Mechticulous

06/08/2024

Akko Rosewood switches feauture soundtest
Thank you Akko for sending over this switch for review!
Very long review link: https://youtu.be/tx6y15BYz70

28/10/2023

#22 Anne Pro 2 with Gateron Reds

Imagine if this two-time streak of non-hot-swap keyboard commissions doesn't get broken? (No please, don't make me suffer)But, modding a nonhot-swap 60% felt more fun than I thought.

The Anne Pro 2 is arguably one of the OGs in the budget 60% keyboard space and was (and probably is) still well-loved by enthusiasts and beginners, and I had the honor to see why. The structure looks well built and felt like it was CNC-machined (I'm not sure if it is though) and the tray-mounting points seemed to be well thought out. In my opinion, this is the most consistent sound of any traymount keyboard, at least thus far I've tried. Though, one nitpick was the different specifications of the screws rather than the conventional crosshead. Secondly, the way the keyboard is mapped is well thought out. For example, when you tap the Menu key, it acts as a down arrow key, but when you hold it, it acts as a Menu. The irony is, that I could not figure out the keymapping, the quick-tapping feature, and the software, so I'm not really sure if it's a good feature, but it is an ingenious one! I wondered why not many keyboards have this kind of feature.

Also, these Gateron Reds are unexpectedly good sounding and smooth feeling after lubing! I should not dismiss "foundational" switches such as these.

✅️PE PCB sheet foam and polyfill

✅️2×Tempest

✅️Stabilizers tuned&l**ed with XHT-BDZ

✅️Switches l**ed

All this for P800!

What are you waiting for? Inquire and avail now!
Use this Quick Order Form for a commission: https://forms.gle/Lz2ykzPdipKk4KNd9

27/10/2023

#22 HyperX Alloy Origins with Cherry MX Red switches and Cherry MX Blacks on FPS keys.

This was the most grueling nonhot-swap commission yet as it features on-switch LEDs that had to be desoldered first before removing the switch. Nonetheless, it was a satisfying build! I also had the chance to test the Cherry MX switches stock, the OG of the OG. I must say that I'm surprised by how satisfying the "scratchiness" felt and how deep it sounded.

✅️PE PCB sheet foam, polyfill

✅️2×Tempest

✅️Stabilizers tuned&l**ed with XHT-BDZ

✅️Switches l**ed

All this for P1600!

What are you waiting for? Inquire and avail now!
Use this Quick Order Form for a commission: https://forms.gle/Lz2ykzPdipKk4KNd9

26/10/2023

#21 Monsgeek M1W with Gateron Milky Yellow Pro

It's been a fat while since I have been sent an aluminum keyboard, considering my first two clients sent me aluminum keyboards. As always, I'm grateful for that trust, especially since I was a new modder entering the space at that time.

Those aluminum keyboards aside, I must applaud the Monsgeek M1W for offering great features such as an aluminum body and tri-mode connectivity with a wide range of sound profile options at an affordable price. But I must mention that those looking for flex as they find in the Akko ACR series will not find it here; something I thought is noteworthy. Nevertheless the enticing features, one thing that irked me was the position of the power/wireless switch which is located on the PCB beside the Caps Lock socket. This alone repulsed me from the wireless Monsgeek series and certain boards that keep the switch in such an inconvenient place. They should learn from Cidoo which has its power switch accessible from the case.
But with the advent of new budget aluminum boards, though not wireless, like the Leobog Hi75 and Sugar65, will Monsgeek M1, arguably the catalyst for budget aluminum keyboards, still hold its place? I'd say yes for the Monsgeek M1W. No keyboards as of this writing offer wireless connectivity with an aluminum body at its price (Cidoo V75 is P1,000/$20 more).

✅️PE PCB sheet foam, stock poron plate foam, stock poron case foam

✅️2×Tempest

✅️Stabilizers tuned&l**ed with XHT-BDZ

✅️Switches l**ed

All this for P600, plus P200 for same-day modding!

What are you waiting for? Inquire and avail now!
Use this Quick Order Form for a commission: https://forms.gle/Lz2ykzPdipKk4KNd9

22/10/2023

[QOF]
Greetings! Here is the link for my Quick Order Form! I will regularly be checking out the form for a faster response!

https://forms.gle/Lz2ykzPdipKk4KNd9
https://forms.gle/Lz2ykzPdipKk4KNd9
https://forms.gle/Lz2ykzPdipKk4KNd9

For any questions, concerns, and inquiries, please feel free to message me!

Quick Order Commission Form

09/09/2023

#20 RoyalKludge R75 V1.1 (no flex cuts) with RoyalKludge Silver Pro switches

This was one of the most fun keyboards to build and type on! I've tried the Acrylic Spring by Guil Tier and was amazed by its flexiness, and the RK R75 more or less has the same amount of flex! The flex is mostly provided by the gaskets at the north side since it didn't have restricting standoffs. That said, standoffs were present where the k**b is located, making the east side making it significantly stiffer than the other directions. Because of that, flex across the keyboard is inconsistent. The most flexible directions respectively are north, west, south, and east. Unfortunately, since flex is inconsistent across the board, the sound is also inconsistent; bright and high-pitched (clack), sounding at the edges, relatively deep-pitched at the alphas, Enter key sounds deeper than other modifiers except the spacebar. But, that doesn't take away the comfortable typing experience of the R75. Even without flex cuts, it rivals flex-cut keyboards that have foam in their plate assembly when it comes to flexibility.
But, what was most disappointing about the R75 was the fact that not all R75s are made equal. To explain, the R75 that Onlyboards reviewed had flex cuts in it. I received the keyboard expecting flex cuts, but, alas, the R75 is a very elusive and confusing keyboard when it comes to sales. I hope that the peak R75 will return to Philippine shores and will not remain a mystery that's only available in the Chinese market.

But, the confusion does not end there. Introducing the RoyalKludge Silver Pro switches. The best of the Silver Pro was surprisingly smooth stock, having minimal grain and almost no static friction, but even that is inconsistent. At least half of these switches did not maintain this surprising quality, which ironically surprised me more. Upon opening up these switches, it became clear. But, I must mention that the only location where the factory l**e was applied is on the switch leaf, which made it even more astonishing.
Anyway, it turns out that these switches had two different molds for their stems. The marginally, if not noticeable, smoother switches were the switches that had their stems not completely flat, having their edges protruding before the actual stem rail. Because of that, the stem rails's surface area that contacts the switch housing is reduced compared to conventional stem rail designs. That said, we also had the normal stem rail design which is completely flat; its entire surface area rubbing against the switch housing. Other than that, there was no difference in these two differing molds of these switches, and should not affect the performance.

So, what do I think of this keyboard? Shocking and very tempting, but I think that you must rather wait for the tri-mode, flex-cut RoyalKludge R75 to hit the shopping shores

I know I basically wrote many of my thoughts into this suddenly full-blown review of the R75 V1.1, but I will be making a full video review soon which will properly explain what I was attempting to convey.

✅️The client bought the keyboard and had it directly sent to me. Can also now do J&T Express for nationwide delivery! north, south, east, west, I have you covered!

✅️Stock poron plate foam, IXPE sheet, PE plate foam.

✅️3×Tempest

✅️Stabilizers tuned&l**ed with XHT-BDZ (upgrade!)

✅️Switches l**ed

All this for P600!

What are you waiting for? Inquire and avail now!

This week's slots: 2/3

06/09/2023

#19 Akko 3098B with Akko CS Silvers and Akko CS Lavenders

Yet another hard-to-disassemble Akko keyboard as the Akko 3068B, and they both sounded the same, so I'll just speak about the performance of the CS Silvers. They feel nice; I can see why people would recommend this for gaming, but I would recommend this for typing too because of its satisfying long-pole stem. It is quite scratchy and grainy though stock, but the static friction is relatively low, and the spring weighting feels very solid. The usual clacky sound profile of Akko is present, but I feel like this one sounds "controlled," but that is just my opinion. Anyways, super solid switches, but many competitors and alternatives from Akko themselves have arrived in the market. It's only a matter of time if these will hold up to them.

✅️Unresponsive and double-clicking switch repair successful (lubing switches repairs? I don't know, it just worked)

✅️Stock silicone case dampener, PE plate foam, and stock EVA plate foam

✅️3×Tempest

✅️Stabilizers tuned&Holee'd&l**ed

✅️Switches l**ed

All this for P800!

What are you waiting for? Inquire and avail now!

This week's slots: 3/3

31/08/2023

#18 Akko 3068B Prunus lannesiana with Akko Jelly Purple
It was a keyboard that I expected to be not too amazing, but not too underwhelming either. My main qualm is the disassembly. The shroud of the Akko 3068B is not as easy to remove as the RoyalKludge RKG68 and is prone to having its plastic clips broken. When putting pressure on the shroud, it creaks really badly. Apart from the three screws on the aluminum plate, the shroud secures the plate in place mostly on the south side, which is an ingenious idea if they did away with the screws on the tray mount assembly, potentially using another type of mount, and if the clips weren't so finicky to deal with. Akko should redesign the 3068B's design when it comes to its shroud and assembly. In my opinion, the RoyalKludge G68 is overall the better board.
The Akko Jelly Purple wasn't particularly amazing. If I must say, the Akko Lavenders offered sharper tactility and a more satisfying bottom out. In my opinion, the sound of the all-polycarbonate housing of the Jelly Purple is subpar to the versatile of the Akko Lavender's sound. Either way, both are very loud and clacky switches, but the Akko Lavenders feel and sound better overall.

✅️One hot-swap socket repair successful (I can do nonhot-swap and soldering repair services, just message me!)
✅️EVA case foam, PE plate foam, and stock EVA plate foam
✅️3×Tempest
✅️Stabilizers tuned&l**ed, spacebar Holee'd
✅️Switches l**ed
All this for P400!
What are you waiting for? Inquire and avail now!
This week's slots: 2/3

29/08/2023

#17 RoyalKludge H81 with Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro
I'm quite late to the party for both the keyboard and the switches, and I must say, they exceeded my expectations!
The RoyalKludge H81 is an interesting board. Despite the popular opinion, I must say I quite like the k**b. Quickly switching between devices swiftly and in style is very appealing, but I would have loved it to be a remappable k**b instead.
The hyped Akko V3 Cream Yellow Pro does deserve its hype. It is very smooth out of the box with a very slight noticeable grain when pushing very slowly or when pressing off-center. It was very difficult to achieve deep pitched sound with these switches as they lean more on the high-pitched sound range, so I had to make drastic measures (details below!).

✅️Polyfill and PE plate foam
✅️10×Tempest (Yes, you read that right)
✅️Stabilizers tuned&l**ed
✅️Switches rel**ed
All this for P600!
What are you waiting for? Inquire and avail now!
This week's slots: 3/3

05/08/2023

#16 RoyalKludge G68 with Akko Jelly Pinks
Definitely one of the most muted builds I've done yet! The combination of XDA, non-long pole switches, and poron switch pads (shouldered by the client) made this keyboard muted. I dare say even more muted than many gasket-mounted keyboards out there, which is a surprise considering this is an aluminum plate, tray-mount keyboard.
But what surprised me the most is the RK G68's striking design. The, in my opinion, very steep angle and high profile of the keyboard is akin to a typical keyboard that has adjustable feet set to its max level. It's even more high profile than my RAKK Haribon which is borderline too steep for me. For me, using the RKG68 would require me to have a wristrest, but maybe many out there, especially gamers, will appreciate the ergonomics provided by the RK G68. Finally, the design isn't your typical, plain, traymount, plastic keyboard. This is because the RK G68's top part of the case isn't the same size as its bottom part. From the top to the bottom, the keyboard's width becomes smaller, giving it a "floating" design (or for me, "wings), which is very impressive for a keyboard at this price range. Not even my Haribon has that, but, well, Haribon had to compromise its design for the aluminum.

✅️EVA case foam and poron switch pads shouldered by the client.
✅️3×Tempest
✅️Stabilizers tuned&holee'd&l**ed
✅️Switches l**ed
All this for P400!
What are you waiting for? Inquire and avail now!
Weekly slots: 1/3

04/08/2023

#15 Langtu LT84 with Akko V3 Cream Black Pro
I've finally got to try the very hyped Langtu LT lineup with their OLED screens! I must say, I was swayed a bit and contemplated looking for a keyboard that has a screen as well, but the big bezels don't hit it right for me.
In any case, the LT84 is a decent-sounding keyboard that has been made muted by its silicon case foam. This build features poron switch pads instead of the usual PE foam mod, making it sound dry. Perhaps with PE foam, it would sound more "fun."

As for the switches, I was very surprised by their smoothness stock. Though I ended up re-lubing all of them, I must say that you don't have to open these switches at all, however, I must go on to say that you shouldn't open these switches at all. It may just be this batch, but I noticed that less than half of the switches when I reassembled them became scratchier. I'm not sure why, but it's an odd factor you should look out for. So, I ended up doing my manual break-in of at least five thousand actions to make it almost smooth as it was.

✅️Polyfill and client-shouldered poron switch pads
✅️3×Tempest =
✅️Stabilizers tuned&holee'd&l**ed
✅️Switches re-l**ed
All this for P600!
What are you waiting for? Inquire and avail now!
Weekly slots: 1/3

28/07/2023

#14 Akko Jelly Sakura Acrylic TKL with alpha Akko Lavenders and number and navigation Akko Rose Reds and the rest Gateron Blacks, all with sixty-gram springs! I know, a mouthful of switches with this one.

This board is a flashbang! It looks like candy to me with its colorful RGB! Stackmount is a fun mount to type on! I felt it was less harsh and softer than tray mounts.
Definitely a board for RGB lovers!

✅️PE foam (no case foams, clearance issue, only three layers of acrylic for the board)
✅️3×Tempest with MTX tape (upgrade, yay!)
✅️Stabilizers tuned&holee'd&l**ed
✅️Switches l**ed

All this for P600!
What are you waiting for? Inquire and avail now!
Weekly slots: 2/3