Here’s a guide for adding your own samples.

1

At the beginning of the bleep drum code there are four tables that hold the samples, “kick”, “tick”, “snare”, and “bass”.

Here’s kick.

PROGMEM prog_char kick_table[] =
{
127,127,128,(…..ssssssamplessss…..) 128,128,128,128
};
int kick_length=5744;

You’ll be wanting to replace the bytes in the table with your sample.

2

Wavosaur is a good program to do the wav manipulation in.
Get your mono sample cropped as small as you can, making sure to start at zero and having a very quick fade out at the end to reduce pops.
Reduce the sample rate to 22kHz and the bit depth to 8. Try playing with the dither options to see what sounds best.

Once it’s ready go to File > Export > Export as text.

3

Now you need to turn that unformatted pile of numbers into something useful.
Open the text file in a spreadsheet program with tab as the separator.
Use this file as an example on how to turn the floats into bytes.
Make a note of how many bytes there are.

4

Now you’ll need to make that last column look like this:

130,134,136,136,136,134,133,130,129………..

You can do this by saving it as a separate .csv or copying it into a text editor and replacing “/n” with “,”.

5

Now you can copy those commas separated bytes into the tables and change the length value.
If the sketch won’t compile you’re probably over the program space. Try removing strings of small numbers (0,3,0,2,0,1,0,1,0,1,1,0,1,0) form the end of your samples if you need to shave off a few bytes. You might also want to start by removing some or all of the default samples so you have the whole second to work with.
You could also change the sample rate by adjusting “OCR2A” in “DDS”.

The Jon Spencer Blues Exploder has finally gone out to the distributor. See all the info about the device here.

So why did it take so long?

It ended up being one of the most complex devices we’ve made and I drastically underestimated the time it would take to finish.
Simply put, small scale manufacturing is tough.
I thought having a CNC machine in house would save much more time but it really just meant that I needed to cut everything myself. More capabilities don’t mean quicker manufacturing. We were also plagued by bad parts and short supplies of good ones during the xmas rush.

This still does not excuse the long wait we put our customers through.

I apologize again and hope that the wait was worth it.

Available now.

It will be available as a kit, feature it’s own sounds, have a noise mode, and, like the Dam Drum 2, have pads for expandability.

As for the Blues Exploder we are also expected to ship it early February, if not sooner. Apologies to everyone who’s been waiting!
Jon and I wanted to make sure that device was solid and had all the features he wanted before being released rather than just shipping out a half done noise-maker. We think the time spent on it has paid off.

As apology for the delay the band has personally signed each device.

-Dr. Bleep

Limited edition available now at Stones Throw.

Now with:
- New, higher quality samples!
- Improved recording quantization
- Better battery holder
- Port for future expand-ability.

The kit version, The Bleep Drum, will also be coming out later this month with its own samples. We’ll be posting the code and schematics for both devices then (for now here’s some very messy Dam Drum 2.0 code)
Stay tuned here or to our Twitter or Facebook for more info.

Let us know if you have any issues.

Follow us on Facebook as we’ll be releasing more info about each in the coming weeks.

The DAM-DRUM will be included with Dam-Funk’s new 12″ “I Don’t Wanna Be a Star”. (Sold out)

For the new Freelance Whales album, diluvia, The Astralark Home Planetarium.

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s new album, Meat Bone, will have a special edition pack that includes the JSBX2012 Blue Exploder.

Stay tuned for videos and more info for each.
We’ll also be releasing another Gieskes device in the coming month as well as an all new Bleep Labs device by the holidays.

freepresssummerfest.com

Bleep Labs will be at the Bay Area Maker Fare this weekend!
Come check out all the noises and get a sneak peek at our forthcoming Arduino powered drum machine.

We’ll have a table in the Maker Shed area and I’ll be speaking about “Making noise and music with analog and digital” Sunday at 11am on the projects stage.

Orders will now ship in 1-3 business days.

If you’re still needing a noise maker by xmas, see if you’re near one of our fine retailers!

Have a happy everything!

You can still order for delivery by the 23rd if you’re in North America the US (it seems to be taking longer than usual to get packages to Canada). We can’t ensure that international orders will make it by the 23rd as shipping takes 1-2 weeks.

We are still sending all orders out in 1-2 business days.

Oh cool when will they get here?
Most orders ship by the next business day. We ship via USPS Priority for domestic and International.
Inside the US that means you’ll get your package 3-5 business days from ordering. Canada and Mexico take about a week. Other international orders can take 1-2 weeks.

The deadline to get to order for delivery in the US is the 19th.
International orders should be made by the 9th.

Feel free to contact us with any questions. Have a merry whatever!

The Thingamagoop 2: RGB and the Bit Blob Jr. are now on sale.
We’re also pleased to announce a kit version of the RGB!

Bit Blob Jr.
Built $80 $70
Kit $55 $50

Thingamagoop 2: RGB
Built $225 $190
Kit —- $120

Buy Now

bleeplabs.com has fallen pray to a WordPress hack. We’ll have it cleared out soon. All that is affected is our Google search results so there is no cause for concern from past or future customers.

You can still securely order on the site as the transactions take place through PayPal.
No customer data was ever stored in the bleeplabs.com database.

Here’s more about the hack.

bleeplabs.com has fallen pray to a WordPress hack. We’ll have it cleared out soon. All that is affected is our Google search results so there is no cause for concern from past or future customers.

You can still securely order on the site as the transactions take place through PayPal.
No customer data was ever stored in the bleeplabs.com database.

Here’s more about the hack.

bleeplabs.com has fallen pray to a WordPress hack. We’ll have it cleared out soon. All that is affected is our Google search results so there is no cause for concern from past or future customers.

You can still securely order on the site as the transactions take place through PayPal.
No customer data was ever stored in the bleeplabs.com database.

Here’s more about the hack.

bleeplabs.com has fallen pray to a WordPress hack. We’ll have it cleared out soon. All that is affected is our Google search results so there is no cause for concern from past or future customers.

You can still securely order on the site as the transactions take place through PayPal.
No customer data was ever stored in the bleeplabs.com database.

Here’s more about the hack.