Click here to download!

This is a Python script to organize and convert your samples for the M8 tracker. You'll run this tool on the command-line - instructions below.

Watch a video on how to use this tool.

M8 Sample Organizer

The M8 is a delightful, gameboy-shaped sampler, sequencer and synthesizer.

But if you've ever tried loading your sample library on it, you've probably run into problems:

• Many samples don't load or play correctly
• Folder and file names are too long
• Navigating layers of folders is tedious

M8 Sample Organizer cleans it up! It turns samples from your library like this:

• Capsun - Lo-Fi Soul & Future Beats
• / CPA_CAPSUN_Lo_Fi_Soul___Future_Beats
• / Drums___Percussion
• / Drum___Perc_One_Shots
• / Snare
• / CLF_Snare_Chunk.wav

into:

• Capsun_Lo_Fi_Soul_&_Future_Beats
• / Drums_Percussion_Perc_One_Shots_Snare
• / CLF_Snare_Chunk.wav

It does lots of cleanup:

• Converts audio files to M8-approved 16-bit WAV files
• Removes duplicate words, punctuation and common filler phrases (like processed and final)
• Simplifies layers of folders into one level
• Detects new files added to your library each time you run it

Instructions

This is a command-line tool, so you'll need to open a Terminal or cmd.exe shell to run it.

Install Python

Python is pre-installed on most computers - try the command python --version or python3 --version to see if it exists.

Otherwise, you can install it from Python.org. Note the installation path for later reference.

Install FFmpeg

FFmpeg is a free, industry-standard tool used to convert and format audio files for use on the M8.

Note the installation path for later reference.

Download the M8 Sample Organizer

Click here to download the M8 Sample Organizer code. Unzip the contents.

Set up the config file

In the M8 Sample Organizer folder, there's a file called config.yml-sample. Rename this file to config.yml.

Then edit the SRC_FOLDER, DEST_FOLDER, and FFMPEG_PATH to point at your audio library and FFmpeg. DEST_FOLDER is where this tool will create files, so be sure to set it someplace safe!

You can also configure any additional cleanup settings to your liking, add new strike words, etc.

Install yaml

We need a Python library for reading the configuration file - install it by running this command:

python3 -m pip install pyyaml

(If python3 fails, try just python instead.)

Run the tool

Finally, navigate to the m8-sample-organizer-main folder and run the following command:

python3 src/m8-sample-organizer.py

That's it! You'll see as it begins to copy and convert your sample library.

As you add more samples to your library, you can rerun this tool - by default, any existing files will be ignored, so only new ones will be processed.