Not really. Steel is pretty close to brass yet steel plates make harsher and sharper sound. Aluminum is far less dense yet it sounds softer than brass albeit less attractive sound and less firm. It’s more material than density, I think.
I think at least the “bassier” part of things might have to do with the speed of sound going through the material. Not that I’m that knowledgeable about physics and materials (I’m a biologist) but you can see in the table in this link that the speed of sound going through brass is a lot lower than that of steel/aluminum. (Solids and Metals - Speed of Sound) As far as I know, you’ll get a higher pitched sound the faster it is transmitted through the material. Albeit this is probably a very simplistic take on things e.g. hardness of material with dampening etc etc. Anyone got a diamond plate to try out?
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Out of curiosity I put a cream stem in a zeal housing last night when I was cracking my batch of creams open for lubing. Without any other modifications, it has much reduced scratchiness which is kind of interesting. Maybe the scratchiness I hear in the creams just comes from the pom on pom action?
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I think so too. Cream stem feels smooth in all the housings I tried. Only in Cream it has this extra weird feel.
Hm. I wonder how Gateron Yellow stems would feel in them… I’ll do some science in due time.
So I finally ordered an instant60 hot swap PCB so I have a decent switch test bed & the first switch up on my list is Gateron Yellows. While Creams & Tealios are very high on my list, Gat Yellows have interested me for the longest time. What version do you guys recommend, clear top/black bottom or all milky?
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What version do you guys recommend, clear top/black bottom or all milky?
FYI, I did try clear top/black bottom Gat. Yellow and was not that impressed. I have not tried milky version.
Check out these videos comparing the two:
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The secret sauce for Gateron Yellows is just the springs. If possible, I recommend using clear tops, because milky tops have… Issues. Sometimes they rub against caps - IME, JTK and Maxkey SA keys have that issue.
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Yeah, they do leave a little to be desired compared to Tealios or Creams (what I wanted to get, but NK is OOS right now) comparing the samples I have. Although I think with some 205G0 they can shine good enough to use on a daily basis. Worst case & they end up a bit scratchy even after lube I can always swap the springs into a batch of retooled black I have that came from very early run after the retooling. Thanks for the links!
Yikes even MAXKEY SA! Guess I’m going clear top/black bottom version then. Thanks for the heads up, the milky housings are interesting because I have a feeling they sound better, but if the tops cause that many issues with caps they’re not worth it to me. I can just use Cherry tops at that rate.
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If it has a stem thicker than Honest John’s Cheap Doubleshot PBT, it’s likely to have some issues.
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Went with the clear top/black bottom ones, grabbed a couple B-stock plates (carbon fiber & brass) since they were still on sale & 2 vials of GPL 107 oil since I’ve heard good things about it. I’m the worst when I try to get just one thing, LOL!
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If you want a cheep hot swap 60, I picked up one of these, with the BT module. It’s pretty sturdy and uses Kailh sockets, and came with lubed stabs.
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Thay is a good deal for what you get, although I finally pulled the trigger on a tsangan Instant60 from Cannonkeys last night, so that will be my test bed for a while.
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I even have issues on GMK with some of my milky tops. Pretty disappointing, b/c I like the way they sound. But lubed clear tops sound good too.
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Anybody have any experience with the all black housings some Gateron silent switches have been coming in? I wonder if those have the sound some of us are looking for without the issues of the milky tops?
My latest linear action plan, centered around UHMWPE stems in-route:
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Replace Cream stems with UHMWPE stems to make Smoother Cream hybrid.
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Reuse displaced Cream stems in BSUN housings. Test showed they’re as thocky as Burgundy Pro stems but smoother.
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When revised Black Inks are released, replace its stem with UHMWPE stems. Result is expected to be smoother than Tealios with better sound.
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Reuse displaced Black Ink stems in retooled Black housings. Someone did this already and Inks+Cherry hybrid sounded pretty good. If result isn’t as smooth as expected, go with UHMWPE stems instead.
Whew. I did relube my Cream board with 205g0. Sound is lower pitched now compared to when it was lubed with 3204 but I like the extra butter. It still sticks, dry squeegee like, when keys are pressed on the side but at least it doesn’t happen while typing.
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Isn’t POM self lubricating because it breaks apart slightly when used creating its own self lubricant? This would mean both sides would have a microscopic sawtooth that would rub against eachother despite the lubricant. With just one POM against a flat surface, you would get a much smoother action, no?
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That’s the best explanation of the Creams sticking I’ve heard so far.
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The PFTE that’s mixed into the plastic may also be a partial culprit.
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I’m going to clean my Gateron Yellow stems, and report back with the Yellow/Cream hybrid before too long. I’m stuck waiting on a board for now, so I’m probably going to try them in my other KBD6x board for break in/experiment purposes before they find a permanent home. I’m probably going to clean and relube my Holy YOKs with a bit of 3203 on the leaf to take out the megabump, and have them find a permanent home in either the K-Type or the Rakk Am-Lang Pro when that ships.
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