It’s better to just get a hot-swappable PCB and a plate of your choice if you don’t have a spare then put a few layers of foam (any kind will do but I used Silverstone) under the PCB such that it provides your ideal typing angle. The result will feel and sound 1000% better than GMMK (I have one myself and its crap). Extra PCB is always nice to have so nothing goes to waste.
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another thing i feel gets left out of linear switch discussion as well is break in period. At least in my opinion the difference between a broken in linear and a brand new linear is huge.
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another thing i feel gets left out of linear switch discussion as well is break in period. At least in my opinion the difference between a broken in linear and a brand new linear is huge.
We just need switch break-in services popping up. ;-p
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I’ve seen a few of your posts with the foam bottomed boards for test beds & think that is actually a great ideal! I’d just be looking to test switches, other parts, different mods, etc. to figure out what I want to use/do with future builds. Although I do got a few cheap plastic tray mounted casse laying around I could use in conjunction with foam.
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Although I do got a few cheap plastic tray mounted casse laying around I could use in conjunction with foam.
Cheap plastic cases I tried were only decent with silent switches. I definitely prefer case-less foam bottom over plastic case but YMMV. I did hear that some prefer plastic over aluminum case with ALPS switches. Maybe it was polycarb. Not sure. Good luck!
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Yeah I’ll be sure to experiment so I can find the best ways to isolate whatever part I might be testing. Thanks, I’ll definitely let you know how it goes for me! Oh. BTW I used your sorbothane strut mod on my ACR60 I rebuilt last night & you get about 90% of the sound dampening you’d get if you cut a whole sheet to fit in between the PCB & plate! 
Great ideal there to bud!
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I started on linears and while I’ve got mostly tactiles now, I just love the linear feel. Gateron Yellows are probably the best linear with retool or good vintage blacks being second. I haven’t quite gotten to make up some linear silent skies because I need the Yellow springs, but we’ll see about them. Alps SKCC linears like on the pingmaster (olive or cream) are also lovely.
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That’s my shtick! I sell a lubing service so I get to try a loooot of different switches with different springs and lube.
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Anyone else like to pair a certain type of switch with a certain key profile? I personally like linears with SA caps and tactile switches with GMK caps. And clicky switches with nothing, although they are kind of fun to use occasionally.
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MDA or Cherry (sometimes DSA) with Linears.
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Dude, don’t just type on bare stems. /s
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I knew I was doing something wrong!
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I like to pair cherry profile with clickies, cherry profile with linears, and cherry profile with tactiles. I feel like these combos work well with these switches
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Cherry is the all around best profile. Followed by OEM. SA sounds crazy good but it’s is just awkward to use. I’m looking forward to ‘improved SA’ profiles on the way. MG, HSA, XA, and NovelPro (POM!).
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Awkward to use is a great way to describe SA, I basically feel the same
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I have a bit of an unusual setup with multiple computers and displays on one big desk. So I have a primary keyboard that sits in my keyboard drawer, but I also have a secondary keyboard that sits on my desk and is connected to another system. I don’t use that one nearly as much as the primary one, but I do have to type on it from time to time. So I almost always have a board with SA caps in the secondary position, and one with Cherry caps in the primary position. It kind of gives me the best of both worlds.
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I got the urge to try linear again last night, triggered by my curiosity over impact of switch contact leaf strength on linear switch feel. I know that spring matters a lot but what about the contact leaf? I am not really interested in the science of it but more interested in finding the right mix that makes linear switches fun for me.
So made a few Panda stem + BSUN housing combos with stock BSUN spring and they felt surprisingly better than Gateron Yellow switches I have. Stronger contact leaf seems to create rounded bump-like sensation when pressed at high speed. The effect was more pronounced with Panda although I liked the feel of BSUN better for some reason.
Added bonus was the bouncy feel on return which is barely detectable in tactile switches because of the tactile bump is working against push back from contact leaf + spring. Is this one of the reasons behind growing popularity of linear switches?
Encouraged, I’ve ordered some Black Inks, Cream, Tealios, and Kailh Pro Burgundy switches to expand the tinker-field. So far I’ve tried VPTF 1514 and 3204 as lubes go and found that I like lighter oil better than thinner grease but I’m going to try the full range of lubes I have to find the perfect lube.
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One of the factors towards growing linear popularity is the fact that they’ve gotten stupid good, stupid fast, stupid cheap, and there’s billions of modding possibilities that don’t suck.
Also, @TaehaTypes. Like, the hype machine could start and end with Nathan and we’d still have switches rise in popularity.
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Science-wise, though… I think that’s something we need to explore. Right now, we only really have spring weight wackiness, housing sound, and the futile chase for wobble-free switches. Seeing how tight leaves work for linears is a really good consideration - I wonder if that’s the secret behind Greetech linears, come to think of it. Definitely worth a shot.
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Tested: VPTF 1514, 103, 104, 105, 3203, 3204, 205g0, MCG-111, 112, 129.
- Oils: liked 1514, 103, and 104. 104 is right at the edge where it starts to feel buttery and sounds thocky. 103 feels flighty but I like how it feels really snappy. 1504 is somewhere between 103 and 104. 105 is pretty thocky but also sluggish-ish.
- Greases: felt too buttery although 3203 was pretty snappy.
- Christo-Lube: could not detect significant differences between lubes. Felt neither good nor bad. Weird.
Conclusion: For me, Krytox oil felt the best with linear switches, 103 or 104 depending on the type of linear switch and build factors.
UPDATE: One downside of Krytox oil is that I could feel the scratchiness of Panda linear stems where it was very difficult to discern with Krytox grade 0 grease and Christo-Lube. So I’d put 3203 and 3204 on the list as well but, since I can relubing grease over lube w/minimal fuss, I’d start with 103 or 104 then, when the scratchiness start to annoy me, relube with 3203 or 3204.
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