Radio VoiceTrack Builder

How it works

VoiceTrack Builder is a playlist-based show builder.
You add your music, jingles, and voice links, arrange them in order, set how each transition behaves, then export a single MP3 ready for playout.

Music tracks are your songs.
Voice items are your links (imported audio or recorded in-app).
Jingle items are beds, stagers, sweepers, IDs etc.
Advert items are commercials, sponsor spots, and ad reads.
Show Notes are text-only reminders in the running order (they don't export to audio).

The app shows your running show length and processing status.
During export you'll see progress updates so you can tell it's actively working.

Top row buttons

The top row keeps the core actions always visible:

New Show — start a fresh playlist (you'll be prompted to save if there are unsaved changes).
+ Music / + Voice / + Jingle / + Advert — add items to the end of the playlist.
Voice Recorder — open the built-in recorder to record voice links directly.
Preview — play through the entire show in real-time without exporting.
Export — render and export the full show as a single MP3 file.
PDF Runsheet (red PDF icon) — preview and export a PDF cue sheet / running order for use in the studio.
Save — save your playlist/project to disk.
Open — open an existing saved project.
Undo / Redo — step backwards and forwards through your recent changes.
Help — you're here!
About — version info, contact details, and a link to support the Evelina Children's Hospital.
Settings (gear icon) — configure app defaults for new shows, audio analysis, export, and microphone.

Keyboard shortcuts

The app supports several keyboard shortcuts for common actions:

Ctrl+Z — Undo the last change.
Ctrl+Shift+Z or Ctrl+Y — Redo (reverse an undo).
Escape — Close any open dialog or modal.
Ctrl+Enter — Save and close the note editor.

Keyboard shortcuts are disabled while you're typing in a text field, dropdown, or text area — so they won't interfere with normal editing.

Autosave recovery & unsaved changes

The app includes autosave to help protect your work. If the app closes unexpectedly, you can usually restore your last saved state when you reopen it.

On app start, if a recovery file exists, you'll be asked whether to Restore it or Ignore it. Restore brings back your last autosaved playlist and settings.
On Close / New Playlist / Open, if you have unsaved changes, you'll be prompted so you don't lose work. Choose to save, discard, or cancel.

Best practice: save your show as you go (especially after recording or importing voice links).

Tool tips (hover help)

Nearly everything in the app has a tooltip. If you're unsure what a button, label, or value does, simply hover your mouse over it and you'll get a short explanation.

Hover over playlist values to see extra detail (e.g. raw duration vs processed duration).
Hover over processing/status messages to understand what the app is doing.
Hover over buttons and icons to confirm exactly what will happen before you click.

Drag & drop

You can drag audio files directly from your file explorer into the playlist area to add them.

Drag one or more audio files (MP3, WAV, etc.) onto the playlist drop zone.
The drop zone highlights when you drag files over it.
Dropped files are added as Music tracks by default.

This is a quick alternative to using the + Music button — handy when you're browsing files and want to add them fast.

Insert under an existing track

All "insert" actions work relative to the item you click on. This makes it fast to build a proper running order.

Use Insert Music, Insert Jingle, Insert Voice, or Insert Note underneath an item to place something directly after it in the playlist.
"Add" actions (top row buttons) add to the end of the playlist.

Show Notes (Insert Note)

Show Notes are plain-text notes that live inside your playlist.
They're designed for reminders and running-order prompts like talking points, sponsor mention, or coming up next.

To add one, press Insert Note under any item. The note is inserted directly after that item.
Click the note text to edit it at any time.
Notes can be as long as you like — multiple lines are supported and will always display in full.
A "Note Type" dropdown lets you categorise each note so you can see at a glance what it's for.

Notes do not export to the MP3 — they're purely for your running order inside the app.

Voice links: Add vs Insert (Import vs Record)

Voice links can come from two places:

Import — choose an existing audio file (WAV/MP3 etc.) and add it as a Voice item.
Record — use the built-in voice recorder to record a link and insert it into the playlist.

Where you place the voice link depends on the button you use:

+ Voice (top row) adds a Voice item at the end of the playlist.
Insert Voice (per-item) inserts a Voice item directly after the item you clicked.

Re-ordering the playlist

The playlist is your running order. Re-order items to build the show flow.

Use the drag handle on an item to move it up or down.
The list auto-scrolls when dragging near the top or bottom, so you can move items long distances.

Track types & colours

Tracks are labelled as Music, Voice, Jingle, or Advert. This label controls:

How the item is treated during export and processing.
How it displays in the playlist (colour and icon styling).
Which metadata fields appear (Music / Voice / Jingle metadata).

Changing a track's type

If you imported something and it's the wrong type, you can change it. For example: a bed might be imported as Music but should be Jingle.

Use the type dropdown on the item and change it to Music, Voice, Jingle, or Advert.
The item updates its label, colour, and metadata fields immediately.

Deleting items

Every item in the playlist has a delete button on the right-hand side.

Click the delete button (bin icon) to remove an item from the playlist.
By default you'll be asked to confirm before the item is deleted. You can disable this in Settings > General.
If you delete something by accident, use Ctrl+Z to undo it immediately.

Duplicate detection

When adding music or jingle tracks, the app checks whether any of the files are already in the playlist.

If duplicates are found, a warning dialog appears listing the duplicate file names.
You can choose to add them anyway or cancel.
This helps prevent accidentally adding the same track twice.

Duplicate detection compares file paths, so the same file added from a different folder would not be flagged.

Jingles

Jingles are short elements you drop around music and voice: sweepers, IDs, stagers, beds, sponsor tags, promos.

Use + Jingle (top row) or Insert Jingle (per-item) to place a jingle where you want it.
Use Mix to overlap a bed under the next item for a professional sound.

Using the built-in Voice Recorder

The Voice Recorder is the quickest way to create links inside your show. Open it via Voice Recorder on the top row.

Select your microphone from the dropdown.
Use the Test button and watch the input meter to confirm you're getting signal.
Press Record to start. Press Stop when done.
Preview your recording with the built-in player.
Press Accept & Insert to add the recording to your playlist as a Voice item.

If you don't see meter movement, check your operating system's input device settings and confirm the correct mic is selected in-app.

Microphone selection & test

Microphone selection affects recording only (it doesn't affect music/jingle playback).

Set your preferred microphone in Settings > Microphone — this is used by the Voice Recorder.
Use the Test button (in Settings or the Voice Recorder) to confirm levels before recording.
Keep levels healthy without clipping. If you see consistent maxing-out, lower your input gain in your OS settings or audio interface.
Use the Refresh button if you've plugged in a new device.

Audio processing — why it matters

Processing exists to make your exported show sound consistent and broadcast-ready:

Silence detection — trims unwanted dead air at starts and ends.
Loudness analysis — measures how loud each item is.
Normalisation — brings items to consistent loudness so voice links sit well alongside music.
Overall show loudness — finalises the exported MP3 to a sensible broadcast level.

During export you'll see status updates like: Preparing audio, Analysing loudness, Joining tracks & normalising, and Encoding final MP3.

Mix setting (overlap)

Mix controls overlap between items — e.g. a bed under voice, or a jingle hitting over music.

Off — items play end-to-end with no overlap.
0.5s – 20s — the next item starts that many seconds before the current one ends.
Use it for beds under voice, quick sweeps into songs, or tight transitions.

Each item has its own Mix dropdown. You can set a default overlap for all new tracks in Settings > General.

If your overlap sounds messy, reduce the mix time. Small values (0.5–2s) work well for gentle transitions.

Settings

Click the gear icon in the top row to open the Settings modal. Settings are saved to disk and persist across app launches and new shows.

General tab

Default Show Name — pre-filled when you create a new show.
Default Presenter — pre-filled when you create a new show.
Default Mix / Overlap — the overlap value applied to every new track added to the playlist (0–20s). You can still adjust individual items afterwards.
Confirm before deleting — when enabled, you'll be asked to confirm each time you delete a playlist item. Disable for faster editing.

Audio / Analysis tab

Silence Detection Threshold — controls how aggressively silence is detected (-30 dB is aggressive, -60 dB is sensitive). The default of -45 dB works well for most content.
Minimum Silence Duration — the shortest gap (in seconds) that counts as silence. Default is 0.05s.
Default Export Bitrate — the MP3 bitrate used for new projects (128–320 kbps). Default is 192 kbps.
Default Sample Rate — the sample rate used for new projects (44,100 or 48,000 Hz).

Microphone tab

Preferred Microphone — choose your default recording mic. This is also used by the Voice Recorder.
Test Microphone — click to check your mic levels before recording.
Refresh — re-scan for microphones if you've plugged in a new device.

Each tab has a Reset to Defaults button if you want to restore the original values. Station name is not pre-filled from settings (since you may work for multiple stations).

Show Preview

Preview lets you play through the entire show in real-time without having to export first. It respects silence trims, effective durations, and overlap/mix points between items — giving you a good idea of how the finished show will sound.

Click Preview in the top row to open the preview player.
Press Play to start. The current track name is shown at the top of the player.
Use the skip buttons to jump forward 30 seconds or back 10 seconds.
Click anywhere on the progress bar to jump to that point in the show.
The progress bar shows gold tick marks at each track boundary and highlighted zones where overlaps occur.
Use the volume slider to adjust the preview volume.
Press Stop to reset to the beginning, or Close to close the player.

Preview plays back the original audio files directly in the browser. It approximates silence trimming and does not apply loudness normalisation or other export processing — so it won't sound identical to the final export, but it's a quick and accurate way to check your running order and transitions.

Broadcast clock (estimated air times)

Each playlist item can display an estimated broadcast time — showing you when that item would air based on your show's start time.

Set a Show Start Time in the New Show dialog (or edit it later via the show details header).
Once set, every item in the playlist shows a gold clock badge (e.g. 14:05:30) indicating its estimated on-air time.
Times are calculated from the start time, accumulating each item's effective duration and subtracting any overlap.
If you change the start time or rearrange tracks, the clock times update automatically.
If no start time is set, no clock badges are shown.

These are estimates based on silence-trimmed durations and overlap settings. The actual broadcast time may differ slightly depending on export processing.

Edit show details

You can update your show's metadata at any time by clicking the show summary header at the top of the playlist area.

Click the header bar showing your presenter name, show name, and date to open the edit dialog.
You can change the presenter name, show name, station, date, and start time.
You can also add or change show artwork — this appears in the header and gets embedded in the exported MP3.
Changes take effect immediately and the playlist updates (including broadcast clock times if you changed the start time).

Saving your show

When you save a show, the app creates a project file (a small text-based file) that stores your playlist structure: the running order, item types, mix/overlap settings, notes, and metadata — plus the file paths to your audio on disk.

It does not embed or copy your audio into the project file. Your music, voice, and jingle files stay exactly where they are on your computer.

Use Save to write the project file.
Use Open to load it again later.
If you move, rename, or delete any of the audio files after saving, the project may not be able to find them next time you open it.

Recommended: keep each show in its own folder and avoid moving files after you've saved the project.

Item metadata (Music, Voice, Jingle)

You can edit metadata per item. Click the artwork or title text to open the editor. The fields shown depend on type:

Music — Artist/Band and Track title. For MP3 files, tags are written directly into the file.
Voice — Presenter/Voice and Voice link title (e.g. "Link 07 — sponsor tease").
Jingle — Brand/Station and Jingle title (e.g. "Sweeper — Station ID short").
Advert — Client/Sponsor and Advert title (e.g. "Acme Corp — Spring Sale 30s").

For MP3 files you can also set or remove artwork from within the metadata editor.

The small pencil icon on each item also opens the metadata editor.

New Playlist

New Show clears the current running order so you can start a new show.

If you have unsaved changes, you'll be prompted to save, discard, or cancel before the playlist is cleared.
You'll be asked to enter your show details (presenter name, show name, etc.) for the new show.
The show name and presenter fields are pre-filled from your Settings defaults (station is left blank since you may work for multiple stations).

Exporting your final show

Export creates a single finished MP3 from your playlist, applying your mix/overlaps and all enabled processing.

Press Export in the top row.
Fill in any show-level metadata in the export popup (presenter, show name, station, air date).
Click Export and choose an output location.
Watch the progress — you'll see what's happening at each stage.

You'll see stages like:

Preparing audio — decoding and analysing each item.
Joining tracks & normalising show loudness — combining items with mix points.
Encoding final MP3 — writing the finished file.

You can cancel an export at any time using the Cancel button in the progress window.

PDF Runsheet (cue sheet)

The PDF Runsheet button (the red PDF icon in the top row) generates a printable running order for use in the studio alongside your exported MP3.

Build your show as normal — add tracks, set overlaps, fill in show details.
Click the PDF icon next to the Export button.
A full-screen preview opens showing how the runsheet will look.
Click Save PDF to choose where to save the file, or Cancel to go back.
Open or print the PDF — it contains your full running order with track times.

The PDF includes:

Show header — show name, presenter, station, date, start time, and total running time.
Track listing — a table with columns for track number, broadcast clock time, duration, title, artist, and type (music/voice/jingle).
Metadata — titles and artists are resolved from your metadata overrides, file tags, or filenames as a fallback.

The PDF is a standard document that can be printed for use in the studio, emailed to your station or programme controller, or shared with other presenters so everyone knows the running order before the show goes to air.

If no start time is set, the Clock Time column will be empty. Show Notes (text-only items) are not included in the PDF — only audio items appear.

Export bitrate

The export dialog includes a bitrate selector that controls the quality of the final MP3 file.

128 kbps — smaller file, acceptable quality for speech-heavy shows.
192 kbps — the default. Good balance of quality and file size for most radio shows.
256 kbps — higher quality, noticeably better for music-heavy shows.
320 kbps — maximum MP3 quality. Larger files but near-transparent audio.

The default is 192 kbps, which is the standard for most broadcast and podcast content. You can change the default in Settings > Audio / Analysis. Your chosen bitrate is also saved with each project, so it will be remembered when you reopen it.

Fade detection

Fade detection analyses each audio item and identifies whether it has a fade-in and/or fade-out, and whether it starts or ends hard or gradually.

It helps you understand how tracks will behave around transitions and silence trimming.
Results appear as small info badges on each item (hover for details).
Results can vary depending on the master (noise floors, long intros/outros, crowd noise, etc.).

Undo & Redo

Made a mistake? Undo and Redo let you step backwards and forwards through your recent changes.

Ctrl+Z — Undo the last change.
Ctrl+Shift+Z or Ctrl+Y — Redo (reverse an undo).
You can also use the Undo / Redo buttons in the top row (the curved-arrow icons after Save and Open).
The buttons are greyed out when there's nothing to undo or redo.
Up to 50 steps of history are kept. Starting a new project or opening a saved project resets the history.

Undo/Redo covers all playlist changes: adding, deleting, reordering tracks, changing overlaps, editing show details, and more.

Update checker

The app automatically checks for new versions when it starts. If a newer version is available, you'll see a notification.

The check runs silently in the background — it won't interrupt your workflow.
If an update is available, you'll be told which version is new.
No data is sent — it simply checks the latest version number from the update server.

Quick tips

Build in blocks — Music, Jingle, Voice, Advert, Music. This gives your show a natural flow.
Name your voice links — a little metadata goes a long way when you return to a project later.
Use Mix intentionally — beds under voice sound great, but keep overlaps short unless you mean it.
Set a default overlap — configure your preferred mix/overlap in Settings so every new track starts with the right value.
Preview before exporting — use Show Preview to check your transitions and running order without waiting for a full export.
Save often — especially after recording links.
Hover everything — nearly every feature has a tooltip with extra info.
Use the gold ? buttons — they explain what Mix and the track info values mean.
Set a start time — enter a Show Start Time in the New Show dialog to see estimated broadcast times on every item.
Ctrl+Z is your friend — undo any accidental delete, move, or change instantly.
Choose your export bitrate — 192 kbps is the default, but bump to 320 for maximum quality or drop to 128 for smaller files.
Export a PDF runsheet — click the red PDF icon to generate a printable cue sheet for the studio.
Drag & drop files — drag audio files straight from your file explorer onto the playlist to add them quickly.
Edit show details — click the show summary header to update your presenter name, show name, artwork, or start time.
Escape closes dialogs — press Escape to quickly close any open popup or modal.