Max Blackbird

[SacredChili]

I just discovered this keyboard and it looks totally sick! Has the mx browns which I am looking for and it looks like it has an overall nice build quality. I think it is fairly new (1-2 months), but I wanted to get some insight on the overall quality of the product. Looking to upgrade and could potentially see this as an option. How does this compare to other high end keyboards like the quickfire tk, ducky shine, k70, and filco products?

[ygohome]

Just ordered a blackbird with blue backlight and brown switches tonight.  Should arrive within a week.  I'll post up a quick review and photos after it arrives.  

[ygohome]

My dad's Max Blackbird (brown switches) arrived today.    I've only used it myself for about 10 minutes.    I wont be typing a review just yet since I've not had much time to spend with it.   But first impressions are good.  No real big complaints.  Feels very comfortable to type.

 

 

Here are a few photos.  Sorry for out of focus on some.  I did the best I could with my phone camera.

 

 

 

 

Cons are a bit subjective, so here are a few "observances":

 

-Some letters, number, symbols, etc that have a closed loop (such as O, 0, p, a, B, 9,...) they have tiny line traces connecting the closed loops.  So the number 0 kindof looks like ()  .   Look over the photos to better understand what I mean.  I'm not sure why that is, but it may have to do with the process they use for the double shot molds.  Still looks really nice to me though.  If my dad comes asking me where the 0 key is I'm going to laugh.

 

-The caps-lock LED light.  It is directly above the HOME key and below the SCROLL LOCK key.  The LEDs placement hides it behind the HOME key and mostly hidden from view when sitting away from the keyboard in a normal typing position.   You can see in the closeup photo I took of the HOME/END/PGUP/PGDN keys that it is completely hidden.  I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is to my dad.  He likes/needs to see when his CAPs key is enabled.

 

- Backlight Sleep Mode.  You can set it to 5 - 15 - 30 minutes before entering sleep mode... or just leave it lit all the time without sleeping, which is how we have it set.  To wake from sleep mode though requires pressing FN + INSERT key combo.  It would have been nicer if it would wake by simply typing anything instead of having to press a specific key combo.  Not a big deal though.

 

 

Pros:

 

The Pros are obvious.  Looks good, feels good, quality appears to be top notch.   You can see that the keys have a nice little texture to them.  Also, Space bar actuates from the ends as well as it does when hitting it dead center.  What else can I say?  

[SacredChili]

yeah man it looks like a really nice mechanical keyboard. I have the same monitor btw :3, I love it. Also I still haven't picked out which keyboard im going to get, I still need to decide lol. But so far it looks like this one is a nice option.

[ygohome]

Installed the WASD "0.2mm Reduction - Red"  40A-L   o-ring spacers.  But they are pricey compared to the rings you can find elsewhere.

 

Also got the WASD keycap puller (the wire one).

 

Dad says he likes the keyboard even more now with the o-rings.  The 40A is softest grade o-ring available.  And the 0.2mm reduction (the L in 40A-L name) is the lowest profile o-ring size available.  We considered these points before buying from WASD.  Other places are selling o-rings at much lower price but they were also a much higher hardness rating, sometimes as high as 70A.

 

These were super easy to install and doesn't take as long as I thought it would... maybe 30 minutes total.   When installing I just barely put the o-ring onto each keycap stem.  Then, when putting the keycap back on the switch I pushed down hard.  This spaced the keycap just right with the oring spacer.  There is still some nice key noise but it feels alot better now with the muted thump when bottoming out on the rings instead of bottoming out on the board

 

The wire WASD keycap puller worked well.  I didn't need it for the top row function keys, but used it for most of the others where I couldn't get my fingers to grip the keycaps.   To pull up the spacebar using the wire puller, I just lightly pulled up on one side first, then the other until it was removed from all three of it's stems.  This is where the keycap puller from Corsair or CM is probably better since they can grip the center of a long spacebar...  while the wire WASD style puller can't grip the center of a long spacebar key, forcing me to work each end of the spacebar slowly instead of from the center.  THe advantage of the wire puller is that it might not scratch the sides of the keycap as much as those other plastic pullers would, which is why I bought the wired puller.  I didnt want to harm my dad's new double shot keycaps.

 

I recommend the WASD o-rings, mostly because of their 40A hardness rating.  They shipped super fast too.

[ygohome]

Sadly this keyboard quit working today.  We ordered it on Jan 14, 2014.  It is outside of the 1 yr warranty.  I've written Max Keyboards (Mfr) to see if they can help diagnose the problem.  Waiting to hear back from them as I just sent that email few minutes ago:

 

Hi,

Our Blackbird TKL suddenly quit working today.  We purchased it new online from Amazon seller "ErgoGeek" on January 14, 2014.  

I'm wondering if you can help us diagnose the problem.  It doesn't light up or anything and none of the keypresses are registering.  I have been using it with a 2009 Macbook Pro 17" laptop via the laptop USB port.  

When I plug in the USB cable the keyboard CAPSLOCK LED blinks on for a brief moment then stays off again.  I've tested it with all of it's USB port and also on another computer and same issue.  I've also tried plugging it into a powered USB hub with same results.  

I don't believe it is failing from a lack of power since I've been using this keyboard with this Macbook for over a year (all of the laptop usb ports worked for it previously) and it is still failing with a powered USB hub.

Is there anything I can do to revive the keyboard?  Seems a shame for it to die so early.  Also note I've never spilled anything on the keyboard or treated it recklessly.  It looks brand new and stays on my desk all of the time.

If it is not covered under a warranty anymore maybe I should just open it up and see if a solder joint is bad?  Or what would you suggest?  I've loved this keyboard but it is not loving me back!

Thanks,

Ben

 

My dad's Max Blackbird (brown switches) arrived today.    I've only used it myself for about 10 minutes.    I wont be typing a review just yet since I've not had much time to spend with it.   But first impressions are good.  No real big complaints.  Feels very comfortable to type.

 

 

Here are a few photos.  Sorry for out of focus on some.  I did the best I could with my phone camera.

 

 

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Cons are a bit subjective, so here are a few "observances":

 

-Some letters, number, symbols, etc that have a closed loop (such as O, 0, p, a, B, 9,...) they have tiny line traces connecting the closed loops.  So the number 0 kindof looks like ()  .   Look over the photos to better understand what I mean.  I'm not sure why that is, but it may have to do with the process they use for the double shot molds.  Still looks really nice to me though.  If my dad comes asking me where the 0 key is I'm going to laugh.

 

-The rear legs do not have rubber feet.  It doesn't affect my dad as he is not a heavy handed typer, and definitely does not game.  In the short time I used it (10 minutes) it didn't slide on me either.  But the keyboard may slide a little if you are in an intense game battle.   A possible solution would be to fold the legs down (easy solution!), or brush/dab a little bit of liquid electrical tape onto the base of the feet and let that dry.   That will give the feet the rubber grip on the desk.  I don't think my dad will need that though. 

 

-The caps-lock LED light.  It is directly above the HOME key and below the SCROLL LOCK key.  The LEDs placement hides it behind the HOME key and mostly hidden from view when sitting away from the keyboard in a normal typing position.   You can see in the closeup photo I took of the HOME/END/PGUP/PGDN keys that it is completely hidden.  I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is to my dad.  He likes/needs to see when his CAPs key is enabled.

 

- Backlight Sleep Mode.  You can set it to 5 - 15 - 30 minutes before entering sleep mode... or just leave it lit all the time without sleeping, which is how we have it set.  To wake from sleep mode though requires pressing FN + INSERT key combo.  It would have been nicer if it would wake by simply typing anything instead of having to press a specific key combo.  Not a big deal though.

 

 

Pros:

 

The Pros are obvious.  Looks good, feels good, quality appears to be top notch.   You can see that the keys have a nice little texture to them.  Also, Space bar actuates from the ends as well as it does when hitting it dead center.  What else can I say?  

[vembutech]

http://www.maxkeyboard.com/max-keyboard-blackbird-tenkeyless-tkl-cherry-mx-backlit-mechanical-keyboard.html

[ygohome]

They replied the same day.  Kent from Max Keyboards wrote me back in a nice letter.  

 

Dear Ben

 

Thank you for contact us and we are sorry to hear there is an issue.

 

We will recommend to ship the keyboard back to us for diagnose and repair, please just pack keyboard and ship to:

Max Keyboard

...

...

 

Diagnose will be free of charge, repair fee depend on the condition and material used (most of  time is free of charge too), but there will be $14 shipping cost.

Thank you.

 

Best Regards,

 

Kent Chang

MaxKeyboard

 

I'll send it out and see what they say after the diagnoses.

[ygohome]

We received the keyboard back from Max Keyboards after sending it to them for the repairs mentioned above.    It is fully working again.  They said that there was nothing they had to fix because it was working when the got it.

 

 

Our engineer has checked your keyboard and it is fully working when arrived, keyboard has been tested two days with multiple OS and confirmed functional.  We suspect there may be very small amount of liquid has been dropped into keyboard and cause temporary shortage, when keyboard arrive our facility it has been dried and keyboard back to work.

 

Although I'm over 99.99 percent sure that there has never been any liquid on the keyboard, I'm very happy to have it back in working order.  I'm a beginner with learning basic electronics (I've been a software engineer all of my adult life), and if it shorts again I'll see if I can diagnose the short.  Maybe it is a poor solder on a pin someplace.  But I'm hopeful that it will never short out again.

 

*edit:  I can tell that they did look over the innards of the keyboard because it has a new "void if removed" sticker on one of the screw holes under the keyboard.  I took photo before sending to them for this reason.  Also, some of the keycaps were not fully pressed onto the stems which means they removed most of the keycaps during their diagnoses.  That made me feel better knowing they took the time to disassemble it and reassemble it in their testing (and the reassembly was well done... looks new, just as it did when I sent to them).

 

Thanks