The effects of magnetic recording by different rock types upon the appearance of paleomagnetic records of reversals have been simulated using a model of transition fields. Lava records were simulated using a Poisson process. The results are characterized by hangups and impulses which are not present in the reversal model, but resemble observed lava records of reversals. Sedimentary records simulated by smoothing produce predictable attenuation of features of the model, and, if a component of random noise is added, seem to match the appearance of many observed sedimentary records. These numerical experiments suggest that many features that might be interpreted as field behavior may generated by the recording process. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1988