UK Matias Tactile Pro for PC

The keyboard was brought as a present for my son. He said it is amazing. Well made, great quality. Arrived very quickly. Would recommend.

Very good for typing if you like tactile switches that also make quite a bit of sound (like me). Research types of mechanical switches inside keyboards before you buy any high end keyboard.

I'm a keyboard enthusiast. I collect modern and vintage keyboards, and I've found the old ones to be much better in terms of build quality and typing experience. I wanted to try out this keyboard for a long time, and decided to wait for the Black Friday deal (£71! What a steal!). I am extremely happy with this keyboard, and can't stop typing on it - it's just so fun!Matias have updated and improved the simplified Alps design of the 90s with the "Matias Click" switches, which are much more durable than their original Alps counterparts. The switch weighting is lighter, but the tactile click is sharper, hence the name. There is absolutely no contest between Matias switches and the ubiquitous Cherry MX switches - Matias switches sound deeper, fuller and feel much better to type on. Cherry MX Blues are notoriously high-pitched and annoying, providing a rattly "click" and plasticky noise.The keyboard itself looks and feels good. It feels reassuringly hefty, with a fairly dense plastic case that doesn't make much noise when knocking on it. I really like the case design - the bezels have soft angles, and the entire case is a glossy black plastic that hates dirt, dust and fingerprints. I actually like this shiny plastic, although others may not. There is a metal plate which the switches are mounted into, to provide rigidity and a better typing noise. The keycaps also contribute to this, as they are thin ABS, which helps to bring out the sound more. I'm a fan of the way they look and feel, although this is personal preference. The keycap have been laser-etched to provide sharp, white legends that will never wear off.The closest alternative to this keyboard is a Unicomp keyboard, with the classic buckling spring design. Compared to the Unicomp Ultra Classic I used to own, the key feel isn't quite as refined, and the keycaps aren't as good, but I'd much rather use the Matias over the Unicomp. The overall quality of the Matias is better than the Unicomp, and I prefer the sleek, modern looks and extra functionality over the Unicomp. Matias have improved upon the Alps design, whereas Unicomp are still using aged tooling to produce keyboards that don't hold up to their vintage IBM counterparts.Unless you are willing to buy a brand new Model F keyboard from modelfkeyboards.com (3x the price), there isn't anything you can buy brand new that will beat this keyboard in terms of typing feel, sound and overall quality. It is absolutely fantastic.

I bought this from the Keyboard Company and got a fantastic Black Friday deal but having used it for a week I would have paid the full price. In the past I have had:- Blue Cherry MX (Cherry G80): rubbish, click is too tinny/wimpy and tactile bump is too soft, yet it still manages to be noisy. The actual keyboard build quality for the G80 is dreadful, I was thinking about putting lead shot in it to weight it down before it fell apart on me.- Brown Cherry MX (Filco Majestouch II): I got this (Filco) because I worked in a noise sensitive office, with o-rings it's OK but the lack of click and indistinct bump means more errors, at least for me. Fantastic keyboard build quality, if they put it out in a better switch I will probably buy one.- Buckling spring (1989 IBM Model M) - I got one of these with a IBM PS/2 Model 30 for £50 (v. lucky) and it's obviously great for typing and I used it at home for a bit but it's too big and no Windows keys (hate using caps/scroll lock). Just a collector's item for me really.If I didn't see this Matias at a bargain price I might have gone for a Unicomp but from what I've heard the keyboard build quality and finish is not that great. Very glad I got a chance to try the Matias.I highly recommend the Matias Tactile Pro, to me the switch feel is almost on a par with the Model M (just a little bit more rattly), and the keyboard build quality is excellent, good weight and just a tiny amount of flex across the unit. The Filco is just slightly better built but not by much.