Radio Voice Effect
Record a line or drop in a file, pick a radio, and download the result as a WAV. The audio never leaves your browser.
What each radio does to a voice
A real transmission is not just a filter. Narrowband radio throws away everything below about 300 Hz and above about 3 kHz, then compresses hard so every word hits the same level, and adds noise on the way. Each preset sets the passband, the drive and the noise floor to match a particular kind of gear.
- Police Dispatch
- Tight 420 Hz to 3 kHz passband with a presence bump near 1.9 kHz. Clean and intelligible, the sound of a good mobile set.
- Walkie-Talkie
- Narrower and grittier with a higher noise floor, matching a cheap handheld on FRS or GMRS.
- CB Radio
- Heavy drive, a low mid honk and a slow amplitude wobble. Overdriven and close to breaking up.
- Aircraft Comms
- Wider and cleaner with an airy hiss, the character of AM aviation radio.
- Vintage AM
- Wide but soft, with mains hum underneath. A 1940s broadcast receiver.
- Shortwave
- Slow fading across the whole signal, as though the path keeps shifting.
- Megaphone
- A hard resonant peak and very little low end. A bullhorn rather than a radio.
Getting a clean result
- Record close and dry. Radio processing exaggerates room echo. A quiet room and a close microphone give the best result.
- Leave headroom. If the source is already clipped, the drive stage has nothing to work with and the output sounds like buzzing.
- Use the details sparingly. A mic click at the front and a squelch tail at the end sell the effect. All three at once on every line gets tiring.
- Drive is not volume. It sets how hard the signal is pushed into distortion. Past about 0.7 most voices stop being intelligible.
Questions
Is my recording uploaded anywhere?
No. The file is decoded and processed by the Web Audio API inside the page. Nothing is sent to a server, and the page works with the network disconnected once it has loaded.
Can I use the output commercially?
Yes. You own your recording, and this tool claims nothing over what comes out of it.
Why is the download a WAV and not an MP3?
WAV is uncompressed and every editor accepts it. Compressing to MP3 in the browser would need an extra encoder library and would lose quality for no benefit on a short clip.
What is the length limit?
Three minutes. Longer clips are usually better handled in a proper editor.