Debating if foam in the case kills the sound or just makes it tighter

I was talking to a builder at a meetup in Austin last month who said foam ruins the natural resonance of a board and I always thought it cleaned up the noise. He argued it deadens the character while I felt it stops that hollow echo. What side do you land on and does it depend on the plate or switch type?

3 comments

3 Comments

tyler6141mo agoMost Upvoted

Right? I feel like foam tightens the sound more than killing it, especially on polycarbonate plates where the hollowness drives me nuts. I tried no foam with some frankenswitches and it just sounded flabby and loose compared to the stuffed version lol.

ruby_sanchez453d ago

@tyler614 You hit it with "flabby and loose" that's exactly what I dealt with on my PC build before adding foam. I actually cut up some 2mm shelf liner from the dollar store and it worked perfectly, gave the board a clean pop without killing the switch character. For polycarb plates I think the key is not overstuffing it, just enough to absorb that hollow echo so the switches can actually show their personality. I've settled on a combo of thin foam between the plate and PCB plus a slightly thicker layer in the case bottom and it's night and day compared to the bare setup.

claire_fisher411mo ago

tyler614 saying "flabby and loose" is exactly how I'd describe the sound on my old NK65 without foam, like the switches were half asleep. I actually stuffed mine with some craft store felt once because I was out of case foam, and it gave it this dead thock that somehow worked better than the real thing. Makes me wonder if we're all just chasing that perfect amount of muffled reverb.