First mechanical keyboard questions

[owlietenil2]

Hi! I'm receiving my new Redragon K556-RK Devarajas this Friday and the only point I'm not sure about is the switches: this would be my first mech keyboard and I really wanted the blue clicky ones from what I've read but this one comes with brown switches. Am I going to miss out on a huge difference between brown and blue? Is the difference just about the noise?

This keyboard supposedly has replaceable switches, which you can just pull out and switch with different ones. Would I be forced to buy Outemu switches as replacement, or would it be possible to use cherry switches or something else? I'm a newbie about mech keyboards so I've no clue. Also where should I buy switches? I'm in Europe.

Lastly has anyone had issues with this keyboard in the long term? Some of the reviews pointed out hiccups after a few months of usage on other, lower end keyboards by Redragon, which is also why I wanted replaceable switches just in case I'd have to replace a faulty key or two in the future.

[jamster]

You should be fine with most MX-style switches, just avoid the low profile ones (which seem to be uncommon anyway)

> Am I going to miss out on a huge difference between brown and blue? Is the difference just about the noise?

The Blues will have a slightly sharper feel to them, which is mentally amplified by the actual click noise.

You've already bought the board, it's not even arrived yet. Just use it for a while and decide what you think of it, there's no point looking for replacement switches and second guessing yourself before it's even delivered

Just enjoy the purchase.

[Maledicted]

I don't think Outemu browns are particularly smooth vs alternatives, like from Gateron. Outemu's blues are actually pretty nice though if you ask me, nicer than MX blues. I also have a bias towards clickies in general though.

I'm pretty sure that Outemu switches are about all that fit in Outemu hot swap sockets, not that I know from experience. I may have a board with the sockets to play with. I'm not even sure.

[JCraftCables]

Gaterons are the better option. But I would suggest not to spend too much. Just use the keeb for what it is first until you have decided to go down the DIY custom route.

[zeno72]

I assume that the boards with swappable Outemus will require you to use compatible Outemu switches, as the Outemus switches on those boards aren't compatible with switches like Gaterons or Cherries, but I'm sure someone will correct me if that has changed at any point.

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[hvontres]

I ended up using the same keyboard for my first modding. You can use non-Otemmu switches, but you will need to squash the pins down to fit them in the sockets. Otemu boards use mil-max style sockets, but they are smaller than the ones normally used. I ended up filing a groove into some needle nose pliers to make a tool to allow me to fit Hako True switches in mine (basically a slightly fancy Kailh box switch):
https://i.imgur.com/xKIwiPj.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/GS5SfVC.jpeg
Here is a before and after picture of the switches (the left switch is the orignial, the right one has been modified to fit the otemu sockets):

Note that only wider (rear) leg needs to be modified.
And here is the final result:
https://i.imgur.com/XUVpASx.jpeg
I hope this helps

[Leslieann]

Use the browns, they're a great starting point as they kind of give you a middle ground on switches.

After a while you can decide if you want stiffer, softer, louder (clicky) or quieter/silent (dampened tactile) or linear (no tactile), more tactile, less tactile, rounded tactile or sharper tactile but you need a baseline to start from and browns are a good place to start as they're kind of middle of the road in every way.