Choose a Stabilizer

Stabilizers are an essential keyboard component that helps stabilize (duh) the larger keys on your keyboard, such as shift, backspace, or enter. 

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There are many different brands that make stabilizers and there are also even more variations of different stabilizers. Here, we'll only be looking at the most popular and generally recommended ones. 

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Cherry Style Stabilizers are the most common type, as they are easy to mod and make it easy to remove or switch keycaps. These stabilizers can come as screw-in, snap-in, or plate-mounted. Cherry stabilizers are made up of three parts, the stabilizer bar, the insert, and the housing. Each part works together to reduce rattling and keep the large keys stable by preventing the sides of the key from tilting. These stabilizers are considered to be the most versatile type of stabilizers.

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Plate-mounted stabilizers are the most common mounting style, but are considered the worst at preventing rattling as they vibrate the metal plate when typing. The reason why they rattle is because since they snap in, they do not have a secure connection. Snap-in stabilizers are considered to be better than plate-mounted, since they are attached to the PCB and the PCB is often more solid than the metal plate. However, they are not considered as good as screw-in stabilizers since they can pop out when removing keycaps. Screw-in stabilizers are attached directly to the PCB using screws. These are usually considered the best in regards to removing rattling, and are highly recommended when building a custom keyboard.