One Keyboard to Rule Them All - DROP x LOTR Keyboards

[@Jeffnvz]

Drop’s keycaps are really good. I’ve bought a few sets, and there’s nothing to say except the price. As for the keyboard, poor quality control, average type feel and sound, short of stocks, slow delivery, poor after-sales service. To whom new to Drop, please watch more videos posted by those who bought the Drop keyboard with their own money, before you buy a $200 keyboard.

[@MijamotoMoesasji]

Typing on some 17 euro taxes/shipping included Aliexpress keycaps (Yong Qiu milk sea salt) I just wonder what makes expensive keycaps that much better?

[@boom506]

@@MijamotoMoesasji some of them are made from thicker plastic and they may feel solid and could also help with the sound as well. But other than the feel and aesthetic, not much tbh. With the exclusion of exclusive keycap sets that may never be available again. Honestly it feels like a bit of a FOMO trap more than anything. But there are people who are enthusiastic about the hobby and do participate in group buys to get slick keycaps.

[@ciprianrobo]

​@MijamotoMoesasji as someone that had both GMK (150+ USD) and clones, and random keycaps, the GMK is crazy good, but not worth waiting a billion years + paying like 120$ extra when clones can be found for 30$. I find it super funny how with about 130-150$ you can get Ceramic Keycaps, meanwhile GMK are more expensive and they are PBS. And with the exception of corner/mold "precision" (ceramic is hard to work with), the ceramic keycaps are so much better both in sound and feel.

[@YoPham]

​​@@MijamotoMoesasji More expensive sets will have crisper, more consistent printing for the legends and consistent colors throughout the set. It's also more likely that the spacebars won't be warped out of the box. They're also more likely to support more layouts. Ive used sets that range from 35USD clones to 180USD GMK, and if you're not looking for the differences, you'll likely not notice anything outside of material thickness, how quickly the caps gather finger oils and spacebar warping.

[@Whalekeebs]

@@MijamotoMoesasji As for someone who own 15 sets of GMK both from Drop and from other vendor, i can say that it is the best both in feel and look. I used to own Nk Pbt, Canoncaps, MT3, Dcx, Dcs, Epbt, Geekark, Omnicaps, NicePBT, and CRP. I think the real value of the GMK is at 120-140$ if not flipped (sell for profit) and the only downside is the packaging which is really bad but very environmental friendly (its the German policy so idk if its will change)

[@tardisgrade]

Plouffe kept saying that these were based on the Drop CRTL keyboards but they're actually based on Drop ENTR, which cost just half as much as the CTRL. The standard CTRL goes for $199 while the standard ENTR (without LOTR branding) is $99. You're gonna be paying $69/$99 extra here for the LOTR branding and special keycaps.

[@hedlund]

For a product that, at least to me, screams just about everything *but* fantasy, what with it being a thoroughly modern keyboard and all that. Even as a massive, massive Tolkien fan it's too much of a disconnect/contrast for me, even though I know it's purely in my head. Honestly wouldn't want a LOTR themed board even if it was gifted to me.

[@pcefulpolarbear]

he’s the “keyboard guy” but half of what he says is objectively wrong

[@SeraphX2]

@@pcefulpolarbear yup. been noticing that all too much lately. he got the switches entirely wrong on that stupid Epomaker keyboard

[@dragonkyng]

“Gondo calls fo aid” “And Ohan will answe!”

[@vivekvs1992]

That elvish should have been transparent for that elvish glow

[@ronochow]

Linus should really be the one testing out "DROP" products ; )

[@kevinwetsch5209]

Lol

[@-B.H.]

Those are actually pretty awesome looking keyboards! Did not expect a Warframe ad. Would have been awesome if Warframe did a their own themed keyboard/cap drop.

[@uberubermensch]

With the Duviri date announcement today, DE is definitely going for all the hype. A Warframe keyboard would be cool, plenty of lore to take from.

[@ttaMLowe]

I had the dwarven keyboard in December. Thought I'd miss the numpad but it has been a worthy sacrifice considering how beautiful this keyboard is!

[@munkeymemer2153]

the fuck are you going to use a numpad for

[@cjepino]

You can always just buy a separate numpad

[@GordonChil]

I never thought I’d get rid of the numpad. Then when I started having shoulder pain from moving my arm so much to reach the mouse, I decided to do anything I could to reduce the distance. Now I don’t miss the numpad. This is a really cool set of keyboards.

[@ttaMLowe]

@@cjepino True and drop sell matching keycaps for the numpad. I wish I had thought about this in December, could have saved myself some money when it comes to import tax (UK)

[@ttaMLowe]

@@GordonChil I never thought about it like that before, it makes sense now that you've said it. I still use a numpad in work so if I start getting pains at least now I'll know why. Thanks

[@Tutku35]

Narsil is not Isildur’s sword. It belonged to his father, Elendil.

[@NobleKage]

But then was wielded by Isildur after his death

[@Tutku35]

@@NobleKage Nope. It remained broken until it was reforged as Anduril for Aragorn II Elessar.

[@Tutku35]

@Fpark9985 Aragorn named it so as “Flame of the west” in Quenya. As Gondor and Arnor being two symbolic cities in the west 3000 years ago and him is the heir of the throne.

[@LeFlyGuy]

I mean the sword was wielded by isildur and shattered when fighting Sauron

[@BearyWizard]

@@LeFlyGuy Nope it broke when Elendil fought sauron. The broken sword was used by isildur to cut of the ring and after that stowed away until given to his squire(?) while they were attacked on his travels to Imladris, which he (the squire or house member) brought there in Elrond's safe-keeping. Unfinished tales, part 3 chapter 1 'the disaster of the gladden fields'.

[@AustinNooe]

The original drop release eye of sauron keycap you showed in the graphic did yes - have the eye the wrong angle. They fixed it a few months(?) later though. Don't know if they made it right for their customers or not.

[@lfcbpro]

I noticed on the website they showed that the first pic the eye was in wrong direction, but in the lower one it was correct, hopefully they shipped the correct ones out to customers who bought it.

[@OfficialEtry13]

I can tell you that they did not fix it for customers, mine is still sideways 😢

[@danielhenzphotography]

The dwarf one should be brown and gold Blue and gold for elves and green/gold for hobbits. The red/grey one for Sauron is spot on.

[@Bedroom_Punk]

One OEM to rule them all One LEGEND to find them One CABLE to bring them all and in the darkness KEYbind them ...

[@SaturnineAberrance]

To answer a couple of questions left open from the review; The keycaps are MT3 profile (and made of ABS) - a bit shorter than SA but with more cupping like Plouffe noticed. A lot of keycap sets from Drop are MT3, and they have exclusive rights to the profile (the original designer of MT3 can't make sets himself with it unless its through Drop). North vs South isn't just a preference thing, and the LED shine through depends entirely on how the PCB is designed, not whether it's north or south facing. The LEDs can be placed wherever the designer wants relative to the switch - how good it shines through depends on the key switches used and where the LED is placed, not much else. (Some switches have a hole to allow LED shine through, some are translucent, etc.). The difference that north/south makes is mostly relevant to whether the switch and pcb will interfere with certain types of key caps. For example, KAT and Cherry profile can sometimes interfere with North facing switches, scratching away the inside of the keycap and making a less enjoyable typing experience. In this case, I don't know of any specific cases of north/south affecting MT3, so it doesn't matter with the keycaps that you're probably buying the keyboard for anyway, but it could be a problem if you replace the keycaps with something else.

[@unholyape]

are you sure they are abs? on drop its saying they are dye-sub pbt

[@SaturnineAberrance]

@@unholyape you're right! Sorry I didn't double check that. Most mt3 sets are abs, and I figured these would be no different.

[@LawDoctor]

MT3 profile keycaps are definitely an acquired taste. Drop does sales on them fairly regularly too, which is nice. The keycaps are so premium. It’s a shame their keyboards are so meh.

[@beersandbacon]

I agree. I would love to have seen this done on a high end keyboard. LOTR deserves it.

[@WinderTP]

It's a very unique profile for sure, I have it on a keyblard I exclusively use for typing (I don't type much) and it's a very special feeling having my fingered being cupped that much more. I also got mine in a 2-for-1 sale and sold the second set to recoup the majority of the cost, I'd definitely recommend others to do so as well.

[@Neoxon619]

The Return of the [Keyboard] King That aside, I’ve always been curious about specialty keys. Aren’t they usually heavier than regular ones?

[@batt3ryac1d]

Yeah but they're usually on esc or utility keys that you don't hit a lot so it wouldn't throw you off.

[@Neoxon619]

@@batt3ryac1d That sounds about right, I can’t imagine having those on more frequently-used parts of the keyboard.

[@tomdgardner]

Yeah, they are made from resin normally, as well as being completely solid. Artisan keycaps generally don't sound amazing (as the acoustics differ from the rest of the keycaps) and (due to their weight) is much easier to press down. Hence why you see them on unique keys (space, escape, enter, shift etc) and are treated more as a visual addition. I've only seen large metal custom keys (I think linus did an episode on this) that become too heavy for key switch springs.

[@batt3ryac1d]

@@tomdgardner it would be cool if someone made a whole set of lightweight ones but it'd be mad expensive 🤣

[@cbegefdkih]

@@tomdgardner I daily drive a keyboard with full aluminum keycaps and each 1u cap is only 3g with the spacebar being slightly less than around 30g. None of the keys are heavy enough to cause problems with actuation speed (on 67.5g switches). The video LTT did on a metal keyboard was using brass keycaps which are significantly heavier (about 10g per 1u cap)

[@Digable.]

Amazing keycaps on a board that was probably designed in 2017 is Drop in a nutshell

[@NRay7882]

Are those finger gloves or hand shorts?

[@thecon_quererarbitraryname6286]

I think sauron himself was involved in the pricing of this thing ... 😂😆

[@Alex-ve1og]

$200 isn't really that crazy for keyboards

[@something3610]

@@Alex-ve1og $200 for an all plastic keyboard is pretty horrendous.

[@geep8647]

@@something3610 which it isnt

[@raka1996]

Also not hot-swappable

[@something3610]

@@geep8647 Yes it is lol

[@joedoherty1062]

I literally bought the black speech keyboard, opened youtube, and this was right there. Honestly I'll probably be grabbing the Dwarven one too down the line. It was a DIFFICULT decision to choose between the two

[@Kumofan]

North facing is usually less desirable due to interference with some keycaps (mainly gmk)

[@heyitsryooshi]

5:10 The beacons are lit! Gondo calls for aid!

[@alexossan2829]

I thought the south-facing preference is mostly to avoid keycap interference on the home row for Cherry profile keycaps? Would have bought this if Drop shipped to my country, and if I haven't been drooling at the Mode Sonnet and Envoy...

[@EposVox]

I need this for my mic reviews.

[@KeppyKep]

These look absolutely amazing. Would love to have one if I had the money. Like you, I'm not sure which I prefer over the Dwarven and Black-speech. The Black Speech one is definitely more eye-catching, but I think in the long-term I'd prefer the Dwarven. But I also wish the English font on those was smaller - even though they did do it in a font that matches the theme.

[@hypeheadphones]

when you mentioned putting the spacekey upside down I felt so validated I did that once on cheap mech keyboard I had because it made it WAY better to use for me and thought I was crazy lol

[@Hummingbird-ju7tk]

it is when you switch the left and right arrows that your nuts... but it is so satisfying seeing them point at each other

[@3cch1fb]

North facing LEDs are better for shine-through keycaps. Most prefer south facing since there are clearance issues with cherry profile keycaps which is most commonly used within the hobby.

[@dhoffnun]

Springs: hear the song of my people -- Re: South facing; it's for consistent feel with Cherry profile keycaps like GMK; North facing is actually better for shine-through in most cases since those usually have letters top-center, and are tall enough to clear the otherwise upside-down from original spec orientation.

[@tibbepothoven315]

That was the first warframe ad that I see in all 7 years of playing an watching ltt this is awesome 🎉🎉

[@ShaneCutting]

South facing is bad due to GMK keycap interference (with standard pole). It can be an issue, but can be mitigated with long-pole switches

[@BLUESHIRT-METAL]

I have the Dwarven keycap set with the Mount Doom escape key. I really like the MT3 profile used on the keycaps.

[@martinfilth2478]

I bought this keyboard recently. Its my 1st mechanical keyboard. After 2 months of using I have to say I love the keyboard, but I can use it only for few hours a day. One more month and I swear my fingers will have a small six packs. Not sure about you guys, but for me its just that you need to push keys a bit with a strenght, so after few hours I have to switch to keyboard with light pressing keys. What a pitty, but ikeyboard looks stunning. I just with to have different keys.

[@JoFreddieRevDr]

The real "One Keyboard to Rule Them All" would have a numpad!

[@Policepigeon]

Preferring south facing leds over north facing is because north face has interference with cherry profile keycaps

[@daleykun]

It makes sense that the black speech and elvish caps are very similar. Orcs are literally elves corrupted by Melkor - in the same way the elvish writing script was twisted and corrupted into the black speech spoken in Mordor

[@joelsittler6997]

Or are they????

[@combatwombat594]

Honestly expected these to be a lot more expensive than they are. I expected them to be at least a $300 board for the basic versions. $200 for the "special" one is really not a bad price, especially considering the branding

[@ShaneCutting]

It's because they use the ENTR platform which is usually $90

[@combatwombat594]

@@ShaneCutting Fair enough :p I'm far from a keyboard enthusiast, so I wouldn't know lol

[@ShaneCutting]

@@combatwombat594 sorry if I was glib.

[@combatwombat594]

@@ShaneCutting not at all my friend 😁 good to have the info 😋

[@greedsmack]

I just really wish the key caps had backlight. Would have been an instant buy for the black speech

[@DaggerThrasher]

Agreed - they've really missed a trick here. Amber shine-through for the Black Speech one, and perhaps white for the Elvish. Would have looked amazing.

[@MAGAIVER]

I don't really care for column staggered keyboards but that black speech board looks amazing.

[@Naterbater1991]

I have used the Elvish one as my daily board, and it has been fantastic! I love the switches and the keycaps are awesome to use!

[@Vancha112]

South facing isn't preferred cause of the shine through, but for compatibility reasons afaik. Some keycaps have clearance issues with south facing leds :)

[@Gobeman]

As a European. I allways get jealous of seeing costume keycaps with all the keys. As specially Nordic here well. Sure there is the 'nordic' layout. But i prefer cleanly seeing my specific language keys and not the 2 neighbors all the time on it aswell.

[@favna]

Also European (The Netherlands) and we use US layout here, so I suppose we're lucky. Technically you can use US layout as well, it would just take a bit of practise. By the looks of it you guys mostly just use QWERTY but some extra keys in place of what on QWERTY are symbols, is that correct? I mean if you're typing blind, that is to say, you don't need to look at your legend to know where to press (which I would assume is the case based on LMG's average audience age) then it might not even be that big a deal.

[@Lead_Foot]

Calling mt3 an SA variant is an insult

[@Secretlycat31]

Whats with all the Warframe paid ads now. two videos in a row now had them. Props to them

[@xnamkcor]

John is probably rolling in his grave at the thought of his leopard not having a number pad.

[@jonrice9509]

Not sure what makes this a “black speech” keyboard. Those keys are in Tengwar, which is elven script created by Feanor in the first age. (I get it, the script on the One Ring is Tengwar, and Tolkien didn’t make a writing system for Black Speech, plus Sauron used Tengwar because the complex magic woven into the ring required something precise, but still) apart from the art themes, it’s basically an elvish keyboard. Pretty cool though.

[@geep8647]

because the space bar has the one ring inscription wich is the only true black speech

[@albertko1]

Just like their Marvel collab, hoping the keycaps go on sale in the future. Drop keycaps are arguably the best value for premium keycaps when they go on sale.

[@stelp7617]

Their keyboards aren't great, but yes, Drop keycaps are great. Got me a set of Noctua keycaps from Drop, and they are so good. very good value, and very happy that they do a lot of them in MT3 profile.

[@m4nc1n1]

I ordered the Wooting Two HE. Coming end of April :)

[@MaxwellBourhis-ss6ft]

Lord of Lost Money: The Debt Halls

[@cb1057]

Congrats this is the first product you guys have sold me on lmao. Bought the dwarvish one

[@funkonsight]

This channel would benefit with someone who’s a custom keyboard specialist.

[@odenwaldquelle8228]

Could you maybe looka at some mechanical full layout keyboards without any extras? Just raw build quality? Like the Durgod Taurus K310? Im using this for like 3 years now and its amazing. There are people out there that dont want to spent 400€ on a castrated piece of wireless RGB custom bling bling.

[@wcw07]

man... $130 for the key cap set is pretty pricey... but I need these anyway! thanks for the video!

[@G3rain1]

Oh you sweet summer child.

[@wcw07]

@@G3rain1 hahah I definitely am. These are going to be my first keycaps bought separately. :)

[@slysi84]

Stunning. But as an MtG fan those phyrexian keycaps look amazing!!! I'm defo checking them out!!! Would look sick on my KBDFans white Tofu case!!!

[@MediocreTCG]

I have a GMMK TKL with the Drop X Marvel Iron Man keycaps. Thought I was going to use it JUST for typing because of the Mt3 profile but it's honestly AMAZING for gaming too. Just seems like everything is right there

[@transientwaveform1475]

Only reason for south-facing preference is because Cherry keycaps interfere when using north-facing sockets.

[@FritzOFN]

I would love that you guys do a compare with mechanical analog keyboards, like the "Wooting Two HE" and so on.

[@le_birb.]

I got the Elvish Keycaps set for a custom board. They are very thocky on linears.

[@wvvern]

Wooting's latest hall effect keyboards deserve this title - especially for gaming.

[@kazzle101]

Vaguely disappointed that the keyboards don't sound like the cultures they are representing. The Dwarf Keyboard should sound like Gold freshly dug from the mines of Wales, The Elvish Keyboard; a lyre being plucked on a fresh summers day in a shire in merry England while a game cricket of amateur cricket is proceeding in the background. While the other from Mordor should sound like the Industrial North of England, with mighty hammers pounding ingots of steel.

[@bikesandbrass]

"DO NOT HARM" They clearly know who they sent this to

[@beersandbacon]

So south facing you actually see the shine through worse. It is because north facing LEDs can hit cherry profile keycaps.

[@Volnas97]

I like the style of dwarven keyboard, but I love the colors of elvish one

[@bananza9860]

south facing LED's is so that the ASDF row doesn't interfere with cherry profile keycaps. not for better RGB.

[@Trillykins]

Damn. Never ordered anything from Drop, not a fan of Lord of the Rings, and didn't even watch the entire video and already pre -ordered the black speech keyboard cause that thing looks fucking incredible!

[@Tulamood]

I have the Elvish one and I love it, but the lack of backlit keys is making me consider switching :(

[@jas_094]

I have never really cared about keyboards but this looks NICE

[@simonrockstream]

You should, if you use a computer at all, it literally changes everything. It can make a night & day difference.

[@jas_094]

@@simonrockstream I don't know if you are being sarcastic but I should have made it clearer; I don't care much about enthusiast level keyboards, I just like it being full size and wireless

[@LiamMarcon]

"OMG it looks good" Me: holy crap that's fugly haha

[@tg__]

I have the elvish and dwarvish hardcore set so no English legends and they are so good I love them I have the elvish on a white zoom65

[@nhand42]

All three Hobbit films are bangers. Change my mind. Difficulty mode: you can't.

[@geep8647]

a dwarf and an elf love arc, what in the world were they thinking

[@nhand42]

@@geep8647 Come on, it's 2023.

[@DwarfKing56]

Lord of the Rings! Huzzah! Warframe! Huzzah!

[@Pandalius]

I love the key caps, but the lack of numpad is a really negative for me. Love the looks, but really sucks when I need the pad

[@jonafoto]

I already have all 3, and before anyone says it..."No YOU have a problem!"

[@heythatsphil]

I got the magma keycaps for my K8, and I LOVE them 😁

[@191.]

These are not clickies? It's loud as 🦆.

[@joelsittler6997]

13:50 shoulda done the Hobbits on Carpool Critics!

[@TheDefaultgameer]

Not gonna lie the Dwarvish key caps are really sick. I would be pretty tempted to run those myself.

[@helloimash]

I don't know why you felt the need to say "most keyboard group buys don't happen." That's happened in an extraordinarily small number of instances.

[@svyatoi6314]

Agree, I’ve been a part of over 30+ GBs over last 1.5 years and had 0 issues so far with over 20 of them delivered and another dozen will arrive by end of this year

[@CURTSNIPER]

Just in time for LOTR Return of the king to be back in theaters for it's 20th anniversary

[@steve4278]

I just got back from seeing it at my local theater. It was the extended cut too 👍. All that being said, I still can't talk myself into spending what Drop is asking for these 🤣

[@CURTSNIPER]

@@steve4278 already booked tickets, cant wait to see it with great audio

[@70RCH]

I bought the hardcore black speech base kit to use on my 30% keyboard and I have no regrets. At me Plouffe.

[@estebangardila]

The lack of key sets for other languages (Spanish, in my case) was a deal breaker for me. I really really wanted to buy this.

[@johnperish]

No hotswap in 2023 is an absolute deal breaker. Drop should know better.

[@captainsnugleup]

woow war hammer has changed quite a bit since I last played, I think they added their first open world map when I got off

[@ShaneCutting]

So; it's a upgraded Drop ENTR board? Why didn't they used the CTRL platform? Would have been so much better.

[@LordHypnosis]

Man I hate TKL keyboards but that black speech keycap set is glorious.

[@Daslicey]

Finally received mine! Only complaint I have is that the black speech keyboard has white leds instead of red :(

[@belikeron]

I thought the black finger gloves were CGI when I turned away and looked back. I was like they're really commiting to the black speech angle.

[@costafilh0]

Hey keyboard lovers. Is there an option for silent mechanical or optical switches keyboard with replaceble switches available in ABNT2 that is actually silent? Thanks!

[@Tome275]

Short Circuit getting longer and im ok with it

[@aidengaede2718]

not a big keyboard enthusiast but man do I love LOTR

[@spewp]

Plouf has no idea what an old IBM keyboard sounds like, clearly. Yikes.

[@alex-847]

Are these keyboards good for gaming, really want one but not sure of it’s capabilities

[@DctrGizmo]

I never watched LOTR so I was really lost through out the video. Either way, they do look pretty cool.

[@JojenPaste]

Is it the White Tree is it supposed to be one of the two trees of Valinor? Because, those are the Silmarils with two trees in the graphic...

[@mdanov]

Hey, great video. I'd love to see something on ISO layout keyboards. I know you guys in north america are all about the ANSI layout, but it would be nice to see offerings from the "rest of the world". I'm specially interested to see keyboards that could be "converted" between standards and/or languages by changing switches and keycaps.

[@luispadilla2842]

7:10 Don't steal your boss's thing

[@forthphoto]

If I were to buy the key caps only would they work on keychron k8 Pro?

[@Gabranth2]

I'm glad to see Warframe again, but I guess they're testing new update on live servers again

[@themassmauler]

What exactly is the reason for the condoms?

[@badatpc]

In my opinion, a $115 base set (plus $35 numpad… plus $65 artisan cap) is WAY too expensive for a set of plastic keycaps. Love the designs though.

[@H3LLMAU5]

Yo Nick, where do you get your custom key caps from?

[@shadypotato750]

What does the space bar say? I’m learning Tengwar, dwarvish script, and elvish but I’m not fluent yet😅

[@ogdensbeard]

Eye of Sauron would be cool as the print screen key 😂