Sound Mod Showdown: Tape Mod vs. PE Foam! | KBD67 Lite with Lubed Gateron Black Inks

[@tamegaming1768]

PE foam + tape is no joke. It made my GMMK Pro with Hippos go from quiet to poppy and admittedly less quiet.

[@shakir4969]

how many layers of tape did you use?

[@tamegaming1768]

@@shakir4969 2 layers of the half width stuff

[@eltoncheung8163]

Im thinking of doing this to my GMMK Pro too. Did you leave the stock foam in it?

[@tamegaming1768]

@@eltoncheung8163 Took all the foam out including the mute foam and replaced the lower case foam with painters tape

[@GruelingFive8]

@@tamegaming1768 Is that just painters tape on the bottom of the pcb or actually in the case somewhere? Super interested for my gmmk pro happy with it but wanna see what I can do with it

[@arpeykeys]

It sounds so dumb that such cheap mods can make the board sooo much better lol. Gotta find some PE foam for my boards!

[@muCephei_]

But it's so great that we don't have to buy expensive boards to be able experience premium feels :) Some people say that they don't like the thought of their case being filled with foam, but what's not to like? If you don't like modding your case don't mod your switch and skip on the lubing....wait a minute

[@thawzie]

i have finally done the exodia mod! jesus christ

[@Slumpgodcasper]

Very nice sir 👍 really good comparisons

[@ph0roggy]

Foam Exodia is DEEP 😳

[@oxylol_]

Great Video man!

[@pranavbarla4635]

Good video Mig!

[@Flybeck]

Good video mang!

[@ewans.6525]

"foam exodia" lmaooo

[@tylux9560]

Exodia sounds like tape mod but with a different sounding space bar I think I will just go with the pe foam mod

[@itchyo1804]

i have my tape mod in Q1 but i dontknow if i like it yet, it makes it so much louder without.....

[@jkenbaltazar]

Hi! I really like the sound of your spacebar. I'm about to build a KBD67 Lite as well and I use Gateron Ink Black V2s on my spacebar. What thickness of foam did you use for the spacebar? I see on KBDfans that there are multiple thickness options available. Thanks!

[@bryanpark2286]

I read ur description and it said u liked what pe did for alphas and tape for stab keys does that mean you only did the respective mods for those specific areas or did u just do both mods normally for the foam exodia one?

[@Brudder]

I did them both fully for the Foam Exodia sound test. Although, I recently discovered that you can literally just add a small piece of PE foam under the spacebar switch to help bring the PE foam spacebar somewhat closer to the alphas in terms of poppiness (kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXKnkIGBjpefY8k ). For future builds, I'll likely just do that. After testing, I realized that the 2u stabilized keys actually still become quite poppy with my method of PE foaming, it was really just the spacebar that needed some help.

[@muCephei_]

So Exodia mod is PE foam + Tape + Case foam? What material should the case foam be or does it not matter?

[@Brudder]

Here I just used the poron case foam included with the KBD67 Lite, but most other case foam should achieve a similar effect 👍

[@7Renesis7]

Do you feel a difference with progressive springs? and what is the difference between slow springs and normal springs?

[@Brudder]

Yep! Progressive springs have a lower starting force than regular springs, and provide a "cushioned" bottom out feel. So I put a 100g progressive on the spacebar to prevent it from sounding too harsh. It's also fun to type on! Slow springs have a higher starting force than regular springs, and I like this because they are not as easy to accidently actuate. They also provide a more uniform force throughout the keypress. These are my preferred spring types for everything but the spacebar. My personal recommendation is SPRiT Slow II springs, but TX long springs or just stock Gateron Yellow springs will also let you try the slow spring experience! I thoroughly enjoyed typing on Hippos, which use the same springs as Yellows.

[@ste06ma]

i think tape mod can ruin pcbs. there will be sticky residue on the pcb when you remove the tape.

[@Brudder]

I'm not an adhesive expert, but the tape many people are using (masking tape and painters tape) is designed to be removed without residue, so I'm thinking residue won't be too big of an issue. Maybe over the long term? But in my short time testing with masking tape I didn't notice any residue on my PCB. If someone knows more please feel free to correct me.

[@ste06ma]

@@Brudder even masking tapes leave sticky residue long term.(painters tapes are a bit better in that regard)

[@riturajdas]

tuner culture

[@jamespbristow]

for the sound test with the pe foam, tape mod, and case foam are you also using the silicone?

[@Brudder]

Yep, the silicone is used in all the sound tests as it's needed for the 67 Lite's mounting style

[@jamespbristow]

awesome thanks so much for the info!

[@Brudder]

@@jamespbristow np!

[@enlightenedplug1640]

Do you use both the plate silicone and PE foam for the PE foam mod? Or do you take out the plate silicone and replace it with PE foam?

[@Brudder]

I used both here. If you do the same, I would recommend using the provided standoffs to ensure that the switches don't become unseated!

[@happylittletrees8130]

Can you do one with a Pcb Poron dampener as well?

[@Brudder]

The KBD67 Lite's silicone dampener is required as a part of its mounting style, but my Phantom sound test is using poron PCB/plate foam and PE foam! kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJ3ZYmuOgLNgmtk

[@amt0373]

where did u put the pe foam? underneath the silicone?

[@Brudder]

Yep! I have a full video guide about it if you're interested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2W7moWIadeCe7c

[@Tailer0509]

how to add the monkeytype into the clip like yours?

[@Brudder]

I used a Color Key effect to remove the background! I also applied the "Basic 3D" effect (that's what it's called in Premiere) to rotate the typing test in 3D.

[@mrrfrooty]

have you tried doing these mods going plateless?

[@Brudder]

I have not! I might try it out just to see how it is, but based on others' reviews of the plateless 67 Lite experience I think I'd probably only do it for testing purposes.

[@mrrfrooty]

@@Brudder I actually have a plateless build right now in my KBD67 Lite R1, and I was wondering if these mods could elevate the board even further :D, you should definitely give it a shot, but if you have a R2, it might not work that well.

[@milawrine3657]

im gonna stick with silicone only mainly because i like my keyboard to sound more poppy

[@irgilligan]

Um....the whole point of tape and pe foam is that it makes it more poppy....

[@milawrine3657]

@@irgilligan yea but i like the sound from silicone

[@irgilligan]

@@milawrine3657 It...still has the silicone when you do the PE and Tape mods....It literally needs the silicone to even assemble correctly. There is no version without the silicone.

[@SioGG]

@@irgilligan bro, he likes the sound he has now, let him be

[@yj5160]

@@SioGG No I don't think the guy is criticizing at all. Not sure if you guys know but, the mute silicone layer acts as the gasket for the kbd 67 lite. Hence, it's not a situation of choosing between silicone layer, pe foam and tempest mod. The silicone layer is crucial and compulsory; it NEEDS to be there. To further improve the acoustics of the board, you're deciding between pe foam or rempest mod or both instead

[@ggh0st2735]

🤤🤤

[@weiyuan20]

Is it just me or did the PE foam make your spacebar slightly higher-pitched? Did you put PE foam underneath the spacebar as well?

[@Brudder]

I kinda noticed that as well - not exactly sure what's causing that as in this build there is no PE foam underneath the spacebar

[@weiyuan20]

@@Brudder huh, that's strange... Maybe the PE foam is interfering with the stock acoustics of the board itself? Have you tried sticking a piece of PE foam under the spacebar?

[@Brudder]

@@weiyuan20 yeah - it does make a difference but it's very slight at least on this board. It seems like others have had better success with it on boards like the GMMK Pro

[@weiyuan20]

@@Brudder Yeah, I have a KBD67 lite as well, and I tried the PE foam mod under the spacebar and it didn't make a difference for me, although I have Akko radiant reds, so it sounds much more clacky instead of deep. I'm actually considering taking out the PE foam altogether just to fully embrace the sharp clack (or just switch to ink blacks lol)

[@imbritt4645]

What is case foam? 😅

[@Brudder]

Case foam is usually the term used to describe any foam/dampeners placed at the bottom of the keyboard case, below the PCB!

[@LukusMaxamus]

Did you use the tape mod on top of the included foam or below it?

[@Brudder]

below - it's under the PCB!

[@LukusMaxamus]

@@Brudder thanks 👍

[@ightimmaheadout290]

what do you mean by "silicone" only? Do you mean your kbd67 lite only has the bottom silicone mat and no case foam?

[@Brudder]

Correct!

[@VincentNah]

What tape was used? And how many layers

[@Brudder]

I used one layer of regular masking tape 👍

[@dom2681]

How did you do the PE foam mod on the lite

[@Brudder]

I'm gonna post a guide going over that hopefully in the next few days!

[@dom2681]

@@Brudder wait to be clear is this under the pcb or above the pcb?

[@Brudder]

@@dom2681 Above! It sits between the switches and PCB 👍

[@rks5457]

@@dom2681 it lays directly onto the pcb. You poke the switches through the foam into the pcb. So there's a PE foam layer directly between the switches and pcb. So it's basically a PCB, pe foam, mute silicone and plate sandwich that you install switches into before you put it into the case.

[@dom2681]

@@rks5457 ohh I was asking because i did this and it didn’t fit, I really want to see how he did it lol I really need to know

[@jmgaming9831]

What is the case foam?

[@Brudder]

Just the stock poron case foam included with the 67 Lite!

[@RIP123]

Can this mod burn up your pcb?

[@Brudder]

I can't imagine a situation where it would, but still do it at your own risk!

[@RIP123]

@@Brudder I bought the recommended foam just in case. Thanks for the answer