KeyslamTypewriter · sound test
IBM Selectric typewriter sound test
A Correcting Selectric II, recorded by secretmojo with a TASCAM DR-05 about 12 inches above the roller. Return plays a separate antique bell and carriage return, because this machine's own bell was broken.
Updated
Short answer: an IBM Selectric sounds like a steady, solid strike on every key, because a motor drives the typeball and each character lands with similar force. This pack is a Correcting Selectric II recorded by secretmojo (CC0). Return plays “Typewriter bell & carriage reset” by knufds, since the uploader's Selectric bell was broken.
IBM Selectric II 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 reader” typed on Selectric strikes from that band, then type below.
About this recording
- Machine
- IBM Correcting Selectric II
- Mechanism
- Electric, typeball
- Return key
- “Typewriter bell & carriage reset” by knufds
- Recorded by
- secretmojo on Freesound
- Uploaded
- March 23, 2014
- Original file
- FLAC, 24-bit, 48 kHz, stereo, 2:03
- Microphone
- TASCAM DR-05, about 12 inches above the roller
- Part used
- 0:14 to 1:54
- License
- CC0 1.0 (public domain)
- In Keyslam
- 20 takes, no key-up sounds
“This is an old IBM Selectric II typewriter, with correcting tape, the “quieter” Selectric at the time.” — secretmojo, on the Freesound page (checked November 2, 2026)
What does an IBM Selectric sound like?
A firm, even thunk on every key, with less variation than a manual. There's no typebar swinging up and no carriage sliding along the page, so the rhythm is steady and the strikes sound alike. The uploader says this machine weighs about 80 pounds and calls it “the ‘quieter’ Selectric at the time”, and it still sounds solid.
In this pack the regular keys have 6 soft, 1 medium, 6 hard and 6 slam takes. Only one strike from the medium band passed the slicer's clean-take checks, so at a fixed medium strength the keys share it; with force sensing, keys blend between neighbouring bands.
Measured from the app's pack files
What the IBM Selectric II 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 12.6 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 | −15.6 dBFS | 60 ms |
| Medium | 38th–62nd | 1 | uses regular takes | −9.9 dBFS | 99 ms |
| Hard | 70th–88th | 6 | uses regular takes | −8.6 dBFS | 81 ms |
| Slam | 92nd–100th | 6 | uses regular takes | −3.0 dBFS | 83 ms |
How a Selectric types
IBM introduced the Selectric in 1961. Instead of typebars it uses a golf-ball-sized typing element that tilts and rotates to put the right character in front of the paper. The paper stays in place while the element moves along the line, so a Selectric has no moving carriage to slam back. The Selectric II followed in 1971, and the Correcting Selectric II added a lift-off correction tape.
Because the motor, not your finger, sets the strike force, a real Selectric barely changes with how hard you press. Keyslam's bands for this pack come from the natural variation between strikes in the recording, leveled into four steps. If you want the real Selectric evenness on a MacBook, switch off Feel how hard you type and pick one strength.
The bell on Return
The uploader notes that this Selectric's carriage return bell is broken. So Return plays “Typewriter bell & carriage reset” by knufds, described as an “antique typewriter margin bell and carriage return”, trimmed to 2.5 seconds. It comes from a different, antique typewriter, so it won't match a working Selectric's own return exactly. Space and Delete use the regular strikes, and like the Olivetti pack there are no key-up sounds.
From the 2:03 recording, Keyslam uses seconds 14 to 114. The uploader describes rolling paper in at the start and out at the end.
Selectric vs the Olivetti and MX Blue
An electric typewriter, a manual one and a clicky keyboard switch.
- Olivetti: a manual portable. Your finger drives each typebar, so strikes vary more and Return is a short ding.
- MX Blue: the uploader of that recording suggested it could pass as a typewriter. Hear whether you agree.
| Pack | Type | Recorded by | Soft to slam | Audible length (medium) | Hear it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selectric | Typewriter | secretmojo | 12.6 dB | 99 ms | |
| Olivetti | Typewriter | keithpeter | 15.2 dB | 97 ms | |
| MX Blue | Clicky | EricsSoundschmiede | 12.0 dB | 58 ms |
Who it suits
Pick Selectric if you want the steady, office-typewriter rhythm and a bell at the end of every paragraph.
Pick something else if you want a typewriter that reacts strongly to your touch (Olivetti) or something softer-sounding for shared spaces.
IBM Selectric II: questions
Is the bell on Return from the Selectric?
No. The uploader's Selectric has a broken bell, so Return plays a separate CC0 recording of an antique typewriter's margin bell and carriage return by knufds, trimmed to 2.5 seconds.
Does a real Selectric sound louder when you type harder?
Not much. A motor drives the typeball, so strikes land with similar force. Keyslam still sorts this recording's strikes into four bands by their natural loudness; on a MacBook you can switch off force sensing and pick one strength for a more even sound.
Why does the Selectric pack have no key-up sound?
A typewriter doesn't make a clean, separate key-up click in this recording, so the typewriter packs are cut with key-up detection off and every strike is treated as a press.
Keep exploring
Hear IBM Selectric II 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.