Glorious PC Gaming Race Gmmk TKL - Barebone, ANSI-LAYOU

This keyboard is probably one of the best hotswappable boards on the market. It features USB type C connectivity and an overall sleek design. Plus, the board has a nice weight to it which further increases the overall sturdiness of the board. Multiple different lighting effects are available too. Considering there is no function keys (f1-12,) they are integrated nicely with easy hot key orders. Additionally, this board is 3 pin hotswappable, perfect for a variety of key switches. I used Kalih Box Reds and they sound great in combination with this new board.

the keyboard disconnects from the computer when lightly shocked by static, and the middle row stopped working after a larger static discharge. not a super huge issue but be careful as this seems like a flaw with the metal casing

Fantastic, good-looking, well built keyboard. But, while I would love to keep it, I unfortunately bought it by mistake. Even though it was clearly marked as bare bones. I was locking for a complete keyboard. I should have known the price was too good. In another life maybe.

Great barebones option. Solid construction. Foam inside to reduce rattle and ping. Easy to work with. Takes 3 pin switches. Bought first one for my wifes build. Fantastic and easy. Mine showed up with scratches all over. This was the second keyboard I have ordered for myself due to the same issues. My wifes was perfect though. Spotty quality control.

I am writing this review on October 13, 2022. The MCU installed on my board is the VS11K28A, which is not compatible with QMK. This appears to be a 4th revision of the GMMK TKL; revisions 2 and 3 are compatible with QMK. The keyboard itself is quite nice for only 50 or so dollars. The riser feet do almost nothing, and it feels a bit low coming from a keyboard with more pronounced riser feet. There is little to no room in the case for any foam/polyfill, but mine did come with a small sheet of foam preinstalled in the case. The proprietary software you need to control RGB/macros is windows only, and is pretty lackluster. I could not find anything on a 3rd party software compatible with this keyboard. If this is something that matters to you, I would look elsewhere. I wish I knew this before I bought it, but for the price you cant get much better. I would not hold out for any official software updates; the GMMK 2 and Pro use a different software and I believe theyve given up on supporting the GMMK 1.

I added some silent linear switches and my preferred keycaps and made my dream keyboard! Highly recommended!

This board is 100% perfect for a beginner and even more for those with certain preferences. You need to like the floating style key design to implement this in more expensive builds as well as not mind clipping your 5 pin switches. I dont mind this as they are still compatible with the 5 pin boards after I clip them, and I also do not usually move my switches from a board once it is made. But for a beginner board, most use the floating design and it is seen on keyboards all the way up the money chain in custom kits. It is most likely what you are used to as well from mainstream brand keyboards. The big difference between this and a mainstream keeb is its body is 100% aluminum, under an inch thick with a huge weight to it, and has the switches accessible right on the top layer. Press in your switches and caps, do any lubing or mods you want and its done and a higher quality keyboard than anything you can buy premade from main brands. You can get almost the same level of quality buying a premade from these guys but it will not be lubed or have any mods available beyond its stock foam pads which are still good.

This Keyboard is just a little too bare for me. I understand that it requires switches and keycaps, but the keyboard itself barely has any features beyond that. The software is bare, the lighting is restricted, and it just leads to a less than enthusiast experiment. Maybe for someones first custom keyboard this would be nice, but its definitely not for me. Everything is super high quality though, so at least it has that going for it.

Solid build quality, great lighting, and a stellar price for what it is. Highly recommended.

The keyboard itself is a great gateway mechanical keyboard. Being able to hotswap switches makes it easy to test out new ones and see what you like. I wish the LED lights had more customization available. And just a heads up that you can get this keyboard cheaper from Glorious own website. By buying the keyboard, switches, and keycaps at the same time, I saved about $20.