Summary and Conclusion

Prices

• The GMMK PRO is only available as a kit in the Black Slate or White Ice colors, and sold in batches for $170 from the Glorious webshop.
• The GPBT keycap sets come in seven color option and each cost $49.99 from the Glorious webshop.
• The Glorious Panda switches come in packs of 36, and each pack costs $24.99 unlubed or $34.99 lubed from the Glorious webshop.
• There are several optional accessories for the GMMK PRO, including a travel case, coiled cable, replacement rotary knobs, replacement switch plates, and modding tools, all of which can be seen here. There are also optional wrist rests in different material choices, found here.

This is not a review as much as a retelling of my own experiences of building a keyboard that is more custom than the typical keyboard purchased from a retailer. There are far more customization options once you get on this slippery slope, and I will try to follow up on this series with more such combinations from different brands. With the GMMK PRO, things are more of a hybrid. While the GMMK PRO kit was emphasized way more than the rest, it is (a) still in a pre-launch and (b) susceptible to hardware change owing to MCU shortages that can affect some features, including QMK support. As such, I decided to make this article another entry of this series instead of a full review of a single product.


No matter what you do with your keyboard build, make sure every single switch is working. This is especially important with hot-swappable switches since the metal contacts may be bent if not perfectly inserted into the socket. Simple tools, including those I use for my reviews, will help you test for key rollover and key chatter in addition to key actuation/recognition. For example, there are 83 keys on the GMMK PRO, including the clickable rotary wheel. How do you know which Ins-Pd Dn cluster gets dedicated keys on the default/base layer? What if they were something else entirely? Switch hitter will help with that too, but just typing with every key in a text editor will work to an extent as well.


Software support will help with customization, but also check for onboard controls. With the GMMK PRO, Glorious Core, the first-party software suite called, is merely a conduit to doing things saved onboard. Several programmed functions over lighting, profile, layer selection, media playback and volume control are built-in, as are a few shortcuts to programs as seen above. The batch shipping out as I write this supports QMK natively as well, with some first-party firmware tools incoming, while some customers are already working on a GitHub-based system for collaborating and sharing. VIA support will be icing on the cake if and when it comes, but the company's first objective should no doubt be to sort out the hardware drivers for the long-term, and plan software support around it.

It is tough to make a call on the GMMK PRO at this time if you value open-source firmware support, but there are a few other caveats to consider as well. The $170 price tag is nothing to scoff at, although the GMMK PRO being a gasket mount kit distinguishes it a lot from peers in the price range. There are well-placed gaskets and foam sheets throughout, including between the plate and PCB, as well as between the PCB and bottom panel. This is also a heavy-duty case with thick CNC-machined aluminium that oozes build quality. The stabilizers are really good coming from the pre-built world, but don't back up the marketing hype fed to the enthusiasts. Knowing that the currently shipping batch also seems to have way more lube on the stabilizers than the first set of samples that went to the media is not helping its cause, but that is ultimately what the GMMK PRO comes down to. If you approach it as a first or second entry into a custom keyboard after having lived off pre-built ones, this is a fantastic buy for the money supporting lots of customization, different mechanical switches, and keycap sets paired to a functional and ergonomic 75% form factor. If you are one who researches for weeks on switches and lube, there are likely more faults you will find than pleasures to be had.

I have mixed feelings about the other two main products covered here. I will say right away that the company mentions on the Glorious Panda product page that the unlubed switches are for those who want to lube them, and Glorious sells pre-lubed versions for more for this reason. So using them as-is wasn't the best representation, but that is the nature of the beast, where I am not introducing lubing in this series until the focus moves past different switches and cases, with the intention now simply being to talk about different DIY keyboard options using hot-swappable kits. As-is, the Glorious Panda is a good switch but not my favorite because of the shorter pre-travel and rougher bump/post-bump travel. The spring with its 67 gf force is great for deliberate typing, though, and I imagine it would be better lubed along with the stem too. The keycap set is quite nice, with three shades of blue for the thick PBT plastic paired with dye-sublimated legends on a Cherry profile set. At $50, however, it is close to or on par with some Asian keycap sets that compete favorably in terms of value for money while offering way more custom designs, too.

Ultimately, whatever you go with is your call. That is the beauty of the custom keyboard market—there is no right or wrong, just things you like more or not as much. If the GMMK PRO was calling out for you all this while and you sought to know more about it, then this article hopefully helped with the purchasing decision. Getting to know the other Glorious offerings—pun intended—is just a bonus.