The Tesoro GRAM SE Spectrum is a solid keyboard that could have been more, and this really sums up the product in a single sentence. It is a good thing then that Tesoro priced it accordingly, and at $120, it comes in with a feature set that makes it a worthy contender in the price range. With keyboards such as these, the most important thing is how well they work followed by how good the switches feel. The GRAM SE Spectrum does both very well. With both extensive onboard and software driver controls, you can reassign the keyboard to fit your specific layout. QWERTY not your style? Go program this for Dvorak or Colemak instead then and simply swap around the keycaps. Want media controls and have no plans to use the Fn key row otherwise? Sure, go for it. You can also make these changes for specific software profiles you then associate with applications wherein these are handy, while leaving the default PC mode for everything else.

The Tesoro-Gateron collaboration bore sweet fruits here too, with some excellent linear switches across the board, and if the replacement blue switches here are anything to go by (as with those on their Excalibur SE Spectrum sample from earlier), they have some really good optical switches here. The easily removable nature of these switches means you can customize your keyboard accordingly, but Tesoro is not selling the switches separately still, so you will have to make do with the four that come with the keyboard only.

Perhaps the biggest pitfall in the path to success is with the software driver, which really needs an overhaul. It is stable, lightweight, and feature-rich, but the user experience is simply not to par with their competition in this price range. The same word is used for multiple lighting effects is one particularly egregious example, but Tesoro did tell me that they are aware of the sub-optimal experience and already have plans for an improved driver in 2018. As such, I am hopeful, but also note that it does nothing to affect this particular review.

At the current price point, I feel the GRAM SE Spectrum from Tesoro is a worthwhile compromise for consideration, and I recommend it mostly for the switches and typing experience, which is first and foremost for a keyboard. If you find it on sale, even better. Consider also their own Excalibur SE Spectrum that comes with the same switch options and most of the same functionality, but at a lower price and also a few more compromises.