Play by ZawebaYour music library, playing beautifully.
Your music, played properly: gapless, quick, and full of character. A music player with real character: instant library search, gapless playback, a 10-band equaliser, 557 music-reactive visualisations, a compact bar and audio CDs.
This version isn't signed for Windows yet: if SmartScreen warns you, choose More info › Run anyway. Why?
Play by Zaweba is a music player for the music you own. Point it at your folders and your library is ready, kept up to date as files come and go, with search results as you type. Albums play gapless to the sample, with optional crossfade, ReplayGain, a 10-band equaliser and playlists you can save.
Old-school in the best way: a scrolling title, spectrum and oscilloscope displays, a small always-on-top bar and even classic skins. And then there are the visualisations: 557 of them, from calm trance and fractals to tunnels, 3D shapes, neon cities, laser shows and dancing crowds, all moving with your music. Play also plays audio CDs with names looked up for you, and saves your own CDs to your library as FLAC or MP3.
Who it's for
- Anyone with a music collection on their PC
- Anyone who misses the classic desktop music player feel
- People with a shelf of CDs they want in their library
- Listeners who care about gapless albums
Good to know
- Looks up CD track names from MusicBrainz only when a CD is in and the look-up is on (it can be turned off)
- Audio CDs need a CD or DVD drive
- While Play is open it takes the media keys, so other players won't get them
Private by design
- Works offline, with no account and no adverts.
- Checks zaweba.com once a day for a newer version, sending only the app's name.
- Problem reports and feedback are sent only if you click Send.
Everything you need, nothing you don't.
Instant search
Browse by artist, album or genre, and every word you type narrows the results straight away, even in a library of 20,000 tracks.
Gapless playback
Live albums and DJ mixes run on without a gap, with optional crossfade that leaves tracks from the same album alone.
10-band equaliser
Ten bands with a preamp, a live response curve, built-in presets and your own.
Compact bar
A small always-on-top player with the cover, title and controls. Drag it anywhere, and use classic .wsz skins on it.
Media keys and overlay
Play, pause and skip from your keyboard's media keys, and control Play from the Windows media flyout and lock screen.
Tag editor
Fix titles, artists, albums and cover art for one track or many at once.
557 visualisations that feel the music
Full-screen scenes react to the tempo, beat and tone of what's playing: hypnotic spirals, tunnels, fractals, sacred geometry, 3D shapes, sound waves, a heartbeat monitor, neon cities, laser shows, disco floors and dancers. Every scene changes its look as the music moves on, colours flow through endless multi-colour gradients, and the Endless mix layers scenes over each other so you can watch for hours and never see the same thing twice.
- Auto, Endless mix, Shuffle or Cycle, changing with the music or on a timer
- Endless gradients, or hold one of 34 you like
- Reduce flashing is on by default
Audio CDs, played and saved
Put in a CD and Play notices. Track names and the cover are looked up from MusicBrainz, or read from CD-Text, and the disc plays gapless like any playlist. Save your own CDs to your library as FLAC, checked bit for bit against the disc, or as MP3, tagged and with the cover.
- Edit names and Play remembers them
- File names from a pattern you choose
- Send a playlist to Burn by Zaweba to make a CD
The details
| Works on | Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) |
|---|---|
| Plays | MP3, FLAC, WAV, OGG, M4A/AAC and Opus, plus audio CDs |
| Playlists | M3U and M3U8 |
| Saves CDs as | FLAC or MP3 |
| Skins | Classic .wsz skins for the compact bar |
| Version | Version 1.1.2 |
| Download | ZawebaPlay-1.1.2.zip (154 MB): unzip and run, no installer |
| Licence | Free for everyone, with every feature included. No warranty |
Play FAQ
Does Play stream music?
No. Play is for your own files and CDs. There are no accounts and no streaming.
How many visualisations are there?
557: 57 scenes of their own, 400 presets in 20 families (fractals, op art, laser shows, landscapes and more) and 100 ready-made mixes. The Endless mix combines them with endless gradients, so it keeps finding new pictures.
Can I use my old .wsz skins?
Yes, classic .wsz skins work on the compact bar, at normal or double size. Modern .wal skins are not supported.
Will my library keep up with new music?
Yes. Play watches your folders, so files you add, rename or delete show up by themselves.
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Try Play today.
Download Play by Zaweba: no account, no adverts, every feature included.