A computer-implemented system and method for user-controlled processing of audio signals is provided. An audio signal including a reference segment and a segment preceding the reference segment is obtained. A value q is received from a user. Audio buffers in the preceding segment are defined, each having a width of N samples and a starting point a unique number of samples away from the preceding segment's start, based on a division of N by q. One or more of the buffers are transformed into discrete Fourier transform (DFT) buffers. A signature of the signal is generated using at least a portion of the reference segment and at least one of the DFT buffers. A new audio signal is received and a DFT for the audio signal is generated. The new audio signal is determined to match the audio signal based on a comparison of the DFT to the signature.