Closer Examination

As we saw before, the Mistel MD770 Barocco keyboard comes in a wax wrap to keep it pristine and free of dust out of the box. The two halves come connected physically and are easily separated by pulling them apart should you not want to use this as a single, connected keyboard (albeit the two cables are still needed). I have the RGB, non-BT version in black here, which means the ABS plastic case and PBT plastic keycaps adopt a black color scheme, and the Mistel orange is used for the legends themselves. This is a 75% form factor keyboard, so we do see dedicated Fn keys in addition to a dedicated arrow key cluster and Ins-Pg Dn key cluster. Mistel has a truncated alphanumeric section, be it in the US ANSI or ISO layout, with a non-standard bottom-row sizing on the right of the dual space bar keys.

The bezels are about average in size, and there are two indicator LEDs for the onboard programming of the keyboard in the top-right corner, next to the Mistel logo, which itself is subtle and the only visible branding in use. Secondary legends on the keycaps are placed above the primary ones throughout the keyboard. All legends are smaller in size and placed on the left of the keycaps, which is another reason the backlighting effect we saw before was not as strong given the LEDs are centrally located underneath.


Flipping the keyboard around, we see the usual sticker on the back with the product certification information on its right half. There are four small circular rubber pads on each half to raise the keyboard and prevent scratches, in addition to adding friction against the resting surface. The accessories that come with the keyboard also include a set of four rubber feet of nice height and with a lower profile than the original ones shown off at Computex, which were more aggressive. The final set is a good selection for comfort and screws in easily at each corner to give the keyboard a higher profile for those who prefer it. Depending on how you use the feet, you can also get a take on Mistel's offering of keyboard tenting, and use all four on the same half (left) if you want to only use it instead of both. There is also a set of four dip switches on the right half to toggle some pre-programmed functionality on the keyboard, which we will get to soon.


On the front facing away from the user are a total of four USB Type-C ports with two per half. The two ports closest to each other are to be used with the provided coiled cable to connect both halves, with the ports on the other ends those that go to the PC itself. So yes, you can use the left half independently if you so desire, and it makes for a decent game pad with a mouse right next to it for better ergonomics. The right half is otherwise the master unit, and you need to connect both and the right half to the PC for the entire keyboard to be functional. This second USB cable goes to an available USB Type A port on your computer, and USB 2.0 will suffice for power and data. The connectors on either end of the cable are gold-plated for oxidation resistance, and the coiled connecting cable means you have a neater solution for cable length depending on how far away you want the two halves from each other. However, as seen above, having both halves physically connectedto each other does look quite awkward.


When they first showed this keyboard off at Computex, the Mistel MD770 Barocco was slated to be available in both OEM and DSA keycap profiles. The implementation of a new keycap mold did mean that plans for the DSA profile option were affected, and all currently available retail units use the OEM profile instead. This 75% keyboard has all six rows in the usual sculpting and concave top surfaces. The provided keycap puller works well even with the cramped keys here, and we see some excellent keycaps. As mentioned before, you can also get this in white with orange legends, and either version uses thicker-than-usual PBT plastic with doubleshot injection for the orange legends. Backlighting is possible, albeit not by as much as one usually gets from an RGB backlit keyboard.


The MD770 RGB has five switch options to choose from in the form of the Cherry MX Black, Brown, Blue, Red, or Silent Red RGB, and the non-RGB version also has the MX Clear, which does not get an RGB variant from Cherry. My sample has the Cherry MX Blue RGB switches with the usual transparent housing and RGB LED underneath. The switches are installed the other way around to most, with the Cherry logo facing the right way up from the front, which is possible due to the custom PCB design. The larger keycaps use a Cherry stabilizer, which works better in mitigating that typical mushy typing experience thanks to the thick PBT keycaps, as well as the space bar key being split into two shorter halves.