SAMPLOOLER

A small looper you play by tilting it.

Hold the button and make a sound. Let go and it loops. Tip the box forward and the loop runs faster; tip it back and it runs backwards. Open source, about $15 in parts, flashes from this page.

Try it in the browser Build one

The Samplooler case, rendered: a small red box with a screen window and a microphone grille.

The screen while a loop plays with the delay on: the tape between two reels, and three ghost runners trailing the stick-figure operator.

See and hear it

Rendered, not filmed: no Samplooler has been built yet. The sound is the firmware's own playback engine running on a computer, given the same moves the 3D model makes, and the screen is the firmware's own drawing code.

How it works

1. HoldHold the button and talk, sing, beatbox or put it next to a speaker. Up to 20 seconds.

2. Let goIt loops what you recorded. Flat on the table it crawls forward very slowly, so the sound never stops.

3. TiltNose down plays forward, faster the further you tip it. Nose up plays backwards. Roll it sideways for delay or stutter.

Try it here

The same playback engine as the firmware, running in your browser. Hold the button to record from your microphone, or load the demo loop. On a phone, turn on tilt and tip the phone. On a computer, drag the slider.

nose up: backwardsnose down: forward

Headphones stop the loop from feeding back into the mic.

Two versions

Both use the same microphone, audio output and tilt sensor. The S3 version is the full one. The C3 version is smaller and cheaper, with a shorter take.

	Samplooler (ESP32-S3)	Samplooler mini (ESP32-C3)
Board	ESP32-S3 SuperMini	ESP32-C3 SuperMini with 0.42" screen
Take	20 s at 32 kHz	about 5 to 7 s at 16 kHz
Screen	0.96" 128x64 two-colour	0.42" 72x40, on the board
Controls	record button, encoder	button, optional encoder
Modes	TAPE (speed and pitch together) and GRAIN (pitch kept, freeze, scrub)	TAPE
Effects	delay and stutter on the roll axis	none
USB	MIDI port, USB sound card, plugin	power and flashing only
Sample slots	8, kept when off	8, kept when off
Parts, roughly	$15 to $25	$10 to $17

The S3 version runs on a built ESP32-S3 SuperMini kit without rewiring.

Screens

The loop is a tape running between two reels, and a small stick-figure operator lives on it. It runs with the tape, forwards or backwards, as fast as you tip the box. Turn the delay on and its echoes trail behind; stutter the loop and the operator stutters too; in GRAIN mode it juggles; tip all the way and it's flung off its feet. Leave it alone and it falls asleep.

READY: an empty tape between two reels, the operator standing on it — ready

REC: the operator sings into a microphone while the tape fills — recording

LOOP at -1.60x: the operator runs backwards — tipped back: backwards

DELAY: three echoes of the operator trail behind it — rolled left: delay

STUTTER: the operator doubled and jittering — rolled right: stutter

GRAIN mode: the operator juggles while it runs — GRAIN: juggling

8x: the operator flung off its feet, tumbling — all the way down: flung

The menu: save the loop to slot 3 — menu, save to a slot

The screensaver: the operator asleep, Zs rising — left alone: asleep

The mini's 72x40 screen while a loop plays — mini, looping

The mini's 72x40 screen, ready — mini, ready

The case with the lid lifted: DAC, tilt sensor and board in their cradles — mini case, lid off

Screens are rendered from the firmware's own drawing code on a computer (tools/uisim/tour.sh makes the video). The case is a render; it has not been printed yet.

Get one

now

Prebuilt

Assembled, flashed and tested, built by hand in Haifa. Write and ask about price and shipping.

Email WhatsApp

workshop

Build it with me

The ESP32 workshop: 7 meetings at MEZO, Haifa, kit included. You leave with a board that runs Samplooler and TWOFOLD.

2,200 ₪ The workshop

now

Build from scratch

Order the parts yourself, print the case, flash from this page. Everything you need is in the repository.

Build guide

One board, two instruments: the S3 version uses the same board and wiring as TWOFOLD, a small USB sound card with an EQ, effects and a screen. Flash one, flash the other.

Flash from the browser

Use Chrome or Edge on a computer. Phones cannot do this.
S3: hold the BOOT button on the board while you plug it in, then let go. The running firmware uses USB for MIDI and audio, so the browser only finds the board this way.
C3: just plug it in.
Press the button on the right and pick the port. The page works out which chip it is.
When it says done, unplug and plug in again. On the S3 it may say the device was lost; that is normal.

This browser cannot flash boards. Use Chrome or Edge on a computer, or flash the release files with esptool. Flashing needs a secure page (https).

Flashing erases the sample slots. The images are also on the releases page, one file per chip, written at offset 0x0.

Build one

Four small modules wired to the board: a microphone, an audio output, a tilt sensor, and on the S3 a screen, an encoder and a record button. Wired point to point it takes an evening if you have soldered before.

For the S3 there are also two circuit boards: a two-board stack, and a one-board Mini without the joystick. They pass their electrical and design-rule checks but have not been made yet; the files and what to check before ordering are in hardware/.

Part	What it does	Rough price
ESP32-S3 or C3 SuperMini	runs everything	$2 to $7
INMP441	microphone	$1.50 to $3
PCM5102A module	line out on a 3.5 mm jack	$2.50 to $5
MPU6050 (GY-521)	tilt	$1 to $2.50
S3 only	0.96" OLED, EC11 encoder, record button	about $4

The output is line level: use headphones through a small amp, powered speakers, or a mixer. The full parts list, wiring, case printing and a first-power-on check are in the build guide.

With a computer (S3)

Plugged into a computer, the S3 shows up as a MIDI port and a sound card. The loop goes straight into a DAW track, and anything the DAW plays can be recorded into the box. Every setting can be changed over MIDI. The plugin (VST3 and standalone) shows the tilt, the speed and the log, and has buttons for record, save and load.

Open source

Part	Licence
firmware, tools	GPL-3.0
plugin	AGPL-3.0 (JUCE)
case, circuit boards, docs, images	CC BY-SA 4.0

Fork it, change it, sell your own. Keep it open and say where it came from. Bugs, questions and builds go in GitHub issues.