Hey all!
I’m new here, but not new to keebs. I purchased my first mechanical keyboard sometime around 2011 when I was desperate to find something to save my wrists writing my thesis, and wound up with a Matias, as it was one of the few pre-builds available for Macs at the time.
I just purchased a Keychron K4v2 hot-swappable with aluminum frame, got some double shot caps and Akko Lavender Purple switches, and I’m really happy with them. I thought I was a fully clicky switch person, but I’m really glad I’ve tried some tactiles. The sound and feel are really satisfying. Don’t know if I’ll ever venture so far as to build my own, but I’m glad this place is around for me to do research if I ever feel like experimenting with new switches or keycaps.
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Welcome!! So one thing you mention that I want to touch on is the perception of our own personal preferences. I cannot begin to enumerate the number of times where I have “figured out” what exactly what it is that I want. Every time - as soon as I have figured out “oh, I’m TKL guy”, “oh, I’m a heavy thoccy boi”, “oh, it turns out all I really want are light linears” - I find something else that shakes my world. This pursuit of perfection is the figurative boulder that we must all carry to the top of mount endgame, only to lose balance and inevitably start all over again.
One must imagine Sisyphus happy. 
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Welcome to KT! Glad to hear you’re very happy with your first MX based board! How did the Matias serve you over the years. Heard their prebuilts (well actually their switches TBH) have some pretty bad chattering issues, especially the earlier models like you would have. Also you Keychron would count as your first build in my book. Sure it’s hotswap & you probably tuned the switches, tuned the stabs, & threw the new switches in. Really the only differences with building a custom is the cases are bit more intricate, the plate mounting is usually a bit more sophisticated, & you are usually soldering the switches in. All in all, both builds just of different skill levels at least to me.
Anyways take a look around the many threads we have on here on pretty much every subject. Definitely a lot of info to learn if you want. Also with the members we got you see all types of boards represented, from ultra budget all the way up to the highest of high end! Well hope to see you around here in the future & if you have any questions always feel free to ask! 
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Imagining Sisyphus happy makes me happy 
I really like this whole journey concept of the pursuit of perfection. I feel like I have enough of that in my work life (I’m an academic), so I certainly don’t need that to carry over too much into my personal life/hobbies. I know for certain that I will always need a full number pad on my keyboard layouts; I do primarily data analysis for a living and just can’t live with the number row alone. Anything else I’m fully open to! I don’t think there’s really a keeb “community,” where I live, though, or else I would relish in the idea of going to a place where I could try lots of new things.
I initially got into keebs because I developed a repetitive stress injury from typing on laptop keyboards, and found numerous sources that suggested that mechs were good for ergonomics. Plus, I have sensory issues that make a lot of keyboards painful to type on, so seeking the right sound and feel are critical to me, if not vital, to make sure I can be as productive as possible.
All in all, I’m so excited to learn more and really get into this hobby as budget allows. I think I might venture into making my own accessories. My other hobbies are in knitting and ceramics, so I’m already planning on making my own deskpad and venturing into some small ceramic keycaps. I tend to be more of a maker than a consumer, so those parts of the process are exciting for me!
Hey there! I recall that the Matias served my needs, but definitely drove my colleagues nuts. Even with my own office, the acoustics carried my clacking far into the hallway and beyond. I honestly didn’t have it long. It basically carried me through writing my thesis and then got shuttered away in a closet. The mix of no wireless options and having to move across the country shortly thereafter made its tenure short-lived. I do recall the sound not being optimal (very sharp and rattley), but other than that, I really don’t remember.
I suppose I didn’t think about there being different “levels” of build, so I appreciate the perspective! I do wonder how true to life the sound test videos are that I’ve been watching to figure out the ideal combinations; it’s hard for me to really identify their accuracy given that everyone’s sound tuning and preferences are so different. For me, I guess I’m trying to return to the typewriter days when I was first learning to type and how satisfying it was to accurately put words to paper (I was, I think, the last generation to learn to type on a typewriter; the ones that displayed two lines on a small LCD screen before printing). So far, I seem to be seeking deeper sounds with smooth, tactile feel, and that’s about as far as I’ve gotten! I bought a wrist rest and am now working with a kitchen towel folded under my keyboard, which has really helped bring me closer to the nostalgic feel I remember.
Anyway, thanks for the warm welcome!
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