The Backstory
A year and a half ago, (oh god where does the time go) I posted a video of my first experience building a mechanical keyboard from scratch and it was a Doozy.
The Specs (starting)
I do recommend watching the video, but if you don’t, here’s the TLDR of the specs of this keyboard, as per the video:
Neo80
- Base: POM Plate, gasket mounted, non-flex-cut hotswap PCB + foam
- Switches: Akko V3 Matcha Green Pro
- Keycaps: WS Sunset Bliss
- Mods? No, but this whole thing sure feels like it is
The Problems (aside the ones seen in the video)
I gotta say though, that, aside all the issues that ended up popping up, the keyboard ended up collecting dust a bit sooner than I expected, as:
- if I tried gaming on it, my floppy weak wrists would get tired way too fast. the Akko Matchas were NOT for me.
- if I tried to bring it to work (I only go to the office twice a week), it felt like too much effort for how much the damn thing weighs (it’s nice but not. to bring to work.)
- the lack of windows keys also soured me a lot. and the gaps in the keycaps. it just wasn’t nice!!!
And as a side problem – the cherry on the top of this problem cake – I also actually found it had some strange bluetooth bugs (which maybe got patched with a firmware update?), where the inputs were weird and glitchy.
(….but I haven’t really looked into it and I ended up switching to mostly wired use anyway lol but when I HAD looked, I found, like, one other person with the same problem and it didn’t seem like they could fix it. Sad.)
So all in all, was it that much of a surprise that I ended up somewhat abandoning this keyboard? Not really. Even though I LOVE how it turned out aesthetically and I DID enjoy writing on it, it just ended up in its carrying case for MONTHS.
But, all hope was not lost.
Fixing the switch problem
Well, this wasn’t a big deal – the Matchas weren’t for me, but it’s not a problem to swap the switches!
I gotta be honest, I do often feel like I don’t have the opportunities to really find my favorite switches aside from just trial and error. If there are mechanical keyboard enthusiasts out here in Latvia, I’ve not met them and therefore I am unable to try out different boards without the commitment to it. So it is more like, money, and trial and error. It wasn’t really fun to admit that I didn’t like the Matchas.
And, look, they matched the aesthetic of the keyboard. And they were fine for non-gaming. And this keyboard was for work anyway.
Still, the rabbit hole took me in and I was curious what switches I could potentially like better and, at least from what I could tell, I knew that I just needed linears that weren’t as heavy as the Matchas.
Bit of research later, I landed on the WS Morandis. And bought them. This was back in November 2024.
And then I put them away in a drawer, not to be seen until…. now. (May 2026)
Why did it take so long do you ask? Well…
Getting a new keyboard, altogether
In April of 2026, one of my longtime mutuals Enkou posted that they’d be interested in selling a keyboard of theirs.
My daily driver, the Keychron K4 Pro, has been around for a long time! I got it back in 2023, so it’s been running for a WHILE. I don’t necessarily have any major problems with it aside from some switches passing of old age and needing to be replaced, but I was slowly getting an itch to have something new, though my interest in mechanical keyboards wasn’t particularly high at the current time.
I did want to treat myself to a new keyboard, without the effort, though!
…maybe I just was really burned out over the Neo80 build, eh…
ANYWAY. My trusty old Keychron was beginning to feel a bit old, and thankfully, Enkou and I have similar tastes in mechanical keyboards! Hers was also a 1800 layout, she also preferred more light switches, so of course, despite it maybe not being the best deal ever due to the whopping 90 dollar shipping cost overseas, I figured it’d be nice, and what better way than to buy from someone I know!
The Hyperfixation, Reignited
Once my new keyboard (from now on, the GK980) was in my possession, it wasn’t long after that I found myself deep at work tinkering away at the keyboard.
It was gorgeous, don’t get me wrong!
I loved the green pastel look going on, but I immediately knew that for my very orange desk setup, it just didn’t feel right.
So I had three main things to do:
- Swap the keycaps between my Neo80 to the GK980, ensuring More Orange in my now daily driver
- Since I’m swapping the keycaps anyway – may as well FINALLY install the Morandis
- Figure out some of the issues I hadn’t fixed on my Neo80 ?
The Switch Swap
- Finally after a year and a half the Morandis see the light!
- Yes, I didn’t have enough for the entire keyboard. I treat switches like underwear, it’s not gonna be 100% matching. Sue me.
- It’s subtle but I did fix the bottom Control keys so I’d be able to put the proper keycap size on by… putting in the switches upside down. Who knew that was an option.. haha …
Bonus musing with Enkou in DMs after….
The Keycap Swap
I got injured during this :(
Ok, not really, but for some reason the GK980’s keycaps were on SOOOO TIGHT. I had to pry the damn things out. I took out like 80% of the switches with it. My hands hurt after very badly.
But other than that! Look! They’re swapped!
And here they are, side by side…
The Specs (post-mortem)
I actually just made a page with all my current keyboards over at ⌨️my keyboard collection! So check that out.
Fixing the Bringing to Work problem?
Well. This isn’t really a thing that I can fix. Unfortunately, I am a numpad girlie, and as much as I love the feel of my neo80, I wouldn’t use it as a daily driver.
However, I was happy to find out in my research that there is now a Neo98 …………….. cough………………….. wouldn’t that be a nice-------------
No, honestly I don’t have it in me for another keyboard project just yet. But I would like to build one in the future, though most likely once I’ve done that, I’d just sell my Neo80 and bring my GK980 to work, instead.
But for now… I will continue to bring this absolute heavy lad to the office as is.
The ASMRs
Okay, this wouldn’t be a post about keyboards without some nice keyboard ASMR.
This is what my Neo80 sounds like right now:
Was this all just an excuse to type some on my new and modified keyboards….? Mayhaps. The audio file is actually from me literally writing this note. lol.