Free Soundboard

Worked example

Open the page and press 8. The "Ding" pad flashes and a bell tone at 1568 Hz, with two quieter overtones, rings for about 1.6 seconds at the default "Volume" of 70%. Press 2 for "Drum roll": 34 snare hits over 2 seconds that speed up from 0.085 seconds apart to about 0.04, then a cymbal and a low tom at 2.05 seconds. Press 4 for "Applause" while the roll is still going; the sounds stack. Press Esc, or the "Stop all" button, and everything stops at once. Drag "Volume" to 40% and the figure beside it reads "40%". That level is remembered the next time you open the page. The line under the pads reads "Press 1 to 0 to play a sound. Esc stops everything."

Which settings to use, and the limits

• Play from the keyboard or by tapping. The ten pads are numbered in order: 1 Air horn, 2 Drum roll, 3 Rimshot, 4 Applause, 5 Crickets, 6 Siren, 7 Buzzer, 8 Ding, 9 Laser and 0 Fanfare. Holding a key does not repeat the sound, and combinations with Ctrl, Cmd or Alt are ignored, so browser shortcuts such as Ctrl+1 still work. The keys are also ignored while the cursor is in a text box or a dropdown, but they work while the volume slider is selected. On a phone the pads sit in two columns and you tap them.
• Stack sounds on purpose. Each press starts a fresh copy over any copy still playing, so you can lay a Siren over an Air horn. "Stop all" or Esc cuts every sound that is still running. Approximate lengths: Laser 0.4 s, Buzzer 0.9 s, Air horn 1.1 s, Fanfare 1.3 s, Rimshot 1.4 s, Ding 1.6 s, Crickets 2.8 s, Siren 3 s, Applause 3 s and Drum roll 3.3 s including the closing cymbal.
• Set "Volume" before you start. "Volume" runs from 0% to 100% in steps of 1% and starts at 70%. Moving it changes sounds that are already playing, with a very short smoothing time, so you can fade a long one by hand. The level is stored in this browser only, and it is the only thing the tool stores.
• Expect Applause to differ each time. Applause is built from 110 short noise claps spread over 3 seconds, placed at random, so no two plays are the same. The other nine sounds come from fixed oscillator patterns and sound the same each time, apart from a small random offset in the noise-based hits such as the snare and cymbal. No audio files are loaded: every sound is generated in your browser when you press a pad.

Common problems and how to fix them

It says "Sound is not available in this browser."

This replaces the hint line when the tool cannot make a sound. It happens when the browser has no Web Audio support, or when creating the audio context fails. The message clears the next time a press succeeds. Try a current version of Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Edge.

The pad flashes but you hear nothing.

The pad flashes whenever the sound was started, even at "Volume" 0%, which is silent. Raise the slider first. If it is up, check the volume and mute settings of your device or headphones, because the slider only sets this page's own level.

A number key or Esc does nothing.

The keys are ignored while the cursor is in a text box, text area or dropdown, while Ctrl, Cmd or Alt is held, and for the repeat events of a held key. Click an empty part of the page, then press the key again. The "Stop all" button works at any time.

"Volume" goes back to 70% each visit.

The level is saved in the browser's local storage. If the browser blocks or clears site storage, the save is skipped without any message and the page starts again at 70%. Allow site data for this page if you want it remembered.

How it compares

The Soundboard plays ten built-in sound effects that the page makes itself from oscillators and filtered noise. That means nothing to download or install, and the number keys give you instant triggers. It also means they are imitations, not recordings, and you cannot add your own clips, rename or move pads, loop a sound, set a volume per pad or record anything. A soundboard app that plays real recordings will sound more lifelike and let you load meme clips or effects of your own. This page has one master "Volume" and plays through your default output; it has no output-device setting.