Cherry Blacks? And a general question about switchs

[loki993]

Ive been looking for a keyboard recently and I think Ive decided on cherry blacks. Problem is everywhere I look no one has anything available with blacks. Massdorp keyboards, the ones with cherrys available dont have a black option. The sites that sell keyboards...all of the keyboards with black are OOS. Its strange. Anyone know anything about a lack of availability of cherry blacks?

So on from that Would black be good for me. Right now Im using blues, but I want to try something different. I think the blues are a touch light for me but I type well on it. I have 2 boards with clears ans I like them but they are too stiff for me. A lot of typing on the and my fingers get tired. Im going to switch them to ergos but I need a soldering iron, working on that.

I hear a lot of talk about reds being really light and Im afraid they may be, so I decided on blacks but I dont want to have the same problem I have with the clears.

[chyros]

I find nothing but MX blacks Oo . In all my Cherry finds, MX blacks are easily the most common.

If you had asked about a month earlier I could've sold you a G80-3000 LPNGB cheaply, but I had so many MX black boards I decided to disassemble a bunch for parts.

In my opinion, MX blacks are the worst Cherry switches though, even worse than MX brown (they feel scratchy and too heavy for me). But everyone has a different opinion of course, I'm sure there are loads of people that like MX blacks .

[retrochick]

I have an APC G80-11900 with mx blacks. Asking $45 shipped for it. Let me know if you're interested!

[Tactile]

I don't know what kind of keyboard you're looking for but WASD keyboards have blacks available in both fullsize & TKL.

http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/

[zslane]

I have a brand new Filco Majestouch-2 Ninja with MX Blacks that I don't need/want. I tried it for a week and decided I preferred MX reds. In fact, I joined GH mostly just to be able to access the classifieds section so I could post a WTT or WTS for this board.

[Vittra]

Ive been looking for a keyboard recently and I think Ive decided on cherry blacks. Problem is everywhere I look no one has anything available with blacks. Massdorp keyboards, the ones with cherrys available dont have a black option. The sites that sell keyboards...all of the keyboards with black are OOS. Its strange. Anyone know anything about a lack of availability of cherry blacks?

So on from that Would black be good for me. Right now Im using blues, but I want to try something different. I think the blues are a touch light for me but I type well on it. I have 2 boards with clears ans I like them but they are too stiff for me. A lot of typing on the and my fingers get tired. Im going to switch them to ergos but I need a soldering iron, working on that.

I hear a lot of talk about reds being really light and Im afraid they may be, so I decided on blacks but I dont want to have the same problem I have with the clears.

If you like clicky, tacticle switches, I don't think either blacks or reds are going to be right for you. If blues feel too light, reds seem like a poor choice. Their linear nature gives the impression of a lighter feel than browns, despite having the same actuation force.

[user 18]

MX blacks actually feel stiffer to me than MX clears (although I find stock clears to be the perfect weight). I know in my mind that they aren't really, but I find them to be harsh on my fingers. If you like the blues, you could try greens, which to me feel a touch lighter than clears, but you may also find them to be too heavy.

It sounds to me like you would be best served with something like a 67g blue, or an ergo clear but that doesn't exist outside of doing a spring swap. Purple zealios (if you can find them), are very similar to ergo clears, but again, they require soldering (no boards are sold stock with zealios).

[neverused]

Also, mx greens may be an option for you as well if you like the click.

I personally really enjoy black switches, I started out in reds but they are too light IMHO. On a side note, I acquired some gateron black switches with black mx cherry tops. I built a board with them and can't use it because the actuation point feels like it is too high, so if you are looking for a mix, you might end up making several tweaks before you find the right feel.

[loki993]

Im looking for a TKL board. I was looking at the KUL or the Leopold 750..but again I can find any with blacks. I do think ergo clears would be the best for me but again I need an iron. I dont have an issue with soldering I just dont have the equipment right now. I was also looking for something different to try and I wanted to try a linear switch. Maybe I should try some gaetrons but Im sort of the school cherry or nothing. They do seem to be quite popular though. this will be primarily a gaming keyboard too..so that also why I was leaning linear. Hell I just need to get a soldering iron..pretty sure ergos would be the perfect switch for me.

I feel like greens could be a touch stiff for me.

[rowdy]

Blacks seem lighter than clears to me.  I sometimes don't bottom out with clears, but always do with blacks.

Blacks and blues are probably opposite ends of the MX spectrum, maybe you'll find your perfect switch somewhere in the middle.

[ander]

loki993: Yes, MX Reds are very light. If you like any kind of resistance when you type, you probably won't like them.

Yes, the springs in MX Clears are slightly stiffer than the springs in MX Blacks. But Clears are also tactile, like MX Blues—you feel a "bump" when they actuate. That makes them feel more complicated, which can make them feel even heavier.

Blacks are smooth (no bump), and IMHO, they give just the right amount of resistance to make typing feel good. Like most mechanical switches, Cherry MXs actuate only halfway through their travel—so the farther you push them past that point, the more time and effort you're wasting. Because Blacks are harder to bottom out ("mash"), you can learn to float along on them, typing as quickly and easily as possible. (Ironically, Reds are too light to do that... Typing on them without bottoming out is more trouble than it's worth.)

You can probably tell by now, I think MX Blacks are awesome. If you have the dough for a new board, I highly recommend a SteelSeries 6Gv2:





It's one of the most solid boards ever. With its compact steel case and first-class construction, it's gotten mostly 4- and 5-star reviews. There's no backlighting—and yes, it has a "big-ass" Enter key, but you quickly get used to that, and the rest is pure typing goodness.

You may get the best deal by ordering one directly from SteelSeries for $99 plus free U.S. shipping. They're usually $10–20 more elsewhere, including eBay. Be sure to get one with Blacks, since they're also made with Reds.

Used boards with MX Blacks appear on eBay, but you have to look for them. CM Storms are good-quality, less expensive boards that include Black-switch versions. Besides gaming boards, some of Cherry Corp.'s Black-switch POS (retailing) boards turn up now and then that you can get in good shape for just $25–45. Deskthority's Cherry MX Black page lists some specific Cherry boards with Blacks. If the switch color isn't shown in the photos or described in the text, you search the Deskthority Wiki for certain model numbers too. Hope this helps! – A.

[pandaaqq]

I used to have blacks on my first mechanical keyboard - it just didn't work out.
My fingers actually started to hurt after longer sessions.
Just something to keep in mind.

[dgneo]

loki993: Yes, MX Reds are very light. If you like any kind of resistance when you type, you probably won't like them.

Yes, the springs in MX Clears are slightly stiffer than the springs in MX Blacks. But Clears are also tactile, like MX Blues—you feel a "bump" when they actuate. That makes them feel more complicated, which can make them feel even heavier.

Blacks are smooth (no bump), and IMHO, they give just the right amount of resistance to make typing feel good. Like most mechanical switches, Cherry MXs actuate only halfway through their travel—so the farther you push them past that point, the more time and effort you're wasting. Because Blacks are harder to bottom out ("mash"), you can learn to float along on them, typing as quickly and easily as possible. (Ironically, Reds are too light to do that... Typing on them without bottoming out is more trouble than it's worth.)

You can probably tell by now, I think MX Blacks are awesome. If you have the dough for a new board, I highly recommend a SteelSeries 6Gv2:

Show Image

It's one of the most solid boards ever. With its compact steel case and first-class construction, it's gotten mostly 4- and 5-star reviews. There's no backlighting—and yes, it has a "big-ass" Enter key, but you quickly get used to that, and the rest is pure typing goodness.

You may get the best deal by ordering one directly from SteelSeries for $99 plus free U.S. shipping. They're usually $10–20 more elsewhere, including eBay. Be sure to get one with Blacks, since they're also made with Reds.

Used boards with MX Blacks appear on eBay, but you have to look for them. CM Storms are good-quality, less expensive boards that include Black-switch versions. Besides gaming boards, some of Cherry Corp.'s Black-switch POS (retailing) boards turn up now and then that you can get in good shape for just $25–45. Deskthority's Cherry MX Black page lists some specific Cherry boards with Blacks. If the switch color isn't shown in the photos or described in the text, you search the Deskthority Wiki for certain model numbers too. Hope this helps! – A.

I've the 7G with Blacks , and I love it. Easy to type on, and it has a super solid build to it.

My only complaint is the big ass enter, as it's damn near impossible now to find replacement keysets for it.

[pandaaqq]

Steelseries keyboards actually have a really annoying problem - double pressing keys.
If you press a button once, it sometimes registers multiplate key presses.
If you google a bit you'll find lots of people with the same issue, so it's not too uncommon.
The 7g has the same issue.

[Vittra]

(Ironically, Reds are too light to do that... Typing on them without bottoming out is more trouble than it's worth.)

It's humorous how true this in fact is. On the rare occasion I'll type lightly to remind myself where the actuation point is.

[BrewCaps]

Try Gateron blacks.

[rowdy]

Vintage blacks

[ander]

Steelseries keyboards actually have a really annoying problem - double pressing keys... If you press a button once, it sometimes registers multiplate key presses... If you google a bit you'll find lots of people with the same issue... The 7g has the same issue.

I've never heard of that happening with the G6v2. Mine's been trouble-free since I got it over a year ago.

If you look hard enough, you can find people having problems with any product. People are much more likely to post complaints than to post about things that work well.

If some SS boards have had that problem, it's news to me. And are you sure it involved the 6Gv2 too, or have you just assumed that? Every hardware company has occasional "problem" products, so it's usually more helpful to stay model-specific.

For anyone who'd like to try MX Blacks, I thought I'd mention that a few used Cherry G80-11900 POS boards with MX Blacks have appeared on eBay with "Buy It Now" prices:

Cherry G80-11900 G80-11900LPMUS-0 Wired Keyboard (white) $55.00 or Make Offer, free shipping

CHERRY COMPUTER KEYBOARD - MX 11900 USB TOUCHBOARD G80-11900LUMEU-2 /06 (black) $28.00 + 12.49 shipping

Cherry MX 11900 G80-11900LUMEU-2 /03 Wired Keyboard & Touchpad (black) $39.00, free shipping

[raymogi]

I swear by Topre, but when I try vintage blacks, I changed my mind right away.

It's seriously one of the best typing feel one can get.

[ander]

Man, I've just looked at the close-ups of the one that's going for $28+12.49, and it looks unused. It's USB, too. If it is unused, that's virtually a $150 board (or $164 at Newegg, LOL). I'd grab it myself if I thought I could stay married.

BTW, you can ignore the seller's comments about the key-spacing... I'm guessing he'd never typed on Blacks, and misinterpreted how they felt.

[pandaaqq]

Steelseries keyboards actually have a really annoying problem - double pressing keys... If you press a button once, it sometimes registers multiplate key presses... If you google a bit you'll find lots of people with the same issue... The 7g has the same issue.

I've never heard of that happening with the G6v2. Mine's been trouble-free since I got it over a year ago.

If you look hard enough, you can find people having problems with any product. People are much more likely to post complaints than to post about things that work well.

If some SS boards have had that problem, it's news to me. And are you sure it involved the 6Gv2 too, or have you just assumed that? Every hardware company has occasional "problem" products, so it's usually more helpful to stay model-specific.

The 6gv2 was the first mechanical keyboard that I owned and I had exactly that problem with my 5 key. Pressing it once would result in 2-5x presses.
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/tech-support/370284-steelseries-6gv2-register-problem
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=39778.0
https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/1hcyej/help_my_steelseries_6gv2_is_driving_me_nuts/

There are tons of more threads on the internet about it. I've never heard of it happening that frequently with other keyboards

[Rodgaroon]

You want my steel series? I haven't used it in a while. $45 plus shipping and it's yours.

[Wilkie]

Try Amazon.  For what it's worth, I've been happily using a KUL with MX Blacks for a year.  Seems to be a polarizing switch, but feels good to me and isn't too loud.

[ander]

Wow! I had no idea the 6Gv2 was such a crappy board. Apparently everyone else in the universe has had a different experience with theirs than I have with mine. How extremely lucky I was to get the only 6Gv2 that worked properly!


                 

[SamirD]

If you're typing on blues and they're a touch light, greens might be the way to go.  The lack of a tactile bump will have you bottoming linears all the time, which will probably hurt your hands more than the blues do.

[falkentyne]

If you're typing on blues and they're a touch light, greens might be the way to go.  The lack of a tactile bump will have you bottoming linears all the time, which will probably hurt your hands more than the blues do.

THIS!
THIS IS WHY I LOVE ME MY DUCKY SHINE 69 FIRE EDITION.
(too bad the Year of the Goat's RGB backlighting and the Shine 5 Nature White made me retire it) .  But I keep hooking it back up if I want to type a lot.  I would donate my kidney from my already disabled body (disorders) for a MX Green shine 5 ~__~).

[SamirD]

THIS IS WHY I LOVE ME MY DUCKY SHINE 69 FIRE EDITION.
(too bad the Year of the Goat's rGB backlighting and the Shine 5 Nature White made me retire it) .  But I keep hooking it back up if I want to type a lot.  I would donate my kidney from my already disabled body (disorders) for a MX Green shine 5 ~__~).

So tell us how you really feel, lol. 

I always love to see how passionate we all are about our keyboards. 

[loki993]

If you're typing on blues and they're a touch light, greens might be the way to go.  The lack of a tactile bump will have you bottoming linears all the time, which will probably hurt your hands more than the blues do.

Yeah..im a hard typer I bottom everything out so I'm afraid greens may wear me out too

[Snowdog993]

Buckling Spring.

[rowdy]

If you're typing on blues and they're a touch light, greens might be the way to go.  The lack of a tactile bump will have you bottoming linears all the time, which will probably hurt your hands more than the blues do.

Yeah..im a hard typer I bottom everything out so I'm afraid greens may wear me out too

MX clears are about the only switch I don't bottom out on all the time.

I'm happily bottoming out on buckling springs at the moment.

[chyros]

If you're typing on blues and they're a touch light, greens might be the way to go.  The lack of a tactile bump will have you bottoming linears all the time, which will probably hurt your hands more than the blues do.

Yeah..im a hard typer I bottom everything out so I'm afraid greens may wear me out too

Have you tried Montereys? They're so delicate that they made me type super light all of a sudden, I've never been influenced by a board as much. They're also a delight to type on. The boards they come in are all fairly flimsy though, a bit what I expect modern keyboards to be like xD .

[loki993]

Buckling Spring.

Keyboards are too big. There is a way I can figure this out with modern switches.

If you're typing on blues and they're a touch light, greens might be the way to go.  The lack of a tactile bump will have you bottoming linears all the time, which will probably hurt your hands more than the blues do.

Yeah..im a hard typer I bottom everything out so I'm afraid greens may wear me out too

Have you tried Montereys? They're so delicate that they made me type super light all of a sudden, I've never been influenced by a board as much. They're also a delight to type on. The boards they come in are all fairly flimsy though, a bit what I expect modern keyboards to be like xD .

I havent tried any alps stuff yet.

What I really need to find is a keyboard that allows for spring swaps, then I can tinker all I want and find out what I like.

[rowdy]

Buckling Spring.

Keyboards are too big. There is a way I can figure this out with modern switches.

SSK?

Kishsaver?

[loki993]

Buckling Spring.

Keyboards are too big. There is a way I can figure this out with modern switches.

SSK?

Kishsaver?

Yeah not spending the money required to get one of those and I don't really like the look of the vintage keyboards like that, not to mention even the space saving ones are still pretty big relative to a modern TLK or 60 percent. I usually only like the vintage keycaps.

[Snowdog993]

Buckling Spring.

Keyboards are too big. There is a way I can figure this out with modern switches.

SSK?

Kishsaver?

Yeah not spending the money required to get one of those and I don't really like the look of the vintage keyboards like that, not to mention even the space saving ones are still pretty big relative to a modern TLK or 60 percent. I usually only like the vintage keycaps.

You seriously don't know what you're missing!

[loki993]

Maybe but most of the SSKs Ive seen cost more than my whole computer and thats just not appealing to me.

Though I have thought that maybe I could get a hold of one and somehow make a smaller custom case for one. Maybe if I run across one in a surplus shop or thrift shop. I fear the days of finding decent stuff in places like that are long gone though now that people look everything up on the internet because if its old it must be valuable.

[Vittra]

Since you mentioned gaming is the primary focus subsequent to my previous post, tactile and clicky switches may prove to be relatively pointless - unless you go with Topre. You're probably best off modding your clears to ergos and seeing how that goes before you proceed with any other keyboard options. Barring that, I'd say stick with your original idea of going with a linear MX switch, unless you want to investigate some of the entirely different switch types mentioned in the thread for whatever particular reason that may be.

Reds are indeed quite light, both in actuation force and total bottom out resistance, but bottoming out is fairly pleasant and not at all fatiguing. I've also experienced no discomfort from doing so over the 4 years I've been using my board. Their light bottom out resistance is also to their advantage in games where you may hold down keys for long periods of time.

Unfortunately until you actually try mx blacks or reds, you won't have a basis for comparison in regards to what may suit you. Linears won't feel like the tactile switches you've already used, because their force progression is a smooth, and, well, linear. The tactile switches have some initial resistance prior to their activation point, and afterwards are a linear progression to their bottom out resistance.

[Snowdog993]

Maybe but most of the SSKs Ive seen cost more than my whole computer and thats just not appealing to me.

Though I have thought that maybe I could get a hold of one and somehow make a smaller custom case for one. Maybe if I run across one in a surplus shop or thrift shop. I fear the days of finding decent stuff in places like that are long gone though now that people look everything up on the internet because if its old it must be valuable.

If you are looking for something that is modern and inexpensive, you might want to look into the Rosewill Micro RK-9000 or RGB80 keyboards.  For a limited budget and having a true mechanical that is 60% or 75% size, it's a very good deal.
I still say you will be missing out on buckling spring.  But at least your desktop will look pretty.