Ducky Shine 5 Blue Switches Feel Off...

[Nawit]

So after waiting months for my Ducky Shine 5 Cherry MX blues to come in, I am a sad panda. The upstroke of nearly all the keys feels sticky, and not smooth at all. The spacebar seems "loose" and rattles a ton and makes more noise than my Razr BlackWidow I am trying to upgrade from. Right now, I put my Shine 5 back in the box and am considering returning it for the reasons mentioned above. Before I did so, I wanted to post on here. Do cherry mx switches need to be broken in? What could possibly be the reason my space bar is rattling and making a ton of noise?

As I type on my Black Widow, the keys are smooth yet clicky and the space bar is immensely quieter than the one that came on my Shine 5. I would like to keep the Shine 5 if I can but if the things I mentioned above are here to stay, I am not interested.

Any thoughts and advice are greatly appreciated.

[suicidal_orange]

Blues can have quality issues no matter what board you buy, it's worth pressing them all 100 times to see if that improves anything - use a book or something to do lots at once.

Noisy loose spacebar?  That sounds strange.  I guess the stabilisers could have come detached from the plate or PCB - does it work if you press the ends rather than the middle or does it get stuck?

[Nawit]

I'll try breaking in the switches with a large book or something, but the space bar just won't do.

Here is a video showing the difference.

feature=youtu.be

[MeltingTeeth]

Razer switches feel better than Ducky?

[Connly33]

I've seen a lot of posts about cherry switches feeling better after some use, and my cherry blues do feel smoother after a couple of weeks.

But that stabilizer isn't right, try pulling the key cap off of the switch to make sure its clipped in right. Personally id return it after a couple days and try to get a replacement.

[Nawit]

The thing is, these ducky's use a new stabilizer. It's not like a wire that clips in. It's just a post on each side of the switch. I assume you just push it on and that's how it is. I tried looking it up and that is what I was told as well....

[Connly33]

I dont have experience with the cherry type stabilizers like that, only the wire costar ones. So i dont imagine there is a way to make the space bar quieter/feel better.... It's my fairly inexperienced opinion that you should return it and find a board with better stabilizers.

[Nawit]

Just as an update, I took a closer look at the cherry stabilizers and notice they are loose (they are wiggling if I touch them). I assume this is RMA worthy?

[SpAmRaY]

Just as an update, I took a closer look at the cherry stabilizers and notice they are loose (they are wiggling if I touch them). I assume this is RMA worthy?

What are you seeing moving? The stem moves in and out but the black pieces around the stem don't move.

[Nawit]

Just as an update, I took a closer look at the cherry stabilizers and notice they are loose (they are wiggling if I touch them). I assume this is RMA worthy?

What are you seeing moving? The stem moves in and out but the black pieces around the stem don't move.

Yeah, the red stem within the black pieces is moving. I assumed that this would cause the space bar to move a lot as well. Is that not the case? If not, what else could be causing the loud, loose space bar? Because at this point that is what is keeping me from trying to break in this keyboard. I assume that overtime the blue switches will get better and less sticky up on the upstroke.

[SpAmRaY]

Just as an update, I took a closer look at the cherry stabilizers and notice they are loose (they are wiggling if I touch them). I assume this is RMA worthy?

What are you seeing moving? The stem moves in and out but the black pieces around the stem don't move.

Yeah, the red stem within the black pieces is moving. I assumed that this would cause the space bar to move a lot as well. Is that not the case? If not, what else could be causing the loud, loose space bar? Because at this point that is what is keeping me from trying to break in this keyboard. I assume that overtime the blue switches will get better and less sticky up on the upstroke.

The red stem moving is totally normal. That's how the stabilizer works.

There are tons of reasons stabilizers can be noisy.

Many people lube them but then you have to know when, where and how to do that.

You can also put a small piece of plastic bag on those stabilizer stems to try and get a tighter fit, this is typically done on costar stabilizers but it's worth a try.

[KaminKevCrew]

Just as an update, I took a closer look at the cherry stabilizers and notice they are loose (they are wiggling if I touch them). I assume this is RMA worthy?

What are you seeing moving? The stem moves in and out but the black pieces around the stem don't move.

Yeah, the red stem within the black pieces is moving. I assumed that this would cause the space bar to move a lot as well. Is that not the case? If not, what else could be causing the loud, loose space bar? Because at this point that is what is keeping me from trying to break in this keyboard. I assume that overtime the blue switches will get better and less sticky up on the upstroke.

The red stem moving is totally normal. That's how the stabilizer works.

There are tons of reasons stabilizers can be noisy.

Many people lube them but then you have to know when, where and how to do that.

You can also put a small piece of plastic bag on those stabilizer stems to try and get a tighter fit, this is typically done on costar stabilizers but it's worth a try.

Yeah, lubing would definitely help with the noise of the stabs. I used some lube to quiet down one of my 60% boards. It helps a lot, even though it isn't quite perfect.

[ileben]

See my comment in another thread, for my experience with Ducky and stabilizers:
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=77664.msg1958605#msg1958605

Also, this:
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=77623.msg1956904#msg1956904

TLDR: ducky stabilizers (or cherry stabs in general) are very hit and miss - sometimes they are quiet and smooth, sometimes they are loud, sticky and clunky. Modding can fix it (somewhat), but requires switch desoldering.

[SpAmRaY]

I'm wondering if the plate cut outs for the stabilizers are just a little too tight on some of these boards.

[Nawit]

As someone who has done no modding in the past, I am kind of worried to have my first go at an expensive keyboard like this. Do you think it would be a better idea to just return it and look for something else? I might be better off just looking for a Cherry mx red board since I already have blues with the blackwidow...

[SpAmRaY]

As someone who has done no modding in the past, I am kind of worried to have my first go at an expensive keyboard like this. Do you think it would be a better idea to just return it and look for something else? I might be better off just looking for a Cherry mx red board since I already have blues with the blackwidow...

If you want mx reds the Leopold FC900R is a very solid and awesome board.

I've been using one at work for a while now.

[Nawit]

As someone who has done no modding in the past, I am kind of worried to have my first go at an expensive keyboard like this. Do you think it would be a better idea to just return it and look for something else? I might be better off just looking for a Cherry mx red board since I already have blues with the blackwidow...

If you want mx reds the Leopold FC900R is a very solid and awesome board.

I've been using one at work for a while now.

I'll look into it. Thanks for the advice. I would like to just get the Shine 5 with Reds in hopes that the next board I get doesn't have this issue, but that might be too risky? Not sure. Also depends on how much MK.com wants to charge me for returning -_-.

[SpAmRaY]

As someone who has done no modding in the past, I am kind of worried to have my first go at an expensive keyboard like this. Do you think it would be a better idea to just return it and look for something else? I might be better off just looking for a Cherry mx red board since I already have blues with the blackwidow...

If you want mx reds the Leopold FC900R is a very solid and awesome board.

I've been using one at work for a while now.

I'll look into it. Thanks for the advice. I would like to just get the Shine 5 with Reds in hopes that the next board I get doesn't have this issue, but that might be too risky? Not sure. Also depends on how much MK.com wants to charge me for returning -_-.

I would think if you contact them and explain the situation they would work with you. They have a few employees who are active members here.

[Nawit]

As someone who has done no modding in the past, I am kind of worried to have my first go at an expensive keyboard like this. Do you think it would be a better idea to just return it and look for something else? I might be better off just looking for a Cherry mx red board since I already have blues with the blackwidow...

If you want mx reds the Leopold FC900R is a very solid and awesome board.

I've been using one at work for a while now.

I'll look into it. Thanks for the advice. I would like to just get the Shine 5 with Reds in hopes that the next board I get doesn't have this issue, but that might be too risky? Not sure. Also depends on how much MK.com wants to charge me for returning -_-.

I would think if you contact them and explain the situation they would work with you. They have a few employees who are active members here.

Sounds good. Thanks so much for your help SpamRay. One last question. Is this "loose" space bar a problem on many cherry stabilizers? Or was I just unlucky?
Also, where can I find the Leopold sold in the US?

[SpAmRaY]

As someone who has done no modding in the past, I am kind of worried to have my first go at an expensive keyboard like this. Do you think it would be a better idea to just return it and look for something else? I might be better off just looking for a Cherry mx red board since I already have blues with the blackwidow...

If you want mx reds the Leopold FC900R is a very solid and awesome board.

I've been using one at work for a while now.

I'll look into it. Thanks for the advice. I would like to just get the Shine 5 with Reds in hopes that the next board I get doesn't have this issue, but that might be too risky? Not sure. Also depends on how much MK.com wants to charge me for returning -_-.

I would think if you contact them and explain the situation they would work with you. They have a few employees who are active members here.

Sounds good. Thanks so much for your help SpamRay. One last question. Is this "loose" space bar a problem on many cherry stabilizers? Or was I just unlucky?
Also, where can I find the Leopold sold in the US?

Honestly spacebars to me have been a huge headache on cherry mx boards. Most of the time they just work but occasionally you'll get a board that for no apparent reason just doesn't seem to have the just right fit, especially on DSA and SA caps.

I don't think you'll have any problems with the leopold board.

https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1400

[falkentyne]

I'll try breaking in the switches with a large book or something, but the space bar just won't do.

Here is a video showing the difference.

feature=youtu.be

I just checked my Ducky fire 69 which has a blue MX spacebar and while there is a small amount of rattle, it doesn't sound anywhere near as bad as yours.  It does sound like your stabilizers are loose or something or a different stabilizer is being used, so it's really hard to tell,  The main problem is that the Fire 69 uses black stabilizers while the Shine 5 uses red stabilizers.  I don't know if there is a difference besides the color or not.  That being said, I just compared my regular shine 4 (MX brown) space bar with my Year of the Goat (MX brown RGB) spacebar, and even after removing the O ring from the spacebar (or maybe I lost it cuz it wasn't on there when I removed it) from the Shine 4, I can say that the Year of the Goat seems to have slightly more travel distance (this seems to apply to the letter keys too though), and the space bar movement seems "crisper" on the Year of the Goat (if that makes sense) even though the tactile bump seems slightly less pronounced on the YOTG.  Maybe "crisper" means 'more bouncy' since there is somehow more travel distance on the YOTG, but whatever.

As far as the space bar issue you have, I can make my Shine 69 'rattle' but nowhere as much as yours does.  The rattle on my MX blue spacebar is definitely far louder than on the MX Brown, but it's 100% normal and expected on a MX blue spacebar.   I did check my *second* shine 69 (Yes I have two) and that spacebar does rattle more than the first, but then again that board has a lot less use on it so it isn't broken in like the first one (the first one is my 24/7 daily driver).

Yours does seem excessive, though.
However I will say this.
About the travel distance with the "MX Browns" from the shine 4 to the Shine 5 RGB, the travel distance I am talking about is from button fully released to the tactile bump.  There seems to be more distance from full release to the bump/actuation on the Shine 5 than on the Shine 4.
That COULD easily account for more "ratting" on MX blue RGBs if there is also more travel distance from idle to the switch mechanism.  Keep that in mind for what it's worth.

I would take off the spacebar and check the stabilizer and make sure that it's properly mounted.  Then just use it for a week.

And edit: I just removed my fire 69 spacebar and noticed that the black 'square' bracket that the black + stabilizer sits in also wiggles but moves around less than 1 millimeter, but it does wiggle and isn't 100% stationary.  That wiggle has absolutely no effect on rattle, though.  In the Shine 4 MX Brown, it -also- wiggles but wiggles even less.

I did grab the black + in the shine 69 MX blue and move it upwards out of the black square bracket and there is a lot of play, as expected (the same in the shine 4 mx brown).

It's really hard to tell, but we need someone else with a Shine 5 MX blue to post here with their space bar findings.  I'll post on reddit and see if someone can reply there, but the rattle COULD definitely be caused by the increased travel distance from idle to actuation that I notice on the shine 4 mx browns. 

Does your stab seem normal if you grab the + and manually move it up and down with your fingernails?

Put the spacebar on then make sure you press down hard on both sides and then play with it.

*Edit* again.
Just checked my Year of the Goat MX Brown space bar.
While the overall sound is about the same as on the Shine 4 Brown, it *definitely* rattles more, noticeably so.  Not a problem to me but it's definitely nowhere nearly as "tight" as the Shine 4 one is.  I'll post on reddit but seeing that, I can see how the MX RGB blue spacebar can be that loose on yours but I'll ask the others.

[Nawit]

Hey thanks for the reply. The + does rattle a little but I wouldn't say it seems excessive. It just wiggles like the other post said it should a little. At this point I am considering just returning this (hoping they don't charge me for anything more than shipping cost, if that) and just going with an MX red board. The Leopold one above is really tempting (plus its cheaper). Only reason I am hesitant to switch to reds is being more prone to typos when typing. Otherwise, I think the linear switch would be better for the massive amounts of games I play.

I have tried to press the space bar into the stabilizers. I have also tried both spacebars (the one with the goat too) and both still rattled, so I guess it's just defective.

[tp4tissue]

Only worry if the space bar feels "grind-ee"  when pressing from the sides..

If it's just wiggling,  that's fine.. Wiggle is GOOOD, because wiggle, means there is lack in the stabilizer guides, which means LESS surface area in contact, which means SMOOTHER travel.

[Nawit]

Only worry if the space bar feels "grind-ee"  when pressing from the sides..

If it's just wiggling,  that's fine.. Wiggle is GOOOD, because wiggle, means there is lack in the stabilizer guides, which means LESS surface area in contact, which means SMOOTHER travel.

I don't meant to be rude but I do not understand how wiggle is good? It's super loud and uncomfortable. It feels completely different from all the other keys on the keyboard and makes for an uncomfortable typing experience.

[falkentyne]

Probably saying that if the TRAVEL is smooth, then you can MOD it to reduce the noise, and then you will have a MUCH better feeling keyboard than a GRINDY tight one.
If it doesn't wiggle at all, but it's grindy and tight and gets stuck when moving, how exactly do you fix that?

Think of it like this.  If it's too hot, it's much harder to bring the temperature, or your temperature down, to a safe or comfortable level, than it's too cold.  You can put thick clothing on to warm up and be -safe- and not die from the elements, pretty much infinitely.  If it's too HOT, without extreme active cooling, it doesn't matter if you are completely naked...you will eventually dehydrate, get very sick, and die.  That's a completely horrible analogy but you get the point.  If you can verify from other DS5 blue switch users that all the keyboards are like that, if you have consistency in all of the letter/number presses, then it may be worth your while to see if you can dampen the effect, instead of returning it.  But if it's a defect, then by all means exchange it.  Since others are made, (unlike year of the goat), exchanging it before a refund might be a smarter bet.

[Nawit]

Probably saying that if the TRAVEL is smooth, then you can MOD it to reduce the noise, and then you will have a MUCH better feeling keyboard than a GRINDY tight one.
If it doesn't wiggle at all, but it's grindy and tight and gets stuck when moving, how exactly do you fix that?

Think of it like this.  If it's too hot, it's much harder to bring the temperature, or your temperature down, to a safe or comfortable level, than it's too cold.  You can put thick clothing on to warm up and be -safe- and not die from the elements, pretty much infinitely.  If it's too HOT, without extreme active cooling, it doesn't matter if you are completely naked...you will eventually dehydrate, get very sick, and die.  That's a completely horrible analogy but you get the point.  If you can verify from other DS5 blue switch users that all the keyboards are like that, if you have consistency in all of the letter/number presses, then it may be worth your while to see if you can dampen the effect, instead of returning it.  But if it's a defect, then by all means exchange it.  Since others are made, (unlike year of the goat), exchanging it before a refund might be a smarter bet.

I understand the analogy, but as I mentioned above I really have no experience modding and I would rather not start on a 170 dollar keyboard. I just think that if I am paying that much for something I should not have to mod it in order to fix something that makes the typing experience unenjoyable, you know what I mean?

[tp4tissue]

Only worry if the space bar feels "grind-ee"  when pressing from the sides..

If it's just wiggling,  that's fine.. Wiggle is GOOOD, because wiggle, means there is lack in the stabilizer guides, which means LESS surface area in contact, which means SMOOTHER travel.

I don't meant to be rude but I do not understand how wiggle is good? It's super loud and uncomfortable. It feels completely different from all the other keys on the keyboard and makes for an uncomfortable typing experience.

the costar stabilizer (wire type)  is significantly more wiggly than the cherry stabilizers..

The costar type is also MUCH smoother than cherry type stabilizers.. because there are far fewer 'fricative' surfaces.

[falkentyne]

Yes, which is why I said RMA if it necessary for an exchange, or wait for others to post if their spacebars are ok or not.

[tp4tissue]

I highly doubt you need to RMA..

The only condition that warrants it, would be if the keycap felt 'grind-ee'  which is the result of the keycap stems being slighly misaligned..

But hey,   you may look into the mcrip effect ..

[fuzzybaffy]

It's really up to you, what you want to do, Nawit. To me, the spacebar on the Ducky does indeed seem more wobbly than the Razer board's, but it also seems it's just a part of the manufacturing tolerances - every piece of hardware of the same model, from the same factory, etc. will have slight differences. And some will be have more loose-fitting parts than others.

And honestly... the spacebar on the Ducky seems to rattle just as much as the spacebar on my Filco, which has a reputation for great quality.

Unless the wobbly spacebar is directly affecting your ability to type, and/or is seriously about to break apart, I personally don't see it as a big deal. But then again, it's ultimately up to your happiness level, and if you're just not happy with it, why not just ask for an exchange? It's not all that much effort, and perhaps a little bit of cost in shipping it back, but you have a chance to get something you'll be happy with. But then, of course, you still run the risk of running in other problems with the replacement, or the replacement having the exact same issue as your previous one.

It's all up to you.

[Nawit]

Only worry if the space bar feels "grind-ee"  when pressing from the sides..

If it's just wiggling,  that's fine.. Wiggle is GOOOD, because wiggle, means there is lack in the stabilizer guides, which means LESS surface area in contact, which means SMOOTHER travel.

I don't meant to be rude but I do not understand how wiggle is good? It's super loud and uncomfortable. It feels completely different from all the other keys on the keyboard and makes for an uncomfortable typing experience.

the costar stabilizer (wire type)  is significantly more wiggly than the cherry stabilizers..

The costar type is also MUCH smoother than cherry type stabilizers.. because there are far fewer 'fricative' surfaces.

I mean, with what is in front of me I would think it is the opposite. My Blackwidow uses costar stabilizers which have 0 wiggle and feels fine, whereas the DS5 uses cherry stabilizers and, as shown in the video above, exhibits a louder much "wiggly...er" space bar.

It's strange though because the backspace, enter, and shift keys, all of which I would assume use the same stabilizer, have no wiggle (most likely due to the shorter key). Could this only be something that longer keys have a problem with?

[Nawit]

It's really up to you, what you want to do, Nawit. To me, the spacebar on the Ducky does indeed seem more wobbly than the Razer board's, but it also seems it's just a part of the manufacturing tolerances - every piece of hardware of the same model, from the same factory, etc. will have slight differences. And some will be have more loose-fitting parts than others.

Unless the wobbly spacebar is directly affecting your ability to type, and/or is seriously about to break apart, I personally don't see it as a big deal. But then again, it's ultimately up to your happiness level, and if you're just not happy with it, why not just ask for an exchange? It's not all that much effort, and perhaps a little bit of cost in shipping it back, but you have a chance to get something you'll be happy with. But then, of course, you still run the risk of running in other problems with the replacement, or the replacement having the exact same issue as your previous one.

It's all up to you.

I understand. It's just that if I am paying 170 dollars for a high end mechanical keyboard I expect things to be in order. If it was just a little wobbly but still felt smooth I wouldn't mind. But it is not smooth at all and I can hear the space bar loud and clear through my closed headphones. God knows what my roommate would hear if I was to use this on a daily basis. At the moment, I am hoping to return it and just look for a different board if possible.

[tp4tissue]

Only worry if the space bar feels "grind-ee"  when pressing from the sides..

If it's just wiggling,  that's fine.. Wiggle is GOOOD, because wiggle, means there is lack in the stabilizer guides, which means LESS surface area in contact, which means SMOOTHER travel.

I don't meant to be rude but I do not understand how wiggle is good? It's super loud and uncomfortable. It feels completely different from all the other keys on the keyboard and makes for an uncomfortable typing experience.

the costar stabilizer (wire type)  is significantly more wiggly than the cherry stabilizers..

The costar type is also MUCH smoother than cherry type stabilizers.. because there are far fewer 'fricative' surfaces.

I mean, with what is in front of me I would think it is the opposite. My Blackwidow uses costar stabilizers which have 0 wiggle and feels fine, whereas the DS5 uses cherry stabilizers and, as shown in the video above, exhibits a louder much "wiggly...er" space bar.

It's strange though because the backspace, enter, and shift keys, all of which I would assume use the same stabilizer, have no wiggle (most likely due to the shorter key). Could this only be something that longer keys have a problem with?

hrrrmmm....

double check if the stabilizers pegs are 'going into the keycap'

If not, put a little square of tape ontop of the stabilizer peg, and press the cap in

it might be too loose and not staying in the keycap properly

[fuzzybaffy]

Well, Nawit...

I just received my Ducky Shine 5 board today, and I can confirm that the spacebar definitely feels GOOD on mine (I cycle through some of the lighting modes on the first video to show that it's a Shine 5, and not a previous model):

And here's a comparison of its spacebar with my Filco's:

I'm sure everyone's impressions on the spacebar will be different, but I feel like the Ducky one is much more smooth, even, and sturdy than my Filco's.

It seems like you were pretty dead set on getting a board from another brand, but maybe this will help in your decision-making process. Perhaps you'll get a Ducky 5 Shine with a better spacebar if/when you exchange it.