Title of Abstract: Skream Sauce: Building an Audio Sample Looper for Live Performance
Name of Mentor: Frank Mauceri
Mentor’s Organization or Department: Department of Music, Bowdoin College
Research Abstract: My goal was to create a digital musical device to assist my musical expression on guitar. I took inspiration from guitar pedals, musical loopers, and samplers to create Skream Sauce – a hardware sample player and looper. I researched digital-analog conversion, audio compression, and audio amplification. I learned the circuitry necessary to interface with the Raspberry Pi computer. By studying online schematics, I wrote the code necessary to run Skream Sauce’s basic operating procedures. With a functional prototype, I designed and 3D-printed an enclosure, Photo-shopped a design for the exterior, and coated the device with a translucent finish. My research inspired me to continue developing my technical skills to the point where I can contribute to the growing music technology field with my own digital instruments.
Sumer Vaidya ’22