UniversalSoundboard

When streaming, voice-chatting with your friends or recording gameplay and tutorials, one particularly useful piece of software for easy access to the sound effects or songs you need, when you need them, is represented by UniversalSoundboard.

Thanks to its open-source nature, UWP-based clean design and intuitive interface, this application can be incredibly useful in a pinch for users who do not want to compromise on privacy and security.

A particular strength of the app is represented by the layout, which provides the user with all the necessary information at a glance, starting with the sound categories on the far left of the screen, followed by a thumbnail view section of the sounds themselves and a resizable portion in which the sounds can be played thanks to its built-in music player.

The simplicity evoked by its design blends in with the rest of the native Windows apps, due in part to OS-wide theme support, adding to the pleasant user experience that can be felt when navigating the app’s interface. For use on multiple devices, the developer allows for signing up to their proprietary cloud platform.

Sounds can be quickly added either by dragging and dropping or by using the operating system’s file picker, with the option of also downloading audio files and YouTube videos. Once indexed, the sounds can then be renamed, added to favorites, placed into categories and reordered on the homepage while the context menu provides options to assign a thumbnail, share, export or delete said files.

Once clicked, sounds are queued into the far right panel where they can be set on repeat, played on different audio devices or at different playback speeds and their respective volume can be customized to the user’s liking. Categories can be reordered, assigned a small selection of icons to, and support for subcategories is also available.

A disadvantage of using the app becomes evident when changing an already set thumbnail for a sound file. The app needs to be closed and reopened in order for the change to take effect.

In conclusion, UniversalSoundboard is an easy-to-use, free, open-source, intuitively-designed and decently customizable app for quickly playing sounds in various scenarios or for use in a variety of projects, from streaming to making videos of any kind.