Author Topic: Cherry blacks — like them or not? (Read 6185 times)

xsphat · « **on:** Thu, 15 January 2009, 03:23:45 »

Well, do you?

lowpoly · « **Reply #1 on:** Thu, 15 January 2009, 04:39:39 »

Spring is too strong for me. Cherry red would be my switch, I guess.

bigpook · « **Reply #2 on:** Thu, 15 January 2009, 05:14:27 »

I have not tried a cherry black switch yet....don't know.

bhtooefr · « **Reply #3 on:** Thu, 15 January 2009, 05:41:42 »

Ditto. (Well, maybe. I've "typed" on a keypad with those relegendable keycaps, and they look suspiciously like the ones used on Cherry MX switches... if so, I've used blacks, and hate them.)

wellington1869 · « **Reply #4 on:** Thu, 15 January 2009, 06:05:59 »

My experience with the blacks was this:

first phase: really liked the silky smoothness and relative quietness. this phase lasted less than 1 week.

second phase: noticed that my arms felt more tired than usual.

third phase: put 2 and 2 together: its the damned springs! they're so damn stiff! much stiffer than any ohter board i've tried (nor do they buckle to give relief or etc).

fourth phase: sold it. The one thing I got out of using the black cherry board was the black cherries are now my reference for "too much stiffness" (just like the browns are my reference for "too light").

Chloe · « **Reply #5 on:** Thu, 15 January 2009, 07:51:40 »

I need some tactile feedback, so I am going to vote no. I don't like linear switches.

xyzzy · « **Reply #6 on:** Thu, 15 January 2009, 07:54:23 »

Too stiff for me. And without tactile feedback I found myself trying to push the key until the bottom, so I would get tired quickly.

Still, I'd give them a second chance after replacing the springs with lighter ones (say, from Cherry browns or blues).

Eclairz · « **Reply #7 on:** Thu, 15 January 2009, 07:55:32 »

I like them, they feel like full on mechanical keyboard more digital and less analogue. But I still prefer browns and blues in preference. I think if they made a black keyboard with no tactility but with clicky sounds it would be interesting, but I don't think thats isn't possible.

Blacks make you tired but they also require you to be more deliberate with your typing because of the increased pressure, and i think this is why model m users prefer blacks over browns. I haven't tried reds but do not think it'll be here in the uk for a while

xsphat · « **Reply #8 on:** Thu, 15 January 2009, 12:24:31 »

They are too tight at first but after they get broken in they feel great. I wouldn't have ever figured that out on my own because I would have just sold the keyboard that had blacks, but instead I gave that SMK88 to my wife.

And Wellington, you can't really sell a keyboard and still use it as a reference, now can you? And I agree, the browns are way too light.

lam47 · « **Reply #9 on:** Thu, 15 January 2009, 12:40:22 »

I'm looking forward to my black board. Its nice to have a proper man's board some times.
What is the resistance like when compared to a BS?

xsphat · « **Reply #10 on:** Thu, 15 January 2009, 12:43:43 »

The Cherry blacks are lighter than a Model M at the top and heavier at the bottom. They call them linear but really they're not. Which one are you getting?

billm · « **Reply #11 on:** Thu, 15 January 2009, 12:59:22 »

An interesting topic since I just ditched my cherry black board for an old micro connectors ALPS board earlier this week. I do find my arms get tired more quickly with the blacks, and I often feel like I make more mistakes. I'm not sure I'm any slower as a typist but I it feels like it takes more effort to achieve the same results, like slogging through slush rather than skating across ice.

I think the issue for me with the blacks is not the force to depress them but the surprising speed with which they spring back up. If you're doing a real flying fingers, hammering style of typing they're fine, but if you're resting your fingers on the home row and expecting to touch type they're a bit startling in their springiness.

lam47 · « **Reply #12 on:** Thu, 15 January 2009, 13:10:57 »

this one mate

http://my3c.com/D5/viewthread.php?tid=4625&extra=&page=1

alpslover · « **Reply #13 on:** Thu, 15 January 2009, 15:08:19 »

Quote from: xsphat;18300

The Cherry blacks are lighter than a Model M at the top and heavier at the bottom. They call them linear but really they're not.

they are. linear just means that the force-displacement graph closely approximates a straight line. both the black mx and red mx are this way, so they are both linear. the black mx may have a steeper slope, but it is still a line.

xsphat · « **Reply #14 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 01:33:11 »

Quote from: alpslover;18305

they are. linear just means that the force-displacement graph closely approximates a straight line. both the black mx and red mx are this way, so they are both linear. the black mx may have a steeper slope, but it is still a line.

You know, I did have that wrong. I was (and always have been) thinking linear meant equal but it does not. It does mean straight. Thank you for the correction Alpslover.

wellington1869 · « **Reply #15 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 02:00:15 »

Quote from: xsphat;18297

And Wellington, you can't really sell a keyboard and still use it as a reference, now can you? And I agree, the browns are way too light.

I guess the memory of them is enough to use as a reference, since the pain has been seared into the muscle memory in my arms

wellington1869 · « **Reply #16 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 02:02:02 »

Quote from: billm;18302

An interesting topic since I just ditched my cherry black board for an old micro connectors ALPS board earlier this week. I do find my arms get tired more quickly with the blacks, and I often feel like I make more mistakes. I'm not sure I'm any slower as a typist but I it feels like it takes more effort to achieve the same results, like slogging through slush rather than skating across ice.

I think the issue for me with the blacks is not the force to depress them but the surprising speed with which they spring back up. If you're doing a real flying fingers, hammering style of typing they're fine, but if you're resting your fingers on the home row and expecting to touch type they're a bit startling in their springiness.

yes, exactly. with the bs, atleast once the springs buckle the resistance is gone. with the blacks, the resistance is relentless!

xsphat · « **Reply #17 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 02:07:17 »

Quote from: billm;18302

If you're doing a real flying fingers, hammering style of typing

That is the way I type so that might be why I like the blacks.

billm, how long did you have your keyboard with the blacks? I'm telling you — they have an extremely long break-in period.

xsphat · « **Reply #18 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 02:08:17 »

Quote from: wellington1869;18310

I guess the memory of them is enough to use as a reference, since the pain has been seared into the muscle memory in my arms

Was the keyboard on fire?

wellington1869 · « **Reply #19 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 02:10:58 »

Quote from: xsphat;18316

Was the keyboard on fire?

pretty much

I did like the smoothness on the blacks. but since then I've gone back to bump/clicky boards anyway so I dont know if I'd want a pure linear board anymore even if I swapped the springs out. They were wicked smooth though.

xsphat · « **Reply #20 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 02:35:33 »

I do love me a good tactile 'board, but I don't think I'm that into the clicky keyboards anymore. I was unimpressed with the blues, but they sound the best of the clickys, which really sucks. I had out my Model M mini for the past couple days and I liked it enough, but I'm back on the Topre now and I don't miss the clicks.

As for linear 'boards, I've had a couple or a few Cherry ML 'boards and I like that switch a lot. It is way lighter than the blacks and completely linear, but I didn't miss the tactile feeling on them because I bottom out anyway.

I think the point I'm at is this: I have tried every major switch. Cherry ML and MY. Cherry MX black, blue and brown. Alps white and black (both real and fake in these colors), orange and pink (real Alps). Topre capacitive. Buckling springs, scissor, rubber dome — you name it. This makes me think I have reached the end of the proverbial rainbow and there really isn't much left for me to do but buy one more keyboard to complete my rotation and then start looking for a new hobby. This is good and bad, but both in a sucky way.

wellington1869 · « **Reply #21 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 02:56:33 »

Quote from: xsphat;18320

This makes me think I have reached the end of the proverbial rainbow and there really isn't much left for me to do but buy one more keyboard to complete my rotation and then start looking for a new hobby. This is good and bad, but both in a sucky way.

yea I'm probably getting to that same place. I dont feel the need to try more boards, I feel like I know what I want and like now.
The endura pro for now and when I get the chance I'll buy a used tp2, and that will do it as far as my rotation.
I'll prolly still visit this site anyway tho to see whats new, but ya, the research phase of my keyboard interest is pretty much over. As for getting a new hobby, 'job search' will be mine

xsphat · « **Reply #22 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 03:01:51 »

I have the Topre 86 and the Model M mini, two of the best keyboards ever made in my opinion, and I am going to get a Filco tenkeyless (not sure which switch yet, but I'm leaning toward the Cherry blacks) and then I'm gonna sell off everything else I have. This hobby has cost me so much money and I have almost nothing to show for it except the weirdest hobby you can have while fully clothed and empty pockets. I think my next hobby be something like fucidon'tknow.

itlnstln · « **Reply #23 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 06:47:52 »

While I still would like to try the Cherry blues, I think I have found "my" switch in the Alps blacks. I, too, am not so much for the "clicky" aspect of some switches these days, but more for the feel. Back when the only quality 'board I really knew about was the Model M, I really liked the sound, because it was part and parcel to the feel. Now that my horizons have expanded, I realize it was more the feel and not the sound I was after. The only 'board I would still like to try (other than the Cherry blues) is the Topre. I don't think I would ever buy one due to the price, but I would still like to know what I am missing.

lam47 · « **Reply #24 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 08:40:55 »

this thread has taken a sombre tone. I don't like the end of a journey.
I am happy to say I am still enjoying all the different switches and have many more to try.
I have always been a collector thought so for me its not just trying all the switches to see which I like best but to collect a board with each.
I think I should start a thread about the sticks I make and how my love for button and stick switches brought me to keyboards and then here (save it for the thread laurie)
x

itlnstln · « **Reply #25 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 09:01:22 »

The way I think about it, there are two main parts to the journey here. One, there is the switch discovery part where people try different types of switches for personal enlightenment and to find those the like the best (I would including modding switches for different feels in this phase). The second is researching different implementations of those switches (i.e. buying different keyboards with the same switches looking for different feels due to materials or different layouts such as no numpad, etc.). IMO, the first phase can, one, end as there are a finite number of individual switch types, and, two, go by fairly quickly if you want it to. It's the second phase where I feel many of the (older) members are in now (although, these phases can be explored at the same time, as many people do here). Many of us have tried every (readily) available switch and are now buying different keyboards with our favorite switches to see how different manufacturers implement their design or to have one in a different layout such as the tenkeyless from Filco. For instance, I own several Alps-based keyboards and each one is a little different due to the materials used in construction. Also, now that I found a switch I really like in the Alps blacks, I want to get a "high-end" 'board in the ABS.

During this journey, seasoned travellers will help those just starting on their journey as well. I don't think the journey will ever end if the traveller doesn't want to find a place to stop and keep exploring.

sandy55 · « **Reply #26 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 10:55:23 »

Two songs came into my mind while I was reading comments in this thread.
"Heart of Gold" and "Out on a Weekend", both in a same album titled "Harvest" by Neil Young.

lam47 · « **Reply #27 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 10:58:41 »

Quote from: sandy55;18387

Two songs came into my mind while I was reading comments in this thread.
"Heart of Gold" and "Out on a Weekend", both in a same album titled "Harvest" by Neil Young.

I have that album though Im more of a Bob Dylan fan

xsphat · « **Reply #28 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 11:35:00 »

I'm more a Ghetto Boys, NWA and Ice Cube fan.

wellington1869 · « **Reply #29 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 11:38:28 »

like intl said, i think i'll still tweak my boards as I think of stuff, and eventually buy higher end versions of stuff i do like (and maybe buy a realforce board at some point), but all that is much lower priority than what has come until this point.
In the journey metaphor, I guess I've reached my main destination so now I get to slow down and take trips for the fun of smelling the flowers. Its low priority and more fun, but also happens less frequently and less urgently. "phase two".

lam47 · « **Reply #30 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 11:53:00 »

Quote from: xsphat;18394

I'm more a Ghetto Boys, NWA and Ice Cube fan.

Ewww

xsphat · « **Reply #31 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 11:57:16 »

I got into keyboards after I killed a guy in a bar fight. I didn't mean to, and my charge was dropped to involuntary manslaughter. I got 2 years in the pen. While I was inside, I sometimes was able to use the internet and the computers were so old, but they all had Northgates and Model Ms hooked up to them.

When I got out, I couldn't stand the idea of longing for any aspect of the prison experience, so I started to look into high quality keyboards. In the early phase (apparently that is the tag word for today, phase) of my quest, iMav found me on a different forum and PMed me about this place. In the start, it mostly me and iMAv talking back and forth. Look how far we've come.

xsphat · « **Reply #32 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 11:58:33 »

Quote from: lam47;18401

Ewww

My reaction to Dylan and The Beatles and almost all rock music. Isn't it funny how these things all work out?

itlnstln · « **Reply #33 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 12:27:09 »

Quote from: xsphat;18402

I got into keyboards after I killed a guy in a bar fight. I didn't mean to, and my charge was dropped to involuntary manslaughter. I got 2 years in the pen. While I was inside, I sometimes was able to use the internet and the computers were so old, but they all had Northgates and Model Ms hooked up to them.

When I got out, I couldn't stand the idea of longing for any aspect of the prison experience, so I started to look into high quality keyboards. In the early phase (apparently that is the tag word for today, phase) of my quest, iMav found me on a different forum and PMed me about this place. In the start, it mostly me and iMAv talking back and forth. Look how far we've come.

THAT'S a journey (especially on the personal level).

lam47 · « **Reply #34 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 12:30:35 »

Quote from: xsphat;18402

I got into keyboards after I killed a guy in a bar fight. I didn't mean to, and my charge was dropped to involuntary manslaughter. I got 2 years in the pen. While I was inside, I sometimes was able to use the internet and the computers were so old, but they all had Northgates and Model Ms hooked up to them.

When I got out, I couldn't stand the idea of longing for any aspect of the prison experience, so I started to look into high quality keyboards. In the early phase (apparently that is the tag word for today, phase) of my quest, iMav found me on a different forum and PMed me about this place. In the start, it mostly me and iMAv talking back and forth. Look how far we've come.

****ing hell! Ive been through some stuff but thats a story!
As for the Beatles I dont see what all the fuss is about.
And as for dylan its more about the words than the music.
I wish I could write like he does.
x

dlarellano · « **Reply #35 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 13:13:43 »

I voted yes although I've never tried anything else (not to my recollection anyway). I just got my SMK88 last week and I am loving it.

I type like a barbarian most of the time so I don't really mind the stiffness. Only my pinkies notice it when Ms. Mavis Beacon is teaching me typing and I consciously try a lighter touch and not bottom out.

wellington1869 · « **Reply #36 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 16:13:35 »

Quote from: itlnstln;18407

THAT'S a journey (especially on the personal level).

seriously.

billm · « **Reply #37 on:** Fri, 16 January 2009, 19:55:52 »

Xsphat: Yeah, they do have a long break in but I've been running that board (Deck 82 key) exclusively for about 2 years. It's definitely loosened up some but it's still pretty springy.

I've been lurking on the Deck website and their is some vague talk from the company about building a version with blue cherries but nothing definitive. I don't have any pain from using it and I still like it, it's just not a *joy* to type on like some other boards.

ta497636 · « **Reply #38 on:** Tue, 03 February 2009, 12:05:41 »

Yes! I like Cherry Black very mush!
Because I dont want my boss know I'm on the internet in Office work-time.

lam47 · « **Reply #39 on:** Tue, 03 February 2009, 12:16:01 »

I have been using the blacks for a while now and do like them. However I would still take blues or browns over them.
I might see what a black is like with a brown spring in it.

ta497636 · « **Reply #40 on:** Tue, 03 February 2009, 12:26:08 »

becomes a Cherry R-E-D... ^_^"

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Poll

Do you like the Cherry black switch?

Author Topic: Cherry blacks — like them or not? (Read 6185 times)