Great review, there is some super useful information in here. I ordered one of these keyboards about a month ago, so I am DYING to get my shipment notification lol. Can’t wait to have one.
8:00 "so i did this mod, and at first i was pleased because i had modded my keyboard ... but i ended up removing all of the paracord" as someone who works at a keyboard company, this sentence spoke to me on a deep level. lol
@@jammies701Tying a hand towel to its holder so my son can't yank it off when he dries his hands. Pulling the opposite ends of a couch cover together where the zipper broke. And just any time I need strong string to tie things.
Excellent review. I've been looking for a balanced take on this board which addressed its practical aspects, and your experiences using it provided great insights. The differences between Via and Vial are particularly useful to know, as are the distinctions between the various sounds a key makes and which ones are desirable. Also quite refreshing to listen to your voice compared to some other TH-camrs wrt. speaking style and articulation (and interesting that you brought up @Chyrosran22, as there are indeed some parallels)-if this was your first video it was certainly quite informative and well done. Good that you also mention the logistics and wait time. For me, being outside of the U.S, the high import costs also factor in which is why I've been on the fence (a friend ended up paying almost USD$1000 due to said fact), although I seriously still covet these boards-particularly the F104. Would love to see a review of that if and when you ever get one, but you might be more than happy with the Kishsaver. :)
Thanks! The reason I opted for the smaller model was purely because of space considerations. The Model M that I had was a chonker (and it's only slightly bigger than a modern full size keyboard). I like to center my monitor to around the 'h' key for typing comfort. So the model m's right side pushed far out, taking up a lot of space and making me reach far for my mouse. I'd probably still have the model m if not for that. It was a fun keyboard. If you get the F104, let me know if it suits you well, import costs notwithstanding :)
I received a latest gen FSSK ultra compact version a couple weeks ago and I am sad to say I’ve had the less good version of the experience, more like the unhappy folks. I was so totally prepared to work through any issues, but the janke of the project has gotten to me. I had basically every issue folks complain about and I worked through each one using the setup materials. I got every key working, sounding great, spacebar tuned, and it types wonderfully. The long setup video and "manual" are fine for a passion project. The metal parts came corroded or with some kind of chemical on them that I have been unable to remove, so the silver frame has orange blotches on it. Sigh. I'm never going to be the guy who sends something back over an issue like this, just wish I knew how to clean it. I cant get experimental or I'll inevitably damage it and make it worse. And for some unknowable reason this was in the January update: “the key between right Alt and Right Ctrl is now the Fn key”. The keyboard I received has that key, and it is "alt" not "Fn". There is no Fn key on this keyboard. So I literally cannot do the keyboard shortcut to enable the solenoid that the guy was willing to sell me right along with the keyboard. Insane. The guy was really short with me when I wrote him to politely inquire about the order status when it was weeks late, and I’ve got some anxiety about these things so I’m afraid to write back again and ask about what the metal stains are and why no key is Fn. Its a neat keyboard for an old model m dork like me, and something I saved up for a while to get, and something I worked diligently to get to be usable, but a few issues too many just washed away the joy for me.
@@bkedelen Yikes! Sorry to hear that. I only have a sample size of two. The corroded metal sounds particularly troubling because it's not something which can be fixed simply by trouble shooting. I would definitely write to Joe about it. Don't hesitate. As long as you're polite and sincere, I don't see why he wouldn't help you. As for the fn key, which firmware are you on? Can you not edit the key in the key mapping software to function as you want? Also, solenoid? You are a true enthusiast haha
@@bkedelen And just to be clear, the "unwarranted negativity" I was referring to was about people being disappointed because this expensive keyboard didn't essentially make their dreams come true. It takes a little bit of work to set up (and in your case more than that). And it might not be EXACTLY what you expected. And if you're a jerk when communicating about that, then don't be surprised by the results. However, your case sounds different. Definitely reach out to Joe, however much you have anxiety about it. You sound polite and reasonable. And if his response doesn't satisfy you, then make a quick youtube video detailing your problems.
Great review! To add on the topic of Keychron's premium line. I bought their Q1 V1 keyboard shortly after release, it was priced at a fairly reasonable $170. What did you get? A hot-swappable PCB that takes 3 or 5 pin switches, a full metal frame, I believe it came stock with a plastic plate, decent enough key caps, and some standard gaeteron switches. I very much agree with your statement of $200 is peak for high quality and great typing experience in the keyboard space when looking at pre-builts. That being said, I'm still gonna go spend the crazy amount that the F122 is going to end up costing me. Thanks Canada.
The first mechanical keyboard I bought was a WASD keyboard for $170. It was great, but it wasn't reprogrammable and didn't have a hot swap PCB. This was over seven years ago, so it wasn't expected in that price range at the time. Though I was able to get fully custom laser-printed keycaps, which was pretty cool even if it didn't affect the typing experience. The keyboard sat neglected for a while, but I ended up swapping out the keycaps for some pink and black ones and gave it to my wife's friend. Everyone's happy now.
@@richards_256 I too enjoy dusting off old clunkers and pawning them off onto friends and family. It's always a great moment of - Don't worry, it's just a keyboard, you won't fall into the hobby or anything :)
Thanks for this terrific and helpful review! You have a good way of explaining the different sounds that the keyboard makes, differentiating between the sound of the flipper contacting the large capacitive PCB when a key is pressed, the vibration of the spring after the key is released, and the less-desirable buzzing of a spring against the keycap, which can be quickly fixed as you mentioned. Just a note - the F62 and F77 boards usually come with QMK but can be flashed to Vial, but everyone can now add an order note for me to flash the board to Vial for you, before it ships to you. No boards shipped with Via firmware, though it was offered for a short time as an alternative firmware. Flashing the keyboard to Vial allows everyone to adjust the keymapping and other settings without needing to reflash the firmware. And so as not to scare anyone, the part of the video about pressing the f key as a shift is due to a custom mod of the keyboard, not the factory default behavior. The keyboard does not ship this way; the keyboard ships with normal keys without mods so that hitting the f key sends the f signal to the keyboard as with any other key.
Thanks! It was bugging me that people kept conflating these sounds. If I remember correctly (it was a while ago), I needed to flash the firmware of the first keyboard before even using it, and the recommended firmware was VIA-ready. The second keyboard just worked with VIAL right out of the box. I didn't need to do anything to it. As for the layout, yes, this is a custom layout that I made. But it didn't require any modding. Just a few clicks in VIAL.
Great review, there is some super useful information in here.
I ordered one of these keyboards about a month ago, so I am DYING to get my shipment notification lol. Can’t wait to have one.
Great video i've had my F77 repro for quite some time now love to see more and more people get excited about them
8:00 "so i did this mod, and at first i was pleased because i had modded my keyboard ... but i ended up removing all of the paracord"
as someone who works at a keyboard company, this sentence spoke to me on a deep level. lol
Honestly, the best part of doing that mod was that it got me to buy paracord. I've found so many uses for it since. It's like the new duct tape
@@richards_256 any common uses, may I ask?
@@jammies701Tying a hand towel to its holder so my son can't yank it off when he dries his hands. Pulling the opposite ends of a couch cover together where the zipper broke. And just any time I need strong string to tie things.
Excellent review. I've been looking for a balanced take on this board which addressed its practical aspects, and your experiences using it provided great insights. The differences between Via and Vial are particularly useful to know, as are the distinctions between the various sounds a key makes and which ones are desirable. Also quite refreshing to listen to your voice compared to some other TH-camrs wrt. speaking style and articulation (and interesting that you brought up @Chyrosran22, as there are indeed some parallels)-if this was your first video it was certainly quite informative and well done.
Good that you also mention the logistics and wait time. For me, being outside of the U.S, the high import costs also factor in which is why I've been on the fence (a friend ended up paying almost USD$1000 due to said fact), although I seriously still covet these boards-particularly the F104. Would love to see a review of that if and when you ever get one, but you might be more than happy with the Kishsaver. :)
Thanks! The reason I opted for the smaller model was purely because of space considerations. The Model M that I had was a chonker (and it's only slightly bigger than a modern full size keyboard). I like to center my monitor to around the 'h' key for typing comfort. So the model m's right side pushed far out, taking up a lot of space and making me reach far for my mouse. I'd probably still have the model m if not for that. It was a fun keyboard.
If you get the F104, let me know if it suits you well, import costs notwithstanding :)
Great review. Now, you are a TH-camr, A very good one for sure.
@@peymankhademi4022 Thanks for the kind words
Nice vid mate, keep it up
@@jammies701 Thanks!
I received a latest gen FSSK ultra compact version a couple weeks ago and I am sad to say I’ve had the less good version of the experience, more like the unhappy folks. I was so totally prepared to work through any issues, but the janke of the project has gotten to me.
I had basically every issue folks complain about and I worked through each one using the setup materials. I got every key working, sounding great, spacebar tuned, and it types wonderfully. The long setup video and "manual" are fine for a passion project.
The metal parts came corroded or with some kind of chemical on them that I have been unable to remove, so the silver frame has orange blotches on it. Sigh. I'm never going to be the guy who sends something back over an issue like this, just wish I knew how to clean it. I cant get experimental or I'll inevitably damage it and make it worse.
And for some unknowable reason this was in the January update: “the key between right Alt and Right Ctrl is now the Fn key”. The keyboard I received has that key, and it is "alt" not "Fn". There is no Fn key on this keyboard. So I literally cannot do the keyboard shortcut to enable the solenoid that the guy was willing to sell me right along with the keyboard. Insane.
The guy was really short with me when I wrote him to politely inquire about the order status when it was weeks late, and I’ve got some anxiety about these things so I’m afraid to write back again and ask about what the metal stains are and why no key is Fn. Its a neat keyboard for an old model m dork like me, and something I saved up for a while to get, and something I worked diligently to get to be usable, but a few issues too many just washed away the joy for me.
@@bkedelen Yikes! Sorry to hear that. I only have a sample size of two. The corroded metal sounds particularly troubling because it's not something which can be fixed simply by trouble shooting. I would definitely write to Joe about it. Don't hesitate. As long as you're polite and sincere, I don't see why he wouldn't help you.
As for the fn key, which firmware are you on? Can you not edit the key in the key mapping software to function as you want?
Also, solenoid? You are a true enthusiast haha
@@bkedelen And just to be clear, the "unwarranted negativity" I was referring to was about people being disappointed because this expensive keyboard didn't essentially make their dreams come true. It takes a little bit of work to set up (and in your case more than that). And it might not be EXACTLY what you expected. And if you're a jerk when communicating about that, then don't be surprised by the results.
However, your case sounds different. Definitely reach out to Joe, however much you have anxiety about it. You sound polite and reasonable. And if his response doesn't satisfy you, then make a quick youtube video detailing your problems.
Great review!
To add on the topic of Keychron's premium line. I bought their Q1 V1 keyboard shortly after release, it was priced at a fairly reasonable $170. What did you get?
A hot-swappable PCB that takes 3 or 5 pin switches, a full metal frame, I believe it came stock with a plastic plate, decent enough key caps, and some standard gaeteron switches.
I very much agree with your statement of $200 is peak for high quality and great typing experience in the keyboard space when looking at pre-builts.
That being said, I'm still gonna go spend the crazy amount that the F122 is going to end up costing me. Thanks Canada.
The first mechanical keyboard I bought was a WASD keyboard for $170. It was great, but it wasn't reprogrammable and didn't have a hot swap PCB. This was over seven years ago, so it wasn't expected in that price range at the time. Though I was able to get fully custom laser-printed keycaps, which was pretty cool even if it didn't affect the typing experience. The keyboard sat neglected for a while, but I ended up swapping out the keycaps for some pink and black ones and gave it to my wife's friend. Everyone's happy now.
@@richards_256 I too enjoy dusting off old clunkers and pawning them off onto friends and family.
It's always a great moment of - Don't worry, it's just a keyboard, you won't fall into the hobby or anything :)
Thanks for this terrific and helpful review! You have a good way of explaining the different sounds that the keyboard makes, differentiating between the sound of the flipper contacting the large capacitive PCB when a key is pressed, the vibration of the spring after the key is released, and the less-desirable buzzing of a spring against the keycap, which can be quickly fixed as you mentioned.
Just a note - the F62 and F77 boards usually come with QMK but can be flashed to Vial, but everyone can now add an order note for me to flash the board to Vial for you, before it ships to you. No boards shipped with Via firmware, though it was offered for a short time as an alternative firmware. Flashing the keyboard to Vial allows everyone to adjust the keymapping and other settings without needing to reflash the firmware. And so as not to scare anyone, the part of the video about pressing the f key as a shift is due to a custom mod of the keyboard, not the factory default behavior. The keyboard does not ship this way; the keyboard ships with normal keys without mods so that hitting the f key sends the f signal to the keyboard as with any other key.
Thanks! It was bugging me that people kept conflating these sounds.
If I remember correctly (it was a while ago), I needed to flash the firmware of the first keyboard before even using it, and the recommended firmware was VIA-ready. The second keyboard just worked with VIAL right out of the box. I didn't need to do anything to it.
As for the layout, yes, this is a custom layout that I made. But it didn't require any modding. Just a few clicks in VIAL.