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Massdrop x Zslane Mercury Rocketeer Keyboard

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Massdrop x Zslane Mercury Rocketeer Keyboard

Name: Massdrop x Zslane Mercury Rocketeer Keyboard
Brand: Drop
SKU: massdrop-x-zslane-mercury-rocketeer-mechanical-keyboard
Price: 250 USD
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 3.292683 (41 reviews)

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Product Description

Like putting on an old record or driving a stick shift, there’s nothing quite like typing on a typewriter. With their heavy actuations, old-school colorways, and audible clicks and clacks, mechanical keyboards come close—and with the Mercury Rocketeer they’ve inched even closer Read More

Customer Reviews

3.3

(41 reviews)

(9)

(12)

(8)

(6)

66% would recommend to a friend

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cmhamm

Aug 17, 2019

Verified Buyer

Don't understand all the negativity.

I read the generally poor reviews, but I thought that the keyboard looked so beautiful that I purchased it anyway, with the Halo True switches. I have to say it exceeded my expectations. I think that there were some people who compared it to the typewriter that it was modeled after, and were disappointed that the colors didn't exactly match. While that may be the case, I didn't have that expectation. To me, it looked more like the color of a 1940s refrigerator, and in that respect, it's perfect! The build quality of the unit I received is exceptional. The paint job is flawless, and I love the feel of the board. Nice and heavy, and the keycaps are very comfortable. I spent a couple hours lubricating my switches, which was easy with the included switch puller, and a really nice stainless steel keycap puller. The only thing I haven't attempted yet is the custom programming. I want to set it up the same way as my other 60% keyboards, so I'm going to wait until I get it to work before attempting. I suppose it's possible that might be challenging, but I work in technology, and I don't expect that it'll be all that much trouble. All in all, I'm very happy with this purchase. I mean, if you're into the aesthetic (which I very much am) then I would say not to hesitate to pick one up. The pictures that are currently on the page are very representative of the actual product. (And again, I never saw the pre-renders that were posted prior to it being manufactured.)

EDIT: The firmware update process is a little daffy, but I did get it to work, without having to compile the updater myself. I used the provided configurator to create a custom .bin file, and I was able to use mdloader_windows.exe, which is available here. (https://github.com/Massdrop/mdloader/releases) Not the most straightforward process, but I got it working. I sincerely hope that they can get this wrapped into the regular QMK configurator. The most annoying part is that I can save my configurations, but only within the browser. (The regular configurator allows you to download a .json file, so I can use it from any computer.) Still, annoyances aside, I was able to get everything working to my liking, and I'm happy with the product. I was also able to find two different USB-C cable at my local Staples which match perfectly. The one on the left is a metal-covered cable, which I hadn't seen before, but looks really sweet. The one on the right is a weird, high-grade feeling rubber, and the plugs match the style of the keyboard perfectly. I haven't decided which one I'm going to use, but they're both super cool looking.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? Yes

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Sail4sea

178

Jun 4, 2021

cmhammI use regular QMK to update keyboard firmware. It is kind of ridiculous that the board hasn't been added to the main QMK repository. ALT and CTRL have, but not this keyboard. You can find it on Massdrop's own repository though. I got my layers to work and even have arrows on a layer. I was disappointed by the color, but my numbered unit was 0005. I added potatowire's SA Vim caps.

hypersprite

151

Sep 27, 2021

cmhammYou said it in your post, us early suckers expected it to match the pictures we were shown, it did not. The green key caps were gross, mine lives in Box Royal under SA Oblivion now.

Bcart34

Nov 27, 2019

Verified Buyer

Had to do a lot of work to it but it's worth every second.

Clipped/lubed stabs, lubed stabs with krytox 205 G0 and switches with tribosys 3203 replaced stock stabs with gold plated cherry stabs, this keyboard is now a dream come true, Just DO NOT use holy panda switches on stabs because stabs will not stick to keycaps due to halo elongated stem.

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cijanzen

600

Jul 18, 2019

Verified Buyer

Great board with just a few flaws

The board concept is fantastic and the final product is pretty dang close to the original idea. I don’t know why people are complaining about colours because they’re pretty darn close to the renders when you consider varying lighting and screen accuracy. The case is slightly lighter but ultimately it matches the Hermes better this way. Keycaps are great as expected from Signature Plastics. They are not thin like one review stated. I don’t know what they’re comparing with but these are your standard SA profile keycaps. The brass plate is a nice 1.5mm thick with a PVD finish. The case is sturdy and the embossing (or is it debossing?) is deep enough to not blend in but remain legible. The Zinc novelty came out really good and with a heavier switch spring like the halo true, has no problems returning after key press. Now, not everything is super amazing. The stabilizers are cheap cherry clones and they’re super rattly. I’ll be replacing them with cherry plate stabs that are clipped and lubed. Secondly, there are screws that attach the bottom plate to the top case at the very front of the keyboard that you can actually see when looking at the board straight on. I feel like this was a design flaw as it doesn’t look intentional and there’s plenty of space to push them back a bit further so they’re not protruding out the front. Shot it on iPhone X so take the white balance with a grain of salt but here are a few shots in various lighting.

indirect diffused sun light

direct sun and partial shade

indirect diffused sun light

Recommends this product? Yes

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fer.real

528

Keyboard Club Member

Jul 30, 2019

cijanzenReally nice, thorough review. Great pictures!

Mitchismo

127

Mar 22, 2020

Verified Buyer

For the love of lowered expectations!

Because of the mixed reviews, I had mixed expectations—and because I had mixed expectations, I am THRILLED. First, I wanted something to match my seafoam Colin Newman Airline MAP—and does it? Totally. It's awesome (you can see for yourself)—and I wanted something tactile. I have a KBP V60 with Matias Clickies I love and an Azio retro with blue switches I also love, so for these I got the Brass Plate with the Box White switches, and they're like the perfect mix of both. Even the Zinc return key, though heavy, makes a satisfying clunk. In fact—it feels just like a Selectric—and for that, huge marks. I really like these keys and find the board incredibly sturdy and solid. The sound does not bother me—and the feel is excellent. Comfortably tactile. Comfortable audible. And the smooth keycaps are exactly as I like them. I even love the deep dish J&K (optionally included) better than pegs for feeling out the keyboard position. Programming it is fun using The MassDrop included tool—I was able to wrestle full control over it once I figured out all you need to do is use the QMK toolkit to push the binary from the online configurator into the board by putting it in DFW mode. I wish I could copy configurations—and had a local tool just in case—but being able to save multiple flashes offers me adequate security. I just name them appropriately. I was surprised by the backlighting! I had no idea it had full lighting—I didn't see that in the pictures—and it's been fun to program that too. I swapped the function key with the right command/alt key and reprogrammed Layer 1 for more media—then swapped the left caps lock for a function key to bump me into Layer 2 where I put in all of the light commands, making MO(2) Tab the Caps Lock, like my KBP V60. That one has such an excellent arrangement of cursor keys—it's what I copy everywhere. I might add a switchable third to give me a numeric keypad off of the 789 and below... the options are really endless. AND YES, it looks amazing too. it's just lovely. The only downside mark I'll give it is that the machine screws on the front of the case are too close. It was a design error. If there is a side you shouldn't see the screws, it's the front. But you do—just a smidge. Nevertheless, I didn't expect too much and I wasn't at all dissatisfied. Quite the opposite, really. It is what it purported to be—and better in a number of ways—and is the most typewriter-ish—fifties style Deco Americana keyboard I could have asked for. It's kind of genius for an out-of-the-box board. And it matches my favorite guitar and is a real joy to type on. Especially that clunky return key. I can't believe how Selectric-feeling it is. It adds a lot to the rest of the board. And, definitely, brass plate sturdiness with white box switches FTW. The combination is deliciously tactile. What a board... What a joy. (Both photos below are un-enhanced from an iPhone 11 Pro Max on two overcast afternoons with an open window)

(Edited)

Recommends this product? Yes

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PoodlestarGenerica

Apr 3, 2020

MitchismoNice review of the aesthetic, I'm not a huge seafoam green fan, but that is pretty pleasing to look at. I love how sought after those guitars are now, I remember when they were considered junky then the dude from the black keys (I think it was him?) started playing one, and now theyre everywhere. It's good to know that everyone who got one of these keyboards didn't hate it, the colors don't look very off to me in your pictures.

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livingspeedbump

6723

KeyChatter’s Owner and Editor-in-Chief

Aug 23, 2019

Verified Buyer

Bad, just hilariously bad.

UPDATE: After a little more inspection, the screws on the bottom uare visible from the front. It's a really junky looking oversight, epsecially because the visible area is different for each screw. I loved the idea of this board, but avoid this garbage. I've got 300+ keyboards (see my DT thread if you want), and this is definitely one of the worst. Just hard avoid this board. Looks great from afar, but total crap in reality.

Just try to unsee this:

First off, got this for the color to display with a specific set. The color is so far off from renders it is comical. The included stabs are total shit. Switches were fine and as expected (Halo True). Not my favorite, but easy to to swap, so definitely a plus there. Caps are great quality, well done SP as usual. They are the best part of this keyboard. The included USB C cable is quite cheap, mine didn't work at all. Cool case, and if this was made as just a case to fit all the standard PCBs and Plates on the market it would probably be okay, but it is WAY overpriced for what it is. If you like the look though, it is totally unique and could be worth the price if you have realistic expectations.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? No

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RunRiot

Jul 22, 2019

Verified Buyer

good parts but noisy and colors didn't match, so I refinished the case

I'm not going to post a full review, as I think other reviewers have already nailed it. If I think about this keyboard as a DIY project where I got a bunch of good parts then get to do a little redesign and rebuild work, then I feel much better about it. There were definitely some minor issues that I can overlook, but the big issues I couldn't ignore were the case color and the ping/reverb on key release. A few days ago, I took everything apart and repainted the case. It was originally powder coated sea foam green, but the renders show a much darker green that matches the modfier keys. Others have stated that the pale green better matches the Hermes, but I made this purchase based on the rendering, not to match some old typewriter that I don't have. Anyway, I decided not to paint the bottom so I didn't have to deal with removing and possibly ruining the stickers, but there is a narrow band around the bottom edge that is visible, so I had to paint that. So after disassembling everything, I taped off the bottom and inside and roughed up the outer surfaces with a red 3M ScotchBrite pad for the paint to grab onto. I cut a piece of cardboard to place inside the case and keep the top and bottom slightly separated so I could paint everything as one assembly, while hitting all the edges that might be visible. I used Krylon ColorMaxx paint + primer spray paint in "Satin Jade". I checked online and at several local stores, and while this is not an exact match for the mod keys, it's the closest readily available rattle can that I could find, and I think it worked out well. I sprayed a light coat, waited an hour, then a medium coat to allow some leveling. I let it dry for about 4 more hours before setting it out in the sun for about 8 hours. There's still some orange peel, but I didn't want to overdo it and have the paint run and/or take forever to dry. I was planning on finishing it with some 2k satin clear after it finishes drying (still has an odor after 4 days, might take a month or more to fully dry in this climate). But for now I'm just leaving it as is, since it looks pretty good. On to the noisy keys. I cut a piece of 0.10" Sorbothane for the case bottom (tight fit but works) and o-ringed the keycaps. Several keys still noticeably ping after re-assembly, and I'm not sure it made any difference at all, other than adding weight. I've got another piece of Sorbothane on order to sandwich between the plate and PCB. Not sure if this is going to silence it fully, but it's worth a shot. [Edit: Removed the o-rings. Added Sorbothane between plate and PCB, which made no difference whatsoever in reducing ping. What *did* make a huge difference was to disassemble every switch (Halo Trues) and add just a touch of dielectric grease to the top and bottom of each spring. Ping problem is completely solved now. This is apparently a common problem with Cherry style switches, especially when using a metal plate. The springs rattle inside the switch, and the metal plate allows the vibrations to resonate. Luckily these switches are hot swappable and not soldered in! BTW used same dielectric grease on stabilizers, and the keyboard is much better after all this work.] Here's the case refinished in Krylon "Satin Jade":

(Edited)

Recommends this product? No

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absolemna

Jul 27, 2019

RunRiotLove it in the Satin Jade!! I was thinking of doing a bronze patina on mine.

bullmoos211

Aug 15, 2019

RunRiotThat looks fantastic! Professional even. You did a hell of a better job than the manufacturer, let me tell ya

ratratrat

Jul 30, 2019

Verified Buyer

Disappointing.

Most people covered the basics already. I'll just list my issues: * Color of case is significantly lighter than renders. Reviews of people re-painting the case get closer to what we expected and it shows you how much better the keycaps look on something darker. * Due to different case color, the keycaps that were made for the case don't quite match. (SA Hyperfuse, however, works great with the case as the mint in the modifiers matches the case color well.) The board just doesn't look quite right with a lighter, mint green when the caps are all very rich and darker.

* The case parts don't fit as well as they should. It tends to remain bent when the hex screws are tightened closed to eliminate gaps where the two halves meet. If you untighten the screws enough for the case to be able to lay flat on a desk, the case halves bow and show gaps. I have found that after filling the case with EVA foam, the bending problem is less of an issue. * In addition to the color of the case being generally wrong compared to renders, there's been a substantial number of reports of the paint job arriving defective. Mine had swirls on the bottom. Others were not as lucky and had quite visible scarring on top and around the case. It looks like they tried to assemble the case parts while the paint was still curing. * Serialization is a fking joke. 302 were sold during the drop. Somehow I ended up with serial number 000477. (As of this edit, 397 sold. Again. I have #477.) * If you didn't preorder, you won't get the metal enter key and also missed out on one extra keycap set option. (You can see all of them here: https://drop.com/buy/64755 ) The arrows are no longer available. * Board had no way to be reprogrammed initially, but it's now supported in QMK and with Massdrop's keyboard configurator. Review has been edited to reflect this. * The PCB seems to be your standard 60% with Pok3r locations for mounts. If not for the need to have USB C plug extenders in this style case, you likely can swap out the board. The plate, however, won't support anything beyond the pictured layout and the plate is mounted to the case. You could probably get away with using a floating plate after swapping out the PCB. However, the plate is mounted to the case and the PCB is mounted to the plate. This limits modding options. * It needs work to not sound bad. And even then, there's not much you can do after stuffing it full of foam. The hollow nature of the case amplifies all of the typing sound. You're going to want to get some EVA from the craft store and fill the case with it to dampen the noise. After stuffing this case full of foam, the rattle issue mostly went away, but the typing sounds of bottoming out on a switch was still very present. Kind of like a KER-KLUNK sound. * With some switches, the case reverberates with the ping, making it seem worse than it should be. Adding foam and lubing springs helps but does not eliminate the issue with some switches. The best way I can describe it is that when I've had buckling spring keyboards long before... on the rare occasion you felt a spring ping almost in a way like you hit your elbow and the nerve twanged. That. That is what typing on the Rocketeer can feel like if you make no attempts to dampen the sound. Of all keyboards I have ever used... this is among the worst out of the box. I have resigned myself to having an expensive display board. Maybe I'll take it to the next keyboard meetup so I can be laughed at for wasting my money on this. (Edit note: I took it to the meetup. I got laughed at. People noticed the ping despite the noisy environment.) TLDR: Form over function. It's pretty. It's a trophy girlfriend with a bad hair dye job. Arm candy. But no, it's not something I feel like I can ever type on.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? No

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myyrddraal

Sep 10, 2019

ratratrat I can confirm a minimal case bending, but since having a board on the plain desk is a no go since long time ago, I don't care at all. The quality of my painting was 99.99% with a minimal irregularity visible only in a bright light after long search. As for the color. Sorry, mate, your color combination is really weird. I find the color I got just perfect. I am taking it to the upcoming meetup with me and I am pretty sure I won't be laughed at as the feedback on aesthetics I've got until now was only very positive.

•

hypersprite

151

Jul 16, 2019

Verified Buyer

So people willing to take a risk on a pre-production buy get burned again!

To new buyers, When I bought this in July 2018, it was $300, the renders looked way better than the finished product and it was delayed countless times. The price is now $250 and the actual product images are WYSIWYG. (original title) Color is off all the way around and Drop configurator not ready when these arrived

This picture is to show the difference between what I thought I was getting and what I got (saturation and color may look different on your monitor, but notice how the modifiers on the web page are similar to the case color where as in real life, the mods match the render well and are much darker than the case. This is beyond a doubt, the most disappointing Drop I've been on. Reading other reviews, I guess I was lucky to get one without finish defects, so I guess it could be worse. I was already apprehensive about a green keyboard before I joined this thing but the renders looked good on my monitor, in real life:

Case: This is far more pail and not as blue as what can be seen in the renders. Sadly, under that is a polished aluminum case that looks fantastic (see discussion test parts pics), I even asked if I could get mine without the green but got no response. The pain here being this is powder coated, so stripping it will be a nightmare (and I'm gonna strip it at some point).
The Alphas: Too much sea foam green, not enough blue to match the renders. Close enough, I guess, but looks wrong next to the case color.
The Modifiers: Matches the renders well but all three colors together look like they belong to three different things that where not meant to go together. Would have been nice if the Shifts, Tab, \ and Backspace come in the Mods color so mixing in another set of Alphas could makes something of this mess. I'm definitely going to pay more attention to those kinds of details on any future fully themed Drops like this one.

Others are commenting on the sound, to me it sounds exactly like I would expect a die cast case to sound. It's never going to sound like billet or cast aluminum case, so I have no issues here. I got mine switchless and installed Mod-Ls and I like the way it feels. One note is the shiny zinc Rocketeer cap needed more than a 45g spring to push it back up, at least for me and it has an odd feel, maybe sorta, kinda like a return bar. Wife says "That keyboard is twice as loud as your other one" (Alt with Kailh Speed Copper switches). She's right, even though the Mod-L don't click, the overall klackieness is much louder. Lastly, this thing was super late, so I would have thought the Drop KB Configurator would be ready by the time it arrived. Nope, still not ready. Edit later that same day: Drop KB Configurator tool is live and working but this is how I discovered the hole in the bottom of the case and button don't line up, so I had to feel around for it with my poker.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? No

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bullmoos211

Aug 15, 2019

hyperspriteNot only all of this, but some functions ( so far the menu key and RGB) don't even work if you reassign them.

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Sail4sea

178

Jul 27, 2019

Verified Buyer

Only Slightly Disappointed.

I like this keyboard, but it could have been a whole lot more. First, the color is a little bit off. (See the above picture on what color it should have been. The original typewriter keys have faded over time, so I didn't expect an exact match.) I knew they couldn't match it exactly, but it should have been close. The modifier keys are the correct color and if the case only matched the modifier keys, it would have been perfect. The keyboard promises to be QMK compatable, but the Massdrop Configurator has only been available today as of this writing and it is not in the main QMK github repository. It is however in Massdrop's own QMK repository. The ability to customize firmware should have been ready before the unit shipped. Also, the documentation was completely lacking. The unit has hotswapable switches, but there is no pictures or tutorial on how to hotswap the keys. I am deducting an additional star for this. The case is well built and feels solid. The working backlights were a nice surprise, and I could see myself using this keyboard to write quite a bit. However, what should have been a really awesome board was slightly disappointing. All and all, it is a pretty decent keyboard, but the color and the launch itself was lacking.

Recommends this product? Yes

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eponymous

586

Jul 29, 2019

Sail4sea"The unit has hotswapable switches, but there is no pictures or tutorial on how to hotswap the keys." Is there something unique about how these switches get swapped, or is it just like every other hotswappable PCB on the planet (i.e., you grab a switch with a switch puller and it comes right out)? If the latter, it feels a bit like complaining that your new car didn't come with instructions for opening the door via the latch because you personally couldn't figure out that you just grab the handle and pull.

Nixin

Jul 31, 2019

Sail4seaThanks so much for that picture - it summarizes the problem perfectly. So disappointing. I got into mechanical keyboards after years of being a mechanical typewriter collector (after 3 kids I had to get a smaller hobby!) I was so excited about this board, and then, after 1.5 years, I opened the box and saw it. Such a disappointment. I think I'm done with Massdrop. Gonna just stick with HHKBs.

DribbelDog

Jul 13, 2019

Verified Buyer

The color is so far off, it's not even funny

This turned out horrendous beyond anything I would have ever expected. Going into this, I knew there were some risk. A relatively low amount of orders for a rather unique object that was ALSO relatively affordable. Well, it did NOT pay off. Just look at the color; it's not even funny. Its not even off in a wonky funny kind of way, it's just hideous. I cannot image how Massdrop thought this was OK. When the cases turned out as horrible as they did, it was probably too expensive of a mistake to fix. Sometimes I attempt to match my socks with my shirt, but because the shades are so far off, it ends up looking terrible. That's exactly what happened to this keyboard.

Yup, I even have a 'matching' coiled cable from the other drop. The drop page for the cable says "colorways to match the Mercury Rocketeer keyboard". Just LOOK at it! It looks COMPLETELY out of place! The coil sits up way too high, but that's not even nearly the worst part (talking about the coloring obviously). Now I even have FOUR shades of un-matching green, instead of 'just' three. Just... no. I was really looking forward to trying Navy Blue's on this board. They feel great, but I cannot stop looking at this board because my eye keeps being drawn to the horrible mint color. That ruins the experience no matter how nice the switches are. On another note: there's a horrible pinging noise when typing on this board. I've had multiple pinging boards in the past, but this is by far the worst case of it I have ever experienced. But wait! There's more! There's a horrible scuff on the side of my housing. It's actually textured, I can feel it. Quality control was obviously skipped. Maybe I should contact support.

Really, I felt the itch to cancel when the orders were delayed. There was an opportunity to get out of this. Unfortunately, I did not scratch that itch. On a positive note; these ABS caps are never going to shine, since there's no way in hell I'm actually going to use this thing. Also, according to my girlfriend it's cute. Unfortunately, I disagree, and since I don't want to look at this thing, she won't get to use it either.

Recommends this product? No

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ProfessorEpsilon

Aug 2, 2019

You can buy them if you can find a shop that repairs old typewriters .. there is one in LA. You probably also need a rebuilt platen ... they get as hard as a rock. Believe it or not, people make those too!!

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