What is the Silicone Dampening Keyboard Mod?
One of the best things about having a custom mechanical keyboard is the unique sound accompanying each keystroke. The thocky and clacky sound of keyboards has made many fall in love with the keyboard hobby. Many enthusiasts in pursuit of the best sounding keyboard modify their keyboards with sound dampening material, and one of the more popular materials is silicone.
The silicone dampening mod improves a keyboard’s acoustic profile. The silicone sheet fills the space between the keyboard’s PCB and case, eliminating a keyboard’s hollow and “pingy” sound. Like other sound dampening techniques, the silicone sheet must be custom-fit to your keyboard to get the best results.
One keyboard mod that has become very popular in the keyboard community is the silicone dampener mod. It is very similar to the foam dampener mod commonly used for tuning the sound profile of custom keyboards.
This mod is certainly one of the more advanced customization methods. It involves creating your own silicone sheet to fit in between your case and PCB. But despite its time-consuming process, many prefer it over using foam. It can easily make any keyboard sound more premium without having to shed too much money.
Silicone Dampening Mod Perks and Downsides
Perks of Doing the Silicone Dampening Mod
Doing the silicone dampening mod comes with its own set of perks, other than improved acoustics. One such example is its excellent light diffusion. Because of its transparent finish, boards with RGB underglow (LEDs under the PCB) and clear acrylic cases benefit highly from the sound dampening without sacrificing its beautiful light modes.
Moreover, the well-molded silicone sheet looks more sophisticated than foam dampeners since the silicone fits perfectly in between the keyboard’s case and PCB when the mod is done right. Finally, the silicone dampener is much heavier than the usual foam dampeners, which contributes to the mod’s achievement of a much more premium feel.
Downsides of the Silicone Dampening Mod
The main downside of using the silicone dampening mod is that it is time-consuming, and making a perfect silicone sheet requires tons of preparation. Also, the drying time of the silicone sheet may take anywhere from half a day to a full day at most.
There are also some small risks when doing this mod. You may run the risk of damaging your PCB if you decide to keep the PCB mounted while attempting to cast the liquid silicone mix.
And lastly, the silicone dampening mod can make your keyboard sound too similar to other silicon dampened modded keyboards. Of course, like with the PE Foam Mod, this is very subjective.
