There are several sample packs on Brainstep’s SD card already, however you can also create your own.
You will need up to 12 different samples with a maximum total length of 2.7s
You can use a lower number of samples and just duplicate them to use all keyboard keys. If duplicated, samples will only be saved once to save space.
Brainstep’s samples are rather LO-FI: 8-bit mu-law encoded with a samplerate of 24kHz.
To convert your samples into Brainstep’s sample pack format, currently there is a python script you need to run on your machine. The script’s parameters need to be configured to your samples:
# In this example, the samples are stored in a directory "Hyboid"
# Each sample needs to have a 2-character name and in .wav format
# In this example, the samples are stored in B1.wav, B2.wav, S1.wav, ....
samplepath = "Hyboid"
# the path to your samples
# Sample list and key mapping
# This array must have 12 entries
# you can have duplicate entries, in which case the sample is only saved once
# sample files must be placed in the root directory with the same 2-letter name as .wav
filenameList = ["B1", "B2", "S1", "S2", "VX", "HT", "OH", "CH", "HT", "OH", "CH", "VX"]
# List of samples in the pack
SamplePackName ="Hyboid's drums";
# Name of the sample pack, maximum 16 chars
outputFileName ="hyboid.smpl"
# Output file name. Must be .smpl
volumesAccented = [127, 127, 127, 127, 127, 127, 127, 127, 127, 127, 127, 127];
# Volumes (0..127) of an accented sample. Currently not used in Brainstep
volumesNormal = [64 , 64 , 64 , 64 , 64 , 64 , 64 , 64 , 64 , 64 , 64 , 64 ];
# Volumes (0..127) of a non-accented sample. Currently not used in Brainstep