KeyslamLinear, modded · sound test
Gateron Yellow sound test: a modded vintage Technics board
Black-bottom Gateron Yellows with MX top housings swapped on, wax- and Krytox-lubed, in an old Technics-branded keyboard. Recorded by zrrion and released as CC0 in December 2022.
Updated
Short answer: lubed Gateron Yellows sound smooth and muted: a low, rounded clack with a short, damped tail. This pack is a vintage Technics-branded keyboard fitted with black-bottom Gateron Yellows and MX tops, wax- and Krytox-lubed, recorded by zrrion (CC0). Its medium takes fall 30 dB below their peak in 49 ms, the shortest of the 15 packs.
Gateron Yellow 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 “yellow linear” typed on Vintage Technics strikes from that band, then type below.
About this recording
- Keyboard
- Technics-branded, model unidentified
- Switches
- Gateron Yellow (black bottom) with MX tops swapped on
- Mods
- Sliders wax-lubed and lubed with Krytox 205g0
- Recorded by
- zrrion on Freesound
- Uploaded
- December 16, 2022
- Original file
- Ogg Vorbis, 44.1 kHz, stereo, 0:51
- Microphone
- Not stated
- License
- CC0 1.0 (public domain)
- In Keyslam
- 42 takes, 6 of them key-up
“Switches are black bottom gat yellows with MX tops swapped on. The sliders were wax lubed as well as lubed with Krytox 205g0.” — zrrion, on the Freesound page (checked November 2, 2026)
What Gateron Yellows sound like
Gateron is a Chinese maker of MX-compatible switches, popular with people who build their own keyboards. The Yellow is a linear switch, slightly heavier than a Cherry MX Red, and a popular budget choice. Like any linear, it has no bump or click, so its sound is the stem bottoming out and returning.
“Black bottom” means Yellows with black bottom housings, a variant some builders seek out for its sound. Swapping on Cherry MX top housings and lubing the sliders are common mods. Lube smooths the travel and takes away scratch, which is why modded linears like these are often described as muted or “creamy”.
Measured from the app's pack files
What the Gateron Yellow (Vintage Technics) 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 13.2 dB. How the bands are made.
| Band | Percentile of strikes | Regular-key takes | Space, Return, Delete | Median peak | Audible length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soft | 8th–30th | 6 | 3 | −15.5 dBFS | 52 ms |
| Medium | 38th–62nd | 6 | 4 | −10.6 dBFS | 49 ms |
| Hard | 70th–88th | 6 | 3 | −5.5 dBFS | 31 ms |
| Slam | 92nd–100th | 6 | 2 | −2.3 dBFS | 32 ms |
About the board
The uploader describes it as a “Hengyu Computer Equipment Factory” Technics keyboard and lists the model as unidentified. They also wrote that its layout is terrible, and that they're “kinda mad at how nice it sounds.” The recording is 51 seconds of typing, saved as stereo Ogg Vorbis.
Short as it is, it filled every band with six regular-key takes, plus 2–4 per band for the wide keys and 6 key-up takes. In the app this pack is listed as Vintage Technics.
Gateron Yellow vs Cherry MX Red
Two linears, played back to back. The Reds are in a gaming board with no mods listed; the Yellows are modded in an old case.
- MX Red: Cherry MX Reds in a Corsair K95, with a longer-ringing bottom-out.
- Topre: not a linear, but the other “soft” favourite. Compare the damped Yellow with Topre's rubber cushion.
| Pack | Type | Recorded by | Soft to slam | Audible length (medium) | Hear it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vintage Technics | Linear, modded | zrrion | 13.2 dB | 49 ms | |
| MX Red | Linear | handygaber | 12.7 dB | 78 ms | |
| Topre | Electro-capacitive | grcekh | 9.4 dB | 63 ms |
Who it suits
Pick Gateron Yellow if you like the sound of a lubed custom board: smooth, low and short, with little ring.
Pick something else if you want a crisp, bright linear (MX Red) or a click (MX Blue).
Gateron Yellow (Vintage Technics): questions
Are these real Gateron Yellow switches?
Yes, per the uploader: “black bottom gat yellows with MX tops swapped on”. The bottom housings are Gateron Yellow and the top housings were swapped for MX tops, and the sliders are lubed, so a stock Yellow may sound a little different.
What does lubing do to the sound?
It smooths the stem's travel and damps scratch and ring. These sliders were wax-lubed and lubed with Krytox 205g0. In this pack the medium takes fall 30 dB below their peak in 49 ms, the shortest of the 15 packs.
Why is the pack called Vintage Technics?
Because the keyboard is the starting point: an old Technics-branded board the uploader couldn't identify. The Gateron Yellows are a mod inside it, which is why this page leads with the switch.
Keep exploring
Hear Gateron Yellow (Vintage Technics) 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.