I’ve done this before but I bought the stick on neoprene strips from Amazon. Saves a lot of cutting and you don’t need tape. But aside from that, I think you just need to lube your switches.
I did the same to my low profile ctrl and i'm loving the sound. I don't get anymore case ping! :) Took me 3 hours cutting for both the back (three diffuser holes) and on the front top case. I honestly hated my keyboard and couldnt wait to get a more premium board but now I can say im content with what I have for now while I wait for my 2 Rama U80's
@@AustinV Yeah that've taken you at least 3 or 4 hours... mine took me about the same and I'm not totally sure how much of a difference it made but it makes me feel better that it's there lol
Thanks for taking the time to share your creativity with the comm. You know roots is where all the best ideas come from. Btw, I'm nervously expecting my first drop in a couple days (ctrl high profile) - nervous bc it cost me 4 squids and don't even know if I'll like it. Anyway I might try a couple mods I been thinking of and can share them and their results with you guys after - good or bad.
Yeah... 😅 It was definitely a struggle. I would recommend paying the little extra and getting some precut foam like from KBDfans (kbdfans.com/products/kbdfans-module-foam). They just didn't have it in stock when I was looking to build.
even with the software for the keyboard, does it always reset your setting after losing power every time? I noticed it going back to rainbow effect after you unplugged and plugged it back in
Yeah I noticed that too. So what actually happens is you have to set the “default” state of the board by bringing it into the QMK configurator on Drop’s website. I set my default to be white so anytime I plug in the board again, it’s white leds instead of rainbow
Thanks for the support! Technically, the keyboard will work if you take the diffuser out, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Some screws don’t sit flush anymore and there’s about a 1mm gap because the bottom plate is resting on the kailh hotswap sockets. Links to pictures: i.imgur.com/8oHQlr8.jpg i.imgur.com/mndRnhX.jpg i.imgur.com/jREA25K.jpg
@@MikaTheAboveAverageDog For some reason imgur isn't loading for me, but basically it doesn't work if you remove the diffuser plate. There's still a gap between the top case and the bottom case. Would not recommend
You had me literally yelling at the screen at 2:50 when you put your pattern in *the middle* of your material, and *crooked* ! Is there a reason you didn't just use the edge and corner? You could have saved half the cutting, gotten 2 perfectly straight lines "for free", and been able to get *2* pieces out of your material if you wanted to add another layer or for a second keyboard.
have you tried filling in those 3 holes between the acrylic? I figure, that way, the board should sound "fuller" rather than hollow. I have a ctrl High Pro, thinking about filling out those holes as well too, though i'm rocking Box Jades with SA, I want a full solid sound rather than a clicky hollow sound. Though it sounds a lot better than my GMMK free float Jades on SA
No I haven’t tried that, although I’m not sure if adding foam in there would do much. From what it seems to me, the hollow sound is actually coming from the vibrations made because it is an integrated plate
@@AustinV Great i'm happy for you. It's funny I actually went through the same process with my GMMK full size. Spent so much time foaming every nook and cranny until I realized I just needed to lube the switches haha. Wish there were better guides for this hobby
I would, yeah, but the acoustics are pretty important to me. The amount of hollowness that it fixes isn’t as huge of a difference as fixing the spring ping on the switches. KBDfans actually sells precut foam that will make it a lot easier than hand cutting all the foam like I did. They were sold out when I was working on it 😞 but they’re in stock now kbdfans.com/collections/keyboard-foam/products/kbdfans-module-foam
I'm glad I'm pretty tone deaf when it comes to keyboard sound differences. It looks like you can go crazy over trying to get the perfect sound. I respect the hustle though. God knows I am a stickler for many other things.
@@AustinV despite the huge amount of work ;_; i just modded my drop ctrl a few days ago and it was such a long process... turned out amazing though.. i will need some of your patience for my next build ^^'
@@AustinV totally was! Durock L7 switches are super smooth filmed and lubed and I'm loving how it sounds and feels, except for a little pingy noise happening sometimes. GMK yuru keycaps will arrive soon :) there's a sound test on my channel.. My next build will probably be something from kbdfans with arrow keys and a soldered build, didn't decide on a switch yet
@@PinePizza Ooh yeah! Just checked out your vid, sounds pretty nice! I'm waiting on some GMK WoB caps. I also just got a tofu from KBDFans that I built this last weekend. Really liking it so far. I'd definitely recommend splurging a little extra on the brass plate
Yeah I ended up lubing the switches in the next video: ruclips.net/video/e3BVSMTW4sI/видео.html In hindsight, I should have changed the order of my videos and lubed the switches first
Totally agree with you on that. I did end up lubing and filming them, which helped a ton! Just using them temporarily since they came with the board and am now waiting for my Kiwis to come in. Stay tuned for a video on that!
@J Garib yeah I feel the same way. I had to change the color of the lights on my board because every color just became green. They feel and sound so much better than the Halo Clears, so I can live with it
I’m sorry I don’t follow, what the difference between the switches that come with this keyboard and “kiwis”? There seem to be a ton of switches other than Halo, Greton, and Cherry. What is the different between the regular ones just mentioned and pandas? Holy pandas? Unholy pandas? Kiwi? And there’s many others!!
I’ve done this before but I bought the stick on neoprene strips from Amazon. Saves a lot of cutting and you don’t need tape. But aside from that, I think you just need to lube your switches.
Yeah I lubed the switches in the next video and it sounded a lot better
@@AustinV check this out - www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PBSBNRM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
@@AustinV and this - www.keebtalk.com/t/keyboard-chores-share-your-projects/8530/23?u=ddrfraser1
I did the same to my low profile ctrl and i'm loving the sound. I don't get anymore case ping! :)
Took me 3 hours cutting for both the back (three diffuser holes) and on the front top case. I honestly hated my keyboard and couldnt wait to get a more premium board but now I can say im content with what I have for now while I wait for my 2 Rama U80's
Glad it worked out for you! Ooh 2 U80s? What are your build plans for those?
I still remember when 200 dollars on a keyboard was considered a large amount
Yeah I can totally hear it, it's almost like it didn't go away at all but I still think it's more to do with the spring than anything else.
Yeah, I had that thought too. Wish I knew before I went and did all that work :(
@@AustinV Yeah that've taken you at least 3 or 4 hours... mine took me about the same and I'm not totally sure how much of a difference it made but it makes me feel better that it's there lol
@@thinkrtank991 Yeah I feel that. Better to have than to not I guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This was such a cool process; can’t wait for the next video!
Thanks!
Thanks for taking the time to share your creativity with the comm. You know roots is where all the best ideas come from. Btw, I'm nervously expecting my first drop in a couple days (ctrl high profile) - nervous bc it cost me 4 squids and don't even know if I'll like it. Anyway I might try a couple mods I been thinking of and can share them and their results with you guys after - good or bad.
I wouldve gone crazy making those small cuts
Yeah... 😅 It was definitely a struggle. I would recommend paying the little extra and getting some precut foam like from KBDfans (kbdfans.com/products/kbdfans-module-foam). They just didn't have it in stock when I was looking to build.
even with the software for the keyboard, does it always reset your setting after losing power every time? I noticed it going back to rainbow effect after you unplugged and plugged it back in
Yeah I noticed that too. So what actually happens is you have to set the “default” state of the board by bringing it into the QMK configurator on Drop’s website. I set my default to be white so anytime I plug in the board again, it’s white leds instead of rainbow
Just change your default layer's LED to whatever you want. Then when you plug in that's what you'll see.
It's really helpful. I will buy CTRL High Profile and can't wait to mod it!
Thanks!
Glad you found my video helpful! Good luck with your modding!
Love you videos :D One quick question, is it possible to install the bottom plate without the diffuser? Thanks!
Thanks for the support! Technically, the keyboard will work if you take the diffuser out, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Some screws don’t sit flush anymore and there’s about a 1mm gap because the bottom plate is resting on the kailh hotswap sockets.
Links to pictures:
i.imgur.com/8oHQlr8.jpg
i.imgur.com/mndRnhX.jpg
i.imgur.com/jREA25K.jpg
@@AustinV Thank you so much for your photos, they are super helpful!!
@@LordCalories No problem! Glad I could help
@@AustinV Any chance you still have those photos and can reupload them?
@@MikaTheAboveAverageDog For some reason imgur isn't loading for me, but basically it doesn't work if you remove the diffuser plate. There's still a gap between the top case and the bottom case. Would not recommend
I did not know that there was a screw driver in that key cap puller...
Yeah, it's a pretty cool design
no amount of foam can help those stabs
😔
ikr, i bought some authentic cherry for the drop alt
You had me literally yelling at the screen at 2:50 when you put your pattern in *the middle* of your material, and *crooked* ! Is there a reason you didn't just use the edge and corner? You could have saved half the cutting, gotten 2 perfectly straight lines "for free", and been able to get *2* pieces out of your material if you wanted to add another layer or for a second keyboard.
have you tried filling in those 3 holes between the acrylic? I figure, that way, the board should sound "fuller" rather than hollow. I have a ctrl High Pro, thinking about filling out those holes as well too, though i'm rocking Box Jades with SA, I want a full solid sound rather than a clicky hollow sound. Though it sounds a lot better than my GMMK free float Jades on SA
No I haven’t tried that, although I’m not sure if adding foam in there would do much. From what it seems to me, the hollow sound is actually coming from the vibrations made because it is an integrated plate
@@AustinV can confirm adding foam there does help a good bit. Non lubed zealios v2's with hardly any ping
What type of marker pen did you use on the neoprene?
I used a metallic Sharpie in the gold color. You can get them on Amazon: amzn.to/33HrqmS
Austin V thanks!
Are the switches lubed? That helps much more than foam for ping
Yeah I actually ended up lubing the switches in the next video in the series, which did really help as you said.
@@AustinV Great i'm happy for you. It's funny I actually went through the same process with my GMMK full size. Spent so much time foaming every nook and cranny until I realized I just needed to lube the switches haha. Wish there were better guides for this hobby
Thanks! Yeah I totally agree with you. The current wiki is so out of date
So what’s the verdict, do you recommend doing the foam mod?
I would, yeah, but the acoustics are pretty important to me. The amount of hollowness that it fixes isn’t as huge of a difference as fixing the spring ping on the switches. KBDfans actually sells precut foam that will make it a lot easier than hand cutting all the foam like I did. They were sold out when I was working on it 😞 but they’re in stock now
kbdfans.com/collections/keyboard-foam/products/kbdfans-module-foam
Austin V thank you for your reply. It is indeed helpful, but I take it I still need to fill the rectangular hollow, will try to find something thick!
@@sweihan9867 You could try folding the thin packing foam that comes in the box of your CTRL
You could also make a DXF of the layout and have the neoprene laser cut (better yet, use an adhesive-backed foam sheet).
I'm glad I'm pretty tone deaf when it comes to keyboard sound differences. It looks like you can go crazy over trying to get the perfect sound. I respect the hustle though. God knows I am a stickler for many other things.
Awe KBDfans sells foam modules for this exactly.
They were sold out of their foam modules when I was building this :(
@@AustinV Bummer but at least you achieved a similar result with work that makes the keyboard more of your own. Good job!
@@SmartFool24 Thanks! Tbh not sure if it really made that much of a different in terms of sound tho...
imho but it sounds like there is no diffrence
Yeah tbh I didn't really tell a difference either. Lubing the switches was the biggest factor I would say
@@AustinV despite the huge amount of work ;_; i just modded my drop ctrl a few days ago and it was such a long process... turned out amazing though.. i will need some of your patience for my next build ^^'
@@PinePizza Oh nice! Was it worth it for you? What are you planning on building next?
@@AustinV totally was! Durock L7 switches are super smooth filmed and lubed and I'm loving how it sounds and feels, except for a little pingy noise happening sometimes. GMK yuru keycaps will arrive soon :) there's a sound test on my channel.. My next build will probably be something from kbdfans with arrow keys and a soldered build, didn't decide on a switch yet
@@PinePizza Ooh yeah! Just checked out your vid, sounds pretty nice! I'm waiting on some GMK WoB caps. I also just got a tofu from KBDFans that I built this last weekend. Really liking it so far. I'd definitely recommend splurging a little extra on the brass plate
That’s hot
absolutely no difference before and after
Just buy stupidfish and be done with it ;)
Lube ur switches, foam wont help much
Yeah I ended up lubing the switches in the next video: ruclips.net/video/e3BVSMTW4sI/видео.html
In hindsight, I should have changed the order of my videos and lubed the switches first
did literally nothing
I consider it a learning experience... where I learned adding foam can’t save a Drop CTRL from hollowness :(
@@AustinV i be wanting to do random mods on my build but no ideas, and i dont want... that to happen, where the mod does nothing
@@bodabodaguy3193 Yeah I totally get you on that. If you wanna do something that has guaranteed results, I would say lubing your switches is #1
Those switches are terribleeee
Totally agree with you on that. I did end up lubing and filming them, which helped a ton! Just using them temporarily since they came with the board and am now waiting for my Kiwis to come in. Stay tuned for a video on that!
The ping is worse than nails on a chalk board.
@@AustinV Got my kiwis in and I'm pretty fond of them. They really limit the use of per switch backlight though.
@J Garib yeah I feel the same way. I had to change the color of the lights on my board because every color just became green. They feel and sound so much better than the Halo Clears, so I can live with it
I’m sorry I don’t follow, what the difference between the switches that come with this keyboard and “kiwis”? There seem to be a ton of switches other than Halo, Greton, and Cherry. What is the different between the regular ones just mentioned and pandas? Holy pandas? Unholy pandas? Kiwi? And there’s many others!!
ugly keyboard, for $250...
I actually quite like the look of this board. Although I do agree it is rather expensive
@C J its just the keycaps that look horrible. use some sa or some gmk and it will look better than your future.