Hipyo, I want to thank you for getting me into the keyboard building! It’s such a great experience and it’s even better when you make it for someone else, I hope you keep doing what you like most. I’ll follow along no matter what!!
I was a bit zoned out doing some CAD work, but I did hear silver bullet. You wouldn't believe how expensive that was to fill my keyboard with silver bullets, and I wouldn't say the sound is improved at all. I may need to watch the video again and pay attention this time.
I hope this doesn't reach you too late. Your silver bullet keyboard should prove moderately useful in the event of a vampire attack, however delivery of the bullet by the traditional method is preferred for optimal results.
Hey Hipyo, easy thing for the painters tape mod is make it less sticky. lightly press the tape on your shirt (clean preferably) and it will lessen the adhesive. helps a ton and makes the tape not as sticky. just fyi
With the automotive dampener, it also makes a noticeable difference to roll it down as well. Those rectangles that are bulging up, yeah those have to be rolled down so that they're fairly flat. I am a big fan of automotive dampener too, but these materials tend to reduce sound frequencies across the board, lows, highs, everything. I know some people prefer to only dampen lower frequencies and some like to dampen higher frequencies sounds, it all depends on the board they have and all the materials used.
@@mee6boxyou are paying a premium for "Auto" sound deadening brands like Dynamat, etc... they are nice but really overkill and overpriced for this application. There are cheaper brands that make the same product for less. They come in various thicknesses so make sure it will fit in your KB. You can also go super cheap and use Frost King or Peal & Seal duct insulation from a hardware store, I use them in my cars its the same thing but cheaper.
I did my first mod recently with my Blackwidow v2, witch consisted in put cotton under the keycaps. I made a huge diference for almost no money. Thnks by the inspiration, btw ^^
The tape part is actually concerning. You preferably don't want to do any tape if you have a battery inside your keyboard. Electrical tape can actually be harmful, especially to hotswap sockets. If there's no battery on a hotswap pcb, use painter's tape. There's less chance of ripping out a hotswap socket. Just remember to avoid the jst cable connections so you dont accidentally rip those out either.
My boyfriend is really into making keyboards so I’m glad I found you. Going to try building one for each of us! Thanks Hipyo, glad to have found you! ❤
I kind of rolled a few of your mods together and took a brown paper bag, folded it to size, rolled it in ceran wrap, taped it to the bottom of the case with painters tape and I was surprised that it took a slightly rattly keyboard and firmed up the sound somewhat. I did cut small holes for the screws and had to resync the 2.4Ghz dongle. It's a YK75 low profile keyboard without too much you can change with outemu blue switches - just because they were cheaper. for my hands, it's now the fastest keyboard I own - probably because I enjoy typing on it most and thus practice on it more. It would be my all-time best keyboard (yes, mine are all cheap) except that you can't program keys and macros - but I went from 40 wpm to 60wpm in a couple of days. I'm probably the key demographic in terms of starting and moving up in the keyboard world. It's not scary but under $100, the improvements that you can make are insane for a small budget.
00:01 Top 5 ways to improve keyboard sound 01:15 Tape mod for improved keyboard sound 02:34 Wrap bare bones keyboard PCB in plastic wrap for thock sound 03:52 Using press and seal improves the sound of switches 05:12 Lubing switches is a key step for improving keyboard sound and feel. 06:17 Adding lube to high contact points makes the keyboard smoother. 07:27 Using dampening materials and choosing keycaps can improve keyboard sound 08:50 Thick PBT keycap sets improve keyboard sound quality.
Been watching your videos for awhile now, just ordered all the goodies to build my first board and definitely using the tape mod(electric since it has batteries) and lubing the switches. Thanks for the awesome videos, love the channel
I'm only 24 hours into this new world of custom/modded keyboards that I had ZERO idea existed but now the algorithm has taken a hold of me. I never knew there were a bunch of different keyboard sounds people sought after which has been pretty funny to me because I realized I'm part of the "I want my keyboard to sound like 1913 typewriter" kind of guy. Although after scowling past dozens of videos with "THOCK" in the title but then deciding to watch this one I 100% understand the appeal but before It got to that part of the video I was thinking "bet this THOCK thing is going to be so over-rated and dumb.
I appreciate all the help on the video. I do plan on using this mod on my NJ80 and hopefully my Zoom75 but according to Tempest's article he says this: What Kind of Tape is Suitable For the Mod? To ensure that you would buy suitable and keyboard-safe tape for tape modding, you must keep in mind these two important things: Buy tape that is not too adhesive or sticky or designed to be easily removed. Examples of less adhesive and less sticky tapes are masking, washi, or painter’s tapes; if you ever decide to remove the tape behind your PCB, it will not damage your board. Sticky tapes such as duct tape and box tape tend to ruin your PCB by pulling out conduits from your keyboard when removed. Additionally, super adhesive tapes leave sticky residues that may also ruin your board. !!!!!Another thing to remember is that you should buy tape that is not conducive. Conductive tapes, such as electrical tape, can cause short circuits, damaging your PCB. This is especially true if your keyboard comes with a battery. The tape can potentially serve as insulation to the board’s battery, thus harming your PCB.!!!!!! Tape that you can buy online or at local stores is sufficient for the mod. However, to guarantee that you will not damage your PCB in the process of modding, avoid purchasing adhesive and conductive tapes. Instead, opt for tapes that you can remove easily. I'm sorry, but I just had to make sure. Still great advice!!
Just a comment about your post, from my knowledge electrical tape is not conductive and is used to isolate energy thus promoting an environment where eletricity can’t propagate and cause damage to the circuits of the PCB.
There needs to be videos on how to make a keyboard as silent as possible. Noisy keyboards annoy me, but there is something nice about feeling the button thunk when it's pressed.
I'm so glad I found this video. I now know that I'm not as ill as I thought. I was for buying PBT key caps and getting some of those rubber washer things as well for my ancient SS 7G. People at work thought I was going way over the score, but now that I know that people dismantle switches to lube them with tiny brushes I feel much better about myself.
Thanks so much for your channel, Hippyo! I can't dive full into the hobby, but I have to type a lot, and was inspired by your channel to dive in (somewhat). I got the Magegee MX Box (with red switches) for cheap to try out mechanical keyboards, and I love it, simple as it is. Think you could take a crack at modding one of those for us super low-enders? Thanks for sharing what you love!
I dampened a Razer gaming keyboard with air filters and tape modded it with painters tape and let me tell you; vast improvement in sound profile. Also quieter.
ive seen countless people used tape mod. i just did it for the first time and oh boy. my keyboard thocks much more and i shouldve done this a while ago.
Hey Hipyo. I just did what I'm calling the Velcro mod. Basically it's the tape mode but instead of tape you are using the Loop side of some sticky backed Velcro. I use some 50mm (2") on the back of the pcb and some in the case of my budget Ajazz and it has given it so much dampening and now the case feels like it's made of a solid block of something. Looking forward to some new decent switches and maybe ceramic keycaps. I like creamy thock and it's definitely getting there.. Oh ands it has made it feel like it has huge gasket mounts too.. so good
If I used painters tape or masking tape on a keyboard with a battery but there’s something in between is that fine? (There’s silicone and foam between battery and pcb stock)
Based on my experience, getting your keyboard to thock heavily depends on the acoustics of your board rather than the switch, maybe like 80% keeb and 20% switch. I tried a budget thocky switch (Feker Matcha) that has a long pole and nylon bottom housing and it doesn't thock on my keyboard. The reason is that my keeb's silicone dampeners actually filter out the low pitch sounds a.k.a. thock, making it clacky and poppy. So I removed them and replaced my switch dampeners to PE foam and my bottom plate silicone to polyfill (that I stole from my pillows lol). The sound difference was amazing. My keeb went from a high-pitch clack sound profile to a deeper thock. I think I watched another youtuber explain this topic better, iirc it was Keybored.
Thanks to you I am going to attempt modding a $15 E-YOOSO Keyboard 🙃. I will be ordering all I need in a week or so. Here are all the parts i'll get: * XFasten's 2in wide painters tape * Tekbond's 2.8oz of silicon caulk * Akko CS matcha green 3 pin linear switches * Matcha green (various green shades) PBT caps * ZugGear Durock plate mounted stabilizers * 3m's cloth adhesive medical tape * Epomaker's mint gree coiled usb cable The keyboard is a bit different than the one in the video you had made using a E-YOOSO, here are the differences on mine: * Has a metal panel * Has RGB, but only in yellow 😅 * The case is all white * Has detachable USB C cable method I won't be doing any lubing, but maybe later down the line.
I'm listening to this on a pair of €1200 professional studio monitors, and I legit can't hear a difference between the before and after sounds. What the heck?
Unfortunately only 20% subs because majority of the people watch your channel to decide which keyboard to buy or watch a single review, not everyone ends up with keyboard hobby and buying 50 keyboards for no reason and endlessly mod them lol.
tape mod imo doesn't make your sound "better", it just makes it louder. makes sense since it's effectively reflecting the sound before it gets dampened by the case.
I think I was meant to find this video, LOL Im about to buy my first mechanical keyboard and one of the things Ive been hearing about is lubing!!! Thank you for an awesome video!!!!!! Subscribed 😋
Unless you want your switches to be wet, it's "damping", not "dampening". I see this all the time in the car suspension (or any spring/oscillation reduction conversation). Just FYI. :)
This is my first time watching your vids & I typed it in “how to make your keyboard thock” and this was perfectly entertaining & educational 😂 I love this
I have my caps picked out... A black on white aura set. I have(maybe) chosen the barebones... The Gmmk2. But I have yet to choose the switches. I grew up with the GLORIOUS tactility of a Model M, but the sound is a no go for gaming... So I am chasing the feel without the racket. Please help.
Is packing tape genuinely still a risk for keyboards with a battery? Aren't most batteries pre-insulated nowadays? What about putting electrical tape just where the battery is, and packing tape elsewhere?
hi hipyo, thanks for the content. so taping, wrapping, lubing, foaming and changing keycaps. can we do all at once? and if we'll ask you which 2-3 of them should we choose and apply and not all 5. what'll you recommend? could you decide based on time/efficiency? taping-wrapping-lubing or just taping-wrapping? what do you think?
It's likely going to be fine. My k8 arrives this week and i plan to use at least 2 layers of tape but with some foam under it, above battery... KeyboardKustoms keychron foam kits. Also ordered a POM plastic top plate from the same place. (I'm not affiliated with them).
I’m getting items for my gf for Christmas and I assumed the stem holder would be in the products linked but was very happy to see that the press and seal was there lmfao
I have a Cougar Attack2 so am limited what I can do as switches are not-removable (soldered) and therefore (as far as I know) can't be lubed. Also cant wrap the PCB. What options do I have to improve the sound of mine and especially the terrible space bar which sounds really hollow and well, terrible. Ta.
update: Yeah there's very little possible the only thing I could do was the tape mod and it has actually made it better. It's by no means good - still quite terrible actually - but is certainly better than before the tape mod - a tad thockier. Worth doing for sure, I do still really want a proper keyboard though.
I'm glad you added the warning about zapping the PCB with the plastic wrap. But wtf why even have that in there given the chance for static discharge? Did it never cause problems for you?
Hey you should try the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Sheets....it's a very dense melamine sponge in a .75 millimeter thick format. The material is a dense, ultra tight cell sponge (cells so small and tight, you need a microscope to see the pores). The material has an amazing springy-ness to it and it is far denser than traditional foam or Eva foam. It comes in many sheets and you can probably layer them if you need to. Definitely worth more of a try than playdoh, sand, or whatever crazy thock experiments. Definitely try this. I think it is a game changer.
I cut out my old neoprene mousepad and put it in the back to dampen it. Theres no foil and its cheap! it works really well to dampen noise. Good deep dulcet tones. I wanted to put 2 layers in, but I could only fit 1.
you can use o-rings to make it more thocky (for me it works on my lowprofile keyboard) please don't tear me to shreds it makes my nuphy air 96 sounds even better and they didnt make it feel mushy.
