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Drop CSTM80 Barebones Mechanical Keyboard

$99

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details

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reviews26

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... / KEYBOARDS / TENKEYLESS (TKL) KEYBOARDS / DROP

Drop CSTM80 Barebones Mechanical Keyboard

Name: Drop CSTM80 Barebones Mechanical Keyboard
Brand: Drop
SKU: drop-cstm80-barebones-mechanical-keyboard
Price: 99 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.653846 (26 reviews)

$99

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Frequently bought together:

Drop CSTM80 Switch Plate

Drop CSTM80 Base Weight

Drop CSTM80 Decorative Case

overview

details

story4

reviews26

photos20

q&a19

discussions8

Customer Reviews

4.7

(26 reviews)

(17)

(9)

(0)

92% would recommend to a friend

By Feature

Sound

SilentLoud

Feel

StiffFlexible

Build Quality

4.6

(22)

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Sort by: Top Reviews

wavecult

132

Keyboard Club Member

Dec 2, 2023

Activities:Work & Gaming

Paired Switch:Linear

Verified Buyer

All-in-one keyboard with a nice sound signature out of the box

The magnetic system works a treat so you can switch looks as easily (well, actually far easier!) as exchanging switches. It doesn't matter whether Drop is the first to market or not, the implementation Drop has designed works really nicely. Out if the box the keyboard sounds awesome, feels solid for a plastic case and my only 2 complaints are that 1) I'd love the standard weight to be a bit heavier - but it's no a deal breaker as the brass weight is always an option. 2) Having bought the barebones version, there were no stabilizers provided. I guess this can be seen as something g positive or negative depending on how you look at it but I would've liked a nice set of screw-on stabs to have been included. In my case I ended up getting a set of Glorious GSV2 screw-on stabs for only US$9 - a great deal and properly lubed they're pretty decent. All I'm all its a really nice keyboard offering great value and a flexible system so you'll never be bored with your keyboard :) Totally recommended!

Recommends this product? Yes

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LokiDoragon

Keyboard Club Member

Dec 10, 2023

Paired Switch:Linear

Keyboards Owned:15

Verified Buyer

Great value and fun customization

Value is subjective, but for me grabbing this on sale for $56 was a no brainer. Drop boards often may seem a bit overpriced at MSRP, but they regularly run promotions that IMO makes them great buys. I've since added the Aluminum top, an orange, dark green top, brass weight, and POM plate are on the way. Of course it is not at the level of my Sonnet or Tomo, but a different colored top also doesn't cost $100+. For me much of the fun in the hobby is customization in aesthetics and tuning the sound profile. Thos boards gives me plenty of options to play with. So as long as you are comparing this to other $100ish boards, you will find it to be a fun project.

Recommends this product? Yes

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MxMoon

Dec 26, 2023

LokiDoragonIt was onsale for $56?!

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LokiDoragon

Keyboard Club Member

Dec 26, 2023

MxMoonIt was $79 on Black Friday then added the Keyboard Club 30% coupon

Dave-Alvarado

Dec 26, 2023

Activities:Work

Paired Switch:Tactile

Keyboards Owned:10

Verified Buyer

Fantastic sounding keyboard

I built one of these for my father-in-law with Holy Panda X switches, a carbon fiber plate (he's big into sports cars and appreciated the nod), JWK stabilizers, a black aluminum decorative case, and MT3 BoW caps. Let me just say, this is one of of the best sounding keyboards I've ever had my hands on. It has a nice deep thocky sound and is wonderfully muted without any additional modifications. The configurator is VIA-like once you've installed the custom configurator software. I wish Drop would just switch over to straight VIA support like the rest of the market is doing. It's the only complaint I have about this keyboard. Other than that, it's my new go-to recommendation for anybody seriously getting into custom keyboards.

Recommends this product? Yes

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YanboWu

8490

Collaborations

Dec 26, 2023

Dave-AlvaradoYou can swap to VIA firmware if you prefer. Just have to flash the VIA firmware via the configurator.

stroker_78_camaro

Keyboard Club Member

Apr 8, 2024

Activities:Gaming

Paired Switch:Linear

Keyboards Owned:2

Verified Buyer

Build quality/fit & finish

Upon unboxing I immediately took notice of the weight of the keyboard. It felt hefty and sturdy, which, to me, are good qualities. After adding the base weight and decorative top cover, it made it feel even more solid. The ease of disassembly to install the base weight was appreciated. I can't wait to get the switches and keycaps to finish the build.

Recommends this product? Yes

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SolaireFlair117

Apr 4, 2024

Activities:Work & Gaming

Paired Switch:Linear

Keyboards Owned:16

Verified Buyer

Great TKL, especially on sale

Great little barebones kit with a nice amount of customization options. I kitted mine out with the FR4 plate, some Durock stabilizers, white top case, brass weight, Wuque Morandi switches, and Drop DSA Astrolo keycaps and it's a very nice build. The build itself was easy and the included creature comforts like foams and silicone dampener are welcome additions. I will say it would be nice to see at least an aluminum bottom case, but I understand that can be hard at this price point. One more gripe is that the gaskets do basically nothing. I'm a little exhausted with so many "gasket mount" boards that are so clamped down that the gaskets can't even move, but it is what it is. Still a nice keyboard, just could be improved in some aspects. V2 on the horizon maybe?

Recommends this product? Yes

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YanboWu

8490

Collaborations

Apr 5, 2024

SolaireFlair117Lookin sharp! What's the other board?

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longhairedfellow

Keyboard Club Member

Mar 20, 2024

Activities:Work & Gaming

Paired Switch:Tactile

Keyboards Owned:0

Verified Buyer

Great first step into the hobby

Picked this up with the Holy Panda Clears from Drop and Durock V2 stabs, DCX keycaps from their sale, and everything I would need to lube everything. For my first steps into the hobby, it was a great experience. Had zero issues with the board itself, everything worked fine. Not sure if it was normal, but I did have some trouble getting the stabs to fully click in, it felt really tight and like I was going to snap something if I pressed too hard. But I still got it in. Board sounds amazing compared to the mediocre membrane keeb I had before.

Recommends this product? Yes

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longhairedfellow

Keyboard Club Member

Mar 20, 2024

Thanks! I should also clarify that the issue was with mounting the stab housings into the pcb itself, not the stab bar into the housing. Thanks for your input though!

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SolaireFlair117

Apr 4, 2024

longhairedfellowLove to see a fellow Gundam nerd

Vote

PixelPusherXX

406

Feb 27, 2024

Verified Buyer

Great sounding, easy setup, customizable

sounds nice (as do most plastic boards with foam). Very easy to build and customize. one request: Would be great if Drop made a Tsangan version for 7u space bar and 1.5u mod setup. Would be the icing on the cake. Heck, throw in a WKL upper portion for the cherry on top. Tsangan bottom row fans upvote this comment for visibility 👍

(Edited)

Recommends this product? Yes

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Inwards

Keyboard Club Member

Jan 1, 2024

Activities:Work & Gaming

Paired Switch:Linear

Keyboards Owned:50

Verified Buyer

Always check the fully-built price, first.

It's weird to give this 4/5 stars but also to not recommend it. Let me be clear; this is an intrinsically great product. Read below for further clarity. This is a nice kit, but the fully-built version is currently $40 more. Even if you don't like the pre-built's caps, you still get some very nice lubed Gateron Milky Yellows and some extremely well lubed stabilizers and a black cover plate. If you need the switches, the pre-built is a no-brainer. If you need stabs and want to stay with the black plastic case, it's still a no-brainer. The only reason to buy this is if you already have:

a case cover
stabs
switches

Also, this is just a minor thing...for some. But, virtually every keyboard that I've built will fit back into the box once you've finished the build. This is great for storage. This is NOT true for this kit. You'll need to either throw away all the protective foam to get it fit in there, or buy a keyboard carrying case that happens to fit this. Which adds to the cost, again.

Recommends this product? No

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