This is the most detailed review of this keyboard on youtube. All other reviewers I have seen have the 1.2mm flex cut pcb version and they all have the same foamy sound. Thank you for your work!
I just got mine since I decided to wait for the 1.6mm pcb. I'm glad I did, since too many of these budget ~$100 keyboards are flex cut. I also struggled to make it sound good. I was initially pretty disappointed. I ended up adding force break mod and after trying different switches, I settled on Unikey Purple Dawn. I kept it in top mount with the silicon gel mounts installed, and now I enjoy typing on it quite a bit. That's a lot of work considering I got the Bridge75, pulled out all the foams, added some additional force break mods, and that's all I had to do. It sounds and feels amazing.
Yeah, it's tough at this price point since everyone is trying to make the margins make sense vs. production costs. If design focus here had shifted one way or the other, we would have gotten a far more focused and easier to recommend keyboard, ESPECIALLY considering the price.
I'd test fit first just to confirm trimming/filing needs to be done as there COULD be some stabs that fit better than Stupid Stabs or Typeplus. In my case, I filed the front and rear of the stab cutouts and trimmed off the small sections that protrude around the switch in the stabilized sockets. Enter is gonna be the area to pay the most attention to, specifically at the "front" of the cutout since the orientation of the cutouts is flipped vs. PCB-mount and prioritizes plate-mount stabs.
@Limpcart I'm waiting on a fresh model to arrive so I can do some more testing, but initial thoughts are to try Knight Stabs if you want screw-in with a nearly painless setup, or Cherry Clip-ins if you want to go with a simpler PCB mount install and you don't have keycaps that hold o to stabilizer stems with an iron grip. As with all stab recommendations I make, your mileage can and will vary based on a host of factors like keycap alignment and switch operation characteristics. In the meantime my most solid recomme d is to axtually just re-tune the stock plate mount stabs as they seem to actually be pretty good once you address the factory lube being kinda poop dookie. Use a pipe cleaner for the stems and housings, wipe off the wires with a paper towel, and re-tune with your preferred lube (I use 206g2 on my stab stems and wires).
Thin flex cut pcb's enforce a requirement of foam to build the board and have it still be usable. It limits the customization of the product for the end-user and isn't even required to have maximum usable assembly compression if the product is designed properly in the first place. Even just eliminating the flex cuts would be fine if the case required a slim PCB to provide enough room under it in the case, but this board doesn't require that either as the bottom case has plenty of room... so it's a waste of an option on this board.
I thoroughly enjoy Rainy75 and still have it in my rotation thanks to some additions I made, but I think ND75 will be the better pick overall if you want more viable build options and, outside of top mount, a far easier build experience. That said, if you prefer a softer, supple typing feel and aren't fussed over wanting/needing to rebuild the board, Rainy75 Lite or Standard actually makes a ton of sense; the FR4 plate for the Pro model takes things a different direction in feel and sound.
One feature doesn't work without filing the plate, my board didn't tell time, and the case foam was glued to the PCB. If you think that's nitpicking, then you have terribly low standards for your products. Let's sail right on past the shit top mount implementation, too.
This is the most detailed review of this keyboard on youtube. All other reviewers I have seen have the 1.2mm flex cut pcb version and they all have the same foamy sound. Thank you for your work!
I just got mine since I decided to wait for the 1.6mm pcb. I'm glad I did, since too many of these budget ~$100 keyboards are flex cut. I also struggled to make it sound good. I was initially pretty disappointed. I ended up adding force break mod and after trying different switches, I settled on Unikey Purple Dawn. I kept it in top mount with the silicon gel mounts installed, and now I enjoy typing on it quite a bit. That's a lot of work considering I got the Bridge75, pulled out all the foams, added some additional force break mods, and that's all I had to do. It sounds and feels amazing.
Yeah, it's tough at this price point since everyone is trying to make the margins make sense vs. production costs. If design focus here had shifted one way or the other, we would have gotten a far more focused and easier to recommend keyboard, ESPECIALLY considering the price.
u mind giving a rough rundown on how and where to file the plate to fit screw in stabs
I'd test fit first just to confirm trimming/filing needs to be done as there COULD be some stabs that fit better than Stupid Stabs or Typeplus. In my case, I filed the front and rear of the stab cutouts and trimmed off the small sections that protrude around the switch in the stabilized sockets. Enter is gonna be the area to pay the most attention to, specifically at the "front" of the cutout since the orientation of the cutouts is flipped vs. PCB-mount and prioritizes plate-mount stabs.
@@TheManicGeek any specific screw in stabs u might recommend then?
@Limpcart I'm waiting on a fresh model to arrive so I can do some more testing, but initial thoughts are to try Knight Stabs if you want screw-in with a nearly painless setup, or Cherry Clip-ins if you want to go with a simpler PCB mount install and you don't have keycaps that hold o to stabilizer stems with an iron grip.
As with all stab recommendations I make, your mileage can and will vary based on a host of factors like keycap alignment and switch operation characteristics.
In the meantime my most solid recomme d is to axtually just re-tune the stock plate mount stabs as they seem to actually be pretty good once you address the factory lube being kinda poop dookie. Use a pipe cleaner for the stems and housings, wipe off the wires with a paper towel, and re-tune with your preferred lube (I use 206g2 on my stab stems and wires).
Hey man I just wanted to know more about why is it better to get the 1.6mm pcb instead of the flexcut one ? Thank you
Thin flex cut pcb's enforce a requirement of foam to build the board and have it still be usable. It limits the customization of the product for the end-user and isn't even required to have maximum usable assembly compression if the product is designed properly in the first place. Even just eliminating the flex cuts would be fine if the case required a slim PCB to provide enough room under it in the case, but this board doesn't require that either as the bottom case has plenty of room... so it's a waste of an option on this board.
disconsidering wireless, for a wired keyboard to use on your desktop, would you pick this, Rainy75 or something else below 120 US?
I thoroughly enjoy Rainy75 and still have it in my rotation thanks to some additions I made, but I think ND75 will be the better pick overall if you want more viable build options and, outside of top mount, a far easier build experience.
That said, if you prefer a softer, supple typing feel and aren't fussed over wanting/needing to rebuild the board, Rainy75 Lite or Standard actually makes a ton of sense; the FR4 plate for the Pro model takes things a different direction in feel and sound.
OMG! Talk about nit picking!
One feature doesn't work without filing the plate, my board didn't tell time, and the case foam was glued to the PCB. If you think that's nitpicking, then you have terribly low standards for your products. Let's sail right on past the shit top mount implementation, too.