If you build your own keyboard, get first a small number of switches you might be interested in and test them in the frame.

Or go to a shop and check out the keyboards on display. As you do not know the internals, these switches will behave a bit different in your own keyboard but will be close to what you expect.

I experiment with switches in a Hotswap keyboard.

Is it a expensive keyboard? -> Cherry MX Blacks

​

Is it a keyboard I might get rid of or never use after I build it? -> Experiment with new switches

Try out as many as we can

Crippling over-analysis

Blush is silent linear, and silver is a linear switch with a shorter actuation distance. Usually a gaming thing, but some people like them for typing, too.

You can find detailed specs on this site: https://nuphy.com/collections/switches/products/gateron-low-profile-3-0-switches

Scroll down a bit and you will see all the available switches. There you can open the drop down menu, where you can see all the details (eg.: linear, tarvel distance, force, etc.)

I generally put a noisier key under capslock so I can tell when I hit it by sound.

I have a couple of boards with silent switches everywhere but the Fkey row.

I did that. Mainly to save on switch costs. Also I prefer to have a more silent keyboard sound.

I used to run tactiles on the modifiers and linears on the alphas, but now I just have tactiles everywhere. Feels better, "creamy" "thocky" and "marbly" be damned.

Yes

One of my keyboards has 2 stage tactiles (keychron super banana I think) and I have a tendency to hit caps lock by accident when going for the shift key so I put a cheap blue clicky switch in the caps lock so I know quickly I hit the wrong key before writing a sentence that looks like shouting lol.

Gamers seem to prefer like linear switches, but I find I make too many mistakes on them because there's hardly any feedback. Tactile switches have a mechanical bump that gives you feedback that you're pressing the switch before actually hitting the actuation point.

Magnetic "switches" are a magnet on a spring loaded piston that are tracked by sensors in the PCB under the switch that are the actual "switching" elements. Because the switch position is tracked the board can be programmed to do clever things like treating a key as a joystick or having two different keystrokes sent to the computer depending on how far you press the switch. If you're not a gamer they're a waste of money and because they're all linear they're not very good for typing.

The first switches were copied from a small handful of switches the Cherry companie made, and most manufacturers do sell a red, a brown, and a blue switch that are similar to the old Cherry red, brown, and blue switches. Other than that the colors don't mean anything.

Price differences vary because of software (I recommend a board with QMK firmware, it's an open source firmware well supported by the best-in-class VIA or VIAL web apps), material (plastic, acrylic, aluminum, even wood), styling, reputation, marketing gimmicks, and manufacturer's reputation.

Brands, a sampling:

• Keychron, also sold as Lemokey and Jamesdonkey: expensive (because of reputation mostly) but with a much bigger variety of European boards.
• Womier, Weikav, Akko, Monsgeek: These companies make better than average boards, as far as I can tell, and many of their boards are QMK.
• Royal Kludge, Redragon, Aula, Ajazz: traditionally cheap brands, through there are a few recent Redragon and Royal Kludge boards with QMK firmware that seem quite nice.
• Wooting, Nuphy, Lofree: brands known for a particular niche. Wooting is THE gaming company, Nuphy and Lofree make low profile boards.
• Sharkoon: A European seller that has traditionally made cheap boards but have some very interestiong recent boards I'll get back to.

Sound: I'm big into silent switches, the Outemu Silent Yellow Jade are ASMR quiet and the buffer that kills the sound also makes the bottom-out gentler, for me at least this kind of silent switch reduces fatigue and pain.

Shipping to Austria: Amazon.DE is selling a model called the Sharkoon Skiller SGK50, which comes in three sizes: S2 (96%), S3 (75%), and S4 (60%). These are ISO-DE (german layout) boards with QMK firmware and source code already available in the main QMK repo. They have plastic and wooden cased versions and the wooden cased ones look good enough that I'm salty they don't sell in the USA.

Some links:

• https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Sharkoon-Skiller-Gaming-Keyboard-Gateron/dp/B0CGQ3XZMJ
• https://www.amazon.de/Sharkoon-SGK50-Black-Gateron-Yellow/dp/B0D879YFGG
• https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Sharkoon-Skiller-Gateron-Yellow-German/dp/B0F8HWN5VX
• https://www.amazon.de/Sharkoon-Skiller-Gaming-Keyboard-German/dp/B0F8HTB85K
• https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Sharkoon-Skiller-Gaming-Keyboard-German/dp/B0F8HVJRR7
• https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Sharkoon-Skiller-Gaming-Keyboard-German/dp/B0F8HX91TL

Good keyboards cost good money. Don’t expect to pay €30 and get a good keyboard. The switches come in three types: linear, tactile and clicky. These are the type of actuation. Linear is a straight down push with no change. Tactile has a bump (silent) so you can feel the key being pressed. Clicky makes a sound when the bump is actuated. As far as HE switches, that’s simply how the information is given. It’s driven magnetically rather than when two pieces of metal meet and make a continuity (like a normal mechanical switch). HE switches are linear….so far. Glorious makes a clicky HE but I’ve yet to try it. Stick to a budget keyboard (under $200) until you learn more. You don’t learn everything about cars before you buy one. But the more you know, the better decision you can make.

A great place to start is YouTube. There is a thriving keyboard community on there. Look up Hiypo Tech, Switch and Click, Alex Toh, Keyboard Scott, Click and Thock... Your algorithm will introduce you to the longer list of creators if you binge or follow some of these creators.

I would probably suggest one of the low profile keyboards with silent switches, those would be along the lines of your Apple Magic Keyboard but give you a much more satisfying feedback. For example LOFREE FLOW84

Best value for the money is the Bridge75 (under $100), and then the Kisnt KN85 (under $45).

There are three main switch types: linear, tactile, and clicky. And you can get silent switches, which are linear or tactile switches that have sound dampeners in them. Switch colors used to be red linear, yellow or brown tactile, and blue clicky. Now the colors sometimes means that and sometimes don't mean anything.

There are also specialty switches that are expensive, proprietary, and often incompatible across different keyboards. These include magnetic Hall Effect switches, low profile switches, and the now obsolete optical switches.

I have different switches for the thumb cluster and tilted keys.

My experience is that I don't enjoy it if the actuation forces are too much of a difference among them. So no heaviest with lightest spectrum of combination.

I use nocturnals on pinkies and thumb, inner column that is reached for by index, and upper and lower ring finger. I use twilights on ring home, middle column, index column.

Personally I think you are looking for a solution to a problem that doesnt exist. If you liked keys on the heavy side and your little finger objected then maybe change that one if it was about comfort.

Otherwise your premise started as letting you know when you were on the wrong one. You suggest you are learning how to type properly. When you can touch type well you know exactly when you have mucked up, often when you are about to press the key but haven't actuated it yet.

I would get get your touch typing to a satisfactory level and then see how you feel about things, I would suspect that you no longer will be thinking about the approach with different switches.

My board has tactile switches, and two clicky switches for the keys that swap layers. It works great for touch typing because I can hear when I've shifted to a new layer.

I have done that before, actually my old GMMK Pro which I still use at work sometimes, and my Planck, are equipped with different types of switches. I never planned it but rather, during normal usage of these keyboards, realised I would like some of the switches to be heavier to make feedback more pronounced, and so I replaced them. I would have never come to the same layout if I were designing it beforehand: weirdly, my mods are the heaviest of all the switches used in these keyboards although they’re pressed with pinkies. I think it’s not always about relative finger strength but also about getting the right amount of feedback you want for that certain key function, be it an alpha or a mod or the spacebar. So I suggest you just do it by feel, especially if you’re still learning touch typing: everything about your perception of the process may still change a lot!

I'd go with cherry Nixie or Blacks, the orange had way too inconsistent factory lubing in my experience.

The reason to go for these is that you both have options, but also kinda need to do stuff. Lubing of course, spring swapping is usually a good idea, to get to the weight and spring length you like.

Filming can help as well, I don't have enough experience to recommend particular parts though. I used lubed, filmed, and spring swapped MX2A Blacks in my work keyboard, it is a nice combo, but took ages to get through for a full-size board.

I also saw that KNC (not sure) offers aftermarket stems for Cherry housings, so you might want to look at those.

Before you start investing in fully modded cherry switches buy a pack of hmx Sonja hc. They are indistinguishable with a fully modded/diamond polished nixie.

The only benefit to modding switches now is the gratification of building something, just know that you're spending more time/money on a lesser version of what most likely already exists.

If you want the full “experience” - get mx1a hyperglides. Break them in, lube, film, spring swap it!

nixie

KBDFans sells one with 72 switches.

I've only ever had cherry Mx browns which I don't really have any complaints about but was willing to pony up for something nicer and I've read about how people say there are so many better switches out there.

I bought all 3 testers off kbdfans - clicky, tactile, linear. I've been playing with them for a week and I still have no idea what switch I want.

You could buy an assortment of individual switches from Flashquark.

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Here is another pretty good non standard Switch Tester

RK ROYAL Lemon Linear Switches.

Because I'm a Lakers fan, I like the yellow and purple design.

RK Lemon Switches is good!

Depends on what you want.

Linear or tactile? Speed switches?

Light, medium, heavy spring weight?

Thock, clack?

Budget?

Hades are God tier.

for me, its Gazzew Boba U4T