What was/is the worst keyboard/switch you have ever tried?

[guidemetothelight]

Vintage MX blues are not as bad. Maybe newer ones can be broken in to become smoother.

I agree with that ! I HATE new mx blues but as i recently came across a chicony KB-5181 in really clean condition and its a delight to type on. It seems like somebody took the concept of a model m & duplicated that with individual switches. Those Blues seems lighter , not as scratchy and somehow "crisper" then modern ones. But maybe its just the nice Chassis.

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[davkol]

There are at least three distinct versions of MX Blue (ignoring the different obscure early variants).

• (until ~1992) vintage with a subtler bump&click and made using old tooling
• modern with degrading consistency (tons of complaints esp. in early 2010s)
• (since ~2017) latest retooled with a stronger leaf (more tactile)

[JCMax]

You have never tried truly awful switches if you think MX Blue or Brown are anywhere near the bottom

Lucky me! I guess.

Vintage MX blues are not as bad. Maybe newer ones can be broken in to become smoother.

I've only tried newer ones. These were made post 2016. I've never tried vintage ones before but I have heard that they are a bit better before the tooling got aged up.

[Inebriatedduck]

Worst switch I've ever had the displeasure of typing on was unrestored Siemens ST switches from a teletype module that looked like it was pulled from a landfill. Scratchy, mushy bottom out with a really weird tactile bump (what MX brown would feel like if they were actually full of dirt).

[daedalus]

The Digital LK201 keyboards are the my personal gold standard for terrible keyboards. I believe the Cherry MY is a similar switch design, so I expect those may be comparable in terms of awfulness.

[Muirium]

What were they punishing you for not buying? What was their MX for which they were the MY up your bunghole for all eternity, lest you suffer for your (corporate procurement manager’s) sins?

Cherry MY is a war crime for a reason.

[hellothere]

First ever vintage keyboard I ever bought was the Datalux Spacesaver: wiki/Datalux_SpaceSaver

The Datalux Spacesaver uses MEI switches as I previously mentioned in passing:wiki/MEI_T-15_series

I second this. There also used to be some rubber dome/membrane keyboard that had a keys in an inverted "V" layout and the keys got smaller toward the middle top. I'm pretty sure Chyros mentioned them in one of his vids.

The Datalux does feel worse, though. I think it's even worse than Smith-Corona Leaf Springs.

[V00]

I had a membrane blister keyboard that had been used for 10 years. I hated it so much I cut the cable

[Muirium]

Real blisters are more satisfying to pop. Membrane is just mush. Mush. Mush. Muh… muh… muh… Makeitstop!

[vometia]

Real blisters are more satisfying to pop. Membrane is just mush. Mush. Mush. Muh… muh… muh… Makeitstop!

The ones I get on my fingers after going back to bass playing after yet another hiatus aren't; they're as resilient as those Unicomp rubber-domes. OTOH I have a new electronical contraption that makes my Rickenbacker 2003 sound like Jimmy Page's Les Paul (sadly minus Jimmy Page).

[mmm]

If discounting switches in bad condition, my least favorite switch is probably SKBM, which are even NOS.

The tactility is just so scratchy and steep, it feels like it invokes pain in my arms just starting to type on it. If I had to choose I might even choose MEI or MY over those.