I'm aware that the editing of the cuts is here is too rushed and overlapping. It's J and L cuts, an editing technique for cutting out awkward pauses. I definitely overdid it here. And in general I just edit all of my lines together one after another. For my next videos, pacing will be a point of emphasis. I'll add breaks in the action between paragraphs or key points. And I'll definitely tone down the J and L cuts. When you watch your own video over and over during the edit process, these things do get missed. Feedback noted. Update on the next video: I've tried writing the script for the comparison between the PBT doubleshot mold featured here and the PolyCaps one but it hasn't ended up having too much meat in its bones. It's basically just saying that the legends on the PolyCaps don't look good, which I've already said here and in a previous video. So maybe I'll scrap this video idea and instead I'll... review Cherry MX Browns!
I was pretty curious why some FeeBT sets were linked in the video description and you actually addressed it in the video. Solid take I support that. Content wise I really appreciate you trying out and exerting all the effort to for these mods. Little to no creators ever do that. Also pog thumbnail.
I honestly am gearing towards the stock sound of any mech keyboard (no lube on stabs and switches, no foam or anything). It just sounds like the 90s era. Really all about preference. Still a commendable mod, bro.
New to the hobby but feels like if you just slap lube + pe foam + tape onto any board it should literally just sound and feel the same as some higher budget setups lol
I had similar mods on my own RKG68, though I didn't have a plate foam, had 2 layers of PE foam (yes), and I taped mod only the modifiers (wanted to make them sound deeper, seems to work just fine). Switches were inconsistently lubed bc of reasons (mainly bc it was my first time). Sounds great tho 👌Might try some of the mods you've done here for my build, replace the RK Red switches with Gat Yellows, and build another one for my gf as well. Thanks for this! Keep it up 😁
Found this new vid just in time I'm about to buy the board ! I initially plan to lube the stock switch and a nice set of keycap, but it seems like these RK reds aren't that great. Guess I'll go with Gat yellows and a cheaper set instead
Great vid as always and the sound tests for each mod are very much appreciated! Looking forward to the PolyCaps/Yongqui WoB/BoW comparisons (if only there's a good Cherry profile WoB PBT set that's in stock but a guy can only dream)
Thank you! Oof yeah WoB is hard. I'm still waiting on my Geekark one but I've kinda lost excitement for it. Now, I'm eyeing the new Domikey Cherry profile one, which is like twice the price 😨
@@CaloysKeyboards if only i had the budget when the geekark WoB was live RIP me on the other hand, I prefer text mods so if i don't get all nit-picky(DOUBT) the PolyCaps are adequate enough
I very highly recommend the akko cs jelly blacks. They are very budget and are medium heavy linears. Not to mention there is pretty much no stem or housing wobble on them and the company themself says that with their switches there is not a interference with north facing pcb.
Hey buddy! Nice video! You linked to a cherry profile set of keycaps. Can you go into more detail about the keycap interference? I'm interested in doing a similar build. :) Thanks!
Thank you! Interference means the keycap hits the switch housing as you bottom out, resulting in a muffled sound. If you're not familiar with it, you may not even notice it. I've found that this occurs with north-facing switches on all rows except the top row.
I've got the same keycap set with GK61. I recently switched to linears - lubed and filmed Gateron Yellows, clipped and lubed Durock stabs (no Holee mod, tried it once but didn't had that patience lol), brass plate, foam between the plate and PCB, o-rings at stand offs, eva foam filling for the case and the case itself is aluminium. And my spacebar sounds almost the same as yours, with this loud thocc.
Really great video! I am pretty new to the mechanical keyboards community and I have been trying to find a video with the tempest tape mod and foam on the rk68 which I have). I just wanted to hear how it sounded and this helped alot.
Man, you're so underrated it feels criminally wrong watching you for free. Also, mukhang lason nanaman sa keycap set because of this video. Do you think those Rudy clones you linked in the description will have north facing interference with Akko CS Ocean Blue switches?
Thank you so much! 🙏🏼 I haven't tried those switches but if the stem peeks out of the top housing when you press them down fully, then they should theoretically be interference free.
Planning on modding this board, as well! Do you think the Everglide Aqua Kings will fit well with this board? Great and informative video btw. I'm glad I found this channel. Hope you reach 2K subs by the end of the year!
Do you have recommended shops that sells all the needed materials for modding like lubing station, eva foam, krytox and the switches. Can’t seem to find one in shopee unless i get them to different sellers 😂
Hmmm I'm not sure if there's just one store where you can get everything. Try Homebru first then check these other stores: KeebxMods JMK Zion Studios PH Squishy Types SleepyLT PMX.GG Those are all on Shopee
Ordered my first ever mechanical keyboard (which is the RK G68) and it's on its way. I want to try out modding it in the future but I have little to no knowledge about the whole thing lol. But it seems really fun though. I might just have other people mod it for me. Very detailed and great video btw!
Thank you! Stabilizer tuning/lubing and switch lubing are the basics you should try out first. All of this other stuff with the foams and tape you can probably try when you learn more about keyboard sound/feel hehe
@@CaloysKeyboards Thanks for the tip! I guess my mind went places on seeing how you modded this keyboard. I got inspired and overwhelmed at the same time haha. I hope you make a video for beginners like me. If you already have, I'll definitely check it out on your channel. Much love!
Hopefully this makes sense, but if you have the keyboard connected to the PC via USB type-C, does that allow you to then use both of the type A ports as additional USB ports (for say a flash drive, or wireless keyboard receiver), or does one of the USB type-A's need to be connected to the PC in order to use the other port for something like a flash drive or wireless mouse?
All the building parts finally arrived so I built a custom keyboard for the first time today, bought the RK68 and did the same mods as you minus the tempest tape and switched the RK reds for gateron milky yellows. MY KEYBOARD SOUNDS SO SMOOTH AND THOCKY ASFUCK I CANT STOP TYPING!!!!!! Also i was a bit nervous on how the keys with the stabilizers would sound like cuz i used the stock ones but i think i did a pretty good job lubing, they sound so goood. It's like a whole new world opened for me and i only realized today after comparing my old keyboard i've been typing with a rattly as hell razer oranges for two years T.T
I recently bought the same model RK G68 in white from the same shop. BUT I got mine in PBT Keycaps. Are you sure yours are ABS? Coz in the shop description, it says PBT Keycaps. Now I doubt which kind of keycaps I have. Can someone help me out here!? Thanks.
You bought from Game One? What color are your keycaps? On Amazon, there's an RKG68 with PBT keycaps. Those seem to be non-backlit and the keycaps are different colors (grey, white, red or black, gray, red). The ABS ones are backlit and are just one color for all the keycaps (black or white).
Hollowness on the Sky Dolch keyset? Also, I agree that the indexes on the mods for the set are way better than the typeface used on Polycaps. Still, I don't understand why these sets never have a space between Caps and Lock. All the upgrades you applied vastly improved the sound. I hope the feel was improved as well! Do you think the tape mod is worth it now? How many layers of tape did you use?
Lol they turned the CapsLock into camel case. Yeah I don't like the spacebar on the Sky Dolch. I'll probably try sticking some foam in there hehe. In general, I don't like the tape mod since it really truncates the sound for me. Like it stops it short of what I expect and I think it's kind of unsatisfying. But with cheap tray mounts, it's worth it, I think, since they need all the help they can get, sound-wise. The feel kinda gets ruined by the tactility issue no matter the mods 😅
I have said this before and I will say it again. Royal Kludge keyboards are the best affordable keyboards you can get. Why? Stock performance and the features it brings are great considering how cheap it is. modability is crazy good especially with the new hotswap ones. The newer hotswap ones do not have a hollow sound in comparison to Ajazz keyboards. Anyway. Keep it up! I loved this video. We have the same mods except for the bottom EVA foam. Im gonna do this one too. Take care brother.
That o-ring mod changed the entire sound profile of the board. Too bad the frame couldn't snap on with the o-rings in place. I'm new to keyboard modding and this video is super helpful. I just bought switches, stabs, and keycaps from Shopee. Hopefully my RK68 board turns out okay. Subbed!
Thank you so much! We ended up doing the o-ring mod but with just one o-ring per screw. The one underneath the plate. This altered the sound without raising the plate up too much so the frame was only slightly off and the bottom toggles were still accessible hehe Good luck with the build! This board is a great choice for a first time modder 😊
Nice! Good luck with the build. Here's the link: shopee.ph/Genuine-Cherry-Plate-mount-Stabilizers-i.133367850.7258149197 Dang, these are cheap now. I bought this for 450 lol
Thank you! I don't think I'll be making a separate review for these Mistel/SkyDolch keycaps. There's not much to say really. They're great: thick material, good-looking legends, bargain price. Although the Mistel branded ones are much more expensive. As for OEM vs Cherry, they're very very similar. OEM supposedly should be free of interference on north-facing keyboards but I've found that with thick OEM keycaps like the Mistel, that's not even the case. So there's really not much difference between the two profiles.
Thank you! I personally like the PE foam mod better. Tape mod sort of deadens the sound too much for me so I generally only do it on cheap tray mounts. If you want to hear a direct comparison, I did that on my GMMK Pro mods part 2 video hehe
Hmm you should be able to with the software. You can check the Nifty Keyboards video I linked in the description. He has the link and guide for the software in the description there.
The plate foam is for reducing reverberation and hollowness. The PE foam creates a very specific sound signature that people have described in different ways including poppy and marbly. If you want to hear a side by side with and without PE foam, you can check out my GMMK Pro mods part 2 video.
Dang, with just cheap mods you can make a cheap keyb sound good. It turned out great! Also, I watched till the end hehe How about a review of a budget TKL kit next time? Like the FL.CMMK from laz/shopee?
Literally the same board that I want to buy as my first one. It's the best one I could find to get my feet wet with this expensive hobby since I don't want to dive in too deep yet. Great video btw! Sana ma achieve ko yung deep sexy thoccs D:
Yea weird nga ung white plate but di naman masyado kita pag nakalagay ung frame hehe. Yesss great board for the price. Kinda want one of my own now... lols
If you're in the Philippines, you can check Betafoam on Shopee (shopee.ph/shop/269705055/search). The 0.5mm thickness one, which is the one I used, is out of stock but they have 1mm too. One of the reviewers seems to have used it in a GMMK Pro. If you're not in the PH, I'm afraid I can't help you 😅
Looks good though bout mpdding this one for a coach keeb but stock is pretty scuffed. Yea those switches are the worst I've seen. Better off getting some cheap akkos.
@@CaloysKeyboards Alright thank you so much for this great vid. Planning to mod my RKG68! This is one of the best vid that can help me on my 1st mod. Thanks again!
idk why but the cut is too harsh where your talking kept overlap in between the transitions and that makes the watching experience a little bit crunched. but anyway, Nice build!
I don't want to come off as an asshole, but I just gotta bring this shit up. You cannot take a prebuilt keyboard and then call it a custom or claim that you "built" it. This just causes misinformation within the custom keyboard community to spread. Every day the subreddits and Discords are filled by newbies who bought one of these and find out something bad about them (like incompatibility with Cherry profile, due to North facing LEDs). So many newbies enter the hobby thinking that something like an RK whatever is the same as an NK65 or similar board (but obviously cheaper), then find out the hard way that it lacks a lot of things or it just doesn't sound like some of the customs they hear on UA-cam. At best, you can call something like this a modded keyboard, but you cannot claim you built it as you merely modded it. You didn't pick a PCB, switches, plate, etc. Its also not supported by QMK. So you are misrepresenting what a custom built keyboard is, sucking away business from some of these smaller vendors and GB runners. Before you go and tell me "bUt ThE nK65 iS pReBuIlT". No, the difference with that prebuilt is that its a limited run keyboard sold as a kit. Its not stocked continuously! These RK whatevers are constantly sold and always in stock and sold as a complete keyboard.
Seems like a very narrow definition of custom. If it's not limited run, does that make it not a custom? Geonworks' Frog is continuously run. Does that make it less of a custom than something that just runs once? I bought the KBD67 Lite R1 and that comes fully built. You just have to install switches and keycaps. Does that mean the only reason it can be called a custom is that it was a limited run? I do agree that there is way too much to learn for newbies and that's a problem. But I don't agree that we should be gatekeeping them by saying they should only be buying keyboards that match a very specific definition of custom. I think getting a prebuilt that sounds pretty bad is the first step for most people. It certainly was for me. I don't think that's a bad thing. I learned as I went. And as for sucking away business from smaller vendors and GB runners, I don't agree with that either. Getting more people into the hobby will mean more people to eventually join in on these limited run customs. Newbies aren't going to be joining group buys for expensive boards so they aren't sucking any business away. Everyone starts out with a normal sense of cost. GBs are too costly for everyone when they're just starting out. So they turn to prebuilts. And all of these mods being discovered to make those prebuilts sound/feel better are amazing! They allow newbies to break into the hobby and experience the joy of customs without spending too much money. Doubtless, they will then get dragged deeper and deeper, have their sense of cost get warped, and then end up joining those group buys from smaller vendors and runners. I never claimed this board was a custom but I do maintain that I built it. And I don't think there's any harm in that.
@@CaloysKeyboards Yes. Custom keyboards are made by smaller vendors or companies. Their numbers are limited the the initial production run. For example the R1 KBD67 Lite has a much more limited number run than the R2. Same goes with the Frog TKL as its produced intermittently and in limited quantities. Something like the RK keyboards are mass produced annually, with minor revisions or changes to the previous ones. The manufacturer usually has to enter some sort of contract to mass produce these fully built keyboards and guarantee agreed upon prices. KBDfans can't really afford that with some of their other keyboards, neither can your typical GB runner. They cannot afford to enter into contract with a large manufacturer and they cannot guarantee or lock down prices. That's why some of these custom keyboards are only ever produced in a single run and never run again (after their initial GB phase). The problem is now endemic though. There are too many channels like yours that pass off modded mass produced boards as "custom" or hand "built" which takes away from the hobby. Newcomers come to the custom hobby wanting a custom, but then see a vid like yours and think that they could "build" a keyboard under budget and get the same experience as someone who goes and gets an NK65 EE. Then when they compare their keyboards, they find them lacking or with something they did not want. For example an NK65 EE uses south facing LEDs whereas most mass produced keyboards have north facing LEDs. This will have interference issues with Cherry. Not only that, but they will be limited by their OEM software and won't really get the recognition they probably are seeking from other custom keyboard enthusiast. So now they are down $70 USD, wasted on a keyboard they though would be great, only to have wanted something more.
Channels like mine? This is the only video I've made featuring a mass-market prebuilt. And I never claimed this was an enthusiast-level board. I've gone into painstaking detail about the process and the issues I encountered. I've included sound tests at every step to show the progression. It seems like your issue with my video is just that I used "built" in the title but correct me if I'm wrong on that. I think that if someone were to watch this video and not just read the title, they'd have a very good idea of what to expect out of this keyboard. I think that what sets the enthusiast apart from the non-enthusiast is the striving for a certain level of sound, feel, and aesthetic. That's what defines a custom for me. It doesn't matter if it's limited run or not. The GMMK Pro is in stock and that's definitely an enthusiast custom keyboard. And I maintain that I "built" this keyboard. I strove for the best sound, feel, and aesthetic. If someone does that, whether it's on a prebuilt or a "custom" then they're an enthusiast in my eyes. If these "other custom keyboard enthusiasts" don't give someone like that any recognition then that's just gatekeeping and it's those enthusiasts who are the problem. Maybe we're just not hanging out in the same crowds but I've never noticed this "endemic problem" of newcomers buying cheap prebuilts and being disappointed by their limitations. Like I said, I think a newcomer starting out with a prebuilt is perfectly fine and normal. And with the mods that have been discovered, I think the experience can be very close to what you'd get out of a cheap custom with cheap switches. The problem is with education. There are just too many factors to consider like you mentioned with the north-facing sockets and lack of software. Even if all videos like this one featuring modded mass-market prebuilts were retitled to explicitly say so, a newcomer still wouldn't learn all of these lessons. You can't expect every single video to include a disclaimer discussing the difference between an enthusiast level custom and a mass-market prebuilt. It's a mindset and it comes with experience. I even have a video specifically trying to teach some of these mindsets that you would normally have to immerse yourself in the hobby for a long time to be able to learn.
Yeah it's J and L cuts, an editing technique for cutting out awkward pauses. But I definitely overdid it here. And in general I just edit all of my lines together one after another. For my next videos, pacing will be a point of emphasis. I'll add breaks in the action between paragraphs or key points. And I'll definitely tone down the J and L cuts. Thanks for the feedback.
To FURIOUS!! 🤣 But in all seriousness, if you're talking about the cuts then yes, I am aware and I have addressed this in the description as well as the pinned comment.
I actually love the fact that there are so many mods for low end boards now that you can just brute force it into sounding pretty good. nice video!
Yesss just need to spend time and effort instead of crazy amounts of money 😁
I'm aware that the editing of the cuts is here is too rushed and overlapping. It's J and L cuts, an editing technique for cutting out awkward pauses. I definitely overdid it here. And in general I just edit all of my lines together one after another. For my next videos, pacing will be a point of emphasis. I'll add breaks in the action between paragraphs or key points. And I'll definitely tone down the J and L cuts. When you watch your own video over and over during the edit process, these things do get missed. Feedback noted.
Update on the next video: I've tried writing the script for the comparison between the PBT doubleshot mold featured here and the PolyCaps one but it hasn't ended up having too much meat in its bones. It's basically just saying that the legends on the PolyCaps don't look good, which I've already said here and in a previous video. So maybe I'll scrap this video idea and instead I'll... review Cherry MX Browns!
Such a detailed video, clearly put so much effort into this thank you so much for this built it was really fun to watch keep it up man
Thank you so much! 🙏
I was pretty curious why some FeeBT sets were linked in the video description and you actually addressed it in the video. Solid take I support that. Content wise I really appreciate you trying out and exerting all the effort to for these mods. Little to no creators ever do that. Also pog thumbnail.
Thank you so much! It took me way too long to figure out what FeeBT was 🤣
damn ur channel growing hella fast! keep grinding :3
Thanks man! Will do!
@@CaloysKeyboards I’m in love with your channel already
Sir Caloy to 1K!
LETS GOOO
I had that same snagging issue @3:53 with one of the RK red switches from my Royal Kludge RK84.
Just one? I've got it on all of them. So weird and annoying 😅
Dang, it sounds so good without the o-rings!
Why don't you have 100k subscribers already ????
Also i love your channel
Thank you so much! Still plenty of room for improvement for me hehe
a rubik's cube in the background? nice 👌
I honestly am gearing towards the stock sound of any mech keyboard (no lube on stabs and switches, no foam or anything). It just sounds like the 90s era. Really all about preference. Still a commendable mod, bro.
Thank you! You'll save a lot of time and effort with that preference hehe
Congrats on everything dude. Great video. Wish i could throw more compliments your way, but i have to try that o-ring mode on my rk68.
Thanks dude! Go do that mod hehehe
ey 1k! congrats!
Thank you! 🙏🏼
New to the hobby but feels like if you just slap lube + pe foam + tape onto any board it should literally just sound and feel the same as some higher budget setups lol
I had similar mods on my own RKG68, though I didn't have a plate foam, had 2 layers of PE foam (yes), and I taped mod only the modifiers (wanted to make them sound deeper, seems to work just fine). Switches were inconsistently lubed bc of reasons (mainly bc it was my first time). Sounds great tho 👌Might try some of the mods you've done here for my build, replace the RK Red switches with Gat Yellows, and build another one for my gf as well. Thanks for this! Keep it up 😁
Thank you! Good luck with it hehe
Found this new vid just in time I'm about to buy the board ! I initially plan to lube the stock switch and a nice set of keycap, but it seems like these RK reds aren't that great. Guess I'll go with Gat yellows and a cheaper set instead
Yeah that's probably best. You could always sell the cheaper caps later and get some better ones hehe
i would suggest you also look into the akko cs switches, for linears the ones id check out are the rose pink, matcha green, and radiant red
@@ethanhuang1657 I am actually going for them! Tried some akko pink v2 on another board, and I just love the minimal stem wobble.
Inspiration ko sa unang project ko. Nakakaenganyo yung mga ganitong videos kasi detailed, newbie friendly. Thanks Caloy!
Wow salamat! Good luck sa project! Hehe
Great vid as always and the sound tests for each mod are very much appreciated!
Looking forward to the PolyCaps/Yongqui WoB/BoW comparisons
(if only there's a good Cherry profile WoB PBT set that's in stock but a guy can only dream)
Thank you! Oof yeah WoB is hard. I'm still waiting on my Geekark one but I've kinda lost excitement for it. Now, I'm eyeing the new Domikey Cherry profile one, which is like twice the price 😨
where’d you score your geekark wob?
Group buy via Keybox. There might be extras when they start shipping. Should be soon.
@@CaloysKeyboards if only i had the budget when the geekark WoB was live
RIP me
on the other hand, I prefer text mods so if i don't get all nit-picky(DOUBT) the PolyCaps are adequate enough
I very highly recommend the akko cs jelly blacks. They are very budget and are medium heavy linears. Not to mention there is pretty much no stem or housing wobble on them and the company themself says that with their switches there is not a interference with north facing pcb.
Yep heard a lot of great things about Akko switches. Definitely on my radar hehe
1k subs (soon) let's goooooo
Hells yesssss. I've been watching the count intently lololol
Hey buddy! Nice video! You linked to a cherry profile set of keycaps. Can you go into more detail about the keycap interference? I'm interested in doing a similar build. :) Thanks!
Thank you! Interference means the keycap hits the switch housing as you bottom out, resulting in a muffled sound. If you're not familiar with it, you may not even notice it. I've found that this occurs with north-facing switches on all rows except the top row.
I wish I could do the same with my RKG68. I really want to have a thocc sounding keyboard but I don't know if I can. Haha
It's not that hard especially with RK boards hehe. Tape mod is probably the biggest difference maker depending on what switches you have.
for a cheap custom board the tm680 is the best right now for being a 65% since 65% board are getting popular lately.
Yep that one's definitely on my radar hehe
I've got the same keycap set with GK61. I recently switched to linears - lubed and filmed Gateron Yellows, clipped and lubed Durock stabs (no Holee mod, tried it once but didn't had that patience lol), brass plate, foam between the plate and PCB, o-rings at stand offs, eva foam filling for the case and the case itself is aluminium. And my spacebar sounds almost the same as yours, with this loud thocc.
Nice build!
Really great video! I am pretty new to the mechanical keyboards community and I have been trying to find a video with the tempest tape mod and foam on the rk68 which I have). I just wanted to hear how it sounded and this helped alot.
Thank you! Glad to hear it 😊
Man, you're so underrated it feels criminally wrong watching you for free.
Also, mukhang lason nanaman sa keycap set because of this video. Do you think those Rudy clones you linked in the description will have north facing interference with Akko CS Ocean Blue switches?
Thank you so much! 🙏🏼
I haven't tried those switches but if the stem peeks out of the top housing when you press them down fully, then they should theoretically be interference free.
The frame pushes down the plate of the keyboard which beats the purpose of the o ring mod. It still works but not that great.
Yeah it alters the sound which is good enough for the GF hehe
The sound after refitting is really nice
i love your videos man! waiting for my rk84, should arrive today lol
Thank you! Nice good luck with it hehe
nice mod and nice video. keep up the good work!
Thank you! Will do!
Planning on modding this board, as well! Do you think the Everglide Aqua Kings will fit well with this board? Great and informative video btw. I'm glad I found this channel. Hope you reach 2K subs by the end of the year!
Thank you so much! Haven't tried the Aqua Kings yet, unfortunately 😅
Yeah I'm not a big fan of the font on the PolyCaps either. Great video dude!
Thank you! 🙏🏼
Do you have recommended shops that sells all the needed materials for modding like lubing station, eva foam, krytox and the switches. Can’t seem to find one in shopee unless i get them to different sellers 😂
Hmmm I'm not sure if there's just one store where you can get everything. Try Homebru first then check these other stores:
KeebxMods
JMK
Zion Studios PH
Squishy Types
SleepyLT
PMX.GG
Those are all on Shopee
really awesome video bro, i own rkg68, did few mod but not sound same as your rkg68, thanks for the video.
yo how can you find the price history on shopee...?
That's a Chrome extension called AliPrice. It's not always accurate though haha
@@CaloysKeyboards i see.. haha thanks
Hello! What keycaps did you use for the GMMK Pro? The one with the Hangul/Korean legend? Thanks!
Those are the NP PBT Crayon from KBDFans 😁
Ordered my first ever mechanical keyboard (which is the RK G68) and it's on its way. I want to try out modding it in the future but I have little to no knowledge about the whole thing lol. But it seems really fun though. I might just have other people mod it for me. Very detailed and great video btw!
Thank you! Stabilizer tuning/lubing and switch lubing are the basics you should try out first. All of this other stuff with the foams and tape you can probably try when you learn more about keyboard sound/feel hehe
@@CaloysKeyboards Thanks for the tip! I guess my mind went places on seeing how you modded this keyboard. I got inspired and overwhelmed at the same time haha. I hope you make a video for beginners like me. If you already have, I'll definitely check it out on your channel. Much love!
Hopefully this makes sense, but if you have the keyboard connected to the PC via USB type-C, does that allow you to then use both of the type A ports as additional USB ports (for say a flash drive, or wireless keyboard receiver), or does one of the USB type-A's need to be connected to the PC in order to use the other port for something like a flash drive or wireless mouse?
I've sent this to the GF already but she tested it and confirmed that you can use both USB-A ports for other devices when using the keyboard wired.
All the building parts finally arrived so I built a custom keyboard for the first time today, bought the RK68 and did the same mods as you minus the tempest tape and switched the RK reds for gateron milky yellows. MY KEYBOARD SOUNDS SO SMOOTH AND THOCKY ASFUCK I CANT STOP TYPING!!!!!! Also i was a bit nervous on how the keys with the stabilizers would sound like cuz i used the stock ones but i think i did a pretty good job lubing, they sound so goood. It's like a whole new world opened for me and i only realized today after comparing my old keyboard i've been typing with a rattly as hell razer oranges for two years T.T
Wow that's awesome! Congrats! 👏
I recently bought the same model RK G68 in white from the same shop. BUT I got mine in PBT Keycaps. Are you sure yours are ABS? Coz in the shop description, it says PBT Keycaps. Now I doubt which kind of keycaps I have. Can someone help me out here!? Thanks.
You bought from Game One? What color are your keycaps? On Amazon, there's an RKG68 with PBT keycaps. Those seem to be non-backlit and the keycaps are different colors (grey, white, red or black, gray, red). The ABS ones are backlit and are just one color for all the keycaps (black or white).
Hollowness on the Sky Dolch keyset? Also, I agree that the indexes on the mods for the set are way better than the typeface used on Polycaps. Still, I don't understand why these sets never have a space between Caps and Lock.
All the upgrades you applied vastly improved the sound. I hope the feel was improved as well! Do you think the tape mod is worth it now? How many layers of tape did you use?
Lol they turned the CapsLock into camel case. Yeah I don't like the spacebar on the Sky Dolch. I'll probably try sticking some foam in there hehe. In general, I don't like the tape mod since it really truncates the sound for me. Like it stops it short of what I expect and I think it's kind of unsatisfying. But with cheap tray mounts, it's worth it, I think, since they need all the help they can get, sound-wise. The feel kinda gets ruined by the tactility issue no matter the mods 😅
Oops forgot to say but it's only 1 layer of tape hehe
I have said this before and I will say it again. Royal Kludge keyboards are the best affordable keyboards you can get. Why? Stock performance and the features it brings are great considering how cheap it is. modability is crazy good especially with the new hotswap ones. The newer hotswap ones do not have a hollow sound in comparison to Ajazz keyboards.
Anyway. Keep it up! I loved this video. We have the same mods except for the bottom EVA foam. Im gonna do this one too. Take care brother.
Right on! Thanks, brother 🙏🏼
That o-ring mod changed the entire sound profile of the board. Too bad the frame couldn't snap on with the o-rings in place.
I'm new to keyboard modding and this video is super helpful. I just bought switches, stabs, and keycaps from Shopee. Hopefully my RK68 board turns out okay.
Subbed!
Thank you so much! We ended up doing the o-ring mod but with just one o-ring per screw. The one underneath the plate. This altered the sound without raising the plate up too much so the frame was only slightly off and the bottom toggles were still accessible hehe
Good luck with the build! This board is a great choice for a first time modder 😊
Ayos!
Did you use regular masking tape?
@@gichao437 Yes regular masking tape hehe
This video has been my inspiration for my RKG68 that I recently bought. I want to ask, can I get a link from where I can buy those cherry stabilizers?
Nice! Good luck with the build. Here's the link: shopee.ph/Genuine-Cherry-Plate-mount-Stabilizers-i.133367850.7258149197
Dang, these are cheap now. I bought this for 450 lol
I love this videooooo its so niceeeeee !!!! Would you review Mistel keycap set ? I worry about OEM vs Cherry profile which one is better ?
Thank you! I don't think I'll be making a separate review for these Mistel/SkyDolch keycaps. There's not much to say really. They're great: thick material, good-looking legends, bargain price. Although the Mistel branded ones are much more expensive. As for OEM vs Cherry, they're very very similar. OEM supposedly should be free of interference on north-facing keyboards but I've found that with thick OEM keycaps like the Mistel, that's not even the case. So there's really not much difference between the two profiles.
@@CaloysKeyboards Thank you
Tried the BoW polycaps and was not impressed
Yea I've got the WoB here now and it's what I expected. I'll try not to rant about it too much in the next vid since it's all preference lol
w boyfriend moment
Super cool comparisons 👍
yeah boii
Is the rgb light still visible with gateron yellow (milky top, black bottom) ??
Oh, I never tried the RGB with those switches. In other boards, the RGB still comes through but it is much more muted.
Brownie points!!! What a great thing to do for her!
lason ☠️☠️☠️
nice video bro! Btw im from Malaysia
Thank you, my South East Asian neighbor! 😁
The improvement of the sound tho 😳
Sound niceeeee video!!! So which tape mod vs pe foam mod is better ?
Thank you! I personally like the PE foam mod better. Tape mod sort of deadens the sound too much for me so I generally only do it on cheap tray mounts. If you want to hear a direct comparison, I did that on my GMMK Pro mods part 2 video hehe
@@CaloysKeyboards thankyou for ur information
+1 comment for the great build and sound. Hope you can get monetization soon :)
Thank you so much! 🙏
Hey Caloy's , can i put pe foam and tape mod inside the sk61?
That's the optical one, right? I'm not actually sure 😅
@@CaloysKeyboards ohh
You remind me of JarrodTech, but for Keyboards.
How can i factory reset this keyboard?
Hmm you should be able to with the software. You can check the Nifty Keyboards video I linked in the description. He has the link and guide for the software in the description there.
are the pe foam and the plate foam both between the pcb and the plate?
Yes the PE foam goes right on top of the PCB then the plate foam goes on top of that.
@@CaloysKeyboards ok but what is the difference between the two mods then?
why should I do both?
The plate foam is for reducing reverberation and hollowness. The PE foam creates a very specific sound signature that people have described in different ways including poppy and marbly. If you want to hear a side by side with and without PE foam, you can check out my GMMK Pro mods part 2 video.
he sounds like gloco
Did not know who that was but... it's true 😅
Dang, with just cheap mods you can make a cheap keyb sound good. It turned out great! Also, I watched till the end hehe
How about a review of a budget TKL kit next time? Like the FL.CMMK from laz/shopee?
Yesss thank you! Ooh haven't heard of that board but I'll look into it. I've actually been looking at Keydous NJ80 hehe
@@CaloysKeyboards Actually, correction for me hehe, it's actually the FL.CMMK Mk870. I didn't put the complete name xD
does the caapps lock turn on when keys asdfgh are pressed?
No? Does that happen on yours?
@@CaloysKeyboards yes, ask on an rk group and some claims its the firmware
Literally the same board that I want to buy as my first one. It's the best one I could find to get my feet wet with this expensive hobby since I don't want to dive in too deep yet. Great video btw! Sana ma achieve ko yung deep sexy thoccs D:
Thank you! This is a great choice for a beginner to mod: easy to open, has a daughterboard, and most importantly, cheap lol. Good luck with it 😁
I thought factory error lang yung white na switch plate, I got this keyboard and it works really really nice
Yea weird nga ung white plate but di naman masyado kita pag nakalagay ung frame hehe. Yesss great board for the price. Kinda want one of my own now... lols
How many layers of tape you use for tape mode? Thanks
Just one
yep, I'm subscribing.
Thank you! 🙏🏼
Where can you buy PE foam?
If you're in the Philippines, you can check Betafoam on Shopee (shopee.ph/shop/269705055/search). The 0.5mm thickness one, which is the one I used, is out of stock but they have 1mm too. One of the reviewers seems to have used it in a GMMK Pro. If you're not in the PH, I'm afraid I can't help you 😅
Looks good though bout mpdding this one for a coach keeb but stock is pretty scuffed. Yea those switches are the worst I've seen. Better off getting some cheap akkos.
Haven't tried those Akkos but yeah heard lots of good things hehe
kudos to this!
how much layers of tape did you put?
Just one.
@@CaloysKeyboards ok ty :DD
spacebar sounds too hollow, try to fill it halfway with liquid moulding silicon.
Haven't got any right now but I'll try some foam hehe
Boss taga san ka po? Magkano magpa-mod sa'yo?
Pasensya na po hindi ako nag poprovide ng mod or build services hehe
sound better with abs keycaps rather than pbt dolch
Yeah that spacebar on the stock keycaps is *chef's kiss* for some reason lol
Is tempest tape safe overtime?
I'm not sure. This keyboard has been chugging along since August with the tape. I guess we'll see 😅
@@CaloysKeyboards Alright thank you so much for this great vid. Planning to mod my RKG68! This is one of the best vid that can help me on my 1st mod. Thanks again!
idk why but the cut is too harsh where your talking kept overlap in between the transitions and that makes the watching experience a little bit crunched. but anyway, Nice build!
It's the J-cuts. I might have gone overboard with them here lol. Thank you!
link po ng keycaps
Ung sky dolch? Nasa description hehe
I don't want to come off as an asshole, but I just gotta bring this shit up. You cannot take a prebuilt keyboard and then call it a custom or claim that you "built" it. This just causes misinformation within the custom keyboard community to spread. Every day the subreddits and Discords are filled by newbies who bought one of these and find out something bad about them (like incompatibility with Cherry profile, due to North facing LEDs).
So many newbies enter the hobby thinking that something like an RK whatever is the same as an NK65 or similar board (but obviously cheaper), then find out the hard way that it lacks a lot of things or it just doesn't sound like some of the customs they hear on UA-cam. At best, you can call something like this a modded keyboard, but you cannot claim you built it as you merely modded it. You didn't pick a PCB, switches, plate, etc. Its also not supported by QMK. So you are misrepresenting what a custom built keyboard is, sucking away business from some of these smaller vendors and GB runners.
Before you go and tell me "bUt ThE nK65 iS pReBuIlT". No, the difference with that prebuilt is that its a limited run keyboard sold as a kit. Its not stocked continuously! These RK whatevers are constantly sold and always in stock and sold as a complete keyboard.
Seems like a very narrow definition of custom. If it's not limited run, does that make it not a custom? Geonworks' Frog is continuously run. Does that make it less of a custom than something that just runs once? I bought the KBD67 Lite R1 and that comes fully built. You just have to install switches and keycaps. Does that mean the only reason it can be called a custom is that it was a limited run?
I do agree that there is way too much to learn for newbies and that's a problem. But I don't agree that we should be gatekeeping them by saying they should only be buying keyboards that match a very specific definition of custom. I think getting a prebuilt that sounds pretty bad is the first step for most people. It certainly was for me. I don't think that's a bad thing. I learned as I went.
And as for sucking away business from smaller vendors and GB runners, I don't agree with that either. Getting more people into the hobby will mean more people to eventually join in on these limited run customs. Newbies aren't going to be joining group buys for expensive boards so they aren't sucking any business away.
Everyone starts out with a normal sense of cost. GBs are too costly for everyone when they're just starting out. So they turn to prebuilts. And all of these mods being discovered to make those prebuilts sound/feel better are amazing! They allow newbies to break into the hobby and experience the joy of customs without spending too much money. Doubtless, they will then get dragged deeper and deeper, have their sense of cost get warped, and then end up joining those group buys from smaller vendors and runners.
I never claimed this board was a custom but I do maintain that I built it. And I don't think there's any harm in that.
@@CaloysKeyboards Yes. Custom keyboards are made by smaller vendors or companies. Their numbers are limited the the initial production run. For example the R1 KBD67 Lite has a much more limited number run than the R2. Same goes with the Frog TKL as its produced intermittently and in limited quantities. Something like the RK keyboards are mass produced annually, with minor revisions or changes to the previous ones. The manufacturer usually has to enter some sort of contract to mass produce these fully built keyboards and guarantee agreed upon prices. KBDfans can't really afford that with some of their other keyboards, neither can your typical GB runner. They cannot afford to enter into contract with a large manufacturer and they cannot guarantee or lock down prices. That's why some of these custom keyboards are only ever produced in a single run and never run again (after their initial GB phase).
The problem is now endemic though. There are too many channels like yours that pass off modded mass produced boards as "custom" or hand "built" which takes away from the hobby. Newcomers come to the custom hobby wanting a custom, but then see a vid like yours and think that they could "build" a keyboard under budget and get the same experience as someone who goes and gets an NK65 EE. Then when they compare their keyboards, they find them lacking or with something they did not want. For example an NK65 EE uses south facing LEDs whereas most mass produced keyboards have north facing LEDs. This will have interference issues with Cherry. Not only that, but they will be limited by their OEM software and won't really get the recognition they probably are seeking from other custom keyboard enthusiast. So now they are down $70 USD, wasted on a keyboard they though would be great, only to have wanted something more.
Channels like mine? This is the only video I've made featuring a mass-market prebuilt. And I never claimed this was an enthusiast-level board. I've gone into painstaking detail about the process and the issues I encountered. I've included sound tests at every step to show the progression. It seems like your issue with my video is just that I used "built" in the title but correct me if I'm wrong on that. I think that if someone were to watch this video and not just read the title, they'd have a very good idea of what to expect out of this keyboard.
I think that what sets the enthusiast apart from the non-enthusiast is the striving for a certain level of sound, feel, and aesthetic. That's what defines a custom for me. It doesn't matter if it's limited run or not. The GMMK Pro is in stock and that's definitely an enthusiast custom keyboard. And I maintain that I "built" this keyboard. I strove for the best sound, feel, and aesthetic. If someone does that, whether it's on a prebuilt or a "custom" then they're an enthusiast in my eyes. If these "other custom keyboard enthusiasts" don't give someone like that any recognition then that's just gatekeeping and it's those enthusiasts who are the problem.
Maybe we're just not hanging out in the same crowds but I've never noticed this "endemic problem" of newcomers buying cheap prebuilts and being disappointed by their limitations. Like I said, I think a newcomer starting out with a prebuilt is perfectly fine and normal. And with the mods that have been discovered, I think the experience can be very close to what you'd get out of a cheap custom with cheap switches.
The problem is with education. There are just too many factors to consider like you mentioned with the north-facing sockets and lack of software. Even if all videos like this one featuring modded mass-market prebuilts were retitled to explicitly say so, a newcomer still wouldn't learn all of these lessons. You can't expect every single video to include a disclaimer discussing the difference between an enthusiast level custom and a mass-market prebuilt. It's a mindset and it comes with experience. I even have a video specifically trying to teach some of these mindsets that you would normally have to immerse yourself in the hobby for a long time to be able to learn.
Good video, but the fast speech cuts are just so annoying to listen.
Noted
You cut your pauses away in editing making you talk non-stop and robot like. Leave some pauses in to improve your video. Just saying
Yeah it's J and L cuts, an editing technique for cutting out awkward pauses. But I definitely overdid it here. And in general I just edit all of my lines together one after another. For my next videos, pacing will be a point of emphasis. I'll add breaks in the action between paragraphs or key points. And I'll definitely tone down the J and L cuts. Thanks for the feedback.
Your editing cuts off the ends of your sentences and it's super neurotic to watch.
My bad. I'm aware. Read the description.
To FAST!!
To FURIOUS!! 🤣
But in all seriousness, if you're talking about the cuts then yes, I am aware and I have addressed this in the description as well as the pinned comment.