I asked the CEO of GMK about GMK Clones

[@TaehaTypes]

Taeha Types merch is thicc and cozy, perfect for the holidays! In-stock, ready to ship! taehatypes.com/store

[@aaronwydoodt405]

From where is it shipped?

[@jadenngl]

califrornia i think@@aaronwydoodt405

[@TaehaTypes]

@@aaronwydoodt405 California!

[@aaronwydoodt405]

@@TaehaTypes okay, that's a bummer.

[@Schraderbrau1383]

When will the next drop be coming out? excited for new pieces

[@ziich1]

I think it is great that you got the opportunity to do an interview with the CEO of GMK. While I personally would have loved some questions on more controversial topics I understand that may not have been possible for this interview. Thanks to all who had a part in making this opportunity come to fruition

[@timeoutmode]

this is the keeb content that is missing in this hobby. everyone. i mean everyone is doing keeb reviews. I think you're the only one that explores this kind of content. I wish you all the success.

[@TaehaTypes]

trying to provide something different! thank you

[@theslowpokie]

Super fantastic video, not just in quality and content (which absolutely blew me away), but love how you are pushing the envelope of keeb content and showing us behind the curtain of GMK! Thanks Taeha, was an absolute pleasure to watch.

[@TaehaTypes]

Thank you for the kind words and support!

[@stoched]

The real question is: if you work there do you get a discount on GMK sets? 👀

[@TaehaTypes]

I would hope so LOL

[@fops]

I would love to see a whole "How its made" style episode on GMK caps. Also @ 5:07 I NEED that guy's Pantone hoodie or something like it

[@quocanhhbui8271]

Yeah i wanna see how they make spacebar banana

[@hrolvnir]

They don’t do these because their process is proprietary and they don’t want to be copied

[@MrSkullhead0]

This is so hype. I joined during the big boom in 2021. Every GMK set I’ve had I’ve been very happy with. Excited to see what they’re cooking up for these future profiles

[@steveshoulders]

Glad I watched this video. I immediately ordered GMK MTNU Beige and I am completely sold. Looks great on my white kbd8x mk2 and that finger-hugging profile is amazingly pleasant. Great job Matt3o and GMK ! Bravo 👌

[@BradleyIfland]

Great video, love the insight, seriously, never thought I'd understand why on earth I'd ever pay even $50+ on a set of keycaps. This small 9 minute video helped me completely realize why I would and should. Keep it up Taeha!

[@Sendrim]

Great video! Really fun to see. Me being 7-8 years into the hobby; I've had to slow down my keyboarding a bit the last 1-2 years because of a few non-keyboard-related things, BUT your recent videos have reminded me some of the fun things the hobby has to offer and sparks new interest again! Thank you for that! ❤️

[@StartCodonUST]

The speculation on GMK's business model has morphed from a kind of pieced-together Kremlinology to a general consensus that shapes discourse. Great to see GMK set the record on some things and provide some insight into what they're about!

[@omgabear]

What amazing bombass content. The fact that you got to invited to their facility as well as got to speak to their CEO also speaks volumes of how highly they think of you and your opinion!

[@not_a_frog]

I've been waiting on a gmk set for over 18 months now and the ship date keeps getting bumped back. never again lmao. great film/edit job tho!

[@HolyElkGaming]

Love it, thanks for stepping out of your boundaries with your videos. I see the keyboard connoisseurs are in the comment section too, its nice to see ppl passionate about these products.

[@ryelo5448]

Cant wait for the other interviews, this was too short!

[@TaehaTypes]

Next one will be next week!

[@MarbsMusic]

Thank you Taeha for making this available for us, now I see why you were traveling so much :) Seem to be all worth it, this was a great interview!

[@patrickcarpenter6258]

And this is why I love GMK. they get it. Such a GREAT video.

[@bakeraus]

Nicely filmed and great to see the people at GMK.

[@EddieGooch]

2:58 is that the machine that sends you two "5" rather than "5" and "6" ?

[@Laughadaffadil]

Thank You taeha for making this video and thank you Christoph & GMK for taking the time out of your busy schedule to show us a bit more about you and the company! please make another video in the future if you can!

[@BasicFolders]

SUPER interesting video! To see the office, the guy in charge, and especially that factory floor footage... This was one of your most interesting videos (for me) since manufacturing is what I do for work, and keycaps is what I do for fun. Thanks, Taeha! 👍

[@TaehaTypes]

Think you'll like the upcoming videos 👀

[@BasicFolders]

@@TaehaTypes *can't wait!* 😊

[@j___7052]

Great to see the actual people behind my favorite gmk sets ... nice video!

[@mareex_]

This was the most interesting Video I've seen in this hobby yet. Well done Taeha

[@silasrogan241]

It would've been nice to hear from staff about the intricacies of making these keycaps, rather than the CEO whose job is no different than any other. But the actual laborers have unique experiences and skills that would've made this mini-doc exponentially more interesting.

[@gazehound]

Hard agree

[@LightningXI]

Loved this video, man; it's so cool to see behind the scenes - the people who carry the torch of our oh-so-beloved Cherry profile doubleshots. I wish I could go see all these cool things and meet these people too! 😁🍻

[@a.caguax78]

A nice overview into the workings of GMK. Thanks Nathan!

[@fuster7474]

Great great interview, can't get offer the fact that the CEO is using a 0° typing angle keyboard... MY EYESSSSS

[@gooberpsycho2922]

Loving the BGM. It's giving very Polyphony Digital lol

[@brianjuice]

Despite eternal turnaround times, cheap packaging, and ABS shine, they remain the gold standard.

[@jlebron12]

I don’t understand why people act as if every other company other than GMK is perfect and never have issues with their products. Companies from all types of industries are constantly doing recalls on their faulty products. Stuff happens and it’s being addressed.

[@wazzaabbii]

Anyone know the keeb this guy uses on his desk??

[@jedichristopherrivera7814]

Uniqey. TKL

[@Nartss]

Imagine spending over $100 on some colored pieces of plastic that’ll inevitably wear down within a few months 💀

[@SmartyPantsDash]

GMK makes my favorite keycaps. Alas they aren't perfect since my sets have some glaring production issues on some caps. But I still love thickness and designs

[@CharlesXVl]

missed the vids. the wait was worth.

[@Rux2pi]

The amount of coping in these comments about clones being just as good in quality 😂

[@TaehaTypes]

COPIUM

[@matheus61728]

Anybody know what keyboard is on his desk?

[@TaehaTypes]

uniqey.net/en/preconfigured-keyboards/

[@Warrenified]

This is so awesome Taeha! Crazy to see your growth in the past few years. From NateKim to now! Seeing clones of the sets ive designed, GMK Rudy and Classic Red never feels good.

[@TaehaTypes]

Long time no see!

[@KeebClack]

lol i love how every office setup keyboard has gmk sets on them

[@wylietimes5253]

What mouse and keyboard is he using?

[@raytsh]

6:05 That one Esc cap is placed incorrectly >_>

[@Driller_TM]

Just another angle 😂

[@ebeisaac7700]

Answer to the question: 7:13

[@VicharB]

First keyboard maker interview I watched, definitely interesting. Thanks.

[@sxnthwave]

we need a sound test of the CEO's keyboard rn

[@happylittletrees8130]

What's his deskmat?

[@m4nc1n1]

GMKs are overpriced. I get them on sale or clones. Whatever comes first. Sorry, but $180 - $200 a set is just nuts.

[@Msashaf21]

Which set is 180 tho? I got my gmk8008 for 130.

[@Shikitera]

​@@Msashaf21 still a lot for keycaps, keykobo go for $70-$90 and are better quality than gmk

[@TheEightDomain]

I'd rather get Keychron keycaps, same thickness half the price

[@Obsidiank]

Great video!! I’m frankly sad to see so much criticism. You’re not a journalist nor are you trying to be. Thanks for giving an inside view of GMK.

[@ericw.1620]

This guy might be the most German man in existence

[@mosephhh]

the real question is why is his ass reading a script the whole time

[@keyrelic]

Great to see insides of the industry! Top mechboard content!

[@franksam8610]

I love hmm keycaps why I have 2 sets and I just started the hobby drop+mito pulse set and now mitclan set papel picado

[@boyabundance]

Love the William Benckert at the beginning

[@LibraKeyS]

Kindly address the concern regarding the banana spacebar, particularly the issue of its exorbitant price. This year, alternative products like those from KKB, KBDFans, etc., offer superior quality at more reasonable prices.

[@alex_souls]

serious coping in these comments. 9/10 times gmk is objectively higher quality than any clones on the market period (legending, colors, sound, feel, etc). anyone disagreeing I have to assume has never owned a gmk set. if you can't afford gmk, thats fine theres a million alternatives that are much higher quality than clones for less money than gmk. if you don't like groupbuys or preorders, well theres probably 100+ gmk extra sets currently in stock across various vendors. theres basically no excuse to buy clones nowadays.

[@Laughadaffadil]

@@oftensalty but then still why clones? sounds like you dont care about looks or sound or feel. so just get a 21kb set for $35 or an amazon set for $15 lol

[@Laughadaffadil]

ill agree with you on clones except novelties. thats just actual theft on the manus part. i dont buy from thieves outside the CVS, even if they just stole the stuff.@@oftensalty

[@alex_souls]

@@oftensalty already addressed the price concern in my original comment. I don't care if clones are a 1/5 the price of gmk, so are unique, non-gmk non-clone sets that are widely available. they're not hard to find. but purchasing a knock-off of someones work because you "don't care" is a bs excuse. there is more to this hobby than blatant consumerism. supporting designers is a large aspect of this hobby and purchasing clones is basically spitting in the face of it. if all you care about is having some pieces of plastic to sit on top of your switches in your generic plastic rectangle and nothing else matters to you, then go off I guess. otherwise just try to think a little harder on your purchasing choices.

[@Tyreinn]

Trying to police what others do with their money is a losing battle. Awesome that you enjoy supporting GMK and can afford to do so, but there's no reason to worry yourself over other people's purchases. I'm not even saying I disagree with your stance, just the approach.

[@SpurdoMaltese]

There's a $200 excuse to never buy this overpriced hipster garbage

[@VitiateTheImmortal]

Really cool! I reckon he is german, can hear the accent lol My fav GMK is the olivia set. Nice to see a gaze inside

[@yohanesdevin3618]

i find it funny that he said gee em kay instead of Ge EM Ka

[@Mojo__]

This is very cool.

[@realandrisbiedrins]

That was dope. Well done

[@kickazzdrummer666]

Now, this is a real mech keyboard content. Unlike those cookie-cutter kb reviewers.

[@quocanhhbui8271]

Gmk had been good in the past. That was what got gmk its monopoly in the hobby. But the quality has been falling slightly in the recent years. Dont get me wrong i love gmk. Old and many R1 sets feel absolutely amazing and dont have issues that we encounter recently. It’s paradoxical that we couldnt get what we got years ago. I will continue to support gmk but i will continue to raise the issues until they fix it.

[@cqf30]

what's the keycap set he has on his keyboard on the desk?

[@mohawk4759]

@AndrewJensen-dx1bpthe keyboards that his company makes lol

[@mitchellsteindler]

They spent 100k on that keyence optical profilometer. I hope it's worth it!

[@raitonookami569]

why do they only do group buys tho

[@russellmcquaid9950]

I sure don't want to pay for their challenges. I have Red Samurai clones. I do not see any room in these for an additional $200 cost in the production for 1 set of key caps.

[@GreyMatterPlatter]

What's the keyboard he has on his desk?

[@mohawk4759]

Uniqey

[@socaltypes7670]

I’m glad I got see a little of the production line that goes into producing, sorting, and packaging these keycaps. Even though I have 1-2 clone sets, putting bent spacebars aside, I appreciate the clarity and colors of GMK that I don’t get from the former. I do agree with him that it all lies with the consumer on what gets purchased and whether or not you care about the time and effort it takes for the designer to come up with something like that. Although now I become more selective on what sets I do support, I look fwd what else GMK has in store for consumers for years to come.

[@TaehaTypes]

There will be more BTS footage shown in the coming weeks 🙌

[@000]

fellow dots enjoyer!

[@soran2202]

Neitan is back from the dead 🎉

[@tskeyboard]

common taeha video W

[@sixteenswitches4013]

Love the vid!!!! If you could follow up and see if they can speed up nightshade plz and thank you

[@renoztheross]

Biggest question that comes to my mind, why are there barely any sets for the german market? I mean GMK is german.

[@Sth_Magical]

That’s up to the designers and vendors to include in their orders to gmk

[@athmaid]

It's so weird. Then again the hobby isn't nearly as big as in the states or asia. Not many retailers for that stuff

[@renoztheross]

@@Sth_Magical i know, still you pay around 200 € for a base GMK set in germany

[@Sth_Magical]

@@renoztheross That's expensive, owch

[@hydra6148]

youtube is messing with me, this video took me 8 month to appear in front of my page

[@ambasing69]

The true people who profit from these sets are the resellers not the original artists

[@dev.lex.e]

as an improvement GMK should print 2🍌 icons on each box ;)

[@roninkmh7625]

If these keycaps were accessible then I would not bother with clones. But these business models like supreme is turning me off.

[@IILunchTraeII]

GMK keycaps are great for me to see which colorways I like so I can then look for a significantly cheaper clone of it. Would I rather purchase one set of GMK keycaps (wait for a group buy so I don't pay even more on the 2nd hand market) or a full keyb with switches & keycaps that are instock ready to ship to me?

[@jlebron12]

Clones never look as good as the real thing. You wanna be cheap, then you’ll get something that looks and feels cheap.

[@JasonJtran]

Uh no they look pretty close lmao. Gmk isn't immune to shotty misprints and we've seen it.

[@jlebron12]

Those 99% of people are either not in the hobby or new to it.

[@Rux2pi]

​@@JasonJtran Someone exposing themselves to never owned or seen a GMK set in person 😂

[@jlebron12]

Still a crappy excuse for crappy behavior.

[@Laughadaffadil]

@@oftensalty what kinda mainstream consumer do you see helping GMK's private keycap sector stay open 🤡 we're not talking about all keycaps here bud.

[@SnowWolfK]

Cool, now tell them to actually QC their products so customers doesn't have to deal with crooked, missing or duplicate keycap.

[@narussaki]

that gap

[@benta00]

Now I know why gmk 7u spacebars aren't straight

[@shynnsup8383]

He sounds like Novak Djokovic lol

[@youtbehandletobedetermined]

Rumor has it he uses PBTFans keycaps...

[@mytrung]

Would’ve love to see them touch more on those innovations and see them but I’m happy with the push they are going towards. I have many gmk sets and it just feels like they are cycling colors and popping out the same shape, with the same legends with different colors. Not really my thing anymore but would love to see new profiles and legends to freshen things up. One I really love the fresh look of are the Rama Kate keycaps (if that ever comes out… probably 2025)

[@hariappa]

good Video!

[@-Futoshi-]

🎉🎉🎉

[@LibraKeyS]

quality ??? is joke my gmk spacrbar issue banana and capslock is stem brick

[@Sylarzx]

ay no bell notif

[@benfromsg]

One suggestion! Perhaps can add in an overlay or a cut scene of some sort of the actual question being asked because then it's easier to understand the context of what he is saying. Like for example, are you asking for his opinions about GMK clones? Or did you ask him whether he worried about the presence of clones? Or how the clones have affected GMK etc. There are multiple ways to interpret his answer. So I thought adding in the question asked, will help for future interviews!

[@GlareStringth]

cant wait for 2040 so I can get straight 7u spacebar

[@0xArkemi]

anotations would be nice

[@lawbinson]

Can GMK make caps that don't shine?

[@ispd]

no

[@TaehaTypes]

all plastic keycaps shine eventually :(

[@ClaudioBottari]

check JTK HSA

[@wjhdrew]

hand washing helps a lot

[@foggytypes]

plastic shines. GMK can't bend physics.

[@trosc]

Where are the questions regarding GMK's plummeting quality issues? Warped long keys, wrong mods sizes, texture issues. What even is this? The CEO of GMK likes sports and going outdoors, big woop. Zero interesting information in this video.

[@SAM16052011]

Those issues are a few unlucky customers, (except maybe the spacebars) you only hear about them because GMK is the most expensive.

[@TaehaTypes]

Even if I had asked questions regarding those they most likely would not have answered in a non-PR answer that would have satisfied the community. There will be a factory tour video incoming that you can use to decide whether you like their QA methodology or not, but at the end of the day everyone makes mistakes its about whether GMK continues to correct them transparently or not

[@trosc]

@@TaehaTypes thank you for your answer and I apologise for the seemingly irritated tone. I can't really agree that a factory tour is enough to decide whether their QA methodology is appropriate. The issue is that with recent GMK sets there are a lot of people having issues and the issues are big. I have seen a lot of recent GMK sets which have unbearably inaesthetic texture on the surface, making them look quite poorly in pictures when a 30$ clone from Aliexpress has an impeccable finish. The mods issue is so bad that vendors stopped orders containing affected GMK sets and there still hasn't been an official response from them. There is also the issue of yellowing for their white sets, I personally had to retrobright a GMK Bleached set for a friend and my Hennessey is yellowing as well. Neither set was ever exposed to direct sunlight. We mailed the vendors who said "tough luck, you're beyond 1 year since purchase". We emailed GMK who said "contact the vendor". There are a lot of issues with GMK that makes them honestly annoying to deal with. Not to mention duplicate Fs and Rs and other alphas which are pretty much terrible to deal with for both customer and vendors alike. And the warped long keys are probably the worst offenders, we used to buy GMK for excellent quality, now they have issues that were only affecting extremely cheap PBT keycap sets. What I am trying to say is that perhaps they should answer some uncomfortable questions - which I agree that they wouldn't in a promo material. Thank you for your work, I've been watching you since you started streaming. Invisible makers of the world is still my favourite piece you did. I would really like to see some more daring material as well, and this would include asking those uncomfortable questions. Peace.

[@Jeff9655]

@@TaehaTypes While this may be true, I think this is the entire point of journalism that pushes the envelope. With no probing questions, especially ones that are representative of the communities thoughts, what should be an unbiased look becomes a collaboration/ad for gmk. It is irresponsible to omit questions that ‘would not get a satisfactory response from gmk’. Avoiding the question is not a solution.

[@laffeybunn8557]

preach ​@@Jeff9655

[@ChiefBrianIrons]

GMK please have better QC on your keycaps the amount of warped spacebars i get is ridiculous. I barely get any warped PBT spacebars.

[@foggytypes]

wrapped lmao

[@ChiefBrianIrons]

@@foggytypes my bad didn't bother to proof read

[@gmkkeycaps]

We´re working on a solution for that - as soon everything is set, we´ll make an announcement. #1 topic atm

[@jonibangs1797]

my "clones" and other non gmk keysets has 0 missing keys and 0 errors 3 of my gmk's have missing keys/switched keys and 1 have crooked 1.5u alts and ctrls, and several spacebars are significantly crooked please maintain your "german quality"

[@manhnguyentien283]

In fact, the plastic material of keycap sets (from around the end of 2018 onwards) is getting worse and worse. Except for the molds that are more beautiful than the round 1 sets, the rest of the plastic is getting thinner, the molds are often defective and especially the sound quality is much worse.

[@ItsJustWolff]

We have waited way to long for gmk to open up a bit, this is a step in the right direction but very unhappy with how long it took.

[@admiredgsu1217]

200 dollars and 2 years for pieces of plastic

[@MsToshi1990]

the real question is though: Why does GMK packaging disintegrate within hours or even arrival and who is hiring the person who shakes the boxes before shipping them out so NO single key is in it's place when it arrives? I had keycaps being on the 2nd layer which were supposed to be on the first haha.

[@brusferatu]

I am fine waiting for years for my set to get delivered, im fine paying a good amount of money to get it made to a high standard, I have never bought a clone, but I have to say, rising prices for gmk sets, designs not available anymore for anyone, bad qc for what youre paying for, warped spacebars, makes me not look down on people who buy clones to be honest, I hope KKB forces GMK to be more consumer friendly instead of them doing whatever they want.

[@frltkl]

I think you might look from the other perspective; pricing derives from MoQ, so it's not solely about the GMK since it doesn't really do sales or marketing, only manufacturing. Varied pricings you see, I guess, might due to the designers and vendors themselves. I'm not saying KKB or other manufacturers are better though. However, this day you could get GMK set way cheaper than SP SA set. That pretty much proves the assumptions.

[@brusferatu]

@@frltkl Yeah MoQ matters, convinient for designers, vendors and makers than 99% of the times they are not public so we dont know. And even then, moq prices have been rising a few times already if im not mistaken, gmk is taking advantage as much as they can, they shouldnt be anywhere near expensive as they are

[@kbar11]

Typing on GMK Toxic, have a set of GMK Night Runner V2 that I don't use. Before I got Nightrunner V2 since it took 2 years to get after ordering I have a set of knock off GMK Night Runner. NGL its 80% or 90% as good as GMK IMO. The legends aren't as thick, the mods use words not symbols and fonts on the alt colour backspace are bad but the rest of the set is really nice. Font is just a bit thinner than the real one, colour is just as good, holds up better to shine over time compared to my GMK toxic set. I think if you can afford GMK and don't mind the wait then its good to get, but I do think competition from fakes or just alternative options like Cerakeys make getting GMK not nearly as important anymore. I personally use Cerakey keycaps 90% of the time now at home and the knock off Night Runner at work since I don't care if something bad happens to it. Unless you really love a certain colourway, artist or don't mind waiting years to get something you ordered then I do not think GMK is worth the hype or really the money anymore. I appreciate the argument the CEO shares here but at the same time I don't think the knock off watch or luxury fashion do anything significant to the real market, if anything they serve as advertisement or aspirational. People buying Temu Berkin bags ain't getting the real thing. A broke student who wants to customize a board isn't waiting 2 years and paying twice as much when a knock off will do them just as well. Ideally artists could work with knock off brands to make 'lower' versions of their designs. Much like car companies like GM with Cadillac. There is a market for all price ranges, if you don't market to them you leave it open for others to take it how they see fit.

[@Kahlimer0]

Still cry in azerty

[@TaehaTypes]

:(

[@CoyoteMegalo]

GMK Blot and GMK BsN :D And now GMK Black Snail ^^

[@fad2679]

Tell him to get GMK to sort their spacebars out. 150+ for keycaps with warped spacebars.

[@phamnguyendungnhan6720]

Agree! GMK need better QC process, warped spacebars, missing/duplicate keycaps and the ink for dual language is really bad.