Why Do You Love Black or Red Switches?

[Engine]

I'm looking for a user's experience answer as to why some folks love either/both of these switches.

[n12]

I wouldn't say I LOVE my blacks, but I would say that they do have a unique feeling and I can somewhat see the appeal. Sometimes it's nice to just have that linear sort of "smooth as butter" feel. Overall though, I really prefer having some sort of tactile mechanism. When you touch type on blacks, it feels like your hands are floating and there is very little sound, just the friction of the stem moving in and out, which can be kind of a neat/fun feeling.

I haven't tried reds, but I'm sure it's basically the same thing.

[nhwhaup]

I've tried a few keyboards and I think my Filco with the reds is or will be my all time favorite once I receive my new keycaps (ordered some white on black).  For me I use the keyboard mainly for typing and it's all about the feel and sound or lack of sound that makes the keyboard most pleasing to me.  I don't need the tactile feel when typing.  I look for the lightest touch available and quietest or the one with the least high pitched clicky sound.  I had a Das Keyboard "silent" version with brown switches and it was a very nice keyboard but it was still pretty noisy and my husband complained.  The reds are quieter and now I've modified it with the sound dampening rubber pads underneath the keys from Elitekeyboards it is really quiet with no bottoming out noise.  For me, I love the very light touch and feel I can type like the wind with very little effort.  I have another favorite keyboard from Cherry Corporation that actually has rubber membrane or domed switches and it isn't quiet but has a sound like popping popcorn.  Although it is noisy the sound is deeper and actually I love it.  However, after typing a long time on it, I do feel my right hand start to hurt.  I can type on the Filco with the reds all day with no discomfort.  I guess it really is a personally choice and preference.

[sparayurji]

for the, obvious but that's it, superior smoothness

[xsphat]

The blacks feel best when you type fast and rough, and as a fiction writer, my first drafts usually are emotional experiences which translates well to Buckling Springs, Alps whites and Cherry blacks. The only other switch I really like is the Topre, which isn't very conducive to this style of typing but still rock.

[n12]

I've tried a few keyboards and I think my Filco with the reds is or will be my all time favorite once I receive my new keycaps (ordered some white on black).  For me I use the keyboard mainly for typing and it's all about the feel and sound or lack of sound that makes the keyboard most pleasing to me.  I don't need the tactile feel when typing.  I look for the lightest touch available and quietest or the one with the least high pitched clicky sound.  I had a Das Keyboard "silent" version with brown switches and it was a very nice keyboard but it was still pretty noisy and my husband complained.  The reds are quieter and now I've modified it with the sound dampening rubber pads underneath the keys from Elitekeyboards it is really quiet with no bottoming out noise.  For me, I love the very light touch and feel I can type like the wind with very little effort.  I have another favorite keyboard from Cherry Corporation that actually has rubber membrane or domed switches and it isn't quiet but has a sound like popping popcorn.  Although it is noisy the sound is deeper and actually I love it.  However, after typing a long time on it, I do feel my right hand start to hurt.  I can type on the Filco with the reds all day with no discomfort.  I guess it really is a personally choice and preference.

How do you like the EK sound dampening pads? Do you feel they helped a lot or a little?

[Orphagn]

I LOVE Black switches since they suit my way of hard typing. Black switches are like the underdog of all Cherry switches. They are produced and sold alongside the popular Brown and Blue switches, but are not as in demand as Reds or Clears which are harder to find.
I thought Reds would be the one for me, but after typing on them i realized I bottomed out all the time. So I decided to give Blacks a shot again, and this time I hardly bottomed out since they were heavier.
Black switches are like Black girls, and acquired taste.

[wanabe]

blacker the cherry, sweeter the juice yo

[The Solutor]

blacker the cherry, sweeter the juice yo

 
And higher the chances to find a guest...

[Alex]

I mostly use them (SteelSeries 6Gv2) for a video game where you hold and buttom out the same keys alot. It find it better without the tactical point in those kind of games. They also feel nice to burst type with a FPS gaming hand position, one hand on wasd that is.

[reaper]

^ Tell him to get his own account. lol

Anyway, I find black switches are perfect for FPS type of games or even to type on for the same reasons other members stated above.  Reds is good also but I tend to hold the keys a little too long since they're lighter, I get thissssssssssssssssssssssss repeated keystroke every now and then.

[brkim1324]

I currently own both blue and red. While blue has that mid click bump and that audio feedback, red has very smooth feeling. Red is just more comfortable, cloud typing, and easier to type on. I like my blue too, but Red has its own appeal of smoothness and more comfortable to your fingers. It has 45g of force which is same as HHKB or Topre. It's just very light feeling with that calming audio feedback. It's just that you are alone in the night, typing in darkness, and you hear small whispering sound of keyboard typing. It has that unique feeling to it. My fingers are getting used to Red, meaning my fingers just realize I don't have to type that hard like my blues (cause of the audio feedback, your hands just move faster you know XD, like a type writer), you will notice you will be typing much softer with some rhythmic tempos. They each have their appeal and uniqueness. I am more used to blue, so your ears will be a little bored, but I am sure once you get used to it, it will be fine.

[nhwhaup]

How do you like the EK sound dampening pads? Do you feel they helped a lot or a little?

 I purchased both the firm and the softer pads.  I didn't see much difference at all with the few soft pads I put on so I changed them all out to the firm pads.  Initially I didn't seem to notice much difference.  But after typing a bit, I did notice the keys to be much quieter especially when typing fast (when I tend to bottom out the most).  I don't have any issue with less stroke movement - really didn't change the actual feel much other than it definitely has a softer landing when you do bottom out.  This keyboard might be my overall favorite - especially once I receive my white keycaps that I'm waiting on from Imsto.  I highly recommend the firm pads.

[AlleyViper]

Along with a 10 year g83, I've used a g81-1000 (MY, plate mount, double-shot thick keys) for 20 years so I grew a lot with it's feeling since I've played a lot of fps and racing games at the time in the lack of an analogue controller. Those MY are very smooth, and warn a lot before bottoming out because they have a lot of tension near the end, while being able to keep a floating touch until there. The gold old g81-1000 still looks as new, missing only a glued rubber feet, but the membrane clip on connection is giving me problems once in a while, because the contacts are oxidized and worn out at one edge.
Now I'm on a NOS 98' g80-3000 (MX black, pcb, lasered thin keys) as blacks seem the closest to the old MY action. I guess the most hate on these blacks is because they are heavy to type, but coming from a MY for so many years, when putting no effort to type lightly and bottoming out sometimes, they feel almost too light. The tension seems ideal for a light touch, but the action doesn't seem as smooth as the polished MYs, and seem to dampen a lot less when bottoming (even if they're mounted on a pcb, not a beefy metal plate). If you type fast and hard, you know you are doing it wrong, because well... that clunk just feels wrong.
I guess I'll really like these black switches if they smooth out with time, and until I get used to avoid bottoming out due to less tension in the final third of the action, maybe landing pads could improve it a lot.
Until I try some reds, I'm yet to know if getting used to even less pressure to start moving the keys reduces chances of bottoming them. Either way, I just don't see me abandoning linear switches, as they seem way more comfortable in games that keys constantly pressed and only released for a little a while or tapped, like when moving around in third person rpgs.

Btw, hello! I'm a long time lurker, but it's my first post here!

[bojinglebells]

its all about the smoothness and ability to hover around the actuation point (the tactile bump gets in the way on browns/clears/blues)

would it be odd to swap out the space bar with a red switch on a black switch keyboard?

yes

if anything space bars are sometimes found with a heavier switch because the thumb is naturally a stronger/clumsier digit, making it lighter goes against that grain