Recently I found myself in the market for a custom keyboard, to my great surprise. Custom as not as DIY but as something different than $10 OTC or even $100 Logitech.
After the hours of watching pics I decided to just see it with my own hands and went to a shop which specialize on them.
And there I confirmed the feeling what I had before - 99% of these keyboards, despite quite advanced tech gone into them on all layers, are not usable, because they are made to stroke the ego of the owner but not for the actual work. This is especially evident by the crammed right cluster which makes typing brackets, curlies and quotes quite a pain, because the Shift key is gutted and nowhere under the right pinky.
Using something else than microUSB or Type-C (for the PC connector) is just a cherry on top.
They use USB-C to the host, the TRRS simply communicates the two halves of the split between each other. You don't plug the keyboard into the 3.5mm jack on your PC!
You could just get a custom keyboard that is comfortable for you. Key mapping is generally an independent step. Most of these keyboards are completely programmable with custom keymaps and layers. Many come with blank keycap options, you can also rearrange a regular keycap set.
You can't do what OP is looking for without a custom PCB. The switches and caps and mappings might be customizable but their physical position and size on the board isn't.
Despite pushing the envelope in many ways, custom keyboards can also be strangely traditionalist at the same time. Making a PCB is a risky venture and most manufacturers don't want to risk it.
A huge amount of models still use a huge 7u or larger space bar for example when something as small as 4u would suffice, and leave room for much more ergonomic placement of modifiers. (or other improvements like extra keys, keyed gaps etc.)
Yes, most keyboards still have the traditional layout. But I believe many options fit what OP needs. A split keyboard such as Ergodox EZ allows access to the maximum amount of keys possible without moving your hand. You can then customize the mapping to properly distribute commonly used keys.
Ergodox EZ is ortholinear. Ortholinears by their nature tend to not have spacing issues but they require (extensive) retraining.
There's a very good chance that the above poster was looking at staggered layouts if it's their first foray into custom keyboards, and not even considering orthos.
Recently I found myself in the market for a custom keyboard, to my great surprise. Custom as not as DIY but as something different than $10 OTC or even $100 Logitech.
After the hours of watching pics I decided to just see it with my own hands and went to a shop which specialize on them.
And there I confirmed the feeling what I had before - 99% of these keyboards, despite quite advanced tech gone into them on all layers, are not usable, because they are made to stroke the ego of the owner but not for the actual work. This is especially evident by the crammed right cluster which makes typing brackets, curlies and quotes quite a pain, because the Shift key is gutted and nowhere under the right pinky.
Using something else than microUSB or Type-C (for the PC connector) is just a cherry on top.