VHS Tape Insert Whir — free sound effect
3.0s · WAV & MP3 · household · 34 downloads · quality 8.0/10 · royalty-free, CC BY 4.0
Credit it like this (the one condition of the free licence):
“VHS Tape Insert Whir” by BudgetPixel AI (https://budgetpixel.com/sfx/vhs-tape-insert-whir-158672de) — CC BY 4.0
About this sound
An AI-generated sound effect: “vhs tape inserted and player whirring”. Quality-checked before listing, free for commercial and personal projects — videos, games, podcasts, apps and client work. No royalties — just credit BudgetPixel AI.
Direct file: WAV · 44.1 kHz — both WAV and MP3 are on the download button.
Editor's note (8.0/10): This is a recognizable VHS insertion and startup effect, only with very faint minor inherent tape hiss and no other unwanted artifacts or speech/music.
Also searched as: vhs insert sound · vhs player whir · tape insertion · vhs startup · retro tape player
Sound effect licensing — common questions
- Is "VHS Tape Insert Whir" free to use commercially?
- Yes. "VHS Tape Insert Whir" is free for commercial and personal use under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) — monetised YouTube videos, podcasts, games, apps, ads, streams, films and client work are all covered, with no fees, royalties or subscription. The one condition is the credit: “VHS Tape Insert Whir” by BudgetPixel AI (https://budgetpixel.com/sfx/vhs-tape-insert-whir-158672de) — CC BY 4.0
- Do I have to credit BudgetPixel to use "VHS Tape Insert Whir"?
- Yes — crediting BudgetPixel AI is the one condition of the licence, and downloading still needs no account. Put the credit line from this page wherever your project lists sources: a video description, end credits, show notes, or a game's credits screen.
- What format and length is "VHS Tape Insert Whir"?
- "VHS Tape Insert Whir" runs 3 seconds and downloads as WAV at 44.1 kHz, with MP3 on the same download button. Both formats carry the identical licence, so pick whichever your editor prefers — WAV for layering and pitch work, MP3 when file size matters.
- Can I use "VHS Tape Insert Whir" in a monetised YouTube video?
- Yes. Monetised video is explicitly permitted. BudgetPixel never registers library audio with Content ID, and because this sound effect is licensed to everyone non-exclusively under CC BY 4.0, no one can hold the exclusive rights Content ID requires. If a claim ever appears, dispute it and cite this page and its licence.
Similar sounds
Need a different take on this sound? Tweak the prompt and generate — free, no account.
Need it longer, or synced to your video? Make a longer version or add sound to a video in the audio workshop — a free account comes with 300 credits a month.
Get sound effects like this from your AI agent or your code
The whole library is searchable through the BudgetPixel MCP connector and the developer API, on every plan, Free included. A search costs 10 credits and returns each result's download link and credit line, so the 300 credits a free account gets every month cover 30 searches.
Ask your AI agent
Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor to your BudgetPixel account once, with no API key, then ask in plain words:
Find a free sound effect like “VHS Tape Insert Whir” and give me the download link and its credit line.
Call the API
One request, with an API key from the developer console:
curl -G https://api.budgetpixel.com/v1/stock/sound-effects \
--data-urlencode "query=vhs tape insert whir" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $BUDGETPIXEL_API_KEY"Nothing in the library fits? On any paid plan the same connector and API generate sound effects to order, and the models also come as plugins for ComfyUI, WordPress and Cursor.