I hated my entire experience with this board. It was ill-fated from the start. First of all, to be fair, I was - and remain - less experienced than your average enthusiast. The only kit I built before the Tokyo60 was a Zoo65 - but I assembled that with little difficulty. Surely the Tokyo 60 would be just as easy to assemble, I thought, until I realized that there were no instructions inside, which frankly seems like a crass move. Sure, there's instructions online, but they left out just enough that I had to do more guesswork than I expected in following them. Not that it matters, since it turns out the PCB was warped. I got a replacement. Seemed fine. Hit another wall with the instructions. Got frustrated. Left it alone for a few months. Picked it back up. Made some progress. Then realized that - nope - the new PCB is warped too. Long story short, I don't have a Tokyo 60, and I only buy pre-builts now.
I've been eyeing out this keyboard for a while now and I finally got a chance to get it. At first I just put it together as it was out of the box. Keyboard turned out very loud and to my surprise very stiff (I've been raised on gasket mounted keyboards). But I immediately took a liking to HHKB layout, with some keybinds it's very comfortable to use.
After reading all the reviews I didn't even attempt using included stabilizers, I had some TX stabs laying around and after a little bit of lubing they work like a charm. Later on I've also invested in some foams to fill the case up since it sounded very loud and hollow. In the end I'm quite happy with how it turned out (though not what i was aiming for).
For switches after trying out many I've decided on Gateron Oil Kings, after relubbing stems and top housings feeling and sound improved by a lot.
Not a big fan of QMK so after some fun times with drivers I decided to flash with VIA, being able to change bindings from browser level on any computer I'm using is just too convenient.
Overall I recommend the board, but for people who are used to softer typing experience its' stiffness may be quite shocking (that's me). But right now this is my daily driver, I bring it to work everyday and game on it at home.
Good product, need some improvement on the quality control
The kit is solid and comes with everything you need to build your first HHKB.
This is my first HHKB and I love it so much. I know you can do the same thing with other 60% keyboards, but this layout give some fun and interesting look to your set up.
The reason I did not give it full on 5 stars because the first one that came had a PCB problem, some of the keys are not responding. Nevertheless, DROP support team was very helpful and replace it with free of charge.
However, the second one that came was missing a diode on its PCB, making the fn key (the most important one for HHKB) does not working. The customer support was still very responsive and help me right away. I ended up requesting for a partial refund and stay with the current fault (which is bearable.. I guess?).
I really appreciate the support DROP support team gave me, but it would be seamless if this kit works at least the second time.
Apart from these faults, I think this is a solid kit to have.
I really love this keyboard, and everything that I was able to make out of it. I got mine in Coyote, with SA Drop+T0mb3ry Carbon keycaps paired with KPRepbulic Cherry MX Ergo Clear switches, I couldn't ask for a better feel and sound. The look and feel is just simply amazing. I did run into a slight issue in which I am going to try and work out with Drop in which after about 12 days, all but 1 RGB underglow LEDs quit working. I searched the internet to find out that several other people are experiencing the same issue, which seemed to have been purchased around the same time as mine, I wonder if there was a bad batch of PCB's, so just keep that in mind, I cant give it 5 stars for this reason, as after spending the money I spend to build out this board I would expect that the LEDs would stay working for longer than 12 days.
Yes I have found that sometimes their PCBs just have issues. They replaced mine under warranty and so far so good, I was a little worried that perhaps it would come from a similar batch of PCBs and suffer the same issue but so far its been okay. I even purchased a second one as a gift and it is holding up okay so far. Luckily the customer service is good to get them replaced if you have issues.
I was eyeing this keyboard for a while now.
I really liked the Coyote color and when i saw that some one put some WoB keycaps on it, i was reminded that i had some DOMIKEY WoB keycaps that i never ended up using for a build.
The only thing that was holding me back was the HHKB layout. I never used it, i love my big ass ISO Enter, so i couldn't justify spending the money for a keyboard that i might end up hating.
At the end of March i ended up with some extra money, and with a discount i was able to buy it for $100.
The kit itself is nice, with some extra screws and stuff.
This build was my fastest so far and after 5-10 minutes of fine tuning in VIA i was ready to go.
I saw that the PCB has per switch LEDholes, in the future i might end up adding some, but with a quick hot swap build i couldn't bother picking up the soldering iron.
So far i really like it, i need to get used to the layout and the Kailh Hako Royal Clears.
Also get the diffuser.
If you are looking for an easy build at an extremely reasonable price point, this is your board. For being an aluminum body, the Tokyo60 is super lightweight. It is very much plug and play once built, and super easy to customize with VIA. I am surprised the acrylic RGB diffuser didn’t come as standard, as you can’t see the under lights at all without it when built. I ended up grabbing that component afterwards from Amazon. All in all, it’s a very nice board. Definitely lube the included stabilizers. I paired my Tokyo60 with silent switches, based on previous reviews of loudness.
Great looks and the blue is gorgeous. Definitely get the diffuser. As others have written, it is stiff and hollow. Looking forward to experimenting with different switches, keycaps and polyfill to change up the feel and sound.