Need your Keyboard Sounds

Hello everyone!
I am starting this thread for a pretty fun project going on over at Glarses Discord.
So, the premise of the project is compiling keyboard typing sounds into a single place so people can hear how stuff sounds under different settings.
The concept is simple… Audio is collected from people along with detailed description of the board with any mods or any detail, and it’s uploaded to a sort of typing test type display where you can see the keys being pressed and then hear the key press. Later on, there’s a plan on provided options of hearing each key by clicking on it yourself.
Hope this was clear? It’s a pretty young project but it just saw a breakthrough and since that discord and this forum are the only places I am a part of when it comes to keyboards, I decided to see if you people would be interested in recording typing sounds for the project?

It’s not too difficult. Yes recording each key press as clearly and cleanly as possible and separately is ideal, but you can just go a row with gaps between each key and then mention when you change a row… Like go q-w-e-r-t-y row and then mention next row… With gaps between presses and then do mods and space bar and all that good stuff.
We can splice the file later.

Let me know if you guys are interested.
I know how many boards yall have… :wink:

EDIT: I should mention you will get credit for it with your name and location and username and forum where you are active.

7 Likes

Intriguing. Does the project have a home base (e.g. website, software, examples) other than discord right now, or is that to come?

Currently, it’s being kept limited to the server at Discord because it’s largely just Glarses who came up with it. However, a starting input is necessary to collect enough data to see how much potential the idea has.
If we could actually properly get such sound profiles working as intended (which we have done to Alps and Razer green switches), one could just go and listen to the sound to decide what they like, and have a list of specs (board design, material, mods, switches, keycaps and profiles etc etc) that would help them replicate that sound profile. After that all is left is the feel…and maybe Glarses ends up having streamlined getting your endgame that much easier? That’s just a speculation by me though… It’s not such a perfect way for that.
What it is, is a library of sounds with multiple specs of the board mentioned… A sort of a data log that allows a deeper analysis into the acoustics of keyboards.

I like this idea a lot! Gonna have to figure out a way to get you some sound tests from my phone.

1 Like

Thank you Rob. Just need relatively clean audio with gaps and an overview of which key you were pressing…so you could go row by row with some audio cue to tell when you changed :slight_smile:

1 Like

This is a neat project. I saw his video about this on Youtube just yesterday, so it’s nice to see he’s networking with his associates to make it happen. Is there any kind of restriction or guide to this? Trying to just acquire nice lubed and/or exotic switches, or everything? I will be direct and say that I don’t really believe it’s an effective replacement for good hardware, but it could certainly be a valuable reference tool for the community at large. It has potential.

I’d like to mention that I have a Blue Yeti mic and two keyboards I can sample. If your team is interested and willing to assist a bit with the recordings, I wouldn’t mind contributing to the project. I’m currently typing on stock Gateron Clears with standard OEM keycaps on an unmodified TADA68. The other is a keyboard with Gateron optical silvers and DSA keycaps which will hopefully arrive in the next few days (also stock). I’m also going to modify the switches and board otherwise to a great extent some time after I get a feel for the board. Though, this is an endeavor I’ve yet to try before, so I can’t say when that would be finished. You’re welcome to let me know if any of this sounds appealing.

1 Like

That certainly sounds very appealing!
Let me know what sort of help you need with the recording. :slight_smile:

I need to know:

  • Your desired file format
  • If there is a need to separate each key press into isolated files, or if one single recording is acceptable.
  • Recommendations for mic positioning
    If you can let me know about those things, I’ll go ahead and make some recordings for my TADA68. I presume you’ll want me to cut the noise, which I should be able to do without much issue too. If it’s easier for you, send me an invite to the Discord so we can discuss this further there and exchange files more easily.
1 Like

Ah, this must be related to that video he did with the key sounds… I’ve got a couple that might be good candidates - I’ll see if I can get some clean recordings in the coming days.

2 Likes

I will get in touch with Glarses and get more info on all this for you!

2 Likes

An update for the people interested, I will post more info in 12 to 18 hours.

https://github.com/lfgberg/keybrary

So for format, we have three folders for clicky, tactile, and linear. From there people could upload a folder with name in the format Switches_case/kit _plate _keycaps
And then in the folder, one .mp3 file for each key (will include recording tips), and a typing test .mp3

This is the information provided as of yet. Format is .mp3 and please submit to that github page.
Thank you!
Oh do mention your name (or username) and forum that you regular.

@Kiessling @Deadeye @Rob27shred

1 Like

Seems GitHub has been down for several hours as of this post, so I can’t view your link yet. I’ll see about taking the recording(s) sometime this week. Are you sure you want mp3 though? It’s not a lossless format, so it may be best to choose an alternative if you’re trying to get recordings for archival and reference purposes. I can still do it no problem either way. Looking forward to participating in the project!

I will run all this by the tech folk and be back with answers!
Glad to see you excited for this!

@Kasuka3497 I’ve made plans to commit a complete sound set (in flac) tomorrow. Currently working on adjusting something with my mic to see if I might be able to improve the quality first. I seem to be getting a (very minor) amount of mic whine at the moment for some reason, which is unusual for me. I’ll let you know otherwise. You can contact me either on Glarses’ Discord or here.

That test is actually amazing!
Could you post it here with what format you followed etc?

I like the Idea, but won’t their be issues caused, by the use of different mics and different playback devices?

3 Likes

That’s the biggest hurdle I see, the same keyboard with different mics or the mic in different places or different desks can sound drastically different

2 Likes

I’ll need to write down a few more notes and perform some tests before I do so. I intend to release a full proper recording, my workflow path, and some presets when able. As I have expanded my goals, and have better recordings in the late night time, I will be submitting it at a later time than originally intended. The 21st or 22nd is my current estimation. To those who wish for my input, you are welcome to view my notes at that time. Kasuka posted my Row 5 test clip in the Suggestions channel on Glarses’ Discord, so check there if you wish to see it.

@CosmicKira So long as the person recording does it in a reasonably quiet environment and performs sufficient filtering of audio, it should be fine. I tested all of my recent tests on my phone, and they have great clarity. Frankly, with so many mics and playback devices in the world, you cannot test for everything. That said, if care is made with the recording and editing, the final product will probably be just fine for these purposes.

@dwarflemur Once a basic guideline is established, mic of choice and positioning will likely not be a notable issue. I have achieved effective results in my tests, and have brought them to Glarses’ attention. My notes, presets, and recordings may be of use for reference of other participants in the project. I’ll see about distributing them soon when able.

I think @Kiessling already mentioned and answered but let me bother everyone regardless.

@dwarflemur @CosmicKira
The issue is very much real and true.
But that is why we are still finding ways to establish a sort of basic guideline where we can ask everyone who records to record in a certain way. That should make the ecordonv uniform enough. It is not unfathomable that there will be errors and that seems to just be inherent to the nature of a project that is so communal.
What Kiessling here did manage to do however was really isolate the sound! The sound test was exceptionally clean and remarkable! Which is why I asked him to share his notes with Glarses.
It’s not a hidden thing that the project is almost at ground zero right now. It started as just a fun thing to do for a video but ended up with Glarses wanting to work on it and some of us (duh obviously me… Who else have you seen get suddenly excited about something XD) getting very excited about the prospect of being able to hear the switches.
The project is just meant to show sounds. Maybe help with switches and end game? But largely is a study into acoustics. But even getting off ground zero requires input from everyone and how they recorded so easy and accessible guideline with reasonable accuracy can be established.

1 Like