That’s a good idea, and it hadn’t even crossed my mind. However, I’d definitely want to find someone with a TON of experiencing and the right equipment for the job. I think I’ll look into that.
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Giving Brian P’s Badseed Tactile V2s a try today.
They’re fun! I think they also totally match Brian’s warm, bombastic, and decidedly masculine-themed brand.
They’re punchy - but that’s nothing new. What I like about these is the near absence of any pre or post travel relative to the bump. That’s also nothing new - but it’s well executed here in a way that I appreciate.
I love punchy swtiches, but I do have my limits - and I’d say these Badseeds walk right up to that line without crossing it. Any more peak force and they’d be too much for me. (Examples of that: Invokeys Daydreamers, Everglide Moyu Blacks, tactile-mode Zeal Clickiez)
I’m sure these will be over-the-top for many users, but I think enjoyers of heavy tactiles will find a lot to like here.
Waxing on how these made-redundant a favorite-if-obscure franken
Before switch selection was so plentiful, I spent lots of time frankenswitching to find my preferred characteristics - and these basically match one of my very favorite combinations, making it redundant. A combination, by the way, I’d have never recommend to anyone only because it costs something like a buck-fifty per switch and only represents a marginal (if significant-to-me) improvement over both donor switches.
I love when this happens because it makes specific good switch experiences more accessible - both in budget and convenience.
If you’re curious; the combination was the stem from an Everglide Moyu Black / Dark Jade installed into a Kono Midnight. The final results is similar to a stock Midnight, but with the slight pre and post-travel wiggles all cleaned-up. Compared to the Moyu Black, it’s still super punchy but less over-the-top.
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Also on my “desk” today is ePBT Acadia - which just so happens to match the pine-green margin belt on the spot graphics machine I’m running today - slightly better photo than last time. 
It’s a little easier to see the tan-on-pine colorway here.
This is instantly one of my favorite PBT sets. Just look at that color! Gorgeous.
One small caveat for the color-crazy; the space bar is not reverse dye-sub like the rest of the keys - this means that in some lighting conditions the color doesn’t appear to match the other keys, while in most conditions it appears to match them perfectly. It seems most noticeable in very warm low light? I can’t even tell under the bright, neutral lights here at work.
Alignment isn’t perfect, but it is good - I think it’s at least up to par for reverse dye-sub, if not above average. They feel great, they’re reasonably thick, they’re ePBT - if you like green (hi, @pixelpusher ) - especially dark green, this is not one to skip.
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Thanks for the review on the Badseed V2s; they’re out of stock now, but I signed up for a restock notification.
These definitely sound like something I’d really enjoy. Right now, I’ve been loving the Betty tactiles that (I think?) you had recommended. They’re just so absurdly confident and I love it. I’ve been daily driving these for almost two months and still not tired of them.
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Looks awesome! Sticker bombing is becoming a lost art in the hobby.
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Yeah I agree can be dope. I wanna take all my oldest stickers I got in orders and bomb some special board with it one day. I wonder if keyboard stickers will ever have value actually. Pogs or something lol
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Giving those Kailh Whales* a try today.
I’ve had these on my list for a long time and anticipated liking them - so far they don’t disappoint.
If you like the idea of a silent tactile BOX switch but were underwhelmed with the Browns, these might be worth a look. In comparison they’re more quiet and feel more clean. The tactility is also a bit more subtle, but like the Browns is “negative” or “T-shaped”, with the bump right at the start of travel.
Here’s a quick phone recording:
*Naming conventions on these are all over the place depending on the vendor and where they’re located, but “whale” is the consistent part of the name, so I just trimmed-off the rest. Just a few iterations of the name I’ve seen:
- Silent Whale
- Whale Pro Silent
- Whale Fall Silent
- Deep Sea Silent Pro Whale
- Also add versions for every possible permutation including “BOX” somewhere in the name
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Nice. I saw your jar of these earlier. I’m a big fan of the linears. Some of the best silent switches out there. Typing on them right now. I’ll bet the tactile are nice as well
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Decided to change things up today and switch over to the Zoom75 for work today. I currently have Nixies in here with a Sarokeys BCP in the spacebar topped with GMK Norse. I keep getting jokingly bullied over not using 7u on this, so I would like to make that change this weekend.
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I finished building the Deadline Studios Retro #66 today, it’s really cool keyboard and I’m super glad I was able to acquire one.
I did it up with some Amber T1’s because I like them and they had a vintage look.
Originally, I’d planned to use the “Less but More” keycaps on this board. I’d even ordered extra accent colors to, uh, accent those. Well, I saw this set and knew it was the right set for this board. So I’ll likely change up those accents here by repainting them.
With the Silver vertical accent piece.
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What a perfect board for that keyset!
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They’re genuinely, and unexpectedly to me at least, very nice keycaps. I just hope the silkscreened letting holds up.
I took a keycap I knew I would never use an tried to scratch the heck out of it with my fingernails and it didn’t do anything. So I hope they last a good long time.
What do you think of the board? How’s the finish? How does it sound and feel? I’ve pondered buying one several times.
That’s good to hear. Something told me it wasn’t just your typical tampo printing going on, because that would rub off so quickly.
So, it’s done, and with it my (first) experiment in working with aluminum plates. Last of three builds from an Xometry order. This one’s specs:
- Bespoke layout that’s basically a TKL, but with retro notes from HHKB and elsewhere.
- “Holy Panda v2” 67g tactile switches from AE. How did they sell 110 of them for sixteen bucks? It’s a mystery.
- Laser cut aluminum switch plate and base plate.
- Random stabilizers. One or two of them are Durock I think.
- 3D printed case, feet, and grommet. Case spraypainted “Krylon Bauhaus Yellow”.
- Handwired with a “YD-RP2040” and running KMK. USB-C pigtail for strain relief.
- Akko SA-L black and gold keycaps.
If you don’t look too close, it’s kinda pretty. 
The photos are a little washed out, oddly enough. Usually my phone likes to Kodachrome the hell out of the saturation, but it doesn’t love this yellow.
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Really nice!!!
Like the color and the layout that makes it vintage and usable (for me).
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That’s been the specific goal for this project. If I were starting over, I don’t know that I’d split the left shift (as you can see from my actual layout on this one and its two older siblings), but it’s been really satisfying how low-maintenance the layout is while feeling right at home firing up an emulator.
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Jumped on a New Years sale NovelKeys was running and picked up the Box75 on clearance. For $150, I figured “why not?”
Build Summary
The board does a great job at hiding screws and the design is kinda funky. It’s a top mount as well, which I don’t have in my collection yet (The Sonnet technically is, but it’s built as a modified stack mount).
My only real issue with the build is that it came out during the 1.2mm PCB craze. Luckily, it comes with its own shims.
My stubborn ass was bound and determined to use my Cherry clip-ins, but used some TX wedges to help keep them in position over the shims. Also, because I wasn’t quite sure how it was going to sound, I decided to Millmax the PCB.
For switches, I decided to toss in my lubed WS Morandi linears. To top things off, I wanted to see what GMK Firefly was like, after waiting over a year for it to arrive…
Everything sits in an ALU plate that uses the world’s tiniest, thinest o-rings to isolate things from the case.
I am currently only using the rear case foam sheet, but it also comes with PCB and plate foam to help tune it to your preference. I also have a PC plate on the way as well, which I will likely pop in and then find out if I need foam, as the sound on this board isn’t getting a lot of help from the depth or shape of the case.
Additional Build Pictures:
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That’s look great with FIrefly!
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