This is a Classic-TKL. Same colour as you’ve seen in recent posts.
It was inspired by some builds I saw on the internet using MX1A and MX2A Browns. I wanted something where you could hear the Hyperglides, but not exaggerated too much.
So this build uses:
-gasket socks
-stock PC plate
-Plate and PCB Foams.
-Zeal PCB-mount stabilizers
-no case foam.
You can see in the above image that I was testing the board with different switches. The board was well-suited to 58 G [Spirit] Durock Medium Tactiles, and also the new OUTEMU Wuhai Purple Jelly silents.
However, the most interesting were the “Butter Browns,” which are MX1A Hyperglides with 640,000 actuations.
So, I populated the board with MX1A Hyperglides:
Below, you can see it with GMK Honeywell R1. I decided to go with more of an ‘MSX-inspired’ look, so I used three of the four accent colours in that regard.
Specifications for the Butter Browns:
Genuine Cherry MX “Butter Browns” from RNDKBD.
-MX1A Hyperglide
-640,000+ machine-actuations
-lightly-lubed with 3203
-filmed
-58 G Spirit Supreme linear springs
The 58 G Spirit springs, as advertised by RNDKBD, are fairly close to stock Cherry springs. Maybe a little bit lighter, as you would expect.
Overall, this combination definitely sounds like Hyperglides. However, the plate and PCB foams are absorbing and deepening some of the sound. So it is not as exaggerated and echoey as it could be. It is more restrained.
If I wanted to, I could find a copper plate for this Classic-TKL, and really bring out the sound. However, that sounds expensive, and I prefer to type on PC.
The Classic-TKL is actually fairly stiff, as compared with other budget boards. The KBDFans Tiger Lite (new) can be built flexy, almost too flexy. And the Transition Lite, with its 1.2mm PCB and selection of dampening options, can be built somewhat soft. But the Classic-TKL doesn’t give a lot of “give,” in my opinion. It might make a stable platform for silent-tactiles, when foamed up.
ABOVE: The inspiration for the colour scheme.
This board is also surprisingly heavy, even without the case foam. The Tiger Lite is much lighter, as expected. The Transition Lite gets heavy, with all the foams. I’d say it and the Classic-TKL are fairly weighty, when fully-built. Inserting and removing hotswap switches is a fairly easy and graceful process on the Classic-TKL, which is not always the case on entry-level boards. It has a rigid and clean build.
I very-much appreciate the accent LED below the nav. cluster. Many new boards have something similar, and it is preferable to the switch-lighting for me. I can’t seem to control the intensity when CAPS LOCK or similar are activated, however, as it goes fullbright. The light is currently set to a golden-yellow, which generally goes well with Honeywell. I’m grateful also that the PCB allows for stepped CAPS LOCK, which the Tiger Lite does not.
*And yes, I know that the quote and semi-colon keycaps are swapped in the outdoors image. This has been corrected, the wooden-desk image is the most recent. Also, I used the tenkey nav keys from GMK Oblivion Mono above the nav. cluster, because I could not find the Honeywell keycaps at the time. Then, after finding the keycaps, I decided I liked the Oblivion modifiers there at present.
