My noisy spacebar remedy list:
- QMX clip - shortens key travel but pretty pleasant with heavy spacebars (extra heft makes spacebar move slower to move which somehow offsets loss in key travel).
- Tissues below PCB where spacebar is. Muffles the sound quite a bit, often enough to be tolerable.
- Band-aid under stab. Worst remedy due to mushy feel. Result varies wildly depending on the type of band-aid used.
If you don’t have QMX clip, check the spacebar ribs where the switch stem slots are. Unusually loud sound on bottom out may be caused by the ribbing edges striking the switch top. You can verify this placing some tape on the ripping edge where switch housing top would strike. If sound is softened, you have two options:
- Add more permanent tapes to cushion the fall.
- Grind out part of the ribbing that strikes the switch top (destructive).
I think most people would go with the first choice which has also the benefit of experimenting with material to change the sound the way you like it. The advantage of the destructive choice is it doesn’t change key travel distance.