Mechanical Keyboard Sound Isn't That Simple
Figure 1: I couldn't think of a more literal way to represent this article if I tried... Looking back just a few years ago, there’s no doubt that the huge influx of people that joined the hobby at the peak of the COVID pandemic were drawn to keyboards by way of YouTube, TikTok, and other audio-visual content platforms. Even as the output from these content creators has waned in recent months, their collective impact and legacy on the keyboard hobby is rather firmly etched in the history books. As a result of all of their sound tests, build logs, and opinion videos, the message is clear to any new person joining the hobby: mechanical keyboards are all about the sound. Thock this, clack that. Whether it’s keyboards, keycaps, or even singular switches, seemingly everyone new to the hobby meticulously pores over each component of their keyboard not in an attempt to figure out how it will feel in hand, but how it will sound as they’re furiously grinding their way out from...
Mar 27, 2024
I'll even criticize a cap depending on its quality to price ratio. Still subjective.
But this is a spacebar unlike any other. Looks thick. Looks heavy. Looks awesome. And lastly, good luck finding an artisan spacebar, like at all. Most attempts have left warped bars even mass manufactured key cap sets sometimes come with bad spacebars.
I'm in on this. Been waiting for an amazing spacebar to drop.
Some people will buy anything. But you know, it's their money to spend. If they see value in buying it, then who am I to argue?
Still, $60 for a space bar is seems to targeting a niche within a niche.
These people that are hating so much on it are people that don't appreciate the artistic value of it, and that's totally fine that they don't or if it's just not their thing - No harm done at all, I used to be like that. But, when people criticize others for not sharing the same opinion, that's just plain stupid. This just in: Not everyone is the same. Deal with it.
The people that create caps like this aren't much different than the people that apply paint to a blank canvas and sell it for hundreds, thousands, millions of dollars. No matter how insane a $60 spacebar sounds to a normal person, for the people in the community that actually appreciate this type of thing, it's really not unreasonable at all. Yes, a lot of us would like it slightly different, or a bit less expensive, but we're paying for the rarity and the artist's vision, more than we are paying for just a piece of plastic.
It blows my mind that people are still so immature about it.
I wasn't trying to target you, Kamaka. I just kept writing after the first line. haha
I know what it means to value something others just don't get. I once spent $480 on a calculator. Mind you, it was from 1965 and weighs around 40 pounds, but I still spent nearly 5 bills on a CALCULATOR. To me, the pre-integrated circuit technology and engineering is an art form in and of itself, and I just simply love the old machine!
I see my keyboard as a personalized pieces as well. I built EVERY ASPECT of the hardware, and then put a really freakin' awesome set of keycaps on it. Then I put some more cool keycaps on it! I would absolutely love a fitting space to stand out. If Jellykeys ever puts out a space bar that fits the color of Danger Zone, I'll consider it... and I'd think it was worth it!