dang I loved the opportunity to scroll through this thread and see how the sound in the community has evolved over a couple of years now, I’ll just add my piece and go.
2 Likes
Used some EPOM foam to fill the space behind the pcb.
3 Likes
Shared this elsewhere but I’ll share it here too. Vocaroo | Online voice recorder
- Preonic Rev3
- Frankenswitch: Gat milky housing, 415keys PE+ stems, 78g Progressive springs, 3204 lubed all around, including stems.
3 Likes
I did a handful of test recordings with my H1n on the mic stand this evening.
I have the recorder a few inches above and towards the front of the board, itself sitting on a deskmat with some memory foam a few feet behind it.
Starting with my worst board that I still have a soft spot for:
- Jixian Blues
- ABS OEM
- Generic plate-mount stabs
- Thick aluminum plate, outboard
- Tray mounted to plastic bottom
- Flip-out feet
Same model as my first mech. Loud and crunchy, but also very solid.
- Cherry MX Blues
- ABS Tai-Hao
- Stock plate-mount stabs
- Steel(?) plate
- Tray-mounted to plastic case
- Flip-out feet
Slightly less loud and harsh, feels better to type on, but lacks solidness.
- Cherry MX Browns
- ABS SA
- Costar stabs
- Steel plate
- Tray-mounted to plastic case
- Flip-out feet
Felt and sounded better with the stock caps, but looks great with these.
- Kailh Box Browns
- PBT Cherry
- Generic plate-mount stabs
- Aluminum plate w/ vinyl wrap
- Modular foam between PCB & plate
- Foam strips below PCB
- Tray-mounted to plastic case
- Flip-out feet
Commissioned by a friend. Sounded truly dreadful out of the box - trust me, it’s come a long way.
- Kailh Silent Box Browns
- PBT OEM
- Cherry plate-mount stabs
- Bandaid modded & lubed
- Steel plate
- Tray-mounted to plastic case
- Flip-out feet
The workhorse I most often take with me into the dusty realm of printing presses.
- TTC Bluish Whites
- PBT OSA
- Cherry plate-mount stabs
- Bandaid modded & lubed
- Aftermarket aluminum plate
- Tray-mounted to plastic case
- Cheap foam beneath PCB
- Rubber foot pads
My faithful switch tester.
- Gateron Caps
- ABS MT3
- Cherry plate-mount stabs (not stock)
- Aluminum plate
- Top / Tray mount*
- Silicone below PCB
- Heavy plastic case with rubber strip feet
Satisfyingly heavy, nice to look at, and strong performance for the price.
*Novelkeys calls it “modified top-mount” which to me looks more like “tray-mount but also screwed to the top” - so, yeah.
- Gateron Ink Kangaroos
- ABS MT3
- Cherry screw-in stabs (stock)
- Polycarb plate
- Silicone gasket mount
- Same silicone between PCB & plate
- Thin foam below
- Light plastic case with bump-on feet
Currently my favorite keyboard, and my pick for best entry-point into the enthusiast realm - albeit with more and more good company as time goes on.
I’m still dialing-in the recording setup and am a total noob in this department - so if anyone has audio advice, I’m all ears! They sound clear to me, but on the harsh side compared to how I hear the keyboards directly - too much gain?
10 Likes
I’ve tried my amateurish hand at doing some sound tests as well, so there they are
- C3 Tangerine V2’s Lubed with 205g0 and filmed with Deskeys
- C3 Stabs lubed with 205g0
- GMK WoB
- Rama W02-A Internal Dampener
- 1994 Vintage Cherry Blacks Lubed with 205g0
- 55g SPRIT Slow Extreme II’s Lubed with 1514
- Durock V2 Stabs lubed with 205g0
- GMK Olivia++ Light
6 Likes
Few typing tests I did today for a couple of switches. All of these are in the foamed Drop CTRL from this post. I, personally, like using this lightly-helped nightmare board for figuring out if I really like a switch’s sound profile, precisely because it is a garbage board that offers no switch any amount of cover for its mistakes.
They’re all recorded with the mic in the same position and the same keycaps (GMK First Love) on the board. Apologies for the background noise (I live on a busy street and unfortunately do not have the best—or any, for that matter—soundproofing).
- YOK Mint Panda housing
- Zealio V2 stems
- 62g Thic Thock DL springs
- Tribosys 3203
Mostly I wanted to give y’all a baseline for what a panda-housed tactile sounds like on this board for context on the next two.
- Completely stock
I find JWK’s PC-top Nylon-bottom housings to be quite clacky and loud; I think the PC top ends up creating a lot more topping-out sound than I tend to prefer in a switch. These might become a bit more subdued if I filmed them and undid the enormously-generous factory lubing to relube them, but I’m not enough of a fan of light tactiles to put that kind of work into these.
As a note, I received a batch of this last switch from the vendor—Mode Designs—for free ahead of its release a few days ago. I am not in any way being paid to promote them or their switch, and have no other relationship with their business; I just collect and write about switches.
- Completely stock
These have an enormously similar sound profile to the Pewters, being the same JWK PC-top Nylon-bottom housing material, but overall sound more consistent to me. The switches themselves definitely seem to have a more-consistent application of factory lube to them, which could be the culprit here.
4 Likes
My two latest videos on my channel - a 2021 Unicomp Mini M prototype and a 1987 IBM SSK. Basically, the newest and (as near as makes no difference) oldest Model M TKL!
7 Likes
KBD75 with Brass Plate
Gazzew U4T “Thocky” Switches
- Krytox 205g0 on Stem and Housing
- Krytox 105 bag-lubed Thicthock 64g Progressive springs
Novelkeys WoB
I’m really looking forward to trying these switches on different plate materials and how they will feel and sound. These switches are absolutely great. I don’t really like the stock springs and these progressive springs just happen to be what I had available. I have TX Long Springs now which I will try too.
I’ll probably be grabbing a KBD67 Lite and looking forward to trying these switches in that in a couple months too =D.
2 Likes
Wow that sounds great. Can’t find these switches anywhere but aliexpress, 10 for 10 which seems pretty overpriced.
You could try ordering directly from Gazzew on reddit too. /u/hbheroinbob
I recently ordered some U4T stems from them to put in other housings, though you can buy the full switch too probably. I think 3DKeebs is gonna drop more on their store, which is where I bought my first bag of U4T.
3 Likes
9 Likes
hello. I wanted to try out gateron cap gold. i am not sure if i break-in the switches. they still a bit scratchy. please give me feed back about the sound test.
I hope you like the vid 
.
6 Likes
Specs?
FFF switches then Boba U4 then Silent Alpacas on GMK and SA. Should have added little captions to the video. Next time!
2 Likes
A kind dude on Discord sent me a couple similar switches I haven’t tried before but would like to put in a build. I wanted to determine for myself which switch was lower pitched; the Gat Black Ink or Durock Lavender. Both were lubed with 205g0 and filmed with deskeys films. I think the recording makes it fairly obvious who won. First switch sound is the Ink, second is the Lav, and so on. 20 taps each, 10, etc.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k3CnnvZz3lzXnhV6de8Rw1itmaRZitu9/view?usp=sharing
4 Likes
- Moyu Blacks / Dark Jades
- KBD67L
- GMK caps
Re-assembled this keeb with some different switches and caps last night, and decided to take a “real world” sound test at work.
Previously I had Ink Kangaroos and ABS MT3 caps on this board, which made for a super deep, thocky sound. With the much shorter caps and harder PBT switch housings, the sound has gone from a low thock to a medium-high clack (and it feels fantastic).
This does make me want to do some more recordings with these Moyus in different keebs; so far, these are easily the highest-pitch long-pole switches I’ve used, and I do think it’s pretty much all down to that housing.
Quick edit: As a side note; like all long pole switches, these introduce “teeter-totter” on stabilized keys. To keep them level and stable, each side of each stab got five washers.
5 Likes
Yui40 v2, copper plate, plate and case foam, lubed Holy Pandas, and GMK keycaps.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ScCXb6RFUaEW9mkiiwzAU2T4-ump1c6M/view?usp=sharing
1 Like
Recently built a Chimera 65 with Everglide Jade Blacks.
- Brass Plate
- C3 Banana Splits (Lubed with 205g0, filmed with Deskeys)
- C3 SEQ2 Stabs (Lubed with 205g0)
- PBT Japanese Roots Keycaps
3 Likes
Trying out some new microphone/post-process techniques. Wish I didn’t have a highway right outside my office window…
Yasui 4x10 ortho with Gazzew U4Ts
- 205g0
- desk keys films for sound
- 3dp case (tray mount altered with bumpons for isolation, thin case foam)
- fr4 plate
- r1 GMK WoB caps, r4 on thumbs
Edit: oh god it’s so quiet lol. Here it is louder…
2 Likes