PCB keyboards?

[WannaSPOON]

I've been looking at mechanical keyboards to replace my Sidewinder x4 that recently died due to cat interactions.  I've looked at most of the usual suspects in Das, Cherry, WASD, etc.  I really like the cherry g80-3850 for looks and layout, but I love the idea of the WASD barebones keyboard and being able to hotswap some or all of the switches.  I really like the clicky blues for typing, but I suspect there will be times I prefer having a red or brown for gaming, especially on skype since my microphone pics up my typing extremely well, I've been told (or maybe I just type a little too hard *shrug*).  In particular, I want to have the volume media keys -- the others aren't so important as I rarely used them -- but I'd prefer a smooth sound to those keys, for whatever reason, over clicky.

 

I don't ever use macro keys, so having them isn't a big deal, but I'd prefer without.  I also want to have the tenkey keypad for working with excel and some other quality of life functions I use it for.

 

Any suggestions?  There are a few things I might be able to compromise on, but I'd like to check my options first.

 

Thanks!

[digisax]

WASD mounts their switches on a plate which means you need to desolder them to swap them. You can swap the switches on almost any MX keyboard but it is more something to do for customization than as a regular practice.

[WannaSPOON]

Oh that's definitely good to know.  I'd assumed otherwise.

 

I'm not really willing to go through the effort of making my own custom PCB keyboard as I've seen done, such as the Phantom boards.  Maybe in the future.  If I have to get all one type of switch then that's what I'll do at get used to it.  It's easier to look for perfection and compromise where needed than look everywhere and try to be more specific later.

 

Any other input is welcome, of course.

[Charger]

Best option is multiple keyboards to change for what you are doing or a compromise switch like browns or clears