If there are any owners of both polycarbonate and aluminium norbaforces, how do both compare in terms of sound, feel and weight? I own only aluminimum and wonder about polycarbonate, maybe it’s worth getting one.
I have a polycarb and the VHS norbaforce, and there are unique aspects of both. The major difference first thing is weight: The polycarb is obviously much lighter but certainly not “this thing feels cheap”. Additionally, the RGB lighting is accentuated on the polycarb much more, and being able to see a bit of the inner workings adds a bit of sugar on top.
My recommendation is get a polycarb, too. I have both, and the theming you can do with your keycaps on both materials is endless. Right now I have GMK Coral on my poly, and Ryan’s After School set on my VHS finish Nobaforce.
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It’s hard to describe verbally, but I would characterize the polycarbonate as being a bit more “clacky” due to the relative resonance and sound transmissibility of the PC resin vs aluminum. This may also help a little.
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@ZoomBoy and @norbauer thank you for the information! It does sound nice in the video. I expect it to sound a little bit different with the stock keycaps that I’m using but still good.
@Alien I have both as well.
Just want to add that typing on the aluminium version feel slightly more stable, if I can describe it that way. And when you press down on keystroke there’s much less reverb than the polycarb version because of the weight of the aluminium one. I have my keyboards on a hardwood table without any pads so maybe with pads that will be a non-issue.
Not sure whether the PC in Ryan’s video has any internal dampening but mine does have the merino felt and the sound is a lot less clacky.
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Thanks @thelaughingman That was very helpful!
I also prefer the sound with the merino belt inside, I’m using it in the aluminium version and would use it in the PC version as well.
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@norbauer any chance the desert sand finish will show up in future projects (in light of the recent keycap announcement)
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I’ve thought about it! We don’t see earth tones enough in keyboards.
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Dang, looks like the polycarbs are gone as well. Truly the end of a beautiful era.
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@gavingoh Not in the form of any large batches, but we will have several extras available in our Norbazaar event coming up this summer, which I’ll announce on my newsletter list.
Also, we should always be able to make bespoke ones. Our queue for bespoke orders is currently full but should open again up around mid-summer (we’ll announce that on the email list too).
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Thank you! I will keep an eye out for it! 
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Hello! I’m unable to access the newsletter list since it requires permission, any chance you could add me to it? Thanks in advance! 
I’m happy to help, but you clarify what you mean by it requiring permission? I just went to the link and tested adding an address to it and it seems to work fine.
yeah, that’s right. The message says I do not have access to it and should contact an admin to add me as member. Thanks!
Wow. That’s really weird. Sorry about that. I’ll investigate what might be doing on, but in the meantime you can just shoot an email over to shop@norbauer.com and ask us to add you to the list manually.
I figured it out. It was just the link in that on specific Keebtalk post above, not the newsletter link in general. I updated it above, but this is the correct link.
All good! thanks a lot!
