How to Build Your First Custom Mechanical Keyboard in 2025

Understanding Custom Keyboard Sounds

• 💡 Custom keyboards offer a significant upgrade over standard options, with features like full aluminum cases, better switches, and superior keycaps contributing to a superior sound and feel.
• 🎯 Keyboards can produce distinct sounds: clack (sharp, high-pitched), thock (deep, resonant), and click (audible click mechanism, common in gaming).
• 🔑 The desired sound profile is the first step in building a custom keyboard, guiding choices in switches and keycap materials.

Components of Keyboard Sound and Feel

• 🧠 A keyboard's sound is a sum of its parts: the aluminum case influences resonance, switches are made of materials that affect sound, and keycaps (ABS vs. PBT) significantly alter pitch and depth.
• ⚙️ Additional elements like foam and other mods can further refine the sound and feel.
• 📏 Keyboard layouts vary from full-size to 40%, allowing users to choose based on their needs, with a 75% layout recommended for artists needing many keys without a number pad.

Building a Custom Keyboard: Switches and Keycaps

• 🛠️ The Kwumsy K3 keyboard is introduced as an extreme example, featuring a screen and SSD slot, though its high cost and questionable build quality are noted.
• 🚀 For customization, a hot-swappable keyboard is recommended, allowing switches to be replaced without soldering, making it beginner-friendly.
• 🔊 Switches come in types like clicky, tactile, and linear, with lubed switches offering improved sound and feel. Linear switches, like the Arowana Reds, are chosen for their smooth, thocky sound.
• 🎨 PBT keycaps, specifically a custom collaboration with artist Picar, are selected for their deep, thocky sound profile and unique artistic designs.

Customization and Artist Collaboration

• ✨ The collaboration with artist Picar highlights the intersection of art and custom keyboards, with keycaps featuring cute characters, plants, and Easter eggs.
• 🎨 Picar, a digital illustrator known for working with brands like Gucci, finds inspiration in creating art that makes people happy, mirroring the expressive nature of custom keyboard builds.
• 🖼️ The custom keycap set is made from Dub PBT, chosen for its contribution to a deeper, cuter sound, and supports a wide range of keyboard layouts.

Keyboard Features and Final Build

• 💻 The Kwumsy K3's screen functionality is tested, mirroring an iPad's display, but ultimately found to be janky with issues in touch calibration and resolution scaling, falling short for artist-specific use cases.
• ✅ The building process is described as easier than anticipated, with the key learning being the interchangeability of tools for removing keycaps and switches.
• 🎶 The final built keyboard, using Arowana Red switches and custom PBT keycaps, is compared to a pre-built option, with the custom build achieving a cleaner, superior sound.
• 🌟 The video concludes with the successful completion of the first custom keyboard build, emphasizing the importance of considering the desired vibe and sound when choosing components.