Driver

There is no dedicated software driver support for the Tesoro Gram MX ONE keyboard—all functionality is hardware based. As such, I have chosen to combine the Driver and Performance pages into one. There is a firmware updater available on the product page, however. It is an executable file that recognizes the keyboard if connected and with outdated firmware, and I highly recommend everyone check on whether their keyboard has the latest firmware to then update it if not. My sample had the latest firmware already, which makes sense given it shipped out shortly after launch and not much time has passed since.

Performance

The Tesoro Gram MX ONE keyboard supports N-key rollover USB out of the box, which tested successfully using Aqua's test. In case your unit is in native 6KRO, hit Fn + Del to switch over to NKRO (Fn + Ins goes to 6KRO mode). Switch Hitter confirmed no chatter with these keys.


When first connected, the keyboard lights up in a static blue color for all the keys at maximum brightness. I suggest going through the manual to learn more about the onboard controls for lighting, be it static or dynamic. Fn + Up/Down arrow keys control the brightness of the LEDs, and they are quite bright at maximum brightness, so you may want to turn them down if working in a dimly lit environment. Different lighting effects, including static and dynamic effects, can be initiated and toggled though using Fn + Left/Right arrow keys, and the speed as well as direction of said effects can be changed using Fn + F9/F10 and F11/F12 respectively.

Here is a look at some of the available lighting effects, including a wave, spiral, and rain mode. The single color LEDs, which are quite bright too, provide for an impressive light show combined with effective transitions and no flickering. The white keyboard will presumably appear brighter than the black variant because of the higher degree of light reflection.


Tesoro also has a fair amount of customization available via onboard controls, and these options are described in the quick start guide in detail. For example, we know how to select one of five available profiles, which do not add anything new out of the box, but allow you to do macro recording and assignment on these profiles. You can also associate per-key backlighting with static and dynamic lighting, which would help quickly identify the profile you are on. So, this would be the way to do it if, say, you have a game in mind and want specific keys with associated macros on those keys lit up without worrying about breaking the default functionality of the keyboard since you can just keep the default profile as is.


There are two switch options for the Gram MX ONE. However, it will only be available with the Cherry MX Brown switch for the time being since the MX Blue switch variant is coming later. The Cherry MX Brown is one of the most popular mechanical switches of all time, and one many readers may have already tried out. It is classified as a low-medium weight tactile switch rated at an operating force of 55 cN with a tactile peak force of ~45 cN and an actuation force closer to 40 cN at 2.0 mm (=/- 0.1 mm), and a total travel distance of 4.0 mm. The Cherry MX Brown is not very tactile in my opinion, and I personally prefer a more pronounced tactile bump. For most people, however, this can be a great switch to do it all, especially since it can be quiet if you don't bottom out.


As always, the sound of a keyboard is based on more than just the switch type. So when comparing sound clips, consider the keyboard as a whole. In this case, I have provided above an example sound clip of me typing on the Tesoro Gram MX ONE sample at ~115 WPM as it comes out of the box. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with tactile switches. I did bottom out, which is not hard to do given the relatively light spring, but touch typing is definitely possible via the tactile feedback in these switches.