I am relatively new in custom keyboard hobby… although I’ve been using a mechanical keyboard, Redragon Devarajas K556 w/ Outemu brown, for years, it’s just this year that I’ve tried other layouts, mods, other switches, and custom keyboards. I got a 60%, 75%, and an 60% alice layout. Thocc and/or creamy sound was my goal. I’ve tried Gateron Cap V2 Golden, but switched back to tactile as I’m more comfortable with the feel so I got Aflion Shadow Inks and Aflion Carrots. Tactile but still thoccy.
After a while, out of necessity, I need a quitter keyboard (just like outemu brown which is kinda quiet). I got some Outemu Silent Lemon as one of the cheapest option. Tactile and quiet. I mostly use my keyboards in gaming. I don’t really do typing, except for some typing exercises just to enjoy the keyboard. My actual typing usage is while chatting with someone.
Now for the confession part. I love this better than my thoccy builds. It still gives a tactile feels, but it is soft, and very light which does not strain my fingers.
My end game is a silent tactile, 75% w/ volume knob, tri-mode wireless keyboard! Practical, functional, and easy on my hands.
I do enjoy silent tactile very much as well. Used boba u4 and later outemu silent cream yellows a lot at work for 3 years now. The soft bottom out of these silenced switches is actually interesting. They feel pretty similar in cheap and expensive boards. Meaning you don’t need to spend an arm and a leg on the board itself if feel is your main goal.
I have a few different Outemu silent switches, and I like them a lot. I prefer tactiles, and I’ve found that the mushy bottom out on silent tactiles isn’t as noticeable as it is on a silent linear.
If you don’t mind giving up a little bit of silence, I recommend looking at the Haimu Whisper Silent Tactile. The tactility is very nice, not too heavy and they use these kind of leaf spring cutouts in the stem instead of silicone pads. The leaf for the top is much smaller, though, so you can make some noise on the upstroke, but it’s not too bad. I prefer how they feel, so it’s a fair trade off. If you can’t find those, the Wuque WS Silent Tactile is also made by Haimu, and is basically the exact same, but there’s a price premium for the brand name.
My end game is a silent tactile, 75% w/ volume knob, tri-mode wireless keyboard!
I agree. The two boards i use most are a 75% silent switch board and a logitech mx keys due to the device switching capability. I like the logitech for everything but gaming.
Soft and light tactile switch does not always have to be a silent switch. Correlation does not equal causation. It is not soft and light because its silent. Its just silent while being soft and light. There absolutely are heavy and harsh silent tactiles out there.
Spring swaps can also make other tactiles lighter to use
A soft bottom out can be acheived with a soft plate (PC, POM, PP) on a gasket mounted board. Flex cut PCB also can help but the sound is usually worse on those
Outemu Silent Lemons are great! I used them for my soldered Cypher R3 build, and felt weird permanently installing such cheap switches on such an expensive board, but they’re just great!
Now for the confession part. I love this better than my thoccy builds.
Not sure why that’s a confession. Many people don’t like “thocky” builds. I prefer a crisper, lighter sound.
I started out with heavy tactile switches but my fingers got tired. Now my favorite switches are box white and jades. Occasionally I’ll go back to one of my boards with medium to heavy tactiles but for now digging the clickies