Searching for a Unicorn... Apparently.

[mcprince64]

Hey all, new here. I'm looking for a very specific set of parameters in a keyboard and can't seem to find a match. I've been looking for 4 years and a buddy told me to ask here.

I am a huge fan of Cherry MX Clear switches and would prefer not to abandon them, however the board I currently have is a little bland in comparison to the rest of my build which of course has RGB. What I'm looking to find is a Full Size keyboard with RGB and Clear switches.

The closest I have found is a Corsair model with MX Browns and a Logitech board with Romer G Tactile Switches. He says that these are not good compromises and I was wondering if anyone knows of a board that matches all of the features I'm looking for.

Thanks in advance

[Maledicted]

Hi mcprince64. Welcome to Geekhack.

The full size Glorious GMMK would work. You would want to get it without the switches and get some MX clears and caps of your choice to put in it. It looks like you can't order one complete from them with any Cherry switches preinstalled, since people seem to tend to prefer clones.

Your only criteria besides MX clear was RGB, so we'll need more information if the GMMK also seems too bland. Full size keyboards, and even TKLs, are not popular in the keyboard community. As such, choices will be limited.

What switches have you tried? Personally, if I had to use an MX tactile, clears would be the one. Everything is relative though, and perception is not universal (some people prefer MX brown to MX clear, etc). The nice thing about the GMMK is that should you want to try out other switches you can pull the clears and pop others into it on a temporary basis. Then you may end up changing your mind on what you want to use for the long haul.

[mcprince64]

I have tried the most popular MX switches. My buddy has a switch tester, granted it's not a great representation since you just click one key repeatedly and it's not a full experience. I have also tried a full keyboard of Romer G switches on a Logitech board another friend of mine has. I couldn't say for sure what kind they might be if there are different versions of Romer switches. He also has a Model M and I believe those are buckling spring but I cannot imagine those are popular today, not in "modern" keyboards at least.

I've been very happy with clears the past several years and don't really have any complaints about them. I like the actuating force they require and the tactile feedback is nice. Browns are a step down in the actuation force and I don't particularly want to take that step down but it's looking like my options are slim. I will take a look at the GMMK you recommended and see if I can configure it in a way I will like.

[Maledicted]

I have tried the most popular MX switches. My buddy has a switch tester, granted it's not a great representation since you just click one key repeatedly and it's not a full experience. I have also tried a full keyboard of Romer G switches on a Logitech board another friend of mine has. I couldn't say for sure what kind they might be if there are different versions of Romer switches.

That's one of the GMMK's benefits, you could pop any switch in that tester, or from a loose pile, into the keyboard and play with it for a while in an actual board. The only Romer Gs I have tried are linear. I'm not particularly interested in linear switches either way, but I am not a fan. The switches are made by Omron, of mouse switch fame.

He also has a Model M and I believe those are buckling spring but I cannot imagine those are popular today, not in "modern" keyboards at least.

Unicomp still makes membrane buckling spring boards, direct descendants from IBM's tooling. They have their fans, especially out of principle and respect for a company that keeps the switch type alive.

Ellipse is all but finished with realizing a rebirth of the IBM 4704 family of Model F keyboards, with capacitive buckling spring switches.

Fans of clicky switches are highly likely to like buckling spring in one form or another. The board in my profile picture is one of Ellipse's new F77s.

I've been very happy with clears the past several years and don't really have any complaints about them. I like the actuating force they require and the tactile feedback is nice. Browns are a step down in the actuation force and I don't particularly want to take that step down but it's looking like my options are slim. I will take a look at the GMMK you recommended and see if I can configure it in a way I will like.

MX brown was just one example, tactile fans typically usually go for one of any number of boutique MX clones, like from Zeal. Being a clicky guy, I like my tactility sharp, and having not bothered to try boutique MX clones, I like Alps or Matias tactiles if I had to use switches of that type.

If your only requirements are MX clear and RGB, then the GMMK will work. If you have any other parameters, we can try to find something else that fits.

[mcprince64]

GMMK does look promising. Only downfall is that Full size is sold out on Amazon as well as their website. Well, Sold by third party seller on Amazon for a markup. I'll have to find somewhere to source Clear switches as those seem pricy as well. Around $100 for a full set, and others that charge less are sold out.

[Maledicted]

GMMK does look promising. Only downfall is that Full size is sold out on Amazon as well as their website. Well, Sold by third party seller on Amazon for a markup. I'll have to find somewhere to source Clear switches as those seem pricy as well. Around $100 for a full set, and others that charge less are sold out.

There may be some more affordable hot swappable boards. You won't find many cheap boards with genuine Cherry switches though, and you'll want to steer clear of any that use Outemu hot swap sockets (which the OEM usually fails to mention), unless you want to file down all of the Cherry switch legs to fit in them. There's this, if you have no great aversion to mystery Chinesium. If the layout doesn't have to be standard full size, there are some weird pseudo compact versions of it, but I know a lot of people seem to have problems with positioning and lack of gaps here and there.

I also failed to think about the possibility that RGB variants of MX clear may not be very common either, since MX RGB switches were always tailored to "gaming" keyboards, and MX clear isn't considered a "gaming" switch. You won't want switches with black housings, because SMD LEDs shine through the housing. MX was originally only designed with single color LEDs in mind.

Somebody that tinkers a lot with MX and clone tactiles, like HungerMechanic might have some good ideas for alternatives. I rarely even play with them on a tester, and my testers aren't here. I don't use any of them enough to start to name clones someone who uses clears every day might like as an alternative.

[mcprince64]

I did manage to find "MX Clears"with a clear housing on Drop.com but I obviously cannot confirm if they are genuine or if someone decided to make their own clear housings and sell them. It seems like only the clones in particular seem to have clear housings or the red, black and speed variants of MX switches. My current board is single LED, white backlight so I figured that would be a problem I would run into. GMMK did look good, that would be the only issue left is finding switches that match what I'm looking for as far as actuation force and RGB compatibility. I am not familiar if any of the other clones can compare to MX clear, most seem to have a way lower actuation force requirement. As long as they have an MX compatible stem then I can use my current keycaps on a new board/new switches.

[Maledicted]

I did manage to find "MX Clears"with a clear housing on Drop.com but I obviously cannot confirm if they are genuine or if someone decided to make their own clear housings and sell them. It seems like only the clones in particular seem to have clear housings or the red, black and speed variants of MX switches. My current board is single LED, white backlight so I figured that would be a problem I would run into. GMMK did look good, that would be the only issue left is finding switches that match what I'm looking for as far as actuation force and RGB compatibility. I am not familiar if any of the other clones can compare to MX clear, most seem to have a way lower actuation force requirement. As long as they have an MX compatible stem then I can use my current keycaps on a new board/new switches.

I have never heard of Drop having fakes of anything on their website. They're a big enough name in keyboards that they're probably the reason that they exist at all, through contact with Cherry.

I imagine that clones mostly being lighter is due to the fact that people usually put lighter springs in the MX clears to make a switch that's smoother and more tactile than MX brown without such a heavy spring, dubbed "ergo clears". The tactile MX crowd tend to like modifying everything.

[mcprince64]

This may just be the solution then. GMMK, Transparent MX Clears from Drop and I can re-use my current keycaps. If you or anyone does find anything else that fits the bill I would still appreciate it. I will definitely keep my eye out for GMMK coming back to normal price/ their own site having it in stock.

[Maledicted]

If you can find the board complete for a reasonable price, you could just pull all of the switches and use the caps that come with it with the clears. You might even be able to get a combination that comes with switches you have not tried and may have an interest in then on top of it as part of the deal.

[tp4tissue]

EVEN if you are happy with Clears NOW,   tomorrow is a different day,  You could find yourself back on the true path towards the switch-GOD cherry mx BLUE.

So, there's no need to get stuck in 1 mindset, 1 car, 1 ring to ru...   You're going to go through many experiences and at the end of it, you'll probably never settle, before getting depressed and moving onto a new hobby like Collecting 386..

[Maledicted]

EVEN if you are happy with Clears NOW,   tomorrow is a different day,  You could find yourself back on the true path towards the switch-GOD cherry mx BLUE.

Don't mind tp4. He's probably the only person on earth that would choose MX blue after trying a reasonable amount of alternatives.

[yui]

although not available for custom board, or new, or USB, so far my favorite tactile may be the Focus dome with slider, i have a FK9200 but they can also be found on the rest of the FK*200 series most being 100% boards.
although it is a focus board, feature over quality was their thing, so their boards are rather poor quality, even though for membrane switches they have a rather sharp bottom out and what feels like part way actuation

[Maledicted]

although not available for custom board, or new, or USB, so far my favorite tactile may be the Focus dome with slider, i have a FK9200 but they can also be found on the rest of the FK*200 series most being 100% boards.
although it is a focus board, feature over quality was their thing, so their boards are rather poor quality, even though for membrane switches they have a rather sharp bottom out and what feels like part way actuation

They do feel great for what they are. I was confused by Chyros' video about them. They seem to be very similar to Fujitsu Peerless to me.

Maybe that's a wear/age/debris thing though. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[yui]

They do feel great for what they are. I was confused by Chyros' video about them. They seem to be very similar to Fujitsu Peerless to me.

Maybe that's a wear/age/debris thing though. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

i was lucky enough to get a new in box example, and from my experience with both, Focus's attempt made for a much smoother switch with a lot less binding, although both completely failed at making rubber domes clicky, who knew that putting a piece of rubber instead of the hammers of a model M would make it not clicky

[Findecanor]

If you can't find Cherry MX Clear with a clear housing, you could get ones with black and some Cherry MX RGB Blue with clear housing and transplant the springs and stems between them.
I think the contact-springs in the MX Blue and MX Clear are similar, but that the leaf springs in other MX switches may be weaker.

When you have them open, you could also take the opportunity to lubricate them.

[Maledicted]

They do feel great for what they are. I was confused by Chyros' video about them. They seem to be very similar to Fujitsu Peerless to me.

Maybe that's a wear/age/debris thing though. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

i was lucky enough to get a new in box example, and from my experience with both, Focus's attempt made for a much smoother switch with a lot less binding, although both completely failed at making rubber domes clicky, who knew that putting a piece of rubber instead of the hammers of a model M would make it not clicky

If we can't consider them clicky, I would still prefer either one to any tactile switches I have felt besides Alps and Matias (and maybe Topre), since they're surprisingly/pleasantly crisp.