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!V Banggood keyboard video
Notes
Details
Prompts
Start with why
What
Details:
Who
Reason for success:
What is my audience and how can I cater towards them?
Why
Personal/Channel Benefits:
Main ideas/messages:
How
Extra preparation/research needed:
Presentation style:
Contents of script:
- What I bought and why
- Affiliate links
- Building it stock
- Sound test
- Mods
- Tape mod
- Foam mod
- PE foam mod
- Reviews of products
Contents of visuals:
Helpful resources and materials:
To Record
- videos on pe foam mod
- Broken switch
- artisan on board (escape and side row)
- artisan on spl;its
To Edit
- intro scroll sound effect
- zoom out/in distortion
- Fade in/out from text
- modded outer transition
Brainstorming
Intro
How will you make sure the viewer is seen/understood within the first 15 seconds? What questions are you going to promise to answer?
- In this video, I’ll be building and modding this budget aesthetic keyboard from start to finish:
- If you’re unsure on where to start with buildilng your own budget board, or liked what you saw in the sneak peek, be sure to watch until the very end. Brief outline of topics covered:
- Banggood reached out to me and gave me a budget of 200 usd to spend on their website, so a huge thanks to them for sponsoring this video.
- They provide affordable and in-stock keyboards and parts for those getting into the hobby, so you don’t have to worry about limited edition group buys or one year wait times. All the parts I’m buying are going to be from there, so if you’re interested in anything from this build, be sure to check out the description for some discounted affiliate links.
- Anyways, let’s get into everything I bought.
Products
- My setup is currently mostly black, so I decided to go for the Gamakay LK67 white edition, a hotswap board to make inserting and removing switches less tedious. I initially chose this board because of the rgb on the sides of the keyboard and the volume knob, but it also has extra features like bluetooth connectivity and custom software to setup macros and customize its lighting effects. Although it’s priced similarly to other budget options, it doesn’t come with switches and keycaps so you’ll have to spend extra money on that.
- Next, to add color to a mainly white board I chose these milk keycaps to add some pastel highlights. They’re made of pbt plastic and are of cherry profile, which looks like this in comparison with other layouts. These weren’t the cheapest option on banggood, but I thought it would be worth it for the extra keycap design and colors.
- The last thing I needed for a fully functioning keyboard were switches so I bought cheap gateron yellows for the buttery linear experience. I already used them prior in my aliexpress video, and they were just generally a cheaper alternative to the other switches available.
- These 3 things were enough for a fully functional keyboard, which totalled to around 133 usd. If you’re this deep in the rabbit hole though, you might as well keep digging.
- I decided to buy extra accessories like a black coiled cable, a golden replacement knob, and some bull artisan keycaps. That added another 42 usd to the dent in banggood’s wallet, so the final total came to around 175 usd before shipping.
- I did also buy some acoustic foam for modding purposes, but I ended up just using the one the package came with.
- If you want to hear my thoughts on the board or anything else, I’ll have a review segment later on in the video.
Building
Stock
- To test the keyboard out stock, I inserted the switches and put in the keycaps. Here’s a sound test of the keyboard without any mods.
- I was really impressed with how the keyboard sounds stock; the stabilizers are clean and have little rattle. However, sometimes there would be a metallic or hollow reverb sound after harsh key presses, but it isn’t too noticeable unless your ear is right next to the board. Hopefully, modding the keyboard can help make it sound nicer.
Modding
- This is going to be my first time doing some of these mods, so hopefully I don’t mess anything up hehe
crack- uh oh. that sounded bad, but luckily nothing bad actually happened
Tempest Tape
- The first mod I did was the tempest tape mod, which is where you cover the bottom of the keyboard’s PCB with masking tape. This helps absorb higher sound frequencies, while reflecting lower sound frequences for more thock. If you want to learn more, I would recommend you watch nearLucid’s video on it.
- Apparently you’re supposed to apply 2-3 layers of tape, so I did 3 just to be safe.
- Because of the screws that secure the pcb with the bottom of the case, I also had to create holes for these white thingies, and I had to create another hole to let the battery wire pass through
- Then, I tried to replace the stock knob with the golden ones I bought, but unfortunately, they didn’t fit, no matter how much I tried to force it on. I wasn’t expecting to use the default knob again so I just carelelssly pulled it out with pliers, so now there’s some scuffed marks on it. Oops.
- Next up, I used the foam that came with the package to sound dampen the case and reduce its hollowness. I cut out a good chunk, and just like with the tempest tape mod, I made holes for any extrusions along the bottom.
- After seeing videos on the insane sound changes by the pe foam mod, I was finally able to see the results for myself. Essentially, you put a layer of pe foam between the pcb and the plate, which helps reduce higher and lower sound frequences to make the board more neutral sounding, often described as being “poppy” or “marbly”.
- Once again, nearLucid has a super high quality video explaining and demonstrating it’s effects.
- First, I marked and cut out holes for the stabilizers. There wasn’t much progress being made by using scissors, so I decided to use whatever this blade is I stole from my cousin.
- Then, I removed any excess foam, and poked holes to allow for the big switch pins to go through the foam.
- Here’s what the finished product looks like.
- Now, it was time to do the traditional mods like lubing the switches and stabilizers to make them feel smoothier and sound nicer.
- Hold up; I guess the stabilizers were already lubed, which wasn’t surpising as they already sound pretty clean, so lubing the switches it is.
- Since I’m deep in this rabbithole, I already own tools to help with the lubing process. First is a lubing station, which acts as a stand and assembly line to put the switch parts on. Next is a switch opener to help with unlocking the housing of the switch to take it apart. The lube I’ll be using is krytox 205g0, which is pretty standard for linear switches. I was super eager to test out the board so all I did was lube all sides of the stem, but I would recommend you also lube the springs if you hear any pinging noises like I do by shaking them in a lubed bag.
- With the lubing station I get to satisfyingly click all the switches back together, and pop em out like so.
- Anyways, I did all the interal mods already, so it’s finally time to put the board back together. I reconnected the pcb to the battery, and screwed the case back together. The screws are as tight as can be, but the foam and tape prevents the case from fully sealing. Unfortauntely, the inner switch to swap between wired or bluetooth mode broke off because of my clumsiness, so if you are planning on getting this keyboard, I would be careful with that.
- I was meticulous with inserting the switches into the board since the pe foam increases the chances of pins bending. Whenever that happened, I would just use pliers to straighten them out again like so.
- Lastly, I put on the keycaps, and voila, the board was finally complete. I know I did buy the artisan keycaps for this build, but I don’t think it really goes well with the board so I put them on my split keyboard instead. Without any further ado, it’s time to hear the full sound test of the board.
sound test- I am absolutely mesmerized by the sound of the finished product; the main keys produced the poppiness I was hoping for, and the spacebar sounds quite polished and contrasting with the rest of the board. Also, this spacebar makes me want to make more errors just to hear it
bruh. - After spending time with the keyboard, here’s my reviews on the different components.
Reviews
Keyboard
- I think the gamakay lk67 is one of the better budget options for building your own mechanical keyboard considering all its features I mentioned earlier like hotswap capabilites, rgb glow, and bluetooth support.
- If you’re on a budget then the lack of keycaps and switches will cause you to spend more, but there is a prebuilt one with those parts included if you’re interested.
- There are no feet to adjust the typing angle of the board, but the subtle 4 degree angle feels nice to type on with some sort of wrist rest.
- If you plan on doing the same mods as me, be sure to be more careful with the switch so you don’t break it off. I’m sure I could probably use a toothpick or something to switch between the modes though.
- I will note that the rgb keycap glow isn’t too bright, but that might just me because my only other experience is the eye-blinding gamakay k61 featured in my other keyboard video.
PBT keycaps
- Next up, the keycaps aren’t doubleshot so I’m not sure how long it would take for the legends to fade away, but as of right now, the graphics are crisp and detailed.
- The wide selection of keycaps helps with different designs, and ensures compatibility for most keyboard configurations and sizes.
- For my first time trying cherry profile keycaps, they were easy to adapt to, especially since I’ve previously used the OEM profile. They do make the sound of the board higher pitched and more clacky though, so if you want more thock I would recommend you get something of SA or KAT profile.
Switches
- Yellows are your traditional budget linear switch, and I really have no complaints with them. If you’re not planning on lubing your switches, banggood also offers factory lubed ones, but I’m not sure on their quality. If you’re undecided on what switch you want to get, I would recommend you get a switch tester as the only way to truly know your preferences is to physically try them all out yourself.
Accessories
Artisans
- It’s a shame that the artisan keycaps don’t really fit the theme of the board, but at least they’ve found a new home with my split keyboard
- I like the detail in texture, but I’m just personally not a fan of how different the shape of it is with the rest of the keys. Maybe if I had a pink bull one I could fill up the right row
Coiled cable
- I mean it’s a cable, that’s coiled, I’m not really sure what else to point out. I feel like I should have gotten a white one to make it stand out from my setup more, but that’s too late now
Golden knob
- The knob is by no means perfect, but for the price, it still exceeded my expectations. It would have added a nice subtle flex onto the board if it had actually fit, but it’s whatever.
Conclusion
What are some relevant references or links?
- Thanks for watching until the end of this video! As of making this video I’m currently in the middle of finals week for uni, so being able to build and admire this keyboard has been quite relaxing. If you’re interested in more keyboard videos I have one where I learn how to type on a split keyboard, and one similar to this where I build a keyboard from aliexpress. Anyways, if you found my advice to be helpful, be sure to like and share this video, and subscribe for more content like this. This has been john mavrick, stay mindful.
How can I sum up the contents of the video?
References:
Created:: 2021-11-22 21:03