Over the Frail Dream

got bored and decided to write out my progression of keyboards used throughout the time i've played etterna
please feel free to share yours as well!

2017 (17msd) - mid 2019 (22msd): magicforce 68 [7.5/10]
i remember being recommended this a few times. it was pretty good although i remember it feeling somewhat heavy/janky. over time i feel like the quality sort of began to degrade but for what i used it for i think my progression was pretty alright. gateron brown switches

late 2019 (23msd) - mid/late 2020 (26msd): alienware sk-8165 ($30 rubberdome keyboard) [3/10]
so when i moved to college i didn't bring my pc or any sort of keyboard. i wasn't able to play etterna in my dorm room or anything but there was this place on campus called the "tech center" and people would go in there, rent keyboards/mice/headsets and play games in there. i spent a lot of time in my freshman year of college playing etterna there. and it's where i went from 23-26msd, the only keyboard they had available for the most part was this shitty alienware rubberdome board. but i got used to it, and most of my progression comes from that

late 2020 (27msd) - now (29msd): apex pro [9.5/10]
huge step up from the shitty rubberdome i was using prior, though it took me a while to get used to it. omnipoint switches (linear) felt really good, it was around this time i started to get into accuracy as well. and the polling rate on this board helped a lot for getting high accuracy scores. still feels great but after almost 6 years it is wearing down. had to replace my s key with my pgdn key, and my x key with my s key. the 'a' letter is sort of chipped off. it's old, crusty, just need a new one at this point

early 2026 - future: custom keyboard (zoom tkl dyna hotswappable pcb board + gateron smoothie silver switches) [?/10]
never thought i would actually want to build a custom board but here i am. pretty excited to put this one together as i've never done something like this before. it will also be my first experience with tkl. i do use the numpad sometimes but lately i questioned how often i use it and the answer is really not as much as it would affect me in the long term, plus i think i would appreciate the smaller size. will have to send pictures once i put this thing together. currently just waiting on the pcb. have the keycaps and switches already

august 2019 (start) - october 2019 (15 msd): random ass chinese "gaming" keyboard from aliexpress (random cherry mx red ripoffs) [3/10] (something happened to pcb and it just started dropping half of my inputs no matter what keys i press)
october 2019 (15 msd) - may 2022 (33 msd): Dark Project KD3A (Optical Gateron Blue) [7/10] (apparently a really good for its time russian peripherals manufacturer, would be 8.5/10 if not optical, playing acc with 100hz was awful)
may 2022 (33 msd) - september 2022 (34 msd): Durgod K320 (Cherry MX Brown) [9/10]
september 2022 - november 2022: back to Dark Project KD3A (we are not talking about what happened to Durgod)
november 2022 - october 2024: FL ESPORTS 680 (Gateron Brown) [6/10] (very good switch lube and construction but two switches broke after a month of use at the same time and also keycaps aren't really that durable (this was happening constantly))
october 2024 - to this day: DrunkDeer A75 Pro (Raesha something too lazy to google) [8.5/10] (drivers are a mess, would be 10/10 if not drivers)

not feeling like using anything else besides drunkdeer until it dies completely, still kinda missing for tactical switches though

march 2017 (14 msd - december 2017 (16 msd): corsair k95 (was plenty good enough for how bad i was at the game back then. mx reds)
december 2017 (16 msd) - ???: custom wasdv2 keyboard (this one fuckin sucked though, one of the switches broke within a few months. also for some reason i used mx blacks)
??? - september 2020 (21 msd): ducky shine 6 (this was fine i think though i've heard everyone else complain about ducky. mx browns)
september 2020 (21 msd) - august 2023 (25 msd): coolermaster ck530 (great keyboard, was loud as fuck though. also no numpad always hurts for general use. gateron browns)
december 2023 (25 msd) - now (...25 msd): sayodevice o3c pp (pretty cramped keypad for 4k usage but usable. being able to set the actuation point is really, really nice; honestly setting it close to the bottom of the keystroke might be better than using rapid trigger. similar benefits but harder to accidentally double tap. also this was only like $30, remember when people would gamble on the magicforce's build quality to get a $60 mechanical keyboard for the game? crazy)

btw i tried a ducky one 2 in september 2021 but it literally dropped inputs out of the box

also i tried playing on a model m at one point but it only has 2-key rollover

i'll do this from memory

december 2016 (no msd, switched to etterna in 2018) - half of 2017? (no msd): COUGAR 200K [4/10]
Scissor switches keyboard, this was back when i was starting to play 4k and i was the closest of getting an injury, 8/10 for vibro !

half of 2017? - 2019 (31-33 msd): Thermaltake Poseidon Z (kailh brown) [6/10]
This was my first mechanical keyboard, i think it had kailh browns or something so it wasn't awful, i still have it to this day buried
somewhere in my drawers and from what i remember from trying it again years later (2022-2023) it got super mushy for some reason
and it was kinda falling apart.

2019 - january 2021 (35 msd): HyperX Alloy Fps RGB (Kailh Silver Speed) [8/10]
This was when keyboards manufacturers decided to start trying to make decent stuff, nowadays this would be a really mediocre
and expensive keyboard. (it was like $120 back then)
The only big flaw this board has is that it's like 250hz but in a weird way, never really figured this out even with senya's help.
Also actuation point was like 0.1mm so this was kind of the start of what hall effects switches would market like crazy later.

january 2021 - november 2023 (36 msd): Coolermaster CK552 (Gateron Red) [9/10]
Back then this was the most reliable cheap 1000hz keyboard, great for playing.

November 2023 - Now (42 msd): Drunkdeer A75 [9.5/10]
This is what i would describe as the best keyboard to play rhythm games, only downside i can think of is that this version of the board isn't the best quality wise (it's all plastic) and the rubber feet loses it's grippy effect on the table after a while, i don't recomend buying this new so if you have the chance buy it "used" in ebay or something.
Also really big tip that made the keyboard much better for me, upgrade the keycaps to double shot pbt ones (the keyboard uses cherry profile keycaps so be weary of this while searching)
Also i don't use rapid trigger, hall effect switches feel nice though

2018 - 2020 : cooler master pro S the cool S of keyboards. still use this on my wfh machine with hollowed out zx,. keys
2020 - 2020 : razer huntsman. this thing wears out in a way that increases the force required to hit a key very quickly. bin
2020 - 2022 : 2 thnikk 2ks w/ my own firmware. you can tell the stock firmware is bad by reading the code, which is nice that its open source i suppose. i should have taken a picture cause i had them stuck to a book and it wouldve won cursed set up awards. fucked up thing is books are not that hard so when i pressed down on the outer columns the middle columns rose up a bit. its like they wanted to trill
2023 - 2023 : iKBC for like 1 week. i think factory QA tuned the debounce controller to something unusable for the game cause other people did not have the (obvious) problems i had. bin
2023 - 2025 : cooler master ck552. it worked. bin
2025 - nowx : drunk deer its good. i have never touched the actuation point or rapid trigger stuff on account of boomerdom

August 2016 (0msd) - March 2018 (~25 msd): Similar to Logitech G105 [7/10]
Membrane keyboard i got from my dad when i moved south. Worked well enough, but i had to put an unnecessary amount of force into my taps to guarantee a keypress compared to mechanical keyboards.

September 2016 (6msd) - May 2019 (~27 msd): HP Laptop keyboard ala HP 15s [4/10]
When i was at school, would play Stepmania 3.95 from a USB drive on my school laptop, or FFR if i didn't bring the stick. It worked pretty well for me at the time, though when i trying things outside of streams, it would feel worse than at home. Eventually found out that it just does not handle 4 keys at once properly; they get hit in sequence instead of at once. Some laptops work fine for Stepmania, but this is not one of them. Also very little speed control due to the butterfly keys.

Sometime in 2018 (~22-26 msd): Logitech G11 [2/10]
It sometimes registers hands. Membrane keyboard with 54 macros though, which is why i got it. MMO heaven.

September 2019 (27-29 msd) - October 2019 (27-29 msd): HyperX Alloy FPS RGB [7.5/10]
There is no advantage with kalih speed silvers for a rhythm game. It's basically like reds, and i prefer having a tactile feedback. No issues other than that. Could maybe be a tiny bit harder to control due to the high actuation point, but i didn't use it long enough to say for sure.

March 2018 (~25msd) - 9th January 2026 (31/32 msd): Logitech G610 Brown Switches [9,5/10]
This keyboard is AMAZING. Firstly, it has lasted for nearly 8 years now! Granted, i've had to change which keys i use in-game due to their unreliability when going ham, but they work perfectly for typing outside of that (except the poor Z key). Secondly, i have not found a keyboard i've liked to tap on more than this one. It just works. Thirdly, it STILL WORKS!!! I will be immensely sad when it finally gives up.

don't remember the dates for any of these lol

1st (0msd): some old ps/2 keyboard that i used alongside my dad's pc from the year 2000.
they were always sort of sticky and it was one of those kbs that you need to have a specific keybind setup otherwise the rollover wouldn't work out
(2/10)

2nd (like 15msd idk): some chinese outemu blues kb, my first mech.
a huge improvement over the previous one but the keys in that one died in like 3 months lol
(3/10)

3rd (19-23msd): k120
no explanations needed. also don't know how or when it arrived at my house as well, just that it was unused and it became used once the previous keyboard died
(5/10)

4th (19-24msd): razer cynosa pro, a hand-me-down from a richer cousin of mine
it was pretty good but honestly i was swapping between this and the k120
(5/10)

5th (24-26msd): hyperx alloy origins rgb, specifically with gateron red switches
i am currently using this keyboard to type this post lol, it has served me well, between clicky switches and these i'd say i really prefer linears, just feels better
haven't tried tactile switches yet but i am staying with this profile in the future
(7/10)

6th (27- msd): sayodevice cm51+
the desire for a hall effect switch keyboard + the desire for a sound voltex controller at the time made me buy this tiny thing
z and numpad3 keys being faulty on my previous keyboard also made it my definitive etterna keyboard for the time being until i get something else
it is good. it is a little unfortunate given im used to having really wide keybinds but i got used to it, kinda
(8/10)

~2003-2008 - compaq SDM4700P (5/10) (0-15msd)
it works

~2008-2010 - ? basic gateway/hp/alienware membrane (6/10) (10-15msd)
all i can remember is it was like a k120

~2011-dec 2017 - k120 (7/10) (15-24msd)
it works. yes i know the k120 is released in 2012

dec 2017-may 2024 - rosewill rk9000v2 cherry mx brown (9/10) (24-32msd)
best keyboard every made

may 2024-oct 2024 - magestouch 3 brown switches (2/10) (keyboard so bad i got worse)
genuine dogshit

oct 2024-today - the same rosewill rk9000v2 keyboard but now the left ctrl is sticky (9/10) (still bad at game)
its still the bes

i'll preface this by saying up until 2021 i was using built in laptop kbs off and on, longest surviving laptop got me from 2007 to like 2013 i think
i was also occasionally using a stock dell to play "spread" on ffr before you could change keybinds
i got a dogshit rosewill in late 2013 that crapped out on me *during* the 10th ffr tournament (the one i actually medaled in) thanks to the micro usb port on it bending until it couldn't connect anymore
bought a cm storm quickfire xt with mx cherry browns in november 2014, played the last two rounds of the tourney on it. i justified the purchase at the time cuz i would've made the money back if i got first place lmfao
[s]i do not remember whether i took this keyboard to canada or not in 2016. i want to say i didn't.[/s] SIKE i remember the tsa doing a second round of checking on the keyboard once so i definitely had it. i had like no room for it on the desk in the second apartment i had though. once i came back to the states in 2018 i think it gave out in like the second half of the year or something
march 2019 i bought a qisan brown switch 60% keyboard lmao. this one still works but plugging in the cable is kind of awkward, i was getting weird delays on the left hand keys when i got back into the game in 2021
finally in january 2022 at justice's recommendation i got a logitech g610 red switch kb and i've been using that ever since. just bought a set of replacement keycaps last november, mostly to swap out left hand keys. right now either the e or r key will short out for a few seconds if i play more than a couple songs in a row using either one, the w key can also get this problem but it's so rare that i'm okay with using it still