FAKE Mechanical Keyboard FEELS Real! - S#!t Manufacturers Say
Linus Tech Tips
·Linus Tech Tips
·2019-05-06
·
1,663 words · ~8 min read
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Cooler Master sent this over,
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not because they're expecting me to review it.
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I specifically told them I wasn't going to.
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We don't really do keyboard reviews anymore,
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but because they just really wanted me to try it.
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Well, I mean, it's a cheap keyboard mouse gaming combo set.
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These are kind of a dime a dozen these days.
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What are you really expecting?
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And they were like, no.
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This is a direct quote from Cooler Master's marketing.
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We created a keyboard that mirrors
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the highly popular mechanical Cherry MX Blue switches,
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and we made it affordable while maintaining functionality.
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We successfully pulled this off
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with the satisfying clicky feature
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on our new Mem-chanical switches.
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But could a membrane keyboard really replicate
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the feel of a mechanical one?
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Let's find out on this episode of Manufacturer's Say.
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Brought to you by Thermaltake.
0:59
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1:01
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1:04
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1:06
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1:21
So you're definitely blind.
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Follow the sound of my voice.
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Boop, boop, boop, left, left, left a little bit.
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Boop, boop, boop, boop.
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Watch your head.
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Towards me, towards me, towards me.
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There we go.
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Okay, step, step high.
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I mean, you're stepping over a cord,
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so it's a little overkill, but.
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Now, I'm gonna form my own impression,
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and I've worked a lot with a lot of people
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who've been trying to perfect their work.
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I've been getting submissions here.
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But, I wanted to bring in someone
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who's an even bigger keyboard dork than me
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to evaluate this.
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So, I think I've run you through the premise.
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Someone has created a keyboard that they claim
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at least closely imitates the feel of a Cherry MX Blue.
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Okay.
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Now, as a warmup,
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I'm gonna put something random in front of you.
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There's your home row there, buddy.
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Somewhere.
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Browns?
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Close enough.
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Technically it is a razor orange.
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Oh, okay, yeah, yeah.
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But yes, essentially, yeah.
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Okay, good.
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How do we make this random enough?
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Hold on, I'd like to read you some more
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of the marketing first, if I can.
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Is that okay?
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You good?
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I'm fine.
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Okay, you having fun yet?
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It's just very face sweaty
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because there's nowhere for my breath to go.
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Oh, that sounds very unpleasant.
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I'm glad I'm not experiencing it.
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Satisfying clicky feature, great price,
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full RGB and free mouse.
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So with a mouse, with a full RGB backlight,
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this thing is like 75 US dollars.
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Okay.
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50 million key stroke durability.
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So they claim there is no compromise there.
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Specially designed tactile and clicky switches,
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similar to those found on professional level
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mechanical keyboards.
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It's fine-tuned to help you win all your battles.
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Oh, okay.
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You can win all your battles.
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I would like to see, like they should have to prove that.
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That you can win.
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Like increases your win rate.
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So I'll tell you how they do it later,
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but let's get you to try one of them.
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So don't take your fingers off the home row.
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I will consider that to be cheating.
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Oh, okay.
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Okay.
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Why?
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I don't know any of these things.
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What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna have Brandon pick
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which keyboard I am going to put in front of him.
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Okay.
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Okay, don't touch it yet.
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Don't touch it yet.
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Okay, hold on.
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Don't touch it yet.
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I didn't.
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Here's your right hand is going straight to the J.
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All right.
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Can I find it myself?
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Is that okay?
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Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
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You can do the other hand yourself.
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I think you should probably start by typing.
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Oh, but I can't go off home row.
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Oh yeah, you can go off home row.
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So don't take your fingers off the home row.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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You can do whatever you want.
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I don't think I need.
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I wonder if he's gonna get this.
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I don't think I need to try the other one.
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I'm pretty sure this is the imitation one.
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All right, well, hold on a second.
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Let's get you to try the other one
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because I want you to have a chance to retract
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that statement in case it comes to that.
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Okay.
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If that was Cherry MX Blue,
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the feel has changed a lot over the past few years.
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My keyboard is relatively old,
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but it doesn't feel like that.
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I can tell you that much.
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Okay.
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All right.
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Here you go.
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There you go.
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Go for it.
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Yeah.
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This is a joke.
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Okay, you can take off the mask now.
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Okay.
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I pressed it once.
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Okay, shut up.
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Hold on.
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I haven't tried it yet.
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Is it the other way around?
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Did I get it wrong?
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Hold on, hold on.
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I would like to have an opportunity
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to evaluate this for myself.
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Can you tell already?
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I mean, I was mashing it,
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so I'm not gonna.
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Oh.
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It's like every single,
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it's relatively okay.
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And then you start to get anywhere close to bottoming out
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and you're like, what is that?
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It's stiff.
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It feels like, it feels like in between a blue and a green
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in terms of the weight.
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In terms of the, yeah, yeah.
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Cause it's like a.
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And it's inconsistent a little bit.
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Yeah. Towards the end.
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It's like, I mean, that wouldn't even be an O-ring.
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That would be like a memory foam ring.
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That's what, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
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Oh man.
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You can probably even see the difference in pressure.
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I like it's quite a bit heavier towards the end.
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The selling point here is that they've done
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this mechanical feel, but without rubber domes,
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but it's still a membrane keyboard
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would have blown my mind a little while ago.
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But recently we did a video on the history of the Model M
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and I found out that there are actually Model M's
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that do use membranes,
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but with a mechanical key switch.
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Like it feels, it feels like a toy.
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Okay.
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There's some other issues here too.
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Now to be clear,
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this is also a Cooler Master keyboard right here.
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This is just a Cherry MX Blue.
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So you see that key cap wobble.
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There's always going to be a little bit.
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You never get away from that.
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Now have a look at this.
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That's a ton.
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This is among the most I have ever seen.
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Yeah.
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So hold on a second though.
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Hey, free mouse though.
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In fairness to Cooler Master.
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Yeah.
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Those are nice switches.
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I think those are Omrons actually.
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That does feel nice.
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I would want a game on this though.
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No, I don't like it.
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I would rather have a good membrane keyboard than that.
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Like original G15, I would put that way above there.
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Again, I feel like I'm being possibly too inflammatory,
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but that feels like it's trying to be something that it's not.
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And that makes it feel weird.
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Cause the click feels kind of fake.
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The bottom out is weird and squishy the whole time.
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I was really hoping there was going to be
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a lot more suspense.
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I should have probably tried this before I got you to try it.
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I was so worried when I had the mask on,
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when you put it in front of me,
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I was like, I might've lost my touch.
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And then the first one I was like, wow,
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this better not be it.
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Cause if it is, Cherry's quality has gone way down.
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And then you hand him the other keyboard and it's, yeah.
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Short video?
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I think it is.
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All right, go ahead and cut.
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Well, thanks for coming in and helping me go straight savage
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and take this thing apart.
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Yeah, no problem.
8:11
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8:13
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So thanks for coming in and helping.
9:09
I'm really sorry that that was somewhat anticlimactic.
9:13
I almost always deliver a climax.
9:19
Thanks for watching guys.
9:19
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