For some reason or another, a whole third of all mechanical keyboards in the biggest local computer retailer’s online store, are Ducky. Probably because they have ISO and ANSI layouts, a lot of colors, different sizes, and different switches. And they’re ordered from abroad when bought, not stocked locally. So loads of choice and no cost showing them as available.
So since my only real options here if I want a full keyboard or TKL with blue switches are a couple of different Ducky models (one 3, Shine 7) in various colors, I’m wondering if anyone has personal experience with Ducky? I’ve read both praise and hate online, so can’t really make heads or tails of the quality.
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I have a Ducky One Mini, so a 60%.
Likes: Better build quality than most plastic-case boards. Genuine Cherry switches, while not quite the selling point they used to be, are better than commodity clones. Convenient DIP switches for a few common settings. Everything just generally feels decent and solid.
Dislikes: Not hot-swap, though I think the One 3 might be?. Kinda pricy at MSRP, but if selection is limited then it is what it is. I do thoroughly dislike that for my board the complicated and obtuse on-board remapping/macro functionality is the only way to do it. If either of the ones you’re looking at supports on-PC software, even Windows, do it. This may be less of an issue if this will be your primary board and you won’t have to change things up often.
Along with Filco, they sort of are what they are: high quality but non-hobbyist Taiwan-designed boards with design philosophies that are just now creeping out of the 2010s. That’s not strictly meant to be a criticism. I often use boards that are literally from early 90s, but it does sort of describe a certain set of expectations about materials, performance, programmability, etc.
Looks like the Ducky 3 switches can be swapped out without soldering!
I’m not TOO worried about the price, it’s a bit hefty, but I’ll chuck it as a company expense because 90% of the time what I’m doing with my keyboard IS some form of work (okay, 30% of that work is browsing Lemmy), so I get to skip the ~42% payroll taxes and get the 24% VAT refunded. I did the math once (you can’t just add percentages together, as they’re off different stages of the sum) and buying equipment for the company was like 60 or 70% cheaper than paying myself a salary and buying as a private individual. So now anything I use for work is automatically a company expense even if I don’t use it exclusively for work.
Seems like it’ll be a good entry-level mechanical keyboard, hope I don’t become too addicted lol
Ive had one once, decently solid keyboard IIRC. Its been years since i had one though (like, 2017) and it was my first foray into mechanical keyboards outside of corsair, so i don’t/didn’t have technical knowledge to describe it. no idea if the quality is still good now or if there’s anything sketchy with software or firmware.
I have a One 3 in Mist Grey that came with Cherry Browns. Since I have put some Gateron Baby Kangaroes in there, I really like the keyboard.
I’ve been using an original Shine with cherry blue switches as my daily driver since 2012 so for 13 years? I’ve used it across multiple builds, moved house multiple times (including cross country), and have used it for thousands of hours of games without an issue. I’m even still using the original cable that came with it. The only real issue I’ve had is that the led under the space bar didn’t work when I bought it new and hasn’t worked the entire time I’ve owned it. Could I have returned it for that? Probably. Could I have fixed it myself? More than likely. Does it affect the keyboards function? Not even a little.
All that said, I think it’s a nice keyboard and I’ve liked using it for the entire time I’ve had it and feel no need to replace it for something else
I’m so torn between the Shine 7 and One 3 right now. On the one hand, the Shine sounds like higher quality (metal vs plastic, etc). One the other hand, the One 3 has hot swappable switches if I get tired of the MX-Blues and want to try something else (someone mentioned Gateron Baby Kangaroos which apparently are great)
Guess I’ll have to actually try them before I settle for either one.
