Keyboard Builders' Digest / Review
Synth Labs 060 review
Ouch. The Synth Labs 060 is probably the most beautiful keyboard I've ever tested. I'll have to send it back after the review, and I'm already missing it. :) :(
Published September 3, 2024
With its fancy heatsink style fin weight, brass rail and polishing everywhere, the Synth Labs 060 is a uniquely shaped 60% keyboard, designed by Aaron/Nostril of Synth Labs in collaboration with 0xCB (PCB) and keebwerk (vendor/manufacturer).
All the GB orders have been shipped out, and keebwerk is selling the stock units now.
Variants & Unboxing
The Synth Labs 060 was (GB) and is (in-stock) available in a wide variety of versions: 3 case colors, 2 layouts (standard & HHKB), a total of 4 different brass PVD colors, just like the brass rails, and 6 plates in 5 materials (alu, brass, FR4, POM, PC). The PCB is available as a universal solder version or fixed layout hotswap with RGB.
As you can see, you can configure your 060 to the smallest details, colors and materials alike. Regardless, here is a quick list of what I received:
- e-white top chassis
- black bottom chassis
- black alu & frosted POM plates
- polished black brass weight
- polished rose brass rail
- soldered PCB
- no switches, stabs, cable
Everything came in this nice hard-shell case:
Pricing starts at €399 outside the EU and €429 in the EU, but feel free to check it for yourself.
Selecting all of the options above, identical to the review unit, would result in a 451 euro price tag if you were located in the EU.
Disclaimer
I received and tested this keyboard, one of the two review units out there at that time, in March. Yep, keebwerk sent it half a year ago. ;) I wrote the review but haven't published it until now. And the reason for this was that there were some shipping issues with the GB items and extras, so you couldn't get one anyway.
The first review units were sent by air, but it took months for the rest of the GB items to arrive in Germany, that's why the long pause. Anyway, they are all shipped to their new owners now, and some extras are being sold, so it was high time to roll out this review.
As usual, I'm not paid for writing this article and I had to send back the 060 in the meantime, which was a pretty new experience. :D I'm not sure what kind of bias – if any – this may result in. Anyway, always read reviews with a grain of salt, this one is no exception. ;)
First impressions
Painfully, heart-wrenchingly, mouth-wateringly beautiful. The white and black color combo, along with the curves, grill, and polishing, all remind me of a shiny, luxurious car on display in a showroom – even before I check synthlabs.io and learn that sports cars were one part of the inspiration:
A gasket-mounted 60% keyboard, inspired by rack-mounted electronics and sports cars – synthlabs.io.
Highlights
- classy side profile
- cool heatsink-like grill/weight
- brass rail
- vertical USB connector
The Synth Labs 060 story
The 060 is a real international effort: design by Synth Labs (US), PCB by 0xCB aka the keeb.supply guys, and the vendor/manufacturer is keebwerk – both from Germany. At some point David of Candykeys was involved too. And of course the actual CNC, coating and soldering is done in China.
So no wonder this project took years to materialize.
The original IC for the 060 keyboard, the first Synth Labs project Nostril started working on, was all the way back in early 2020. There was a group buy about one and a half years ago (Feb 24-March 24, 2023). If you missed the group-buy period, you are now able to buy one of the extras on the keebwerk site.
Layout
The layout is 60%, standard or in HHKB flavor.
Initially there was a WKL option too, but the orders were so low that meeting MOQ wasn't looking realistic. Nostril thought that keebwerk had cancelled those orders, but later on, photos of some production WKL units emerged. Keebwerk ended up actually making them… :) Not in the current configurator though, so they exist but in an extremely limited quantity.
Building and structure
It's both reassuring and incredible that the final product looks exactly the same as the renders.
Case
The design from the initial interest check actually looks pretty much the same externally to what the team ended up with, but the internals are like completely different. This is where the expertise of keebwerk came into play:
There was a decent mix of changes there from what I figured out on my own over this long course of development, but also a lot of things that keebwerk suggested after their experience working on the Paragon and Nasu keyboards, which were some of their other collabs – Aaron, Synth Labs.
The top and bottom chassis came screwed together (hidden screws), without washers. Obviously, you have to unscrew them to start building, and you have to be very careful while doing this: warning, chip-off hazard!
Very cleverly, the screws are arranged in an asymmetrical way, which helps a lot when orienting the internals: plate, PCB, foams.
The hallmark side profile of the 060 results in a typing angle of 7 degrees.
Gaskets
I got two sets of adhesive poron gaskets, a hard and a soft version. They sit in recesses carved into the bottom case.
Plate
There is a wide variety of plates available:
- e-white or black anodized aluminum plates
- the brass plate is polished + PVD coated
- FR4 plate
- clear PC plate or a frosted POM plate for the most flexy typing experience
All these come in 1.5mm thickness, and the FR4, PC and POM plates have 2 large flex cuts.
I got two different plates, but the matte black alu one looked simply too gorgeous to not to go with it first.
USB & daughterboard
The custom USB daughterboard can be fixed in a single orientation too. Vertically. :D Shouldn't be surprising given the vertical USB connector, as already mentioned.
The hole for the daughterboard has a cover, but it's plastic. Doesn't really match the all-metal board, but anyway, it's hidden deep inside the case.
The reason for this is that initially the daughterboard cutout caused a higher pitch in some parts, so the cover is a fix for this issue.
PCB
The PCB is available as a universal solder version or fixed layout hotswap with RGB.
Given the many options and without any documentation at the time of assembly, I found the universal soldered PCB a bit confusing, in particular the bottom row. However, this shouldn't be an issue if you know what you're doing. I had to consult the images in the GB. ;)
By the way, before the 0xCB versions, Nostril had a PCB designed as well:
I wasn't actually that happy with the [original] PCB I had done in the past - so we reached out to 0xCB seeing if they wanted to do a new one from scratch. Then I got in contact with them and talked about requirements… fittings and such, and all the weird quirks with the vertical USB and such. […] They've been amazing to work with in general – Aaron, Synth Labs.
Foam
A thin case foam and a thick plate foam included.
Plus I was told that a new hotswap foam has been added since I tested this review unit.
Firmware
QMK, VIA.
Since I wrote this review back in March, before I made it a habit to thoroughly test the firmware, you'll have to do without screenshots this time (I had to send back the review unit in the meantime). You'll have to trust that the device is fully VIA-compatible. Sorry.
Pencil test
Even if I'm not able to make the SpaceFN test now, the board definitely passed the pencil test:
Possible issues
Not really. The vertical USB socket is very deep, it may cause compatibility issues with some particularly bulky cables, but it shouldn't be a problem with most of them. I tried a couple of cables laying around and they all worked fine.
Screw holes of the vertical daugherboard is a bit hard to access, but you only have to do this once.
In addition, the review unit had an unfortunate issue with the daugtherboard socket, but I'm sure keebwerk paid special attention to quality assurance after I reported the issue half a year ago.
Keebwerk Crafters brand
So Keebwerk has set up a system for anyone in the community to have their designs become reality, and the Synthlabs 060 was the 4th board in this "Keebwerk Crafters” brand:
The designers approach us and we look at what they have created, is it manufacturable etc. The entire product is checked and reengineered if necessary. We can organize the PCB design as well. We do the packaging design, the foams and components – keebwerk.
Keebwerk has spent many years developing a reliable set of suppliers where they can source all parts for. CNC, PCB design, PCB manufacturing, packaging manufacturing, cables, foam etc. This network of suppliers lets them efficiently take care of the entire production process and the designer can take care of the design.
There is no trial and error for the designer in finding manufacturers that a) can do it b) want to do it c) can deliver the extremely high quality that is expected in this community and so forth. This saves money and time and guarantees the product to be as good as possible.
Keebwerk is the manufacturer, everything is handled by us. Yes we don't actually CNC the parts or solder the PCBs but we are the manufacturer bringing the full product to the market – Julien.
IC vs GB model
As both Aaron and Julien told me, the 060 iterated over the two years to become the hidden screw design it is now.
- Typing tests in prototypes revealed a higher pitch on the top center row caused by the daughterboard cutout, so it now has a cover to stop the sounds from bouncing in this hole.
- Internal changes are too many to count because the tolerances for the case fins are super fine. A lot of prototypes to get machining and coating just right so it works.
- keebwerk also had for example 5 samples of the brass fins made only to get the surface correct on the inside of the fins.
Polishing machines cannot get in between the fins so we experimented with different sizes milling bits and speeds to get a smooth surface that looks polished (as it does now) – Julien.
Specifications
- Standard 60%, HHKB & WKL layout
- Typing Angle: 7°
- Mounting Style: gasket mount
- Front Height: 19mm incl. feet
- Compatible switches: MX-style switches
- Materials: 6063 aluminum top and bottom chassis. PVD brass rail, and weight.
- Connectivity: USB-C with custom daughterboard
- Firmware: QMK with VIA support
- Weight: ~1.9kg unbuilt, 2.4kg fully-built
Conclusion
The Synth Labs 060 is a very versatile offer, you can customize it to the smallest details (colors, plates, gaskets, etc.). Classy side profile, grill and rail make it not just a brutal typing machine but also a piece of art, the highlight of any desk setup.
If the layout options match your needs, and the price point your wallet, you won't be disappointed.
Availability
The Synth Labs 060 is available only through the Keebwerk Configurator, visually checked, packed and distributed worldwide directly by Keebwerk:
- Synth Labs 060 (in-stock) at keebwerk.
You may check this other review by Cheese Turbulence too:
Resources
- Synth Labs 060 at keebwerk.
- Synth Labs
Other products in the photos:
- stackable trays by keebwerk
- keebwerk swap artisan
- deskmats by Kinetic Labs (Yosemite), Qwertykey and SageCrowDesign (Ghost Fish).
Published on Tue 3rd Sep 2024. Featured in KBD #174.
Related
1UP Pi60 series
The Pi60 HSE & RGB are the first mass-produced RP2040 60% boards – from 1upkeyboards.
Sphere keyboard and air mouse
This sphere keyboard and wireless air mouse is the creation of Pavlo Khmel – with STLs.
Nyan Keys
An FPGA based mechanical keyboard engineered for low latency and open sourced by rekcats – Nyan Keys.
From Boardwalk to Promenade
With the Promenade, Krado Industries tries to resurrect the Boardwalk, an ortho board with 1.5u Ergodox modifiers – and a piece of keyboard history.
Lattice60
PrimeNumber shared the files of the handwired Lattice60, an ortholinear keyboard with standard keycaps and low-poly case.