diff --git a/packages/superdough/README.md b/packages/superdough/README.md
index 0c6e4f14..f5947d83 100644
--- a/packages/superdough/README.md
+++ b/packages/superdough/README.md
@@ -153,6 +153,7 @@ samples('github:tidalcycles/dirt-samples')
 
 The format is `github:<user>/<repo>/<branch>`.
 
+If `<repo>` and `<branch>` are not specified, they will default to `samples` and `main` respectively.
 It expects a `strudel.json` file to be present at the root of the given repository, which declares the sample paths in the repo.
 
 The format is also expected to be the same as explained above.
diff --git a/packages/superdough/sampler.mjs b/packages/superdough/sampler.mjs
index f229cd33..3232fa47 100644
--- a/packages/superdough/sampler.mjs
+++ b/packages/superdough/sampler.mjs
@@ -121,13 +121,20 @@ function githubPath(base, subpath = '') {
   if (!base.startsWith('github:')) {
     throw new Error('expected "github:" at the start of pseudoUrl');
   }
-  let [_, path] = base.split('github:');
+  let path = base.slice('github:'.length);
   path = path.endsWith('/') ? path.slice(0, -1) : path;
-  if (path.split('/').length === 2) {
-    // assume main as default branch if none set
-    path += '/main';
+
+  let components = path.split('/');
+  let user = components[0];
+  let repo = components.length >= 2 ? components[1] : 'samples';
+  let branch = components.length >= 3 ? components[2] : 'main';
+  let other = components.slice(3);
+  if (subpath) {
+    other.push(subpath);
   }
-  return `https://raw.githubusercontent.com/${path}/${subpath}`;
+  other = other.join('/');
+
+  return `https://raw.githubusercontent.com/${user}/${repo}/${branch}/${other}`;
 }
 
 export const processSampleMap = (sampleMap, fn, baseUrl = sampleMap._base || '') => {