Story of Sosumi and the Mac Startup Sound

4 months ago 4

Here is the true story about the Sosumi beep, Mac startup sound, and other sounds I created at Apple. So many myths and urban legends about these sounds. I kept my secret about Sosumi for a decade after leaving Apple. I feared if the truth were known it would be removed. I’m happier than anyone could imagine these sounds I created are still around.

Sosumi Beep

Listen to the Sosumi beep

I was interviewed for a documentary about the history of the Macintosh in San Francisco. They gave me free beer too!

Sadly, my favorite scene was deleted in the final edit of the movie. Fortunately, I found this clip on the cutting room floor. Here I am, telling the real story behind the urban legend of the infamous Sosumi beep sound on the Macintosh.

This clip is from the movie: Welcome to Macintosh. In the next video below I tell a more complete version of the story.

Welcome to Macintosh – Deleted Scene – Sosumi

Here’s a rare clip (sorry about the low audio quality, not my fault but I could fix it). This was taken from the premier of the Welcome to Macintosh movie. I was on a Q&A panel with Steve Wozniak, Andrew Hertzfeld, and Guy Kawasaki. I set the mark in this clip to feature me and the Sosumi story :)

Welcome To Macintosh Q&A Session

Mac Startup Sound

Listen to the Mac startup sound

At the end of “A Day In The Life” by The Beatles, after the extended atonal crescendo, is this amazing sound. It’s something I remember listening to very carefully many times. Probably one of the most famous chords. It was a key (pun intended) inspiration for my Mac startup sound. Listen to the final chord in A Day In The Life, and now knowing my private joke hopefully have a laugh.

In an interesting twist of irony (and I do love irony) the Sosumi sound came about due to a trademark dispute. My most famous sound is now officially an Apple trademark (what took them so long?). A sound trademark is rare. Some of the few examples are the 20th Century Fox orchestral fanfare, the NBC chimes (which also happens to be based on a C-Major chord), or the THX “deep note.”

I recorded the sound with a variety of synthesizers and effects. The main sound was done on a Korg Wavestation. I still have it in the closet. Maybe I should auction it for some money.

My favorite interview by far took place at a coffee shop near my home. If you jump to the 13:15 mark, I explain how I created the Mac startup sound. At 24:35 I tell the more complete story about the Sosumi beep, and the context of the new sounds I added to Mac System 7.

Sadly the original has vanished from YouTube. I love those guys at One More Thing. What happened to them? Here’s a copy I found.

OMT podcast #181: OMT in San Francisco #3: ‘Let it beep’

Mac and iPhone Camera Sound

iPhone camera sound

One of the other sounds I created for the Mac is the one you hear when you take a screenshot (press Cmd-Shift-3). This is also more well-known as the sound you hear when taking a photo on the iPhone and iPad.

It is a recording of my trusty old Canon AE-1 from the late ’70s. I’ve read of this confusion about this sound coming from a power winder. It’s not true. It’s just my SLR camera as-is but with a slower shutter speed. I slowed it down to make it sound better. I’ve heard another rumor that the particular sound of my camera indicated a problem. I can’t say much about that other than the camera was working and I had been using it for decades when I recorded it. I should have saved it. While clearing out old things I never used anymore, I donated it to the Goodwill.

The Designer of Apple’s Most Iconic Sounds

This last video has become a favorite. CNBC contacted me asking if they could come to my house and ask some questions about what I had done while at Apple. I got to show off my music room filled with vinyl records, a didgeridoo, and reveal the instrument I used to create the Mac startup sound.

Meet the man who created Apple’s most iconic sounds

Articles About The Apple Sounds From Jim Reekes

I’ve been collecting many articles about my work over the years. I’m always surprised by how much this list continues to grow, and how interesting people are in hearing these stories.