Why not both? I actually like the actuation point of Cherry but enjoy the feeling of Alps switches in general more. It took me a little bit to get used to the moved actuation point in Alps actually. But since I always bottom out, I'm probably not the right person to chime in
Oh thanks for reading my stuff. I'm glad it's interesting to people. And of course, its getting people into alps ;).
I'm specifically trying to learn not to bottom out. Pounding on the keys seems to cause me wrist tension and pain after a while. After years of typing on non-mech boards, that habit is ingrained. The greater tactility and audible actuation on my mech boards is helping me learn to type more loosely and smoothly
So far I find that my habits on Kalih browns are the least bottoming out, on Matias clicks its 50/50 but getting better. On MX blue I haven't made much progress yet, burnt also use that board least. Still searching for the right switch....
I Imagine keycap mass and profile also come into play with the overall feel, so it may not be just a question of which switch is best. What do you think?
Having tried both extensively, would I sound like a complete heretic if I said it doesn't make a lot of difference to me? Not that I wouldn't care, but I genuinely don't really observe a physical difference in how it affects my typing, etc.
Theoretically, I should like the Alps more; higher actuation is faster actuation. But frankly, I hit my switches so hard it doesn't really matter when it actuates xD .
I definitely prefer the higher actuation point. I wish I could get a Model F with actuation at 1.5–2 mm into the stroke, and 2+mm of post-actuation travel.
There are two big problems I have with MX switches though, and neither is the actuation point per se. My issues are: (1) How non-tactile they are. After the tactile point, they immediately going back to being just as stiff as they were before (or actually, stiffer), so there’s very little feedback for your fingers, and the post-actuation part of the stroke is also much more tiring than a decent tactile/clicky switch. (2) They stick slightly on the upstroke, instead of effectively springing your finger upward (or at least returning smoothly), especially if you swap in lighter springs in an attempt to ameliorate problem #1.
You can tell that MX was designed first and foremost as a linear switch, with the clicky/tactile versions hacked together later as an afterthought. MX linear switches are okay if you lube them, especially MX black switches from ~1990, but almost all other tactile/clicky switches (IBM, Alps, SMK, Hi-Tek, NEC, Fujitsu, Topre, Omron, Burroughs, Marquardt, Matias, ...) are better than MX clicky/tactile switches, IMO.
MX Clears, for example, are not lacking in tactility...They are not at all tactile in comparison to, say, good condition orange Alps or Matias quiet switches. (And if you compare to a Model F, ....)
MX Clears, for example, are not lacking in tactility...They are not at all tactile in comparison to, say, good condition orange Alps or Matias quiet switches. (And if you compare to a Model F, ....)
They’re still essentially linear, with a sort of speed bump feel along the way.
To me, clears feel more tactile then matias switches - they are just tactile in a different way.Hopefully we can get some nice force curve measurements done of these sometime within the next few months, and I can explain in a chart, rather than arguing about personal idiosyncratic definitions of the word “tactile”. I personally don’t think MX clear switches are very tactile at all, but you clearly have a different idea of what the word means than I do.
How do you --know-- they were designed to be linear? Did Cherry tell you this?
If you're going to make such a grandiose statement, you need to back that up with facts.
That doesn't prove that mx switches were DESIGNED to be linear, and that tactile and clicky switches were hack jobs..Frankly, if Cherry switches were designed to be tactile and/or clicky from the start, they did a pretty piss poor job :p . Even if you look at the whole construction of the switch, it's a massive giveaway that the design is inherently super linear - and you can feel it.
Well we all know that the best mechanical switch ever made was the system in the IBM Selectric. It's only a matter of time before someone with too much money on their hands designs a NKRO USB keyboard with an IBM selectric II key mechanism. I would seriously pay 4 figures if that thing were designed to last for years....