Keyboard Case and Plate Foam Mod
The enthusiast keyboard market has changed drastically from a year or two ago with parts being a lot more available and the price of a full build going down overall. This shift in the market is slowly forcing the mainstream manufacturers to pick up new trends from the custom keyboard market since the standards keep going up.
One such trend that has been recently gaining popularity is making sure your custom/normal keyboard sounds good. This is usually achieved by a combination of case foam and plate foam fillers. This new trend is already making its way into the mainstream market with keyboards like the Ducky One 3 Mini.
In truth, this is a very simple mod and today we will tell you why and how you should do it.
Why Your Case and Plate Choice Material Matters
People have been paying a lot more attention to how their keyboards sound and not only how they look. Cool keycaps are still a thing but if your keyboard sounds hollow and has a metallic ping when typing you are most likely to not impress anyone with your build.
A custom keyboard using an aluminum case for example will sound a lot more hollow than a plastic one therefore you will need to somehow fill that space up to reduce the pinging echo created by your typing. The same concept applies to a plate that holds in your switches – if you use a brass plate it will create a lot more pinging sound than let us say an acrylic plate.
Case and Plate Foam – DIY vs Store-Bought
As we said, the choice of material for your case is super important and should always be a factor in your final build concept. Lubing your switches will have a significant impact on how your keyboard will sound but without some sort of sound dampening materials, even the smoothest and muted switches will sound pingy.
To make sure your keyboard has the sound profile you desire you can either buy or DIY some foam for your build. Remember the packaging foam you almost threw away? Well, that is the perfect material you can use to dampen the sound of your keyboard. It costs you 0$ and it will SIGNIFICANTLY improve your experience. You can follow a simple guide like this to do it yourself.
If you prefer a cleaner look (although you will not see the insides of your keyboard for some it does matter) you can also buy pre-cut foam from stores like KBDfans where you can select the PCB and keyboard case you have.
The Simple Conclusion
The conclusion is that this is a very simple and cheap mod that will help your keyboard sound a lot less hollow and make your build feel a lot more premium overall. No matter how good your mechanical switches are, if you do not give them a helping hand in the form of some sound dampening they will sound pretty bad and you might just miss out on the true custom keyboard experience.