I am thrilled with the Meletrix Zoom75 TIGA, and you should be just as excited. The degree of potential modifications that can be made to this keyboard right out of the box should give you reason to consider this if you’re in the market for a custom keyboard with multiple hardware and software options to build the keyboard of your dreams. This is it, folks; the Zoom75 TIGA is a modder’s dream keyboard. Check out its Group Buy page, which will run soon!
If you’re immersed in the mechanical keyboard space, you may have heard the names Meletrix or Wuque Studio before today. If not, both of these companies produce premium custom keyboards that most consumers will have to put together. These disassembled keyboard kits are often referred to as “barebone editions,” meaning that the consumer gets the keyboard case, PCB, backplate, foam, batteries, gaskets, screws, and stabilizers in a box – no switches, no keycaps. Just a massive box of parts.
What’s the appeal with a disassembled keyboard? There are several appeals, actually; all of them tend to meet the needs of those who want the responsibility and pride of modding a keyboard to completion. You know how some folks like to custom build their PCs with fancy LEDs, fans, screens, and more? Well, there’s a subset of mechanical keyboard builders out there, and they love building keebs.
Building a mechanical keyboard can be daunting for some folks – it’s not typically for the faint of heart given the additional knowledge, tools, and supplies needed. By that, I mean things like lube, stabilizers, grease, paintbrushes, pliers, tape, just to name a few. Anyone can look up a keyboard-building video with a 60minute runtime and influencers that make construction look so easy. It might be easy for someone who’s built keyboards before, but for a newbie…not so much. Be prepared for a good amount of prep work alongside a chunk of your afternoon for the building process.
It’s worth building your own keyboard, though. Most prebuilts are unable to offer customization in the form of swapping out plates, padding, and/or mounting styles. While there are some (such as the Chilkey ND75) that allow for mounting swaps, the most one could do to prebuilt would be to swap out the keycaps and/or change up the switches. Swapping out keycaps and switches can change the acoustic and tactility of the typing experience, but the plates, stabilizers, and foams found in the internals of a keyboard can drastically overhaul your keyboard into something else entirely.
Meletrix has announced their newest entry to the Zoom75 lineup – the Zoom75 TIGA. TIGA is inspired by the Ultraman TIGA series (pronounce it “tea-ga”). Meletrix has made substantial changes to the TIGA edition of the Zoom75 to make it more appealing for those wanting to get in the mix of putting a premium keyboard together. Check out their Group Buy page for more information! They claim that the keyboard’s construction process is so simple, it can be done in around 30 minutes!
That’s a bold claim, folks. Let’s see how it panned out.
Before constructing the keyboard from the massive white box I received from Meletrix, I needed some lube and nylon paintbrushes. For this construction, I used Krytox 205g0 and some finer paintbrushes that I bought from Amazon. These are for lubing the “stabs” (stabilizers) which need to be placed onto the PCB before adding any of the foam and plates. If you don’t yet have lube for your keyboard’s stabs/switches, Krytox 205g0 is one of the best all-around lubes, and you don’t need much for this step.
The lubing of the stabs took next to no time, but finding the correct hole for them on the PCB was a slight hassle. I accidentally set it up for a split spacebar keyboard on my first build, requiring me to go back and disassemble the spacebar stabilizer. There is also a step requiring the user to insert black washers into the backside of the PCB and into the stabilizers’ gaps to prevent them from popping out. I was only able to insert the washers into the spacerbar’s stabilizers, but not in the smaller stabs for the smaller function buttons (e.g., shift, enter, and backspace). The keyboard functions just fine without the washers inserted, but be prepared to struggle to slot a small piece of black plastic into an even smaller plastic gap with a set of tweezers.
The rest of the process, thankfully, took no time. The TIGA came with multiple types of foam and plates for me to choose from, all of which would drastically modify the acoustics of the keyboard. Meletrix is offering three types of foam: Soft poron form (which is darker) adds a muted sound profile, classic foam adds a higher-pitched sound profile, and then a “cork sandwich” form (made from cork!) which produces a crisper sound profile. I wasn’t able to test the cork sandwich foam, but the other two foams produced staggeringly different sound results. I preferred the softer poron only because of how it accentuated the thocks when paired with the appropriate switch and plate.
Speaking of plates, I had two plate options to select from with the Zoom75 TIGA: aluminum and polycarbonate (PC). The aluminum plate offers a slightly louder and crisper sound profile whereas the PC plate yielded a deeper profile. If anything, the PC plate with the poron form sounded like the perfect combination for thocky typing. The fact that there are so many opportunities to change up the internals to your liking in one little box is awesome – I cannot wait to see what users come up with along with their switches and keycaps of choice.
The TIGA features four ways to mount the keyboard. There’s the regular ol’ top mount (just put the top of the case on and add screws where necessary), along with split o-ring mounting, elastic bar silicone mounting, and silica gel particle mounting. Those familiar with the Chilkey ND75 should know that the split o-ring mounting methods offer a slight amount of bounce while the silica gel mutes some of the acoustics along with adding some cushion. In my build, I tested the top mount and the elastic bar silicone just to see the difference — the silicone mounting was far superior only because it added a touch of cushion without feeling like the keyboard was too rigid. Not that there’s a problem with a rigid keyboard (I personally don’t want the keyboard to flex when pressing down on multiple keys), but having a small degree of flexibility is good for natural typing and deeper sounds.
Once the keyboard is fully put-together, it looks stunning. I was sent the Milky Green variant (which looks like a matcha latte-colored keyboard); this colorway utilizes an “acustatic finish,” which is a phrase that I have never heard of until today. Meletrix claims that the acustatic finish is the most accurate electrostatic spray with more colors and higher consistency. I think this translates to colors being more accurate rather than generic. My specific model has a beautiful sheen on it – it’s not glittery as much as it has some shine. I love it.
The backside of the keyboard has a unique backplate covered by what Meletrix calls a “soul grille.” Most premium-keyboards from the likes of Meletrix, Wuque, and other aluminum manufacturers have a weighted backplate that can be swapped out for something more shiny, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to see the backplate. My Milky Green case has a backplate that matches the rest of the case, but it also has silvery accents. It looks like it can be easily removed, meaning that if you have an existing backplate on your current keyboard it should fit just fine.
At time of writing, I don’t see the Zoom75 TIGA having color-coordinated keycaps available for purchase. Meletrix’s website has a wealth of renders, all of them are gorgeous. Hopefully, once this keyboard exits the GB stage, there will be a set of keycaps (from the renders) available for purchase to make this keyboard reach its potential. It truly is a beautiful piece of aluminum.
The other two notable improvements on the TIGA are its volume roller and its screen. Let’s talk the volume roller: Up until today, I have used only one keyboard that had a roller similar to the TIGA, and it was that found on the Lofree Flow Lite. I loved the roller on the Flow Lite, and I love it just as much on the TIGA. It’s perfectly placed and it doesn’t compromise the layout of the keyboard’s keys too much. Despite being textured to prevent slippage, it needs a good degree of force to activate the roller. Some may want it to be smoother – I strongly disagree; the roller is fine as is.
The TIGA has an improved screen in the upper right-hand corner of the case. It comes pre-assembled on the case, but it can also be removed and replaced with a metal plate or two additional switches/keys if you want. Some folks might think screens are a waste of keyboard real estate and may opt into using the metallic plate or additional switches/keys, that’s totally fine. I’m thrilled that Meletrix gave consumers the option to choose between having a screen or something more functional.
The updated screen is notably better than other screens I have used on mechanical keyboards, barring the touchscreen on Epomaker’s RT80. This screen has a high resolution and boasts 60fps, along with a wealth of themes and options to make the keyboard truly yours. It’s easily controlled using the function+pg down/up keys, and it adds a splash of nuance to the overall design of the keyboard. At time of writing, it looks like there will be additional elements available on the screen. I look forward to what users come up with in the future!
The Zoom75 TIGA can be modded in a wealth of ways, and for that, I’m thrilled to see this keyboard made available to the public. It’s in the group buy stage right now; compared to some of Meletrix’s other keyboards (along with other GBs in the market), the TIGA is most compelling for its degree of customization, even after receiving the device in-hand. Be it the physical customization of the foams/plates or even the software customization of the screen (assuming you want to use the screen, anyway), it’s hard to ignore the notion that the TIGA is one of the most customizable keyboard kits on the market. It looks stunning, too.
I disassembled and reassembled the keyboard several times during my review period, finally settling on the aluminum plate with the poron foam. There was something unique those two internal elements that made the keyboard sound like river rocks, a smidgen louder than the original Lofree Flow keyboard’s acoustics. I’m sure once I get some additional switches, I can do some more thorough testing, but let’s see how things go.
In some other reviews of the TIGA, I came across a small set of folks who claimed that the TIGA was difficult to disassemble given that there were no good places to disengage the locking system holding the case together. I had no issues disengaging the case for disassembly and modification, but that’s because I put my right thumb in between the shift and up arrow switches and my left thumb in between the caps lock and A switches, then pulling up. I’m not a fan of pressing down on the plate and PCB to unlock the case, but don’t worry about damaging the PCB. It doesn’t take much force to open the case.
I was sent a guide from my contacts at Meletrix which guided me through most of the steps of putting the Zoom75 TIGA together. I did my best to follow it, but I had to put on videos from some other influencers to see how they went about slotting in the stabilizers along with how they placed the mounting pieces on the PCB after setting everything else up. I understand that keyboard customization is mainly for those with immense knowledge, but I hope that there’s a good set of assembly videos once the keyboard exits the group buy (GB) stage.
Constructing the keyboard took me far longer than 30 minutes only because I was unfamiliar with the stem lubing process and I had some initial troubles with slotting the stabilizers in the proper holes on the PCB. Once I had the process down, though, I could disassemble the entire keyboard and rebuild it well within the 30-minute timeframe. If there’s one thing an unfamiliar customer should expect from their first build, it should be that the first build will take a hot minute. Be patient – stick through it.
My one final quibble with building the Zoom75 TIGA involves its switch placement: There are several slots that require the user to rotate the switch when placing it in. While most of the switch slots have south-facing LEDs, the Enter and forward slash slots required me to position the switches in different directions. If you’re planning on using a set of keycaps that require south-facing LEDs (such as Cerakey’s V2s), your entire set of keycaps might not be compatible with the Zoom75 TIGA. It won’t be an issue for most other users, but it’s strange that I had to rotate a handful of switches instead of having them be uniformly slotted.
Remember, this device does not come with switches or keycaps, but I had some Akko Creamy Yellow Pros on hand along with some keycaps for the purposes of testing the keyboard for gaming. It felt great for most games, barring the typical high-intensity games that often require minute inputs and/or more custom keybinds that a full keyboard may allow. Then again, the TIGA can be customized to your satisfaction on that front, so don’t let the 75% keyboard limit your options.
I am thrilled with the Meletrix Zoom75 TIGA, and you should be just as excited. The degree of potential modifications that can be made to this keyboard right out of the box should give you reason to consider this if you’re in the market for a custom keyboard with multiple hardware and software options to build the keyboard of your dreams. This is it, folks; the Zoom75 TIGA is a modder’s dream keyboard. Check out its Group Buy page, which will run soon!
Note: We plan on updating this review in the future with some comments on Meletrix’s keycaps and some switches!
