diff --git a/packages/core/util.mjs b/packages/core/util.mjs
index 2b190c82..f6223475 100644
--- a/packages/core/util.mjs
+++ b/packages/core/util.mjs
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ Copyright (C) 2022 Strudel contributors - see <https://github.com/tidalcycles/st
 This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU Affero General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 */
 
+import { logger } from './logger.mjs';
+
 // returns true if the given string is a note
 export const isNoteWithOctave = (name) => /^[a-gA-G][#bs]*[0-9]$/.test(name);
 export const isNote = (name) => /^[a-gA-G][#bsf]*[0-9]?$/.test(name);
@@ -84,6 +86,18 @@ export const midi2note = (n) => {
 // modulo that works with negative numbers e.g. _mod(-1, 3) = 2. Works on numbers (rather than patterns of numbers, as @mod@ from pattern.mjs does)
 export const _mod = (n, m) => ((n % m) + m) % m;
 
+export function nanFallback(value, fallback) {
+  if (isNaN(Number(value))) {
+    logger(`"${value}" is not a number, falling back to ${fallback}`, 'warning');
+    return fallback;
+  }
+  return value;
+}
+// round to nearest int, negative numbers will output a subtracted index
+export const getSoundIndex = (n, numSounds) => {
+  return _mod(Math.round(nanFallback(n, 0)), numSounds);
+};
+
 export const getPlayableNoteValue = (hap) => {
   let { value, context } = hap;
   let note = value;
diff --git a/packages/soundfonts/fontloader.mjs b/packages/soundfonts/fontloader.mjs
index 2f214cad..c2f6a19c 100644
--- a/packages/soundfonts/fontloader.mjs
+++ b/packages/soundfonts/fontloader.mjs
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
-import { noteToMidi, freqToMidi, _mod } from '@strudel.cycles/core';
+import { noteToMidi, freqToMidi, getSoundIndex } from '@strudel.cycles/core';
 import { getAudioContext, registerSound, getEnvelope } from '@strudel.cycles/webaudio';
 import gm from './gm.mjs';
-import { getSoundIndex } from '../superdough/util.mjs';
 
 let loadCache = {};
 async function loadFont(name) {
diff --git a/packages/superdough/sampler.mjs b/packages/superdough/sampler.mjs
index 9dd0d2f5..754ccf9b 100644
--- a/packages/superdough/sampler.mjs
+++ b/packages/superdough/sampler.mjs
@@ -33,8 +33,9 @@ export const getSampleBufferSource = async (s, n, note, speed, freq, bank, resol
   const ac = getAudioContext();
 
   let sampleUrl;
+  let index = 0;
   if (Array.isArray(bank)) {
-    const index = getSoundIndex(n, bank.length);
+    index = getSoundIndex(n, bank.length);
     sampleUrl = bank[index];
   } else {
     const midiDiff = (noteA) => noteToMidi(noteA) - midi;
@@ -46,13 +47,13 @@ export const getSampleBufferSource = async (s, n, note, speed, freq, bank, resol
         null,
       );
     transpose = -midiDiff(closest); // semitones to repitch
-    const index = getSoundIndex(n, bank[closest].length);
+    index = getSoundIndex(n, bank[closest].length);
     sampleUrl = bank[closest][index];
   }
   if (resolveUrl) {
     sampleUrl = await resolveUrl(sampleUrl);
   }
-  let buffer = await loadBuffer(sampleUrl, ac, s, n);
+  let buffer = await loadBuffer(sampleUrl, ac, s, index);
   if (speed < 0) {
     // should this be cached?
     buffer = reverseBuffer(buffer);