basilica-audio · yves-vogl · Jul 16, 2026 · Jul 16, 2026
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,10 +7,36 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [0.2.0] - 2026-07-16
+
+Deep-dive voicing pass (research-derived, sourced from manuals/forums/physics standards - not measured hardware, see `docs/design-brief.md`'s Honesty section) plus the suite's first M2 preset system implementation (pilot for the other 11 plugins), a German frame-string localisation, and an app icon. Also folds in a run of fixes/housekeeping commits merged after v0.1.0 that never got their own release.
+
+### Changed
+
+- **Distance's low-shelf taper is now front-loaded, not linear** (`docs/design-brief.md`'s "Distance" module spec): real proximity effect concentrates most of its audible change early in a mic's travel and saturates, rather than growing evenly - `CabConvolutionEngine`'s low-shelf cut now scales through an "ease-out" power curve (`1 - (1 - normalisedDistance)^1.8`) instead of plain-linear-in-dB. The high-shelf keeps its linear taper (a deliberate asymmetry - see `docs/architecture.md`'s "v0.2.0 Distance taper" note). **This is parameter-behavior-breaking pre-1.0**: a session with Distance at, say, 60% will sound different after this update, even though the parameter's own range/default are unchanged and no migration is needed (see the design brief's Versioning section).
+- **Doc/manual wording**: replaced "air-absorption darkening" framing for Distance's high-shelf with a directivity-first explanation (`docs/manual.md`, `docs/architecture.md`, `README.md`) - the audible effect is real, but at typical reamping distances it's driven far more by loudspeaker directivity than literal atmospheric absorption.
+- **LoCut/HiCut ranges (20-800 Hz / 2-20 kHz) are now explicitly documented as a deliberate keep**, not an unexamined default, after comparison against the closest structural reference plugin (Ignite Amps NadIR: 10-400 Hz / 6-22 kHz) - see `docs/architecture.md` and the new named regression test in `tests/EngineTests.cpp`. No range or default values changed.
+
+### Added
+
+- **M2 preset system** (`.scaffold/specs/preset-system-m2.md`, binding suite-wide spec - Nave is the pilot implementation): `src/presets/PresetManager` (factory presets embedded via BinaryData, user presets on disk, load/save/rename/delete, dirty-state tracking, prev/next navigation, single-file and zip-bank import/export, user-preset-wins-over-factory default resolution) and `src/presets/PresetBar` (the editor strip, docked at the top of the existing v0.1/v0.2 layout). Written with no Nave-specific coupling beyond a small config struct, documented as a sibling-plugin replication recipe in `docs/preset-system-notes.md`.
+- **8 factory presets** (`presets/factory/*.json`, documented in `docs/presets.md`): Default, Tame the Fizz, Live Stage, Dark Vintage, Pushed Back in the Room, Touch of Room Mic, Even Blend, Parallel Cab (Blended Dry) - sourced starting points from `docs/design-brief.md`, tunable/auditionable, not claimed as hardware-matched.
+- **German frame-string localisation**: `resources/i18n/de.txt`, selected automatically via `SystemStats::getUserLanguage()` for PresetBar's labels/menus/dialogs. Parameter/DSP terminology (LoCut, HiCut, Distance, Mix, Level, Hz, dB, %) is never translated, in this pass or any future one.
+- **App icon wired into the plugin binaries** (`ICON_BIG` in `CMakeLists.txt`, pointing at the icon asset added in v0.1.0's branding pass) - previously only used in docs/README, not embedded in the built AU/VST3/Standalone.
+- `docs/design-brief.md` and `docs/research-notes.md`: the sourced design brief and research notes this release's voicing/doc changes are derived from.
+- Manual now notes that loading two different real-world IRs can land at different output levels because `Convolution::Normalise::yes` is an energy normalisation, not a perceptual loudness match - pointing at Level as the fix (`docs/manual.md`).
+- New Catch2 coverage: Distance taper front-loading/monotonicity test, a fixed-point taper regression snapshot, a named LoCut/HiCut range-guard test, and 16 preset-system tests (`tests/PresetManagerTests.cpp` - round-trip, forward-tolerant import, wrong-plugin/wrong-format refusal, factory preset integrity, default resolution order, dirty-flag lifecycle, prev/next wrap-around, rename/delete guards, single-file and bank import/export).
+
 ### Fixed
 
-- **`convolutionB` not reset on Blend's disengaged->engaged transition** (#12): unlike LoCut/HiCut/Distance, IR B's convolution engine kept no history of its own bypass state, so its internal overlap-add tail could go stale (frozen, not decaying) while Blend was disengaged and then leak into the output the moment Blend re-engaged. `CabConvolutionEngine` now tracks `blendEngagedPreviously` and calls `convolutionB.reset()` on the same disengaged->engaged transition the other stages already handle.
-- **Reloading IR A after IR B silently invalidated IR B's phase alignment** (#13): `setImpulseResponse()`/`loadDefaultImpulseResponse()` recorded IR A's new onset as the phase-alignment reference but never re-ran IR B's alignment against it, leaving an already-loaded IR B aligned to a stale, overwritten onset (reintroducing comb-filtering on the next Blend crossfade). `CabConvolutionEngine` now retains a copy of IR B's raw, pre-alignment buffer and automatically re-aligns it whenever IR A's reference onset changes.
+Carried over from commits merged after the v0.1.0 tag that never shipped in a release:
+
+- **`convolutionB` not reset on Blend's disengaged->engaged transition** (#12, PR #18): unlike LoCut/HiCut/Distance, IR B's convolution engine kept no history of its own bypass state, so its internal overlap-add tail could go stale (frozen, not decaying) while Blend was disengaged and then leak into the output the moment Blend re-engaged. `CabConvolutionEngine` now tracks `blendEngagedPreviously` and calls `convolutionB.reset()` on the same disengaged->engaged transition the other stages already handle.
+- **Reloading IR A after IR B silently invalidated IR B's phase alignment** (#13, PR #18): `setImpulseResponse()`/`loadDefaultImpulseResponse()` recorded IR A's new onset as the phase-alignment reference but never re-ran IR B's alignment against it, leaving an already-loaded IR B aligned to a stale, overwritten onset (reintroducing comb-filtering on the next Blend crossfade). `CabConvolutionEngine` now retains a copy of IR B's raw, pre-alignment buffer and automatically re-aligns it whenever IR A's reference onset changes.
+
+### Other
+
+- Housekeeping merged between v0.1.0 and this release, honestly summarised rather than omitted: branding/icon assets added and embedded in README/manual (#9, #14), a tag-triggered signed release CI workflow (#10), a marketing-copy reframe from "symphonic metal" to "heavy music" (#15), and a README fix pointing at the Releases page instead of a stale "no releases yet" note (#17).
 
 ## [0.1.0] - 2026-07-14
 

diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -5,11 +5,11 @@ Per-repo working memory for Claude Code sessions on this plugin. Part of the **B
 ## What this is
 Nave is the "cabinet IR loader / convolution (guitar & bass)" member of the suite. AU / VST3 / Standalone, JUCE 8.
 
-## Status (v0.1.0 — M1 DSP completion & test coverage done)
-Core DSP working, **50 Catch2 tests green**, CI (macOS + Windows, pluginval strictness 10 + auval) green. GUI is a functional v0.1 slider editor (custom LookAndFeel is roadmap M3). No signing yet (roadmap M4). M1 added IR Blend (dual-IR crossfade with inter-IR phase alignment) and simulated mic Distance; the "bundled IR library" part of M1's DSP issue is deferred (asset-sourcing/licensing, not a DSP task — see the issue comment on #1). Open work is tracked in this repo's GitHub **milestones/issues**.
+## Status (v0.2.0 — M2 preset system + deep-dive voicing pass done)
+Core DSP working, **73 Catch2 tests green**, CI (macOS + Windows, pluginval strictness 10 + auval) green. GUI is a functional v0.1/v0.2 slider editor plus a preset bar (custom LookAndFeel is still roadmap M3). No signing yet (roadmap M4). v0.2.0 shipped: a research-derived Distance taper revision (front-loaded low-shelf, see `docs/design-brief.md`), the suite's first M2 preset system implementation (`src/presets/`, pilot for the other 11 plugins - see `docs/preset-system-notes.md` for the replication recipe), 8 factory presets, a German frame-string localisation, and the app icon wired via `ICON_BIG`. The "bundled IR library" part of M1's DSP issue remains deferred (asset-sourcing/licensing, not a DSP task — see the issue comment on #1). Open work is tracked in this repo's GitHub **milestones/issues**.
 
 ## DSP
-Nave is a cabinet IR loader built around two independent juce::dsp::Convolution slots (IR A, IR B), each constructed with the default zero-latency, uniformly-partitioned configuration (Convolution::Latency{0}), chosen because reamping IRs are short and the workflow is latency-sensitive. Signal chain: Convolution (crossfade of IR A/IR B via the IR Blend parameter) -> Distance (simulated mic-to-cab distance: proximity low-shelf + air-absorption high-shelf) -> LoCut HPF -> HiCut LPF -> juce::dsp::DryWetMixer (delay-compensated, currently 0 samples) -> Level trim. LoCut's minimum (20 Hz), HiCut's maximum (20 kHz), and Distance's minimum (0%) are each treated as explicit "off"/bypass positions where the engine skips that filter's IIR processing entirely (not just an extreme cutoff/gain) — this was necessary because even a 2nd-order Butterworth many octaves outside a test tone still imposes enough phase shift to fail a strict -80 dBFS sample-domain null; skipping it entirely gives a true bit-accurate passthrough at the default state (IR Blend defaults to 0%, i.e. IR A only, which is bit-identical to the pre-M1 single-IR path). Loading IR B applies inter-IR phase alignment (src/dsp/IrAlignment.{h,cpp}: onset detection via a relative-threshold crossing, then a time-domain shift) against IR A's most recently loaded onset, so blending the two never introduces comb-filtering from a timing mismatch. Both IR files' absolute paths are persisted as plain ValueTree properties on apvts.state (not APVTS float parameters), round-tripping automatically through copyState()/replaceState(); file I/O only ever happens off the audio thread (editor FileChooser callbacks or setStateInformation, both message-thread/session-load contexts).
+Nave is a cabinet IR loader built around two independent juce::dsp::Convolution slots (IR A, IR B), each constructed with the default zero-latency, uniformly-partitioned configuration (Convolution::Latency{0}), chosen because reamping IRs are short and the workflow is latency-sensitive. Signal chain: Convolution (crossfade of IR A/IR B via the IR Blend parameter) -> Distance (simulated mic-to-cab distance: a front-loaded/"ease-out"-tapered proximity low-shelf + a linear directivity-darkening high-shelf, v0.2.0) -> LoCut HPF -> HiCut LPF -> juce::dsp::DryWetMixer (delay-compensated, currently 0 samples) -> Level trim. LoCut's minimum (20 Hz), HiCut's maximum (20 kHz), and Distance's minimum (0%) are each treated as explicit "off"/bypass positions where the engine skips that filter's IIR processing entirely (not just an extreme cutoff/gain) — this was necessary because even a 2nd-order Butterworth many octaves outside a test tone still imposes enough phase shift to fail a strict -80 dBFS sample-domain null; skipping it entirely gives a true bit-accurate passthrough at the default state (IR Blend defaults to 0%, i.e. IR A only, which is bit-identical to the pre-M1 single-IR path). Loading IR B applies inter-IR phase alignment (src/dsp/IrAlignment.{h,cpp}: onset detection via a relative-threshold crossing, then a time-domain shift) against IR A's most recently loaded onset, so blending the two never introduces comb-filtering from a timing mismatch. Both IR files' absolute paths are persisted as plain ValueTree properties on apvts.state (not APVTS float parameters), round-tripping automatically through copyState()/replaceState(); file I/O only ever happens off the audio thread (editor FileChooser callbacks or setStateInformation, both message-thread/session-load contexts).
 
 ## Build & test
 ```sh

diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ set(CMAKE_OSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET "11.0" CACHE STRING "Minimum macOS deployment ta
 # here at the top level avoids it being enabled implicitly deeper inside
 # JUCE's CMake helpers, which has been observed to break Ninja's generate
 # step (missing CMAKE_C_COMPILE_OBJECT rule variable).
-project(Nave VERSION 0.1.0 LANGUAGES C CXX)
+project(Nave VERSION 0.2.0 LANGUAGES C CXX)
 
 set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 20)
 set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
@@ -52,6 +52,28 @@ juce_add_plugin(Nave
     NEEDS_MIDI_INPUT FALSE
     NEEDS_MIDI_OUTPUT FALSE
     IS_MIDI_EFFECT FALSE
+    ICON_BIG "docs/assets/icon.png"
+)
+
+# ==============================================================================
+# Embedded assets: M2 preset system factory presets (presets/factory/*.json)
+# and the M2 i18n frame's German translation (resources/i18n/de.txt). See
+# src/presets/PresetManager.h and src/presets/Localisation.h - both consume
+# these purely via BinaryData:: symbols passed in from PluginProcessor.cpp/
+# PluginEditor.cpp, never by including BinaryData.h themselves, so they stay
+# portable to sibling plugins (see docs/preset-system-notes.md).
+# ==============================================================================
+
+juce_add_binary_data(NaveBinaryData SOURCES
+    presets/factory/default.json
+    presets/factory/tameTheFizz.json
+    presets/factory/liveStage.json
+    presets/factory/darkVintage.json
+    presets/factory/pushedBackInTheRoom.json
+    presets/factory/touchOfRoomMic.json
+    presets/factory/evenBlend.json
+    presets/factory/parallelCabBlendedDry.json
+    resources/i18n/de.txt
 )
 
 # ==============================================================================
@@ -87,9 +109,11 @@ target_link_libraries(SharedCode INTERFACE
     juce::juce_audio_formats
     juce::juce_audio_utils
     juce::juce_dsp
+    juce::juce_gui_basics
     juce::juce_recommended_config_flags
     juce::juce_recommended_lto_flags
     juce::juce_recommended_warning_flags
+    NaveBinaryData
 )
 
 target_link_libraries(Nave PRIVATE SharedCode)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
@@ -19,7 +19,8 @@ Nave is a cabinet impulse-response (IR) loader built on JUCE 8, aimed at reampin
 - **IR loading, two independent slots** - load any WAV/AIFF impulse response into IR A and/or IR B via file choosers; loading happens off the audio thread and never blocks or allocates during playback
 - **IR Blend** - crossfades between IR A and IR B (e.g. two cabs, or two mic positions on the same cab), with automatic inter-IR phase alignment so blending never introduces comb-filtering from a timing mismatch between the two IRs
 - **Zero-latency convolution** - `juce::dsp::Convolution`'s zero-latency uniformly partitioned algorithm for both IR slots, so Nave never adds plugin delay compensation overhead
-- **Distance** - simulated mic-to-cab distance (reduced proximity-effect bass + high-frequency air-absorption darkening as the value increases); an explicit "off" position at its default
+- **Distance** - simulated mic-to-cab distance (a front-loaded proximity-effect bass cut plus high-frequency darkening - driven far more by loudspeaker directivity than literal air absorption at reamping distances - as the value increases); an explicit "off" position at its default
+- **Presets** - 8 factory presets plus full user preset save/load/import/export (single files and zip banks), with German frame-string localisation
 - **LoCut** - post-convolution high-pass, 20 Hz - 800 Hz (default 20 Hz, an explicit "off"/bypassed position), removes low-end mud
 - **HiCut** - post-convolution low-pass, 2 kHz - 20 kHz (default 20 kHz, also an explicit "off" position), tames fizz
 - **Mix** - dry/wet, default 100% (fully wet) - a cabinet IR is normally run fully in the signal path
@@ -58,7 +59,7 @@ Full musical context and usage tips: [`docs/manual.md`](docs/manual.md).
 |---|---|---|
 | M0 | Bootstrap - project skeleton, CI, docs | Done |
 | M1 | DSP completion & test coverage - IR Blend, Distance emulation, inter-IR phase alignment, broadened Catch2 suite | Done (IR browser + bundled IR library deferred - see issue tracker) |
-| M2 | Presets & state recall - preset system, factory presets | Planned |
+| M2 | Presets & state recall - preset system, factory presets, DE frame localisation | Done |
 | M3 | GUI & accessibility - custom LookAndFeel, accessibility pass | Planned |
 | M4 | Release - code signing, notarization, installers, v1.0.0 | Planned |
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