KeyslamTypewriter · sound test
Olivetti Lettera 22 sound test
A Lettera 22 manual portable, recorded by keithpeter with a dynamic microphone about 30 cm away. Each typebar strike changes with how hard the key was hit, and Return rings a bell.
Updated
Short answer: an Olivetti Lettera 22 sounds like a quick, snappy typebar strike that changes with how hard you hit, plus a small bell near the end of each line. This pack is cut from keithpeter's CC0 recording of a Lettera 22; Return plays “Typewriter ding_near_mono.wav” by _stubb. From soft to slam the peaks rise 15.2 dB, the 2nd widest of the 15 packs.
Olivetti Lettera 22 sound test
Each button plays real strikes from one strength band of this recording. Natural mix lets every key vary, like normal typing. Headphones help.
Press a band to hear “dear diary” typed on Olivetti strikes from that band, then type below.
About this recording
- Machine
- Olivetti Lettera 22
- Mechanism
- Manual, typebars
- Return key
- “Typewriter ding_near_mono.wav” by _stubb
- Recorded by
- keithpeter on Freesound
- Uploaded
- June 29, 2011
- Original file
- WAV, 16-bit, 44.1 kHz, mono, 1:46
- Microphone
- Hitachi HMP606 dynamic microphone about 30 cm away
- Part used
- 0:06 to 1:40
- License
- CC0 1.0 (public domain)
- In Keyslam
- 25 takes, no key-up sounds
“A recording of a manual typewriter.” — keithpeter, on the Freesound page (checked November 2, 2026)
The Lettera 22
Olivetti, the Italian office-machine company, launched the Lettera 22 in 1950. Marcello Nizzoli designed it, and it won a Compasso d'Oro design award in 1954, the prize's first year. It's a portable manual, light enough to carry, and it was widely used by reporters and writers.
Each key swings a metal typebar up against the ribbon and the platen. The carriage moves one space with every strike, a bell rings a few characters before the right margin, and you push the carriage back with a lever. Your finger drives the typebar, so a light touch is soft and a hard strike is loud, which makes a manual a natural match for force sensing.
Measured from the app's pack files
What the Olivetti Lettera 22 pack contains, band by band. Peak is the median take's loudest sample; audible length is how long it stays within 30 dB of that peak. Soft to slam spans 15.2 dB. How the bands are made.
| Band | Percentile of strikes | Regular-key takes | Space, Delete (Return: bell) | Median peak | Audible length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soft | 8th–30th | 6 | uses regular takes | −16.1 dBFS | 207 ms |
| Medium | 38th–62nd | 6 | uses regular takes | −13.6 dBFS | 97 ms |
| Hard | 70th–88th | 6 | uses regular takes | −2.6 dBFS | 61 ms |
| Slam | 92nd–100th | 6 | uses regular takes | −0.8 dBFS | 59 ms |
What this recording adds
The uploader recorded the whole routine: paper going in, about 50 words of typing with a small bell at the end of each line, the platen returning and the paper coming out. It's a 16-bit, 44.1 kHz mono WAV from June 2011, the oldest recording behind any Keyslam pack, made with a Hitachi HMP606 dynamic mic, a Maycom MicTube preamp and a Samsung NC10 netbook running Audacity. Keyslam uses seconds 6 to 100 of the 1:46 file.
The strikes vary a lot, as a manual should. Its soft takes last longer than most: a median of 242 ms, against 81 ms across the other packs' soft bands.
The bell on Return
Return plays “Typewriter ding_near_mono.wav” by _stubb, a clean “typewriter ding at the end of a line”, about 1 second long. It's a bell only, with no carriage slide. Space and Delete use the regular strikes, and there are no key-up sounds, since a typewriter's keys don't make a separate release click in this recording.
Lettera 22 vs Selectric: manual vs electric
The two typewriters, back to back, plus a clicky keyboard for scale.
- Selectric: the electric IBM. A motor sets the strike force, so it's steadier; Return adds a carriage return after the bell.
- MX Blue: the clicky keyboard switch, for comparison with a real typebar.
| Pack | Type | Recorded by | Soft to slam | Audible length (medium) | Hear it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olivetti | Typewriter | keithpeter | 15.2 dB | 97 ms | |
| Selectric | Typewriter | secretmojo | 12.6 dB | 99 ms | |
| MX Blue | Clicky | EricsSoundschmiede | 12.0 dB | 58 ms |
Who it suits
Pick Olivetti if you want a full manual-typewriter feel, with strikes that follow your touch and a ding at the end of each line.
Pick something else if you want a steadier office rhythm (Selectric) or something softer-sounding for shared rooms.
Olivetti Lettera 22: questions
Is the bell on Return from this Lettera 22?
No. The original recording has the Lettera's own small bell at line ends, but Return plays a separate, clean CC0 recording: “Typewriter ding_near_mono.wav” by _stubb.
Does the Olivetti pack have a carriage return sound?
No, Return is a bell only, about 1 second long. For a bell followed by a carriage return, use the Selectric pack.
What microphone was used?
A Hitachi HMP606 dynamic microphone about 30 cm from the typewriter, through a Maycom MicTube preamp into a Samsung NC10 netbook running Audacity, recorded at 44.1 kHz, 16-bit, mono, per the uploader.
Keep exploring
Hear Olivetti Lettera 22 on every keystroke.
$3.99 once after a 7-day free trial. On MacBooks with the motion sensor it follows how hard you type; on other Macs you pick the strength.