I have been using a cheap TKL AliExpress hot swap board for a little while, and I want to upgrade because:
- I miss the numpad
- Build quality is better than the average membrane keyboard, but still not great
I’m planning to get the keychron V6 because it is is one of the few keyboards that are:
- Not ultra expensive
- Full size
- Has a knob for volume control
- Reasonable build quality
- Hot swap
- QMK/VIA support is nice
The only issue is that I am not sure what switches and keycaps to get. I was considering saving my money and going with stock switches (keychron k pro reds) and keycaps (in-house “OSA” profile), but I do not know if I will like this keycap profile. My current board has OEM profile keycaps, and those are fine, but I want to try more “spherical” rather than “cylindrical” profiles, and it doesn’t seem like the stock keychron keycaps are particularly spherical, at least in photos. If they are more spherical in person, I might go this route.
My other plan I was considering was to try keychron’s other in-house profile, “KSA”, which seems more spherical to me (https://www.keychron.com/products/double-shot-ksa-pbt-keycap-full-keycap-set), or maybe a mt3 set (but I’m not sure about getting an abs set, my current keycaps are getting shiny). For switches, I was thinking of buying the tried-and-true gateron milky yellows, but I am not sure if there are better bang for the buck options out there for smooth linear switches.
TL;DR: Should I go with stock switches and keycaps to start out? Or should I get the bare bones keychron V6, a spherical keycap set (KSA or mt3), and budget linears like gateron milky yellows?
What do you want out of your switches?
Switches are one of the things that you can get nearly any combination of. Are you looking for light, linear, fast? What about heavy and silent but still tactile?
Also with Key caps, what do you want? Do you prefer ABS or BPT plastic for your key caps? Are there shape/profile specifics you are looking for? I prefer OEM and Cherry to type on but the look of XDA is always appealing to me.
Unless you plan to keep the caps and switches and use them. I say get the bare-bones.
I don’t have much experience with switches other than the kalih box reds that shipped with my first mechanical keyboard. They feel fine to me I suppose. I don’t think I will like tactile switches, and I can’t have clicky switches because of how loud they are, so I guess that narrows me down to linears only. Beyond that, I have no idea what I would go with.
Same thing with keycaps to an extent, though I think I have a better idea of what I would like: double shot pbt (for durability/no abs shine) with a spherical profile. I have tried keyboards from old computers like the Atari 800 and I remember liking the feel of their spherical keycaps. I am mostly afraid of the spherical keycaps being too tall (especially after seeing how tall SA keycaps are), which is why I was considering MT3 until I realized that nearly all their sets were abs only… I was also considering Keychron’s “KSA” profile keycaps, but I don’t see them get mentioned much, and they might be too tall for me as well.
Before I spent more money and since you seem to like linears maybe just lube the reds and see if you like them after a few weeks. If you decide you don’t like them all you lost was time.
Same with the default profile/keys. Give them a shot and decide if you like them before you spend money. I didn’t think I liked my SA profile keys at first but after a week I started to love them.
That seems like a good plan. I just realized that the extra $20 (from barebones -> switches+keycaps) for switches AND double shot pbt keycaps is a good deal anyway. If I don’t like the keycaps, I can move the stock keycaps to my old keyboard to give it an upgrade before letting my brother have it. Then, I could check out keychron’s KSA keycaps to replace them. The kalih box reds on my current board are perfectly usable imo, so if keychron’s version of red switches is comparable, I will be fine with regards to the switches.
I’ve got a V6, bought it around a month or so ago as my daily and it’s been great. I bought it assembled, and the stock gateron browns it came with were really nicely factory lubed. Same with the stabilizers.
Four layers of electrical tape later and some nice thick ASA keycaps and it sounds amazing! Gives it a unique look without being impractical too! If you’re looking to swap your knob out, guitar knobs fit pretty well, though they may be a little more flush with the case on the underside than you’d like unless you sand them down a little first.
In any case, the v6 is a great board. Really solid feeling, and VIA is a really nice workflow changer.
Also, it says that layers 0&1 are for Mac and 2&3 are for Windows, but you can use all four for whatever, that’s just the default they’re programmed for.
I coincidentally received my V6 in the mail today - it feels and sounds great stock and I bet it would sound even better than it already does if I tape modded it. The stock stabilizers are quite a bit better than my old AliExpress keyboard, and I can’t hear any ticking or rattle. I am still deciding whether to swap out the stock keycaps, but the switches are nice. I thought that they were keychron’s own custom switches though? Unless they partnered with gateron to manufacture them?
They’re labeled as Keychron Pros or something like that, but to my understanding they’re literally just Gaterons with a different name.
Glad you’re liking it! I’ve fallen in love with mine! Honestly, the sound never gets old! :D
I have Kailh silent browns and silent pinks and like them. Been using the pinks since I got them because they are very light. My wife uses the Epomaker Flamingo Switch that came with her keyboard - also linear, light and kinda silent
Do you have a switch tester? They come in all different sizes, here’s a huge one.
https://drop.com/buy/kbdfans-all-in-one-72-switch-tester?defaultSelectionIds=973205
I unfortunately do not have a switch tester. The problem I have with switch testers is how much they cost. That switch tester is only $30 cheaper than the entire keyboard I am buying (for the cheaper acrilic one)! The smaller cheaper ones won’t be as helpful either. I wish there was a company that let you rent a giant switch tester for a week or so so that I could test a ton of switches without wasting money on the full cost of the switch tester.
I guess I could just try to return it after, but that’s a lot of hassle.
