyer

Exceptional prebuilt quality.

Appearance: Beautiful bronze. The aluminum case is nice to the touch and looks good to match. The keyboard is very sturdy and well built. It feels dense in the hand due to the overall weight for such a compact design (65%). The combination of the keycaps color and bronze looks understated but pleasing to the eyes. The machine work is fine. I haven't noticed any imperfection so far. RGB works perfectly as well. The light shines around the keycaps as the keycaps are not transparent. That's fine for me. The RGB ring around the case come with various modes and brightness. The setting can be controlled by the the board directly. Of note, once the power source is disconnected from the keyboard, the stock setting will be turned on next time. Can't seem to find a way to store last setting yet. The 2 USB-C port in back, one on each side allows the cable to be moved aside for aesthetic reason. Not sure if it can be used as upstream hub to connect other peripherals though. Switches: Holy Panda tactile switches. Not much else need to be said considering the plethora of information available on these switches. I am not that discerning when it come smoothness of the switches so the stock Holy Panda's are fine for me. I know most folks may choose to lube it. Switches are not lubed from factory. Stabilizers: They are somewhat mushy but serviceable. They are reportedly lubed from the factory. They are plate mounted. Keycaps: The color is fairly standard with white legends on black caps. Nothing exciting but there is elegance in simplicity and understated color pattern. These keys have MT3 profile so they are scalloped in the top and are taller keys compared to other profiles such as: cherry, oem, etc. Your fingers may have to curl back more to reach the top of they keycaps. They feel pleasant to the tips of fingers. Given the scalloped top, it may be harder to glide your fingers from key to key. Coming from OEM profile the MT3 profile was tougher for me to get used to but there is a learning curve to everything. I ultimately replaced the stock keycaps with GMK keycaps due to the cherry profile. This is largely a personal preference. Typing experience: No flex on the PCB when typing. Holy Panda switches are nice tactile with 67 g of actuation force. Arguably the most desirable tactile switch out there. Each press seems more intentional and crisp compared to the cherry mx brown that I am accustomed to. Depending on your table's height relative to your chair, arms length, and fingers length the thickness of the PCB combined with the taller MT3 profile keycaps may not be as comfortable typing. A simple wrist pad may fix it for those with shorter phalanges. I used this exclusively at work today where I typed quite a few notes and forms. They were very pleasant and not fatiguing. Value: This is relative to what you are accustomed to. This is expensive when compared to the mass produced OEM's such as Corsair, Razer, Cooler Master, etc. This is an inexpensive relative to universe of custom mechanical keyboard. A simple breakdown of individual parts if ordered separately: -Alt high profile barebone: $190. -Holy Panda switches from drop. Pack of 70 for the required 67 switches on 65% keyboard: $85. -Drop + Matt3o MT3 Susuwatari custom keycaps: base set $120. -Total: $395. I think the real value here comes from the custom bronze color that cannot be purchased separately and the board comes preassembled and ready to use. Overall: I would recommend this board as an entry custom mechanical keyboard for enthusiast. The switches are hot swappable which enable users to try other switches down the line. The built quality is definitely there. All the components are premium except for the stabilizers. It's a beautifully crafted board and I will enjoy it for many more years to come.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? Yes

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jayyd

Nov 1, 2020

vuhdHey @vuhd - Just wanted to let you can actually modify the RGB color so that it doesn't go to the default coloring after disconnecting power. You can use the DROP configurator tool and specify your coloring there.

Mkjenis

Keyboard Club Member

Nov 3, 2020

vuhdGreat review.

•

Iconz28

Oct 27, 2020

Verified Buyer

I'll start by saying that the finish on the high profile case really is something, drops pictures don't do it justice on the website. The metallic flake in the paint is much more apparent in real life. I also find the choice of key caps spot on for this colorway both the profile and design of MT3 Susu's are on full stop and feel right at home on this build. The Holy Pandas also feel amazing, the closest thing I would compare them too is when I got a small batch private reserve pre prototype sample of AKB Lobster Butters, they offer a very sharp and unique sensation. Now for the negatives I feel the stabs were not reworked enough to make it so its not better to look at aftermarket solutions. They 2u's may be a little better than stock alt, even then not by much but the spacebar especially is very harsh and rattles worse then an angry pit viper during summer time. Regardless this is probably the only downside to this keyboard. I feel like even the high cost is justified because if you were to purchase separately out the alt high pro + Susu's and pandas were about there, and then you would be about there, and thats not even mentoning the colorway or the fact some of that stuff may not be in stock rn anyway. However I cannot abide these stabilizers, and I feel this is the only black mark on an otherwise 5/5 review.

(Edited)

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LWNYC

323

Nov 27, 2020

Verified Buyer

A few minor mods, A tight confident board for Mac

QMK it to a Mac keyboard. Had to use an older iMac for the right voltage. Current Mac Pro does not have it in the thunderbolt 3 ports, strange. The feel of the Pandas are confident, loud and accurate on this board. They feel different versus my 2 year old CTRL board. The feel really resembles the old old IBM beam spring key terminals.

Recommends this product? Yes

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Thinker_J

Oct 26, 2020

Verified Buyer

Update: Awful

Edit: Multiple keys have absolutely insane double/triple/quadruple click issues, to the point where the keyboard has truly become unusable. I would never recommend this keyboard (or any drop signature series keyboard) to anyone. Original review follows: My old keyboard was on the fritz, and when they announced this lineup I sort of thought "why not" and took the plunge. Make no mistake this was extremely expensive, but the build quality is the highest I've ever personally used. The weight, the keycaps, the switches, the design, the (if you prefer it) minimal RGB - it hits all of my personal buttons. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to a friend, simply because the cost is massive. I'm also sure a lot of people who are planning to spend this much would build their own keyboard from scratch, but I needed something right away and this seemed like a compelling option. So as someone willing to put in the money I'm very pleased with what arrived. The only downside for me is that I would have liked some adjustable feet on the bottom and maybe some more "fun" keycaps to mix it up, but neither is a deal breaker.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? No

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imppersonal

Keyboard Club Member

Oct 27, 2020

That sounds great. You're able to feel that difference concretely? I would never have known that without your feedback, very helpful.

Thinker_J

Oct 27, 2020

imppersonalAbsolutely, I quite literally only realized it was a feature because of just how distinct the sensation was of the two keycaps. And happy I could help :)

antikryst

Dec 21, 2020

Verified Buyer

Stabs ruin this keyboard. Switching the stabs to something else and/or modding them makes it a really good board. First time to get to try holy pandas... real nice and tactile stock. Will be lubing them soon. EDIT: lowering my review from 4 stars to 2. 1 holy panda started chattering! and there are no extra switches given. and this is just after around 2 weeks of light usage. :( EDIT 2: 2 switches now with chatter.

(Edited)

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buckslice

Nov 20, 2020

Verified Buyer

A PLEASURE to type on

holy panda switches are really great. my new fav switch, I started on cherry blues, then switched to cherry clears, liked tactile better, then got a realforce topre board, rolled with the thock for a couple years but its good to be back to the clack now and these switches really hit the spot.
the abs keycaps feel nice and smooth, very high quality set. The cup keys feel weird at first but I got used to it pretty quick like it now. the keycap profile is pretty fookin tall, but got used to that mostly too
the stabilizers are pretty bad, I got some authentic cherry ones and was a huge improvement in overall feel
keyboard is very heavy almost to the point of annoyance, but definitely feels quality and sturdy. The metal case is really slick looking and well machined.
qmk website configurator is useful and super flexible, would be nice to get more features added. The lighting is cool, but couldn't get it working with the configurator. I'm probly just dumb tho
had a bit of issue with keychatter / keybounce on some of the keys but I took some of the switches out and swapped them around and now its gone... mostly
all in all a couple minor gripes but not enough to deduct a star really, 5/5 from me

(Edited)

Recommends this product? Yes

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tpr92

Mar 26, 2021

Verified Buyer

Great board overall, but like most other reviewers mention it is CRUCIAL to replace stabs

This is my first higher end board, although I have experience with a pretty wide range of enthusiast builds through my friend. The Space Race has a very nice weight and finish to it, which I was instantly impressed with. The Holy Panda switches feel perfect (for me), although not quite the same as the original Holy Pandas which was to be expected. The caps feel incredible. My first time using MT3 profile and I really do love it. Each key feels perfectly sculpted for its position and my typing has been more accurate overall. The lights are a nice extra. I mostly just use plain white, sometimes breathing, but will occasionally use green and blue which look very nice in the dark. Not too much to say about this part, but I'm very pleased with it. My one gripe is the truly awful rattling of the stabilizers. My god are they bad... They shift, they rattle, and they make the entire board feel much cheaper. For the price paid - $350 - this was nothing short of a disappointment. Thankfully this is easily fixed with some genuine plate mounted cherry stabs and krytox 205g0 lube. I highly recommend clipping these too btw. It was frustrating having to spend more money for this, but if you're already spending this sort of money on a keyboard you might as well make it worth it. Also note, I ordered KBD Fans spacebar foam, but it does not fit due to the MT3 profile. I've been too lazy to cut it down as of yet, but in order for it to work that will be necessary. After fixing the above issues, the board is close to perfect. I LOVE the feel and can't get enough of it. As long as you look at this as a partial DIY job, you'll be very happy. Without the mods, you'll probably be happy if coming from a lower end board but there's a good chance you will be wanting more. Next up I'll probably be ordering some case foam to see what that difference makes, as well as possibly lubing the stems.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? Yes

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Saksonik

Mar 3, 2021

Verified Buyer

Great Keyboard, but

Holy Panda Switches are overrated. Sometimes, when i typing some keys not response, some - are doubling. Keys N and M cling the space-bar. And, finally stabs. Ugly cracking stabs. We have awesome keyboard case and key-caps. But switches and stabs are pain.

Recommends this product? No

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