Frog TKL Parts Help
Hi! With the Frog TKL restock, I'm thinking of getting a new keyboard built. Currently have a Keychron Q3, it's okay but not entirely satisfied. I need help with figuring out everything I need to get. I am looking for a "thoccy" sound signature. Looking to get a hotswappable so I can change swiches in the future.
Currently, I have Designer Studio White Jades. Absolutely love the tactility and feel of the bump, but thinking of doing linear switches for this one. I'm leaning towards Oil Kings since they're a little heavier. Are there any other suggestions? For stabs, probably TX stabs or something. Would appreciate a pastel green keycap set suggestion.
My biggest question is what should I get from the collections part of the store? I know I need pcb/plate, but which one should I get to get the "thocc"? For PCB, would it just be one of the Apollos for hotswap? Do I need any foams? Not entirely sure what the tadpole pins are for.
Thanks!
120 Replies
Hello
buy foam
with the power of foam
you too can :thocc:
you can check this video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WH3_q7Y8-cE&pp=ygUIZnJvZyB0a2w%3D probably the most thocky frog's sound I've ever heard, although I don't think it's the best
I don't think buying a Frog will help you much with your desired sound signature
don't buy a frog then
it's not exactly a "thoccy" keyboard
Hello. I think it's a little hard to recommend according to your preference. Please choose one of several Apollo substrates. You can think of a tadpole as a gasket. It feels different depending on the hardness. Buying foam according to your preference is the best way to increase your satisfaction. I hope it helps.
oh I see, do you have any suggestions? i just heard this was really good
do you also have any suggestions? appreciate the feedback
if you want to get a frog anyway just because you like it, mess around with it, foam will help deepen the sound, but like its been mentioned before it isnt meant to have that sound signature. I have mine with 0 foam MX purples and GMK keycaps but if i were you id go with a long pole switch, foam and pbt keycaps. idk if theres a 1.2mm pcb but maybe look for that as well
Some kind of preferably gasket mount plastic keyboard with a rather thick construction
GMK67 and Tes68 immediately come to mind but the Tiger80 lite is also great in that sense since you seem to prefer tkl
Then you want to use a lot of foam
Poron foam goes in the case if you want a more silent sound and use pe foam as plate foam
Pc or Pom plate is also important
Idk that much about switch sound science so just use some that you already like
For caps, use dye sub pbt ones since dye sub usually contains more pbt than doubleshot
They should also be rather thick so something like Shenpo and XMI (CRP if you're a baller) caps
The reason why the "thoccc" signature isn't well liked in enthusiast circles (and why you got a pepelaugh reaction on this post) is that all these modding measures take the properties of a good sounding high quality board and make em sound like a keyboard only a fraction of it's price
Liking the thock signature is not a bad thing, but please don't waste any money trying to chase after it with good on their own sounding keyboards
Buying a Q3 was already a not so great decision on your part tbh
@linoose
I see, what is the sound signature it is meant to have, or more suitable for it? I guess I haven't done too much digging and have only scratched the surface
I can look into these, thank you for the suggestions!
I see, I didn't know that but it makes sense. Is there a deeper sound signature that isn't necessarily "thocc"?
Thocc doesn't really have any real definition
When you say "good on their own sounding keyboards", you mean not really having modifications like foam and whatnot? In this case for the Frog TKL, just buying the barebones kit + some sort of plate and pcb combo?
For me it's deep + muted
This was recommended to me as someone new, and after reading more about other keyboards I also wish I didn't grab it
Having to mod a keyboard means it's not good sounding on its own. With a more premium keyboard like the frog, you're paying for the convenience of not having to really mod it besides changing plates, switches or caps
Keychron keyboards excell when bought pre assembled
Since you can't really beat the price
Buying barebones is just buying a worse Neo series keyboard with the Q series
But then you also have to consider the variety in sizes and that they're in stock
the frog is more ''clacky'' and most people build it with cherry switches for the top out sound of them. If they dont use a cherry switch its prolly a high pitch sounding switch, aka PC bottom and top/ PC nylon combo
Got it, thank you for the info!
:noted: What exactly is a cherry switch?
Are all Gateron switches also considered cherry switches? or only certain ones?
cherry is the manufacturer
I see, are there some popular ones people build with? Will have to take a look into it
And also look into how the different plates affect the sound
Cherry Browns or Blacks paired with an alu plate is probably the most used combo in the hobby
plates sound different try to look at keyboards video on plates
Most of the popular sound tests kinda make them all sound the same lol
Actual scam
i wouldnt recommend cherries at the moment, you prolly wont like them right now haha
Hmm would you be able to slightly describe how it'd change depending on aluminum, fr4, or pom? If not that's okay too, I can try to read into it!
Oh really! Why is that? Out of curiosity
They want a deep / muted sound, why are you recommending cherries
They are like the worst switches to recommend to a beginner seeing as they have to be broken in and lubed in a specific way
read my message
i said i wouldnt
Oh
Haha
Hey
It's okay, I'm open to any suggestions!
Teehee
they are scratchy, but the people that like the cherry switches like them for the scratch
its a gooooood scratch id k
I personally call it copium :pepeLMAO:
But this is the Geon server so I should stop with cherry slander
ive tried broken in L+F and SS cherry nixies with no scratch and i dont like them more than stock mx blacks hehe
Stock as in not even lubed??
aye matey
but i do lube and film SS my mx blacks i just wanted to compare a broken in vs stock
sooo alu is harder and more ''clacky'' FR4 is more like PC when it comes to sound and it feels more like alu. Pom i havent tried tbh but its on the deeper sound
Pom sounds a little less plasticy / more lively than pc
The better option for pretty much every scenario except thock
Since you especially want a muted sound
I'm actually not sure what you mean by scratch HAHA
Friction
Oooo noted thank you
this is for the plates
I don't trust that
like a proper scratchy sound
Brass being deeper than alu is bullshit
its not
The other way around
he explains that at the end
Sry
its interesting video ill link it if you want
Keybored has made a couple of these sciency videos and some of his logic doesn't add up
In the foam vid he said that adding thicker layers leads to a higher pitched sound
thats a weird claim
Than thinner ones
yes please!
Sure is
i didnt see that one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmljIhkHOlI
thank you!!
Keybored is also the only one who claims that brass is lower pitched than alu
Coincidence??? I think not!
I think its a case of in practice doesnt apply
The rest of the chart or however you call it makes sense but all of the keyboard guides already say the same
but ye i can see that
when it comes to what switch to use it really is hard to say because at the end of the day the best way to find out is try some out. I never wouldve guessed 8 months ago when i started that i would be mainly enjoying cheery switches. My favorite atm is mx purple.
enJoY YoUr BrOkEN KeYcApS
I like heavy tactiles so I have it easy
Feel sorry for all the linear using folk
Geon Stem trimmer FTW
I am completely clueless when it comes to switches
I got some White Jades shipped out from China due to hearing about the really nice tactile bump + being a bit heavier
can you please share your experience with q3? what do you like/dislike about it? this will help to move on, because you will find lost in all this
Oil Kings have been the go to for decently pre lubed linears for a long while
Recently there have been some rumors of the pre lube applications worsening so idk
they are ok, i didnt like the way they were lubed haha
I do have friends who could help lube and handle switches, and there's a keyboard shop nearby that I'll probably go to for some help
I'd look into BSUN linears
I do like the heavier feeling, but something about the spacebar really really bothers me, it has this weird high pitch to it
Could be the stabs ticking
what plate does it have ?
steel ?
The normal q3 yes
The pro and max have pc
that prolly doesnt help with it
What is your budget Alex?
Man what his this post evolved into
haha
yes! had to look it up and double check
it can be really some sort of stabs issue, you don't need to change the board for this only reason, btw you'll need to deal with stabs on frog too, that's kind of mandatory thing
just get tx stabs omegalul
I see, thank you! I do enjoy a bit more resistance in a key press, I like being able to feel like it better hence really enjoying the tactile bump, but will look into more
Or staebies :)
I did get Staebies lubed for me and whatnot, I really like the backspace
ye
I got a switch for u ! Boba U4T
I'm gonna buy some soon after they weren't in stock everywhere in the EU for months
heavy tactile and deep sounding
I did try those! I actually went with the White Jades because it was a bit heavier and I like the bump a bit more than the U4Ts
I'd get WS Browns instead of Bobas tbh
so you want an even heavier bump oof
ok
damn
WS Heavy Tactiles
I use them as well
was about to say
Fucking brilliant switches
thats like the option then
Cheap as well
Only other option would be Zeal Clickiez lmao
Don't think you'd like to get those considering the price
What's the difference between WS Browns vs Bobas? I think White Jades are a bit higher pitched compared to bobas
WS Browns are for one half the price, smoother and have a very similar bump
They rival U4TXs
Maybe even better than them
honestly just fucking springs swap some 90g springs into them :shibeshake:
Also an option
Depends on if you want a strong tactile bump switch or rather a heavy switch in general
leo man. ill say one last thing
mx purples #1 switch
I think strong tactile bump switch, I think the White Jades have a sharper bump?
Ye I see a lot of people liking them
Too small of a bump for me tho probably
stock no lubing no nothing, and ye its like proper mid bump
aka ergo clears
For White Jades, one of the vendors says "They're similar to WS Black in terms of tactility but the sound profile is different." Not sure if that means anything to you, but it seems like you know about WS switches
I can attempt to give all the recommendations a try
WS blacks are the heavy tactiles
try to see some reviews( take them with a grain of salt, its all dependent on setup, audio and keyboard) Look at WS blacks and maybe Durock T1s as well
The heavy tactiles are rather loud so they probably did something about that
But I've never really heard of the Jades before
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
manufactured by jwk
was digging around reddit for heavy tactiles with a stronger bump and found that, had to get some relatives to ship it over from China since they were unavailable in the US for a while
EW
Loud might be okay, but I think I dislike higher pitched
Fuck that
Oh really 😮
I mean
It's more of a personal hatred
But uh
If it's JWK they probably have to be lubed
It's not like the WS tactiles are great stock switches but they certainly don't sound as scratchy as stock JWKs I've tried
I really thought JWK is dead by now
This just ruined my day
Thank you
:Shrugeg:
I got mine lubed
oh
sorry
:SAJ:
I guess you can compare force graphs
To see how similar the bump is
The heavy tactiles have only 45g springs which is quite unique for tactiles
something like this?
Ye
Great, thank you! Will have to give both the Browns and Heavy Tactiles a try
thinking of getting some more to try out but too many options HAHA any suggestions?
Damn
So
The white ones discolor after some time
So idk don't get those but it doesn't matter that much
They kinda get more beige
It's pretty funny
Idk what black V2s are
I think Gazzew overcooked with this many versions
Otherwise
The lower the spring weight the stronger the tactile bump for switches with the same tactile mechanism
So go 62g
They also sound a bit better
And do pearl top
Also sounds a bit deeper
so white 62g with slow pearl top?
thank you so much that is incredibly helpful, was gettin a lil dizzy looking at all that
appreciate all the feedback, help, and advice everyone has provided! will probably just get the pom plate, avoid any foams, try out those tactile switches, and go from there
But then again, idk what the V2 is
If anyone has suggestions for some pastel green or sage green keycaps, would also appreciate that hehe
Gotcha, I'll do some research once I wake up, thanks again!
JWK switches require lubing on the leaf, that’s just how it is :MONAKSHRUG: