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Sampler

The sampler (sample player) allows from playing unsigned mono 8-bit raw PCM files off the SD card. It is currently an alpha level feature and subject to lots of changes. It first appeared in WaveBoy 0.5 (which isn't yet available as a release but can be compiled from the source).

At present, up to 6 samples can be selected from. These need to be places in the samples directory on the SD card. Their names are limited to 16 characters in length (including the file extension). Once selected from the menu, the sample is triggered via the trigger input and will run at a sample-rate (and thus pitch) determined by V/Oct. The rate can be changed while the sample is playing.

At present samples cannot be larger than 64k.

Future Plans

These are not guaranteed but some ideas being considered

  • Using CV to change samples, optionally having multiple patches. Instead of selecting a sample from the menu, a patch is selected that is a folder under samples and contains up to 16 samples. 16 is kind of arbitrary but offers a decent amount of slots without needing crazy precision and fits well with the 16 wave frames of wave mode.
  • Loop modes (forward, reverse, ping-pong)
  • Samples longer than 64k (by buffering data off the SD card)

16 Sample Patches Idea

Under samples there would be directories with the name of the directory being the name of the patch. Underneath each directory would be up to 16 files, named [0-f].pcm. This allows for easy lookup of the files and orders the samples.

The file extension is important as metadata might be in a .txt file within the patch directory. This could be for looping modes, naming the samples, possibly DAC multiplier values for each sample, etc.

CV input is read and on a change, just like with the wave frame, that sample is loaded. This would be an immediate load so if playing a sample when the CV changes would cause the sample to stop (this could be avoided with multiple buffers but I'm not sure if it's worth that complexity).