RK ROYAL KLUDGE 60% Mechanical Keyboard RK61 Pro, Wireless Gaming Aluminum Frame, BT/Wired RGB Bluetooth, PBT 61 Keys Hot Swappable, Brown Switch, White

This was my very first mechanical keyboard and honestly… I fell in love!Been together since 2022 and it still works perfectly. Battery live is excellent. Very convenient, connectivity is amazing, the size is perfect.

After doing some research, I narrowed the field down to Durgod Venus, Anne Pro 2, and the regular RK61, and then discovered there was an RK61 Pro version that upgraded everything that wasn't great about the regular RK61. The decision became a no-brainer. Neither Durgod Venus nor AP2 were hot swappable.I'm not a gamer, at all. So no advice there. I type a lot and have always hated membrane keyboards. They torture my fingers, even make them swell. I positively love this keyboard.I've made a couple simple changes purely out of personal preference. The Gateron Reds had too light a touch for me. I learned to type in the '70s on one of those ancient typewriters with the arms that swing up and hit an ink ribbon in front of the page. Those had HEAVY touch compared to today's keyboards, and I liked that. So I changed out the switches to Gateron Milky Yellows, added 40A O-rings, and placed it on a $2.50 fabric placemat (doubled over, with the excess hanging in front) from Walmart. You can see that in the shot with the blue lights on. When not in use, I swing the excess up to act as a cover.What I've got now is the greatest thocky sound, softened slightly by the O-rings, with excellent heavier touch from the Yellows. It's perfect. Also filmed the Yellows (the milky pros were definitely prelubed, too), but I'm not sure I'd say it's worth the trouble to film. It was a good experience, and the keys are definitely solid.Had planned on adding foam to the case, even thought about replacing the stabilizers just because people do that. But the sound and feel is so perfect, I really don't want to change anything else.I've done nothing with the software and have no desire to remap keys. I can change the RGB (which is beautiful!) using the keys. Note that you can also lock in the arrow keys if you need to using "Fn" + "Enter." Return to the primary function by using the same keys.Change RGB pattern with "Fn" + "\|" (right under the backspace key)Change RGB color with "Fn" + ".>"Turn RGB brightness up with "Fn" + "]}" (If you try to go past max brightness, it will flash red)Turn RGB brightness down with "Fn" + "[{" (likewise)Speed up RGB pattern with "Fn" + "'"" (haha---that's the apostrophe/quote key)Slow down the pattern with "Fn" + ";:"The instruction book is short, sweet, and clear. Supposedly the software is a pain, if you can find it, so if you really want good software, verify that they've fixed the issues. I don't need it, personally.BTW, the benefits of the Pro version are that you get PBT keys, an aluminum case, Gateron switches (the regular has RK brand switches which aren't as good), and my reds were definitely hot swappable, very easy to switch to the yellows. But when you do it, set the new switch in place straight up and down before pressing to lock it in. I placed five of them in at an angle and bent the pins, which wasn't a problem, as I had extras.Really happy I went with swappable switches, and this keyboard in particular. You get a lot, for not much money.

So last year I purchased my first mechanical keyboard, the Royal Kludge 61. It was plastic and only had an amber backlight, but it was wireless and portable. To say that the settings are frustrating would be an understatement. There is a learning curve here! On more than one occasion I would 'fat finger' a hotkey and change the settings, only to be utterly confused when, instead of moving up or down on my spreadsheet, I would see a random string of characters. ...But once I became an RK master....boy oh boy! Keep the cheat sheet as it comes in very handy. I've added it here in case you lose it.This keyboard has memory for three Bluetooth devices. By using the function key I can swap between my two computers, allowing me to run separate systems simultaneously without having to have two keyboards (still need two mice though). I can even add my phone, allowing me to navigate across all my devices without having to take my hands off the keyboard.KEBS PPL ---I got this one with the Brown switches since my other RK61 has the blues. I'm a clicky person - very clicky. Think Box Jade or MX Green clicky. These switches are very smooth. I enjoy the tactile feel more than I thought I would. The only HUGE negative is the space bar rattle...it's bad. It's worse than some $50 keyboards I have. Needs some lube or something to help it out for sure. RGB colors are nice. I leave it on the stock cycle but there are plenty of options to change the lighting effects. Keys are very solid and have a nice texture (white model) and do not attract dirt too much. They're white so need to be cleaned, but not an everyday sort of deal.The keyboard doesn't have stands so it isn't adjustable, but the angle is nice and the chassis is low enough that you don't need a wrist rest to use it. The chassis is really solid and heavy and the lip around the keys is just right. I like the thin border and aluminum, it looks really classy.Overall this keyboard is an 8/10. There is a bit of getting used to the hotkeys, but with a 61% layout that is expected to cram in functionality. My other metal chassis is the Durgod Hades 65% and this keyboard feels just as good. Besides the spacebar rattle, this keyboard is well worth the money for the build quality and features. The Durgod has better switches but is $50 more expensive and not wireless. Great first mechanical keyboard or nice addition for a custom PC build.

Just got the keyboard today and i noticed that my left ATL key and my window keys are swapped. As in the key itself is swapped around. Maybe it was done on purpose to make it similar to the mac command key?the other annoying part would be the question mark key. Due to the small keyboard side, the arrow keys are on top of the question mark key making it really hard to use the question mark without having to hold FN to access it. I have multiple occasions where it i'm just SHIFTING up arrow instead of getting the question mark causing me to lose a whole line of sentence.It is a nice keyboard but I'm not sure if i want to keep it or not.Update:Figured out the issue with the window and left Alt key swapping. After doing some digging, I then found this online. You can switch to Windows-/Mac-mode with fn + a and fn + s. You also can reset your rk61 with pressing fn + space for about 3 seconds.Second update regarding my question mark. I thought that I had to always hold FN + SHIFT + / to get the question mark. THERE IS A FIX! Do FN + Enter and it will fix that. The main reason I was so annoyed of it is because the other alternative is to use FN + Ctrl to switch the keyboard setting but your backspace becomes a delete button instead just so I can access the question mark.Do some research and don't judge the keyboard right away. I was so close to returning this but glad I did some digging. Good keyboard for now. Still seeing some latency issues with bluetooth though but that is a giving.