Although there is already an Alps Appreciation thread, I thought it might be useful to have a new thread focused on "top-modding" of Alps, Matias, and other Alps-clone switches. This would deal with results of swapping all the switch parts that can be changed without desoldering the switches -- top housing, slider, return spring, and tactile/click leaf.
To start with an example, I have a KBP V60MTS-C, which is a 60% keyboard with Matias Click switches. I like it, but the switches are just a tad too noisy, due in part to the Matias-switch wobble, which imparts an overall rattle to the keyboard. Whereas people have successfully desoldered the Matias switches from their V60 boards and replaced them with Alps switches, the construction of the V60MTS keyboard makes this operation particularly difficult. Consequently, I wondered what might be accomplished by a relatively simple "top-modding" of the Matias switches.
Recently Wingpad kindly sent me some blue Alps switches, so I decided to try swapping out the slider, spring, and click leaf from a couple of the Matias Click switches in the KBP V60MTS-C with the corresponding parts from the blue Alps switches. The result was something that sounded and felt more like a blue Alps than a Matias Click switch. The transplantation also greatly attenuated the noise you get from lightly brushing the keycaps with your fingertips. Thus, the transplant reduces the rattle of a V60MTS-C board.
I am not sure if this mod would be worth sacrificing 61 genuine blue Alps switches to do, but for those who prefer not to desolder and resolder switches, this could be a relatively easy and potentially worthwhile mod for a V60.
Perhaps something almost as good could be achieved by using parts from a somewhat more common Alps switch. Orange Alps perhaps? With or without click-modding the tactile leaves?
I tried the transplant with orange Alps. I discovered that the orange slider and return spring work in a Matias Click housing, but the orange tactile leaf does not fit inside a Matias Click housing. I tried clipping the top tabs on the orange tactile leaf (click mod) -- this enabled the leaf to slide into the Matias Click housing almost all the way, but there was still some overhang, so I abandoned this attempt. There was some improvement in the Matias Click switch from transplanting only the slider and return spring from an orange switch, but not as much as from transplanting the slider, return spring, and click leaf from a blue switch.
After clipping all 4 tabs from the orange tactile leaf, I was able to slide the leaf all the way into the Matias housing. With the completely clipped orange tactile leaf, return spring, and slider, the modded Matias switch had an attenuated click and less tactility than it did with the orange slider, return spring, and Matias click leaf.
Next, I put the slider, return spring, and click leaf from a white Alps switch into a Matias Click switch on the V60. There was a slight difference in sound or feel between the Matias/white versus the Matias/blue. Either of these mods was better than straight Matias or Matias/orange.
My subjective ranking of hybrids in the V60MTS-C:
Matias/Blue ~> Matias/White > Matias/Orange > Matias/OrangeClip > Matias/Orange+Matias Spring ~> Matias
(Note that the Matias return spring is longer than the return spring in Blue, Orange, or White Alps switches).
Another discovery: Keycaps from an IBM 5140 have a somewhat loose fit on blue Alps sliders. However, these caps are fine on Matias Quiet, Matias Click, white Alps, orange Alps, and brown Alps.
