Matias Tactile Pro 4 review (Matias Clicky switch)

[Chyros]

Today, we finally have a look at a Matias keyboard! Hope you enjoy the video!

We're almost at the end of a whole year of weekly keyboard reviews... Well technically I had done reviews before that as well, but a review a week was my plan for this year. I should have enough keyboards to last until the end of the year, too. That said, I might be able to continue on for a while as long as I keep finding keyboards to review... and if you guys still enjoy the videos, of course! So the plans for the future aren't set in stone yet, I'm still thinking of what to do next year, but for the rest of this year at least, I'll keep doing weekly videos .

[E3E]

I've mentioned it on youtube, but really, the case would so much better if it were textured and semi-matte. It's a shame that it's glaringly glossy like that.

[amospalla]

Great review, again.

Owning the quiet mini I've always wondered how approximate the idea of "cut the sound of a matias tactile switch and you get a matias quiet switch" is. I really really like the quiet one which delivers a pleasant tactile feedback but without the sound.

[scottc]

Nice review. I've been meaning to try the clicky Matias out, I've got boards with their linear and tactile switches and enjoy them. Could you take this to the London meetup for me to have a go on please?

[Chyros]

Nice review. I've been meaning to try the clicky Maria's out, I've got boards with their linear and tactile switches and enjoy them. Could you take this to the London meetup for me to have a go on please?

Hahaha surely someone else would be carrying a Matias, wouldn't you rather see a rarer board?

[emdude]

Great review, as always.

I still want to try Matias switches at some point so it's good to hear that they are pretty solid.

[Elrick]

Great review, as always.

I still want to try Matias switches at some point so it's good to hear that they are pretty solid.

Agreed, just placed an order for one as well.

Looking forward to trying out a Matias Keyboard (Tactile) as well .

[scottc]

Nice review. I've been meaning to try the clicky Matias out, I've got boards with their linear and tactile switches and enjoy them. Could you take this to the London meetup for me to have a go on please?

Hahaha surely someone else would be carrying a Matias, wouldn't you rather see a rarer board?

You're right... I was just being selfish and thinking of stuff I wanted to try to figure out if I wanted to buy it.

[Wodan]

If you want to make a keyboard look good against a Cherry MX keyboard in a paid review, at least pick a Cherry MX keyboard that has a similair age and build quality. Running this up against a half-yellowed G80 from the 90 (just assuming, might be newer ... ?) feel a little unclean to me especially in a paid review.

Cherry MX Blue switches age very badly. The whole mechanism of MX switches requires the switch-plate to be "bent open" while the switch is not pressed. This will "wear out" the tactility/clickyness of a MX blue switch - and most likely also add to the impression of smoothness on older MX switches. I desoldered three G80s worth of MX Blues and couldn't get a 60% keyboard worth of well-clicking switches out of the bunch. My Pok3r with MX Blues feels light years better than any of the old/vintage blues I've touched.

[andrewjoy]

The gloss is the one thing that spoils it . And hey i quite like the italic font on older apple boards !

Regarding comparison to cherry. If you pick a board of similar age to that Matias it would be even worse , cherry quality control and switch smoothness are terrible now.

I think putting it against an older cherry is generous , against a modern one its not even a comparison , matias wins hands down.

I do agree blues ages terribly , i have a macro bar i got for cheap to try vintage blues are they are indeed terrible, absolutely horrid.

VIntage blacks or even old / new old stock blacks are fine , they are nice.

[Chyros]

If you want to make a keyboard look good against a Cherry MX keyboard in a paid review, at least pick a Cherry MX keyboard that has a similair age and build quality. Running this up against a half-yellowed G80 from the 90 (just assuming, might be newer ... ?) feel a little unclean to me especially in a paid review.

Cherry MX Blue switches age very badly. The whole mechanism of MX switches requires the switch-plate to be "bent open" while the switch is not pressed. This will "wear out" the tactility/clickyness of a MX blue switch - and most likely also add to the impression of smoothness on older MX switches. I desoldered three G80s worth of MX Blues and couldn't get a 60% keyboard worth of well-clicking switches out of the bunch. My Pok3r with MX Blues feels light years better than any of the old/vintage blues I've touched.

It's from 2001. I would've used a newer one if I had one, but as Andy said I'm arguably doing the Cherry a favour with it.

[Wodan]

Hard to argue that modern day Cherry made MX switches don't feel smooth but I have yet to see any issues with their QC or how that affects quality.

The MX Blues were criticized for lacking tactility - something that happens to old MX Blues an is a whole different thing with newer MX Blues. I have a few years old Filco fullsize with MX Blues and a Pok3r with very new MX Blues and both feel nice and snappy. Much more tactility than MX Browns (got a Shine 3 with MX Browns) but not as ... "Blue" as Gateron Blues if you want to make them look bad.

A good Cherry board to compare the Matias to would be a Filco - correct my if I'm wrong but they have a similair build quality, price and target audience.

It's from 2001. I would've used a newer one if I had one, but as Andy said I'm arguably doing the Cherry a favour with it.

Maybe take a step back from you "everything Cherry makes these days suck" crusade and actually look at modern Cherry boards. It's not as simple as that, they still make some great switches and the lack of smoothness is something that doesn't bother many casual mechanical keyboard users and is nothing more but a personal preference.

[andrewjoy]

filco are good , if you have decent switches in them

[lemur]

That said, I might be able to continue on for a while as long as I keep finding keyboards to review... and if you guys still enjoy the videos, of course!.

They're enjoyable, keep doing them!

[Ray]

Quite informing video as always.
Did you not talk about the key-wobble because you didn't see an issue with it, or because you forgot to mention it?

[davkol]

derp

[Chyros]

Quite informing video as always.
Did you not talk about the key-wobble because you didn't see an issue with it, or because you forgot to mention it?

I deliberately left it out because I knew people would misinterpret it.

I've found that as soon as you mention the word "wobble" people don't even listen anymore, they just go "well it's crap then". The truth is that in a good switch wobble is not a disadvantage, and can actually work as an advantage.

Space Invaders are an excellent example. They are the most stable switches I know, because the slider is boxed in and retained by the switch housing extremely well. The disadvantage is that this causes a lot of opportunity for friction, and as soon as the switches get even a little bit of dirt or something in them, they cause terrible binding on off-centre keypresses - I've found these switches don't react very well to dirt at all. A wobbly switch, if done well, could've compensated for this because of the looser tolerances. So unless the wobble works as a disadvantage - which I didn't find to be the case in the Matias - I won't mention it anymore.

[zslane]

In a good switch, a bit of wobble is simply a non-issue, even when not providing any sort of mechanical advantage per se.

Case in point: wobble is the number one reason Topre fans look down on MX-compatible sliders. In my experience, the amount of wobble in such switches is only slightly more than in the wobble in a standard Topre switch, but even that small amount is enough to elicit all the usual contempt.

[Elrick]

In a good switch, a bit of wobble is simply a non-issue, even when not providing any sort of mechanical advantage per se.

Funny how these so-called keyboard 'nerds' all get antsy about a simple key-switch wobble, yet when they see any well-endowed female walk down the street with that familiar 'wobble' it causes absolute mayhem and astonishment.

Should we all BAN that 'wobble' everywhere in Life, I think not people. Just enjoy it every time you see it .

[Wodan]

Hard to argue that modern day Cherry made MX switches don't feel smooth but I have yet to see any issues with their QC or how that affects quality.

Like this?

Some of them don't click at all, or at least sound muted. It's been repeatedly discussed around here.

I can only talk about my own experience and I have several old MX blue boards and two new (2014-2015) MX blue boards. The old MX blue boards behave exactly like in the links you describe. Many switches don't click and the ones that do aren't very crisp. It's a whole different game with the two new MX Blue boards I have which have no duds and crisp & clean clicks.

They're not as satisfying as Gateron Blues though, still a _LOT_ better than what we see in that video. I'm sorry but to me it feels a lot like Matias got exactly what they wanted - a knockout victory against their dominant competitor. And I don't believe things are that simple ...

Next time a Matias switch is up for review I would love to see a comparison to a competitor board in the same condition and price range.


Edit:
This would have made a MUCH better comparison for the Matias Clicky switch:
review-f45/cheap-chinese-cherry-knockof ... 4425.htmlb

Blue Gaterons are my personal #1 Clicky MX switch, 1/3rd the price of the Matias board.

[seebart]

In a good switch, a bit of wobble is simply a non-issue, even when not providing any sort of mechanical advantage per se.

Funny how these so-called keyboard 'nerds' all get antsy about a simple key-switch wobble, yet when they see any well-endowed female walk down the street with that familiar 'wobble' it causes absolute mayhem and astonishment.

Should we all BAN that 'wobble' everywhere in Life, I think not people. Just enjoy it every time you see it .

That's a completely different wobble!

On a serious note:

I could see where someone may actually like wobble on the keycaps, nothing wrong with that. The fact that the Matias Clicky switch is based on Alps SKCM and Alps have very little wobble is what really threw me off when I tested the Matias Ergo. I expected a "modern" Alps SKCM and that's not the case. It's still a good switch but I expected Matias to be more like Alps SKCM.

[Wodan]

(Warning, NSFW)

So how much wobble do Matias switches have on a range from

Spoiler:

to this :

Spoiler:

[seebart]

(Warning, NSFW)So how much wobble do Matias switches have on a range from

Not that much!

[Chyros]

Hard to argue that modern day Cherry made MX switches don't feel smooth but I have yet to see any issues with their QC or how that affects quality.

Like this?

Some of them don't click at all, or at least sound muted. It's been repeatedly discussed around here.

I can only talk about my own experience and I have several old MX blue boards and two new (2014-2015) MX blue boards. The old MX blue boards behave exactly like in the links you describe. Many switches don't click and the ones that do aren't very crisp. It's a whole different game with the two new MX Blue boards I have which have no duds and crisp & clean clicks.

They're not as satisfying as Gateron Blues though, still a _LOT_ better than what we see in that video. I'm sorry but to me it feels a lot like Matias got exactly what they wanted - a knockout victory against their dominant competitor. And I don't believe things are that simple ...

Next time a Matias switch is up for review I would love to see a comparison to a competitor board in the same condition and price range.


Edit:
This would have made a MUCH better comparison for the Matias Clicky switch:
review-f45/cheap-chinese-cherry-knockof ... 4425.htmlb

Blue Gaterons are my personal #1 Clicky MX switch, 1/3rd the price of the Matias board.

Why in God's name would I compare a cheap knockoff gaming keyboard to a premium typing keyboard, it makes no sense!

[Wodan]

Why in God's name would I compare a cheap knockoff gaming keyboard to a premium typing keyboard, it makes no sense!

Same reason you compare a 15 year old PCB mount recycler find to a premium typing keyboard ...

[Chyros]

Why in God's name would I compare a cheap knockoff gaming keyboard to a premium typing keyboard, it makes no sense!

Same reason you compare a 15 year old PCB mount recycler find to a premium typing keyboard ...

I tend to compare either switches from the same family or keyboards that are in competition with eachother, I'd argue they are neither :p .

[just_add_coffee]

Thank you for doing these videos, Chyros! I've enjoyed them and have learned a lot, but I'm still laughing from the review of the IBM PC jr. chiclet-key that I watched this morning (feels like it was made out of used condoms).

If you ever wanted to also review movies, restaurants, web sites, etc., I'll be there!

[Chyros]

Thank you for doing these videos, Chyros! I've enjoyed them and have learned a lot, but I'm still laughing from the review of the IBM PC jr. chiclet-key that I watched this morning (feels like it was made out of used condoms).

If you ever wanted to also review movies, restaurants, web sites, etc., I'll be there!

Haha thanks mate; who knows, I like reviewing stuff xD . I'd be reviewing DOS video games too if others haven't been doing that for ages :p .

[Elrick]

If you ever wanted to also review movies, restaurants, web sites, etc., I'll be there!

Please do "Restaurants" because it's always hard to find a decent one when taking the Mrs out, we always end up somewhere sleazy and disgusting .

[belowgeek]

First of all, I actually like your deep voice.xD It is quite soothing to listen to and you always go straight to the point without that added gibberish that other reviewers tend to add to their reviews.

Anyway, I actually like the keyboard for its simplistic looks and the sound of it is much better than the Cherry MX Blues. Probably, the only thing that I do not like about it is that glossy finish. But other than that, the keyboard is actually quite good. Thanks for the review and comparison mate!