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Product Description
The Keebmonkey Blackhole Pro Alice Barebones Keyboard is a keyboard skeleton that’s got near-aeronautical levels of craftsmanship and attention to detail. CNC machined with top-tier precision out of slightly opaque acrylic, the feel of the case is both futuristic and durable Read More
First ALICE, solid, exciting, but still room to improve
This is my first ALICE layout which got me excited quite a bunch! I matched it with Glarses' Company's MX Purple Switch, MT3 Darkness BoB keycapset with Matt3o tangerine accents, Everglides V2, a Skiidata Custom Coiled Aviator Cable, and a matching NumPad,
For the sake of trying to keep it short-ish i'll leave here a pros and cons list respectively from my experience having this keyboard for almost 4 months now.
Pros:
Included foams serve greatly for modding to your desired tone, I did found it a bit hollow by itself, even though i like loud clacky keebs, as this one was intended for at work use I went for all the foam inserts and got to a really happy tone, where at my desk i can definitley get the clacky mechanical vibes I desired, whilst my peers even as close as a meter away even got shocked on how quiet it was.
Build quality feels THICC and all corners are smooth, it might not be a solid metal kinda weight, but it still feels clunky and well stood at the desk
Knob was kinda hard to install but machined really nicely and now its one of the best satisfying fidget toys I own
Sort of obbvious if you're already looking at the reviews but the hotswappability and the usb-c are really attractive features in this build
Worked out of the box, yes it needed it's proportion of work to assemble, but just to try it i plugged it in with just one switch and since then i've had no problems when it comes to functionality
Shape+materials are atractive and a conversation starters
Cons:
As a gamer at heart, RGB is my foremost concern, and maybe it's the fact that i'm under office lights or that my keycaps aren't shine through, but the lighting capabilities have been a bit lackluster, specially as I've been stuck to the breathing red effect and can't manage to find a key combination to switch around, and theres no info about it. Nothing in the webs nor the actual boix it came in with
No instructions came with it whatsoever making me guess which kind of stabilizer to get, assembly order, etc
The knob's operation is quite counterintuitive as volume up is counterclockwise (maybe, again, there is a way of changing it but without isntructions, shows difficult..)
The material gets easily stained, finger grease, spit, food flakes are direct enemies of this build
Some keycap sets might not come with all the keys the layout need, like double "B"s
Ok, I tried to keep it short and failed, but at least I hope it'll help others looking for info about it.
Cheers!
The issue I immediately experienced while type-testing this keyboard is in its layout placement of the [UP ARROW]-key *before* the [RIGHT SHIFT]-key. If only the column with the knob found on the left side was instead located over the right side (as it happens to be the case with most keyboards of this kind), then the extra real state provided with such change on the lower right side would've allowed for a correct placement of the afore-mentioned two keys. With that, the unforgivable constant issue of hitting the arrow instead of the shift key could've been prevented —a fatal flaw design-wise.
Given my main reason for getting this product was for display purposes (as opposed to using it on a regular basis), I guess I can't complain much, so I ended up keeping it. My lower rating, though, is meant more as a warning for anyone considering getting this for regular (or even sporadic) use: In that sense, I simply could not recommend this particular item and I'd advise you to look at other options.
TiKiToPiaGotta agree with you on that layout choice... However, it was quick to adapt, I suspect hand size helps.... But yes, if this is one's first kit or Alice layout it's good you have made others aware....
- Included foams serve greatly for modding to your desired tone, I did found it a bit hollow by itself, even though i like loud clacky keebs, as this one was intended for at work use I went for all the foam inserts and got to a really happy tone, where at my desk i can definitley get the clacky mechanical vibes I desired, whilst my peers even as close as a meter away even got shocked on how quiet it was.
- Build quality feels THICC and all corners are smooth, it might not be a solid metal kinda weight, but it still feels clunky and well stood at the desk
- Knob was kinda hard to install but machined really nicely and now its one of the best satisfying fidget toys I own
- Sort of obbvious if you're already looking at the reviews but the hotswappability and the usb-c are really attractive features in this build
- Worked out of the box, yes it needed it's proportion of work to assemble, but just to try it i plugged it in with just one switch and since then i've had no problems when it comes to functionality
- Shape+materials are atractive and a conversation starters
Cons:- As a gamer at heart, RGB is my foremost concern, and maybe it's the fact that i'm under office lights or that my keycaps aren't shine through, but the lighting capabilities have been a bit lackluster, specially as I've been stuck to the breathing red effect and can't manage to find a key combination to switch around, and theres no info about it. Nothing in the webs nor the actual boix it came in with
- No instructions came with it whatsoever making me guess which kind of stabilizer to get, assembly order, etc
- The knob's operation is quite counterintuitive as volume up is counterclockwise (maybe, again, there is a way of changing it but without isntructions, shows difficult..)
- The material gets easily stained, finger grease, spit, food flakes are direct enemies of this build
- Some keycap sets might not come with all the keys the layout need, like double "B"s
Ok, I tried to keep it short and failed, but at least I hope it'll help others looking for info about it. Cheers!