geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: alexjd99 on Fri, 02 December 2022, 14:16:59
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So I decided to get back into the hobby after about 5 years, and after seeing all the new board designs, mods, and whatnot, I decided to try out some of it. I just got a Brutal60 in, and overall I really like the board and having something that isn't tray mount is pretty cool.
I used to mess around with tuning keyboard sounds back in the day, just with basic case foam before it was a common thing, however it didn't particularly change the character of the sound, just sort of dampening empty case noise (pretty obvious I know, this is kinda hard to explain). I have some Gon Nerds, and the two of them (V1 zeals and Gateron reds) sound pretty clacky, I also have a Pok3r with cherry clears, which sounds super thocky (with no mods). Because of this, I figured it was mostly an inherent matter of plate and case construction/material. All three boards have alu plates, but the pok3r's is much thicker, which is what I previously attributed the sound difference to.
However, I found a video showing a keyboard could be tuned either way depending on dampening, caps, etc. I've tried about every combination of foam, tape, keycaps, etc, but no matter what, the Brutal60 will only sound clacky. Am I doing something wrong here, or are some boards just destined to have a limited sound profile? I would love to get it to sound a little different from the boards I already have, whether it's more thocky or creamy, but I'm not sure it's possible, if anyone has any tips it would be greatly appreciated. Seems like most of the advice I can find around tuning just revolves around keycaps, foam, and masking tape, but if anyone has any other tips I'd so appreciate them.
For context, the board has an FR4 plate, instant60 pcb with poron switch pads, gateron black inks.
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Switches also play a role in sound.
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This can be a very deep rabbit hole depending how anal you are about this stuff.
As above, switches also matter (including material), but so does now they're mounted, how the plate is mounted, the case material, case shape and even the surface finish of the plate and case, different finishes reflect sound differently.
The thing to remember though is that all of this is extremely subtle.
If you have loud clacky switches being reflected by a harsh sounding case or plate, there's no hiding that. You can dampen and tweak the sound a bit but you aren't going to make drastic changes.