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
Earlier this year they had issues with a Cooler Master keyboard as well, took almost 5 months to receive it but the difference is that the updates came quite often after the first delay. The vendor also had representatives come on and interact with the buyers but that's a little more understandable since CM is quite a big company compared to whoever is making this board. A manufacturer that Massdrop has yet to confirm.
In that drop Massdrop did right by everyone and to those who just became increasingly upset with the delays they gave us the option to opt out for a similar board which made me appreciate the customer support but that is simply not the case this time around.
I'm not sure if its because of the rep that is in charge of the drop this time around or just because its a vendor that is simply unproven as of yet but what really bothers me is the complete lack of transparency from Massdrop. I'd imagine at the very least when they got the 90 boards that were shipped out today they would have let us know that they consisted of Gateron switches, but no, all we got from the update was that there were 90 boards.
Last week they had a meeting on Monday, presumably they had the information from the Friday update by Tuesday yet decided to not let us know until the last minutes of Friday. People have been asking questions left and right and the rep over the drop is nowhere to be found. People are offering to pay to get the boards without keycaps and no one from Massdrop can tell us if that would at all be feasible.
At this point I've waited too damn long for this board to back out, but looking forward I think I would rather pay a premium from another site but get my product within a reasonable time frame. This will likely be the last transaction with Massdrop due to the lack of communication on their end. Sad really, I like the stuff the site carries but if drops will be handled in this manner it's just unacceptable.