About ThereminGoat
Hey all,
It's me, Goat. I'm a fellow mechanical keyboard enthusiast and switch collector who joined the community a handful of years ago now with relatively benign intentions, to say the least. Shortly after buying my first switch tester, though, I fell headlong into the switch collecting scene which has brought you here to this website. Aside the switches, which seemingly consume my life, I recently completed my master’s degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Minnesota after completing my bachelors at The Ohio State University. Currently, I am back in Ohio and am taking up a full time job with hybrid R&D and process improvement roles in the field of polymers and adhesives.
The switch collection, as I had previously mentioned, has grown exponentially in the short length that I have been a serious collector. Starting with the original 63 slot tester from KBDFans it has grown to one of the largest collections in the world with everything from vintage to modern and a bit of stuff in between. While my collection is rather large, I do specialize in collecting pre-production prototypes and pre-run samples of switches as I think they serve as unique benchmarks as to how the switches that we buy and use every day got to the form that they did. My hope is that I can share my collection and acquired knowledge about switches over the years of collecting through this website and all of the posts I plan to make in the future.
For the time being, have a look around and please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, comments, or just want to say hello.
Cheers,
Goat
Website Sponsors/Affiliates
KeebCats
Norritt and drunken_sailor have been a huge help in getting a hold of all my switch adjacent needs. Click through the affiliate link in their logo and use code ‘GOAT’ for a 10% discount because they’re cool like that.
Divinikey
Stocking everything related to keyboards and a lot of switches, Divinikey has been incredible to my last minute builds with their fast ship times. Don’t believe me? Go check them out with my link to support us both!
MechMods UK
A rising vendor based in the UK, Ryan and crew have been awesome to work with and stock everything you need to build your first or fourteenth keyboard. Go build yours now with code ‘GOAT’ for a 5% discount!
Kinetic Labs
Christian and crew have been long time supporters of the website, both in terms of switches as well as peripherals. Take a minute to check out all their awesome stuff out here with my affiliate link to help me out!
proto[Typist]
Also known for his long time involvement in TopClack, Jae has been insanely helpful with helping me collect odds and ends all across the board from new JWK releases to some of my favorite vintage switches.
Keebhut
Want to try switches that fly under most vendor’s radars? Keebhut is always seeking out that next new hit and have been super helpful in sharing them with me. Use code ‘GOAT’ at checkout for 5% off your order!
Dangkeebs
Dangkeebs has been a long time supporter of the website and hooked me up for years now with their insane stock of constantly updated switches. Follow this affiliate link to save 5% on your order right now!
Cannonkeys
With one of the largest selections of everything keyboards in North America, CK has long been one of my favorite places to go get switches from. Use my affiliate link here to help me out when you buy switches too!
Mechbox UK
Mechbox has been one of my longest running go-to places for filling out the weak points in my collection. Check them out using my affiliate link above to not only support me but find tons of cool switches to try!
Zeal PC
Is an introduction really needed? Zeal and crew kicked off the custom switch scene many years ago, and I couldn’t tell the story of it all without them. Use code ‘GOAT’ at checkout for 5% off your Zeal switches today!
SwitchOddities
Having been a personal proxy for the collection for well over a year now, SwitchOddities always hooks me up with the most interesting switch samples. Follow this link to save 5% and grow your collection immensely!
Kailh
That’s right - the actual switch manufacturer that I’ve covered hundreds of times on this website supports my content too. Use my affiliate link here to support me and them while buying your next Kailh switches!
Biggest Vendor Supporters of the Collection and Website
Gazzew
Seller of many different switches over the year, but most recently Boba U4s. He’s been absolutely instrumental in understanding the history of Outemu and helping fill some big gaps in the collection.
Novelkeys
Mike and crew are not only destroyers of wallets, but among one of my first sources I ever sought out for switches. To top it off, receiving prototypes from them is more than I could have ever asked for.
1UPKeyboards
JB and crew have been instrumental in solving some of the more nuanced historical points of modern switches as well as provided some incredible collection pieces. I can’t thank them enough.
PrimeKB
HoltenC and crew have gone above and beyond with hooking me up with countless prototypes and interesting switches over my time collecting. I can’t wait for what they have coming next!
Invyr
Creator of the ever-famous ‘Panda’ switches, he has been more than helpful in providing me some of my most cherished prototypes and filling in the story behind some of the more forgotten parts of the Panda lore.
ThocKeys
Aiwanei and crew have been an absolute blast to get to interact with and they’ve been a big help with recent, more exotic switch hauls that they’ve pulled in for sale on their website.
OneCreativeMind
Designer of the iconic ThereminGoat logo that to this day has to be one of the coolest things I’ve ever gotten designed. Easy to work with, brilliant artist, and all around incredible guy.
ThicThock
Jeffccy and crew have been a big help in not only tracking down their ever growing line of switches, but also staying on top of some very interesting, Chinese exclusive switches I wouldn’t otherwise have.
Patreon Supporters
Since I believe that all contributions, regardless of size, mean the world to me as a content creator, I’ve decided to tier my Patreon supporters here based on number of months donated rather than amount donated. Whether it’s $1 or $100, I appreciate the continued the support of these people more than they could possibly know.
Vintage MX Black Supporters
Current Supporters: >6 Months
Glarses - Nov 7th 2020
I.D. - Nov 8th 2020
Neon - Jan 5th 2021
Ajoflo - Feb 26th 2021
Enrico - Apr 6th 2021
Komorebi - Jun 26th 2021
Pandamom - Sep 18th 2021
D.W.C - Nov 3rd 2021
Butre - Jun 6th 2022
E.N. - Aug 7th 2022
O.L. - Jun 25th 2022
B.H - Oct 13th 2022
V.D. - Dec 4th 2022
Issey - Jan 11th 2023
C.B. - Oct 5th 2023
The Thocc - Nov 7th 2020
Kisenon - Nov 7th 2020
ShadowProgr - Dec 6th 2020
P.C. - Mar 11th 2021
J.I. - Sep 18th 2021
D.H. - Jan 23rd 2021
Krekmate - Feb 10th 2022
K.S. - Mar 7th 2022
J.D. - Dec 4th, 2022
M.F. - Dec 26th 2022
V.R. - Apr 16th 2023
CBA - Sep 19th 2022
Pascoe - Jul 9th 2023
Reaper2122 - May 9th 2023
M.D. - Aug 4th 2023
Barry - Jan 7th 2024
NOS MX Black Supporters
Current Supporters: 0 - 6 Months
Barry - Jan 7th 2024
J Pro - Jun 14th 2024
C.M. - Sep 30th 2024
Treefyy - Apr 7th 2024
VitMain - Jul 2nd 2024
A.W. - Sep 23rd 2024
Cherry MX Black Supporters
Previous / 1 Time Donors
Iaman - 2020-2022
PrimeKB - 2020-2022
E.D. - 2021
Calcocabana - 2021
Cmander7688 - 2021
J.K. - 2021-2022
J.I. - 2021-2022
CptBlack - 2021-2023
Switches.mx - 2021-2023
Ibey - 2021-2023
E.G. - 2022
S.C. - 2022
C.C. - 2022
J.P.K - 2022
Crowdome - 2021
M.F. - 2022-2023
Salt Rock Lamp - 2021-2024
Audora - 2021-2024
A.S. - 2023-2024
A.S. II - 2023-2024
HomerowCo - 2020
J.T. - 2020-2021
J.C. - 2020-2021
E.L. - 2021
P.B. - 2021-2022
E.D. - 2021
D.N. - 2021
N.T. - 2021-2022
A.S. - 2021-2022
I50LAT10N - 2021-2023
Kaddar0 - 2021-2022
V.F. - 2022
W.W. - 2022
A.H. - 2022
BomTarnes - 2021-2023
A.W - 2021-2022
Dangkeebs - 2022-2024
P.B. II - 2021-2024
R.V. - 2021-2024
d3L7r0n - 2023-2024
Vendors and Individuals of Note
Alas - For being one of my most cherished proxies and instrumental in learning about all things KTT, Everglide, and Taobao
Bolsa Keyboard Supply - For having been a long time supporter of not only the website, but of the collection as well.
Cannonkeys - For donating some of my most interesting prototypes as well as providing great support for all of my address changes.
Christos - For being one of the old guard and one of the first collectors I aspired to be like.
GBoards - For going above and out of their way to desolder personal keyboards for my switch collection.
Glarses - For the incredibly funny, thoughtful, and serious conversations about switches and content creation alike.
James of AKB - My oldest friend in the hobby. I wouldn’t be here without you, buddy.
J.Q. - For helping my love for artisans, and by extension keyboards, deepen and grow to this day.
MechanicalBionicle - Not only one of my most noteworthy proxies but a large reason the measurement sheet is where it is today.
Ophidios - For bringing me out of my shell and into the community at large.
Otesanek - For being one of the first to welcome me into the world of artisans and for being such a good friend.
RMendis - For being a source of artisan knowledge that I can lean on and aspire to be like.
SafeDork - For giving me an opportunity to peer into keyboard history passed and for encouraging my data collection relentlessly.
ShadowProgr - For being such a great friend, proxy, and representative for the VN MK community.
TGID - For being another huge supporter of the collection and constant friend in the community.
TheInverseKey - For supply all too many vintage switches and teaching me many a thing about them along the way.
TheKeyCompany - For providing insane collection support and excellent conversations about switches.
VogonPT - Long time supporter and even longer time good friend in the hobby space.
Vanilla - For letting me get to try all of your wacky, crazy boards and keeping me in touch with the 40s craziness. Never change.
Whydobearsxplod - For the wacky boards and great conversations about them, among other things.