Incredible!
I think I hear about three distinct phases of MX Browns [looks like we’re getting into this now]:
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Vintage [1990s - 2010?]
Supposedly, these are the platonic ideal of MX Browns. Smoother, more defined bump, maybe ‘poppier’ some how. This may all be malarkey, but some of them would have come from fresh molds.
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Pre-tooled [2010 - 2017]
This was the nadir of Cherry. Responsible for a lot of it’s bad reputation among some, especially MX Browns.
Tooling said to be worn-out, not refreshed enough.
Browns said to be scratchy, sandy, weak and undefined tactility. In reality, a lot of these would have been produced from older molds and probably suffered looser-than-usual housings.
Once broken-in, a lot of these were pretty fine.
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Hyperglide / Retooled [2017 - present]
The retooled Browns started arriving around 2017, and are identified by distinctive markings.
There were fresh molds involved with the earlier batches, garnering them a good reputation.
Some factory keyboards came with early batches of retooled. Batches were used for custom builds.
We also see the emergence of the “Hyperglide” label, which brings further changes. My samples were pretty scratchy-sounding, but felt okay. Better bumps than many pre-tooled.
If memory serves, Ducky may have used some fresh batches in the Ducky One Two boards. I read multiple accounts from different places of those models having good MX Browns, labelled as “Hyperglide.”
Anyway, I suppose these assumptions can be tested. There have been minor tooling changes over the years, so I would not expect “vintage” Browns to be identical to today’s.