Typing Sounds: Frog Mini | Cream stem/VB top/Gat X bot
13- Keyboard: Geon Frog Mini (Black | HHKB)
- Plate: Aluminum
- Frankenswitches
* Kailh x NK_ Cream stem (broken in, 2.5 mil actuations)
* Vintage Black top housing
* Gateron X R1 bottom housing
* Lubed w/ Krytox 205g0
* Deskeys films
* 60g TX L springs
- Stabilisers: Black Staebies R2
* XHT-BDZ on wire
* 205g0 on stem & housing
- Keycaps:
* GMK Space Cadet II Blue Base
* CRP Desko Black R4
- Others:
* 50A tadpoles
* 0.5mm PVC washers around tadpoles on top of the plate
Recorded with:
- Rode NT2-A
* 40hz high-pass filter
* Omnidirectional polar pattern
- Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd gen
Setup: Boom arm attached to the left side of the desk. Mic approx. 30cm above the deskmat (4mm rubber cloth), positioned within the top-left side of the keyboard (just out of frame). Mic front angled so it faces the center of the keyboard.
Audio interface gain set at around 4 o’clock (it’s analog). No software modifications to gain.
TL;DR: Enjoy this as you would ASMR. The audio you're hearing isn't representative of what the keyboard will sound like in your setup, in real life.
This board was lent to me by yet another friend for the sake of this recording. Even though it looks like the previous one I uploaded this one uses linear switches, and quite special ones!
=== Unrelated ramblings
I received this board a day after the one with tactile build. And right off the bat I can tell that I prefer this one, which shouldn't be surprising if you read my thoughts on the other one. A lot of love went into this board, the switch parts were carefully selected and prepared, the builder took extra care with tuning stabs and soldering. It took a while for this build to be completed and the owner was really looking forward to it. So naturally I, a good human being (cough), decided that it would be a good idea to jack the board from the builder before the owner gets to touch the board, making him wait another week before he can see it.
So why am I rambling about this and telling how awesome of a d... human I am? It's because I thought I should compensate the owner the the time somehow and further improve the board. So I played around with different tadpoles, asked around, talk with some friends. One of those friends suggested that using nylon washers on top of the plate around soft tadpoles would improve the feel and sound. I couldn't find any nylon washers around me so I made due with PVC ones. They were the correct thickness so I figured they should be good enough. So after that not-that-much-needed improvement it's finally time to record this typing sounds video.
=== Unrelated ramblings end here
Now for my thoughts about this build.
Aesthetics: watch my previous Frog Mini video.
Sound is pretty nice, much deeper compared to other frankenswitches using Cream stems, the total travel is also not too short, both thanks to Gat X bottom housing. I don't think VB tops played a big role but, hey, flex points. Between the 2 recordings I think I like CRP caps more, though most of my friends seem to prefer GMK sound on this particular board, not like their opinions matter, amirite? Volume is pretty average for a keeb, not loud, but I still wouldn't use it near someone sensitive trying to sleep.
Typing feel is the strong point of this build. The bottom out doesn't feel harsh at all even though these are long pole switches. There is a small amount of scratch left which is not very noticeable during normal use but it's there if you hunt for it. Soft tadpoles and plate design also contributed to the soft typing experience, 50A tadpoles might be too soft for some people but with the washers installed they are compressed more than usual so I find it to be just perfect. There's almost no bounce or vibrations in this build.
So based on the text above I would say this is a very good board, would recommend. However there's a thing that makes this board nearly unusable for me. It's the switches actuation point is too high, slight touch and it actuates. It's not much a of problem with most of the keys but the spacebar, oh the spacebar, I tap it lightly by accident all the time and there are tons of spaces in my text, drives me nuts. So even though I like how it feels and how it sounds, it's not for me since I can't use it without going insane xD
This board was built on stream by a friend(?) of mine, be sure to check them out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnGbDHfrhqE
https://www.twitch.tv/scuffedboards
Note: This was recorded and written at 4am so it's very janky, sorry xD