Closer Examination

As we saw before, the Tesoro Gram Spectrum TKL keyboard comes in a clear plastic wrap to keep it pristine and free of dust out of the box. Removing it, we get our first good look at the keyboard, and it is on the heavier side of average for even TKL keyboards, which is in no small part due to the thick steel plate frame that adds significant mass and structural integrity to the keyboard as a whole. I have the white version here, but the black version is identical in all aspects other than the color of the keyboard and keycaps. There is only a subtle monochrome Tesoro logo above the arrow-key cluster, and it is the only visible branding when the keyboard is used.

Bezels are average in size, and there is an angled edge as we get to the bottom in a similar manner as on other Tesoro keyboards I have seen in the last couple of years. Secondary legends are alongside the primary ones in the alphanumeric section. There are also some keyboard-specific secondary legends that appear below the primary ones instead, and single-legend placement is top and center, which also hints towards where the LEDs are placed underneath the keycaps. The legend typeface is fairly clean even with the seams in looped legends via the standard doubleshot-injection process, and the keyboard as a whole will fit into a variety of environments well.


Flipping the keyboard around, we see the usual certification sticker in the middle. There are four rubber pads on the corners in the back to keep the keyboard from sliding around on the desk, and two feet at the top open up sideways to optionally elevate the keyboard. These feet also have rubber pads to ensure they don't get scratched easily, which effectively adds two more rubber pads to the four corner pads when not used.


As suspected based on the removable cable we saw before, the keyboard has a micro-USB port in the right front side facing away from the user, which would ideally be a prime location to have the cable go to the PC. This port is inset to allow for a lower profile of the connector on the keyboard side. The cable needs an available Type-A USB port on your motherboard, and USB 2.0 will suffice here for power and data alike.


Looking at the keyboard from the side, we can see just how low profile it is without using low-profile switches. There is also next to no sculpting of the individual rows, allowing for an easy swap of individual keycaps if you end up re-assigning keys. Tesoro has gone for the ever-popular "floating keys" look with the Gram Spectrum TKL, and it looks good here with these low-profile keycaps. The keycaps are composed of thick PBT plastic (average wall thickness 1.33 mm) with all general legends (those not specific to this keyboard) doubleshot injected for longevity. There are some legends specific to this keyboard that appear pad printed or laser etched and will not last as long, and are also opaque as seen above. The stock keycaps are pretty good to begin with thus, definitely better than average, but note that the "non-standard" bottom row does mean low compatibility with aftermarket keycap sets.


Tesoro has a weird mix of Cherry mechanical switches, Agile mechanical switches, and optical switches in their keyboard portfolio, and perhaps they had a lot of their Agile-branded switches from the original Gram Spectrum which prompted them to bring this TKL version out. There are thus two switch options in the form of the Agile Red linear switch and the Agile Blue tactile and clicky switch. My sample has the Agile Red switch, and it is an RGB switch manufactured by Kailh to Tesoro's specifications, which is effectively an analogue to the lower travel switches we will talk about in due time. The larger keycaps use Costar stabilizers, which work better in mitigating a mushy feeling, especially with the space bar.