We received a couple of the pre-production samples of the SHIFT last week. This is one of the key milestones for getting the keyboard ready for mass production. Here is a side-by-side photo showing our original SHIFT design and the new updated one. Our next steps are to update the firmware on the new SHIFT along with ensuring the various mechanical / electrical parts are to spec. I’m pretty excited about checking off this step and we will be updating as we hit more milestones. Let me know what you think in discussion!

Pre-production samples were sent to @Zambumon this week and he has approved them for production! To quote Zambumon: Just got the MT3 Serika's final samples. The results are beyond fantastic. Hope you guys enjoy every detail of this set as much as I do. Here are a few photos of the set - let us know what you think!

The Mitolet violet color is a result of a sampling mistake during one of MiTo’s projects, but the color turned out to be so beautiful in real life that he decided to include it with the Pulse SA R3 project. The design became a hit and Pulse GMK kit wouldn’t be complete without an extra versatile and compact kit - the Mitolet, which includes MiTo’s mysterious XX) face design and universal keycaps to suit almost all ortholinear, 60%, 65%, 75%, TKL and custom keyboards.

When we decided to create a new Drop-exclusive keyboard, we didn’t know we would land on a 75% layout. Back in early 2020, we kicked off concepting and preliminary specs around the idea of a gasket-mount keyboard. It was set to be an expansion of our existing lineup—and at the time, popular interest in gasket-mount builds seemed to align with interest in compact layouts. As a result, work on an “Alt Gasket Version” started in earnest with drawings and specifications. It wasn’t long until we noticed a tidal wave of community interest for 75% layouts. In fact, it looked quite clear that 75% was “the new meta”—so ultimately, we decided to follow the community with our take on the 75% layout. That meant starting fresh with new drawings, new designs, and new engineering. Features for Enthusiasts After finalizing the layout, we thought deeply about how to make a typing and customization experience that the community would love. Carefully incorporating user...

The final prototypes have been approved—and they look downright dapper, if we may say so ourselves. Made with a sleek aluminum case, the Drop SHIFT mechanical keyboard allows you to customize the backlighting, layout, and feel. With dye-subbed PBT keycaps and your choice of switches, it’s ready for anything, whether you use it for gaming, programming, or cranking out emails. We hope you’re as delighted with it as we are!

Thank you to everyone who chimed in on the discussion of our SHIFT mechanical keyboard. We've received lots of responses around the design and layout—and we value each and every comment. With your feedback, we’ve decided to make some important changes to the keyboard. The new, more compact SHIFT will have the following changes made to it: 1. We’re removing the second row of keys from the numpad cluster. This allows the function row and the top row of the numpad cluster to be pulled down closer to the alpha cluster. It will also match the distance found on the CTRL and other, similar TKL keyboards. As a side benefit, people with smaller hands can more easily reach the F row. 2. We’re adding an additional 1u (delete) key to the function cluster. As a result of this addition, the F1–F12 keys will be shifted. This change results in a more easily accessible delete key and a more uniform, aesthetically pleasing look. 3. We’re adding three RGB indicator lights for the Caps...

Diffusing the Diffuser We love RGB, but we also understand that it’s not for everyone. The problem with integrated RGB designs is that even when you turn them off, the plastic diffusers are still visible—a byproduct of RGB that some users find visually unappealing. Solving this issue, the SENSE75 has its LED diffusers hidden on its underside of the keyboard, making them entirely invisible from standard viewing angles. When turned on, the subtle LED underglow casts on the desk surface providing a natural and pleasant looking halo. Turned off, the keyboard’s minimalist design takes over and keeps the focus on its soft lines and curved transitions. Applying the App We know how important it is to have full, customizable control over your keymappings and lighting options. That's why we’ve built a Windows- and Mac-compatible configurator application for the SENSE75—complete with an easy-to-use interface that lets you quickly customize your keys and lighting. Future versions...

The Hangul & Arabic Kits MiTo believes the calligraphic style of Arabic glyphs pair very well with the black color and complementary cyan. Same goes for the Hangul alphabet, which gives a futuristic and unique look to the keycap set. Both kits are available on their own, which means that they are affordably retro-compatible with any GMK keycap set previously designed, including Laser GMK.

The Micons Kit The Micons are MiTo’s futuristic take on a new icon based convention for computer keyboards, inspired by the legendary IBM, Macintosh and Windows words and symbols that nowadays are recognized globally by billions of users, during their everyday computer tasks. So far, the Micons have been present in project such as Canvas, Godspeed, Laser and many others. The idea behind the Micons is that the symbols should: 1 - Resemble the classic designs by Apple and Microsoft; 2 - Be simple and intuitive; 3 - Feature geometrical shapes; 4 - Use no more than 3 graphic elements; 5 - Be suited for both dye sublimation and doubleshot manufacturing techniques.

CTRL, ALT, SHIFT V2 We think it’s fair to say Drop’s original CTRL, ALT, and SHIFT keyboards have earned a place as classics within the hobby. But, since their debut, it’s also fair to say there has been a lot of evolution among mechanical keyboards. So, what do you do to modernize a classic without sacrificing what made it so in the first place? And, beyond that, what might something totally new look like? When we’ve done customer surveys and asked buyers why they picked one of the three the answer is usually the same - the design. Machined from a solid block of aluminum, then sandblasted and anodized, with pleasant rounded corners and simple-yet-elegant industrial design, CTRL, ALT and SHIFT look as great as they feel.  However, the common complaints we’ve heard are related to stabilizers, switch compatibility, and typing sound. So, we’d like to introduce you to the V2 family of these icons.  The refreshed V2 versions of CTRL, ALT and SHIFT will all have several...

One of the most exciting aspects of the mechanical keyboard hobby is how anyone can become more than just a consumer – anyone can give designing a keycap set a shot and become a contributor as well!   I’ve been involved with designing keycap sets long before I worked for GMK – in fact my set Jukebox SA was the very first SA set to run on Massdrop years ago. Since then I’ve designed a few other kits (GMK Honeywell, GMK Mint Dolch) but have concentrated my efforts on helping other designers find good homes for their sets, and I’ve had the absolute pleasure of working directly with many of the designers in the community.    If you want to learn how to design a GMK keycap set (or any other profile – much of what I will go over will be universally helpful for any profile) I’ll be providing multiple articles here to walk you through every step of the process and best practices to use when designing a set.  The steps I will go over in detail are as follows:   ▪️ Basic overview /...

If you’re just now stepping into the world of custom mechanical keyboards, or trying to expand your switch catalogue for upcoming builds, all of the phrases you may see on a switch sales page can be confusing. Where more seasoned keyboard veterans might scoff at me for making a claim like this, I can assure you that even after having purchased thousands of switches myself I still come across new, strange ways of vendors trying to sell me switches. While I don’t have the space here to go through every single one of the quirky selling gimmicks I’ve seen over the years, I figure it might be worthwhile to give a loose guide to help people out. So, in this article I’m going to cover the things that you need to both look for and ignore when buying your next set of switches! Type and Manufacturer Image Credit: @BMa1 While this may seem an incredibly obvious suggestion to be made as something to look out for it, it isn’t entirely without merit. To new people coming into the...

By now, we’ve all seen those technology column articles from various news outlets discussing all of the best new mechanical keyboards out there for you to “upgrade your productivity” and “customize your workplace setup.” While some of these articles look at different pre-built options and every so often a truly customizable one, all of these articles fall short on one specific thing: the switch options. Championed as productivity improvers, strain reducers, and the ultimate personalized touch for your desk at work or at home, these websites unfortunately limit their discussion of mechanical keyboard switches simply to ‘Red’, ‘Blue’, and ‘Brown’ ones. Knowing that there are thousands of more interesting, uniquely designed, and fancifully colored options out there, I can’t help but feel a little sad that first-time buyers think that that is all there is out there for them. Keeping in mind how many new keyboard enthusiasts are sold short on the switch options out there, the team at...

I don’t like the phrase “it should go without saying”; if that were the case, there would be so many things that never got mentioned, and a lot of things we’d get wrong because of it. This is also true when building your custom mechanical keyboard: there’s a multitude of best practices out there that can, and will, help guide you towards a cleanly built, good-sounding board and an overall positive experience, provided someone *tells* you what those are.  Here are some that “should go without saying”, but will be said anyway for those who are new to the hobby, or just getting back in after some time away! We’ll be focusing on hotswap mechanical keyboards, as those are by and large the most popular kind of PCB for newcomers and veterans alike, though many of our practices will still apply to soldered builds as well.  As always, if there’s anything you feel we missed and would like to add, or need further clarification on, feel free to leave a comment below! Check All Parts Before...

In 2017, we embarked on an ambitious new project: to make a brand new set of high precision doubleshot keycap molds with Matt3o's popular MT3 profile. A project that was supposed to be completed in 10 months ended up taking over 2 years. More than a thousand groupbuy participants shifted from eager anticipation, to massive frustration, and finally elation when they received their keycaps. Since then, we’ve made and shipped over 50,000 keycap sets using our doubleshot MT3 toolset and it remains our highest average-rated keycap profile that we’ve ever sold. We learned a crucial lesson from this experience: making high quality doubleshot keycap tools (molds) is extremely difficult and time-consuming. So, when we began a new project to make a whole new set of tools for a new profile, we decided to do it behind closed doors to spare community members from the roller coaster of unexpected delays. We kicked the project off in early 2020 with some ambitious goals: Create a cylindrical...

If you’re in this hobby long enough, you’ll eventually encounter a set of stabilizers (stabs) that, for reasons you can’t quite explain, will not stop rattling or ticking! Even if you followed all of the best practices we previously outlined, and memorized our stabilizer tuning guide, you may still run into a set of stabilizers that doesn’t seem to want to behave.  Today, we’re going to clarify the specific functionality of a stabilizer, and demystify what can cause stabilizer issues, split into the three main things that can cause them: the keycap, the switch, or the stabilizer, itself.  Bear in mind that while many of these things CAN cause an issue, not all of them are curable through traditional means, so stay with us as we walk you through what can cause stabilizer tuning issues!  If some of these don’t seem to be happening with your keyboard, or you’ve encountered SEVERAL ISSUES AT ONCE, we’ll cover that at the end as well. As always, if you have anything...

Before launching any product, there are many designs, concepts, and ideas that pass between teams before arriving at a final design which makes its way to your computer screen and, eventually, desk. This is no more true than when considering possibly the most "art"-forward aspect of the mechanical keyboard hobby—artisan keycaps. It should be obvious that a lot of planning and artistry goes into crafting these literal pieces of art. We don't often get a chance to see behind the curtain, though. So, let's take a closer look at the upcoming Drop + Dwarf Factory Lord of the Rings Rohan Artisan Keycaps. Before any resin is spilled, Middle Earth (the entity that licenses the Lord of the Rings IP) needs to approve the concepts based on concept art provided by Dwarf Factory. We connect with DF to coordinate on the topic and subject matter—in this particular case, additional Rohan-themed designs—to be sure that the concepts match with overall direction, whether that be pairing up with a...

When considering which aftermarket keycap set to get, there can be many different factors to consider. We’ve already discussed the different materials that keycaps can be made from, and of course there is the obvious colorway consideration, but what about the shape of the individual keycaps themselves?  In the early days of the enthusiast keyboard hobby, there were extremely limited options available for aftermarket keycap sets. Unicomp was making replacement keycap sets for buckling spring keyboards and Signature Plastics was making keycap sets compatible with MX switches (GMK had not yet become an option to the enthusiast market - that would come a couple years later).  Now, though? You’d be easily forgiven for being overwhelmed by the number of options available on the market at this point.  Let’s walk through the characteristics that define the various profiles, and cover some of the major profiles you’ll come across.  ▪️ Keycap Shape (Spherical, Cylindrical, Flat) ▪️ Sculpted...

Okay, so you’ve decided you want to get some aftermarket keycap sets. What should you look for? Broadly speaking, keycap sets will be split up into three different groups, according to the material they’re made of. In order of abundance, they are:  ▪️ ABS ▪️ PBT ▪️ POM Image Credit: @callmeL Despite this clean delineation of materials, keep in mind that nothing in the real world of manufacturing is this simple. Different manufacturers will use different material blends (the bulk material may be ABS, but there are all sorts of functional additives that will differ), tooling is different and manufactured/maintained to different standards, and quality standards are different.  In addition to the materials used to manufacture a keycap set, we must also explore a few different “legending techniques” (how the letters that you see on each keycap get there). We’ll focus primarily on the more premium legending options here, but keep in mind that you might come across others in your...

Let’s face it – everything in the world today revolves around brand names. The clothes have to be Supreme or Gucci, the cars have to be Lamborghinis or Porsches, and the cereal better have Toucan Sam on it, or I will go hungry all day. While a lot of these brands have become ingrained into every facet of our lives thanks to social media, television, etc., many people don’t realize just how foreign the appeal of some of these brands would be if we weren’t overly invested in fashion, cars, or breakfast cereals. In much the same way, when people begin stepping into the mechanical keyboard scene they lose complete bearing on what brands represent what. The matter is only further compounded with switches, which have nearly exploded in popularity and number of releases in recent years. So, while I may not be able to give you all of the ins and outs of every single manufacturer out there, here’s an arbitrary amount of the most common brand names in switches that you should be aware of...