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Tone Generator
Play any frequency as a sine, square, triangle or sawtooth wave, or sweep between two.
Free tools that run in your browser. Nothing you type, open or create is uploaded to NerdBible or anyone else.
To protect your hearing and your speakers, start with the volume low and raise it slowly. Square and sawtooth waves and very high tones sound much louder than the slider suggests, and small speakers can be damaged by very low tones played loud.
The tone is generated by your browser, so its accuracy is that of your device's sound clock, normally within a small fraction of a hertz. What you hear also depends on your speakers or headphones: most laptop and phone speakers play little below 100 Hz, and many adults hear little above 15 kHz.
How to use it
- Turn the volume down, then type a frequency, drag the slider or pick a note.
- Choose a waveform and, if you like, move the balance to test the left or right speaker.
- Press Play, or open Sweep to glide from one frequency to another over the time you set. Press Stop to end.
Questions
What can I use a tone generator for?
Checking speakers and headphones, finding which side is which, hunting for a rattle in a room or a car, tuning an instrument to a reference pitch, and finding the highest frequency you can hear on your equipment.
Why is the slider not even?
It is logarithmic, like hearing: every octave takes the same distance, so 20 to 40 Hz is as wide as 10 to 20 kHz. For exact values, type the frequency in the box.
What is the difference between the waveforms?
A sine wave is a pure tone with a single frequency. Square, triangle and sawtooth waves add harmonics at multiples of that frequency, so they sound buzzier and seem louder at the same volume setting.
Should a sweep be linear or logarithmic?
Logarithmic spends the same time on every octave, which suits listening and speaker tests. Linear spends the same time on every hertz, so it races through the bass and lingers in the treble.
About this tool
About the tone generator
A tone generator plays a single, precise frequency. It is a simple tool with many uses: checking speakers and headphones, confirming which side is left and which is right, hunting down a rattle in a room or a car, tuning to a reference pitch, or finding the highest frequency you can hear on your equipment.
Controls
- Frequency: type it, drag the slider or pick a musical note. The slider is logarithmic, like hearing, so every octave takes the same distance.
- Waveform: sine is a pure tone with one frequency; square, triangle and sawtooth add harmonics, so they sound buzzier and seem louder at the same volume.
- Balance: send the tone to the left or right speaker.
- Sweep: glide from one frequency to another over the time you set, either logarithmic, which spends equal time on each octave and suits listening tests, or linear.
What you will actually hear
The tone is accurate to a small fraction of a hertz, but your speakers set the limits: most laptop and phone speakers produce little below 100 Hz, and many adults hear little above 15 kHz. If nothing seems to happen at the extremes, that is usually why.
Turn the volume down before you start, particularly with headphones. The sound is generated in your browser.
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