The new Glorious GMMK Pro is a fine entry point… But not without effort and work
Tags: Keyboard, DIY, Mechanical Keyboards, Gaming

I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting, but when you remove the GMMK Pro from its protective packing sleeve, it’s pretty much ready to go.

All you need to do is put in your switches, and mount some keycaps. Unlike their first GMMK line that only accepts 3 pin switches for their hot swap boards, the GMMK Pro is ready for 5 pin. Excellent change here — Those who are intending to explore more of the hobby are no longer limited to switches, or needing to clip legs off expensive switches that may be repurposed for a different board.

On stream, I went with Gateron Robins, and the chat wanted to see Dazon’s Strawberry Lemonade. I don’t have a photo of this, but let me share my thoughts on this first iteration of the stock and out-of-box experience:

This thing is HEAVY af. I am indifferent to board weights, but I think for what this keyboard was trying to achieve (a premium experience), I guess it’s fitting

Gateron Robins are not the right choice for the GMMK Pro, especially stock. It was my first time using those switches, and they are not great. I recommend using another switch, especially ones that have transparent or clear housing so that the RGB can shine here

The GMMK Pro stock sounded hollow and definitely called for foam

There was some pinging, but it didn’t feel like it was coming from the switches. It was a part of the sound acoustics with the metal parts

The stabs were okay, but I don’t think them being prelubed made any sort of impact

My daily driver is an Ergodox EZ, and periodically I use a TKC1800, Massdrop Laser ALT high-profile, or a C3Equalz Portico. Out of all of the keyboards, the feel and sound of the GMMK Pro was the least impressive.

As a Canadian, who spent:

$215 on the GMMK Pro barebone

$25 on the GMMK Pro polycarbonate plate

$12.50 on an extra gold knob

$35 on shipping

$40 getting the thing into the country

…. I was pretty determined to get this thing to my liking.

Let’s open up the GMMK Pro and make this thing work for us

Now here’s where I started getting frustrated.

First thing is first: I think Glorious did a great job on their assembly video:

How to disassemble your GMMK Pro (Video by Glorious)

Confession: I had SUCH a hard time removing the screws from the case. They were SO tight, I sweated, and I needed help to get the screws out. I wrestled with this thing for a good 30 minutes trying to unscrew the screws.

Upon opening up the top case from the bottom — I was shocked that there was actually foam in this thing! However, I don’t think it’s the ideal material, so I would have liked to see a bit more research go into different materials as well as fit tolerances to make an impact on the acoustics.

Lo and behold, there is foam! Also pictured is the power connector to the daughterboard. May be intimidating to newcomers but you’ll be OK

I wanted to make a few changes to the board. Initially my intention was to add some simple foam from some keysets I had but I skipped this. I wanted to use the polycarbonate plate, Durock V2 stabs, and I decided on using KTT Roses to showcase the RGB in the board.

A look at the Polycarbonate Plate for the GMMK Pro. note the plate uses its own screws, so store the stock screws someplace you won’t lose them.

Taking apart the plate and PCB assembly was pretty straight forward: there are two different types of screws, however. I also found that there are different screws altogether for the polycarbonate plate. I don’t know how I feel about the pointed screws and how they’d affect the tolerance and hold over time and use, but seeing that it is a cheaper material, I am willing to let that one go.

I heard that Durocks stabs are unusable on the stock aluminum plate. This is accurate. If you are planning on using Durocks stabs with the stock plate, be prepared to alter the plate yourself. I heard that the Durock stabs work with the Polycarbonate plate, and technically this is true, but definitely not without some flexing and fight.