Since 2005 when I started hearing about and then bought my first used Model M, I've had a preference for buckling springs, despite also owning and attempting to love Cherry, vintage Alps, and Topre keyboards... But I've never been as into keyboards as some here, with their catalogued drawers full of vintage boards, and encyclopedic knowledge. In the end, the keyboard was a tool to type on, and when a keyboard makes it onto my desk I don't switch it out all that often.
When I finally got my hands on an Model M SSK 5 years ago, I figured I had found my grail, the perfect board, and I was happy with it.
But then this Model F project appeared on the web, and, feeling rich one day, I put in a preorder for an F77 remake.
2 years later, I finally got it, plugged it in, and... meh?
I was incredibly loud, yes, but with a sort of pingy loudness that I wasn't sure I liked. Also, several keys didn't work, and when I complained Ellipse told me to purchase replacement springs for my brand new keyboard, which was annoying. It felt slightly different from my Model M boards, but not in a way that seemed clearly better. Nevertheless, I fiddled with the board, seating and unseating springs, cursing it, until it started working, and then... i just kept using it.
I actually stopped thinking about it, except for the occasional times when a key went funny and I had to pull the cap, give the spring a dirty look, and reseat the cap, and it would start working again.
Pretty soon 3 years passed, and I scarcely thought about keyboards. Even my visits to keyboard enthusiast sites like this one dwindled.
But one day, I was rearranging my desk, and decided to pull out my SSK and plug it in instead of the F77.
I started typing. But something was wrong. It felt like the keys were all mushy... and the sound was dull and unsatisfying. Worse, with the mushy indistinct feel of the keys, I kept making typos. Maybe something had gone wrong with this board, so I swapped it out with my full size Model M. Same thing.
I plugged in the Model F again. Crisp, perfect key feel... the difference was night and day.
I'm so pissed at Ellipse. He's ruined keyboards for me. Now I have no choice but to use Model F keyboards for the rest of my life. Dammit.
