GMMK PRO review: They had a custom keyboard, I bought a custom keyboard

July 8, 2021

by Christian Gillespie

After almost three years of using the same 80% keyboard, I decided that I wanted to get my first custom keyboard. I learned two things very quickly:

Without guidance, custom keyboards are very intimidating.
Preferences are a lot more varied with keyboards than they are for mice.

Instead of Googling, I did what all Zillenials do nowadays: I went to Twitter. Thankfully, a good friend of mine reached out, and I told her what I wanted: a keyboard that is an 80%, custom and sturdy. She sent me a link to the GMMK PRO, and like all responsible consumers I immediately placed a $70 reservation based purely off my friend’s one-off suggestion.

Three months of waiting later, my keyboard finally arrived.

Now, the GMMK PRO is available to purchase without a reservation. If you’re wondering whether or not this is the keyboard for you, then take a look at my in-depth review, from purchase to writing this article with the very keyboard in question.

Please note: I’m detailing the reservation experience. The GMMK Pro is now permanently in their store and available for purchase, albeit with a similar shopping experience.

Online store experience

The “GMMK” in GMMK Pro stands for Glorious Modular Mechanical Keyboard. To put it simply: it’s designed so that you can add/replace switches with tweezers instead of needing to be an electrician or soldering genius.

Glorious offers a variety of gaming accessories, one of which is the Model O, their flagship lightweight gaming mouse.

The website was very easy to navigate, however I was left a little confused on what I needed to buy. I went to the GMMK PRO tab and was greeted by two options: Black Slate and White Ice. I chose the latter, and minutes later my reservation was placed.

Unbeknownst to me, this was actually a part of the “Flex Batch.” Batch 1 was filled months prior. After watching a few people receive their keyboards after about a month, I reached out to support and they cleared things up for me. (If anyone at Glorious is reading this, Glorious Phil gave me 5-star customer service. I’m just a lazy consumer who forgot to fill out the survey.)

Once my reservation was actually approved, I was prompted to complete the reservation purchase and go through the “building” process.

Here is a list of the options it takes you through when going to purchase:

Aluminum (this is installed by default), brass or polycarbonate switch plate
Keyboard switches
Rotary knob
Custom keycaps
Coiled USB-C cord
Keyboard tools/lube

Having never purchased a keyboard before, I kept it relatively simple:

White Ice board
Kailh Silver switches
Pastel keycaps

I completed the purchase, and now I was one step closer to building my first keyboard. I just had to overcome the toughest part: waiting.

Photo credit: Christian Gillespie

Building the keyboard

I was on a trip in NYC when the package arrived at my door, so I had my buddy grab it for me before my neighbors saw it and discovered just how financially irresponsible I am.

When I returned, I decided to visit my friend and build the keyboard in his studio while he was having a jam session.

Three smaller boxes inside the delivery parcel contained the following items: my keyboard, the switches, and the keycaps.

First impression: WOW, THIS IS HEAVY.

Without any switches or keycaps installed, the GMMK PRO comes in at 3.3 lbs (or 1.5 kilograms). Having used a Razer Huntsman Mini as my main keyboard prior to this, I was blown away by just how solid this build was.

The board comes with two tools: one for pulling keycaps and one for pulling switches. These will come in handy if you accidentally bend a pin installing a switch or want to swap the keycaps.

I broke out the Kailh Silver Switches and began the task of installing them one by one. Honestly, while mildly time consuming, this was about as easy as putting together legos.

Next up came the keycaps. The keycaps came in plastic layers that were in order of where they belonged on the board, so all I needed to do was put them on the board.

After about 20 minutes, my keyboard was complete and ready to be plugged in.

Photo credit: Christian Gillespie

Testing the keyboard

After plugging the keyboard in, the LEDs whirled to life. Even with the opaque keycaps, the default rainbow waves shined through, and the LED bars on each side of the board added a nice ambience to the table.

I popped open Notepad, and I began to type out some sentences.

First: I discovered I do not like silver switches at all.

Second: My spacebar and shift key are sticking to the board.

I pulled off the keycaps, and I discovered that the stabilizers that came with the board are DROWNED in lubricant. After some research, I don’t seem to be the only one who had this issue.

It was a struggle to try to get the lubricant out of the stabilizers, and I tried to manually remove the stabilizers, but I didn’t have a screwdriver that could really get a grip on the screws (that’s on me, though).

This was more than a nuisance, and made typing/gaming pretty uncomfortable. However, after I cleaned out the lubricant, the keyboard didn’t have any other issues.

Software

I brought my laptop with me, so I plugged in and downloaded Glorious Core, their proprietary software for adjusting the lights and keybinds.

When it comes to customizing the keyboard LEDs, you can select either preset animations, or change the colors and animations per-key.

It’s not a sophisticated software, but it’s got enough packed in to satisfy most RGB enthusiasts.

Summary

Cost:

Base GMMK Pro board: $169.99 for the board,
Mechanical Switches: $34.99 - $104.99
Keycaps: $34.99 - $49.99

Build difficulty:

Unless you’re installing a new switch plate or stabilizers, even beginners will find installing switches easy.

Quality:

Although the aluminum body is nice and weighted, I was disappointed in how over-lubricated the stabilizers were.

Software:

Glorious Core is simple. It has fun presets for those who want to show off the keyboard’s full RGB range, and the per-key option allows you to customize either each key or groups of keys to your preference.

Final verdict:

At $239.97 for the cheapest board + keycaps + switches bundle, this keyboard is a perfect purchase for someone looking to build their first custom keyboard without worrying about purchasing the wrong parts or messing up the build.

If you don’t know your preferred keyboard switches, I’d recommend purchasing a switch sampler, which is both available on their website and through other sites like Amazon. It’ll allow you to figure out if you like a quick and silent keyboard, a clicky keyboard or something in between.

As for me? After swapping the Kaihl Silver switches for some Gateron Browns, I’m still not satisfied. I should take my own advice and buy that sampler.

Lead photo credit: Christian Gillespie