How to Keyboard - Page 1

Written by ai03, originally on Oct 13 2020
Rewritten Jul 14 2024

A quick guide covering the basics for getting into the hobby of custom keyboards.

So what’s a custom keyboard anyways?

Historically, “custom keyboards” has referred to higher-end keyboards designed to maximize quality, aesthetics, comfort, and acoustics.

In the past, they were quite a bit more exclusive than your typical keyboard - ranging all the way into the thousands of dollars and limited to private friends-only purchasing - but nowadays can be had far more affordably and accessibly.

One unique characteristic about custom keyboards is that they tend to come un-assembled - the user is expected to tune and dial in the build to their preferences, which makes these boards far more involved than simply buying and using.

Demystifying the keyboard

It’s always been a daunting task to get into the world of fully custom keyboards due to the sheer amount of knowledge involved - this guide aims to remove that barrier to entry.
After all, there’s a whole world out there to explore, as well as your true endgame keyboard waiting for you somewhere out there.

Ready?
Let’s begin.