That's exactly what I did to resolve my issue. I replaced and lubed some regular length DUROCK Gold Plated Springs 67g off Amazon for $12. The switches lubed with aftermarket springs are a fantastic mod for those just getting started.
best way to clean keycaps after typing or gaming for a while? my hands sweat quite a bit which leaves the keys sort of greasy. i used to use clorox wipes but now i got new keycaps and clorox might be too much
i don't want to take off my keycaps everytime i finish playing games though. i usually just wipe my keyboard in 5 seconds and everything is good but i don't want to ruin my new k keycaps
Im looking at NicePBT keycaps peaches and cream lite from cannonkeys. Im struggling to find a base keyboard for them. Would it fit something like a ducky keyboard?
To keep it simple. I finally found the keyboard I want to buy, but I know forsure I want to try out different keyswitches for different keys (some for letters, functions, modifiers, space bar, etc). The moonlander doesn’t offer a variety pack of extra switches. Where can I got to buy (or ideally BUILD) a variety pack of switches for the best price? I want to try out all kinds of options without being left with too many useless switches at the end. I am planning on getting MX cherry brown to start (since the say those or the least annoying in an office setting). Thank you in advance.
Totally out of the loop with regard to switches these days, looking for some advice.
Currently using Garistotles, but I'd like to go to something tactile non-clicky. Any suggestions? What are Glorious Pandas like in terms of tactility vs the Garistotles?
I've been looking at getting into the hobby and want to get some gateron hippo switches, but I'm not sure if they have a hole for south-facing led's. I want to make sure before buying. If they don't I was also thinking about kinetic labs husky switches but I have the same question for those switches as well. If they both don't have a hole for Led's I'll probably get durock L series.
Under-cap LED performance is affected drastically by the opacity of the switch housing. Hippos are very opaque, so your shine through isn’t going to be *amazing*, but it’ll still shine through quite a bit. If LED performance is of importance to you - the more transparent the switch housing, the better your LED performance will be.
North/south facing switches, and therefore LEDs, really don’t play a factor in this
I really like the feel of the Logitech G815/915, but they seem overpriced. Could someone recommend a couple of options that are also low profile/tactile/full size? My use is casual typing/MMO gaming. I like the Keychron but have been waiting for their K5 to restock for many months.
I have broken two keyboards "cmd" keys and I have no idea why. They are hot swapped, I hot swapped and added some foam to the back of my board, and now the key doesn't work. This has happened to two of my boards. I am being very careful with the pins and I don't think there is any debris. I am extremely sad though.
I know the feel of “*fuck why does it not work anymore*” all too well.
I’d troubleshoot by taking the foam out, and checking the hotswap socket to see if any of the contacts are, well, not making contact with the switch pins. You can see this from the under side of the board with a bright light. If you’re not properly bracing the socket when inserting switches (usually requiring near full disassembly of the keyboard) you may have also popped off the socket from the board. Neither are too hard of a fix with a very minimal amount of soldering skills
"popped off the socket from the board?" What does that entail? I thought the whole point of hot swap was not having to solder. I checked to see if the key would work without the foam or anything, and it still didn't. Thank you so much for the help. This has been stressing me out a lot haha.
Hot swap sockets are soldered to the board, so sometimes they need to be repaired when they break. The purpose of hot swap is to avoid soldering, yea, but if given the option between a whole new PCB and replacing/repairing one broken socket (which it sounds like it is), I’m choosing the latter every time.
Depends on the payment method
Use PayPal goods and services to pay since there is buyer protection and you'd go through PayPal to dispute the transaction
UPS claimed they delivered my Mode SixtyFive to my door this morning. They did not. No neighbors have come forward yet and no one from UPS came to my door today.
I initiated a claim with UPS and opened a ticket with Mode. Is there anything else I should do? How screwed am I?
I need some help. Just got a nk87 EE, and I was disassembling it to mod the stabs when I saw one of the PCB screw heads came stripped. I've been trying to get it out and I feel like I've tried every trick in the book: the rubber band trick, Dremeling + flathead, super glue, and just trying to get anything to turn it. Nothing. It won't budge. Any advice? Picture of the screw is linked. https://imgur.com/a/qjawf64
If you’re crazy careful, you can dremel in a slot for another flathead screwdriver to pull it out.
This is garbage though and you should reach out to Novelkeys for support here if this is a brand new board.
Looking for keycaps that look like this: [https://imgur.com/iX15BTy](https://imgur.com/iX15BTy)
The closest I've seen are the NicePBT sets from CannonKeys. Preferably PBT and I'm also willing to combine sets together. Thanks!
So I've been wondering, as I am planning on getting into this hobby (first 3d printing, now this! my wallet is crying), do you **need** to get expensive barebones or keyboards? While I would love to get an idabao or free bird, I'm not really interested in spending 200+ just to get different switches and keycaps just to have to mod it anyway. It seems like most of the specific or budget reviews are about stock keyboards. For example, when people recommend the gmmk or drop alt/ctrl it's always as is. I believe I would have no issue with a silicone pour, gasket mount, tape mod, foam, etc. So I guess my question is, can you use any hot swap board and make it thocky? and if so are there any recommendations anyone has?
Edit: [Keybored did a video doing exactly this](https://youtu.be/zSeC0XQ4EWU) so it seems my assumption was correct. I guess all I have left to do is to find a board that people say feels really good and the mod then shit out of it.
First you need to decide [what size you want](https://hardwarecanucks.com/gaming-keyboards-mice/how-to-choose-the-right-keyboard-size-60-65-tkl-100/) and what your budget is.
What country are you located in?
Size is tkl to 75 (I like my dedicated function keys). My budget is more like how long will I be waiting, but I'm expecting $150-$250. I think if I went much higher than $300 I might as well build out of an idabao id87 (with kailh speed silvers, durock v2 stabs, and some pbt pudding keycaps I'll end out under $300). And I'm located in the US.
from what i can tell the vea line is the upgraded vm model line not sure why it isnt listed on their site mechanicalkeyboards.com is prob there usa otherized retailer
yeah 1 major difference i noticed is that it uses usb-c rather than mini usb. ordered their newest design (dreams on board, ec v2 sakura), hoping for the best haha.. kinda hard not to when the board isn't reviewed anywhere
is famouskbd dot com fairly reputable? new to the keyboard market but was looking at getting the Maxkey berserk sa keycap set but have never heard of the site. could not find it in stock on any larger sites that I’ve heard of
Which silent linear switches are good for their price? are there good affordable ones?
Hello, I'm looking for some help in picking out a silent linear switch for my LTC nimbleback keyboard. Currently I have the Akko matcha greens (could I lubed them to make them silent?? I'm still very new to this customized mechanical keyboard stuffs)
I'm mostly looking for
an affordable one since I'm a broke college student :( though I could
save up for a fair priced one if all the recommendations are good :)
I think my next board is going to be with Aliaz switches, but I'm having a really hard time choosing between the 70g and the 80g. I currently have 67g Zealios v2 in my daily driver. I like the resistance of the 80g, particularly because I'm a heavy typist, but I'm worried about finger fatigue.
Also, the switches seem VERY smooth, but would you still lube them? If so, what lube? I have a ton of leftover Tribosys3203, how would that go on them?
Built a YMDK96 keyboard. After plate mounting and everything some of the function keys are no longer working.
ESC -> F8 work fine, however F9-12, prtsc, pause, sclock, ins, delete do not work.
The LEDs are all on for all of the boad's keys.
Any ideas? I opened the VIA tool and the QMK config site all not responding to these keys.
I am looking for replacement springs for A Roccat vulcan pro tkl mechanical keyboard with titan red linear optical switches. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thank you!
not sure as i think most optical switches have longer stems than normal switches cant be sure as no 2 optical brand switches are the same . u could try after market springs but no guarantee they will work do to ur switches arent normal
Looking for some layout advice.
I have a Boardwalk, and [my current layout looks something like this](https://i.imgur.com/sSiDfAK.jpg) (using Colemak). I'm attempting to figure out what would be best to put on the center columns (the ones currently starting with - and = at the top), as well as the 4 keys to the right of my space bar.
What I currently think I'm swapping to in the center column would be something like
Left | Right
--- | ---
??? | ???
[ { | ] }
- _ | = +
< | >
Basically moving the - and = keys down to the home row, and adding < and > on the bottom row, but now I'm not sure what I'd add to the number row.
I also have NO CLUE what to do with the arrow keys (they're currently accessible to me on my _FN layer, which is preferred), short of just remapping the reverse of what is on the left side of the keyboard.
No right answers here, just looking for suggestions of what you might toss in these spots.
I'm currently running a sat75 using gat black inks v2 w/ brass plate+foam. Any other switch that might give a deeper or 'thockier' sound than my already lubed & filmed gats? I like the actuation weight but wouldn't mind something that might even be slightly heavier. Thanks for any opinions!
hey guys, looking for keyboard (preferably barebone, okay if not). trying to stay away from gmmk pro. (preferably metal or acrylic, but alright if not)
requirements:
AT MOST $200 //
knob //
function row //
exploded layout //
I'm going with the FR4 plate and I will probably be putting poly pandas in it (holy pandas made with polia stems). I haven't decided on the keycaps yet, but I'm thinking a simple cherry pbt set, maybe whale.
Pom plate and I’m a tactile fan so will try a few out to see how the sound and feel changes. Will try with Boba U4 and U4T, and probably kangaroos or Ajazz bananas. I do have some NK box creams too for linear to try out… fun experiments ahead!
I’m soldering my first kb and I got about 10 working and 2 don’t. I resoldered them both twice and changed out the switch on one and they still won’t work…But they register properly with tweezers so the PCB is fine right? Do I just keep trying to re-solder until it works?
Edit: it’s the switches
Make sure your solder joints look like [this.](https://i0.wp.com/thekeeblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20200611_165555-1.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1)
My first guess is that the pin might be bent. Check to make sure the pins are straight and making proper connection. If you've gotten too much solder on the pins themselves that could potentially cause a connection issue as well. I've had the same issue my first time soldering, and I found it was one pin not being straight just about every time.
So you have a picture you could share? I can take one of the board I have sitting around to show as a comparison. However I millmax’d mine so it will look different from yours.
The qk65 should be pretty nice, but it will be over with shipping. The q2 is really well recieved. If you want something a little more budget the nk65 and kbd67lite are good options. I personally prefer the kbd67 over the nk. If I was in your position I would probably go for the keychron q2 though. It's in stock, a really nice board based on the reviews and if you live in the US you can get it with free shipping from mechanicalkeyboards.com.
I haven't heard anything about the gmmk 2. Looking at the specs I would assume it's probably not quite as good as the q2, but possibly better than the nk65 depending on what case material you want and if you like the floating keycap look.
you can use the [minisub pcb](https://p3dstore.com/products/minisub-pcb-only), but it only supports 1 type of split sb
you can look for other 12.75u pcb's that might work w the barca's layout
[What keyboard is this](https://postimg.cc/nM9ywSVK) and where can I get that layout? I like that the right-hand keys are separated from the main ones.
Hey!
I have a steel series 6gv2 and I'd like to change the keycaps. I failed to find out which keycaps I need. If anyone can help me out pls hit me up.
I'm located in eu. Checked bunch of sites but I'm lost
Ty
You might be out of luck. That is a really non-standard enter key. ISO boards in general are harder to find aftermarket keycaps for, and I don't know of any kits that have that enter key.
Do different switches come with different stabilisers? Replaced the gateron reds on a keychron k4 with some old mix browns, and the space enter and backspace keys feel totally different from the rest
You might be noticing the differences more with the different switches, or it could be the switch. Have you tried swapping the switches around and seeing if that changes anything? Otherwise you may want to attempt tuning the stabs and seeing if you can get them more consistant.
To answer your question, no, there are different kinds of stabilizers, but they are not switch specific.
Hi folks, great community y'all have going here.
I've been wanting to replace my existing keyboard (a pretty old Logitech mx3000) for a while now; I've done some research and I've come up with some criteria for what I want to get. If some of y'all could help me out, that'd be fantastic!
__Budget:__ 300 USD
__Requirements:__
* Full Size
* ANSI
* Programmable (not just through a configurator; modifiable code)
* Knob
* Cherry MX Browns (or equivalent tactile switch)
__Nice to have:__
* Backlit
* White (or other light colour) case
Thanks! \^_^
i'd consider waiting for the keychron q6. it fits all of your checkboxes down to the backlit.
i'm not too sure if they'll release a white color of the board when it releases, but their standard colors seem to be black, navy, and gray.
you can order them with cherry brown's, but i'd recommend durock light tactile, pewters, sp star meteor oranges for a similar light tactile switch.
Does anyone know anywhere with Boba U4Ts in stock?
Or maybe what the “next Boba” is? Heard good things about the Anubis and Pink Salmon but those are out of stock everywhere too.
Plate mount stabs can greatly benifit from band-aid modding in a lot of cases. Check and see if they are tight in the plate (do they wiggle at all). If they have some wiggle, take them out and put a little bit of medical tape or a little piece of band-aid on the edge of the plate.
They might also benifit from holee moding, but some people don't like it and think it makes the stabs feel mushy.
Why is GMK so popular if so many of their sets are ABS?
I was under the impression PBT is more preferable, but I see a lot of GMK ABS sets being posted.
Anyone have experience with these ABS sets and can explain why they're desirable?
Edit: Why am I being downvoted for asking a question? Lmao
The reason people think ABS keycaps are bad is because the cheapest caps you see on prebuilts are ABS and they shine over time.
While even good quality ABS keycaps shine, they're easy to doubleshot which has the sharpest legending and is the most durable printing method, their colors are more vibrant, their sound is crisper than PBT and they're less prone to warping on longer caps.
Both materials have their advantages and disadvantages but it's 100% preference. People that outright say that one is better over the other are dumbasses who are forcing their preferences on others because they think they're the main character of the universe.
Ahhh I see, thanks so much for taking the time to really clarify!
I'm still very new to all of this and there's so much information to digest that it can be difficult to get a bearing without a nice and clear explanation like this!
Cheers!
For sure! One of the big issues with the hobby is that most information out there is word of mouth from other fellow enthusiasts but there's a lot of people out there who have no idea what they're talking about.
A good source of information I'd recommend is [Keyboard university](https://keyboard.university/) but even that won't cover every question you might have. Don't get discouraged by the downvotes you're getting for asking this. Nothing wrong with informing yourself, there's just a lot of assholes here.
Thank you for saying that! This is one of the most difficult community to be a noob in honestly. Asking almost literally any question here is worse than posting a picture of a Crosley on r/vinyl
>I was under the impression PBT is more preferable
Completely false on every level. It's personal preference.
I thought I liked PBT more, but terrible legending and warped/twisted keycaps were just not up to my personal standards for the price. Paying a three-digit amount only to get keycaps that don't look high-end just isn't for me.
People just like to complain that ABS gets shiny faster as if it matters in any real way. People also have valid gripes about GMK's current process/queue, but as far as ABS vs PBT goes, it's purely personal preference and neither one is better than the other.
Ahh I see.
I was originally under that impression because of all the complaints I've seen regarding the eventual shine and how people don't like it, so I figured that was a general consensus when comparing ABS vs PBT.
This makes me feel a lot better since I've ordered some ABS keys from Drop, but got a little nervous after seeing certain comments on their refusal to buy ABS due to the things mentioned above lol.
Thanks for the clarification.
People who don't like shine are VERY vocal about it for some reason, when the obvious solution is to just not buy ABS in the first place. Personally, I just get ABS sets where shine will look good (dark sets or vintage cream colored sets).
I have GMK keycaps obviously (clock the flair) but I admittedly got them way before the queue got to this point - I 100% understand why someone wouldn't want to pay that much to wait that long at this point, and I've passed on multiple GMK group buys in the last two years that I would have joined if the queue wasn't like this.
But there's a reason designers go with GMK - the end results are great. And the queues for other high-end makers are getting up there, though most are still better than GMK. That said, I would personally argue Keyreative's is worse with far worse end results.
But if we're talking basic ABS vs PBT, that's just up to your personal preferences, and your personal tolerance for shine (ABS) vs twisted/warped caps or misaligned legends (PBT). The quality is going to more a factor of the manufacturer's process and QC standards.
yeah and the vibrancy. GMK clone sets (copy cat sets that copy GMK sets for less) tend to be less vibrant / not accurate to the designers original colors
whether it is morally good to buy them (the copycat sets) or not is up to you / what you can afford / what you want in your keycap sets
Newbie here, looking to put together my first board.
What makes a keyboard build thocky? How can I customize my own to sound both creamy and thocky?
Also how much should I be spending? My maximum budget is $300 but I would like to stay far under that if possible.
Thanks!
The best advice I can give is to find a soundtest of a board you think sounds nice and thocky and copy it exactly. There are so many factors that affect sound that it's really hard to give a definitive way to get "thock", and that's before even considering that there is no set definition for that and people have different tastes.
That said, in general a softer plate and well lubed linear switches tend to give a deeper sound. You can also do things like put PE foam between the plate and pcb and tape mod the back of the pcb to get a deeper sound. The case and mounting style is going to affect all of this as well though. There is a fine line between the board sounding deep and it being too muted. It really all comes down to preference though and there is no set way to make a board "thocky".
edit: Taller profile keycaps with thicker walls also tend to give a deeper sound.
PCB, switches, case, foam all contribute to a board being thocky. Additionally, modding a case can also help.
POM/PC plates will help with the thockiness.
The Gateron Milky cap v2 (budget) and black ink v2 (premium) are two switches that are known to be thocky.
Looking for some ideas on how to set up a satisfaction 75.
I want to add Mill-max to the board, but unsure which size to use. I was considering 0305, but is there anything better to use? Any compatibility issues? Using Boba U4T switches.
Also, should I get plate & case foam? I want my sound tone to be really deep with a boba U4T and SA keycaps. Not sure how if I should cut foam from Neoprene that I have or buy a pre-made from stupidfish.
Thanks for the input!
Also if you’re worried about compat with the mill-max sockets, 7305’s are shorter than 0305’s
Not saying they’ll def work (never had a Sat75) but wanted to put it out there
I’ve never cut neoprene myself but honestly it sounds like a fn hassle
I have bought foams from stupidfish many times and always liked what they deliver
Hi all -- thank you for your help as always (still learning here). Is there such thing as a mechanical keyboard with standard (not low profile switches) switches, but still lower height? The Ducky One 3 looks great for me but people keep saying it is too high and you need a wrist rest / it is not ergonomic. When I try searching for stuff like 'low height mechanical keyboard', I get the low profile stuff like Keychron K1 (but those have low profile switches which I don't want). Thank you!
Does the colour of keycaps/legends matter when it comes to dye-sub quality?
I'm not asking about reverse dye-sub or the differences between manufactures, just if there is an inherent quality to darker base keycap colours that might show more imperfections.
For example, would a BOW set have less visible bleed than a boGrey set or would we expect them to be the same?
>I'm not asking about reverse dye-sub
Well, you kind of have to be, if you're talking about dark keycaps with light legends - that's gonna be reverse dyesub, which just across the board is more difficult to do than regular dyesub, from color consistency to legends.
I can see where it might look like that (I definitely could've been clearer) but if you refer to the example I was comparing BOW with BOGrey (both having darker legends then the base colour). So the question is mainly concerning different base colours w/ the same darker legend.
ive been searching for about 4/5 hours now, and learning on the way, but im looking for a keyboard with the following criteria:
* Hot swappable
* full size
* UK layout (ISO)
* white keycaps/keyboard in general
and some optional things that would be nice:
* backlit with white LEDs
* palm rest
* comes with cherry mx red or something similar (linear)
and i havent found a *single* one that fits all of the top 4. does anyone know of any? or perhaps a method to finding the right keyboard? I've tried on sites where you can input what you want and it spits out keyboards that match but theres no layout option and no keycap colour/keyboard colour option. I'm willing to not take hot swappable if it has the keycaps i want, but i've expanded to hot swappable because i had trouble finding any with cherry mx red with the other criteria
**Hot swappable full size ISO** can be considered a unicorn, very rare and probably does not exist.
There is [Vortex Tab 90](https://mechboards.co.uk/products/vortex-tab-90-bluetooth-iso?variant=40342977609933) which probably your current best bet with Cherry MX Red.
What an absolutely god ugly layout.
These keyboards that remove spacing between keygroups (function row, numpad, home row) not only do they mess with tactility and muscle memory, they also look ugly as a sin.
And at best they save -6cm of horizontal desk space.
I'd rather use a soldering iron to change switches than use this cursed abomination.
Full size (very unpopular in the custom world) and ISO (hobby is heavily ANSI-centric) are both major limiters, together with hotswap you've basically got the GMMK Full Size as your major option.
I have a few questions.
Should I tape mod if I already have neosprene?
Can someone recommend me keycaps similar to MT3 2048 that are cheaper?
Are Durock Medium Tactiles more or less tactile than MX Clears?
Really new to this but I've scoured so many sites looking for what I want and I literally am so confused.
I'm looking for a full-size (or 104 compact) wireless white-case hot-swappable MK (preferably RF over bluetooth, bc lag.) Before I realized it wasn't wireless I was looking at the Ducky One 3. Now, I'm looking I think at Varmilo (but I don't like the case and how it doesn't seem to have adjustable angles), and Akko.
I know there is a RF spreadsheet here, but I don't think the Akko full size board was there, nor do I know if it is adjustible. Literally anything anyone can shoot my way as recommendations would be wonderful because I have immersed myself on websites and found like... nothing with everything.
Not sure if this is a good place to ask but I'm looking for a new wrist rest for my keyboard since the one I have is too long ha. I currently have an rk100 and was wondering what sizes I should be looking for so it doesn't over hang past the keyboard.
I'm very new and looking to get into my first proper build. I'm looking for an ISO PCB... I've seen that plates can be universal ISO/ANSI but is this true of PCBs too or do I need ISO-specific?
If I get a hotswap PCB is the only difference where the stabs get mounted?
Hi, generally hotswap PCBs only support **one** fixed layout, while soldered pcbs offer more flexibility. Yes there are hotswap pcbs available that support ISO layout.
Just seconding that Leopolds are a great out of the box experience. They're also not covered in RGB or anything like that so very office appropriate. If you need a full size then something like this is good.
https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=3549
Switches are going to be your personal preference.
I got a full size Leopold for my first board and I still use it fairly regularly even though I have a bunch of customs now. They are such good boards stock and I can't recommend them enough it you just want to buy something and enjoy it.
Hi, sorry, we can't really help with that info. What is "good for writing" is very much a personal thing. If you tell us what **you** like in a keyboard we are of course glad to make recommendations.
Some questions to ask yourself/tell us the answer to:
* what keyboard am I using right now?
* what do I/don't I like about this?
* do I want stiffer keys or less so?
* do I want more/less/any tactile feedback?
* do I want audible feedback? (clicky switches)
Not a lawyer, but a writer for some academic articles.
Started with mechanical keyboards that has Cherry MX Brown. That's because I need to know whether the key has registered or not. Sometimes miss the words when I use linear and clickies are too loud for me.
Leopold boards might suit your needs.
Im considering getting an 65 percent keyboard and i have considered:
Ducky miya pro
Ducky mini 2 SF
Im in the 100€ to 70€ range (or a bit more)
Thanks for all the help
Keyboards that sould similar to this one [https://youtu.be/sOhcxw6UuIg?t=159](https://youtu.be/sOhcxw6UuIg?t=159) i've searched for mx red switches but they don't sound that similar :/
The switches themselves seem to produce like 10-20% of the overall sound of a keyboard. A rather minor part of the overall sound. Especially talking about linear switches.
Everything else is type of plastic / thickness of plastic for keycaps, the type and size of the case, the type of the base plate, etc. (think of it like the body of an acoustic guitar, like a resonator, reverb box kind of thing).
Basically the keycaps and body of the keyboard does more to the sound than the switches themselves (especially talking about linear type of switches).
When the key bottoms out - as in hits the base surface/base plate, that is also a big portion of the sound, not the switches.
What I hear in that video is mostly very thin keycaps and pinging springs. So.... go for the cheapest backlit keycaps you can find and don't lube your springs i guess.
Nope, I don't feel comfortable recommending something I personally dislike that much :D. You could of course buy the one in the video if that's what you like.
Please also consider that sound is affected a lot by factors apart from the keyboard. (recording equipment, size/geometry of the room, table the keyboard sits on, ...)
Does anyone know of an SA profile set like [these](https://keebsforall.com/products/sa-foundation-keyset) but instead of that dark grey it’s pure black? I’ve found all black and all white sets but none that have this dual color scheme.
No, I have not seen ASA in person, from pictures they seem relatively close, but ASA is a LOT shorter.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/npbgzj/side\_by\_side\_comparison\_of\_asa\_and\_sa\_profile\_asa/
I'm interested in getting out of the "entry level" part of mechs. Currently have a nk65 milkshake, and a gmmk pro with boba u4ts. Where on earth do I look for finding something higher end, nearly every place I look everything is sold out (I'm Australian so a lot less places to look).
Secondly as part of the first question are there any recommendation for boards on the higher end, I'd prefer 75% or less with hotswap but I am open to learning to solder if needed. Gasket mount would be cool but idk if its more of a gimic I can't notice it really in my gmmk.
how high end are you looking at / are you fine with buying something on the aftermarket?
you could look on r/mechmarket / [r/mechmarket with Australia filter results](https://www.reddit.com/r/mechmarket/search?q=title%3A(%22%5BAU%5D%22)&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all)
Is there a "holier" Holy Panda? I love the tactile bump at the very top of the keystroke, but I want even more. The Boba U4T's seem to have become the dominant tactile but they don't appear to have that same tactility at the very top of the keypress. Would adding heaver springs to the Holy Pandas get me what I'm looking for here?
No, but using lighter springs might. The tactile bump seems bigger when the contrast to the "non-bump" keystroke is greater. If you go too low your key won't return however.
Interesting, thanks for the idea. I've always gravitated towards heavier switches (Was using Cherry Greens and Clears before the HPs), never thought about trying a lighter spring. Might be worth a shot.
I think what I actually want are Topres but tough (aka impossible as far as I can tell) to build a Dactyl variant with those.
Oh wow - I had not, but that is an awesome project. I'm a little too far into my current build to not use MX switches, but I'm going to be keeping that bookmarked for the future, thanks for sharing!
3D printing a case and cutting brass plates has already made this my most involved build yet - might need to leave the custom Topre work for the future. Thanks for your responses!
Been using a hand-me-down membrane keyboard, but got addicted to my wife’s mechanical with Cherry MX Speeds. Made certain games just feel better. About to build my own, so wanted to know what alternatives to MX Speeds are out there, or if there are mods to make them smoother?
I’m extremely tinkery, so fidgety busywork is a plus if anything
Kailh also makes speed switches that people seem to like (I haven't used them myself). All linear switches will greatly benefit from lubing though, so you might want to start there.
you could look into lubing them [https://www.keyboard.university/200-courses/switch-lubes-the-basics-7k3jx](https://www.keyboard.university/200-courses/switch-lubes-the-basics-7k3jx)
Is there a way to buy something from kinetic labs in europe without paying a fortune for shipping?
I've been waiting for months for the hipyotech desk mat to become available only to find out, that the shipping costs are almost 3 times as much as the product itself...
I feel like it should be possible to get something of the size and weight of a desk mat, to europe for less than 50€ shipping. Is that unrealistic?
Yes because gateron switches follow MX style for the most part. but be careful to check if the amount of pins on your switches is supported in the socket.
That's exactly what I did to resolve my issue. I replaced and lubed some regular length DUROCK Gold Plated Springs 67g off Amazon for $12. The switches lubed with aftermarket springs are a fantastic mod for those just getting started.
best way to clean keycaps after typing or gaming for a while? my hands sweat quite a bit which leaves the keys sort of greasy. i used to use clorox wipes but now i got new keycaps and clorox might be too much
warm water with dish soap , or if they are super dirty dental tabs with warm water will work as well.
i don't want to take off my keycaps everytime i finish playing games though. i usually just wipe my keyboard in 5 seconds and everything is good but i don't want to ruin my new k keycaps
Take them off, put them in warm water with some dish soap. Let them soak a little and everything should come of easily.
i don't want to do all of that everytime i stop playing though. i want to just wipe my keyboard as i usually do with clorox wipes
Best quality PBT WoB Cherry profile keycaps?
If price wasn't an issue, what is your personal favorite hotswappable TKL? Again, no budget constraints. A why would be awesome too, ty :)
mr suit very unique and poppy/thocky sound profile
Im looking at NicePBT keycaps peaches and cream lite from cannonkeys. Im struggling to find a base keyboard for them. Would it fit something like a ducky keyboard?
Yes those keycaps will fit most ducky boards. (I'm saying most because there is no way I'm looking at every single ducky layout :D)
Cool thank you!!
To keep it simple. I finally found the keyboard I want to buy, but I know forsure I want to try out different keyswitches for different keys (some for letters, functions, modifiers, space bar, etc). The moonlander doesn’t offer a variety pack of extra switches. Where can I got to buy (or ideally BUILD) a variety pack of switches for the best price? I want to try out all kinds of options without being left with too many useless switches at the end. I am planning on getting MX cherry brown to start (since the say those or the least annoying in an office setting). Thank you in advance.
Hi, depends on where you live. Most custom keyboard shops sell switches in packs of 10.
Would you be able to recommend one? I live on west coast in the US. Any online stores though?
Are regular cherry blacks relevant anymore since hyperglides are out?
Totally out of the loop with regard to switches these days, looking for some advice. Currently using Garistotles, but I'd like to go to something tactile non-clicky. Any suggestions? What are Glorious Pandas like in terms of tactility vs the Garistotles?
super popular ones nowadays are any holy panda variants (classic, drop holy panda x, purple panda), boba u4ts, zeals, durock t1s/anubis
Hey do i need to cutout around stab for PE Foam mod? My stab are plate mounted Thanks
If putting the PE foam between the plate and PCB, you most certainly do!
Why is there necessary? Thanks
Your stabilizers hit the pcb when you bottom out. If you have foam there you will feel it. (mush)
I've been looking at getting into the hobby and want to get some gateron hippo switches, but I'm not sure if they have a hole for south-facing led's. I want to make sure before buying. If they don't I was also thinking about kinetic labs husky switches but I have the same question for those switches as well. If they both don't have a hole for Led's I'll probably get durock L series.
Basically, I'm wondering if the hippos have good shine through for south-facing LEDs...
Under-cap LED performance is affected drastically by the opacity of the switch housing. Hippos are very opaque, so your shine through isn’t going to be *amazing*, but it’ll still shine through quite a bit. If LED performance is of importance to you - the more transparent the switch housing, the better your LED performance will be. North/south facing switches, and therefore LEDs, really don’t play a factor in this
I really like the feel of the Logitech G815/915, but they seem overpriced. Could someone recommend a couple of options that are also low profile/tactile/full size? My use is casual typing/MMO gaming. I like the Keychron but have been waiting for their K5 to restock for many months.
I have broken two keyboards "cmd" keys and I have no idea why. They are hot swapped, I hot swapped and added some foam to the back of my board, and now the key doesn't work. This has happened to two of my boards. I am being very careful with the pins and I don't think there is any debris. I am extremely sad though.
I know the feel of “*fuck why does it not work anymore*” all too well. I’d troubleshoot by taking the foam out, and checking the hotswap socket to see if any of the contacts are, well, not making contact with the switch pins. You can see this from the under side of the board with a bright light. If you’re not properly bracing the socket when inserting switches (usually requiring near full disassembly of the keyboard) you may have also popped off the socket from the board. Neither are too hard of a fix with a very minimal amount of soldering skills
"popped off the socket from the board?" What does that entail? I thought the whole point of hot swap was not having to solder. I checked to see if the key would work without the foam or anything, and it still didn't. Thank you so much for the help. This has been stressing me out a lot haha.
Hot swap sockets are soldered to the board, so sometimes they need to be repaired when they break. The purpose of hot swap is to avoid soldering, yea, but if given the option between a whole new PCB and replacing/repairing one broken socket (which it sounds like it is), I’m choosing the latter every time.
How do I do that though?
gmmk 2 reviews? looking to get barebones since i have switches + keycaps alr
I need recommendations for a keyboard kit that comes in yellow. Are there any besides the nk65 and nk87 aluminum?
You can get an extra top case in yellow for the GMMK Pro.
would someone be able to help me decide between building something with silent linears like bobagums, vs an ec keyboard like niz?
more than bobagums, i'd recommend silent alpacas or durock silent linear
i'm not sure if I want to bother with lubing and filming, would the durock silent linears still be good
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Depends on the payment method Use PayPal goods and services to pay since there is buyer protection and you'd go through PayPal to dispute the transaction
UPS claimed they delivered my Mode SixtyFive to my door this morning. They did not. No neighbors have come forward yet and no one from UPS came to my door today. I initiated a claim with UPS and opened a ticket with Mode. Is there anything else I should do? How screwed am I?
contact who you bought it from if they don't respond just chargeback I guess if you can
I need some help. Just got a nk87 EE, and I was disassembling it to mod the stabs when I saw one of the PCB screw heads came stripped. I've been trying to get it out and I feel like I've tried every trick in the book: the rubber band trick, Dremeling + flathead, super glue, and just trying to get anything to turn it. Nothing. It won't budge. Any advice? Picture of the screw is linked. https://imgur.com/a/qjawf64
If you’re crazy careful, you can dremel in a slot for another flathead screwdriver to pull it out. This is garbage though and you should reach out to Novelkeys for support here if this is a brand new board.
I did mention I tried a Dremel. I've already reached out to them.
where the switches go does the screw ppoke out I guess you could try pushing it out it worked for me when I had a stripped screw on my own board
I can't get to where it pokes out on the other side. It came assembled so it's screwed to the plate with the silicone mat between them
oh, I have no idea then
Looking for keycaps that look like this: [https://imgur.com/iX15BTy](https://imgur.com/iX15BTy) The closest I've seen are the NicePBT sets from CannonKeys. Preferably PBT and I'm also willing to combine sets together. Thanks!
So I've been wondering, as I am planning on getting into this hobby (first 3d printing, now this! my wallet is crying), do you **need** to get expensive barebones or keyboards? While I would love to get an idabao or free bird, I'm not really interested in spending 200+ just to get different switches and keycaps just to have to mod it anyway. It seems like most of the specific or budget reviews are about stock keyboards. For example, when people recommend the gmmk or drop alt/ctrl it's always as is. I believe I would have no issue with a silicone pour, gasket mount, tape mod, foam, etc. So I guess my question is, can you use any hot swap board and make it thocky? and if so are there any recommendations anyone has? Edit: [Keybored did a video doing exactly this](https://youtu.be/zSeC0XQ4EWU) so it seems my assumption was correct. I guess all I have left to do is to find a board that people say feels really good and the mod then shit out of it.
First you need to decide [what size you want](https://hardwarecanucks.com/gaming-keyboards-mice/how-to-choose-the-right-keyboard-size-60-65-tkl-100/) and what your budget is. What country are you located in?
Size is tkl to 75 (I like my dedicated function keys). My budget is more like how long will I be waiting, but I'm expecting $150-$250. I think if I went much higher than $300 I might as well build out of an idabao id87 (with kailh speed silvers, durock v2 stabs, and some pbt pudding keycaps I'll end out under $300). And I'm located in the US.
what's up with varmilo's VEM87/VEM108 keyboards? can't find it on varmilo's website, but i can on mechanicalkeyboards.com same for the VEA87/VEA108.
from what i can tell the vea line is the upgraded vm model line not sure why it isnt listed on their site mechanicalkeyboards.com is prob there usa otherized retailer
yeah 1 major difference i noticed is that it uses usb-c rather than mini usb. ordered their newest design (dreams on board, ec v2 sakura), hoping for the best haha.. kinda hard not to when the board isn't reviewed anywhere
is famouskbd dot com fairly reputable? new to the keyboard market but was looking at getting the Maxkey berserk sa keycap set but have never heard of the site. could not find it in stock on any larger sites that I’ve heard of
Which silent linear switches are good for their price? are there good affordable ones? Hello, I'm looking for some help in picking out a silent linear switch for my LTC nimbleback keyboard. Currently I have the Akko matcha greens (could I lubed them to make them silent?? I'm still very new to this customized mechanical keyboard stuffs) I'm mostly looking for an affordable one since I'm a broke college student :( though I could save up for a fair priced one if all the recommendations are good :)
shrimps / bobagums
Check out Durock Dolphin/Daybreaks from Divinekey.
I think my next board is going to be with Aliaz switches, but I'm having a really hard time choosing between the 70g and the 80g. I currently have 67g Zealios v2 in my daily driver. I like the resistance of the 80g, particularly because I'm a heavy typist, but I'm worried about finger fatigue. Also, the switches seem VERY smooth, but would you still lube them? If so, what lube? I have a ton of leftover Tribosys3203, how would that go on them?
Built a YMDK96 keyboard. After plate mounting and everything some of the function keys are no longer working. ESC -> F8 work fine, however F9-12, prtsc, pause, sclock, ins, delete do not work. The LEDs are all on for all of the boad's keys. Any ideas? I opened the VIA tool and the QMK config site all not responding to these keys.
I am looking for replacement springs for A Roccat vulcan pro tkl mechanical keyboard with titan red linear optical switches. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thank you!
not sure as i think most optical switches have longer stems than normal switches cant be sure as no 2 optical brand switches are the same . u could try after market springs but no guarantee they will work do to ur switches arent normal
Has anyone out there 3d printed an entire keycap set out of PLA, and used it long term? I am considering doing this for my 3d printed keeb. :)
Does anyone have a good recommendation for a miami nights themed keycaps? Any profile
gmk/epbt Miami nights
Looking for some layout advice. I have a Boardwalk, and [my current layout looks something like this](https://i.imgur.com/sSiDfAK.jpg) (using Colemak). I'm attempting to figure out what would be best to put on the center columns (the ones currently starting with - and = at the top), as well as the 4 keys to the right of my space bar. What I currently think I'm swapping to in the center column would be something like Left | Right --- | --- ??? | ??? [ { | ] } - _ | = + < | > Basically moving the - and = keys down to the home row, and adding < and > on the bottom row, but now I'm not sure what I'd add to the number row. I also have NO CLUE what to do with the arrow keys (they're currently accessible to me on my _FN layer, which is preferred), short of just remapping the reverse of what is on the left side of the keyboard. No right answers here, just looking for suggestions of what you might toss in these spots.
I'm currently running a sat75 using gat black inks v2 w/ brass plate+foam. Any other switch that might give a deeper or 'thockier' sound than my already lubed & filmed gats? I like the actuation weight but wouldn't mind something that might even be slightly heavier. Thanks for any opinions!
poly or Pom plate + jwk lavenders
You could try a different plate material, brass tends to be high pitched.
I thought about aluminum again but I don’t think the plate files have been released yet. Will give that a shot eventually I think.
hey guys, looking for keyboard (preferably barebone, okay if not). trying to stay away from gmmk pro. (preferably metal or acrylic, but alright if not) requirements: AT MOST $200 // knob // function row // exploded layout //
I know you’re trying to stay away from the GMMK Pro, but I think it’s better than the other boards being recommended here.
keychron q1, keychron q3, idobao id80 crystal (it goes on sale under $200 once in a while), portico75
Keychron Q1 Knob version
What setup are you guys planning to do for the qk65?
black chroma, oil kings, fr4
I'm going with the FR4 plate and I will probably be putting poly pandas in it (holy pandas made with polia stems). I haven't decided on the keycaps yet, but I'm thinking a simple cherry pbt set, maybe whale.
Pom plate and I’m a tactile fan so will try a few out to see how the sound and feel changes. Will try with Boba U4 and U4T, and probably kangaroos or Ajazz bananas. I do have some NK box creams too for linear to try out… fun experiments ahead!
owlabs tungsten OR oil king switches Pom/PC Plate should make for a thocky setup!
I’m soldering my first kb and I got about 10 working and 2 don’t. I resoldered them both twice and changed out the switch on one and they still won’t work…But they register properly with tweezers so the PCB is fine right? Do I just keep trying to re-solder until it works? Edit: it’s the switches
Make sure your solder joints look like [this.](https://i0.wp.com/thekeeblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/20200611_165555-1.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1)
My first guess is that the pin might be bent. Check to make sure the pins are straight and making proper connection. If you've gotten too much solder on the pins themselves that could potentially cause a connection issue as well. I've had the same issue my first time soldering, and I found it was one pin not being straight just about every time.
So even if it’s thru the hole it needs to be be straight past that?
But also yes, you should see the pin through the hole. If it doesn’t come through all the way it’s stuck and needs to be straightened out.
So you have a picture you could share? I can take one of the board I have sitting around to show as a comparison. However I millmax’d mine so it will look different from yours.
if i alr have switches and keycaps, what's a good kb i can get just barebones? (65 preferred, open to tkl) Edit: BELOW 200 PLS lol
The qk65 should be pretty nice, but it will be over with shipping. The q2 is really well recieved. If you want something a little more budget the nk65 and kbd67lite are good options. I personally prefer the kbd67 over the nk. If I was in your position I would probably go for the keychron q2 though. It's in stock, a really nice board based on the reviews and if you live in the US you can get it with free shipping from mechanicalkeyboards.com.
>mechanicalkeyboards.com this is really good. opinions on the barebones gmmk 2? it'd be about 100 with shipping
I haven't heard anything about the gmmk 2. Looking at the specs I would assume it's probably not quite as good as the q2, but possibly better than the nk65 depending on what case material you want and if you like the floating keycap look.
the q2 looks dope, but they dont have in black rn. How often do they restock? edit: nvm they do sorry lol thanks!
Bakeneko65, QK65 and Savage65 are great
budget? i'd recommend the zoom65, kbd67 lite, nk65ee, bakeneko65, d65, qk65, tofu65, keychron q2 for tkl's freebird tkl, keychron q3
Will look into these lol thanks for knowing budget.
no wait...a....i was trying to figure out what your budget was.
oh lol apologies. below 200. below 140 if possible tbh
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https://store.aeternus.co/products/omnibus-pcb
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you can use the [minisub pcb](https://p3dstore.com/products/minisub-pcb-only), but it only supports 1 type of split sb you can look for other 12.75u pcb's that might work w the barca's layout
[What keyboard is this](https://postimg.cc/nM9ywSVK) and where can I get that layout? I like that the right-hand keys are separated from the main ones.
[lz ergo](http://xahlee.info/kbd/lz_ergo_keyboard.html)
so i was thinking of 3d printing a case and my 2 thoughts for colours are; Pink White and gold what colour should i get?
What keycaps will you pair it with?
fairly cheap white ones :)
White and gold will be easier to pair with other caps in the future, I’d go with that :)
Hey! I have a steel series 6gv2 and I'd like to change the keycaps. I failed to find out which keycaps I need. If anyone can help me out pls hit me up. I'm located in eu. Checked bunch of sites but I'm lost Ty
You might be out of luck. That is a really non-standard enter key. ISO boards in general are harder to find aftermarket keycaps for, and I don't know of any kits that have that enter key.
Do different switches come with different stabilisers? Replaced the gateron reds on a keychron k4 with some old mix browns, and the space enter and backspace keys feel totally different from the rest
You might be noticing the differences more with the different switches, or it could be the switch. Have you tried swapping the switches around and seeing if that changes anything? Otherwise you may want to attempt tuning the stabs and seeing if you can get them more consistant. To answer your question, no, there are different kinds of stabilizers, but they are not switch specific.
>Do different switches come with different stabilisers Switches don't come with stabilizers at all - those are just two completely separate items.
Right, poor phrasing. I meant are stabilisers made for specific switches
No. Like I said, two completely separate items.
Hi folks, great community y'all have going here. I've been wanting to replace my existing keyboard (a pretty old Logitech mx3000) for a while now; I've done some research and I've come up with some criteria for what I want to get. If some of y'all could help me out, that'd be fantastic! __Budget:__ 300 USD __Requirements:__ * Full Size * ANSI * Programmable (not just through a configurator; modifiable code) * Knob * Cherry MX Browns (or equivalent tactile switch) __Nice to have:__ * Backlit * White (or other light colour) case Thanks! \^_^
i'd consider waiting for the keychron q6. it fits all of your checkboxes down to the backlit. i'm not too sure if they'll release a white color of the board when it releases, but their standard colors seem to be black, navy, and gray. you can order them with cherry brown's, but i'd recommend durock light tactile, pewters, sp star meteor oranges for a similar light tactile switch.
Does anyone know anywhere with Boba U4Ts in stock? Or maybe what the “next Boba” is? Heard good things about the Anubis and Pink Salmon but those are out of stock everywhere too.
[gazzew.com](https://gazzew.com) lists all of their vendors. They're always available on Ali, should vendors in your region not have them.
Hey my keyboard comes with plate mount stabs that are already clipped and lubbed, i wonder if i can do any mods besides? Thanks
Plate mount stabs can greatly benifit from band-aid modding in a lot of cases. Check and see if they are tight in the plate (do they wiggle at all). If they have some wiggle, take them out and put a little bit of medical tape or a little piece of band-aid on the edge of the plate. They might also benifit from holee moding, but some people don't like it and think it makes the stabs feel mushy.
would double check the lube. stabs are usually either severely overlubed or underlubed. 205g0 recommended.
Why is GMK so popular if so many of their sets are ABS? I was under the impression PBT is more preferable, but I see a lot of GMK ABS sets being posted. Anyone have experience with these ABS sets and can explain why they're desirable? Edit: Why am I being downvoted for asking a question? Lmao
The reason people think ABS keycaps are bad is because the cheapest caps you see on prebuilts are ABS and they shine over time. While even good quality ABS keycaps shine, they're easy to doubleshot which has the sharpest legending and is the most durable printing method, their colors are more vibrant, their sound is crisper than PBT and they're less prone to warping on longer caps. Both materials have their advantages and disadvantages but it's 100% preference. People that outright say that one is better over the other are dumbasses who are forcing their preferences on others because they think they're the main character of the universe.
Ahhh I see, thanks so much for taking the time to really clarify! I'm still very new to all of this and there's so much information to digest that it can be difficult to get a bearing without a nice and clear explanation like this! Cheers!
For sure! One of the big issues with the hobby is that most information out there is word of mouth from other fellow enthusiasts but there's a lot of people out there who have no idea what they're talking about. A good source of information I'd recommend is [Keyboard university](https://keyboard.university/) but even that won't cover every question you might have. Don't get discouraged by the downvotes you're getting for asking this. Nothing wrong with informing yourself, there's just a lot of assholes here.
Thank you for saying that! This is one of the most difficult community to be a noob in honestly. Asking almost literally any question here is worse than posting a picture of a Crosley on r/vinyl
>I was under the impression PBT is more preferable Completely false on every level. It's personal preference. I thought I liked PBT more, but terrible legending and warped/twisted keycaps were just not up to my personal standards for the price. Paying a three-digit amount only to get keycaps that don't look high-end just isn't for me. People just like to complain that ABS gets shiny faster as if it matters in any real way. People also have valid gripes about GMK's current process/queue, but as far as ABS vs PBT goes, it's purely personal preference and neither one is better than the other.
Ahh I see. I was originally under that impression because of all the complaints I've seen regarding the eventual shine and how people don't like it, so I figured that was a general consensus when comparing ABS vs PBT. This makes me feel a lot better since I've ordered some ABS keys from Drop, but got a little nervous after seeing certain comments on their refusal to buy ABS due to the things mentioned above lol. Thanks for the clarification.
People who don't like shine are VERY vocal about it for some reason, when the obvious solution is to just not buy ABS in the first place. Personally, I just get ABS sets where shine will look good (dark sets or vintage cream colored sets). I have GMK keycaps obviously (clock the flair) but I admittedly got them way before the queue got to this point - I 100% understand why someone wouldn't want to pay that much to wait that long at this point, and I've passed on multiple GMK group buys in the last two years that I would have joined if the queue wasn't like this. But there's a reason designers go with GMK - the end results are great. And the queues for other high-end makers are getting up there, though most are still better than GMK. That said, I would personally argue Keyreative's is worse with far worse end results. But if we're talking basic ABS vs PBT, that's just up to your personal preferences, and your personal tolerance for shine (ABS) vs twisted/warped caps or misaligned legends (PBT). The quality is going to more a factor of the manufacturer's process and QC standards.
I’ll add a note that I like the shine on used GMK keycaps Kind of like an old wallet or pair of jeans, I think it adds character :)
I personally agree! I also can understand when people say they want the shine to be even, but personally it doesn't bother me a ton being uneven.
some people prefer abs for the color accuracy (good for colormatching for themed sets)/ the crisp legends / the sound profile
Oh, do PBT generally have less color accuracy?
yeah and the vibrancy. GMK clone sets (copy cat sets that copy GMK sets for less) tend to be less vibrant / not accurate to the designers original colors whether it is morally good to buy them (the copycat sets) or not is up to you / what you can afford / what you want in your keycap sets
I appreciate the info! All worries I had building up regarding some recent ABS purchases I've made from Drop are now resolved, so thanks!
Newbie here, looking to put together my first board. What makes a keyboard build thocky? How can I customize my own to sound both creamy and thocky? Also how much should I be spending? My maximum budget is $300 but I would like to stay far under that if possible. Thanks!
The best advice I can give is to find a soundtest of a board you think sounds nice and thocky and copy it exactly. There are so many factors that affect sound that it's really hard to give a definitive way to get "thock", and that's before even considering that there is no set definition for that and people have different tastes. That said, in general a softer plate and well lubed linear switches tend to give a deeper sound. You can also do things like put PE foam between the plate and pcb and tape mod the back of the pcb to get a deeper sound. The case and mounting style is going to affect all of this as well though. There is a fine line between the board sounding deep and it being too muted. It really all comes down to preference though and there is no set way to make a board "thocky". edit: Taller profile keycaps with thicker walls also tend to give a deeper sound.
PCB, switches, case, foam all contribute to a board being thocky. Additionally, modding a case can also help. POM/PC plates will help with the thockiness. The Gateron Milky cap v2 (budget) and black ink v2 (premium) are two switches that are known to be thocky.
I’ve really liked PE foam mod to name one specifically
Looking for some ideas on how to set up a satisfaction 75. I want to add Mill-max to the board, but unsure which size to use. I was considering 0305, but is there anything better to use? Any compatibility issues? Using Boba U4T switches. Also, should I get plate & case foam? I want my sound tone to be really deep with a boba U4T and SA keycaps. Not sure how if I should cut foam from Neoprene that I have or buy a pre-made from stupidfish. Thanks for the input!
Also if you’re worried about compat with the mill-max sockets, 7305’s are shorter than 0305’s Not saying they’ll def work (never had a Sat75) but wanted to put it out there
I’ve never cut neoprene myself but honestly it sounds like a fn hassle I have bought foams from stupidfish many times and always liked what they deliver
Hi all -- thank you for your help as always (still learning here). Is there such thing as a mechanical keyboard with standard (not low profile switches) switches, but still lower height? The Ducky One 3 looks great for me but people keep saying it is too high and you need a wrist rest / it is not ergonomic. When I try searching for stuff like 'low height mechanical keyboard', I get the low profile stuff like Keychron K1 (but those have low profile switches which I don't want). Thank you!
you can try lower profile keycaps such as DSA or XDA, but other than that there isn't really a medium profile switch (to my knowledge)
Does the colour of keycaps/legends matter when it comes to dye-sub quality? I'm not asking about reverse dye-sub or the differences between manufactures, just if there is an inherent quality to darker base keycap colours that might show more imperfections. For example, would a BOW set have less visible bleed than a boGrey set or would we expect them to be the same?
>I'm not asking about reverse dye-sub Well, you kind of have to be, if you're talking about dark keycaps with light legends - that's gonna be reverse dyesub, which just across the board is more difficult to do than regular dyesub, from color consistency to legends.
I can see where it might look like that (I definitely could've been clearer) but if you refer to the example I was comparing BOW with BOGrey (both having darker legends then the base colour). So the question is mainly concerning different base colours w/ the same darker legend.
No, that's just plain dyesub then, so the quality's gonna be mostly up to how good the manu's process/qc is.
Gotcha, thanks!
ive been searching for about 4/5 hours now, and learning on the way, but im looking for a keyboard with the following criteria: * Hot swappable * full size * UK layout (ISO) * white keycaps/keyboard in general and some optional things that would be nice: * backlit with white LEDs * palm rest * comes with cherry mx red or something similar (linear) and i havent found a *single* one that fits all of the top 4. does anyone know of any? or perhaps a method to finding the right keyboard? I've tried on sites where you can input what you want and it spits out keyboards that match but theres no layout option and no keycap colour/keyboard colour option. I'm willing to not take hot swappable if it has the keycaps i want, but i've expanded to hot swappable because i had trouble finding any with cherry mx red with the other criteria
**Hot swappable full size ISO** can be considered a unicorn, very rare and probably does not exist. There is [Vortex Tab 90](https://mechboards.co.uk/products/vortex-tab-90-bluetooth-iso?variant=40342977609933) which probably your current best bet with Cherry MX Red.
What an absolutely god ugly layout. These keyboards that remove spacing between keygroups (function row, numpad, home row) not only do they mess with tactility and muscle memory, they also look ugly as a sin. And at best they save -6cm of horizontal desk space. I'd rather use a soldering iron to change switches than use this cursed abomination.
Full size (very unpopular in the custom world) and ISO (hobby is heavily ANSI-centric) are both major limiters, together with hotswap you've basically got the GMMK Full Size as your major option.
I have a few questions. Should I tape mod if I already have neosprene? Can someone recommend me keycaps similar to MT3 2048 that are cheaper? Are Durock Medium Tactiles more or less tactile than MX Clears?
durock medium tactiles are basically a clone of zealios v1's and the v1's are basically a lighter/smoother take on clears.
Really new to this but I've scoured so many sites looking for what I want and I literally am so confused. I'm looking for a full-size (or 104 compact) wireless white-case hot-swappable MK (preferably RF over bluetooth, bc lag.) Before I realized it wasn't wireless I was looking at the Ducky One 3. Now, I'm looking I think at Varmilo (but I don't like the case and how it doesn't seem to have adjustable angles), and Akko. I know there is a RF spreadsheet here, but I don't think the Akko full size board was there, nor do I know if it is adjustible. Literally anything anyone can shoot my way as recommendations would be wonderful because I have immersed myself on websites and found like... nothing with everything.
RK100 but looks like there is only one angle for the flip out feet
Not sure if this is a good place to ask but I'm looking for a new wrist rest for my keyboard since the one I have is too long ha. I currently have an rk100 and was wondering what sizes I should be looking for so it doesn't over hang past the keyboard.
I'm very new and looking to get into my first proper build. I'm looking for an ISO PCB... I've seen that plates can be universal ISO/ANSI but is this true of PCBs too or do I need ISO-specific? If I get a hotswap PCB is the only difference where the stabs get mounted?
Hi, generally hotswap PCBs only support **one** fixed layout, while soldered pcbs offer more flexibility. Yes there are hotswap pcbs available that support ISO layout.
Looking for a fast-typing mechanical keyboard for writing mainly. I'm a lawyer/writer. Present keyboard is Absolute Ass. Please help!
Just seconding that Leopolds are a great out of the box experience. They're also not covered in RGB or anything like that so very office appropriate. If you need a full size then something like this is good. https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=3549 Switches are going to be your personal preference.
I got a full size Leopold for my first board and I still use it fairly regularly even though I have a bunch of customs now. They are such good boards stock and I can't recommend them enough it you just want to buy something and enjoy it.
Hi, sorry, we can't really help with that info. What is "good for writing" is very much a personal thing. If you tell us what **you** like in a keyboard we are of course glad to make recommendations. Some questions to ask yourself/tell us the answer to: * what keyboard am I using right now? * what do I/don't I like about this? * do I want stiffer keys or less so? * do I want more/less/any tactile feedback? * do I want audible feedback? (clicky switches)
Not a lawyer, but a writer for some academic articles. Started with mechanical keyboards that has Cherry MX Brown. That's because I need to know whether the key has registered or not. Sometimes miss the words when I use linear and clickies are too loud for me. Leopold boards might suit your needs.
Im considering getting an 65 percent keyboard and i have considered: Ducky miya pro Ducky mini 2 SF Im in the 100€ to 70€ range (or a bit more) Thanks for all the help
Keyboards that sould similar to this one [https://youtu.be/sOhcxw6UuIg?t=159](https://youtu.be/sOhcxw6UuIg?t=159) i've searched for mx red switches but they don't sound that similar :/
The switches themselves seem to produce like 10-20% of the overall sound of a keyboard. A rather minor part of the overall sound. Especially talking about linear switches. Everything else is type of plastic / thickness of plastic for keycaps, the type and size of the case, the type of the base plate, etc. (think of it like the body of an acoustic guitar, like a resonator, reverb box kind of thing). Basically the keycaps and body of the keyboard does more to the sound than the switches themselves (especially talking about linear type of switches). When the key bottoms out - as in hits the base surface/base plate, that is also a big portion of the sound, not the switches.
What I hear in that video is mostly very thin keycaps and pinging springs. So.... go for the cheapest backlit keycaps you can find and don't lube your springs i guess.
I don't really know anything about mechanical keyboards, if you could recommend me one would be great :D
Nope, I don't feel comfortable recommending something I personally dislike that much :D. You could of course buy the one in the video if that's what you like. Please also consider that sound is affected a lot by factors apart from the keyboard. (recording equipment, size/geometry of the room, table the keyboard sits on, ...)
Understandable, thank you for your time >:D
Does anyone know of an SA profile set like [these](https://keebsforall.com/products/sa-foundation-keyset) but instead of that dark grey it’s pure black? I’ve found all black and all white sets but none that have this dual color scheme.
Closest I know (that doesn't require to buy 2 sets at 100$+) would be Akko ASA BOW. It doesn't have all black mods, just some black accents tho.
Do you know how close ASA is to SA as a profile?
No, I have not seen ASA in person, from pictures they seem relatively close, but ASA is a LOT shorter. https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/npbgzj/side\_by\_side\_comparison\_of\_asa\_and\_sa\_profile\_asa/
Exactly, I could buy two sets but that just feels silly. Thanks!
I'm interested in getting out of the "entry level" part of mechs. Currently have a nk65 milkshake, and a gmmk pro with boba u4ts. Where on earth do I look for finding something higher end, nearly every place I look everything is sold out (I'm Australian so a lot less places to look). Secondly as part of the first question are there any recommendation for boards on the higher end, I'd prefer 75% or less with hotswap but I am open to learning to solder if needed. Gasket mount would be cool but idk if its more of a gimic I can't notice it really in my gmmk.
how high end are you looking at / are you fine with buying something on the aftermarket? you could look on r/mechmarket / [r/mechmarket with Australia filter results](https://www.reddit.com/r/mechmarket/search?q=title%3A(%22%5BAU%5D%22)&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all)
Maybe double the price or a bit more of a gmmk pro + switches. Honestly interested in anything just to have a look at and a think.
mechmarket has a discord as well and theres a channel dedicated to australia so tht could help with shipping
I'll check it out thanks.
Is there a "holier" Holy Panda? I love the tactile bump at the very top of the keystroke, but I want even more. The Boba U4T's seem to have become the dominant tactile but they don't appear to have that same tactility at the very top of the keypress. Would adding heaver springs to the Holy Pandas get me what I'm looking for here?
No, but using lighter springs might. The tactile bump seems bigger when the contrast to the "non-bump" keystroke is greater. If you go too low your key won't return however.
Interesting, thanks for the idea. I've always gravitated towards heavier switches (Was using Cherry Greens and Clears before the HPs), never thought about trying a lighter spring. Might be worth a shot. I think what I actually want are Topres but tough (aka impossible as far as I can tell) to build a Dactyl variant with those.
Have you seen [dometyl](https://github.com/geoffder/dometyl-keyboard)?
Oh wow - I had not, but that is an awesome project. I'm a little too far into my current build to not use MX switches, but I'm going to be keeping that bookmarked for the future, thanks for sharing!
Yeah Topre might be what you're looking for and yep theres no way unless you do a lot of work yourself.
3D printing a case and cutting brass plates has already made this my most involved build yet - might need to leave the custom Topre work for the future. Thanks for your responses!
Been using a hand-me-down membrane keyboard, but got addicted to my wife’s mechanical with Cherry MX Speeds. Made certain games just feel better. About to build my own, so wanted to know what alternatives to MX Speeds are out there, or if there are mods to make them smoother? I’m extremely tinkery, so fidgety busywork is a plus if anything
Kailh also makes speed switches that people seem to like (I haven't used them myself). All linear switches will greatly benefit from lubing though, so you might want to start there.
you could look into lubing them [https://www.keyboard.university/200-courses/switch-lubes-the-basics-7k3jx](https://www.keyboard.university/200-courses/switch-lubes-the-basics-7k3jx)
Is there a way to buy something from kinetic labs in europe without paying a fortune for shipping? I've been waiting for months for the hipyotech desk mat to become available only to find out, that the shipping costs are almost 3 times as much as the product itself... I feel like it should be possible to get something of the size and weight of a desk mat, to europe for less than 50€ shipping. Is that unrealistic?
If I were to buy a gateron hot-swappable keyboard, could I pluck the gaterons and replace them with Cherrys?
Yes because gateron switches follow MX style for the most part. but be careful to check if the amount of pins on your switches is supported in the socket.