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Seriously. Damn 
I thought the biggest flaw with my batch was that the sound profile wasn’t terribly lively or interesting but it seems like I’m outnumbered on this one.
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I like Seals quite a bit. Lube 'em, film 'em, and you won’t be disappointed. And, unless you really don’t like a “heavier” switch, I say just go with the spring it comes with. That 65gf actuation / 78gf bottom out feels great on them.**
On a tangential note, after trialing the Boba LT *nixdorks (@Deadeye 
) for a bit, I chose them over Seals and Cherry Blacks to put on an upcoming brass plate build. All my boards have linears, but this will be my first long-pole linear / shortened travel build 
** I believe that’s what the weight is, but not 100% sure
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Thanks, how do gateron lions compare to the seals. The have the KS3 mould and a pom stem
Lions are gonna be a bit scratcher than the seals & a little bit deeper pitched on the sound front. KS3s are just about the highest pitched all nylon housing switch IME so not much deeper than the Seals I’d think. TBH though unless you are getting Lions for the colors you’d be better off just getting the all black KS3s or Gat Pros.
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I got some Gateron Yellows as my NK mystery switches, specifically the KS3-x47 version(black bottom/milky top), and I’m looking for some insight on tuning them. I plan on lubing the stems and donut dipping the springs with 205g0 as thats what I have on hand. I’m mainly interested in advice on whether or not to film them and how thick of a film I should use. In general I’m more concerned about feel than I am about sound, I tend to only notice sound if its particularly awful. Thank you in advance!
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I would film them, IME Gat milky tops are pretty soft & don’t hold to the bottom housing too tight after being opened. As for the thickness, regular .15mm should work fine, but something thicker at .3mm would be the best. I’ve used Deskey films on the same switches with great results.
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Had a buddy’s help with modding my AR87 - desoldering, lubing and re-soldering the MX Blacks. Can understand why it’s one of @donpark’s favourite linears. It’s smooth, deep and has a nice “scratch” that gives the Blacks a rather distinctive sound 
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Thank you, I was hoping to hear from someone who has modded these switches before. I was mainly concerned about the possibility of buying films that are too thick and not being able to use them, its nice to hear that these switches can accommodate a thick film. Deskeys is probably what I’ll go with since it appears NK_ has the .3mm films in stock.
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Looks like I’ll have my Matrix switches in hand today at some point. Fingers crossed that they are everything that I’ve built them up in my mind to be, lol.
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Boba LT: First Contact
Stock - Loud ringing clack. Bell-like sound is similar yet distinct from that of Cream. Similarity of sound suggests Boba LT housing may have some POM in the mix. Key travel is annoyingly short.
Lubed - Slight pitch drop. Less noise. Again, lubed Cream-like.
Clipped (stem-pole) - Muted more rounded clack. Non-distinguishable from countless others linears.
Premature Conclusion
Given my preferences and biases, I think Cream is the better switch because it offer same level of clack without compromising key travel. It’s clear there is more to Cream’s sophisticated long-pole design than longer stem.
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What about feel? sound is subjective but feel and smoothness can be compared, don’t they sound like U4Ts?
If the LTs are the same as the Boba Gum they’re vastly superior to the Creams at least in terms of smoothness, Creams have a “leathery” or gritty feel and suffer from stick-slip.
I do like Cream bottom out better I agree with that, it did the same thing as Durock and Akko did later, and that is bottoming out on the pole without having the stem stick out, so it doesn’t compromise key travel distance.
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I always lube and the feel of lubed Boba LT right after lubing was, like Cream, not notable. Cream felt leathery for the first week then improved remarkably over time so we’ll see. LT at least doesn’t feel leathery. My comment above was just to share my initial impression.
I haven’t tried Boba U4T nor Boba Gum so can’t say if LT is different or not.
To clarify where I’m coming from, my top 3 linear switches are Cherry Black, Cream, and Tealios. I think my choice of switches differs from folks who like Boba so they should read my findings with a grain of salt.
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After lube has settled, Boba LT improved quite a bit in feel and sound. Even clipped Boba LTs sounded decent. And the sound is now distinct, rounded like most JWK switches but more pronounced and lower in pitch. While I still prefer the more solid sound and feel of Cherry blacks and Cremes, I can appreciate the appeal of Boba LT sound and feel.
I think Boba switches are more comparable to JWT switches than Cherry blacks and Cremes.
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I tried different combos to find the ideal setting for Boba LT and found that an aluminum board with POM plate brings out sound that reminds me of tapping on a hollow bamboo case. Very pleasant.
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More on Boba LT
In general, I don’t enjoy switches with shortened key travel. But, combined with TX 60g long spring, Boba LT started to leave behind a stronger impression of a tactile, bump seemingly more defined than long spring alone.
It’s as if long spring forms the starting part and short key travel forms the abrupt end of the perceived bump.
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IME, Long spring + reduced travel is a perfect combo to “ease into linear” from tactile
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@donpark Have you tried Gateron Vermilion Birds? I seem to remember you saying you like “wet” sound / feel from the plastic - I’d definitely describe them that way.
Haven’t tried Oil Kings or CJs yet but I suspect they’re somewhere in a similar ballpark.
No, I haven’t tried Gateron Vermilion Birds. If I’ve ever described a switch as “wet”, it could’ve been Tangerine. I did describe well-used GMK keycaps “wet” bc sweaty palm makes them feel exactly that.
These days, I’m only buying new linear switches that sounds unique, like Boba LT. Gateron’s recent premium crops sounds too similar to Inks. Too bad they’re not exploring lower-end Gat Yellow variants bc it’s “stuffy” sound has some potential if it could be amplified.
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What do you mean? The new Gat Pro milky Yellows are great switches, sure they don’t change the sound up from OG Yellow variants but damned if they ain’t as smooth as much more expensive linears (well at least for now till the molds get worn). Then there is the Gat Xs which again doesn’t change up much if at all on the sound front but is a huge step up in smoothness from the old Milky top/black bottom Yellows. So they’ve been working on them recently. The only way to change the sound would be to use better or different plastics which would significantly raise the price per switch. At that point might as well recolor & rename so people don’t feel like they’re being ripped off since a “Yellow” switch is perceived as a budget option. In fact almost all of Gaterons custom switch offerings like Linjars, Merlots, Robins, etc. are just recolored & spring swapped KS3 Yellows.
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