a blend of mx switches.

Eszett · 08 Jun 2014, 00:18

I like to enjoy the advantages of two types of switches on the same kb. So my idea is to mount different switches for a) mods and b) alphas (resp. all the other keys). Which blend would you recommend: maybe blues for mods and reds for alphas, or the other way around? Or something very different? I'm asking especially those of you, who like two types of switches to the same degree.

ne0phyte · 08 Jun 2014, 00:26

If I would use different switches on a single board I would definitely use linear ones for the mods.
I think linear switches are better for those keys that you keep pressed a lot while tactile/clicky ones are better for the ones you usually just tap.

I actually want to use reds on my 40% for the mods and ergo clears for everything else (but I haven't tried that yet).

Hypersphere · 08 Jun 2014, 00:28

Eszett wrote:My idea is to mount different switches for a) mods and b) alphas (resp. all the other keys). Which blend would you recommend: reds for mods and blues for alphas, or the other way around? Or something very different? I'm asking especially those of you, who know and like both types of switches. For myself I know blues only.
.

Interesting idea. Depends what you like. Although Cherry mx switches are not my favorites, within this group I prefer greens. I have not tried clears, but from what I have read, I think I might like them.

If I were mixing clicky and non-clicky switches, I would probably go for a non-clicky switch for the spacebar, which usually makes more than enough noise without adding a clicky switch. In such a mix, I would put clicky switches on the alpha keys. I am not sure about the modifiers.

You might even consider putting different weights of clicky switches on different keys, like the variable-weight RealForce Topre-switch keyboards. However, I do not think I would like a variable weight keyboard, at least among the alpha switches.

Eszett · 08 Jun 2014, 00:42

Thanks for suggestions. @ne0phyte Yes, linear switches for mods and clicky switches for the rest, that sounds reasonable. @Hypersphere Right, the spacebar chatters enough, probably it doesn’t need a click.

Rubyfire · 10 Jun 2014, 11:39

I've done that on my Steelseries 7G with MX Blues for alphas and the leftover MX Blacks with MX Blue springs for modifiers and everything non-alpha except the spacebar. It feels super comfortable to type on that keyboard.
I would definitely recommend clicky alphas and linear mods. Personally I like my clicky spacebar btw.

Broadmonkey · 10 Jun 2014, 12:07

My first MX keyboard came with Brown switches, I liked it a lot but really disliked the small bump on some of the keys I used for gaming, namely Shift, Ctrl, Spacebar, Arrow keys and WASD. It annoyed the hell out of me so I changed them to linear stems. Great Improvement and not really as noticeable when writing as one might think. Additionally I also changed the Caps Lock to a MX Clear to avoid hitting it accidentally.

I also like to slam Esc and Enter, so to really ramp up the fun I switches the keys to MX Blue/Green instead.
So, instead of binding yourself to one type on alphas and one type on mods, try and mix it around to make it suit you.

Muirium · 10 Jun 2014, 14:45

I might try something like this with the Smallfry 40%. Right now I've MX blacks, blues and (soon, thanks to Julle) clears lying ready, which means I could try panda clears and ergo clears as well as ghetto reds. Lots of options!

Clear springs are heavier than blacks and greens, right?

IvanIvanovich · 10 Jun 2014, 15:28

I've done a couple mix switch boards, but I keep it in same type. So for example green or white on alphanumeric with blue on mods, or clear on alphanumeric with brown mods, black on alphanumeric with red mods. This way it still has generally uniform feeling but with less force needed for the keys you hold for longer with the pinky.

HzFaq · 10 Jun 2014, 15:40

I've made a couple of multiswitch boards, mostly like Ivan said with the lighter switches on the mods and a heavier switch on the spacebar. The linear one was the best; I had reds on the pinky keys, blacks on the middle fingers and clear springs with linear stems on the index fingers with a grey spacebar. I tried doing it with brows/panda clears/clears but didn't like it as much though, the difference in tactility between the browns and clears was too jarring during typing.

As a weird aside, I always have Esc as a clicky switch, usually whites. Makes quitting applications more satisfying

.

Muirium · 10 Jun 2014, 15:55

I may well try the ergo weighted linears approach, now that I'll soon have a good number of clear springs to add to the mix. And a single linear grey for space bar. I've always got my green 60% if I need me some MX clicking. But I get quite enough of that already from my workhorse Model Fs!

Escape gets a lot of oddball love with novelty caps and such, but I use my Esc key in various combos including cycling through open windows, so I prefer it to be more like the rest.

pyrelink · 11 Jun 2014, 09:49

All of my current Cherry keyboards have mixed switches. My daily driver uses 62g Ergo-Clears and I use 62g Blues for all my modifiers and arrow keys. I like switching up the stems on my modifiers but I like to keep all the switches with the same weight springs.

Recently I have been thinking of swapping out those Blue arrow keys though. Linear or Browns (browns are basically linear right? =) might work better. Blues are a bitch when doing a lot of pixel work in Photoshop.

DanielT · 16 Jun 2014, 13:51

My first board had MX reds, and I loved it from the beginning, after that I bought the HHKB and I must say Topre are the best switches for me, sound, feeling, everything.
Recently I bought a board with MX blues, at the beginning I liked them, especially the feeling, but after a full weekend of typing on them I started to hate this type of switches. The sound was driving me crazy, it was like one of my daughters cheap rattlers, or pieces of lego in a bag. So I swapped on the alphas the stems with blacks, the mix now is blues on the mods, green on the space and blacks with blue springs on the alphas, I like this combo. On alphas a low force and a low sound combined with "tzac" of the blues on the mods, is well balanced this way.
Blacks with blue springs are really nice, not as light as reds but nice and linear, and using broken in black stems and tops gave them a softer less scratchy feeling
In the future I will go only with linear switches, light as possible, I love to bottom out and hear that "thock", and maybe a loud clicky one on the ESC