So, I recently ordered a batch of TTC Golden Blue switches to try…they should be arriving tomorrow… Tonight I was looking at AliExpress and noticed the TTC Brother switch, which looks almost identical to the Golden Blue switch. And, indeed on closer examination the actuation force, the tactility force, the reset, etc. all looked the same. But then I saw another diagram that explained the difference: the Brother switch has a pad at the bottom of the shift that is supposed to dampen the bottom out sound from the switch.
Here’s their diagram:
I took a look on here, and saw some discussions about TTC switches, and even a reference or two to the Brother switch. But no one has said they have actual experience with them. Has anyone tried them?
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Yes! They actually are the same as Golden Blues; just different names depending on the seller - that silicone plug is there either way. It’s the same plug used in the Bluish White, and all of TTC’s other dampened switches.
They’re pretty much classic jacket-clickies, but minus the “clack!” of bottom-out, replaced with a muted “thud” that accompanies the click. The travel is also slightly shortened by the plug.
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Yeah, there’s about a difference of 0.15mm in travel according the specs… Interesting, if I like the Golden Blue switches at all (which I have my doubts) I might order in a batch of the Brothers.
I love my bluish white switches. It kind of caught me off guard that I would end up liking them as much as I did. For more context, I just can’t stand the sound of bottom out clack (holy pandas are a good example) but like the sound of deep sounding returns. Bluish white switches are clacky before lubing but after they are lubed, they sound fantastic.
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So, after the disaster of the Muted Jades, I went ahead and dropped the TTC Golden Blue switches into my Feker keyboard.
And, I will say this for them: they definitely live up to the “Blue” part of the name… These definitely have that higher-pitched sound profile, and are a lot closer to the feel of a Cherry MX Blue switch than many of the other clones that I’ve encountered. And to their credit they are a lot more stable than most of the Blue clones I’ve encountered. I believe the stability of them comes down to the box-style stem.
But the thing thing that I find problematic with them is the rest of the travel. They feel pretty rough. Something that I could probably solve with lubing them, but I tend to judge switches first on an out-of-the-box experience, before I start thinking about modding them.
The other thing is the bottom out sound - it’s pretty high pitched compared to the Kaihl box switches. I guess that’s just down to a different in the materials used. And if I wanted something that would sound better there are the Brother switches.
So, I guess that leaves me at the point of thinking: is it worth going any further with them? And I think the answer is: probably not - at least not with the expectation of them becoming a preferred switch. The big reason is that while I could mod them, I think the results would be constrained by the housing of the switches – and once you get into franken-switches I think it’s better to look for a more solid base to work from.
