BruceJames.studio
DeepPerfection
A three-plugin system for low-end clarity
DEEPPERFECTION / SEND / SUM
- 01Overview and what's new in 2.0.002
- 02The lineup — three plugins, one license03
- 03How it works04
- 04Installation and authorization05
- 05Quick start — the original kick and bass06
- 06MultiTrack — the bridge and signal flow07
- 07MultiTrack setup — Sends and the Sum08
- 08Interface tour — the original09
- 09Parameter reference — the original10
- 10MultiTrack Sum reference and null calibration12
- 11Behaviour modes and the display13
- 12Tips and recipes14
- 13FAQ, limitations and troubleshooting15
- 14License and contact17
01 · Overview
All your low end, one decision
DeepPerfection 2.0.0 grows from a single sidechain plugin into a three-plugin system for low-end clarity. The original processor is unchanged. Alongside it, a new MultiTrack workflow lets up to eight prioritised low-end sources — kick, sub, bass, 808, toms — be ranked and resolved inside one processing instance, in any DAW, even hosts that only allow a single sidechain.
What's new in 2.0.0
Priority-ranked multitrack processing for up to 8 sources · z-order ducking · fill-only output · master detection with red null-target markers · two new plugins (Send and Sum). One purchase, one license, three plugins.
Drop-in upgrade
The original keeps its name, plugin code, CLAP id, and parameters, so existing sessions reload with nothing to swap. The two MultiTrack plugins are purely additive — new entries in your browser.
02 · The system
The lineup
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Three plugins, one license. The original does exactly what it always did; the two MultiTrack plugins add a priority-ranked workflow on top, without touching it.
DP
DeepPerfection
The original processor · unchanged
The kick-and-bass deficit-fill processor with Main and L/R sidechain inputs. Identical to 1.x in name, parameters, and sound.
Goes on the track or bus, exactly as before.
SND
DeepPerfection MultiTrack Send
A lightweight tap · ungated
Publishes a track into the shared bridge under a chosen role. A single Role dropdown is its only control.
Goes on each low-end source track, plus one on the mix bus set to Master.
SUM
DeepPerfection MultiTrack Sum
The processor · reads up to 8 sources
Reads the prioritised sources from the bridge and outputs only the corrective fill. Eight Trims, enable toggles, and the fill controls.
Goes on a return or aux bus, blended back into the mix.
One license, ungated Send
All three authorize against your existing DeepPerfection license. The Send is an ungated router, so you can scatter as many as you need across a session at no extra cost.
Which do I reach for?
One kick against one bass — use the original with a sidechain. Three or more low-end sources, or a host with only one sidechain — use Sends + the Sum.
Three ideas explain almost everything DeepPerfection does: why low end cancels, how the plugin reconstructs the sum, and why the routing is purely additive.
01Why the low end cancels
Two sounds occupying the same low frequencies rarely line up in phase. Where one waveform pushes up while the other pulls down, the energy subtracts instead of adding. The result is a sum that is weaker than either part on its own — the kick loses its thud, the bass loses its body, and turning either up just makes the problem louder. Compression and EQ cannot fix it because nothing is wrong with the individual tracks; the loss happens only when they meet.
02Reconstructing the sum, not squashing it
DeepPerfection takes the main signal and a reference from the sidechain, and continuously estimates what their combined low end should be if it added up cleanly. It then synthesizes fill to make up the difference inside a band you define. Because the fill is generated rather than carved from the existing signal, there is no compression pumping and no tonal smearing — you get the weight back with the transients intact.
03Additive routing
The plugin's output is purely additive. The source it sits on passes through, the sidechain source plays as it always did, and DeepPerfection adds only the synthesized fill on top:
Signal sum
A + fill + B = A + B + fill
This is the most important change to understand if you used an older build. You no longer mute or silence the sidechain source. Its track routes normally to the master alongside everything else; DeepPerfection only contributes the missing energy. Nothing is subtracted from your mix.
Changed in 1.2.0
Earlier guides told you to mute the second source's output and let the plugin reproduce it. That is no longer correct. Output is additive only — leave the sidechain track routed to master as usual.
The MultiTrack Sum applies the same principle to many sources at once: it reads up to eight prioritised inputs from the bridge and outputs only the corrective fill — the same signal you'd hear from the original's Null Test. See page 07.
04 · Setup
Installation and authorization
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All three plugins run on macOS and Windows in VST3, AU, and CLAP — a universal macOS binary, 10.13 or later. One installer places everything; compatible DAWs scan the folders automatically.
Install
- Close your DAW before installing so it rescans plugins on the next launch.
- Run the installer and accept the license agreement. On Windows the VST3 and CLAP builds install to C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3 and the CLAP folder alongside it; on macOS the AU build installs to /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components and VST3 to /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3.
- Launch your DAW and let it rescan. Three plugins will appear: DeepPerfection, MultiTrack Send, and MultiTrack Sum. If they do not show, trigger a manual rescan or add the folders above to your plugin paths.
- Insert the one you need. The original goes on the track that carries one of two clashing sources, usually the kick. For three or more sources, place a Send on each and a Sum on a return bus — see page 07.
Authorization
Enter the license key from your purchase confirmation when prompted. All three plugins authorize against the same DeepPerfection license — and the Send is an ungated router that needs no activation at all. Once accepted, the key is stored and applies to every instance on that machine. If you rebuild or replace a system drive, software activations are not part of a normal file backup, so you will need to reactivate; this is expected and not a fault in the plugin.
Demo mode
Before authorization DeepPerfection runs in demo mode. It processes audio normally but introduces periodic brief silences, which lets you evaluate the correction fully before purchase without committing the sound to a render.
Plugin scan and updates
If your host failed to scan the plugin on an early build, update to 1.2.2 or later, where the scan issue was fixed, and rescan. For updates, DeepPerfection checks brucejames.studio/version.txt and shows an indicator in the window when a newer build is available. Updates install over the existing version and preserve your presets and project state.
05 · Get going
Quick start — the original
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The classic kick-and-bass recipe with the original plugin, start to finish, in under five minutes. For three or more sources, skip to the MultiTrack workflow on page 07.
Track AKickDeepPerfection inserted here
→
Sidechain inBass refBass also routes to master as normal
→
MasterA + B + fillRestored low end
- Insert DeepPerfection on the kick track. Leave the bass track exactly as it is, still routed to the master.
- Route the bass to the plugin's sidechain input. In most hosts this is a sidechain or key-input selector on the DeepPerfection instance. Do not mute or re-route the bass — it plays normally and feeds the sidechain in parallel.
- Set the starting patch. Mode GREATER, Threshold around −18 dB, Sweep / Target End at 120–150 Hz, HPF / Target Start low, Dry/Wet 100%.
- Play the section and raise More. Bring More up until the low end fills back in and feels solid. Watch the white Output trace in the display lift toward where it should be.
- Confirm with Bypass. Toggle Bypass to A/B against the uncorrected sum. The corrected version should feel weightier and more even, not louder for its own sake.
Recommended default patch
Threshold ≈ −18 dB · Sweep / Target End 120–150 Hz · HPF / Target Start low · Mode GREATER · Dry/Wet 100% · Saturation 20–30%. A good neutral starting point for most kick-and-bass pairings.
No sidechain in your host?
Some hosts hide sidechain routing. In Logic, send the bass to an aux bus and select that bus as DeepPerfection's sidechain input. See the FAQ for the per-host note.
06 · MultiTrack
The bridge and signal flow
06
MultiTrack sidesteps the host's routing limits entirely. Instead of one sidechain, every source publishes itself into a shared-memory bridge, and the Sum reads them all back in perfect time.
1Kick
2Bass
3808
4Sub
…up to 8
MMix bus → Master
→
Shared-memory bridge
ring buffer indexed by
absolute host sample position
→
01Sample-aligned by the playhead
The bridge is a ring buffer indexed by absolute host sample position. Each Send writes at the playhead; the Sum reads two blocks behind, so the data is always present regardless of plugin process order, and every source plus the master line up exactly in time.
02Latency keeps the dry mix aligned
Each Send delays its pass-through by the same budget and reports it as latency, so host delay compensation keeps the dry mix lined up with the Sum's output — the duck and the null cancel cleanly. The Send path adds a fixed ~2-block latency (it is a mixing tool, not a tracking one); the original DeepPerfection adds none.
Why a bridge at all
Ableton and Logic give you a single sidechain. The bridge moves audio between instances outside the host's routing graph, so priority across eight sources works the same in every DAW.
07 · MultiTrack
Setup — Sends and the Sum
07
Tap each source with a Send, give it a priority, point one Send at the master, and process them all in a single Sum on a return bus.
- Put a MultiTrack Send on each low-end source. Open its one control — the Role dropdown — and pick Priority 1 through 8. Priority 1 is king: rank your most important element first.
- Add one more Send on the mix bus, set to Master. This lets the Sum measure each source's real level in the full mix for null calibration.
- Insert MultiTrack Sum on a return or aux bus. It reads every published source from the bridge and outputs only the corrective fill — nothing of the dry signal it isn't fixing.
- Blend the return into the mix to taste. Because the Sum is fill-only, the return level is how much correction you add. Start low and bring it up until the low end locks.
- Dial Trims to the red marks. With the Master Send present, each Trim shows a red null-target marker — the setting that nulls that source. Set each knob to its mark, with Null off. Nothing is auto-applied.
The Send · one control
A MultiTrack Send has a single Role dropdown: Priority 1 through Priority 8 for your ranked sources, plus Master for the one Send on the mix bus. Priority 1 wins ties — rank your most important low-end element there.
No two ranked Sends should share a number; the Master Send is what unlocks the red null-target marks on the Sum's Trims.
Z-order resolution
Per band, the highest-priority source present wins; lower priorities yield to it. A transient on a higher priority momentarily ducks everything beneath it, so the priority element punches through cleanly — an inverted, time-aligned signal that nulls against the dry mix at the master.
Read detection with Null off
Calibration and the null picture are exact during playback, where you mix — not while stopped — because alignment tracks the playhead. With Null on, a source is already cancelled in the master, so its target correctly reads near zero.
08 · Reference
Interface tour — the original
08
A header strip with the A/B buttons and licence box, a large analysis display with the live restore readout, the Priority and Behavior toggles, and three labelled knob groups — Target, Extra, and Levels — along the bottom.
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1BypassTrue-bypass A/B against the uncorrected sum.
2NullSubtracts both input and sidechain to verify the fill.
3Title and statusPlugin name and demo or licensed state.
4Licence boxAuthorization and preset state, top right.
5restore readoutHow much fill is being added right now.
6Analysis displayThe two sources, Output, and Fill across the band.
7Priority — Input / SidechainWhich source leads in Priority behavior.
8Behavior — Priority / Greater / WaveThe three correction modes.
9Target StartLower edge of the fill band. Target group.
10Target EndUpper edge of the fill band.
11ThresholdLevel above which fill engages.
12MoreAmount of fill added. Extra group.
13SaturateHarmonic colour on the synthesized fill.
14TightenSubtracts the sidechain transient to clear mush.
15WindowTime window over which Tighten acts.
16SC TrimTrims the internal sidechain reference. Levels group.
17OutputOutput level of the processed signal.
18Dry / WetBlend of corrected against original.
08 · Reference
Interface tour — MultiTrack Sum
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The Sum shares the original's header, display, and fill controls, and adds a row of eight Trims with enable toggles — one per prioritised source read from the bridge.
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1BypassTrue-bypass A/B against the uncorrected mix.
2NullCancels a calibrated source against the master to verify alignment.
3Licence boxAuthorization and preset state, top right.
4restore readoutHow much fill is being added across all sources.
5Analysis displayThe summed sources, output, and fill across the band.
6Trim 1–8 + enableOne Trim per priority; the toggle above enables that source. Red mark = null target.
7Target groupTarget Start, Target End, Threshold — the fill band.
8Target StartLower edge of the fill band.
9ThresholdLevel above which fill engages.
10More / Extra groupMore, Saturate, Tighten, Window — the fill character.
11WindowTime window over which Tighten acts.
12Output / Levels groupOutput level of the fill return.
13Dry / WetBlend of corrected fill against the dry return.
Trims and the red marks
Each Trim balances one source's contribution to the sum. With a Master Send present, a red null-target marker appears on each Trim during playback — set the knob to its mark to null that source. Nothing is applied automatically.
06 · Reference
Parameter reference
06
Every control in the order you meet it. Ranges and starting points are for DeepPerfection 2.0.0.
Detection and band
| Control | Range | Start | Behaviour |
|---|
| Threshold | level | ≈ −18 dB | Sets the level the sum must exceed before fill engages, so quiet passages and tails are left alone and only the parts that matter are corrected. |
| Target Start | 20–100 Hz | low | The lower edge of the fill band. Raise it to keep the very bottom out of the correction and focus fill higher up. |
| Target End | 60–160 Hz | 120–150 Hz | The upper edge of the fill band. Everything between Target Start and Target End is where DeepPerfection reconstructs the sum. |
The fill
| Control | Range | Start | Behaviour |
|---|
| More | amount | to taste | How much synthesized fill is added to restore the sum. Bring it up until the low end feels solid; back off if it starts to sound heavy or boomy. |
| Saturate | 0–100% | 20–30% | Adds harmonic colour to the fill so it reads on smaller speakers that cannot reproduce the fundamental. A little gives the restored low end presence; a lot makes it gritty. |
| Output | dB | 0 dB | Output level of the processed signal, for gain-matching against bypass. (Replaces the former "Low Band Gain" label.) |
| Dry/Wet | 0–100% | 100% | Blends the corrected signal against the original. Full wet is normal; lower it only to ease the effect in. |
Target Start and Target End together
Think of Target Start and Target End as the two edges of a window. Fill is generated only inside it, and both edges track live in the display — so you can see exactly which part of the spectrum is being rebuilt.
06 · Reference
Parameter reference
06
Tighten 1.3.0
| Control | Range | Start | Behaviour |
|---|
| Tighten | amount | 0 | Subtracts the sidechain transient from the sum to clear the mush where two sources collide on the same hit. Now active in 1.3.0. Raise it when the low end sounds cluttered rather than weak. |
| Window | ms | short | The length of time over which Tighten does its transient subtraction. Short windows act only on the initial collision; longer windows reach further into the body of the note. |
Sidechain reference 1.3.0
| Control | Range | Start | Behaviour |
|---|
| SC Trim | ±24 dB | 0 dB | Trims the internal sidechain reference that feeds both the fill and Tighten. Use it when the sidechain source arrives much louder or quieter than the main signal, so detection sees a balanced pair. Does not change what the sidechain track sends to your mix. |
| Priority (Input / Sidechain) | toggle | Input | Under the Priority heading. Chooses which source leads when Behavior is set to Priority. Input is the track DeepPerfection sits on; Sidechain is the keyed source. |
A/B and verification
| Control | Type | Behaviour |
|---|
| Bypass | A/B | True bypass of the correction, for an honest before/after. Match Output to bypass so you judge the effect and not a level change. |
| Null Test | verify | Subtracts both the input and the sidechain from the output. When the result falls silent, the fill is perfectly reconstructing the sidechain's contribution to the sum — a quick way to trust the correction. (Updated in 1.2.0 to subtract both sources.) |
Tighten versus More
They pull in opposite directions on purpose. More adds energy when the sum is too weak; Tighten removes the colliding transient when the sum is too cluttered. Most pairings want one or the other, not both at once.
07 · Deep dive
Behavior modes and the display
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The Behavior modes decide which source the correction follows; the display shows you the result of that decision in real time.
The three modes
The source you pick with the Priority toggle — Input or Sidechain — always leads, and the fill is built to follow it. Reach for this when one source should clearly define the low end and the other should fall in behind it, such as a kick that must always anchor the beat.
Greater
greater wins
Default
Whichever source is momentarily greater wins, hit by hit. This is the most natural setting for most kick-and-bass material because it lets the louder event of the moment lead and keeps the groove breathing. Start here.
Follows the trajectory of the combined waveform rather than picking a winner, for the smoothest reconstruction when the two sources are closely interwoven. Use it on sustained or melodic basslines where hard switching would sound restless.
Reading the display
Four signals are overlaid across the fill band, and a correlation strip runs above them. The band's edges follow your knobs: the left edge tracks Target Start and the right edge tracks Target End, both live as you turn them.
Correlation
Restore 10.7%
◂ Target Start
Target End ▸
Input — the track the plugin is on
Sidechain — the keyed source
Output — the corrected sum
Fill — what is being synthesized
Schematic. The correlation strip reads green when the two sources are in phase, yellow when marginal, and red when they fight. Watch the white Output trace rise to meet where the sum should sit as you raise More.
08 · Practice
Tips and recipes
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Starting points, not rules. Set the band first, then choose how the correction behaves, then trust your ears.
01The default kick-and-bass patch
Insert on the kick, route the bass to the sidechain, and load the recommended patch: Behavior Greater, Threshold around −18 dB, Target End 120–150 Hz, Target Start low, Dry/Wet 100%, Saturate 20–30%. Raise More until the bottom feels whole. This handles most material before you touch anything else.
Behavior GreaterThreshold −18 dBTarget End 120–150 HzMore up to taste
02Four-on-the-floor, kick leads
When the kick must anchor every beat, switch Behavior to Priority and set the Priority toggle to Input (the kick track). The fill follows the kick so the bass never steals the downbeat. Keep the band tight around the kick's fundamental.
Behavior PriorityPriority InputTarget End tight
03Independent, melodic bass line
For a bass that moves on its own under a busy kick, choose Wave so the correction follows the combined trajectory instead of switching hit by hit. It reconstructs the sustained notes smoothly and avoids a restless, pumping feel.
Behavior WaveTarget Start lowMore moderate
04Clear the mush instead of adding weight
If the problem is clutter rather than weakness — two sources smearing into each other on the same hit — leave More low and bring up Tighten. Shorten the Window to act only on the initial collision, lengthen it to reach into the note's body.
Tighten upWindow short → longMore low
05Trust it, then commit
Balance the sidechain reference with SC Trim if the two sources arrive at very different levels, run a Null Test to confirm the fill is reconstructing the sum, then gain-match Output to Bypass so your A/B is honest. Only then decide whether it is helping.
SC Trim balanceNull Test verifyOutput match bypass
09 · Support
FAQ and troubleshooting
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Do I still mute the second source like the old guide said?
No. Since 1.2.0 the routing is additive: A + fill + B = A + B + fill. Leave the sidechain source routed to the master as normal. DeepPerfection only adds the synthesized fill on top — it never replaces either track.
My host has no sidechain input, or I cannot find it.
Most DAWs expose a sidechain or key-input selector on the plugin instance. In Logic, route the second source to an aux bus and select that bus as DeepPerfection's sidechain input. The source still plays to the master in parallel; the bus only feeds the plugin's detection.
The plugin did not show up when my DAW scanned it.
An early build had a scan problem that was fixed in 1.2.2. Update to 1.2.2 or later, confirm the VST3, AU, and CLAP folders are in your host's scan paths, and trigger a rescan or restart.
Is there latency I need to account for?
DeepPerfection uses a short lookahead and reports about 5 ms of latency to the host. Your DAW's delay compensation handles it automatically, so the corrected track stays in time with the rest of the mix.
The low end sounds heavy or boomy now.
You are likely adding more fill than the sum needs. Lower More, raise the Threshold so quiet material is left alone, or narrow the band with Target Start and Target End. If the issue is clutter rather than weight, reach for Tighten instead of More.
How do I know the correction is actually working?
Run the Null Test: it subtracts both the input and the sidechain from the output, so when the result goes silent the fill is reconstructing the sum correctly. Then toggle Bypass, with Output matched, to hear the before and after.
The sidechain source is much louder than the main track.
Use SC Trim to balance the internal reference by up to ±24 dB. It only affects what detection sees; it does not change what the sidechain track sends to your mix.
Which mode should I start with?
GREATER, the default. It lets whichever source is momentarily greater lead, which suits most kick-and-bass material. Move to Priority when one source must always anchor, or Wave for smooth, sustained basslines.
DeepPerfection asks for activation after a system rebuild.
Software activations are not part of a normal file backup, so after replacing a drive you will need to reactivate. This is expected. If an older saved instance keeps prompting, recreating that project resolves it; new instances are unaffected.
10 · Legal
License and contact
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License
Use of DeepPerfection is governed by the end user license agreement included with the distribution as license.txt. Please refer to that file for the full terms. Your purchase authorizes installation under the conditions described there.
Included files
The distribution archive contains the installer along with readme.txt for installation notes, changelog.txt for version history, and license.txt for the agreement. The readme is the canonical source for installation details.
Before you write in
Including your DAW, its version, your operating system, and the plugin format you are running helps support resolve issues faster.
DeepPerfection
Automatic low-end phase correction · macOS and Windows · VST3, AU, and CLAP
Generated for DeepPerfection 2.0.0 — verify controls against the plugin.
