 So these are the reasons that I use stock Gateron Yellows for my tests.. By the time, I’m almost done with a script I’ll have used the board with them for up to a couple. Weeks

, Not so light that I’d be smashing into the plate, but not so heavy that I would never bottom out.. So these are the reasons that I use stock Gateron Yellows for my tests.

. This issue can persist in people who own customs as well., When given an entry keyboard with very nice switches versus a high-end one with very bad switches, people would likely say that the former is the better experience.

Why I Only Use Stock Gateron Yellows

If you’ve been following my videos for a
while, you’ll have noticed that I use Stock

Gateron Yellows for every single one of my
builds.

Definitely an odd choice since some of the
keyboards I look at are incredibly expensive

In this video, I’ll go through my reasons
for doing that, the advantages as well as

I covered this in comments and PMs and livechats,
but it'll be useful to have a dedicated video

that I can point back to whenever somebody
asks again.

When it comes to custom mechanical keyboards
and how I review them, we're really splitting

If an outsider tried a custom keyboard side
by side with a gaming keyboard, would they

They might notice something but they're probably
going to say it's not worth the hundreds of

This issue can persist in people who own customs
as well.

When given an entry keyboard with very nice
switches versus a high-end one with very bad

switches, people would likely say that the
former is the better experience.

This is because I think switches make a much
bigger impact on the overall feel and sound

of a keyboard than any element of the board
itself.

So in order to judge a keyboard, rather than
the switches, I need to control that variable.

Stock Gateron Yellows have a couple properties
that are of interest.

While they’ve been raised above authentic
Cherry switches, they’re still regarded

If I tell you I’m going to build the $500
HBCP with Gateron switches, you’re probably

My reason for picking these is precisely for
cost, or rather value.

I think Gateron Yellows are definitely smooth
enough to be not annoying, while staying at

a reasonable cost of about 24 cents per switch
from Novelkeys.

I’m not going to claim that they’re the
best switch around or anything because the

difference between these and some Durock L2s
I got are actually noticeable.

But those are more than double the cost which
would add up quickly for the 36 keyboards

The second advantage to using Gateron is availability.

While Gateron switches go through alterations,
they are most likely going to come back in

Meanwhile, all of the hype JWK recolors might
be a one and done solution that won’t come

Sure you can claim that the colors don’t
do anything, but why bother taking the chance?

I bought thousands of these black bottom milky
top Gateron Yellows from Novelkeys, but if

i run out in the future, I can be reasonably
certain that there won’t be a significant

change in experience for any new switches.

So that answers the question why Gateron Yellow
specifically.

An enthusiast build of a keyboard that costs
hundreds of dollars is going to use lubed

switches, and it’s not like I never lube
either.

Boards that have already been reviewed, and
are unlikely to be referenced in the future,

But for testing, I don’t think they are
appropriate -- yet.

My first point is that lubing techniques between
builders vary wildly.

From what I’ve felt at Keycon, a lot of
you like making slow motion switches, but

With these different applications comes different
feels and sounds, and I don’t think it’s

very valuable to you since you’re probably
not going to replicate my exact lubing style,

so your expectations might be inappropriately
set.

At least with stock switches, you’re more
likely to be able to reproduce my findings.

The second thing is consistency at the individual
level.

I like applying a thin coat, but am I confident
that I’ll be able to do it consistently

Maybe I can, but I don’t think it’s worth
taking the chance.

If I build one keyboard with a light application,
and then a month later a different keyboard

with a slightly heavier application, I’ll
have no real way to know.

And whatever switch difference I feel, I might
attribute to the keyboard.

This may be improved with some kind of lube
applicator that applies the exact same coat

I think something like this is going to come
to market at some point, but until then, no

The last point is the varying states of lubed
switches.

When you start using lubed switches, the lube
is going to move around and distribute inside

Depending on the location of the installed
switch, it might get more or less use.

For example, the F9 key might get a couple
presses for every hundred A key presses.

The problem also applies to keyboards that
I might use more or less of.

Am I supposed to keep a timer for every keyboard?

You could argue that I already have this problem
with breaking switches in.

A Stock Gateron Yellow pressed a million times
is probably going to feel different from a

And while that definitely is an uncontrolled
variable, I assert and assume that the difference

between a broken-in switch and a fresh one
is going to be smaller than the difference

Yes maybe old Cherry switches from office
boards that got used 8 hours a day for 20

years might feel different, but the oldest
build in my collection is most likely not

even a year old and it probably gets typed
on for a couple hours every other week.

I don’t think my usage is wearing down any
of these switches to an appreciable degree.

Another attribute of the switch is that it’s
linear.

I actually prefer light tactiles a little
more than linears but I chose Yellows because

I thought tactiles would hide some of the
different keyboard feels just as a clicky

This was personally confirmed recently when
I tried some Kailh Polia switches in the Vega.

It was incredibly difficult to pinpoint the
vibrations that I felt when testing with Gateron

Along the same vein, the Gateron Yellow spring
for me is just the perfect weight and characteristic

Not so light that I’d be smashing into the
plate, but not so heavy that I would never

So these are the reasons that I use stock
Gateron Yellows for my tests.

By the time I’m almost done with a script,
I’ll have used the board with them for up

Gateron Yellow Linear Switches

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