The mounting style is how the plate and PCB assembly attaches to the case, and it is the reason a Bakeneko feels nothing like a Tofu60 even with identical switches and caps. Every keystroke's energy has to go somewhere after bottom-out; the mount decides whether it lands on rigid posts, screwed metal, or a cushion of silicone. That path shapes both the feel under your fingers and the resonance your ears pick up, which is why mounting became the headline spec of the custom keyboard boom.
Tray mount: the budget classic
Tray mount screws the PCB down onto posts molded into the case bottom. It is cheap to tool, easy to assemble, and it powered the entire first wave of affordable customs, with the Tofu60 as its icon. The weaknesses are structural: keys directly above a post feel firmer than keys between posts, so feel is inconsistent across the board, and the open cavity under the PCB is prone to hollowness. The community answer is modding: case foam for the echo, the tape mod for pop, and force-break or burger mods, little soft pads or O-rings at the screw points, to break the harsh energy path into the case. A modded tray mount can genuinely sing; it just makes you work for it.
Top, bottom, sandwich and integrated: the rigid family
Top mount screws the plate to the top case half and is the classic premium feel: even, slightly firm, consistent edge to edge, the mount of revered high-end boards like the TGR Jane. Bottom mount does the same to the bottom half. Sandwich mount clamps the plate between both halves for a firm, uniform response. Integrated plate machines the plate into the top case itself: the stiffest and harshest option, with nowhere for energy to go but your fingertips. None of these are obsolete; plenty of typists prefer a firm, direct board over the modern soft stuff, the same way some people prefer a stiff-plate clacky build over a muted one.
Gasket mount: the 2020s default
Gasket mount never lets plate touch case: strips of silicone or Poron grip the plate's edges between the two case halves, so the whole switch assembly floats on soft material. Marketed as soft, flexy and cushioned, it went from boutique trick to industry standard through boards like the Keychron Q series and GMMK Pro. Acoustically it isolates, keeping metal-case resonance out of the note and making the board sound uniform everywhere. Two caveats from actually typing on these: the softness depends on gasket material, plate flexibility and how tightly the case squeezes, so "gasket" on a spec sheet spans everything from pillow-soft to secretly rigid; and flex cuts or a soft plate material like polycarbonate amplify the effect far more than the gaskets alone.
O-ring, burger and the flexible fringe
The gummy O-ring mount, popularized by the Bakeneko, squeezes a large silicone O-ring around the plateless or plated PCB assembly between the case halves. It is very soft, bouncy, forgiving of manufacturing tolerances, and cheap to do well, which made it the community's favorite trick for getting a premium feel out of a simple case. Leaf-spring and half-plate designs cut flexing tongues into the plate or delete the plate under the alphas entirely, letting the middle of the board trampoline while the edges stay located. These fringe designs matter because they expose the real variable behind all mounting talk: how much controlled movement the system allows at bottom-out, and how cleanly it keeps case resonance out of the sound.
Choosing in practice
Buying a first custom in the current market, you will mostly meet gasket mounts, and that is a fine default: consistent, comfortable, easy to like. Pick tray mount when budget rules and plan a foam-and-tape session the same week. Pick top mount when you want that even, connected, slightly firm feedback that softer boards blur away. And remember the mount is one instrument in the band: the switch, caps, plate and stabilizers still carry most of the sound. Our simulator approximates mounting-and-damping differences through its mod toggles, so you can hear the direction each choice pushes before committing a case to a cart.
Frequently asked questions
What is a gasket mounted keyboard?
In a gasket mount, the plate never touches the case directly: it floats on strips of silicone or Poron foam clamped between the top and bottom case halves. The result is a softer, cushioned typing feel, a uniform sound across the board, and isolation that keeps case resonance out of the keystroke. It became the default premium mount of the 2020s via boards like the Keychron Q1 and GMMK Pro.
What is a tray mount keyboard?
Tray mount screws the PCB onto posts molded into the case bottom, the classic budget design used by Tofu60-style cases. It is cheap and serviceable, but feel and sound vary across the board because keys near a post feel stiffer than keys between posts, and the open cavity tends toward hollowness.
Is gasket mount actually better than tray mount?
Gasket gives more consistent feel and sound and a softer landing, which most people prefer. But a well-built top mount is at least as loved by enthusiasts for its even, slightly firm character, and a modded tray mount with foam and tape can sound genuinely good. Mounting style matters, but it is one variable among many, not a verdict.
What is an O-ring or burger mount?
A gummy O-ring mount suspends the plate and PCB assembly by a large silicone O-ring gripped between the case halves, with no hard connection at all. Popularized by the Bakeneko, it is very soft, bouncy and remarkably cheap to implement well. Burger mount refers to small O-rings cushioning the screws of an otherwise standard mount.
Keep learning
- Plate materials and sound: the partner decision to the mount.
- Case foam: rescue mod for hollow tray mounts.
- Hot-swap vs soldered: the PCB decision that pairs with the case decision.
- Keyboard sizes: pick the footprint before the mounting style.