What are the best starting linear switches?

[OperaticClick]

I've been searching around on what would be a good linear switch keyboard here lately. I've been wanting to find one so I can use a mechanical in school so I don't annoy everyone during lectures. I've been looking for at a few linear switches here lately such as: cherry mx red, gateron yellow red, kailh box linears, old linear alps, The matias quiet red or linear modding the click, or ace pad tech hall effect switches. I've mostly been leaning for the Ace pad tech switches as I've heard they are ridiculously smooth and will last longer than my computer. Any thoughts on my selection? If you have any recommendations feel free to reply with what switches you think would be nice

[Blaise170]

Cherry MX Red may be too light for someone not used to a mechanical keyboard. Linear Alps are the best but you'll have trouble finding a modern-style board with them that isn't expensive. Ace Pad Tech uses a stolen design.

All in all, I'd recommend just finding a board to ensure you even like linears before going super deep into which switch is best.

[klennkellon]

any non-clicky linear should be fine as long as you don't hammer the keys like a madman when you're typing on it.

[Wodan]

If you're concerned about typing noise, take a look at the "MX Silent" switches by Cherry.

They use a silencing method similar to dampened Alps but made some improvements to really give you a pretty good silencing without making the switches TOO mushy.

These switches are available in linear light weight (MX Silent Red) and linear medium weight (MX Silent Black)

You can also just get ANY mechanical keyboard with Cherry MX switches or very close clones (Kailh NON-BOX, Gateron etc) and add GMK QMX clips for an aftermarket silencing option. I prefer the QMX clips over the MX Silent type feeling but that's a very personal preference.

[Findecanor]

Gateron also makes "Silent" switches, and unlike Cherry they also have a Brown variant that is lightly tactile.
I prefer those over silencing clips. More silent, don't impair key travel and are more compatible (see below).

You can also just get ANY mechanical keyboard with Cherry MX switches or very close clones (Kailh NON-BOX, Gateron etc) and add GMK QMX clips for an aftermarket silencing option.

From what I have seen, that is incorrect. QMX clips have very limited compatibility.

Only those switches with housings that replicate Cherry's specific shape in the right ways can fit QMX clips. None of Kailh's switch housings have the ridges in the right place and thickness for the clips to clip on.
(Disclaimer: I don't have plate-mount QMX clips but I have tested with PCB-mounted QMX clips, and with plate-mounted Zealencio clips from Zeal PC that have the clip tabs in the same position as plate-mount QMX)

Next, the switches need to be oriented the right way to be compatible with all keycaps, and the stabilisers have to be Cherry-style, not "Costar-style". Those are properties you won't find listed in spec sheets. You would have to inspect the keyboard to find that out.

(Edit: Gaote/Outemu switches are shaped more like Kailh's than Cherry's switches. They don't fit plate-mount clips but they do fit QMX clips for PCB-mount, which Kailh's don't)

[Wodan]

Gateron also makes "Silent" switches, and unlike Cherry they also have a Brown variant that is lightly tactile.

Did you even read the title of this thread?

You can also just get ANY mechanical keyboard with Cherry MX switches or very close clones (Kailh NON-BOX, Gateron etc) and add GMK QMX clips for an aftermarket silencing option.

From what I have seen, you are wrong. QMX clips have very limited compatibility.

Why so rude? I already mentioned they will only work on VERY CLOSE CLONES of Cherry MX - wasn't aware Kaihl is already out of the race. I understand there's some issues with the clips and certain Costar wires - the same wires that will actually give you collision issues with 1.5mm Cherry profile keycaps - and reverse mounted switches in combination with Cherry profile keycaps. But calling that VERY LIMITED sounds a bit salty to me ...

[Muirium]

What Blaise said: try a linear mech before you buy. Any old random MX black board will give you a good sense of whether linear is for you. Yes, there’s a lot down there in the modern linear rabbit hole, as always, but the one thing all linear switches have in common is they’re linear. Whether you like that or just don’t is always down to taste. You’ll know the first time you meet them.

I quite like linears. Not my favourite by any means, but they’re something even modern Cherry does more or less right. I prefer heavier linears so I don’t bottom out too hard—the less spring pushing back against me, the more jackhammery I find my fingers feel—so MX black is my suggestion. Pretty easy to find out there, in classic keyboards especially.

[Blaise170]

I will say that anyone used to the tactility of rubber domes probably won't like linears at first. I certainly used to love clicky switches and thought linear felt off, but now I have been building all of my latest boards with linear switches. I'm currently on a Varmilo VA87MR with Cherry MX Gray and my desktop at home has Cherry MX Red. I've also had many WYSE boards over the years with Cherry MX Blacks that are a nice median. Of course you'll never take away the rest of my Alps SKCM Blue switches but that's rather an exception.

[Findecanor]

Why so rude?

I'm sorry, that was not my intention. I noticed that it sounded rude so I went back and edited it. I'm sorry that you had to read it.

But calling that VERY LIMITED sounds a bit salty to me ...

Well... That is my impression.
Many (if not most) mainstream mechanical keyboards have the Cherry MX switches mounted "upside down" so that a LED for backlighting is under the top of the keycap. That orientation causes problems with clips and many types of keycaps because the clips' walls occupy space.
Even if you buy a keyboard without backlighting, you might get that orientation anyway because the manufacturer could use the same parts and tooling for both backlit and non-backlit keyboard models.

That happened to me... I had bought Zealencios with the purpose of installing them on a non-backlit Ducky keyboard, and first when I tried to install them I noticed that they didn't fit.

BTW. Several thick-walled key sets are thinner in certain places to make them compatible with Costar stabilisers. Cherry's original keycaps are not though.

Gateron also makes "Silent" switches, and unlike Cherry they also have a Brown variant that is lightly tactile.

Did you even read the title of this thread?

Replying to the content of the post, not just the title.
A switch does not have to be linear to be silent.

[TheInverseKey]

NMB(Hi-Tek 725) Linears if you want a nice thonk sound and you don't mind a nice weighting as well around 65 grams I think.

[mike52787]

vintage MX blacks, no other linears can compare.

[//gainsborough]

vintage MX blacks, no other linears can compare.

What about SKCL brown? I thought you liked SKCL brown!!

[samuelcable]

vintage MX blacks, no other linears can compare.

What about SKCL brown? I thought you liked SKCL brown!!

they def cant compare in price for starting switches

[//gainsborough]

vintage MX blacks, no other linears can compare.

What about SKCL brown? I thought you liked SKCL brown!!

they def can't compare in price for starting switches

Ah yeah, that's very true. I'll fix mike's post =P

vintage MX blacks are the best, no other linears [at that price point] can compare.

[pixelheresy]

vintage MX blacks, no other linears can compare.

What about SKCL brown? I thought you liked SKCL brown!!

they def cant compare in price for starting switches

If you are looking for cheap and starter, your best bet is to get a cheap MX black board (cheapest), a good vintage black board [which is what have at work and yes, black is heavy for some but Reds are pretty damn light] (luck of the draw, but could be flimsy Cherry G80s), or linearize a common Alps board (like an AT101W) (modest price). Sure, Alps Bigfoot boards keep creeping up in price, but if you have the time to put into it, you can do a fair job of cleaning out a somewhat scummy board.

Generally, Alps switches are highly dependent on how worn they are and how clean they are. Blues and Whites or Orange or Salmon weren't terribly uncommon back in the day, but if they get dirty, they are hard to clean even with opening each switch up and larger grit can cause abrasion marks on the slider. I know people have had success here with desoldering and using an ultrasonic cleaner on the parts, etc. but this is very labor intensive and requires specialized equipment (and at least basic skill with an iron not to burn the pads or break anything when wiggling things free). A good moderate option is to get a common Alps board (even with inconsistent switches) like the simple Blacks in an AT101W, clean the board, pop the housings, take out the tactile leaf, treat everything with a damp cloth/compressed air, and reassemble without the extra leaf. Hell, a tiny shot of lube on the sliders, and it is a very nice linear, and a little more delicate than vintage MX blacks and much more typist friendly than MX Red.

Yes, this is the most expensive, but late AT101s can be had (especially from here, where we don't jack up prices like on eBay) for a fair price, are solid in build, easy to USB-convert (since there is good room in the chassis), and easy to do this mod. Disassembly and reassembly of a full-size board takes time, but without the click/tactile leaf, it's pretty easy and quick to reassemble.

Thomas's old ass video shows this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsJq434UYTA

Honestly, I use my Cherry MX black board(s) [a late 90s/early 00s Tipro MID custom monstrosity] every day at work and the feel and the weight are good for me. I gave a linearized beater board and don't miss it much, but mostly since if I want delicate Alps feel, I have a very clean and not overused early AEK with original Orange SKCM switches.

[mike52787]

vintage MX blacks, no other linears can compare.

What about SKCL brown? I thought you liked SKCL brown!!

I do, vintage blacks are still better though

[zslane]

Probably the easiest and cheapest way to test the linear waters is to get a keyboard like the Ducky One with MX Reds. The build quality is mediocre at best, but it won't set you back too much money and you'll get a clear sense of what today's most popular contemporary linear switch feels like.

However, conventional MX Reds aren't dampened, and so you'll experience considerable bottom-out and upstroke noise. Sometimes the construction of a keyboard can mitigate that a little (as I found to be the case with the Varmillo boards I have), but the noise is still there nonetheless. Going with MX Silent Reds solves that problem, but in turn makes the shuff shuff shuff sound of slider friction all the more apparent. It's an improvement, certainly, but it tends to make the board sound and feel somewhat "mushy".

I started out my mech keyboard odyssey a few years back with MX Reds, but once I fell in love with Topre switches, I found it difficult to really like MX Reds, silent or otherwise, all that much anymore. However, as with all things, YMMV.