Hey everyone, I’m thinking of building my next keyboard and I’d like a thocky sounding switch. From all the sound tests out there, it seems like the Gat Black Inks v2 are one of the thockiest sounding switches out there.
My slight concern is that it might be ‘too heavy’. I am currently typing on my Silk Yellows and sometimes I still mess up typing because I don’t bottom out and sometimes I miss letters. On one hand, I’m a little worried that the problem might be exacerbated with the Black Inks if the switch is even heavier. On the other though, I’m sure it’s just a learning curve thing, which might get better with time (or who knows, maybe the even heavier switch will make it even more accurate?) Does anyone switch between their Yellows and Blacks (or similar force activation linear switches?) find any difference in their typing accuracy?
I also have a board using U4T’s (and maybe because they’re tactile, but I seem to type more accurately with those) and a Niz Plum at 35g (which is just a pleasure to type on because they’re so light) which I type easily without thinking.
My question is do different weights of the gat inks produce different sounds? Considering they’re both ‘inks’ shouldn’t they be made of the same material? But it seems like in the recordings that the Blacks are almost always thockier sounding than Yellow and Reds (although there might be a mic difference). What gives?
(If the sound is actually the same, then I’d probably want to try the Red weight next. But if the sound is thockier if heavier, then I’d probably go for the Black inks…)
If they are made of the same materials, I don’t think springs weight would change the sounds. If black ink is too heavy for you, why not get the 8008 ink which has ink yellow spring in a black ink housing.
Yeah 8008 ink and yellow ink are not quite the same because the interanl housings are different. If you aren’t sure about your favor spring weight. I would just buy black ink and get 16mm TX springs with different weights and try them on.
This is kind of a loaded question to be honest. Given all things are equal black, red, & 8008 inks will sound very similar since they are made from the same materials & same design. Although spring weighting can & will slightly change the sound plus the volume of that sound a switch makes. The lighter the spring the heavier or more likely you are to bottom the switch press out & the lighter the rebound will be causing a lighter collison with the top housing. Then vice versa for heavy springs.
If you like the sound of black inks I think your best bet would be to get them & just swap springs to a weighting of your liking. It will very slightly change the sound in the ways I described above, but will overall still sound like a black ink.
Red Ink, Black Ink, and Yellow Ink housings should all sound the same. Blue Inks might sound different because of the stiffer contact leaf.
However, stock Yellow Inks will sound different than Red or Black Inks because the stem is different, which causes the reduced travel compared to Red or Black Inks.