Some questions about Das Keyboard and Matias Tactile Pro 4

[Pitusky]

Hello, I am a new user at DeskThority and I would like to buy a Mechanical Keyboard but I don't know if I choose DasKeyboard4 or a Matias Tactile Pro 4 because I want a good click-clack sound since that is a must for me and I want the nostalgic feeling, Which one would you guys recommend me?

DasKeyboard4 has the Cherry MX Blue and the Matias Tactile Pro 4 has Simplified White Alps.

Thank you very much

[Hypersphere]

Welcome! My own preference is the Matias. The Alps-inspired Matias switches feel and sound better to me than any of the Cherry switches. Having said this, an advantage of Cherry switches is the abundance of custom keycaps for them. However, Matias has promised to introduce some keycap sets for his switches.

If you are really into nostalgia and a definite clicky sound with a pronounced tactile feedback, you could do no better than to find an IBM buckling spring keyboard, such as a Model M 101, M 122, M SSK, Model F XT, Model F AT, or Model F 122.

My own current favorite is the IBM Model F XT, which I have refurbished and gotten to work with my Mac by fitting it with a Teensy circuit board and Soarer's Converter. You can also use a Hagstrom converter box.

IBM Model M keyboards work with modern computers by using an AT to PS/2 adapter, or, if you want USB, by using an active PS/2 to USB converter.

Good luck!

[Pitusky]

Welcome! My own preference is the Matias. The Alps-inspired Matias switches feel and sound better to me than any of the Cherry switches. Having said this, an advantage of Cherry switches is the abundance of custom keycaps for them. However, Matias has promised to introduce some keycap sets for his switches.

If you are really into nostalgia and a definite clicky sound with a pronounced tactile feedback, you could do no better than to find an IBM buckling spring keyboard, such as a Model M 101, M 122, M SSK, Model F XT, Model F AT, or Model F 122.

My own current favorite is the IBM Model F XT, which I have refurbished and gotten to work with my Mac by fitting it with a Teensy circuit board and Soarer's Converter. You can also use a Hagstrom converter box.

IBM Model M keyboards work with modern computers by using an AT to PS/2 adapter, or, if you want USB, by using an active PS/2 to USB converter.

Good luck!

Thank you very much for answering and for the welcome
I will use the keyboard for some gaming,typing,and browsing the web.
Which one has more durability?
Can you program keys on the Matias Tactile Pro 4?

[Hypersphere]

Welcome! My own preference is the Matias. The Alps-inspired Matias switches feel and sound better to me than any of the Cherry switches. Having said this, an advantage of Cherry switches is the abundance of custom keycaps for them. However, Matias has promised to introduce some keycap sets for his switches.

If you are really into nostalgia and a definite clicky sound with a pronounced tactile feedback, you could do no better than to find an IBM buckling spring keyboard, such as a Model M 101, M 122, M SSK, Model F XT, Model F AT, or Model F 122.

My own current favorite is the IBM Model F XT, which I have refurbished and gotten to work with my Mac by fitting it with a Teensy circuit board and Soarer's Converter. You can also use a Hagstrom converter box.

IBM Model M keyboards work with modern computers by using an AT to PS/2 adapter, or, if you want USB, by using an active PS/2 to USB converter.

Good luck!

Thank you very much for answering and for the welcome
I will use the keyboard for some gaming,typing,and browsing the web.
Which one has more durability?
Can you program keys on the Matias Tactile Pro 4?

The two boards you have named are both durable. I do not think they are programmable or that they even have DIP switches. However, if you use a Mac, I can heartily recommend the great free software, KeyReMap4MacBook. I have used this program to remap my keyboards for a hybrid Mac-HHKB layout.

A colleague of mine has the Matias Mini Tactile Pro and likes it very much. I have tried the keyboard, and I like it as well. However, I do not like the styling or keycaps on either the Matias keyboards or the Daskeyboards.

FYI, I have tried a great many keyboards with various form factors, layouts, styles, materials, keycaps, etc. These have included full-size, tenkeyless, 75%, 65%, 60%; conventional and HHKB layout, ABS and PBT keycaps, various fonts on the keycaps, etc. Brands have included CoolerMaster, Dell, Ducky, Filco, Fujitsu, IBM, Keycool, SGI, Tek, and several others. Switches I have tried include various Alps; Cherry mx blue, brown, clear, green, and red; IBM membrane buckling springs; IBM capacitive buckling springs; and Matias tactile/clicky. Out of all of these combinations, only a few keyboards have emerged as favorites:

Happy Hacking Keyboard Pro 2 (HHKB Pro 2)
IBM Model M 101
IBM Model M Space Saving Keyboard (SSK)
IBM Model F XT

I like the HHKB for its 60% form factor, best of all possible layouts, overall styling, Topre switches, and dye-sublimated PBT keycaps. I like the IBM Model M keyboards for their membrane buckling spring switches and dye-sublimated PBT keycaps. I like the XT for its capacitive buckling spring switches and the other properties it shares with the IBM Model M keyboards. The XT is my current favorite, and I have remapped it to a hybrid Mac-HHKB layout.

I also think that the XT keyboard has passed the durability test -- it is 30 years old and still going strong! And with the Teensy and Soarer's converter installed, it is completely programmable.

Not being as familiar with the Matias or Das keyboards as I am with others, I cannot give a strong recommendation for either one. However, if I had to choose between these two brands, I would go with the Matias. Moreover, because I prefer a smaller form factor, I would choose the Matias Mini Tactile Pro over the full-size model.

[Findecanor]

The build quality of all above should be good. It comes down mostly to personal opinions about styling, key feel and sound.
While Matias' Alps-replica switches, Cherry MX Blue or IBM's different Buckling Spring switches all are clicky switches, they feel somewhat different.
Buckling Springs are more for the heavy typists. I would say that Matias/Alps have a tactile response that is more like a non-mechanical keyboard but more distinct. Cherry MX Blue are for light typists with a tactile point somewhere in the middle between the two others but not as distinct feel.

[Pitusky]

Welcome! My own preference is the Matias. The Alps-inspired Matias switches feel and sound better to me than any of the Cherry switches. Having said this, an advantage of Cherry switches is the abundance of custom keycaps for them. However, Matias has promised to introduce some keycap sets for his switches.

If you are really into nostalgia and a definite clicky sound with a pronounced tactile feedback, you could do no better than to find an IBM buckling spring keyboard, such as a Model M 101, M 122, M SSK, Model F XT, Model F AT, or Model F 122.

My own current favorite is the IBM Model F XT, which I have refurbished and gotten to work with my Mac by fitting it with a Teensy circuit board and Soarer's Converter. You can also use a Hagstrom converter box.

IBM Model M keyboards work with modern computers by using an AT to PS/2 adapter, or, if you want USB, by using an active PS/2 to USB converter.

Good luck!

Thank you very much for answering and for the welcome
I will use the keyboard for some gaming,typing,and browsing the web.
Which one has more durability?
Can you program keys on the Matias Tactile Pro 4?

The two boards you have named are both durable. I do not think they are programmable or that they even have DIP switches. However, if you use a Mac, I can heartily recommend the great free software, KeyReMap4MacBook. I have used this program to remap my keyboards for a hybrid Mac-HHKB layout.

A colleague of mine has the Matias Mini Tactile Pro and likes it very much. I have tried the keyboard, and I like it as well. However, I do not like the styling or keycaps on either the Matias keyboards or the Daskeyboards.

FYI, I have tried a great many keyboards with various form factors, layouts, styles, materials, keycaps, etc. These have included full-size, tenkeyless, 75%, 65%, 60%; conventional and HHKB layout, ABS and PBT keycaps, various fonts on the keycaps, etc. Brands have included CoolerMaster, Dell, Ducky, Filco, Fujitsu, IBM, Keycool, SGI, Tek, and several others. Switches I have tried include various Alps; Cherry mx blue, brown, clear, green, and red; IBM membrane buckling springs; IBM capacitive buckling springs; and Matias tactile/clicky. Out of all of these combinations, only a few keyboards have emerged as favorites:

Happy Hacking Keyboard Pro 2 (HHKB Pro 2)
IBM Model M 101
IBM Model M Space Saving Keyboard (SSK)
IBM Model F XT

I like the HHKB for its 60% form factor, best of all possible layouts, overall styling, Topre switches, and dye-sublimated PBT keycaps. I like the IBM Model M keyboards for their membrane buckling spring switches and dye-sublimated PBT keycaps. I like the XT for its capacitive buckling spring switches and the other properties it shares with the IBM Model M keyboards. The XT is my current favorite, and I have remapped it to a hybrid Mac-HHKB layout.

I also think that the XT keyboard has passed the durability test -- it is 30 years old and still going strong! And with the Teensy and Soarer's converter installed, it is completely programmable.

Not being as familiar with the Matias or Das keyboards as I am with others, I cannot give a strong recommendation for either one. However, if I had to choose between these two brands, I would go with the Matias. Moreover, because I prefer a smaller form factor, I would choose the Matias Mini Tactile Pro over the full-size model.

Thank you very much for answering my question I really appreciate it
I have been reading about the Matias White Alps inside the Matias Tactile Pro 4 and I have read that it is not exactly the one used on the old Apple keyboards but it is almost the same but I have been in doubt with the following questions:
How exactly does the White Alps used in the Matias Tactile Pro 4 compare to the original White Alps used in the old Apple Keyboards? Does it last more than the old Apple keyboard? Is the quality better or worse than the original white Alps?
What are the advantages/disadvantages of the White Alps used in the Matias Tactile Pro 4?

Thank you very much and keep typing

[Daniel Beardsmore]

OK, this is getting silly now — two topics for the same questions …