Never sure where to post. This was on my workbench for the past 2 days, and now it’s on my desktop. But here are some Instagram photos of my Phoenix TKL:
Another one of those builds that surprised me. This board is a bit airy, both on the light side in weight (because I got the aluminum base), and in acoustics. It seems to want to accentuate higher pitched sounds. I added a small amount of tape on the interior for force break, but I wanted to work with what the board had to offer and not change it too much. Also, this is a gasket mounted polycarbonate plate, so it’s rather flexy and absorbs a lot of the keypress.
I tried EVERYTHING in this and wasn’t happy. We’re talking a solid 4 hours of dry fitting switches and test typing. However, I knew I was getting closer with each new switch. I was ruling out what did NOT work. I finally figured out two things… the switch needed to be a bit on the light side, and it needed to have a good bottom-out. A heavy switch or an over-lubed switch would get completely absorbed in this case. It would sound dead.
Long story short… Penguin tactile switches. This case absolutely sings with them. It’s a perfect match. And I always love to pair DCS or DSS with light tactile switches, so that’s how I came up with this build. I love it.
I love Penguin tactiles. When I originally got them I was into heavier tactiles so didn’t enjoy them, then about a year later I put them in my Hidari and the are one of my favorite switches to type on.
It’s been months since I’ve seen a 60 that speaks to me, and I’ve seen two today. Way too cool.
Me too I mean hey points to GMK for trying new things, they can’t all be winners - but yeah - those stayed on my board less than a full hour of use-time. Maybe I haven’t found the right use-case for them - maybe they just aren’t what I like - not sure yet, but kinda leaning towards the latter.
Exactly. Won’t be picking these up again… I even went the route of popping the stem out and lubing them as usual, but still ended up with clearance issues on plates leading to slow return.
Just going to stick with Staebies or TX going forward.
No kidding on this one. I have a Kobo MJ2 in wood. Love the look and feel. I put Kailh pro purples in it a few years back. About 2 to 3 times a year I think “ooh, why don’t I try to swap out these new keycaps onto that board?” And then I remember why…
I have my trusty old Pegasus Hoof controller for remapping
with a few white pieces of paper for color comparison.
Edit to add my thoughts behind the design:
The choices of materials and colors capture my notion of a practical “steampunk” or Victorian era design. The wooden (walnut) case and brass plate are meant to reflect choices that might be made in an age before plastics and affordable aluminum. While the keys are actually made of PBT, the specific color and smoothness of the finish are meant to imitate ivory. Of course, various internal parts (switches, PCB, foam) consist of post-Victorian materials, but one can suspend disbelief about how it actually works and what those are made of.
I mean hey points to GMK for trying new things, they can’t all be winners - but yeah - those stayed on my board less than a full hour of use-time. Maybe I haven’t found the right use-case for them - maybe they just aren’t what I like - not sure yet, but kinda leaning towards the latter.
