GLORIOUS GMMK TKL Barebones Custom Keyboard - US QWERTY

First off, it's a floating key design. This means there is no bezel around the switches. That look was popular with gaming keyboards a few years ago. Custom keyboard enthusiasts generally frown upon it now. That out of the way, at 55 dollars this board is a good buy. It feels solid. The weight is from 3 cheap metal blocks stuck in the case, not from thick, high-density structural materials like some high-end boards But the weights don't move around, and are only visible with the case open. My board is modified. I replaced the included foam with thicker neoprene foam. I left the stabilizers stock, as they seemed to be adequately lubed. If you're doing your first build, they might not bother you. They're better than those on cheap, standard/gaming keyboards. But if you're looking for good sound, you might want to consider modifying or replacing the stabilizers. With Kailh Pro Purple switches, the look, sound, and feel of this board is something I'm proud of. I've gotten compliments on it several times. I you're looking to build your first budget mechanical keyboard and don't want to go with a more enthusiast entry level board, I say go for it. This is a great platform to start with. If I couldn't build another board and had to use this one indefinitely, I think I'd be quite happy with it. But building custom keyboards is addictive. I've already ordered some higher-end entry-level boards to explore the hobby further. I'm going for more thock next time.

This is my first jump into custom mech keyboards and all my criticisms are nit picky garbage that doesn’t at all change the fact that I highly recommend this board. First note: the included keycap pry tool is a bit finicky to get out of the chassis and the experience of trying to pry it out makes me nervous I might scratch or damage the case. Second note: documentation doesn’t say anything about the win lock key’s existence and there aren’t labels for the two LED’s that sit above the arrow keys (caps lock and win lock respectively). Only other criticism: I sometimes wish the feet on the bottom of the board propped it up a bit higher. Now for the good stuff: the case feels well built, sounds nice, the stabs are a huge upgrade over the stock crap I was using before, the RGB looks great and is very flexible, the software is highly customizable and has great macro support, absolutely zero noticeable input delay or rollover issues, and even the included cable is pretty sweet. Honestly really enjoy using this board, I don’t see myself upgrading past it any time soon. Again, all my criticisms are basically non-issues in day to day use, and this is overall a 5 star product. These minor criticisms are really more there for the manufacturers’ benefit than users because all of these issues are pretty easy fixes if they were to make another edition of the board and this is just my two cents. To someone looking at getting into custom mech keyboards, this is one of the best options out there and I stress again that after messing with this board for a while I absolutely do not see myself needing to upgrade any time soon.

To say this is the best barebones keyboard for the price out there would be an understatement. Arrived with two keycaps, switch puller and keycap removal puller. Along with a 4-6 feet cable, not sure exactly. The cable is braided very nice, long, and durable. Now let’s talk about the actual keyboard itself. It has a awesome durable frame, good elevation clips to put it on a angle, and it’s super beautiful. No big logos anywhere, and has a silver outlining. The stabilizers are awesome, insane. They all come Pre-Lubed which is outstanding for this price, and they are nice stabilizers in general. Although the left shift stabilizer popped, which basically it’s like the sound of it stock. It doesn’t effect it working wise. It will though change the sound of it so it sounds like a regular old stabilizer. That’s OK, as long as you have a good switch to pair it with. I used Gateron Yellows lubed, and they sound just immaculate. They were super easy to pop in, but one of them if you misplace the switch, the one or two pins bend which isn’t good. You can try bending them back, but it could be hard depending on how bent it got. I do think the RGB could use a tiny, tiny bit of help. Don’t get me wrong, the software is awesome. But not that. When you turn it on with no switches, it’s super bright, not with switches. I used Gateron Yellows lubed and Gateron switches have the standard opening for the RGB, but it still doesn’t shine through with colored HK gaming Gateron Lubed Yellows. I highly recommend getting the GMMK switch test pack along with this, so you can hear them in the board itself and choosing which one you like, you can’t find Gateron yellows in the Test Pack, but you can find switches like, Kailh Coppers, Kailh Box Brown, Kailh White Box, Kailh Red box, Gateron Blue, Gateron Green, and a few more. The pack also comes with O-rings as well. I honestly believe the Drop Barebones Keyboards are good, but not for the hefty price, (Around 170-200$) so I really think, this is a great option for people that wanna build but don’t wanna solder and program. Thank you for your time.

Good quality and great price. All metal frame and stable. A great barebone for a custom keyboard.

First, let me start off with the fact that I got this on the Black Friday deal for $19.99. So that in itself is just a great deal for a DIY keyboard. I was very surprised that this kit actually came with a thin (and I mean thin) layer of foam in the bottom of the board. It also had another thicker type insert that I personally have never experienced in a kit. It is a heavier/rubbery type of padding with all of the holes for the mounting stems cut out. There are 2 metal plates added for weight that can be removed at your discretion. This board is quite customizable for what it is. It's a very slim body in a floating keycap style. I will say that putting in the switches on this board was the most difficult that I have ever come across so far. It did come with a nice, braided cable that is USB C also. All in all, I would highly recommend this board kit to anyone who is looking to get into building their first keyboard, even at the current price.

This is an incredible value for a high quality hotswap keyboard. The case is very sturdy, without flex, and has a premium feel to it. The stabilizers, from what I understand, have been updated since these keyboards first came out. I wish I could upload a typing sound test because the stabs sound fantastic after lubing with Krytox 205g0 (the stabs come factory lubed but the lube job isn't the best). I have lubed and filmed Gateron milky yellow switches installed on this board, with Akko Neon doubleshot PBT cherry profile caps, and the typing experience is very, very good. If you want the feel of a high-end custom keeb without spending high-end custom keeb prices, you'll get pretty close with a GMMK as long as you're putting decent switches in it and lubing the stabs.

Review for GMMK 87% barebone. Got this on sale for $20. Plus some Outemu peach switches (90 for $30) and Mistel key caps (119 for $35). About $85 total. Considering theres prebuilts of lesser quality and not of the style and switches i wanted. Cant really be beat. My only gripe is the space bar switch slot is smaller than the rest for whatever reason. Very tight fit for that switch. It has north facing leds, which some may not like. I dont care for led so it doesn't bother me. Its not as quiet as i would like it to be, but i havent done any mods to it and im not sure how much quieter it would actually make it to do the mods anyways. However its much less clackity than my previous $10 logitech. My goal is a muted thud with no clack. Im not sure thats possible.

My keyboard came warped. It doesn't sit flat across all four corners so there's a wobble when pressure is applied to the bottom right side. The problem is easily fixed by either putting a little pack of glasses wipes under that foot or adding a few layers of tape to the foot to make it a bit taller... but at this price point, it's a pretty unfortunate problem. I didn't bother sending it back. For me, the fix is a minor annoyance, but it makes me wonder about their newer keyboard which is in pre-order. I already put money down for that thing before I received this and now my confidence in the company to deliver a good product has been diminished. I'll be asked later to pay the remainder of the balance on the preorder for their new keyboard and I'm debating if I should just have them refund the cash I've already put in. Other than the defect, the board is fairly nice. As my first and only modular keyboard, I have nothing to compare it to in that respect. The software for the keyboard could use a serious overhaul. Not even a patch. They should just hire some different people to build software from scratch. The macro options are lacking. The LED effects are decent, but I really expect some more functional software at this price point.

Given the price and availability it's one of the best barebone you can buy. The keyboard is light, but well built and no flex whatsoever. Highly recommended for people who like me wanted to try exotic switches without the hassle of buying expensive kits and messing with soldering. The backlight control is basic but functional, and it does not require any additional software. The keyboard supports only 3 pin switches, so if you plan to use 5 pins switches you need to remove the 2 extra plastic prongs (very easy operation) before placing them.

This is the first custom keyboard I have ever built. I could have gone further and purchased the parts to build the base, but I don't see the point to that unless you want a better controller board or something. I make my living repairing and soldering and it seemed like a lot of extra work for nothing. I looked through all the bases available on Amazon. I actually was interested in the version with the large volume knob on the top right corner but they didn't have anything like that in tenkeyless (TKL). First thing is to plan what keycap set you want to use and make sure both the keyboard and keyset are compatible. I ordered two keysets, a really cheap one and a medium quality one. The medium quality set arrived and I found I had ordered the wrong set. This is an ANSI layout TKL base, so you need to make sure the keyset you order is the same. I sent that set back and the cheap one arrived just in time. I ordered another higher quality set for install once they come in. You need lube for the switches depending on the type (not needed for Cherry Blue or other clicky switches since there is a danger of altering the the click. You will need gaskets if you want the switches to be as quiet as possible. Each switch needs to be taken apart (you will need a switch disassembly tool), lubed if required, the gasket added and then reassembled. It would take about 5 minutes per switch including lubing. It took me about a minute per switch since I was just adding the gasket. I purchased a small kit with lube, switch openers and small brushes for applying the lube. The openers work great. Place the switch in the opener and push down and the switch pops open. In one of the pictures you can see everything extra I bought for the assembly. CW from top left, lube kit, rubber o'rings, Cherry Blue switches, Cheapo keycap set, box of gaskets. Skip the lube if you're not using clicky switches. The rubber o'rings go on the stems of the keycaps before installing them. The switches just push into the keyboard. Remember to get clear switches if you have an RGB base. Also remember you need doubleshot keycaps made for RGB (I don't like the "pudding" keycaps. They look garish to me.) I only had one small issue, with the escape key. I couldn't get the switch to push down into position, and I had to try several switches over and over, and use quite a bit of force to get that one switch into place, but now it works fine. Not sure what the problem was. In every other position the switches just clicked into place. Note, there are ZERO instructions. They don't even put their website on the box anywhere and I had to do a google search to find them so I could download the software. The software, from a usability standpoint, is excellent. Very simple and intuitive. RGB per key works fine and they also have about 12 or so patterns to choose from. Just a note, it take a while to update when you make some changes. One time I thought it had crashed and it did lock up, but after a minute it started working again. One time when playing around with the software the keyboard RGB locked up and I had to unplug it and plug it back in again to get it back to a working state. Over all pretty minor problems. I am sure if I was patient and waited for the changes to apply there would have been no issue. The base itself is heavy, has great rubber feet, and they give you some spares as well. I can easily recommend this base. Just a note. Almost everything I bought came with a key puller. I have about ten of the things now. Even the keyboard has a recess on the bottom that contains...you guessed it, a key puller. What a waste. I already had several from previous keyboards. They are all going in the garbage now.

What can I say? It's a hunk of PBC, Metal & Plastic. It's fine! A little plasticky but y'know. It's great for a first keyboard build. I'm happy that it came with pre lubed stabs, as most people don't have the time nor money to lube them, but... The lubing really does vary from stabilizer to stabilizer. I was unhappy with lubing and cleaned it off, then bought new stabs and used kyrtox 205g0.

Muy contento con el teclado. Al principio comprar las teclas en inglés me daba un poco de reparo por el tema de acentos y eñes. Así que programar se ha vuelto una tarea más agradecida para dedos y muñecas. La verdad que es sencillo y cómodo añadir acentos y eñes (Al menos en linux), así que ahora me arrepiento de no haberlo comprado años antes. Lo utilizo con switches cherry brown y la verdad que estoy super contento con el teclado. Lo volvería a comprar.

Impeccable !