so ive been at this for about three weeks now and i finally got a cheap set of paddles off ebay and a MFJ keyer to go with my old 706. the problem is no matter what i do the dits and dahs just kind of run together and it sounds terrible on playback when i record myself on audacity. ive messed with the weight setting a bunch and tried different speeds from like 12 wpm all the way down to 8 wpm but it still just sounds off to me.

i watched a bunch of videos on paddle technique and i think my squeezing might be the issue? like im not sure if im supposed to use squeeze keying from the start or just stick to single paddle mode until i get the feel for it. also the paddles i got have a really stiff spring tension and i cant figure out if i should loosen it way up or leave it kind of firm. any of you guys remember going through this phase and what actually helped you get past it

oh man i remember this exact frustration, went through it myself maybe two years ago. the mushy sound is almost always a combo of things — paddle tension too tight, iambic mode when you're not ready for it, and honestly just muscle memory that hasnt developed yet. first thing i'd do is back the tension way off, lighter than you think you need, your hand will thank you after an hour of practice. and yeah stay off squeeze keying for now, go into mode A or even just single lever mode if your MFJ supports it. squeeze keying feels cool but it'll mess with your timing until your hands really know what theyre doing.

also 8-12 wpm might actually be too slow for building good rhythm. a lot of elmers will tell you to practice at the speed you want to eventually operate at and just copy whatever you can. sounds crazy but it works. the Koch method is worth looking into if you havent already.

same boat here honestly, just got my ticket a couple months ago and CW is kicking my teeth in. one thing that helped me a little was just sending random letters into a dummy load for like 20 minutes a day without worrying about copying anything. just getting the feel of the paddles. i dont know if thats the right way to do it but my dits started sounding cleaner after about a week of that.