ABSTRACT
Lo-Fi Sampler is a quick and dirty sampler and looper circuit. It doesn’t sound like a computer program, a full-blown hardware sampler from the 1990s, or even a contemporary looping pedal. It’s lo-fi, gritty, pauses at the beginning of the loop, and clicks on playback, but it has lots of character, it is cheap and fun. The ISD1820 integrated circuit is designed to record and play back voice messages in greeting cards, warning signals, vending machines, etc. Its circuitry is optimized for recording and playing back the constricted frequency range of the human voice, so don’t expect hi-fi. It sounds like a cheap radio. The most challenging part of this project is getting hold of the integrated circuit. Sampling at a low speed will result in lower quality, but one can speed up the sample more on playback. A high sampling speed will give a better audio quality and the option of lowering the playback speed.
