Question: Weight and Isolation

The effect of case weight on keyboard feel and sound is known to be generally positive. Heavier the case, more solid feel and deeper sound.

The effect of isolating keyboard plate from the case is, however, not well understood yet but actively being investigated, thanks to recent uptick in interest on gasket-mounting. Appears to be generally positive but, due to wider variety of materials and mechanisms than keyboard case design, overall picture is rather fuzzy at the moment.

The question I have is this: does isolating keyboard plate from the case reduce impact of case weight on the overall keyboard feel and sound?

I suspect the answer is yes, to a degree, but would like to hear what others think.

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This is a great question. I’d agree that a heavier case yields a more solid feel and deeper sound, and at least in theory, I’d think both of these factors would be reduced by isolation - the plate’s feel may have just a little more give due to the isolating material, and to the extent this material is absorbing impact, then all of the case-dependent sound would be reduced.

I feel like there’s an easy and obvious test that could be done by someone with a Tofu, a Klippe, a Fjell, and a few rubber washers…

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I feel like there’s an easy and obvious test that could be done by someone with a Tofu, a Klippe, a Fjell, and a few rubber washers…

I think so too. Will take some searching and trying though. Meanwhile, I’ve been experimenting with case-less design. So far I made two case-less boards by sandwiching just brass plate+plate padding+PCB+inclining foam. To me, they feel and sound as good as my weight modded Tofu board.

One thing they lack though is the solid feel so the next thing I’m thinking of trying is squeezing the whole sandwich with rubber bands or wires.

After that, I’m going to try making a case made out of three layers of heavy foam (bottom, top, and cover) stacked on top of each other like stacked cups which is what Bauer’s design reminded me of. Ideally, there will be a simple mechanism to squeeze the top and bottom layers together. Velcro straps would be the simplest but I’m still looking.

Hopefully the result will be a case that looks, feels, and sounds great while being light and safe enough to travel with. Oh, forgot to mention damn cheap. :slight_smile:

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Something like this comes to mind - just detach the colored clip from the covers, cut to the proper length, and clamp the edges together. Depending on how much of an incline you have, I don’t know if it would work for the back of the case, though.

https://www.amazon.com/Sliding-Folders-Organizers-Document-Protection/dp/B07R1X5CV8/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=rod+clamp+file+folder&qid=1565090747&s=gateway&sr=8-8

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Hmm. I don’t think they can apply as much pressure as velcro straps or flaps can but those plastic bars reminded me that I need to add carbon frames/braces to even out the pressure over the foam so they’re not deformed too much.

Anyway, I need to first understand the dynamics of foams and dampeners under pressure before thinking up ways to use them.

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I’d love to see pictures of this build when you reach a steady state.

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