Review A Ducky skeptic's first Ducky

[PandaAttack1]

^ With that said, I agree with your review.

For a casual user where the form is more important than function, rather get something else.

If you are in it for the most premium typing experience available in our market, Ducky is without a doubt your best option.

Do want some of my thoughts on the switches @SCHUMI4EVER?

 

[SCHUMI4EVER]

^ With that said, I agree with your review.

For a casual user where the form is more important than function, rather get something else.

If you are in it for the most premium typing experience available in our market, Ducky is without a doubt your best option.

Do want some of my thoughts on the switches @SCHUMI4EVER?

Keep in mind that to a gamer there are two stages of function on a keyboard.

One the one hand it's how nicely it types, which would translate to how nice using the WASD cluster feels. But on the other hand it's how nicely the "gimmicks" function. How much control you have over macros and what their placement is and what else there might be.
The Ducky might offer the best of the prior (though I'm still not convinced of that), but since it does far less than many other keyboards attempt with the latter I feel that as soon as you are around the 75-80% mark of typing quality then if the gimmicks are solid and work as intended they're pushing it ahead of whatever quality advantage a Ducky might have in form.

And yes, I could tear any other keyboard a new one too, for instance I say the MK850 has comparable typing quality but it's certainly also got some major flaws and could have been designed a fair bit better. But they don't have anywhere near the hype that Ducky has locally so I don't need to. People aren't always on about how they offer superior quality to anything else, a hype wagon which must be destroyed in my opinion. You can say they're great, but they certainly are not as vastly superior as people make them out to be.


Umm...I didn't think it'd be fair to the board the discuss the switches since they're standard switches and most other boards allow you to pick the ones you like. But it turns out I'm not a fan. I think I may prefer off-brand switches, ones that ape Cherry but do so with less severity making for a more laid-back switch that becomes more of a hybrid feel than adhering to the strict feel "rules" Cherry switches set forth. I also think I may prefer low profile switches as I'd like there to be less travel. I was expecting a smoother more rigid depression feeling from the Ducky but I didn't get that (and when I say smooth I don't mean the linearity, I mean the stability of the key itself).
There's definitely a Roccat Vulcan in my future but it'll have to wait till next year.

 

[TriNitro4]

Keep in mind that to a gamer there are two stages of function on a keyboard.

One the one hand it's how nicely it types, which would translate to how nice using the WASD cluster feels. But on the other hand it's how nicely the "gimmicks" function. How much control you have over macros and what their placement is and what else there might be.
The Ducky might offer the best of the prior (though I'm still not convinced of that), but since it does far less than many other keyboards attempt with the latter I feel that as soon as you are around the 75-80% mark of typing quality then if the gimmicks are solid and work as intended they're pushing it ahead of whatever quality advantage a Ducky might have in form.

And yes, I could tear any other keyboard a new one too, for instance I say the MK850 has comparable typing quality but it's certainly also got some major flaws and could have been designed a fair bit better. But they don't have anywhere near the hype that Ducky has locally so I don't need to. People aren't always on about how they offer superior quality to anything else, a hype wagon which must be destroyed in my opinion. You can say they're great, but they certainly are not as vastly superior as people make them out to be.


Umm...I didn't think it'd be fair to the board the discuss the switches since they're standard switches and most other boards allow you to pick the ones you like. But it turns out I'm not a fan. I think I may prefer off-brand switches, ones that ape Cherry but do so with less severity making for a more laid-back switch that becomes more of a hybrid feel than adhering to the strict feel "rules" Cherry switches set forth. I also think I may prefer low profile switches as I'd like there to be less travel. I was expecting a smoother more rigid depression feeling from the Ducky but I didn't get that (and when I say smooth I don't mean the linearity, I mean the stability of the key itself).
There's definitely a Roccat Vulcan in my future but it'll have to wait till next year.

Personally I also didn't like cherry mx blues and my personal favourite switches are outemu blues and gateron browns

 

[SCHUMI4EVER]

Personally I also didn't like cherry mx blues and my personal favourite switches are outemu blues and gateron browns

These are Cherry Browns (sorry, told him that in PM) but yeah. I think my favourite switch so far is the Otemu Purple on the Yama. It's tactile whilst being almost as smooth as the Reds. And I have a feeling I'd like Gateron and Kail-H browns too. And want to try Cherry Silver/Speed at some point, maybe Silent Reds. But the main 3, Brown, Red and Blue I'm not a fan of.

 

[PandaAttack1]

These are Cherry Browns (sorry, told him that in PM) but yeah. I think my favourite switch so far is the Otemu Purple on the Yama. It's tactile whilst being almost as smooth as the Reds. And I have a feeling I'd like Gateron and Kail-H browns too. And want to try Cherry Silver/Speed at some point, maybe Silent Reds. But the main 3, Brown, Red and Blue I'm not a fan of.

We can so quickly derail a keyboard thread by switch talk though...

Kailh coppers... Dude... My dude... Best feeling switch I have typed on... Feels like a soft, smooth cherry Red with tactile feedback. Getting an Ergo Dox with the coppers sometime this month or next depending on shipping and customs. Again, this very subjective...

I love MX Blues and MX Brows... But it is never fair to judge a keyboard by it's switches. Although it is extremely difficult to do so, since you can't comment on any typing experience without bringing in the switch.

Again, I just want to iterate that I do agree with your review. I just feel that it is superior because of the typing experience compared to the other brands. Although I will concede that I have yet to try some of the newer boards. My tastes are now more into what is available in the custom world...

 

[SCHUMI4EVER]

We can so quickly derail a keyboard thread by switch talk though...

Kailh coppers... Dude... My dude... Best feeling switch I have typed on... Feels like a soft, smooth cherry Red with tactile feedback. Getting an Ergo Dox with the coppers sometime this month or next depending on shipping and customs. Again, this very subjective...

I love MX Blues and MX Brows... But it is never fair to judge a keyboard by it's switches. Although it is extremely difficult to do so, since you can't comment on any typing experience without bringing in the switch.

Again, I just want to iterate that I do agree with your review. I just feel that it is superior because of the typing experience compared to the other brands. Although I will concede that I have yet to try some of the newer boards. My tastes are now more into what is available in the custom world...

Yeah haha, precisely why tried not to mention them much.
Unless it's an off-brand switch that's garbage and the only switch the keyboard comes with I don't think it's fair to grade a keyboard on the switch.

 

[Sub-lime]

Great honest review. When items are classed as premium, charged at a premium then that is what you should get. Sure they have great some great points but that's not premium.

Let's see a Ferrari driver find a dim interior light and see all hell break loose.

It's only when buyers stop with the starry eyed review and tell it like it is when actual issues are addressed and premium products are released. Don't settle for the issues, even if you think they're quirky or small, They're issues and must be fixed. It's not petty if you're paying a premium, it's just expected.

 

[VandaL]

I'm glad to finally see a truly honest review about a Ducky keyboard, everything I've seen/heard over the years about Ducky has just been people jizzing about some intangible thing that just makes them gods gift to keyboards. I was actually looking at Rebeltech to get one now till I read your review. THANKS BRO

As I suspected, they make great keyboards but not PERFECT keyboards like some owners will have you believe.

 

[TriNitro4]

I'm glad to finally see a truly honest review about a Ducky keyboard, everything I've seen/heard over the years about Ducky has just been people jizzing about some intangible thing that just makes them gods gift to keyboards. I was actually looking at Rebeltech to get one now till I read your review. THANKS BRO

As I suspected, they make great keyboards but not PERFECT keyboards like some owners will have you believe.

I probably mentioned this before but as an Anne Pro 2 user I've never been interested in ducky. Got a friend to get an ap2 recently as well even