deskthority

I have an Ortek AEK-style keyboard, which came with some fairly bad four-tab Alps clones (Xiang Min KSB-N, I believe).
So I desoldered them and bought a bunch of Matias Quiet Clicks from The Keyboard Co. to replace them:

The tactility and weighting of these switches are nice, but they are very scratchy. Is this par for the course with Matias switches?

While I don't mind scratchiness too much, it is slightly disappointing. What are your experiences - do they improve over time?

Can you identify the source of scratchiness?

My quiet linears are extremely smooth.

Define scratchy? The Matias have a strange something-like-a double bump compared to Alps IME, but I've not found them to be scratchy-; rather than overlubed in fact.

They feel rough compared to real alps, but they come well or maybe even overlubed, so it's unlikely that they're scratchy unless you somehow got defective units. I don't like their switches very much except the "quiet linears" with the dampening removed.

You obviously just need to break them in.

I have a "Tactile Pro" (clicky) with their clickiest switches, and though I loved it when I first got it years ago, I do find it incredibly scratchy now. I will eventually try to linearize and lube these. I also had a "quiet click" keyboard (tactile) at work that I absolutely loved and I miss it. That one is much more faithful to the AEK heritage with a delicious tactile bump if you like that sort of thing. Not scratchy at all. And my Laptop pro also has nice "quiet click" tactile switches. Matias have a linear switch too that I suspect is nice.

In summary: yes, the clicky "Tactile Pro" is scratchy, but the tactile "Quiet Pros" are nice.

TicTocTom wrote: ↑

22 Apr 2021, 05:52

In summary: yes, the clicky "Tactile Pro" is scratchy, but the tactile "Quiet Pros" are nice.

I have the Quiet Clicks, though.

TNT wrote: ↑

21 Apr 2021, 21:43

They feel rough compared to real alps, but they come well or maybe even overlubed, so it's unlikely that they're scratchy unless you somehow got defective units. I don't like their switches very much except the "quiet linears" with the dampening removed.

I opened a few switches and tried a few different things.
First observation: Yes, they come factory lubed, however much of it has ended up on the tactile leaf, and not much on the rails. I guess that's fairly easy to explain, though.
Second observation: Click modding them makes them more fun

lispnick wrote: ↑

21 Apr 2021, 18:33

Can you identify the source of scratchiness?

Third observation: After linearising, they feel a lot smoother. This leads me to suspect that the scratchiness isn't due so much to slider rails/housing interaction as such. Of course, the tactile leaf applies a lateral force to the slider which may exacerbate the scratchiness ...

Did you ask around before committing to Matias switches? Their reputation is… well, you've discovered it now!

Muirium wrote: ↑

22 Apr 2021, 10:27

Did you ask around before committing to Matias switches? Their reputation is… well, you've discovered it now!

I totes did, dude!
And you totes replied!

Aha! I agree with that guy, then.

I've got a bag of tasty cream complicated Alps, though maybe not enough for a full size. Definitely go with classic switches when you can.

Muirium wrote: ↑

22 Apr 2021, 12:51

Aha! I agree with that guy, then.

I've got a bag of tasty cream complicated Alps, though maybe not enough for a full size. Definitely go with classic switches when you can.

Writing this on a Copam K-430 keyboard with blue Alps But the prospect of a good contemporary Alps-a-like still draws me in ...

Kinda setting up the Matias switches for a fall with a comparison the like of that, aren't we!

I've a solid metal 60% with blues, too, and they're as good as their reputation. Damped Alps can be worth exploring, though, as they're just so different. I quite like them in the AEK II. Thus the bag of creams. But when I got that Alp64 PCB (along with my HHKB bluetooth controller) from Hasu, there was little doubt which switches were going into it, I'll confess!

My observation: I have one bag of Matias Quiet switches that is 3 years old, all the switches there are heavily lubed and they feel really smooth. I do not like the double tactile bump and the dampeners either but their travel is definitely smooth. On the other hand, I opened a newer bag of the same switches (1 year old) and there is no lube at all, not a trace. Compared the the older ones, these do feel scratchy. I tried to apply the NyoGel/OKS lube combination to the sliders and the result is fine, I think better than the 3-years-old switches.

lispnick wrote: ↑

22 Apr 2021, 14:51

My observation: I have one bag of Matias Quiet switches that is 3 years old, all the switches there are heavily lubed and they feel really smooth. I do not like the double tactile bump and the dampeners either but their travel is definitely smooth. On the other hand, I opened a newer bag of the same switches (1 year old) and there is no lube at all, not a trace. Compared the the older ones, these do feel scratchy. I tried to apply the NyoGel/OKS lube combination to the sliders and the result is fine, I think better than the 3-years-old switches.

Thanks, Lispnick! I have been considering trying out that combination (even though finding a vendor was tricky).