Yo guys, didn’t think I’d be back this quick with a Kpop mech episode, and I know that I
said that Twice was the next one, sorry, I really wanna make sure I get that one right.
But I got the opportunity to check out a special keyboard from a friend. So, welcome to episode 5
of the Kpop Mech series, with a custom mechanical keyboard dedicated to Rosé of Blackpink!
First let’s announce the winners from Episode 4 on IZ*ONE, and they are
Congratulations guys!
As always, we’ll be giving away 2 physical albums, which comes with the photobook,
cards and all that good stuff. Details at the end of the video.
Rose! Is a member of the ever popular Blackpink. Probs the biggest group in the world at the
moment. And she happens to be the bias for both me and Forehead in the group. She’s of course
the main vocalist which I usually have a soft spot for, plays a few instruments, which I respect. But
I think one of the big things, and Aussies will know, when you hear that Australian accent on
the world stage, it hits the spot. Especially when they’re based in a non-english speaking country.
Although we can hear it change slightly, it’s still there. So good.
And Forehead mentioned the journey from New Zealand, to growing up in Australia,
moving to Korea by herself when she was just 16. All the hard work and sacrifice to now being
where she is now is amazing. Gotta love it.
Here’s the sandblasted brass weight, and this thing is hefty. Just over 1.2kg,
and basically gives the keyboard most of its weight. On the inside we have her Korean name
Park Chaeyoung in Hangul. And then on the outside we have her beautiful signature.
I swear they all have such aesthetic signatures.
Here’s the top aluminium piece, and this does only come in Winkeyless, so we have these blockers.
Although the engravings are optional. And this is a top mount keyboard, so
the plate screws to this piece. There’s 7 mounting points,
with just the 3 on the bottom, staying clear of the spacebar to give it some relief. But
otherwise it’s a classic safe design that should feel and sound pretty good.
The default plate will be this 1.5mm black aluminium one. This one is a bit mangled
because it’s a prototype plate, so ignore the widened holes. Fortunately this was already
built by Forehead himself, with a Millmax’d Hiney PCB, Alpaca V2 linear switches, and a POM plate.
The actual final PCB and daughterboard will be custom by Jels, and will support split
left and right shifts, split backspace, and stepped caps, so everything you need.
And here it is. The Rose TKL from Forehead. Lovely lovely board, I love stuff like this. Having a
theme to a keyboard really gives it character in a different way. Because in regards to design,
it’s very simple, but exudes that classy vibe. And that’s just how I personally feel with TKL’s
in general too. This one in particular is an F13 winkeyless board, and what that does help with is;
it gives more real estate to express the theme. So we have 3 engravings on the top.
The left blocker has the first half of Rosé in Hangul, and the right blocker
finishes that. Very neat. Hangul characters are just perfect for this sort of thing.
And then above the arrow keys we have the -R- logo from her first solo single album titled ‘R’.
And that leads us to favourite song. Forehead said that he enjoyed ‘On The Ground’ lyrically,
but found ‘Gone’ nicer to listen to. And I feel exactly the same way. ‘Gone’ is ironically more
grounded than ‘On the Ground’ in regards to sound with just a guitar playing along with her voice.
It’s simple, it’s chill, catchy, and just sounds beautiful. Especially that chorus, they nailed
that, and the music video hits the spot as well. However, it is a breakup kind of song, and basic
in that regard. Whereas ‘On the Ground’ is a bit more meaningful, and as suggested is about
staying grounded and remembering what’s important. Hey Rory, stay humble mate. Don’t get me wrong,
it’s still a good listen, but ‘Gone’ is more my vibe. Also, both songs are in English, so uh, yeh.
The keycaps I have on here are GMK Bingsu. Big thanks to my mate Jono for lending it.
I think it works decently well, but good old White on Black hits different. I think
it brings out the cooler magenta side of the pink, rather than the warm orangy tinge
Bingsu brings out of it. And of course, it fits the Blackpink theme perfectly.
The Baby Pink is a beautiful colour, but it’s such a difficult colour to show through photos
and video. Like all colours, light affects how it looks, but it’s extra difficult with this pink.
Alrighty, let’s have a quick listen.
Awesome, as expected with the aluminium plate, it provides that solid top mount experience that
most of us love. A nice balance, firm keypresses, not too clacky or thocky,
although it goes towards clacky. There’s a bit of flex towards the middle which is a given,
softening that bottom out slightly, in both sound and feel. But overall,
being a simple top mount with minimal space underneath the PCB, it’s not hard, just firm
and solid. That sweet middle ground where I feel it complements the switches well.
The POM plate provides a bit more flex, providing a softened bottom out,
and is lower pitched in sound. I did however have some issues with the POM,
and a lot of that can be put down to it being a prototype plate, and loose switch holes don’t
pair well with the Millmax’d PCB. Even the Alpaca legs weren’t tight to the Hiney PCB, so
there wasn’t much holding the plate and PCB together. Additionally, the flexible nature of
the POM plate along with what I just mentioned, it wasn’t too difficult to bottom out the PCB
onto the shallow bottom inside surface. Especially the spacebar, as remembering before,
there’s no mounting point on the plate along the spacebar area. So that’ll need some adjusting.
Both configs sound great, and it’s a tried and tested design that delivers,
and I love it. Just classic you know. Real pure feeling.
And that’s the Rose TKL custom mechanical keyboard. Truly a lovely board, and it’s
something I love to see, because it’s a passion project, learning a new program, dealing with
manufacturing, logistics, and going through all of this to create what he wants to create.
And then sharing it for others to enjoy. I love it. So if you’re interested, I’ll link his Discord
server in the description. But warning, it won’t be cheap, and there won’t be many.
And that’s episode 5 of the Kpop mech series. I know this kind of thing isn’t for everyone, but
I hope you can still enjoy the keyboards, because I’m pretty proud of this series. Again, soz on the
Twice board. That one is really important to me, so I really really want to do it justice.
Huge thanks to Forehead for letting me check out this board.
Bless Rose, love you. And I hope that she doesn’t come across any Avocados.