Check the missing sound typing test of the GMMK NumPad with lubed Gazzew Boba U4T with GMK Nephlock Kaiju here 👉 th-cam.com/video/_FamyHpCw0E/w-d-xo.html It was left out of the main video because of an editing glitch. Thanks to RaZeLise 0219 for spotting this error very early on in this video's life (and allowing me to patch it quickly!) 🙏
Hey Sam! Found my way here from Twitter and just digested your whole video while tuning some stabs. While we have wildly different perspectives on this product, I just wanted to say that this is a seriously impressive video. Incredibly thorough, well researched, well organized, well delivered. I'm also very relieved to see that people aren't being nasty to you in your comments on the heels of my video. Your passion for both keyboards and creating really comes through and you definitely got a new subscriber today. Keep up the amazing work!
Thanks Brian! And yeah, thankfully, people have always behaved incredibly nice here in my comments section from day one! One can only hope that will continue to be the case as the channel grows… I must admit I had quite the chuckle when I compared our titles and watched your video! But while our views were polar opposites, I could 100% understand your disappointment when you found out Glorious’ new product was an expensive numpad (let’s face it… we all thought it was a GMMK Pro 65% ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) As for my opinions about this product, what can I say? I have some peculiar views on computer peripherals in general to say the least (I use a Razer Tartarus Pro as a macropad… enough said!) which might explain my collection of numpads. On top of that, I didn’t even get to my arsenal of retro tech here in the channel yet (that my wife might kill me over it before I have the chance to do so). So, things are about to get even weirder around here I’m afraid… 😂 Having said all that, let me also state here that I have nothing but absolute mad respect and admiration for you and your work (have been following your channel for a VERY long time… around 50k I think)! You’re a wholesome gentleman that deserves every gram of success you have on TH-cam, and thus you are an obvious inspiration for any content creator (specially for beginners like myself). Thank you so much for dropping by, for your incredibly nice words and specially for subscribing! You just made my life a little harder now, knowing that Badseed himself will be watching these videos going forward!
@@IOSam Haha I personally love the odd stuff. I’m really starting to get into Topre and I fear Alps is inevitable. Thanks for the kind words; anything I can ever do for you, don’t hesitate to reach out.
@@badseedtech Thanks Brian!!! Really appreciated and right back at you man! And I know you have access to the best and the brightest out there already, but if there is anything I can ever be of any assistance on the vintage gear side of things, the DMs are always open!
Having seen both reviews, it's interesting how both approach the subject from a different consumer side. To my eyes, BST compared it from the standpoint of an individual customer - "is this a product that someone should buy"? But IO Sam compared it with the current alternatives in the market with similar price points, providing answers to a customer base that is more enthusiastic about those kinds of stuff. So BST answered the question "Should you buy such a thing at all?" and IO Sam answered the question "Should you buy it if you are already set up in buying a premium Numpad?" My opinion? Both reviews should be viewed before purchase, as they cover different consumer habits.
I really liked the idea of this to match my gmmk pro. The angles, bezels, and pcb, being different makes this a no go for me. Yes the price is crazy, but I may have considered it if it matched more closely.
I know... It was the first thing my eyes landed on when I placed on the side of the PRO! OCD is real man! 😂 Although, where I keep my numpads usually (on the top corner of my main board), I don't notice it as much as on the side... If for nothing else, the GK21S I've been using for years now doesn't match any of my keyboards anyway.
@@majorkeeb7493 I think the new GMMK Pro 2 will be a better match with this numpad (I bet it will also have rounded corners)... But that won't do any good for the thousands who already have the GMMK Pro 1.
@@DicehunterSC I can tell you that it is a matter of when (not if ;)... I'm sure they wanted to release it in 2022, but they might not be able to (considering all the logistics issues I'm sure they have been working around since the launch of the GMMK Pro 1). So, I agree with you that early next year feels like a safer bet.
@@DicehunterSC Between us here, if you are not desperate to get a new 75% keyboard right now, you should definitely wait... If you don't like the GMMK Pro 2 (or its launch price) for any reason, the OG GMMK Pro will be discounted at that point, so you'd win anyway.
I'm sorry but the product isn't worth what they're asking for. At $130 is costs as much as a pre-built GMMK2, it's not even worth the price of the bare bones model. For 20 bucks more you could get a Stream Deck and do FAR more with it.
And I cannot disagree with you... As I just discussed with a friend: spending over $100 even on a full keyboard can be (and it usually is, by a lot of my friends!) considered a splurge. A product like this is, BY ALL ACCOUNTS, a luxury item (like so much of the stuff we buy in this hobby 😂). But then again, this is one of those hobbies where people spend $150 bucks on small pieces of plastic (but is made in Germany!) and feel really good about it... So yeah... Go figure mankind and their weird hobbies (watches and headphones might be even worse! lol). Now, you make another good point: if all you need is macros (and you have no need for a quick way to enter numbers while still using small form factor keyboards), a Stream Deck is the obvious choice... Far more powerful than any other macropad in existence! I just wish Corsair could figure out a version of the Stream Deck with proper mechanical switches underneath those tiny OLED screens. Once they pull that off, it's game over for any other macropad out there...
Dude, $130 for a numpad for something in-stock is a robbery. I would understand if its a customs/limited product like the Mammoth20 by Wuque studios, but for something that's mass produced, still lacks of VIA supports and is north facing.... I can't recommend
Mine arrived today. It is built like a tank. I am very pleased but I wish it weighed less. Of course the weight helps keep it in one place. I purchased it to go with my Razer Blade 15 Advanced laptop. It is worth every penny. I would say if you have the money and the need, go for it.
Yeap... This thing is heavier than some full-size plastic keyboards out there, and can definitely hurt if you throw it at someone. It is in fact almost 100 grams heavier than the GK21S (which was already heavy enough). So a travel numpad, this is not.
Amazing in-depth review as always. I remember watching your GMMK Pro review, and that's what pushed me to buy it, and now its what I use everyday at the office. Not sure yet if il get the Glorious Numpad, as my daily driver at home has a numpad, but I might find some use for it.
Thank you my friend!!! Glad to know that my review of the PRO was useful to you (and, most importantly, that you're happy with your daily driver! :) As for the numpad... Yeah... It is not going to be super useful to everyone... And especially at the price these premium pads command, the appeal is even smaller for anyone who has a full size or a 96% board in their arsenal already.
Hehe... It's like saying the main problem with Row Crop Tractors, if compared to a manual scythe, is the price... Sure, they're not cheap. But then, for people who need them for their businesses, there is real value in paying for one. As I always like to remind people in these discussions, "price" and "value" are totally different things. The perceptions of price will be very different for a young kid working his first internship job and a multinational enterprise top tier veteran executive, and so is the value perception of a Row Crop Tractor for a software writer and a wheat farmer. The perception of price depends on how much disposable income one has, while the perception of value depends on one's real-world use of a product or service and how much time/money such product/service can save (or how much enjoyment it can provide). Besides, there are products with high-price/high-value, high-price/low-value, low-price/low-value, and finally... low-price/high-value. While the last one is what we all want, there aren't many of those in the world (and even companies who put out low-price/high-value products, will not keep doing it forever as they become more successful, for the most obvious reasons). So, if someone has no need for quickly entering numbers on spreadsheets, nor has the need for a wireless macropad… Then, sure! This Glorious NumPad has no value to him/her regardless of its features and price. And, thus, paying $130 on it would be a waste of money. But then, as you correctly pointed out, the problem would not be with the product… It would just be with his/her use case. And that rationale can go all the way to the other end: people who not only do work with numbers and macros on a regular base, and wants to keep using small form factor keyboards, but also wants the most feature rich numpad in the market to help them to perform their tasks. For these individuals, while $130 might even be perceived as a high-priced item, they might see enough value in it to justify its purchase. As is the case with beauty, value is also in the eye of the beholder...
Just ordered this numpad yesterday so that I have a numpad that compliments my GMMK 2 65% build. I'll be replacing the switches with IQUNIX Moonstone Turbos and swapping the keycaps with XVX pudding keycaps since that's what I used on my keyboard. Hope the keycaps I have doesn't have the horizontal key issue.
Hey Clay! Congrats on the new numpad! As for the horizontal sticky key issue, it is a combination of the stock stabs being too tight plus the use of certain keycaps that happen to have tight tolerances with their cross shaped stem plugs. If you happen to have issues with your keycaps, the suggestion would be to replace the stabs with some other compatible set.
@@IOSamThe keycaps I had on hand from when I built my GMMK 2 worked out perfectly. Aside from using my own switches and keycaps, nothing else had to be done. Feels nice to use and to me, it’s glorious. Pun intended.
I have a desecrate numpad on the left hand side of my keyboard not because I am left handed (I am but I use my right hand for mouse) but because it means the home row is closer to my mouse which is much more useful to have.
@@IOSam I built myself the Plaid Pad from Keycapsss and it is a cool conversion starter when people stop by my desk at work. Fun fact the Plaid Pad and Plaid Ortho Keyboard are less wide than my KBD67 R3 and both fit in the keyboard case haha.
@@SEVENTEENPOINT1 Man, the Plaid Pad, the Duckypad and the Murphpad are awesome projects that I owe to myself to check them out! I love these quirky DIY kits and I know a lot of people having fun with these pads (even Chyrosran! th-cam.com/video/6BEFjbXC_0c/w-d-xo.html :) And as for space saving, I think the only people really serious about it are those using 40% and Ortholinear boards! 😆
@@IOSam Only took a day to get back to full speed on the 40 percent Plaid. Too bad all these boards go out of stock so quickly I got lucky I got mine lol.
@@SEVENTEENPOINT1 Yeah... And for as much as I love the community aspect of this hobby, the "small batch" nature of 99% of all these cool projects (from cheap DIY kits like the Plaid to the super luxurious customs we see on Geekhack everyday) is what ends up hurting the growth of the hobby. To be fair, this gigantic chip shortage we're going through at the moment doesn't help this, or any other community who needs ICs, to prosper... (have you tried to get a Raspberry Pi lately? 😖) And of course, that is where giants like Razer, Logitech, SteelSeries (and now Glorious I guess) have the opportunity to swoop in and do what the small group-buy runners can't even dream of... As for speed-typing on a 40%, that is challenge I have yet to take on! 👀
The price is a huge detractor from this numpad. While it does not have a slider or knob, keychron has the Q0 which is a bit less ridiculous with the price. There are various other custom keyboard numpads that are far more affordable but soldered/ wired only. I personally prefer wired
Yeah, I was just mentioning to another viewer that I missed the release of the Q0 (buried under so many of their launches and press releases 😂). But yeah... If you have no need for volume control or bluetooth (which, honestly, I think most people don't), the Q0 for $90 bucks is the perfect choice (a lighter/cheaper version of the KBDPad). just have to find it in a local reseller in your country to avoid Keychron's expensive shipping rates that would, otherwise, erase a lot of the savings there...
Yeap... I also understand that side of the argument, and I even addressed it briefly on the end of this video. I totally get where some hardcore veteran enthusiasts come from when they dislike mega-corporations who come to mass-produce the things they see as art (instead of just a "product"). Naturally, not everybody sees these things the same way (or even care), but I'm glad this community has grown enough that enthusiasts of all levels (from beginners to veterans) have so many options when deciding where to spend their hard-earned money.
@@IOSam Im pretty sure that was me on twitter where you said the Q0 was "too much" and you stated a Filko Hakua was a better choice. Either way, these comments shitting on the price are golden and prove my point.
@@Nashness What I said on Twitter, and 100% stand by it, was: "If all you need is to hit numbers on a pad, even the Q0's $90 (that I just found out about it 😂) is too much... Just go for the awesome Filco Hakua for less than $40": twitter.com/IOSamFranco/status/1559605806571683842 In other words, if you don't care about a heavy metal encased, programmable, RGB backlit, wireless, hot-swappable numpad with 2 volume dials... then you don't care about premium numpads. And in that case, yeah... Just go with the awesome Filco (that doesn't have any of those things, but works beautifully to enter numbers on a spreadsheet and is super well built)! Which means I now must produce another video covering entry-level numpads to calm everybody down... Challenge accepted! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I don’t think there’s a boba tactile sound test on the stock typing test part. Also i believe the keychron q0 is another potential competitor to the gmmk numpad
Yeap... You're right... It was a last minute editing screw-up... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I'm gonna post a separate video with that typing test and then pin the link here in the comment section. Thanks for pointing that out (I'm not used to produce videos in such short notice 😂)!!!
Oh, and yeah... I didn't mention the Q0 because, believe it or not, I didn't know about it until this video was done (the Q0 got lost in the avalance of Keychron press releases of the last few months! 😂). I'd say the Q0 is a lighter/cheaper version of the KBDPad (same basic features), which is indeed a very good deal for $90 if you don't care about volume control and bluetooth... (just have to find a reseller in your country, to avoid Keychron's expensive shipping rates from Asia) ...I guess I'll have to revisit this topic now and cover the damn thing! 🤦♂
It's all good 😊. I am just putting it(keychron q0) out here because I believe for gmmk pro users like me for example, we don't have much use case for the extra dial and the slider whose only function is to just adjust the volume.(despite it looks really cool to me). And if you are like me, the gmmk pro may be your first customized keyboard and there will be some leftover switches and keycaps. It will make more sense to me to get smthg like a q0 and put those leftovers in it to save some money. This is my opinion and i do agree with Sam's use case for the extra dial and the slider.
@@RaZeLise You are 100% correct on all accounts! I barely ever use the volume dial on my GMMK Pro. And that is why I find it frustrating that Glorious has not included other "non-sound functions" to this knob... And in that sense, the GK21S also makes more sense with its super useful extra row of keys instead of the knob. If it only had better software, this would still sit at the top of my recommendations...
Alright! Editing glitch has been patched. Check the missing sound typing test with the lubed Bobas U4T + GMK Kaiju here 👉 th-cam.com/video/_FamyHpCw0E/w-d-xo.html Thanks for spotting this out early on man!!! Highly appreciated!!! 🙏
I needed a numpad. . . and got a Murphpad kit for $34. It does everything needed and has enthusiast features with no bloatware, looks good, sounds good, and is riotously fun to build. It is a different class of product though.
I built a GMMK Pro last year and I'm going to pull the trigger on this, particularly as I found it on sale at a local retailer for $169AU - including free shipping and tax. That translates to about $114US, which while certainly not cheap, is a fair bit more reasonable than $129 PLUS shipping and tax. I think what got me over the line in particular here was your breakdown of how the volume feature works, your examples of adjusting a youtube video or discord independently from everything else is a use-case I will actually use. That's a pretty nice QOL feature for me. I'm not too concerned about it not being an exact aesthetic / shape match for the GMMK Pro as I'm more a 'functionality guy' and the stock keycaps being a little meh is a non-issue for me as I already have one of the full glorious PBT sets so I'm ready to swap those out when I get it. I have lubed tealios in my pro but I agree with you about clickies on a numpad, it just makes sense somehow. Will have to check out my options but I will put the box whites on my shortlist. Great review as always, looking forward to getting my hands on mine!
Interesting that you’re getting a price cut for it in Australia, since there is no sign of one here in the US, which possibly indicates that the Aussie reseller is taking a haircut on its profit margin to move a product that might have been a bit too difficult to sell in its original price. So, that is a not an insignificant saving you’re getting there, which is nice! As for the keycaps, you fall right in the use case I described on the video, which is that anyone paying this much for a premium numpad probably already have a premium set of numpad keycaps stashed in a closet somewhere… So, the cheap stock caps are basically a non-issue. As for the unique use case of the volume knob and slider, while I know a lot of people will point out that this is the kind of functionality better achieved with other more “streamer oriented” devices (from the likes of Elgato, TC Helicon, Beacn, etc.), it can be a great addition to have that integrated on a numpad (even a premium priced one), considering how much more money you’d have to pay for those specific audio devices that: a) don’t give you the functionality of a number crunching pad; b) nor the satisfying typing experience of mechanical switches. So, for the vast majority of non-streamers out there, the functionality you get with this numpad is far more appealing indeed.
I like it. It holds its weight on a wood or leather top desk. Out the box use is fine but not my cup of tea. Use the keys you like & good to go. I used 1st w/ my Ducky One 2 Mini & having arrows volume & slider was ace. But since added the Glorious Glorious GMMK Pro w/ Arua V2 caps. & MX Tactile gray. I wanna try the white Box clicky for feel
Yeah, this pad is all about customization indeed. If you take the time to configure it to your liking, it can make a big difference in productivity for those of use using small form factor keyboards.
As someone who owns a GMMK Pro, this has been something I've talked about since before it even existed (and my pc enthusiast friends know it). I finally have it on my desk as of today, and I love it. Having something that matches my keyboard and gives me the extra numpad keys is huge for me. That being said, I do feel like it's overpriced, should have a barebones option, and should come with south-facing LEDs out of the box, its well an amazing product. Great video btw!!
Thank you Nathan!!! Agreed on all accounts. While I know adding some Fox switches and cheap keycaps don’t add up too much to the final price, I think even $10 less for a barebones option would be welcomed by people who will replace these parts anyway. At any rate, the thing I’m still waiting for Glorious to fix, that could make this a much better product, is the Glorious Core app, which still lacks some obvious functionalities and is still not stable enough to be left on all the time (I get intermittent bad memory leaks when the app is running for too long, which ends up crashing my PC). So, I’m tempted to give up the wireless functionality and flash the pad with QMK to program its layers in a semi-permanent way (without the need to have any software running in RAM to be able to use the slider for example).
@@IOSam I've never left core running in the background in the past, so I guess we'll see if I have issues with it now. I do agree that they need to update this either way, since I'd much rather not have to use QMK personally. It hasn't given me any issues yet, but thanks for the heads up, and I'll be sure to update if I run into issues. I'm using the slider for my Spotify volume, and it's a very nice feature (when it works). Also I appreciate how responsive you are in the comments. It's very refreshing.
@@SLYtheartist Please do keep me up to date on your experience on the software side, since this helps me immensely in my analysis of future products! And thanks again man! I do my very best to reply to my viewers since the community I’m building here is THE BEST!!! Seriously... I’m so happy with the quality of the comments I get in this channel, which is a testament to the quality of the audience my videos have been able to attract and keep. As a result, I owe it to you (and other viewers like you) to value your time, your questions and opinions as much as you value my efforts to publish the best videos I can possibly make!
@@IOSam so it might've just happened for the first time. all of a sudden my memory usage spiked to 98% and my computer froze up completely. its never done that in the past, and i can't think of anything besides glorious core that could've caused it, but I've been running the pad wired... core was open in the background though. very strange. is this similar to what you've experienced?
@@SLYtheartist Yeap! That is precisely what happens in my machine if I leave the Glorious Core app running in the background! I have been testing their latest updates, but, so far, they all suffer from this issue. My question to you: did you use the Glorious Core app constantly running in the background, with any other Glorious product, before receiving your numpad? If so, did you ever experience this issue before?
@@IOSam Ordered it on Oct 6th and got it today (Oct 25th), so far the only issue I'm can see is the response time when pressing the volume nob down (assigned to mute) I get a second delay before the key registers. I have it set to 1000hz and 2ms response time. I'll give a more detailed update after using it and modding it.
🤣🤣🤣 You sir, made me laugh today! Thank you! And yeah... After reviewing $1.50 switches (Zeal Clickiez) and $130+ numpads, I'm definitely doing a more budget product next time around! lol...
Always like glorious stuff. They have good looking items that function and serve my purpose. I definitely see myself adding this to my desk setup. Thanks for another banger io sam
I think the price was a limiting factor for many Glorious resellers worldwide... This might have been one of the lowest volume products they put out to date.
Great video, as always. It's interesting to see how this pans out. This seems like a premium gift to someone working with numbers a lot. And I also agree with the choice of Kailh whites for demonstration. I have found out that the most muted keyboards (like the GMMK Pro) are a good vessel for clicky switches, because we still have the click, but doesn't sound too loud for people around. I have been using my GMMK pro with those switches and I really love it.
Let's just say this would have to be a gift for a very special friend... XD But as I said in the video, I admit how biased I am with numpads, keypads and macropads of all types... But I'm weird! lol... As for clicky Kailh Boxes, they have perfect tactility! Honestly, it doesn't get any better than this in MX compatible form (for those who can appreciate clicks of course). And while I only tried the GMMK Pro with the Zeal Clickiez, I now have to give it a spin with these Box Whites.
@@IOSam I would love to see your opinion on GMMK Pro with the Kailh Whites when you have the chance. I believe the only thing that may annoy you is the double click. Other than that, the typing experience is great. I would have bought the clickiez for GMMK if not for that insane tactility that everybody is mentioning, which will possibly make it harder to type with for longer sessions. BUT! I have to admit that your idea about lubing certain parts to reduce the tactility made me rethink buying them Fun fact: I HATED clicky switches. But discovering that there are more than Cherry ones, made me try a build in GMMK pro and now it’s my main driver.
@@SoulstormGR Yeah... I always loved Alps clickies because they had the perfect tactility and the perfect sound, but their issue is the “dead end” they’re in, since you don’t have many options of PCBs and keycaps to use them in modern keyboard designs. I never liked MX Blues (used them for a while many years ago, but ditched not too long after) because their rattly sound and sensation (although I enjoyed their tactility at a time when we didn't have the plethora of super-tactiles we have today, and Browns just felt meh); And I always loved the tactility of the Kailh Box Whites, but was never a big fan of its double clicking with louder cases. That's where the lubed Zeal Clickiez did fit very nice, since they sound great and have usable tactility (after lubed). Now for a keypad, where I don't type on it for hours a day, the Kailh Box White (or even the heavier Jades) are kinda perfect in both sound (specially with super thick MT3 caps I'm using them with) and tactility (which is perfectly balanced on the Whites). But I should give the Box Whites a try on the muted GMMK Pro with FR4 and PC plates with MT3 just to see how the experience goes… (variety is the spicy of life! :)
Thank you!!! I am working on a new round-up of a bunch of 96% keyboards for the end of the year. I'll definitely try to get my hands on a GMMK2 to include in the comparison! ;)
What would be a cheaper option? With batteries/wireless (which is a must have for a numpad, given how often it will be removed from my desk when I not use it). And with good customizability in order to make it a macro pad or numpad for different use-cases (through software or QMK), and with mechanical keys?
In terms of features and build quality, I’m not aware of any other metal built, wireless reprogrammable numpad out there, other than the GMMK Numpad and the GK21S that doesn’t cost even more than $130. But if you don’t care about the heavy metal build part, I know Epomaker has developed the JJK21 (amzn.to/3T3DlBj ), in partnership with Feker, that seems pretty decent for a reasonable $60. It is a barebone, hot-swappable numpad with a knob, a 1500mAh Battery, and a plastic build. But Feker plastic boards are really well made (I have their “Alice” keyboard here for testing/review and I was positively surprised by its quality construction). It also has some sort of software interface to let you remap keys (which I didn't have time to test it yet). While I doubt their software solution will be as polished as Glorious Core App or VIA, it at least has that feature for a reasonably competitive price.
Hehe… It was just a “cameo”… But that board will be back to the channel soon…😉⌛ It will be my first vintage keyboard review here, where I’ll also make a few small mods to improve it further. If you want to see more vintage keyboards here in the channel, check out my review of the Zeal Clickiez (th-cam.com/video/14-xUZFQcHo/w-d-xo.html ), where I go reaaally deep in the vintage keyboards discussion!
Thank you!!! The Mini-M is part of long list of vintage (or vintage inspired in this case) keyboards I want to cover in detail here in the channel… as soon as I finish an EXTREMELLY time consuming project I’ve been working on my day job for a few months now. Can’t wait to jump back in making TH-cam videos!
The cost doesn’t bother me too much. Since this is a niche of a niche of a hobby. I was skeptical of the slider and a knob. I have the GMMK Pro so now two knobs and a slider. But given they can do multiple sources… ok now I get it. Just didn’t think of that. I’m glad it matches the GMMK Pro cause that’s my daily driver with Zeal Tactile switches. But I should get new switches. It gets way too tiring to use for long hours. Great video and should be a fun addition.
Thank you Sir!!! And I have to say so myself: the ability to assign the two volume controls of this pad to different programs/sources has indeed been more useful than I originally expected. Granted, I'd still like to see Glorious bring other non-audio functions to both the knob and the slider. But even in its current form, these interfaces have already been very useful to me. And as for this pad's design, as I have mentioned to other commenters here, I do believe it points in the direction Glorious will go with the upcoming GMMK Pro 2, which we shall see soon. So, that should be interesting as well. My current configuration of this pad, has Gazzew Boba U4T and Akko ASA PBT caps, and I have to say I'm enjoying it a lot! Bobas are very tactile (as much as your Zealios), but that has been Ok for my numbers workload.
I've been looking for a keyboard that has five keys on the side, as an alternative to TKL (smaller, and with all the keys I actually use). That would be the GMMK Pro, unless anyone has any other suggestions? Coupling this with an optional numpad would be ideal for those times I'm using spreadsheets, not to mention the handy knob and slider. And if the second Pro matches the numpad more, all the better!
I’m pretty confident Glorious is coming out with a GMMK Pro 2 sometime in 2023 (I’d be very surprised if they don’t!). And I’d guess its design should be a better match with the existing GMMK NumPad. I would also hope they give the option to replace the knob in the keyboard for another 1 or 2 keys (for those of us that already have the knob and slider in the NumPad for example), since having 5 or 6 side keys (instead of the current 4 of the GMMK Pro) would allow me to have more of the TKL nav-cluster keys I‘m used to.
Yeap... You're not alone... 😆 I also only found about the Q0 once this video was ready. But I'm getting one to review here soon. If you are in the US, and don't mind getting a barebones Q0, you can get it for a good price and acceptable shipping cost from Divinikey (divinikey.com/collections/keychron-q0?rfsn=6609184.224d49 ). But if you get the pre-built version directly from Keychron, you can add up another $20 to the final price just for shipping from Asia, which makes the whole package a bit less exciting for what you get...
Thank you blazarian!!! I put my heart and soul into these videos and it means the world to know there are nice people (like you!) who enjoy this! That is the most important thing in the world for content creators (specially the small ones! :)
I've been side-eyeing this since it was announced. Here and there I've been flirting with the idea of picking up a wireless numpad - I really considered buying the GK21S a few months ago, but I feel my use-case is just sporadic enough that I can't justify $100+ for a dedicated numpad, and I already have a Stream Deck, so I don't have a strong need for a macropad. The inclusion of a slider is unique and interesting, but also means it's oddly big for a numpad. And for how big it is, it's not as deep as the GMMK Pro (V1, at least), which feels weird. I feel like I'd be more inclined to buy this if it was thinner (scrap the slider and knob) and deeper with a row of macro keys. Also, not sure how viable it would be, but with it meant to match the GMMK Pro, I think it'd be neat if a follow-up to the Pro included a USB hub. I'd personally have less need for a wireless keypad if I could plug a USB cable into my keyboard. All that aside, I appreciate your detailed reviews, they're fantastic!
Thank you so much man! Always nice to find more and more people (like me) who enjoy super detailed and in-depth reviews! :) As for the “economics of premium Numpads”, yeah… They look cool on your desk, but if you don’t have a real need for it, it’s just hard to justify spending over $100 for a premium one such as a GK21S or the GMMK (especially if you already have the “macropad” side of things taken care of with a Stream Deck). Now, while I see your point about the debatable utility for the extra row with the knob and the slider, I actually came around to love the slider, since having an independent (and super quick) volume control for my browser has been a surprising quality of life feature for me. Having said that, the extra knob is just a function duplication for anyone using these new trendy boards that all come with knobs nowadays (although I might change my mind if Glorious ever bring the ability to use the Knob for other non-audio related functions). If they had found a way to add the slider, but taking a bit less space on the side (and adding an extra row of keys on top), that would have been the perfect solution for my particular use case. But I get it that it is hard to please everyone… Come to think of it, adding an USB hub to it as you suggested, would be another useful function I had not considered before (although the hub would stop working whenever the pad switched to the Bluetooth connection, that would not have enough bandwidth to keep the hub working wirelessly). And finally, as for the aesthetics of the pad, while I don’t find it offensive on my desk, I agree that it doesn’t match neither the GMMK Pro nor the GMMK 2. But I have a strong suspicion that it might match the upcoming GMMK Pro 2, but we’ll see about that soon…
In my PC, I use a TP-Link PCI-e Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card (amzn.to/3P5gdCh ) that has been super solid. But if I had to go with a USB dongle, I'd pick either a TP-Link (amzn.to/3Y60Rl6 ) or an Asus (amzn.to/3UCsM9d ) 5.0 adapter.
It would be great if I could assign the knob and slider to tools in photoshop for example. I doubt I can on their software but is there are third party way to do that?
You are correct... You cannot assign non-audio functions to the knob or the slider through the Glorious Core app yet (although you can assign other functions to the knob press, only the dial movement is restricted). The only way to bypass these limitations is if you flash the pad with QMK. Then you can assign non-audio functions to both knob press and dialing actions. I'm not sure about the slider though, but I'm confident that you probably could assign other functions to it as well. I'll try to do exactly that with this pad in a few weeks (after I finish posting a few more videos I'm working on at the moment) and I'll report back any success over on Twitter (with a link to the article in my Blog).
@@Jay-ws7tv Yeah... Glorious Core is indeed very limited. If you don't mind losing the Bluetooth capability, you can gain a lot more flexibility with key mapping and macros by flashing it with QMK. But the whole process of flashing keyboards with QMK will require some effort on your part, since it is a not trivial procedure.
Personally, I was so bummed when they revealed this product after I first saw the teaser pics a few days prior. My initial gut reaction of that side profile pic was "Oh wow! Are they finally gonna come out with either a 65% GMMK Pro or a much needed GMMK Pro 2?" I am happy for people who are genuinely looking forward to a "premium" numpad option though. Sadly, I do agree with some comparing Glorious to OnePlus now. I used to root for Glorious so hard and aggressively recommend them to friends and family, back when they were still an upstart company... heck, people called me crazy for introducing them to such an unknown brand at the time. Even back then, I just shrugged off QC/QA issues with some of their products to "being new in the industry". But after they've settled in and made waves in the industry with affordable products (at the time), they started to shift their focus to competing with the "premium" market. As BST already mentioned on his video, they will peddle a somewhat mediocre baseline product to you, then tack on replacement components, or "upgrades" for a premium.
Yeap… I’m there with you! I was 100% sure this was a 65% board WITH A SLIDER! How cool would that be??? So, I totally understand the frustration of so many people when they found out this was only a numpad (and I think BadSeed Tech expressed this so well! 😂). Which shows that Glorious botched the launch of this thing by completely mismanaging people’s expectations for what this product was supposed to be. Now, as I made it clear in my video, I am a weird person that not only relies heavily on numpads for my work, but that even collects vintage numpads! But I obviously don’t expect most “normal” human beings out there to care about this… In all honesty, if you don’t work with numbers and don’t use advanced content creation software, you might live your whole life without ever missing a numpad. And your point of Glorious having become OnePlus is a recurring one I keep hearing from the community, which makes total sense. I’ve seen this happening with plenty of other startups throughout the years (sometimes even with well stablished companies like AMD for example, that was always the underdog selling value focused products, but now that they are clearly on “top of the world”, they moved into more profitable markets with higher margins). To be fair, I don’t blame any capitalist minded business for wanting to do so… Everybody wants to be Apple, Mercedes-Benz and Rolex… In other words: be in a position where people don’t ever question your pricing anymore! But it takes time to get there, and I think Glorious executives (being the young kids in a hurry they probably are) are just trying to cut too many corners to get to that place… and it shows (when you see so many people in their core customer base being upset about so many of their decisions lately). I am now convinced that Glorious should have either created an entire new line of more premium products with higher prices (such as Apple does with its “Pro” line) or even creating a secondary brand for its more luxurious products (such as car makers do with their luxury brands, Toyota/Lexus, Chevrolet/Cadillac, Ford/Lincoln, Honda/Accura, etc). Anyway, one I thing I keep seeing happening with Glorious is that they move too fast, break too many things, but then come back, apologize, and try to fix their mistakes… While that is not the business strategy I would take, at least I do appreciate the fact that, more often than not, at least they try to fix their blunders (while so many bigger and better stablished business do not). Although, I gotta say that their attempts to create a working set of stabilizers has been comically bad! C’mon guys… It shouldn’t be that hard, eh? 😆
@@IOSam Yup. Their attempts at creating decent stabs is so hilarious that it's become a meme in the custom keeb community. If only they spent more resources in R&D and manufacturing instead of their flashy marketing, more people would be happy. Heck, even their GMMK Pro needs an overhaul. Even with people modding the shizz out of that board, they'd only be able to get a mediocre sound and feel, at best.
@@statixfear Yeap! 100%!!! Now, they will have an opportunity to fix all that and show they mean business with the upcoming GMMK Pro 2... But if they botch that one... Than it will be sooo hard to cheer for these guys again in the future! XD
I think the GMMK numpad doesn't need 2 volume controls as many TKL and smaller these days already come with a volume knob, in addition to people having DACs like your setup. I think extra keys on the right side of the numpad would be unintuitive as at least for me, the enter key being on the edge is an important part of the numpad experience. I think Ducky's solution on their full-sized keyboards is clever, fitting keys above the numpad on the height of a function row, but I would have also liked a minimalist approach with just the essentials and their signature RGB stripe. I understand that dedicated numpads are a niche market, but I think with the impact they have had in the past, a more budget friendly numpad could have changed that and gotten them a lot of attention in the process. Perhaps they could even offer a version with common content creator keycaps to be a pseudo-stream deck, as many use their numpads for that already.
All great points you make here Ruby! While I’m not particularly crazy about volume level knobs on my keyboards (for the reason I pointed out in the video), apparently a lot of people are… So, I don’t blame Glorious for thinking they “have to” put these things in all of their premium boards (or pads in this case). I agree with you that an extra row of keys on the top (just like my GK21S) is sorely missed in this design! I understand they were trying to go for a unique look, which the squarish shape gives it, but it ended up a bit more on the side of form than function… And I do think they wanted to go with the basic 17 keys layout to make it easy for anyone who buys basically any keycap set out there (even the cheapest ones on Amazon), to be able to easily fit them in this pad. And the other great point you make here, is that they should have brought multiple versions of this product to market: a simpler and cheaper one (maybe with integrated aluminium plate and plastic body, like the GMMK and GMMK 2 lines) with the knob (to complement cheaper boards that don’t have one) and this more expensive premium version (but also with options to be north or south facing out of the box for example) just with the slider (since this pad would probably complement fancier keyboards that probably already have a knob). And the idea of specific numpad keycap sets for popular applications is genius (and something I had not thought about)! I bet that would be much more appreciated than just the aesthetics upgrades they have announced so far…
I was a bit skeptic I must admit, having seen Brian's video first as well, but the way you analysed it all and brought things into perspective really helped and I feel less... Toxic about it now. There's still a few things that I don't like about Glorious, the upselling of extra parts for example (at least include an extra alternative badge, Glorious?) and the whole deal with the Alexotos keycap designs, but this really shed some light on the pricing and features you get for that price.
Hey Hionimi! I know the feeling... It can be jarring when seeing two completely different views (from completely different perspectives), and it can cause some confusion. We've all been there, believe me! Having said that, I think both Brian’s and my perspectives are 100% valid and that is why we should always watch more than one review of any given product we have our eyes on. I had my mind changed about products many times before (for better or for worse) the more I learned about it and the more different opinions I heard on them. Another commenter here left a perfect briefing of the situation between these two reviews (and perspectives), which I couldn’t agree more: [Having seen both reviews, it's interesting how both approach the subject from a different consumer side. To my eyes, BST compared it from the standpoint of an individual customer - "is this a product that someone should buy"? But IO Sam compared it with the current alternatives in the market with similar price points, providing answers to a customer base that is more enthusiastic about those kinds of stuff. So BST answered the question "Should you buy such a thing at all?" and IO Sam answered the question "Should you buy it if you are already set up in buying a premium Numpad?" My opinion? Both reviews should be viewed before purchase, as they cover different consumer habits.] On the topic of Glorious trying to upsell you on additional aesthetics crap… Just don’t do it… It is obviously not worth it! I even said so myself on my original review of the GMMK Pro last year (th-cam.com/video/J_axv-TkjkE/w-d-xo.html ), when I decided to review the barebones keyboard the way it comes out of the box without adding any extras. Go grab switches and keycaps elsewhere and you’ll definitely get a much better deal! I am ALWAYS skeptical of bundles and upsells like these, regardless of which brand I’m dealing with. And finally, on the Alexotos thing, while I didn’t go in-depth on this topic here (I don’t think it would fit the goal of this video, which is 100% technical) this is definitely something to consider depending on who you are: just a consumer? A mechanical keyboard enthusiast? Or a mechanical keyboards community active member? And you can bet I have strong opinions about it, and which I will make them public soon on my Blog.
It's really weird to me how they're trying to make it match the GMMK 2, when a person that has the money to spend on something like this probably wouldn't be using it with a lower mid-range mechanical keyboard. I feel like they should've skipped the entire right side of the numpad (since the GMMK Pro already has a knob) and added another row of keys above the main numpad, so it matches the height of the GMMK Pro. Those keys could then be used for additional functionality, like backspace, tab, comma and space.
Totally agree! In fact, it seems clear to me they should have launched two versions of numpads: a cheaper and simpler one to match the GMMK “OG” and GMMK 2 (with integrated plate, plastic body, floating keys, north-facing sockets AND DEFINITELY a volume knob to complement the budget boards that don’t have it) and a more expensive/premium/luxurious version such as the existing model (but with south-facing sockets out of the box, extra row of keys on the top and maybe the slider, but not the knob). In other words, the idea of a premium numpad is not bad… The problem here is just that they missed the mark in managing their core customer base expectations for what the product should or should not be (which is why I think having two versions could have better addressed the core “budget oriented” customers AND the more “pro” audiences at the same time without pissing everybody off).
@@IOSam Since you've now had the opportunity to use the slider, how do you feel it compares to a knob? It seems to me that the slider feels like it might be a little bit more precise to use but it also uses up a lot of board space.
@@Zentennen It is more precise in the sense that it has no steps, as you have with the knob (which has 2% steps). So that gives at least the feeling of being more precise, since the audio volume seems to increase or decrease in linear form. Having said that, there is a perceptible lag of a few milliseconds (especially if you move the slider very quickly). But overall, I have to admit that I'm actually enjoying using the slider for TH-cam and Spotify without affecting Window’s system audio, which is rather convenient.
@@IOSam Do you find the slider preferable to the knob for adjusting individual program audio? It seems to me that the knob could do that as well without the lag, even if it's a bit less precise.
@@Zentennen You're correct! The knob doesn't have the lag, because each step is exactly 2%, so there is no "acceleration" when you twist it fast or slow. Meanwhile with the slider there is a perceived acceleration effect which might take a bit longer for the software to process (thus the lag). To my current use of the slider just for Chrome or Spotify, I don't mind the small lag. Besides, the slider has the advantage that you can mute the sound of the app much quicker than with the knob (which would require a couple of full twists to go from 100% to 0).
Gotta drop a like for that intellimouse 1.1a in the intro. Those things were the bees knees. Edit: Actually it might be earlier than the 1.1a because it doesn't have the side buttons.
Hehe... You sir, have very good taste for vintage mice! And yeah, sometimes I feel like pairing my vintage boards with good vintage mice... just because ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@@IOSam It was my first gaming mouse, and way better than any of the easily spun out low malfunction speed and inaccurate mice I had used up till that point. Sometimes I want to see if I can find a way to use that shell with a new PCB sensor and wheel.
@@lw8882 That would be a job for the "mouse whisperer" himself, the awesome BeardedBob (th-cam.com/users/Beardedbob ). If there is a way to do this, he will know... (and he takes commissions!)
Thank you Kevin!!! Highly appreciated my good Sir!🙏 And I think this (the issue of good products that are too luxurious for our budgets) has been the theme of my latest two videos, right? Between the Zeal Clickiez and the GMMK NumPad, it is hard to point out which one enraged more people with their pricing! 😂
@@IOSam I don't get people being 'enraged' but I do understand the disappointment. I'd like a numpad that I can put to the left of my keyboard but only for occasional use, occasional use doesn't justify 130 usd. So this one goes past me. That's ok. Keep up the great work Sam.
@@KevinOMalleyisonlysmallreally Thanks Kevin! And for what is worth, I will come back to the numpad thing with a round up of more simples (and reasonably priced) units here soon... Stay tuned!
I was hoping to get one to use both as a macro pad to launch apps, and a numpad. I was hoping to make it so that I could press the knob to switch layers/ profiles between the two. Is the knob clickable/ does the knob support this functionality?
It absolutely does. While I didn't necessarily mention it on the video, I actually showed a scene where I'm doing just that (shifting though layers by pressing the volume knob down: th-cam.com/video/7KB-1O8MG_s/w-d-xo.html ). And through the software you can assign pretty much any function you want to the knob press. The only thing you cannot change about the knob is its dial function, that is permanently assigned to the Windows system audio.
@@IOSam Thanks, that was exactly what I was hoping to hear! The numpad is pretty pricey, but it does everything that I want it to do, so I'll probably pick one up and (hopefully) complete my desk setup.
The knob DOES WORK even without having the Glorious Core App running in the background (it even worked on Mac OS no less!). What will not work without the Core App is the application audio control with the slider. For that one, you DO NEED the app in the background to interface the board with the App of your choice.
I bought the GSV2 stabs and had the same sticking problem shown in the video. Glorious has not wanted to acknowledge the issue and is giving me the runaround trying to return them, making it not really worth the hassle. It is a shame they are 0 for 2 in the attempts at GOAT stabs! Crazy that on the second attempt they didn't even return the key back up on two different sets, one lubed and one unlubed.
Hi Eric! Did you buy their retail “gold wire” stabs set? Which board did you install them on? I know they say the NumPad comes with the GV2s, but I noticed the ones in the pad have silver wires (don’t know if that means anything quality wise though). At any rate, after comparing the GV2 with other brands I have here, I’m pretty confident that the problem is the tight fit of the stems within the houses. The tolerances seem minuscule and that means that any keycap that has the mounting hole a fraction of millimeter off to any side, will put perpendicular force on the stem against the side wall of the housing (with the plate installed)… preventing it from sliding up/down properly (and not even lube can alleviate the issue). Other stabs have the stem a bit looser inside the housing, which, while increasing the risk of rattling, at least will give enough space for the stem to travel even if they are not perfectly straight. If that is indeed the case with all GV2s, that would mean a huge blunder in Glorious second attempt on making their own stabs!
@@ericnadler790 Sheesh... I'll say this: if Glorious can't manage to create a decent set of working stabilizers by the time they come out with their upcoming GMMK Pro 2... That might be the "straw that breaks the camel’s back" for their business!
sam, you're awesome, I love this video. im looking at this numpad but also really considering the megalodon triple knob on drop. do you have a review of that one??
Thanks Randall!!! Appreciated man! While I have not tested it myself yet, I am still in the early stages of putting together a numpad/keypad comparison video for sometime this year, and if I do that the Megalodon will be included. Having said that, the Megalodon is technically not a numpad (although I’m sure one could program it to behave like one of course) and thus it doesn’t have a familiar numpad keys layout (only has 1U keys for example). So, I see it more like a Stream Deck competitor than a GMMK Numpad one. But if that is what you’re going for, then it is right in the middle between those two, since you do get better programming abilities than that of the GMMK Numpad (without the numpad “feature”), but it is inferior than the Stream Deck in that regard (but with real mechanical keys). Also, the price is very enticing, since it is cheaper than those other choices.
I had not... until now. And now that you pointed me to it (www.kazoosco.com/the-tk)... I want one! 😂 The retro-computing enthusiast in me goes crazy with these types of designs! I'll definitely check it out!!!
If the volume controls would be on the opposite side i would buy it . In this configuration though it doesnt really make sense to use it as a macro board while gaming for me.
Having the volume controls on the side (instead of the top) really can make the use of this pad on the right or left sides of the main keyboard a bit more cumbersome (depending on which side you use your mouse). Here, as usual, left-handed people were left hanging...
hey! amazing review. see you have a razer tartarus, i think that is the pro version, can you make a video about that? o just a opinion cause im kind of interensted. thanks!!
Thank you Diego! And yes... I not only have a Razer Tartarus Pro, but I use it as my main macropad for video editing, as well as gaming and content creation in general. So, I know this device inside out. I know people trash Razer's Synapse and all... But, if you can live with it, the Tartarus Pro can be insanely useful for so many tasks! After this whole numpad discussion took such a dramatic turn today (😂), I have decided that I need to follow this up with not only other numpads in other price ranges, but also throw in the Razer Tartarus and even the Elgato Stream Deck in the mix (even though they are not necessarily in the same category). So, stay tuned!
There is a setting on Glorious Core software (on the main screen) where you can choose to have all the lights to turn off after a certain amount of time. If you don't turn this feature on, your numpad (as well as your GMMK Pro and Core compatible Glorious mice) will not go to sleep, and thus won't suffer from this "wake up delay" (with the obvious downside of less battery life if you’re using it wireless, of course).
That is a Razer Tartarus Pro Gaming Keypad that I use as a programmable macro pad for editing videos and to automate other repetitive tasks: amzn.to/4792YYu
Great in depth video! It’s obvious as far as value in the numpad market this is totally inline with the price point. I think the beef people have is that they’re used to Glorious taking a high quality product and instead of charging the going rate for said product, cutting that rate by $30-$50 dollars. I think they started to build the reputation that they sell quality product for 2/3rds of the cost and with the GMMK Pro and now the Numbpad that’s starting to rub some the wrong way. Ultimately is what it is, if you don’t like something or value it at a certain price then just don’t buy, no different then what we all do with any product we come across in life Side note- Do have an issue with them charging $20 more for a south facing PCB though, close to $150 to use my GMK caps 😓
Thank you!!! And you touched the nerve there! Glorious has grown too much, too quickly, and now they have other ambitions that no longer match their humble beginnings as the underdog. It reminds me of AMD when they were the underdog that occasionally could sell a chip as good as Intel’s but always at a lower price… Now that AMD is on the top of the world and Intel is in trouble, AMD is no longer the good guy and they no longer sell their products at a discount (they no longer need to). Apple was the underdog against IBM in the 80’s, and look how their behavior changed now they’re the big dog… What Glorious need to do now is to decide what they want to be and adjust their message to it, to avoid setting the wrong expectations in the market which, in the end, is what causes these types of dissonance to their previously loyal fans. As for the north face thing, I didn’t even consider the upgrade, since I actually enjoy having backlit keycaps on numpads (I do use those on my GK21S). And if I really feel the need to use cherry profile keycaps, I just go with long pole switches (Gazzew Boba, Durock POM, Tecsee Ice Candy and so many other switches that have that feature now) and problem solved. But yeah… I know people can get pretty worked up about the north-facing switches thing these days! 😆
Hi Rusty! While I have not flashed my unit yet (I will, but have to finish a bunch of other videos first 😂), it is my understanding the sliders are supported by QMK. So it stands to reason that the GMMK NumPad slider should work in QMK (even for non-audio related tasks). Having said that, the main disadvantage to flash this pad with QMK would be loss of Bluetooth capability, which sucks! It seems VIA doesn't usually play ball with Bluetooth boards for some mysterious reason... So, that would be a big trade-off: flash it with QMK to gain full programmability for the knob and slider on one hand, but then lose wireless connectivity on the other.
@@khazzor8564 Back when I tested this pad, no. Flashing with QMK to gain VIA compatibility would inevitably break the Bluetooth. But VIA has improved quite a bit since then, so I don't know if today one could go the QMK/VIA route and keep Bluetooth at the same time... I'll have to look into it to see if anyone has successfully tried this since last year.
I agree totally about the gk6x software. It's total trash. I regularly had my gk68xs refuse to be recognised by windows just because I unplugged it, requiring me to restart the software and plug the keyboard in again. That with the finnicky way you have to save and apply profiles before swapping layers or it deletes your progress in configurations is maddening. So many more issues, it's just a horrible software suite. That said, and while acknowledging my bias against glorious as a company, I just don't see how this is good value. The keychron Q0 is 50 dollars cheaper and comes with QMK and VIA support. Glorious also forces you to buy 36 of their switches, or a whole 120 switches of other brands in order to change which ones come with the GMMK numpad. They also charge for a full set of keycaps ($99 for their sets) even if you're only buying the numpad. Those along with other purchasing options make this a horrible value proposition. Add to that the fact that the slider and knob both do the same thing and their keyboard already has the knob, the corners and bezels not matching the GMMK pro, the gaskets being unnecessary and the default keycaps being ugly as sin, and I just can't call it good design. Hopefully it's an old design and glorious can change their production pipeline to give themselves more time to iterate on products before releasing them, but given their insistence on pushing group buys and charging almost as much for the whole numpad as they do a set of keycaps for it, I don't think we'll see significant improvement from them any time soon.
Yeap! I feel your pain… While I didn’t have any bugs using the GK6XPlus driver with my GK21S, the software is atrocious to use… And that has been the main reason I haven’t been too keen in recommending the GK21S. Outside of the software though, the hardware is very good (the forged aluminium case is beautiful!). As for the Glorious “bundling blunders”… In all honesty that is nothing new… I even mentioned that in my original review of the GMMK Pro last year (which I didn’t see the point in buying any of their accessories with the board). And that continues to be the case with the NumPad (which I didn’t even bothered to discuss their accessories, since I don’t care about any of them really). For anyone getting this pad, my recommendation is to get your switches and keycaps elsewhere and you’re almost guaranteed to get a better deal. As for the knob and slider, while they technically don’t do exactly the same thing (the slider is actually more useful, since you can assign it to specific apps in Windows, which you can’t do with the knob) they would be much more useful IF you could assign other non-audio functions to them. I understand you can do that if you flash it with QMK (which I’ll do that to my unit and report back on my success soon), but the fact that Glorious Core doesn’t offer that feature is inexcusable. As for the rounded corners not matching the GMMK Pro, while it is an eye sore now for current GMMK Pro owners, that becomes less relevant when used with other keyboards (where there will be no similar design language at all). Besides, I suspect the upcoming GMMK Pro 2 will have rounded corners (so Glorious might have anticipated that in the NumPad). And on that topic, I honestly think this Pad is more useful with smaller (non-Glorious) keyboards that lack knobs, where the volume controls on the Pad don’t get duplicated. As for the gaskets… Yeah… Not really needed. At the very least Glorious should have released a regular and cheaper GMMK NumPad with integrated plate, north facing switches and plastic body (with no fancy gaskets) for a lower price (and to better match the GMMK 2 line in price and features) and then they could have released this existing version (with south facing sockets out of the box) as a GMMK NumPad “Pro”, which comes with the same style of fancy metal case and gaskets of the GMMK Pro keyboard (plus Bluetooth and slider, while deleting the knob) for anyone who “wants the best”. While I don’t mind the north facing switch sockets (I don’t intend to use it with Cherry caps, and, even if I did, I’d just use Kailh Box switches, or switches with long poles such as Gazzew Boba U4T that don’t cause interference with Cherry caps), it is pretty clear that the customers for a “Pro” version of this type of product do care about it... So, that was obviously a mistake on their part. At any rate, I don’t expect Glorious to change the design of this numpad this year… Since they probably have thousands of these things in a ship on their way to the West as we speak. But after failing to manage their main audience’s expectations with this release (which I think was their biggest mistake here), I’m sure they’ll go back to the drawing board for the second version of this product for next year. As a standalone product, I like this pad and will continue to use it, since it has many of the same features I was accustomed to with my GK21S (plus the benefit of the easier to use software). But for anyone trying to match this pad with other existing Glorious products and accessories, their experience might be much more underwhelming. And finally, while everybody seems to be loosing their sh!t with this pad’s pricing, and while I would love if this this was a $99 product (even if it came barebones), I don’t want to be a hypocrite here… Since I spent far more than $130 to build my GK21S and I have also spent far more than $130 for much less useful keyboard things (such as overpriced keycaps for example)… So, I don’t see Glorious pricing for the base product as necessarily a cash grab, considering the quality of this product’s fit and finish, its feature set (which is superior than my GK21S), and the fact that I don’t give a crap about their upselling tactics (I simply won’t buy any of their accessories that are only for aesthetics anyway).
Can you believe I HAD NEVER found out about it until this video was done? But I have an honest explanation for it though: my inbox was so cluttered by Keychron press-releases (announcing a new keyboard every other Tuesday!), that I somehow missed that launch... Which the internet has been kind to remind me today! 😂 At any rate, I see the Q0 now as a "lighter" (and cheaper) version of the KBDPad. If you don't care about volume control and Bluetooth, and if you can find a Keychron reseller in your country (to avoid the expensive shipping from Asia), the Q0 seems like a winner! I'm definitely getting one from Divinikey here in the US (bit.ly/3zWpvt4 ) to try out!
@@IOSam Let us know your comments about it! i'm eyeing it. Since I already like keyboards with knobs, the extra space on the Glorious for the knob and slider is a negative for it. And also there's no extra key row on top as you point out (which the Keychron has). Only thing going for it is looks/build (which the Keychron matches) and wireless (wireless being a big one)... but man that extra room for the slider and knob... which they had an option to omit those.
@@kittykittygumdrops Yeah... I'm considering that, since the resellers in the US don't seem to offer the fully assembled one (which is a shame, since they Gateron Pro switches and PBT caps for just $20 bucks extra is such a good deal!).
Thank you Domenico!!! I couldn't do a shallow keyboard review not even if my life depended on it... 😂 I guess I've spent too much time messing with PC peripherals in this life... lol
I love keyboards and modding em, BUT I would never ever... no no never mod a numpad. :D I have a 17 Euro mechanical (yes, real switches. Cant read the name) keypad with soldered switches. It is black.. Thats it. :D I only use it just for my csgo buy scripts. Seriously: Great video as always.
Yeap... Honestly, spending over $100 even on a full keyboard can be (and it usually is, by a lot of my friends!) considered a splurge. A product like this is, BY ALL ACCOUNTS, a luxury item (like so much of the stuff we buy in this hobby 😂). Having said that, I never cease to be amazed how much money people can sink on all sorts of hobbies (watches, headphones and mechanical keyboards are great examples of this)... And thanks man!!! Your visit and comment are highly appreciated!!! And talking about luxuriously expensive keyboard products... How about that $1.50 per switch for the Clickiez, eh? 🤣🤣 But fear not... It won't take long for other switch manufactures to adapt that design and offer the same thing for half the price... Just watch... ⏳
@@IOSam 100+-50 $ or in my case € for a board is absolutly ok. :D But I have a lot of friends saying "I have a 20 € board, that works, too", too. YES! :D That same friends buying stuff for their motorbikes I would never buy. Mirrors for 100, feetthingis for 60, sticker for 200 (costum) or stuff for their gardens... Really Sam, you are one of the best. Atm I am looking around what you english speaking people do, because I want to do a german channel about mechanical keyboards. And you are making the best videos. It is always a pleasure. "How much detailed information you want to give?" - Sam: Yes! :D I wanted to go to sleep... "just watching a yt video and go to sleep" was the plan. Then I found the video about the NCR and the clickiez.. You owe me at least 2 hours of sleep. :P Yeah maybe you are right. But I like to spend money for good things. I think they are worth it... not later than christmas. oO I ordered a KBt RE: 68 which, I think comes in october. After that the NCR and then the clickiez. Very good I am writing this comment, I need to finish my order of BOBAs. xD (I do plans on buying keyboard stuff.. I am lost :D)
@@joeykenoy "How much detailed information you want to give?" - Sam: Yes! 😂😂😂 I’m afraid that is the most accurate description this channel ever got! As for your keyboards shopping spree, just don’t tell your biker friends about it and you’ll be fine… lol But seriously, let me know how all these builds go (once you get all these parts). Maybe you’ll have enough material to record your first typing tests for that new German language channel! :)
@@IOSam I think it is. oO Others are good, too but I always need to google some informations they dont give. You think of all possibilities. Hope I'll see much more of your videos. :) No one knows what I spent on keyboards... my girl would kill me. :D I'd love to. I think I'll record the modding of it. ATM I am testing camera and mic settings (hard- and software). I have to admit I thought it would be much easier to record and cut a video. But I have 110 GB of modding a RK61 and 50GB for a review of the stock board. Hope I'll get 3 videos online till the end of the year. Not close to your videos, but I give my best. :)
@@joeykenoy Mission accomplished! 🤘😆I swear I have reviewed my scripts a million times to see where I could "cut some fat", but I just found out that IF I really want to give an honest review to any product, the conclusion segment alone will be between 5 and 8 minutes (where I can cover the main use cases and give some sound advice about who should get the product and what they can expect from it). Add to that, a comprehensive technical look into all the main parts that make the product tick, plus my suggested mods, and I have a 30 minutes video (at the minimum)... So, I gave up trying to "lean up" my videos! 😂 I figured that those not interested in the whole thing can always jump to the parts they care through my meticulous chapter marks anyway... I know that can hurt my "video retention" (which I honestly don't give a crap about), but I'm not going to give a half-assed review to my core audience just to appease the weasels with an attention span shorter than 5 minutes (those have plenty of other channels to get the quick hits they need). On the topic of dialing your audio and video recording/editing skills… Man, that is an incredibly steep learning curve that you honestly can only hone in after making many videos… It’s just the nature of this game really. Whenever I go back to my first videos, I cringe with how bad my narration audio tunning was at the time (not for the typing tests though, I never applied any processing to those), even though I was using THE SAME EQUIPMENT I USE TODAY! Which goes to show how much more important the process of optimizing the gear you have is (which you can only learn with time and experience), when compared to simply buying newer and more expensive stuff. And I hear ya on the storage side… Each of my videos have about 500 Gigs of raw footage for me to sift through when editing, since I shoot in 4K… which is ludicrous! I now need to build a NAS just for that, since piling up spinning hard drives is starting to get out of hand.
Yeah... I didn't even mention this in the video, because I actually like to use backlit caps on numpads. And for that north facing is better. But even if I want to use Cherry caps, at least for me this whole argument of north facing switches being bad was kinda over the moment I started having options for long stem switches (which don't suffer from interference with Cherry profile in any orientation). So, my arsenal of these switches has been increasing quickly to a point where it's automatic now: north-facing switches + Cherry? Go with Gazzew Bobas for tactiles, Durock POMs for linears and any Kailh box of any type and the problem is solved. But I get the frustration... to alleviate the ire of masses, Glorious should allow you to choose which configuration you want BEFORE you order it, so you don't have to buy another PCB.
Logically speaking this numpad thing is such a niche product. First I dont see the product is even matching with the existing gmmk pro in terms of design. Second glorious trying to sell this product more than just a numpad with all those extra features which comes under luxury in my opinion. People would rather have a proper macropad to do all those stuff if they already willing to have something small at the side on their table. Third, considering all their gb model they have been running lately reflecting poorly as a company with no prototype sent for review. This is a product that people didnt even ask for but is glorious explanation for all this is trying to make a niche product. This product doesnt reflect on the price, design and there isn't much appeal for an average consumer which is majority of the audience.
All good points! I think the problem with Glorious now, after their meteoric growth, is brand identity. While they were wise to separate their new group-buy sales into a new sub-brand ("Glorious Forge"), I'm starting to think they should have created a completely new brand (totally dissociated to the original "Glorious" brand) to avoid this backlash... While this is normal (all companies go through these issues when they grow too fast), there is definitely room for improvement in the way they handled it. As for the product, while the not matching lines with the GMMK Pro will be an issue for the bazillion people who bought the Pros, I suspect Glorious will announce a GMMK Pro V2 soon, which will have the rounded corners of the NumPad... It just happened that the NumPad was released earlier. As for the functionality, yeah... It is challenging to try to bring some of the functions of the (crazy successful) Stream Deck to a simple numpad. If your macro needs are more on the basic side, Glorious implementation here can work. Although if you are a serious streamer, then your priority is elsewhere and you definitely should go with the Stream Deck. The Elgato solution might have the crapiest and mushiest of buttons to press, but boy is their software good for what is designed for!
@@IOSam Well said. I honestly don't mind the glorious forge but I still feel it is sus not not have any review of the product. Last thing you want is your paying for something that is completely not for you or hate it. They need to get their priority straight. You can't target the normal audience and enthusiast at the same time. To be honest they don't have enough experience to pull such thing off. For example wuque studio makes expensive board but when they make budget board it is still good due to the experience they have and they know what they customer would want for board at this price. Keychron is not trying to be something it is not. It is trying to give best value for money and it still is. Glorious can't play all side and not expecting some backlash. They really should be scouting what other people are doing well and make it better and more refined for general audience. I don't think making a completely new product is necessary when people just want good product for affordable price which is what glorious actually did well at the beginning. If they even took the time stalking half of the server for keyboard. They probably have some idea what people want. The numpad is the last thing you expect for an actual retail product launch to be honest.
It's weirdly conflicting. Like, yeah, Glorious in this case is kinda first to market, but does that make this execution good, regardless? Someone mentioned on another review, that with glorious' current business practices, (like how the GMMK pro prebuilt is $350, essentially using things that, you can argue you could get for $250) There's truth as well when someone else compared glorious to OnePlus, basically be a trailblazer to then end up like a more overpriced version of the rest of the crowd. It doesn't pair well with the GMMK pro, because as someone said here, it doesnt match/doesnt make a good use case to the GMMK Pro, both have knobs, and the angles/bezels, etc, don't match between the two. It's just also weird that, you can get a prebuilt GMMK 2 for $20 USD CHEAPER than this numpad, and even more cheaper if you just get the barebones kit. In a vacuum, I see your point that the GMMK numpad is the best option next to other numpads, but the bigger problem is when you open out more of your desk and then you see what else is on that desk and find out the GMMK pro keyboard already has a knob, that the GMMK 2 already has a 96% version that has a numpad, and that for some reason, the design aesthetic doesn't match any of the design language from the ANY of glorious' other keyboards (including the GMMK 1)
I don’t disagree with anything you stated here! And I see the anger on people who wished Glorious would continue to be the underdog forever… It reminds me of the days when AMD was the underdog and Intel was crushing. Now that AMD is on the top, a LOT of people resent their business practices… Capitalism… I guess. Having said all that, my perspective in this video was PREMIUM NUMPADS (we all know we can get much cheaper plastic numpads on Amazon without any bells and whistles), which, granted, is a very small nice in the mechanical keyboards big market. This thing is DEFINITELLY not for everyone! I’d even say this thing might not be for most 75% and TKL users out there (and most definitely not for people who have 96% and larger boards!). Also, as you pointed out, if you have a GMMK Pro, you don’t need another knob. In fact, I think this pad works better for me when using 60% and 65% boards (which given my circumstances, these end up being the layouts I use the most). As for the fact it doesn’t match the GMMK Pro perfectly (aesthetically speaking), while it can tickle my OCB a bit, I can get over it if the function is bigger than the form. Which in my case it is… But, again, I don’t expect it to be the case for too many people. I’d say that if you need a numpad, you already know it… And you probably already have one… Which the decision then comes down to: do I want to upgrade to something fancier and more luxurious? Again, that is very personal decision each and every one of us must make with our hard-earned money.
Glorious isn’t glorious anymore, they forgot where they even came from, their own identity.. it’s sad.. and no this isn’t worth $130 freakin dollars. 🤦🏻♂️
Hi Dorian, I was just talking about this with another viewer a few minutes back... This is part of the process for a company that grows too fast, and gets lost in the sea of options and then starts sending the wrong signals. I think it's fine for Glorious to explore other business models and enter into more premium segments with higher profit margins (all capitalist organizations want to do that), but they need to learn to set expectations better... Truth is: every company wants to be Apple... They all want to sell the more premium products for premium prices that everybody pays without questioning. But you don't get to where Apple is today by accident, and you don't get there quickly. I suspect Glorious might be needing more seasoned people at their executive team to adjust the direction the company wants to take going forward and then adjust their message accordingly.
@@IOSam hello IO Sam, I appreciate the in-depth response in regards to my comment and I can absolutely appreciate the statement “every company wants to be Apple” sadly this is the mentality everywhere and ugh.. I just wish that the smaller companies would, not remain where they are as every company strides to succeed and grow, but idk.. lacking the words right now - in the end it sucks to see where they are headed.. and unfortunately might be time to look elsewhere for underdog competitive prices..
@@PokeZaddy As someone who is EXTREMELLY sceptic with Apple practices, I understand your feeling to see Glorious trying to become a more "luxury brand"... To be honest, it doesn't even match their style. As I have mentioned to many other commenters here, Glorious needs to better segment their product lines between the budget-with-high-performance one we all knew and loved about them until recently, and a more "pro/luxury" segment for them to try to enter higher margin businesses... But sacrificing the budget segment for the pro/premium one is not cool and it will hurt their brand going forward if they don't fix that. The amount of frustrated Glorious customers like yourself right now is big enough that I think the message is pretty clear to them. Let's just hope they can correct their course before is too late.
Metal wireless numpads are a pretty niche product with low production numbers (and few options in the market), so there's not enough economies of scale to make them affordable (at least the stuff from big brands). The alternative is to go with smaller brands. I've been testing this Cidoo V21 (cidootech.com/products/cidoo-v21) for $60 (plus shipping) and it is surprisingly well built for it's price (and it is VIA compatible!).
Thank you!!! The animated wallpaper you see there is called "Terminal Hacking" (steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1693448815 ) and is part of the "Wallpaper Engine" App you can get on Steam 👉 store.steampowered.com/app/431960/Wallpaper_Engine
Check the missing sound typing test of the GMMK NumPad with lubed Gazzew Boba U4T with GMK Nephlock Kaiju here 👉 th-cam.com/video/_FamyHpCw0E/w-d-xo.html
It was left out of the main video because of an editing glitch. Thanks to RaZeLise 0219 for spotting this error very early on in this video's life (and allowing me to patch it quickly!) 🙏
Hey Sam! Found my way here from Twitter and just digested your whole video while tuning some stabs. While we have wildly different perspectives on this product, I just wanted to say that this is a seriously impressive video. Incredibly thorough, well researched, well organized, well delivered.
I'm also very relieved to see that people aren't being nasty to you in your comments on the heels of my video. Your passion for both keyboards and creating really comes through and you definitely got a new subscriber today. Keep up the amazing work!
What a nice comment from BST!!
Thanks Brian! And yeah, thankfully, people have always behaved incredibly nice here in my comments section from day one! One can only hope that will continue to be the case as the channel grows…
I must admit I had quite the chuckle when I compared our titles and watched your video! But while our views were polar opposites, I could 100% understand your disappointment when you found out Glorious’ new product was an expensive numpad (let’s face it… we all thought it was a GMMK Pro 65% ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
As for my opinions about this product, what can I say? I have some peculiar views on computer peripherals in general to say the least (I use a Razer Tartarus Pro as a macropad… enough said!) which might explain my collection of numpads. On top of that, I didn’t even get to my arsenal of retro tech here in the channel yet (that my wife might kill me over it before I have the chance to do so). So, things are about to get even weirder around here I’m afraid… 😂
Having said all that, let me also state here that I have nothing but absolute mad respect and admiration for you and your work (have been following your channel for a VERY long time… around 50k I think)! You’re a wholesome gentleman that deserves every gram of success you have on TH-cam, and thus you are an obvious inspiration for any content creator (specially for beginners like myself).
Thank you so much for dropping by, for your incredibly nice words and specially for subscribing! You just made my life a little harder now, knowing that Badseed himself will be watching these videos going forward!
@@IOSam Haha I personally love the odd stuff. I’m really starting to get into Topre and I fear Alps is inevitable. Thanks for the kind words; anything I can ever do for you, don’t hesitate to reach out.
@@badseedtech Thanks Brian!!! Really appreciated and right back at you man! And I know you have access to the best and the brightest out there already, but if there is anything I can ever be of any assistance on the vintage gear side of things, the DMs are always open!
Having seen both reviews, it's interesting how both approach the subject from a different consumer side. To my eyes, BST compared it from the standpoint of an individual customer - "is this a product that someone should buy"? But IO Sam compared it with the current alternatives in the market with similar price points, providing answers to a customer base that is more enthusiastic about those kinds of stuff.
So BST answered the question "Should you buy such a thing at all?" and IO Sam answered the question "Should you buy it if you are already set up in buying a premium Numpad?"
My opinion? Both reviews should be viewed before purchase, as they cover different consumer habits.
I really liked the idea of this to match my gmmk pro. The angles, bezels, and pcb, being different makes this a no go for me. Yes the price is crazy, but I may have considered it if it matched more closely.
I know... It was the first thing my eyes landed on when I placed on the side of the PRO! OCD is real man! 😂
Although, where I keep my numpads usually (on the top corner of my main board), I don't notice it as much as on the side... If for nothing else, the GK21S I've been using for years now doesn't match any of my keyboards anyway.
same. I might have picked it up (despite the price) if it were a match with the GMMK Pro. Missed opportunity there imo..
@@majorkeeb7493 I think the new GMMK Pro 2 will be a better match with this numpad (I bet it will also have rounded corners)... But that won't do any good for the thousands who already have the GMMK Pro 1.
@@DicehunterSC I can tell you that it is a matter of when (not if ;)... I'm sure they wanted to release it in 2022, but they might not be able to (considering all the logistics issues I'm sure they have been working around since the launch of the GMMK Pro 1).
So, I agree with you that early next year feels like a safer bet.
@@DicehunterSC Between us here, if you are not desperate to get a new 75% keyboard right now, you should definitely wait...
If you don't like the GMMK Pro 2 (or its launch price) for any reason, the OG GMMK Pro will be discounted at that point, so you'd win anyway.
I'm sorry but the product isn't worth what they're asking for. At $130 is costs as much as a pre-built GMMK2, it's not even worth the price of the bare bones model. For 20 bucks more you could get a Stream Deck and do FAR more with it.
And I cannot disagree with you... As I just discussed with a friend: spending over $100 even on a full keyboard can be (and it usually is, by a lot of my friends!) considered a splurge. A product like this is, BY ALL ACCOUNTS, a luxury item (like so much of the stuff we buy in this hobby 😂).
But then again, this is one of those hobbies where people spend $150 bucks on small pieces of plastic (but is made in Germany!) and feel really good about it... So yeah... Go figure mankind and their weird hobbies (watches and headphones might be even worse! lol).
Now, you make another good point: if all you need is macros (and you have no need for a quick way to enter numbers while still using small form factor keyboards), a Stream Deck is the obvious choice... Far more powerful than any other macropad in existence! I just wish Corsair could figure out a version of the Stream Deck with proper mechanical switches underneath those tiny OLED screens. Once they pull that off, it's game over for any other macropad out there...
Dude, $130 for a numpad for something in-stock is a robbery. I would understand if its a customs/limited product like the Mammoth20 by Wuque studios, but for something that's mass produced, still lacks of VIA supports and is north facing.... I can't recommend
Mine arrived today. It is built like a tank. I am very pleased but I wish it weighed less. Of course the weight helps keep it in one place. I purchased it to go with my Razer Blade 15 Advanced laptop. It is worth every penny.
I would say if you have the money and the need, go for it.
Yeap... This thing is heavier than some full-size plastic keyboards out there, and can definitely hurt if you throw it at someone. It is in fact almost 100 grams heavier than the GK21S (which was already heavy enough). So a travel numpad, this is not.
Amazing in-depth review as always. I remember watching your GMMK Pro review, and that's what pushed me to buy it, and now its what I use everyday at the office. Not sure yet if il get the Glorious Numpad, as my daily driver at home has a numpad, but I might find some use for it.
Thank you my friend!!! Glad to know that my review of the PRO was useful to you (and, most importantly, that you're happy with your daily driver! :)
As for the numpad... Yeah... It is not going to be super useful to everyone... And especially at the price these premium pads command, the appeal is even smaller for anyone who has a full size or a 96% board in their arsenal already.
If the only issue people have with this thing is the price?
THEY are the issue - not the product. Pretty straight forward really.
Hehe... It's like saying the main problem with Row Crop Tractors, if compared to a manual scythe, is the price... Sure, they're not cheap. But then, for people who need them for their businesses, there is real value in paying for one.
As I always like to remind people in these discussions, "price" and "value" are totally different things. The perceptions of price will be very different for a young kid working his first internship job and a multinational enterprise top tier veteran executive, and so is the value perception of a Row Crop Tractor for a software writer and a wheat farmer. The perception of price depends on how much disposable income one has, while the perception of value depends on one's real-world use of a product or service and how much time/money such product/service can save (or how much enjoyment it can provide).
Besides, there are products with high-price/high-value, high-price/low-value, low-price/low-value, and finally... low-price/high-value. While the last one is what we all want, there aren't many of those in the world (and even companies who put out low-price/high-value products, will not keep doing it forever as they become more successful, for the most obvious reasons).
So, if someone has no need for quickly entering numbers on spreadsheets, nor has the need for a wireless macropad… Then, sure! This Glorious NumPad has no value to him/her regardless of its features and price. And, thus, paying $130 on it would be a waste of money. But then, as you correctly pointed out, the problem would not be with the product… It would just be with his/her use case.
And that rationale can go all the way to the other end: people who not only do work with numbers and macros on a regular base, and wants to keep using small form factor keyboards, but also wants the most feature rich numpad in the market to help them to perform their tasks. For these individuals, while $130 might even be perceived as a high-priced item, they might see enough value in it to justify its purchase.
As is the case with beauty, value is also in the eye of the beholder...
@28:35 that smirk is well earned Mr. Io Sam. you are right on the money!
😏... Right?
Just ordered this numpad yesterday so that I have a numpad that compliments my GMMK 2 65% build. I'll be replacing the switches with IQUNIX Moonstone Turbos and swapping the keycaps with XVX pudding keycaps since that's what I used on my keyboard. Hope the keycaps I have doesn't have the horizontal key issue.
Hey Clay! Congrats on the new numpad! As for the horizontal sticky key issue, it is a combination of the stock stabs being too tight plus the use of certain keycaps that happen to have tight tolerances with their cross shaped stem plugs.
If you happen to have issues with your keycaps, the suggestion would be to replace the stabs with some other compatible set.
@@IOSamThe keycaps I had on hand from when I built my GMMK 2 worked out perfectly. Aside from using my own switches and keycaps, nothing else had to be done. Feels nice to use and to me, it’s glorious. Pun intended.
I have a desecrate numpad on the left hand side of my keyboard not because I am left handed (I am but I use my right hand for mouse) but because it means the home row is closer to my mouse which is much more useful to have.
Discrete keypads are incredibly useful... I keep learning new ways and reasons to use it all the time!
@@IOSam I built myself the Plaid Pad from Keycapsss and it is a cool conversion starter when people stop by my desk at work. Fun fact the Plaid Pad and Plaid Ortho Keyboard are less wide than my KBD67 R3 and both fit in the keyboard case haha.
@@SEVENTEENPOINT1 Man, the Plaid Pad, the Duckypad and the Murphpad are awesome projects that I owe to myself to check them out! I love these quirky DIY kits and I know a lot of people having fun with these pads (even Chyrosran! th-cam.com/video/6BEFjbXC_0c/w-d-xo.html :)
And as for space saving, I think the only people really serious about it are those using 40% and Ortholinear boards! 😆
@@IOSam Only took a day to get back to full speed on the 40 percent Plaid. Too bad all these boards go out of stock so quickly I got lucky I got mine lol.
@@SEVENTEENPOINT1 Yeah... And for as much as I love the community aspect of this hobby, the "small batch" nature of 99% of all these cool projects (from cheap DIY kits like the Plaid to the super luxurious customs we see on Geekhack everyday) is what ends up hurting the growth of the hobby.
To be fair, this gigantic chip shortage we're going through at the moment doesn't help this, or any other community who needs ICs, to prosper... (have you tried to get a Raspberry Pi lately? 😖)
And of course, that is where giants like Razer, Logitech, SteelSeries (and now Glorious I guess) have the opportunity to swoop in and do what the small group-buy runners can't even dream of...
As for speed-typing on a 40%, that is challenge I have yet to take on! 👀
The price is a huge detractor from this numpad.
While it does not have a slider or knob, keychron has the Q0 which is a bit less ridiculous with the price.
There are various other custom keyboard numpads that are far more affordable but soldered/ wired only. I personally prefer wired
It must also be said that I dislike Glorious as a company for multiple reasons that I need not list.
Yeah, I was just mentioning to another viewer that I missed the release of the Q0 (buried under so many of their launches and press releases 😂).
But yeah... If you have no need for volume control or bluetooth (which, honestly, I think most people don't), the Q0 for $90 bucks is the perfect choice (a lighter/cheaper version of the KBDPad). just have to find it in a local reseller in your country to avoid Keychron's expensive shipping rates that would, otherwise, erase a lot of the savings there...
Yeap... I also understand that side of the argument, and I even addressed it briefly on the end of this video. I totally get where some hardcore veteran enthusiasts come from when they dislike mega-corporations who come to mass-produce the things they see as art (instead of just a "product").
Naturally, not everybody sees these things the same way (or even care), but I'm glad this community has grown enough that enthusiasts of all levels (from beginners to veterans) have so many options when deciding where to spend their hard-earned money.
@@IOSam Im pretty sure that was me on twitter where you said the Q0 was "too much" and you stated a Filko Hakua was a better choice. Either way, these comments shitting on the price are golden and prove my point.
@@Nashness What I said on Twitter, and 100% stand by it, was: "If all you need is to hit numbers on a pad, even the Q0's $90 (that I just found out about it 😂) is too much... Just go for the awesome Filco Hakua for less than $40": twitter.com/IOSamFranco/status/1559605806571683842
In other words, if you don't care about a heavy metal encased, programmable, RGB backlit, wireless, hot-swappable numpad with 2 volume dials... then you don't care about premium numpads.
And in that case, yeah... Just go with the awesome Filco (that doesn't have any of those things, but works beautifully to enter numbers on a spreadsheet and is super well built)!
Which means I now must produce another video covering entry-level numpads to calm everybody down... Challenge accepted! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I don’t think there’s a boba tactile sound test on the stock typing test part. Also i believe the keychron q0 is another potential competitor to the gmmk numpad
Yeap... You're right... It was a last minute editing screw-up... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I'm gonna post a separate video with that typing test and then pin the link here in the comment section.
Thanks for pointing that out (I'm not used to produce videos in such short notice 😂)!!!
Oh, and yeah... I didn't mention the Q0 because, believe it or not, I didn't know about it until this video was done (the Q0 got lost in the avalance of Keychron press releases of the last few months! 😂).
I'd say the Q0 is a lighter/cheaper version of the KBDPad (same basic features), which is indeed a very good deal for $90 if you don't care about volume control and bluetooth... (just have to find a reseller in your country, to avoid Keychron's expensive shipping rates from Asia)
...I guess I'll have to revisit this topic now and cover the damn thing! 🤦♂
It's all good 😊. I am just putting it(keychron q0) out here because I believe for gmmk pro users like me for example, we don't have much use case for the extra dial and the slider whose only function is to just adjust the volume.(despite it looks really cool to me). And if you are like me, the gmmk pro may be your first customized keyboard and there will be some leftover switches and keycaps. It will make more sense to me to get smthg like a q0 and put those leftovers in it to save some money. This is my opinion and i do agree with Sam's use case for the extra dial and the slider.
@@RaZeLise You are 100% correct on all accounts! I barely ever use the volume dial on my GMMK Pro. And that is why I find it frustrating that Glorious has not included other "non-sound functions" to this knob...
And in that sense, the GK21S also makes more sense with its super useful extra row of keys instead of the knob. If it only had better software, this would still sit at the top of my recommendations...
Alright! Editing glitch has been patched. Check the missing sound typing test with the lubed Bobas U4T + GMK Kaiju here 👉 th-cam.com/video/_FamyHpCw0E/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for spotting this out early on man!!! Highly appreciated!!! 🙏
I needed a numpad. . . and got a Murphpad kit for $34. It does everything needed and has enthusiast features with no bloatware, looks good, sounds good, and is riotously fun to build. It is a different class of product though.
The murphpad is awesome!!! I really to need build one of those for myself!
7:35 I totally forgot about all those unused numpad keycaps. They indeed piled up in a closet.
Hehe... We've all been there!
Quite a few zip lock bags filled with them around here...
I built a GMMK Pro last year and I'm going to pull the trigger on this, particularly as I found it on sale at a local retailer for $169AU - including free shipping and tax. That translates to about $114US, which while certainly not cheap, is a fair bit more reasonable than $129 PLUS shipping and tax.
I think what got me over the line in particular here was your breakdown of how the volume feature works, your examples of adjusting a youtube video or discord independently from everything else is a use-case I will actually use. That's a pretty nice QOL feature for me.
I'm not too concerned about it not being an exact aesthetic / shape match for the GMMK Pro as I'm more a 'functionality guy' and the stock keycaps being a little meh is a non-issue for me as I already have one of the full glorious PBT sets so I'm ready to swap those out when I get it.
I have lubed tealios in my pro but I agree with you about clickies on a numpad, it just makes sense somehow. Will have to check out my options but I will put the box whites on my shortlist.
Great review as always, looking forward to getting my hands on mine!
Interesting that you’re getting a price cut for it in Australia, since there is no sign of one here in the US, which possibly indicates that the Aussie reseller is taking a haircut on its profit margin to move a product that might have been a bit too difficult to sell in its original price.
So, that is a not an insignificant saving you’re getting there, which is nice!
As for the keycaps, you fall right in the use case I described on the video, which is that anyone paying this much for a premium numpad probably already have a premium set of numpad keycaps stashed in a closet somewhere… So, the cheap stock caps are basically a non-issue.
As for the unique use case of the volume knob and slider, while I know a lot of people will point out that this is the kind of functionality better achieved with other more “streamer oriented” devices (from the likes of Elgato, TC Helicon, Beacn, etc.), it can be a great addition to have that integrated on a numpad (even a premium priced one), considering how much more money you’d have to pay for those specific audio devices that: a) don’t give you the functionality of a number crunching pad; b) nor the satisfying typing experience of mechanical switches.
So, for the vast majority of non-streamers out there, the functionality you get with this numpad is far more appealing indeed.
I like it. It holds its weight on a wood or leather top desk. Out the box use is fine but not my cup of tea. Use the keys you like & good to go. I used 1st w/ my Ducky One 2 Mini & having arrows volume & slider was ace. But since added the Glorious Glorious GMMK Pro w/ Arua V2 caps. & MX Tactile gray.
I wanna try the white Box clicky for feel
Yeah, this pad is all about customization indeed. If you take the time to configure it to your liking, it can make a big difference in productivity for those of use using small form factor keyboards.
As someone who owns a GMMK Pro, this has been something I've talked about since before it even existed (and my pc enthusiast friends know it). I finally have it on my desk as of today, and I love it. Having something that matches my keyboard and gives me the extra numpad keys is huge for me.
That being said, I do feel like it's overpriced, should have a barebones option, and should come with south-facing LEDs out of the box, its well an amazing product.
Great video btw!!
Thank you Nathan!!! Agreed on all accounts. While I know adding some Fox switches and cheap keycaps don’t add up too much to the final price, I think even $10 less for a barebones option would be welcomed by people who will replace these parts anyway.
At any rate, the thing I’m still waiting for Glorious to fix, that could make this a much better product, is the Glorious Core app, which still lacks some obvious functionalities and is still not stable enough to be left on all the time (I get intermittent bad memory leaks when the app is running for too long, which ends up crashing my PC). So, I’m tempted to give up the wireless functionality and flash the pad with QMK to program its layers in a semi-permanent way (without the need to have any software running in RAM to be able to use the slider for example).
@@IOSam I've never left core running in the background in the past, so I guess we'll see if I have issues with it now. I do agree that they need to update this either way, since I'd much rather not have to use QMK personally. It hasn't given me any issues yet, but thanks for the heads up, and I'll be sure to update if I run into issues. I'm using the slider for my Spotify volume, and it's a very nice feature (when it works).
Also I appreciate how responsive you are in the comments. It's very refreshing.
@@SLYtheartist Please do keep me up to date on your experience on the software side, since this helps me immensely in my analysis of future products!
And thanks again man! I do my very best to reply to my viewers since the community I’m building here is THE BEST!!! Seriously... I’m so happy with the quality of the comments I get in this channel, which is a testament to the quality of the audience my videos have been able to attract and keep.
As a result, I owe it to you (and other viewers like you) to value your time, your questions and opinions as much as you value my efforts to publish the best videos I can possibly make!
@@IOSam so it might've just happened for the first time. all of a sudden my memory usage spiked to 98% and my computer froze up completely. its never done that in the past, and i can't think of anything besides glorious core that could've caused it, but I've been running the pad wired... core was open in the background though. very strange. is this similar to what you've experienced?
@@SLYtheartist Yeap! That is precisely what happens in my machine if I leave the Glorious Core app running in the background! I have been testing their latest updates, but, so far, they all suffer from this issue.
My question to you: did you use the Glorious Core app constantly running in the background, with any other Glorious product, before receiving your numpad? If so, did you ever experience this issue before?
Using the GMMK2 60% keyboard and pairing it with the GMMK NumPad for sure!
Let me know your thoughts on it once you get it 👍
@@IOSam Ordered it on Oct 6th and got it today (Oct 25th), so far the only issue I'm can see is the response time when pressing the volume nob down (assigned to mute) I get a second delay before the key registers. I have it set to 1000hz and 2ms response time. I'll give a more detailed update after using it and modding it.
@@zinkzxd2891 Yeah, that lag is indeed there and is not tied to the software latency/speed settings unfortunately.
Glorious makes a new keyboard 😐 | it’s a hotswap keeb 🙂 | it’s haves a knob 😊 | it’s compact 😃 | haves nice rgb 😄 | it haves Bluetooth 😄 | it’s a numberpad 😐 | it’s 129.99 🤢 |
🤣🤣🤣 You sir, made me laugh today! Thank you!
And yeah... After reviewing $1.50 switches (Zeal Clickiez) and $130+ numpads, I'm definitely doing a more budget product next time around! lol...
Great review! Same deal with comparing notes when I get mine 😉😄
Oh yeah!!! Let's definitely do that! I'm genuinely curious to see what will be peoples reaction when the get the chance to at least try this thing...
Always like glorious stuff. They have good looking items that function and serve my purpose. I definitely see myself adding this to my desk setup. Thanks for another banger io sam
Thank you my friend!!! And nice to see you back here!
Highly appreciated! 🙏
I was lucky to be able to get one in Indonesia. There were only a couple of stores selling it though
I think the price was a limiting factor for many Glorious resellers worldwide... This might have been one of the lowest volume products they put out to date.
Great video, as always. It's interesting to see how this pans out. This seems like a premium gift to someone working with numbers a lot. And I also agree with the choice of Kailh whites for demonstration. I have found out that the most muted keyboards (like the GMMK Pro) are a good vessel for clicky switches, because we still have the click, but doesn't sound too loud for people around. I have been using my GMMK pro with those switches and I really love it.
Let's just say this would have to be a gift for a very special friend... XD
But as I said in the video, I admit how biased I am with numpads, keypads and macropads of all types... But I'm weird! lol...
As for clicky Kailh Boxes, they have perfect tactility! Honestly, it doesn't get any better than this in MX compatible form (for those who can appreciate clicks of course). And while I only tried the GMMK Pro with the Zeal Clickiez, I now have to give it a spin with these Box Whites.
@@IOSam I would love to see your opinion on GMMK Pro with the Kailh Whites when you have the chance. I believe the only thing that may annoy you is the double click. Other than that, the typing experience is great. I would have bought the clickiez for GMMK if not for that insane tactility that everybody is mentioning, which will possibly make it harder to type with for longer sessions.
BUT! I have to admit that your idea about lubing certain parts to reduce the tactility made me rethink buying them
Fun fact: I HATED clicky switches. But discovering that there are more than Cherry ones, made me try a build in GMMK pro and now it’s my main driver.
@@SoulstormGR Yeah... I always loved Alps clickies because they had the perfect tactility and the perfect sound, but their issue is the “dead end” they’re in, since you don’t have many options of PCBs and keycaps to use them in modern keyboard designs. I never liked MX Blues (used them for a while many years ago, but ditched not too long after) because their rattly sound and sensation (although I enjoyed their tactility at a time when we didn't have the plethora of super-tactiles we have today, and Browns just felt meh); And I always loved the tactility of the Kailh Box Whites, but was never a big fan of its double clicking with louder cases.
That's where the lubed Zeal Clickiez did fit very nice, since they sound great and have usable tactility (after lubed). Now for a keypad, where I don't type on it for hours a day, the Kailh Box White (or even the heavier Jades) are kinda perfect in both sound (specially with super thick MT3 caps I'm using them with) and tactility (which is perfectly balanced on the Whites).
But I should give the Box Whites a try on the muted GMMK Pro with FR4 and PC plates with MT3 just to see how the experience goes… (variety is the spicy of life! :)
I really need a GMMK2 review from you
You are a great reviewer
Thank you!!! I am working on a new round-up of a bunch of 96% keyboards for the end of the year. I'll definitely try to get my hands on a GMMK2 to include in the comparison! ;)
@@IOSam yeah your gmmk pro review, was the reason i took the jump into modding mine and now I am way down this rabbit whole, thank you.
What would be a cheaper option? With batteries/wireless (which is a must have for a numpad, given how often it will be removed from my desk when I not use it). And with good customizability in order to make it a macro pad or numpad for different use-cases (through software or QMK), and with mechanical keys?
In terms of features and build quality, I’m not aware of any other metal built, wireless reprogrammable numpad out there, other than the GMMK Numpad and the GK21S that doesn’t cost even more than $130. But if you don’t care about the heavy metal build part, I know Epomaker has developed the JJK21 (amzn.to/3T3DlBj ), in partnership with Feker, that seems pretty decent for a reasonable $60.
It is a barebone, hot-swappable numpad with a knob, a 1500mAh Battery, and a plastic build. But Feker plastic boards are really well made (I have their “Alice” keyboard here for testing/review and I was positively surprised by its quality construction).
It also has some sort of software interface to let you remap keys (which I didn't have time to test it yet). While I doubt their software solution will be as polished as Glorious Core App or VIA, it at least has that feature for a reasonably competitive price.
@@IOSam Nice! Thanks for the reply 👍👍☺
A gasket mounted, bomb-proof numpad. The weapon of choice for the Accountant in case of a zombie apocalypse
😂😂 It'll definitely get the job done (both with numbers and zombie crunching)!
0:30 bro just showed us an alps keyboard and didn't say anything
Hehe… It was just a “cameo”… But that board will be back to the channel soon…😉⌛
It will be my first vintage keyboard review here, where I’ll also make a few small mods to improve it further. If you want to see more vintage keyboards here in the channel, check out my review of the Zeal Clickiez (th-cam.com/video/14-xUZFQcHo/w-d-xo.html ), where I go reaaally deep in the vintage keyboards discussion!
@@IOSam nice :))
Great vid! is the Mini-M review still coming?
Thank you!!! The Mini-M is part of long list of vintage (or vintage inspired in this case) keyboards I want to cover in detail here in the channel… as soon as I finish an EXTREMELLY time consuming project I’ve been working on my day job for a few months now. Can’t wait to jump back in making TH-cam videos!
The cost doesn’t bother me too much. Since this is a niche of a niche of a hobby. I was skeptical of the slider and a knob. I have the GMMK Pro so now two knobs and a slider. But given they can do multiple sources… ok now I get it. Just didn’t think of that.
I’m glad it matches the GMMK Pro cause that’s my daily driver with Zeal Tactile switches. But I should get new switches. It gets way too tiring to use for long hours.
Great video and should be a fun addition.
Thank you Sir!!! And I have to say so myself: the ability to assign the two volume controls of this pad to different programs/sources has indeed been more useful than I originally expected.
Granted, I'd still like to see Glorious bring other non-audio functions to both the knob and the slider. But even in its current form, these interfaces have already been very useful to me.
And as for this pad's design, as I have mentioned to other commenters here, I do believe it points in the direction Glorious will go with the upcoming GMMK Pro 2, which we shall see soon. So, that should be interesting as well.
My current configuration of this pad, has Gazzew Boba U4T and Akko ASA PBT caps, and I have to say I'm enjoying it a lot! Bobas are very tactile (as much as your Zealios), but that has been Ok for my numbers workload.
I've been looking for a keyboard that has five keys on the side, as an alternative to TKL (smaller, and with all the keys I actually use). That would be the GMMK Pro, unless anyone has any other suggestions? Coupling this with an optional numpad would be ideal for those times I'm using spreadsheets, not to mention the handy knob and slider. And if the second Pro matches the numpad more, all the better!
I’m pretty confident Glorious is coming out with a GMMK Pro 2 sometime in 2023 (I’d be very surprised if they don’t!). And I’d guess its design should be a better match with the existing GMMK NumPad.
I would also hope they give the option to replace the knob in the keyboard for another 1 or 2 keys (for those of us that already have the knob and slider in the NumPad for example), since having 5 or 6 side keys (instead of the current 4 of the GMMK Pro) would allow me to have more of the TKL nav-cluster keys I‘m used to.
Just found out that keychron has the Q0 for $89, but the shipping usually is expencive
Yeap... You're not alone... 😆 I also only found about the Q0 once this video was ready. But I'm getting one to review here soon.
If you are in the US, and don't mind getting a barebones Q0, you can get it for a good price and acceptable shipping cost from Divinikey (divinikey.com/collections/keychron-q0?rfsn=6609184.224d49 ).
But if you get the pre-built version directly from Keychron, you can add up another $20 to the final price just for shipping from Asia, which makes the whole package a bit less exciting for what you get...
Damn he works fast. Looking forward to this one
You don't wanna know how much of a toll these last two videos have taken on me! I need a vacation now...😂
Thanks man!!! Glad to see you here!
Well done once again. Great depth of info continues
Thank you blazarian!!! I put my heart and soul into these videos and it means the world to know there are nice people (like you!) who enjoy this! That is the most important thing in the world for content creators (specially the small ones! :)
@@IOSam Well you more than exceed so no worries there. Highest quality stuff on YT in its genre
I've been side-eyeing this since it was announced. Here and there I've been flirting with the idea of picking up a wireless numpad - I really considered buying the GK21S a few months ago, but I feel my use-case is just sporadic enough that I can't justify $100+ for a dedicated numpad, and I already have a Stream Deck, so I don't have a strong need for a macropad.
The inclusion of a slider is unique and interesting, but also means it's oddly big for a numpad. And for how big it is, it's not as deep as the GMMK Pro (V1, at least), which feels weird. I feel like I'd be more inclined to buy this if it was thinner (scrap the slider and knob) and deeper with a row of macro keys. Also, not sure how viable it would be, but with it meant to match the GMMK Pro, I think it'd be neat if a follow-up to the Pro included a USB hub. I'd personally have less need for a wireless keypad if I could plug a USB cable into my keyboard.
All that aside, I appreciate your detailed reviews, they're fantastic!
Thank you so much man! Always nice to find more and more people (like me) who enjoy super detailed and in-depth reviews! :)
As for the “economics of premium Numpads”, yeah… They look cool on your desk, but if you don’t have a real need for it, it’s just hard to justify spending over $100 for a premium one such as a GK21S or the GMMK (especially if you already have the “macropad” side of things taken care of with a Stream Deck).
Now, while I see your point about the debatable utility for the extra row with the knob and the slider, I actually came around to love the slider, since having an independent (and super quick) volume control for my browser has been a surprising quality of life feature for me. Having said that, the extra knob is just a function duplication for anyone using these new trendy boards that all come with knobs nowadays (although I might change my mind if Glorious ever bring the ability to use the Knob for other non-audio related functions).
If they had found a way to add the slider, but taking a bit less space on the side (and adding an extra row of keys on top), that would have been the perfect solution for my particular use case. But I get it that it is hard to please everyone…
Come to think of it, adding an USB hub to it as you suggested, would be another useful function I had not considered before (although the hub would stop working whenever the pad switched to the Bluetooth connection, that would not have enough bandwidth to keep the hub working wirelessly).
And finally, as for the aesthetics of the pad, while I don’t find it offensive on my desk, I agree that it doesn’t match neither the GMMK Pro nor the GMMK 2. But I have a strong suspicion that it might match the upcoming GMMK Pro 2, but we’ll see about that soon…
what kinds of bluetooth 5.0 dongles would you recommend if you use one?
In my PC, I use a TP-Link PCI-e Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card (amzn.to/3P5gdCh ) that has been super solid. But if I had to go with a USB dongle, I'd pick either a TP-Link (amzn.to/3Y60Rl6 ) or an Asus (amzn.to/3UCsM9d ) 5.0 adapter.
It would be great if I could assign the knob and slider to tools in photoshop for example. I doubt I can on their software but is there are third party way to do that?
You are correct... You cannot assign non-audio functions to the knob or the slider through the Glorious Core app yet (although you can assign other functions to the knob press, only the dial movement is restricted).
The only way to bypass these limitations is if you flash the pad with QMK. Then you can assign non-audio functions to both knob press and dialing actions. I'm not sure about the slider though, but I'm confident that you probably could assign other functions to it as well.
I'll try to do exactly that with this pad in a few weeks (after I finish posting a few more videos I'm working on at the moment) and I'll report back any success over on Twitter (with a link to the article in my Blog).
@@IOSam let me know what you find out! I also reached out to glorious about adding more features
@@Jay-ws7tv I definitely will!!! Stay tuned!
@@IOSam Just got my numpad love the quality, but missing so many mapping features uhg!
@@Jay-ws7tv Yeah... Glorious Core is indeed very limited. If you don't mind losing the Bluetooth capability, you can gain a lot more flexibility with key mapping and macros by flashing it with QMK.
But the whole process of flashing keyboards with QMK will require some effort on your part, since it is a not trivial procedure.
Ouu these things looks adorable...🥰
Hey Joseph! Nice to see you here man!!!
And yeah... This little numpad is a "looker" for sure!
Personally, I was so bummed when they revealed this product after I first saw the teaser pics a few days prior. My initial gut reaction of that side profile pic was "Oh wow! Are they finally gonna come out with either a 65% GMMK Pro or a much needed GMMK Pro 2?" I am happy for people who are genuinely looking forward to a "premium" numpad option though.
Sadly, I do agree with some comparing Glorious to OnePlus now. I used to root for Glorious so hard and aggressively recommend them to friends and family, back when they were still an upstart company... heck, people called me crazy for introducing them to such an unknown brand at the time. Even back then, I just shrugged off QC/QA issues with some of their products to "being new in the industry". But after they've settled in and made waves in the industry with affordable products (at the time), they started to shift their focus to competing with the "premium" market. As BST already mentioned on his video, they will peddle a somewhat mediocre baseline product to you, then tack on replacement components, or "upgrades" for a premium.
Yeap… I’m there with you! I was 100% sure this was a 65% board WITH A SLIDER! How cool would that be??? So, I totally understand the frustration of so many people when they found out this was only a numpad (and I think BadSeed Tech expressed this so well! 😂). Which shows that Glorious botched the launch of this thing by completely mismanaging people’s expectations for what this product was supposed to be.
Now, as I made it clear in my video, I am a weird person that not only relies heavily on numpads for my work, but that even collects vintage numpads! But I obviously don’t expect most “normal” human beings out there to care about this… In all honesty, if you don’t work with numbers and don’t use advanced content creation software, you might live your whole life without ever missing a numpad.
And your point of Glorious having become OnePlus is a recurring one I keep hearing from the community, which makes total sense. I’ve seen this happening with plenty of other startups throughout the years (sometimes even with well stablished companies like AMD for example, that was always the underdog selling value focused products, but now that they are clearly on “top of the world”, they moved into more profitable markets with higher margins). To be fair, I don’t blame any capitalist minded business for wanting to do so… Everybody wants to be Apple, Mercedes-Benz and Rolex… In other words: be in a position where people don’t ever question your pricing anymore!
But it takes time to get there, and I think Glorious executives (being the young kids in a hurry they probably are) are just trying to cut too many corners to get to that place… and it shows (when you see so many people in their core customer base being upset about so many of their decisions lately).
I am now convinced that Glorious should have either created an entire new line of more premium products with higher prices (such as Apple does with its “Pro” line) or even creating a secondary brand for its more luxurious products (such as car makers do with their luxury brands, Toyota/Lexus, Chevrolet/Cadillac, Ford/Lincoln, Honda/Accura, etc).
Anyway, one I thing I keep seeing happening with Glorious is that they move too fast, break too many things, but then come back, apologize, and try to fix their mistakes… While that is not the business strategy I would take, at least I do appreciate the fact that, more often than not, at least they try to fix their blunders (while so many bigger and better stablished business do not).
Although, I gotta say that their attempts to create a working set of stabilizers has been comically bad! C’mon guys… It shouldn’t be that hard, eh? 😆
@@IOSam Yup. Their attempts at creating decent stabs is so hilarious that it's become a meme in the custom keeb community. If only they spent more resources in R&D and manufacturing instead of their flashy marketing, more people would be happy.
Heck, even their GMMK Pro needs an overhaul. Even with people modding the shizz out of that board, they'd only be able to get a mediocre sound and feel, at best.
@@statixfear Yeap! 100%!!!
Now, they will have an opportunity to fix all that and show they mean business with the upcoming GMMK Pro 2... But if they botch that one... Than it will be sooo hard to cheer for these guys again in the future! XD
What a nice review..!! I'm subscribing...!!!
Thank you Edgar!!! Your sub is very much appreciated man!
I think the GMMK numpad doesn't need 2 volume controls as many TKL and smaller these days already come with a volume knob, in addition to people having DACs like your setup. I think extra keys on the right side of the numpad would be unintuitive as at least for me, the enter key being on the edge is an important part of the numpad experience.
I think Ducky's solution on their full-sized keyboards is clever, fitting keys above the numpad on the height of a function row, but I would have also liked a minimalist approach with just the essentials and their signature RGB stripe.
I understand that dedicated numpads are a niche market, but I think with the impact they have had in the past, a more budget friendly numpad could have changed that and gotten them a lot of attention in the process. Perhaps they could even offer a version with common content creator keycaps to be a pseudo-stream deck, as many use their numpads for that already.
All great points you make here Ruby! While I’m not particularly crazy about volume level knobs on my keyboards (for the reason I pointed out in the video), apparently a lot of people are… So, I don’t blame Glorious for thinking they “have to” put these things in all of their premium boards (or pads in this case).
I agree with you that an extra row of keys on the top (just like my GK21S) is sorely missed in this design! I understand they were trying to go for a unique look, which the squarish shape gives it, but it ended up a bit more on the side of form than function… And I do think they wanted to go with the basic 17 keys layout to make it easy for anyone who buys basically any keycap set out there (even the cheapest ones on Amazon), to be able to easily fit them in this pad.
And the other great point you make here, is that they should have brought multiple versions of this product to market: a simpler and cheaper one (maybe with integrated aluminium plate and plastic body, like the GMMK and GMMK 2 lines) with the knob (to complement cheaper boards that don’t have one) and this more expensive premium version (but also with options to be north or south facing out of the box for example) just with the slider (since this pad would probably complement fancier keyboards that probably already have a knob).
And the idea of specific numpad keycap sets for popular applications is genius (and something I had not thought about)! I bet that would be much more appreciated than just the aesthetics upgrades they have announced so far…
I was a bit skeptic I must admit, having seen Brian's video first as well, but the way you analysed it all and brought things into perspective really helped and I feel less... Toxic about it now. There's still a few things that I don't like about Glorious, the upselling of extra parts for example (at least include an extra alternative badge, Glorious?) and the whole deal with the Alexotos keycap designs, but this really shed some light on the pricing and features you get for that price.
Hey Hionimi! I know the feeling... It can be jarring when seeing two completely different views (from completely different perspectives), and it can cause some confusion. We've all been there, believe me!
Having said that, I think both Brian’s and my perspectives are 100% valid and that is why we should always watch more than one review of any given product we have our eyes on. I had my mind changed about products many times before (for better or for worse) the more I learned about it and the more different opinions I heard on them.
Another commenter here left a perfect briefing of the situation between these two reviews (and perspectives), which I couldn’t agree more:
[Having seen both reviews, it's interesting how both approach the subject from a different consumer side. To my eyes, BST compared it from the standpoint of an individual customer - "is this a product that someone should buy"? But IO Sam compared it with the current alternatives in the market with similar price points, providing answers to a customer base that is more enthusiastic about those kinds of stuff. So BST answered the question "Should you buy such a thing at all?" and IO Sam answered the question "Should you buy it if you are already set up in buying a premium Numpad?" My opinion? Both reviews should be viewed before purchase, as they cover different consumer habits.]
On the topic of Glorious trying to upsell you on additional aesthetics crap… Just don’t do it… It is obviously not worth it! I even said so myself on my original review of the GMMK Pro last year (th-cam.com/video/J_axv-TkjkE/w-d-xo.html ), when I decided to review the barebones keyboard the way it comes out of the box without adding any extras. Go grab switches and keycaps elsewhere and you’ll definitely get a much better deal! I am ALWAYS skeptical of bundles and upsells like these, regardless of which brand I’m dealing with.
And finally, on the Alexotos thing, while I didn’t go in-depth on this topic here (I don’t think it would fit the goal of this video, which is 100% technical) this is definitely something to consider depending on who you are: just a consumer? A mechanical keyboard enthusiast? Or a mechanical keyboards community active member? And you can bet I have strong opinions about it, and which I will make them public soon on my Blog.
It's really weird to me how they're trying to make it match the GMMK 2, when a person that has the money to spend on something like this probably wouldn't be using it with a lower mid-range mechanical keyboard. I feel like they should've skipped the entire right side of the numpad (since the GMMK Pro already has a knob) and added another row of keys above the main numpad, so it matches the height of the GMMK Pro. Those keys could then be used for additional functionality, like backspace, tab, comma and space.
Totally agree! In fact, it seems clear to me they should have launched two versions of numpads: a cheaper and simpler one to match the GMMK “OG” and GMMK 2 (with integrated plate, plastic body, floating keys, north-facing sockets AND DEFINITELY a volume knob to complement the budget boards that don’t have it) and a more expensive/premium/luxurious version such as the existing model (but with south-facing sockets out of the box, extra row of keys on the top and maybe the slider, but not the knob).
In other words, the idea of a premium numpad is not bad… The problem here is just that they missed the mark in managing their core customer base expectations for what the product should or should not be (which is why I think having two versions could have better addressed the core “budget oriented” customers AND the more “pro” audiences at the same time without pissing everybody off).
@@IOSam Since you've now had the opportunity to use the slider, how do you feel it compares to a knob? It seems to me that the slider feels like it might be a little bit more precise to use but it also uses up a lot of board space.
@@Zentennen It is more precise in the sense that it has no steps, as you have with the knob (which has 2% steps). So that gives at least the feeling of being more precise, since the audio volume seems to increase or decrease in linear form. Having said that, there is a perceptible lag of a few milliseconds (especially if you move the slider very quickly).
But overall, I have to admit that I'm actually enjoying using the slider for TH-cam and Spotify without affecting Window’s system audio, which is rather convenient.
@@IOSam Do you find the slider preferable to the knob for adjusting individual program audio? It seems to me that the knob could do that as well without the lag, even if it's a bit less precise.
@@Zentennen You're correct! The knob doesn't have the lag, because each step is exactly 2%, so there is no "acceleration" when you twist it fast or slow. Meanwhile with the slider there is a perceived acceleration effect which might take a bit longer for the software to process (thus the lag).
To my current use of the slider just for Chrome or Spotify, I don't mind the small lag. Besides, the slider has the advantage that you can mute the sound of the app much quicker than with the knob (which would require a couple of full twists to go from 100% to 0).
Gotta drop a like for that intellimouse 1.1a in the intro.
Those things were the bees knees.
Edit: Actually it might be earlier than the 1.1a because it doesn't have the side buttons.
Hehe... You sir, have very good taste for vintage mice!
And yeah, sometimes I feel like pairing my vintage boards with good vintage mice... just because ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@@IOSam It was my first gaming mouse, and way better than any of the easily spun out low malfunction speed and inaccurate mice I had used up till that point.
Sometimes I want to see if I can find a way to use that shell with a new PCB sensor and wheel.
@@lw8882 That would be a job for the "mouse whisperer" himself, the awesome BeardedBob (th-cam.com/users/Beardedbob ). If there is a way to do this, he will know... (and he takes commissions!)
Love your work, interested in the product, can't justify the price.
Thank you Kevin!!! Highly appreciated my good Sir!🙏
And I think this (the issue of good products that are too luxurious for our budgets) has been the theme of my latest two videos, right?
Between the Zeal Clickiez and the GMMK NumPad, it is hard to point out which one enraged more people with their pricing! 😂
@@IOSam I don't get people being 'enraged' but I do understand the disappointment. I'd like a numpad that I can put to the left of my keyboard but only for occasional use, occasional use doesn't justify 130 usd. So this one goes past me. That's ok.
Keep up the great work Sam.
@@KevinOMalleyisonlysmallreally Thanks Kevin! And for what is worth, I will come back to the numpad thing with a round up of more simples (and reasonably priced) units here soon... Stay tuned!
I was hoping to get one to use both as a macro pad to launch apps, and a numpad. I was hoping to make it so that I could press the knob to switch layers/ profiles between the two. Is the knob clickable/ does the knob support this functionality?
It absolutely does. While I didn't necessarily mention it on the video, I actually showed a scene where I'm doing just that (shifting though layers by pressing the volume knob down: th-cam.com/video/7KB-1O8MG_s/w-d-xo.html ). And through the software you can assign pretty much any function you want to the knob press. The only thing you cannot change about the knob is its dial function, that is permanently assigned to the Windows system audio.
@@IOSam Thanks, that was exactly what I was hoping to hear! The numpad is pretty pricey, but it does everything that I want it to do, so I'll probably pick one up and (hopefully) complete my desk setup.
So the volume can’t be controlled unless the glorious core is running in the background….?
The knob DOES WORK even without having the Glorious Core App running in the background (it even worked on Mac OS no less!). What will not work without the Core App is the application audio control with the slider. For that one, you DO NEED the app in the background to interface the board with the App of your choice.
I bought the GSV2 stabs and had the same sticking problem shown in the video. Glorious has not wanted to acknowledge the issue and is giving me the runaround trying to return them, making it not really worth the hassle. It is a shame they are 0 for 2 in the attempts at GOAT stabs! Crazy that on the second attempt they didn't even return the key back up on two different sets, one lubed and one unlubed.
Hi Eric! Did you buy their retail “gold wire” stabs set? Which board did you install them on?
I know they say the NumPad comes with the GV2s, but I noticed the ones in the pad have silver wires (don’t know if that means anything quality wise though).
At any rate, after comparing the GV2 with other brands I have here, I’m pretty confident that the problem is the tight fit of the stems within the houses. The tolerances seem minuscule and that means that any keycap that has the mounting hole a fraction of millimeter off to any side, will put perpendicular force on the stem against the side wall of the housing (with the plate installed)… preventing it from sliding up/down properly (and not even lube can alleviate the issue).
Other stabs have the stem a bit looser inside the housing, which, while increasing the risk of rattling, at least will give enough space for the stem to travel even if they are not perfectly straight.
If that is indeed the case with all GV2s, that would mean a huge blunder in Glorious second attempt on making their own stabs!
@@IOSam I bought the retail gold GSV2 stabs. I was using them on the Keychron Q3 keyboard with Drop DSA Astrolokeys keycaps.
@@ericnadler790 Sheesh... I'll say this: if Glorious can't manage to create a decent set of working stabilizers by the time they come out with their upcoming GMMK Pro 2... That might be the "straw that breaks the camel’s back" for their business!
sam, you're awesome, I love this video. im looking at this numpad but also really considering the megalodon triple knob on drop. do you have a review of that one??
Thanks Randall!!! Appreciated man! While I have not tested it myself yet, I am still in the early stages of putting together a numpad/keypad comparison video for sometime this year, and if I do that the Megalodon will be included.
Having said that, the Megalodon is technically not a numpad (although I’m sure one could program it to behave like one of course) and thus it doesn’t have a familiar numpad keys layout (only has 1U keys for example). So, I see it more like a Stream Deck competitor than a GMMK Numpad one.
But if that is what you’re going for, then it is right in the middle between those two, since you do get better programming abilities than that of the GMMK Numpad (without the numpad “feature”), but it is inferior than the Stream Deck in that regard (but with real mechanical keys). Also, the price is very enticing, since it is cheaper than those other choices.
Have you heard of the tk number pad? Its a really cool project to pair with a 60 percent
I had not... until now. And now that you pointed me to it (www.kazoosco.com/the-tk)... I want one! 😂
The retro-computing enthusiast in me goes crazy with these types of designs! I'll definitely check it out!!!
If the volume controls would be on the opposite side i would buy it . In this configuration though it doesnt really make sense to use it as a macro board while gaming for me.
Having the volume controls on the side (instead of the top) really can make the use of this pad on the right or left sides of the main keyboard a bit more cumbersome (depending on which side you use your mouse).
Here, as usual, left-handed people were left hanging...
hey! amazing review. see you have a razer tartarus, i think that is the pro version, can you make a video about that? o just a opinion cause im kind of interensted. thanks!!
Thank you Diego! And yes... I not only have a Razer Tartarus Pro, but I use it as my main macropad for video editing, as well as gaming and content creation in general. So, I know this device inside out.
I know people trash Razer's Synapse and all... But, if you can live with it, the Tartarus Pro can be insanely useful for so many tasks!
After this whole numpad discussion took such a dramatic turn today (😂), I have decided that I need to follow this up with not only other numpads in other price ranges, but also throw in the Razer Tartarus and even the Elgato Stream Deck in the mix (even though they are not necessarily in the same category). So, stay tuned!
what power screwdriver are you using?
It's the Wowstick:
Bangood👉 www.banggood.com/custlink/3DGEOqG8uy
Amazon👉 amzn.to/3iiArsC
@@IOSam thanks!
@ 10:44 Mine enters sleep in either wired or BT turning off RGB in wired as well. It requires a key press to wake then type.
There is a setting on Glorious Core software (on the main screen) where you can choose to have all the lights to turn off after a certain amount of time. If you don't turn this feature on, your numpad (as well as your GMMK Pro and Core compatible Glorious mice) will not go to sleep, and thus won't suffer from this "wake up delay" (with the obvious downside of less battery life if you’re using it wireless, of course).
Awesome video again Sam! Kinda a shame the shape doesn’t match the gmmk pro exactly.
Thank you Patrick!!! And yeah... While I do like the "squircle" shape, it is indeed a shame it doesn't properly match the PRO...
Whats the name of the white "hand keyboard" seen at min 10:15?
That is a Razer Tartarus Pro Gaming Keypad that I use as a programmable macro pad for editing videos and to automate other repetitive tasks: amzn.to/4792YYu
@@IOSam Yo, thanks for the quick answer!
Great in depth video! It’s obvious as far as value in the numpad market this is totally inline with the price point.
I think the beef people have is that they’re used to Glorious taking a high quality product and instead of charging the going rate for said product, cutting that rate by $30-$50 dollars. I think they started to build the reputation that they sell quality product for 2/3rds of the cost and with the GMMK Pro and now the Numbpad that’s starting to rub some the wrong way. Ultimately is what it is, if you don’t like something or value it at a certain price then just don’t buy, no different then what we all do with any product we come across in life
Side note- Do have an issue with them charging $20 more for a south facing PCB though, close to $150 to use my GMK caps 😓
Thank you!!! And you touched the nerve there! Glorious has grown too much, too quickly, and now they have other ambitions that no longer match their humble beginnings as the underdog.
It reminds me of AMD when they were the underdog that occasionally could sell a chip as good as Intel’s but always at a lower price… Now that AMD is on the top of the world and Intel is in trouble, AMD is no longer the good guy and they no longer sell their products at a discount (they no longer need to). Apple was the underdog against IBM in the 80’s, and look how their behavior changed now they’re the big dog…
What Glorious need to do now is to decide what they want to be and adjust their message to it, to avoid setting the wrong expectations in the market which, in the end, is what causes these types of dissonance to their previously loyal fans.
As for the north face thing, I didn’t even consider the upgrade, since I actually enjoy having backlit keycaps on numpads (I do use those on my GK21S). And if I really feel the need to use cherry profile keycaps, I just go with long pole switches (Gazzew Boba, Durock POM, Tecsee Ice Candy and so many other switches that have that feature now) and problem solved. But yeah… I know people can get pretty worked up about the north-facing switches thing these days! 😆
Hey, is the slider actually QMK compatible?
Hi Rusty! While I have not flashed my unit yet (I will, but have to finish a bunch of other videos first 😂), it is my understanding the sliders are supported by QMK. So it stands to reason that the GMMK NumPad slider should work in QMK (even for non-audio related tasks).
Having said that, the main disadvantage to flash this pad with QMK would be loss of Bluetooth capability, which sucks! It seems VIA doesn't usually play ball with Bluetooth boards for some mysterious reason...
So, that would be a big trade-off: flash it with QMK to gain full programmability for the knob and slider on one hand, but then lose wireless connectivity on the other.
@@IOSam Hello :D, wait that means with VIA I can sustain bluetooth capability and reprogramm the knob / slider?
@@khazzor8564 Back when I tested this pad, no. Flashing with QMK to gain VIA compatibility would inevitably break the Bluetooth. But VIA has improved quite a bit since then, so I don't know if today one could go the QMK/VIA route and keep Bluetooth at the same time... I'll have to look into it to see if anyone has successfully tried this since last year.
@@IOSam thanks for your quick response ☺️
@@khazzor8564 I'm here to help! 👊
I agree totally about the gk6x software. It's total trash. I regularly had my gk68xs refuse to be recognised by windows just because I unplugged it, requiring me to restart the software and plug the keyboard in again. That with the finnicky way you have to save and apply profiles before swapping layers or it deletes your progress in configurations is maddening. So many more issues, it's just a horrible software suite.
That said, and while acknowledging my bias against glorious as a company, I just don't see how this is good value. The keychron Q0 is 50 dollars cheaper and comes with QMK and VIA support. Glorious also forces you to buy 36 of their switches, or a whole 120 switches of other brands in order to change which ones come with the GMMK numpad. They also charge for a full set of keycaps ($99 for their sets) even if you're only buying the numpad. Those along with other purchasing options make this a horrible value proposition.
Add to that the fact that the slider and knob both do the same thing and their keyboard already has the knob, the corners and bezels not matching the GMMK pro, the gaskets being unnecessary and the default keycaps being ugly as sin, and I just can't call it good design.
Hopefully it's an old design and glorious can change their production pipeline to give themselves more time to iterate on products before releasing them, but given their insistence on pushing group buys and charging almost as much for the whole numpad as they do a set of keycaps for it, I don't think we'll see significant improvement from them any time soon.
Yeap! I feel your pain… While I didn’t have any bugs using the GK6XPlus driver with my GK21S, the software is atrocious to use… And that has been the main reason I haven’t been too keen in recommending the GK21S. Outside of the software though, the hardware is very good (the forged aluminium case is beautiful!).
As for the Glorious “bundling blunders”… In all honesty that is nothing new… I even mentioned that in my original review of the GMMK Pro last year (which I didn’t see the point in buying any of their accessories with the board).
And that continues to be the case with the NumPad (which I didn’t even bothered to discuss their accessories, since I don’t care about any of them really). For anyone getting this pad, my recommendation is to get your switches and keycaps elsewhere and you’re almost guaranteed to get a better deal.
As for the knob and slider, while they technically don’t do exactly the same thing (the slider is actually more useful, since you can assign it to specific apps in Windows, which you can’t do with the knob) they would be much more useful IF you could assign other non-audio functions to them. I understand you can do that if you flash it with QMK (which I’ll do that to my unit and report back on my success soon), but the fact that Glorious Core doesn’t offer that feature is inexcusable.
As for the rounded corners not matching the GMMK Pro, while it is an eye sore now for current GMMK Pro owners, that becomes less relevant when used with other keyboards (where there will be no similar design language at all). Besides, I suspect the upcoming GMMK Pro 2 will have rounded corners (so Glorious might have anticipated that in the NumPad).
And on that topic, I honestly think this Pad is more useful with smaller (non-Glorious) keyboards that lack knobs, where the volume controls on the Pad don’t get duplicated.
As for the gaskets… Yeah… Not really needed. At the very least Glorious should have released a regular and cheaper GMMK NumPad with integrated plate, north facing switches and plastic body (with no fancy gaskets) for a lower price (and to better match the GMMK 2 line in price and features) and then they could have released this existing version (with south facing sockets out of the box) as a GMMK NumPad “Pro”, which comes with the same style of fancy metal case and gaskets of the GMMK Pro keyboard (plus Bluetooth and slider, while deleting the knob) for anyone who “wants the best”.
While I don’t mind the north facing switch sockets (I don’t intend to use it with Cherry caps, and, even if I did, I’d just use Kailh Box switches, or switches with long poles such as Gazzew Boba U4T that don’t cause interference with Cherry caps), it is pretty clear that the customers for a “Pro” version of this type of product do care about it... So, that was obviously a mistake on their part.
At any rate, I don’t expect Glorious to change the design of this numpad this year… Since they probably have thousands of these things in a ship on their way to the West as we speak. But after failing to manage their main audience’s expectations with this release (which I think was their biggest mistake here), I’m sure they’ll go back to the drawing board for the second version of this product for next year.
As a standalone product, I like this pad and will continue to use it, since it has many of the same features I was accustomed to with my GK21S (plus the benefit of the easier to use software). But for anyone trying to match this pad with other existing Glorious products and accessories, their experience might be much more underwhelming.
And finally, while everybody seems to be loosing their sh!t with this pad’s pricing, and while I would love if this this was a $99 product (even if it came barebones), I don’t want to be a hypocrite here… Since I spent far more than $130 to build my GK21S and I have also spent far more than $130 for much less useful keyboard things (such as overpriced keycaps for example)… So, I don’t see Glorious pricing for the base product as necessarily a cash grab, considering the quality of this product’s fit and finish, its feature set (which is superior than my GK21S), and the fact that I don’t give a crap about their upselling tactics (I simply won’t buy any of their accessories that are only for aesthetics anyway).
$130 is 🍌🍌🍌
🤣🤣🤣
What about the Keychron Q0 numpad?..........
Can you believe I HAD NEVER found out about it until this video was done? But I have an honest explanation for it though: my inbox was so cluttered by Keychron press-releases (announcing a new keyboard every other Tuesday!), that I somehow missed that launch... Which the internet has been kind to remind me today! 😂
At any rate, I see the Q0 now as a "lighter" (and cheaper) version of the KBDPad. If you don't care about volume control and Bluetooth, and if you can find a Keychron reseller in your country (to avoid the expensive shipping from Asia), the Q0 seems like a winner! I'm definitely getting one from Divinikey here in the US (bit.ly/3zWpvt4 ) to try out!
@@IOSam Let us know your comments about it! i'm eyeing it. Since I already like keyboards with knobs, the extra space on the Glorious for the knob and slider is a negative for it. And also there's no extra key row on top as you point out (which the Keychron has). Only thing going for it is looks/build (which the Keychron matches) and wireless (wireless being a big one)... but man that extra room for the slider and knob... which they had an option to omit those.
Also, from the keychron website you can get the fully assembled so you can test out the full product
@@kittykittygumdrops Yeah... I'm considering that, since the resellers in the US don't seem to offer the fully assembled one (which is a shame, since they Gateron Pro switches and PBT caps for just $20 bucks extra is such a good deal!).
You did another great video, I just love the way you analyse these peripherials... best channel about keyboards I've ever seen! Keep it up!
Thank you Domenico!!! I couldn't do a shallow keyboard review not even if my life depended on it... 😂
I guess I've spent too much time messing with PC peripherals in this life... lol
I love keyboards and modding em, BUT I would never ever... no no never mod a numpad. :D
I have a 17 Euro mechanical (yes, real switches. Cant read the name) keypad with soldered switches. It is black.. Thats it. :D
I only use it just for my csgo buy scripts.
Seriously:
Great video as always.
Yeap... Honestly, spending over $100 even on a full keyboard can be (and it usually is, by a lot of my friends!) considered a splurge. A product like this is, BY ALL ACCOUNTS, a luxury item (like so much of the stuff we buy in this hobby 😂).
Having said that, I never cease to be amazed how much money people can sink on all sorts of hobbies (watches, headphones and mechanical keyboards are great examples of this)...
And thanks man!!! Your visit and comment are highly appreciated!!!
And talking about luxuriously expensive keyboard products... How about that $1.50 per switch for the Clickiez, eh? 🤣🤣
But fear not... It won't take long for other switch manufactures to adapt that design and offer the same thing for half the price... Just watch... ⏳
@@IOSam 100+-50 $ or in my case € for a board is absolutly ok. :D
But I have a lot of friends saying "I have a 20 € board, that works, too", too.
YES! :D
That same friends buying stuff for their motorbikes I would never buy. Mirrors for 100, feetthingis for 60, sticker for 200 (costum) or stuff for their gardens...
Really Sam, you are one of the best. Atm I am looking around what you english speaking people do, because I want to do a german channel about mechanical keyboards.
And you are making the best videos. It is always a pleasure.
"How much detailed information you want to give?" - Sam: Yes! :D
I wanted to go to sleep... "just watching a yt video and go to sleep" was the plan. Then I found the video about the NCR and the clickiez..
You owe me at least 2 hours of sleep. :P
Yeah maybe you are right. But I like to spend money for good things. I think they are worth it... not later than christmas. oO
I ordered a KBt RE: 68 which, I think comes in october. After that the NCR and then the clickiez.
Very good I am writing this comment, I need to finish my order of BOBAs. xD
(I do plans on buying keyboard stuff.. I am lost :D)
@@joeykenoy "How much detailed information you want to give?" - Sam: Yes! 😂😂😂
I’m afraid that is the most accurate description this channel ever got!
As for your keyboards shopping spree, just don’t tell your biker friends about it and you’ll be fine… lol
But seriously, let me know how all these builds go (once you get all these parts). Maybe you’ll have enough material to record your first typing tests for that new German language channel! :)
@@IOSam I think it is. oO
Others are good, too but I always need to google some informations they dont give. You think of all possibilities. Hope I'll see much more of your videos. :)
No one knows what I spent on keyboards... my girl would kill me. :D
I'd love to. I think I'll record the modding of it.
ATM I am testing camera and mic settings (hard- and software). I have to admit I thought it would be much easier to record and cut a video.
But I have 110 GB of modding a RK61 and 50GB for a review of the stock board. Hope I'll get 3 videos online till the end of the year.
Not close to your videos, but I give my best. :)
@@joeykenoy Mission accomplished! 🤘😆I swear I have reviewed my scripts a million times to see where I could "cut some fat", but I just found out that IF I really want to give an honest review to any product, the conclusion segment alone will be between 5 and 8 minutes (where I can cover the main use cases and give some sound advice about who should get the product and what they can expect from it).
Add to that, a comprehensive technical look into all the main parts that make the product tick, plus my suggested mods, and I have a 30 minutes video (at the minimum)... So, I gave up trying to "lean up" my videos! 😂
I figured that those not interested in the whole thing can always jump to the parts they care through my meticulous chapter marks anyway... I know that can hurt my "video retention" (which I honestly don't give a crap about), but I'm not going to give a half-assed review to my core audience just to appease the weasels with an attention span shorter than 5 minutes (those have plenty of other channels to get the quick hits they need).
On the topic of dialing your audio and video recording/editing skills… Man, that is an incredibly steep learning curve that you honestly can only hone in after making many videos… It’s just the nature of this game really. Whenever I go back to my first videos, I cringe with how bad my narration audio tunning was at the time (not for the typing tests though, I never applied any processing to those), even though I was using THE SAME EQUIPMENT I USE TODAY! Which goes to show how much more important the process of optimizing the gear you have is (which you can only learn with time and experience), when compared to simply buying newer and more expensive stuff.
And I hear ya on the storage side… Each of my videos have about 500 Gigs of raw footage for me to sift through when editing, since I shoot in 4K… which is ludicrous! I now need to build a NAS just for that, since piling up spinning hard drives is starting to get out of hand.
north facing?
Yeah... I didn't even mention this in the video, because I actually like to use backlit caps on numpads. And for that north facing is better.
But even if I want to use Cherry caps, at least for me this whole argument of north facing switches being bad was kinda over the moment I started having options for long stem switches (which don't suffer from interference with Cherry profile in any orientation).
So, my arsenal of these switches has been increasing quickly to a point where it's automatic now: north-facing switches + Cherry? Go with Gazzew Bobas for tactiles, Durock POMs for linears and any Kailh box of any type and the problem is solved.
But I get the frustration... to alleviate the ire of masses, Glorious should allow you to choose which configuration you want BEFORE you order it, so you don't have to buy another PCB.
Logically speaking this numpad thing is such a niche product. First I dont see the product is even matching with the existing gmmk pro in terms of design. Second glorious trying to sell this product more than just a numpad with all those extra features which comes under luxury in my opinion. People would rather have a proper macropad to do all those stuff if they already willing to have something small at the side on their table. Third, considering all their gb model they have been running lately reflecting poorly as a company with no prototype sent for review. This is a product that people didnt even ask for but is glorious explanation for all this is trying to make a niche product. This product doesnt reflect on the price, design and there isn't much appeal for an average consumer which is majority of the audience.
All good points! I think the problem with Glorious now, after their meteoric growth, is brand identity. While they were wise to separate their new group-buy sales into a new sub-brand ("Glorious Forge"), I'm starting to think they should have created a completely new brand (totally dissociated to the original "Glorious" brand) to avoid this backlash...
While this is normal (all companies go through these issues when they grow too fast), there is definitely room for improvement in the way they handled it.
As for the product, while the not matching lines with the GMMK Pro will be an issue for the bazillion people who bought the Pros, I suspect Glorious will announce a GMMK Pro V2 soon, which will have the rounded corners of the NumPad... It just happened that the NumPad was released earlier.
As for the functionality, yeah... It is challenging to try to bring some of the functions of the (crazy successful) Stream Deck to a simple numpad. If your macro needs are more on the basic side, Glorious implementation here can work. Although if you are a serious streamer, then your priority is elsewhere and you definitely should go with the Stream Deck. The Elgato solution might have the crapiest and mushiest of buttons to press, but boy is their software good for what is designed for!
@@IOSam Well said. I honestly don't mind the glorious forge but I still feel it is sus not not have any review of the product. Last thing you want is your paying for something that is completely not for you or hate it. They need to get their priority straight. You can't target the normal audience and enthusiast at the same time. To be honest they don't have enough experience to pull such thing off. For example wuque studio makes expensive board but when they make budget board it is still good due to the experience they have and they know what they customer would want for board at this price. Keychron is not trying to be something it is not. It is trying to give best value for money and it still is. Glorious can't play all side and not expecting some backlash. They really should be scouting what other people are doing well and make it better and more refined for general audience. I don't think making a completely new product is necessary when people just want good product for affordable price which is what glorious actually did well at the beginning. If they even took the time stalking half of the server for keyboard. They probably have some idea what people want. The numpad is the last thing you expect for an actual retail product launch to be honest.
It's weirdly conflicting.
Like, yeah, Glorious in this case is kinda first to market, but does that make this execution good, regardless?
Someone mentioned on another review, that with glorious' current business practices, (like how the GMMK pro prebuilt is $350, essentially using things that, you can argue you could get for $250)
There's truth as well when someone else compared glorious to OnePlus, basically be a trailblazer to then end up like a more overpriced version of the rest of the crowd.
It doesn't pair well with the GMMK pro, because as someone said here, it doesnt match/doesnt make a good use case to the GMMK Pro, both have knobs, and the angles/bezels, etc, don't match between the two.
It's just also weird that, you can get a prebuilt GMMK 2 for $20 USD CHEAPER than this numpad, and even more cheaper if you just get the barebones kit.
In a vacuum, I see your point that the GMMK numpad is the best option next to other numpads, but the bigger problem is when you open out more of your desk and then you see what else is on that desk and find out the GMMK pro keyboard already has a knob, that the GMMK 2 already has a 96% version that has a numpad, and that for some reason, the design aesthetic doesn't match any of the design language from the ANY of glorious' other keyboards (including the GMMK 1)
I don’t disagree with anything you stated here! And I see the anger on people who wished Glorious would continue to be the underdog forever… It reminds me of the days when AMD was the underdog and Intel was crushing. Now that AMD is on the top, a LOT of people resent their business practices… Capitalism… I guess.
Having said all that, my perspective in this video was PREMIUM NUMPADS (we all know we can get much cheaper plastic numpads on Amazon without any bells and whistles), which, granted, is a very small nice in the mechanical keyboards big market. This thing is DEFINITELLY not for everyone! I’d even say this thing might not be for most 75% and TKL users out there (and most definitely not for people who have 96% and larger boards!). Also, as you pointed out, if you have a GMMK Pro, you don’t need another knob. In fact, I think this pad works better for me when using 60% and 65% boards (which given my circumstances, these end up being the layouts I use the most).
As for the fact it doesn’t match the GMMK Pro perfectly (aesthetically speaking), while it can tickle my OCB a bit, I can get over it if the function is bigger than the form. Which in my case it is… But, again, I don’t expect it to be the case for too many people. I’d say that if you need a numpad, you already know it… And you probably already have one… Which the decision then comes down to: do I want to upgrade to something fancier and more luxurious? Again, that is very personal decision each and every one of us must make with our hard-earned money.
Glorious isn’t glorious anymore, they forgot where they even came from, their own identity.. it’s sad.. and no this isn’t worth $130 freakin dollars. 🤦🏻♂️
Hi Dorian, I was just talking about this with another viewer a few minutes back... This is part of the process for a company that grows too fast, and gets lost in the sea of options and then starts sending the wrong signals.
I think it's fine for Glorious to explore other business models and enter into more premium segments with higher profit margins (all capitalist organizations want to do that), but they need to learn to set expectations better...
Truth is: every company wants to be Apple... They all want to sell the more premium products for premium prices that everybody pays without questioning. But you don't get to where Apple is today by accident, and you don't get there quickly.
I suspect Glorious might be needing more seasoned people at their executive team to adjust the direction the company wants to take going forward and then adjust their message accordingly.
@@IOSam hello IO Sam, I appreciate the in-depth response in regards to my comment and I can absolutely appreciate the statement “every company wants to be Apple” sadly this is the mentality everywhere and ugh.. I just wish that the smaller companies would, not remain where they are as every company strides to succeed and grow, but idk.. lacking the words right now - in the end it sucks to see where they are headed.. and unfortunately might be time to look elsewhere for underdog competitive prices..
@@PokeZaddy As someone who is EXTREMELLY sceptic with Apple practices, I understand your feeling to see Glorious trying to become a more "luxury brand"... To be honest, it doesn't even match their style.
As I have mentioned to many other commenters here, Glorious needs to better segment their product lines between the budget-with-high-performance one we all knew and loved about them until recently, and a more "pro/luxury" segment for them to try to enter higher margin businesses... But sacrificing the budget segment for the pro/premium one is not cool and it will hurt their brand going forward if they don't fix that.
The amount of frustrated Glorious customers like yourself right now is big enough that I think the message is pretty clear to them. Let's just hope they can correct their course before is too late.
OVERPRICED af
Metal wireless numpads are a pretty niche product with low production numbers (and few options in the market), so there's not enough economies of scale to make them affordable (at least the stuff from big brands).
The alternative is to go with smaller brands. I've been testing this Cidoo V21 (cidootech.com/products/cidoo-v21) for $60 (plus shipping) and it is surprisingly well built for it's price (and it is VIA compatible!).
Hi Sam,
Amazing video as always, congrats. May I ask a question? What do you have playing in the monitor behind you?
Looks really relaxing :)
Thank you!!! The animated wallpaper you see there is called "Terminal Hacking" (steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1693448815 ) and is part of the "Wallpaper Engine" App you can get on Steam 👉 store.steampowered.com/app/431960/Wallpaper_Engine
@@IOSam Thanks a lot mate, going there right now :)