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How do i find keycaps like the Mito SA PULSE drop?

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The keycaps look really good and high quality but I would like a completely different colour combo to that. Is there somewhere else that i can find something of that quality with more flexibility on colour?
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Tosel
158
Apr 30, 2018
Short answer: if you want an SA pulse set, but in a different color combination you simply want another SA set! Long answer: you should probably learn more about keycaps, especially profiles. SA pulse are keycaps made in SA profile, that you may see as sort of a standard shape of caps, as mainly all SA caps come from the same molds from a company called signature plastic (but also maxkey makes SA clones). If you check other SA sets, as dasher and dancer, amazing chocolatier, 1976 and carbon to name a few, you'll see that for the most part they are pretty much the same, color combination excluded obviously. SA profile is characterized by having spherical tops (as opposed to normal cylindrical or even flat for notebooks), and for being sculpted (that means that each row is different to give you a keyboard with sort of a curved shape, to make keys more accessible). Other popular keycap styles are DSA and XDA, that are both spherical and non sculpted (xda is a taller sda), and OEM and cherry that are both cylindrical and sculpted. I attach a picture to try to be more clear!
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jjackson
52
Apr 30, 2018
Oooh, yeah... Makes it more troublesome for sure.
PBT will feel rough, and it's a more durable plastic. Generally limited to darker legends on lighter caps
ABS is smoother, but will still last longer than most would need. Colors can be anything, on anything. This allows the likes in GMK Laser, SA Pulse, and anything you can dream up.
Watch geekhack interest check forums to see what's out there
Tosel
158
May 1, 2018
Just to make things more complicated it's also really important the quality of execution. As an example the average $5 membrane keyboard has abs keycaps, but on the other hand it's the same material of which lego bricks are made, and they feel as if it is a different material due to their exceptional level of finishing. As another example I have in front of me 3 different kind of pbt keycaps: the stock ones that came with a k-type keyboard, a set of dev/tty, and the cheapest pbt blanks I could find on aliexpress! While the k-type ones are well made they don't feel as good as the dev/tty, they are rougher and get dirty a lot earlier, as dust sticks to the rough texture a lot more than the velvet like of the dev/tty. And then I have the cheap ones that I don't even know if they are pbt, as they feel just a little better than the ones of the cheapest membrane keyboards! So in the end buy what you like the most, if you buy from a reputable seller you will ensure that you'll get the quality you paid for, pbt or abs.
BobtheSpaceCadet
70
Apr 30, 2018
It's also a good idea to take a look at the interest checks on other sites, like Geekhack. This is where people will pitch their ideas to gauge interest and develop their plans before running the groupbuy. Sometimes those groupbuys are run through Massdrop, and sometimes not. It can take a long time for interest check to move onto the groupbuy stage (sometimes they never even make it) so getting that endgame keyset can take a lot of patience. If you're really keen you could try getting in on the next round at Deskthority (assuming there is one) as there are a lot of colour customisation options through their groupbuys, but it can be a pretty intimidating (and lengthy) process. Good luck though, whatever you decide.
LevelSteam
Apr 28, 2018
Those keycaps are custom designed by members of the community (like Mito), coordinated with manufacturers such as Signature Plastics, and then run through vendors like Massdrop. The whole process can take quite a while, and you'll have to keep checking places like the mechanical keyboards subreddit, geekhack forums, and talk pages here to see what's coming up.
If you're feeling ambitious you could always start working with the community to design a set yourself too. I'm personally not brave enough to take on that kind of project myself, but it could be a great way to make something that you like and that can also be enjoyed by others :)
Also, pimpmykeyboard.com is Signature Plastics store page, and has a few sets available right now in other colors (not sure what, if any, SA sets are there though).
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