I’ll pick up the existing run in place, first reading the project and run notes so the next edit is based on the current bottleneck rather than restarting the process.
Based on a real day; names and selected personal details have been changed or omitted.
example-id-0044
The run is already well into iteration, with current best around 0.552 and the next logged bottleneck pointing at a gentler EQ tilt. I’ll gather the full harness bundle now and locate the song research guide path before making a single focused change.
The current patch keeps the MIDI locked and uses two identical sustained layers, with the support layer now very low. The likely next test is logged already: back off the EQ tilt slightly from the accepted +6/-5/-8 curve to see if the earlier spectral/pitch regression recovers without losing movement.
There is already a scored candidate_27_quarter_eq_tilt in the same run directory, but it has not been promoted in the report or logged. Its final score is 0.552181, a small real improvement over 0.551971, so I’m going to accept that existing candidate instead of creating duplicate work.
I’m going to promote candidate_27_quarter_eq_tilt: copy its session/render to the current artifacts, append a history item, and update reconstruction_report.json best scores to the measured loss. This is bookkeeping around an already-scored focused change, not a new run.
The accepted candidate still has too much low-mid/presence energy and too many detected onsets. I’ll test a narrow filter-character change next: reduce resonance/drive on both layers so the low-pass cutoff is less peaky, while keeping notes, timing, delay, EQ, gains, and mix fixed.
The soft-filter candidate is a meaningful improvement: final 0.5846, mainly from spectral timbre and patch-control gains, with the arrangement still preserved. I’ll promote it and log the decision, then continue from the new bottleneck.
With the filter peak under control, the remaining onset count still reads high. I’ll try a modest delay trim on top of the accepted patch, since the delay is the main repeated-onset generator and the previous delay trim was tested before this softer-filter state.
The delay trim did not solve the onset count and lost a bit of final score, so I’m rejecting it. The clearer remaining mismatch is band balance: bass is still low and low-mid is high, so I’ll test a slightly stronger EQ tilt again now that the filter resonance is less peaky.
The stronger EQ tilt now helps slightly under the softened filter state: final 0.5850, with better spectral/patch-control and cleaner band balance. I’ll accept it, then test the limit cautiously because loudness and pitch dipped.
The stronger EQ step over-darkened the patch and reduced final, so I’m rejecting it. Since delay trimming did not reduce onset count, I’ll test a small amp attack increase next; it targets transient/onset density without changing the MIDI, delay timing, or tonal EQ.
The slower attack made onset detection worse and lowered final, so I’m rejecting it. I’ll inspect the current best loss details again before the next move, because the remaining gains are probably not in simple delay or transient controls.
The current best has good envelope and stereo, but modulation rate is still far from the reference: measured around 0.40 Hz versus about 3.81 Hz. I’ll retest a very light 3.8 Hz sidechain pump on the current soft-filter patch; earlier pump attempts were before the big timbre fixes.
The pump made the detector see the intended 3.83 Hz rate, but depth was too high and final dropped. That is a useful bottleneck result, but not worth keeping; I’ll try a much subtler pump depth to see if the rate cue can be retained without damaging timbre.
The subtle pump is a solid improvement: final 0.6106, with modulation_identity jumping from 0.682 to 0.758 while keeping the rate cue near 3.83 Hz. I’ll promote it and continue tuning around that new state.
Now that the pump is accepted, I’ll tune only its depth downward. The aim is to keep the 3.8 Hz cue but recover some spectral/groove loss from the 0.45 dB pump.
At 0.30 dB the detector loses the fast modulation cue, and final falls back, so I’m rejecting it. I’ll test a small upward move from the accepted 0.45 dB depth instead, to see whether there is a better sweet spot before the 1.5 dB failure point.
The 0.60 dB pump also regressed, so 0.45 dB remains best. The pump reduced spectral timbre, so I’ll now test backing the EQ one notch toward the earlier quarter tilt while keeping the accepted 0.45 dB pump.
The gentler EQ with the pump improves final to 0.6114, mostly by recovering loudness/groove/pitch while preserving the pump’s modulation score. I’ll promote it; the next useful test is a midpoint EQ between the two pump states.
The EQ midpoint is a small improvement and reduces the onset count back to 67, so I’ll accept it. The centroid now starts slightly dark and ends too dark versus the reference, so the next focused test is a tiny upward filter cutoff move, leaving pump and EQ fixed.
The brighter filter moved the end centroid closer but worsened band balance and final, so I’m rejecting it. The accepted filter cutoff stays. I’ll try one more focused onset/spectral control: lower only the delay high-cut, keeping delay timing/mix and pump fixed.
The delay high-cut change is effectively neutral but slightly improves final, so I’ll keep it because it is a measured improvement and does not disturb the arrangement. After promoting it, I’ll audit the run state and repository status.
Continued the existing run 20260511_170540_goal_first5 only. Best score improved from 0.551971 to 0.611544.
Accepted new best candidates:
candidate_27_quarter_eq_tiltcandidate_28_soft_filtercandidate_30_soft_filter_mild_eqcandidate_34_subtle_pumpcandidate_37_pump_quarter_eqcandidate_38_pump_mid_eqcandidate_40_delay_highcut_2400
Current report state:
best_scores.final:0.6115435841874791arrangement_preservation:1.0- latest accepted step:
candidate_40_delay_highcut_2400
Goal is not complete yet because the required threshold is >= 0.8. Main remaining blockers logged in goal_run_log.md: spectral timbre around 0.623, pitch chroma around 0.531, and onset count 67 vs source 44.
No commit/push was made because git status shows no tracked changes; the run directory is ignored. No deploy workflow was run; I found only a build script, no deployment target.
I’ll continue from the existing run state and re-read the required files plus the harness report before choosing the next single patch change.
The run is at 0.61154, still below the 0.8 gate, and the recent log shows progress flattening around timbre/pitch/onset density. I’ll inspect the harness bundle and loss diagnostics, then make one focused change from the current best.
The diagnostics show the biggest weighted gate is still timbre, with bass low and low-mid/presence high; pitch also remains weak. One low-risk focused test is to reduce the duplicate support layer again under the current pump/EQ state, because earlier layer reduction helped timbre before the later pump changes.
The support-layer reduction improved final to 0.61423, mainly through better global mix, loudness, modulation, rhythm, and spectral timbre. I’ll promote this candidate and log it before the next iteration.
Since reducing the duplicate support layer helped, I’ll test the limit with a near-muted support layer and very small main compensation. This keeps the arrangement and effects fixed, isolating only the layer balance.
Near-muting the support layer gives another small gain to 0.61454, mostly through spectral timbre and modulation. I’ll accept it, then test whether fully removing the support contribution continues to help or starts thinning the stereo/mix.
Fully muting the support layer improves spectral timbre but loses enough envelope/groove/stereo to regress. I’ll reject it and tune the accepted near-muted balance instead, starting with a tiny main-layer level reduction to see if it recovers loudness/groove without losing timbre.
The lower main gain also regressed, so the accepted 7.35/-22 balance remains best. The current patch still uses triangle-like sources despite the research pointing to MicroKORG-style saw/pulse; I’ll test only the primary layer’s oscillator family next, leaving mix/effects/automation fixed.
The square-saw source helped modulation and onset count but broke loudness/groove hard, so I’m rejecting it. Since stereo has been falling as the support layer got quieter, I’ll test a small Juno-style chorus on the current best to recover width without reintroducing the duplicate layer.
The chorus test reduced onset count from 67 to 60 and improved timbre/rhythm/modulation, but it damaged envelope and final. I’ll reject that version and try a much smaller chorus amount to see if we can keep some onset/timbre benefit without the loudness penalty.
The micro chorus still reduced onset count and improved timbre, but final stayed lower because envelope/groove/stereo dropped. I’ll reject it and inspect the current best component details before the next move, since the obvious chorus and support-layer knobs are near their limits.
The current best’s weakest beat slice is the very start: source RMS is about 0.034, candidate is only 0.002 because the onset-taming gain point starts at -18 dB. I’ll test a focused adjustment to make only the initial gain ramp less deep, leaving the MIDI and all effects unchanged.
Raising the initial ramp floor improved final to 0.61741; it fixed part of the first-slice envelope mismatch and improved modulation without breaking the arrangement. I’ll promote it and then test the ramp limit carefully.
The first slice is still under target after the accepted ramp change, but onset count worsened slightly. I’ll test a modest additional lift to -9 dB, changing only that first gain point.
The additional initial lift is a major improvement: final jumps to 0.66735, with loudness floor nearly open and onset count back to 67. I’ll promote it and then test one more smaller step toward the source’s first-slice RMS.
The -6 dB initial floor opens loudness fully but loses too much modulation/patch control, so it regresses. I’ll reject it and test a midpoint at -8 dB, which may keep most of the loudness gain without overcorrecting.
The -8 dB midpoint still underperforms the accepted -9 dB floor, so I’ll leave the ramp there. Since the onset ramp changed the envelope, I’ll retune the subtle pump depth around the accepted state; a tiny depth increase may recover modulation without the earlier 0.60 dB penalty.
The 0.50 dB pump depth regressed slightly, mostly from timbre/global mix, so I’ll reject it. I’ll test the other side at 0.40 dB; the new onset ramp may keep the fast-rate cue even with a little less pump.
The lighter 0.40 dB pump improves the best to 0.66812, recovering timbre/global mix while keeping the fast-rate cue. I’ll promote it and continue from that state.
The accepted 0.40 dB pump suggests there may be a little more room before the rate cue disappears. I’ll test 0.35 dB as a single pump-depth change from the new best.
At 0.35 dB the detector loses the fast modulation rate, so 0.40 dB is the lower useful pump limit. I’ll reject that and retest a small delay mix/feedback trim under the new ramp/pump state, since onset count is still the main structural penalty.
The delay trim reduces onset count to 66 and improves envelope/groove/rhythm/stereo, but final is still a hair below best because timbre/pitch dip. I’ll reject that amount and try a half-strength delay trim.
The half delay trim improves final to 0.66820 and reduces onset count to 66 without the full trim’s timbre penalty. I’ll promote it.
The delay optimum is narrow, so I’ll test a very small move back toward the previous delay amount: mix 0.155, feedback 0.235. This isolates whether the half trim overshot timbre/pitch slightly.
The midpoint back toward the old delay amount lost the onset improvement and regressed, so I’m rejecting it. The initial ramp is still the strongest lever; I’ll test a slightly deeper floor at -10 dB to see whether modulation/patch control improves without losing too much loudness gate.
The -10 dB ramp floor improves final to 0.66941, with better modulation/control and onset score while keeping the loudness gate. I’ll promote it and then test whether the optimum is a little deeper still.
The deeper -11 dB floor loses the loudness gate, so -10 dB is the local best. I’ll reject it and test a focused compression change to raise the remaining loudness floor without changing the gain ramp or MIDI.
Stronger compression hurts modulation and timbre badly, so I’m rejecting it. I’ll move back to the main timbre bottleneck and retest a slightly stronger bass EQ tilt under the current ramp/delay/pump state.
The stronger EQ tilt now helps under the current ramp/delay state: final improves to 0.67093, with better timbre, envelope, rhythm, stereo, and band balance. I’ll promote it.
The EQ direction is helping again, but stronger settings have over-darkened in older states. I’ll test a quarter-step stronger tilt from the new best rather than jumping to the previously rejected strong setting.
The score command is still running; I’m waiting for it to finish rather than starting a parallel candidate, so the iteration stays clean.
The quarter-step stronger EQ improves final again to 0.67137, with better timbre, rhythm, stereo, and band balance. I’ll promote it.
After the stronger EQ, the centroid is now too dark relative to the source. I’ll test a very small filter cutoff lift, smaller than the earlier rejected brightening, to recover centroid without undoing the EQ band gains.
The filter-lift scoring run is taking longer than usual but is still active. I’m continuing to wait for that result before deciding whether to keep or reject the candidate.
The small filter lift regressed, so the darker cutoff is better despite centroid mismatch. I’ll reject that and test the next EQ step directly; if it over-darkens, we’ll have the current EQ ceiling.
The strong-EQ score is still running. I’m holding on this candidate until the scorer returns so the log has a real accept/reject decision.
The full strong EQ over-darkens and lowers final, so I’ll reject it. I’ll inspect the current best loss components again to choose the next non-EQ lever instead of repeating the same ceiling test.
Current diagnostics show the structural penalty is still held by onset count, while timbre is the weighted gate. Chorus previously reduced onsets but was tested before the current ramp/delay/EQ state, so I’ll retest a very small chorus amount on the current best.
The current micro-chorus score is still running. I’m waiting for the scorer so I can make the accept/reject call from measured output.
The current-state micro chorus works this time: final improves to 0.67492, onset count drops to 65, and timbre/modulation/rhythm improve. I’ll promote it and then test whether a slightly higher chorus amount still helps or starts hurting envelope again.
The 0.035 chorus candidate is still scoring. I’m waiting for completion before making the log decision.
More chorus at 0.035 improves final to 0.67699 and onset count to 64, with better timbre/modulation/rhythm. I’ll promote it, then test the next small chorus step.
The 0.05 chorus score is still active. I’m continuing to wait; no file changes will be promoted until its score is available.
The 0.05 chorus step improves again to 0.67890, with onset count down to 59 and better rhythm/timbre/modulation. I’ll promote it, then test a smaller next increment toward the known-too-wet range.
The 0.065 chorus amount strongly improves onset/timbre/rhythm but collapses loudness_floor, so I’m rejecting it as-is. Because that candidate exposes a clear bottleneck, I’ll test the same chorus amount with only the initial gain floor restored from -10 dB to -9 dB to see if the loudness gate can be kept open.
The 0.065 chorus with gain compensation is still just below the 0.05 best, despite better onset/timbre. I’ll reject it and test a smaller midpoint at 0.055 without changing the accepted gain ramp.
The 0.055 chorus midpoint is still below the 0.05 best, so I’ll reject it. The accepted chorus has stronger structure but slightly lower loudness/groove; I’ll test a small initial-ramp lift from -10 to -9.5 with chorus held at 0.05.
I’m picking up from the existing run and first promoting the last scored improvement so the report/current session reflect the actual best candidate before testing the next small change.
The inspection confirms the run is still the same MIDI-locked first-five-second bundle. I’m applying the already-scored candidate 71 as the current best, then I’ll probe one nearby parameter instead of making a broad rewrite.
Candidate 71 is now the official best at 0.679098. The next focused test is the adjacent initial-gain point, moving only the first automation point from -9.5 dB to -9.0 dB on both layers while leaving the accepted chorus, delay, EQ, and MIDI untouched.
That JSON edit targeted the wrong shape: layers is an array in this session file, not an object. I’m correcting the candidate file using layer IDs so the run stays clean and the change remains exactly the same parameter test.
The -9.0 dB initial floor improves final by a very small amount to 0.679106. It costs modulation and patch-control, but the accepted criterion is score improvement with onset unchanged, so I’m promoting it and then I’ll test whether this gain ramp has already reached its ceiling.
The run bundle is still consistent after promotion. I’m testing one more adjacent initial-floor value, -8.5 dB, to see if the tiny loudness/groove gain continues or if modulation/identity loss overtakes it.
The -8.5 dB candidate still improves, again by a tiny margin, with onset fixed. I’m accepting it, but the trend shows modulation and patch-control falling, so the next test will be a ceiling check rather than continuing blindly.
After inspection, the accepted score is still far below the 0.8 target, so I’m doing the planned ceiling check at -8.0 dB. If it is flat or worse, I’ll stop this ramp path and move back to timbre/chorus/delay parameters.
The -8.0 dB ceiling check is worse: loudness and timbre rise slightly, but modulation/patch-control drop enough to reduce final. I’m rejecting it and leaving candidate 73 as current best, then shifting back to a timbre/stereo parameter around the accepted chorus point.
The current best has the gain floor at the local peak and Juno mix at 0.050. I’m making a narrow chorus test next: Juno mix 0.052 with electric-piano chorus_mix 0.102, leaving everything else unchanged.
The chorus nudge is a real improvement to 0.679389. It drops one onset and some envelope scores, but rhythmic texture, timbre, stereo, and final improve, so I’m promoting it and will bracket the chorus value next.
The run state is stable at 0.679389. I’m testing the next chorus bracket, Juno 0.054 with chorus_mix 0.104, as a single-parameter continuation from the accepted 0.052 setting.
The 0.054 chorus bracket is worse than 0.052, even though timbre/stereo/pitch improve. I’m rejecting it and next I’ll disentangle the two chorus controls by keeping Juno at 0.052 while returning chorus_mix to 0.100.
The accepted candidate changed both Juno mix and chorus_mix together, so I’m isolating chorus_mix now. This test keeps Juno at 0.052 and lowers only electric-piano chorus_mix from 0.102 back to 0.100.
Returning chorus_mix to 0.100 is worse; the extra 0.002 chorus_mix is carrying most of the rhythmic-texture gain. I’m rejecting that and keeping the accepted 0.102 setting before moving to delay fine-tuning.
With chorus bracketed, I’m testing a very small delay-mix lift from 0.150 to 0.155 on both active layers. This aims at rhythmic texture while leaving the accepted chorus/gain/EQ/filter state unchanged.
The 0.155 delay mix is clearly worse; it improves some timbre/global measures but harms the rhythmic and envelope scores that matter here. I’m rejecting it and checking the opposite direction, a slight delay-mix trim to 0.145.
The slight delay trim improves final to 0.679821, mainly through envelope/groove/rhythmic texture/stereo. I’m accepting 0.145 as the new best, then I’ll bracket one more step lower to find the delay-mix peak.
The accepted delay trim put the score at 0.679821. I’m testing 0.140 delay mix now; this is still a single delay-mix bracket with all synth, chorus, gain, and MIDI values fixed.
Delay mix 0.140 improves again, now 0.680178. I’m accepting it; the pattern is clear enough to test one more lower bracket, while watching spectral timbre and global mix, which are slipping.
The official best is now 0.680178. I’m testing delay mix 0.135 as the next lower bracket, still touching only the delay mix on both layers.
The scorer is taking longer on this candidate than prior runs, but it is still running and there’s no indication of a failed process. I’m waiting for completion rather than starting another scoring job against the same run directory.
The 0.135 delay mix run finished and improves again to 0.680445. It’s still trading off spectral/global scores, but the final score and groove/envelope gains are decisive, so I’m promoting it.
The run report now reflects 0.680445. I’m testing delay mix 0.130 as one more lower bracket; same two delay mix fields only, no MIDI or synth-source changes.
This score job is again slow but still active, similar to the prior delay bracket. I’m continuing to wait so the candidate has a clean scored result before any decision.
Delay mix 0.130 still improves, but the gains are shrinking and spectral/global scores keep falling. I’m accepting it, then I’ll run a final lower-bracket check at 0.125 before moving away from delay mix.
The 0.125 delay-mix score is still running, which matches the slower behavior of the last two lower-delay candidates. I’m holding for the result so the accept/reject decision is based on the same scoring path.
The 0.125 delay mix is worse than 0.130, so the delay-mix peak is around 0.130. I’m rejecting 0.125 and switching to the next adjacent delay control, a small feedback trim from 0.23 to 0.22.
The feedback candidate is taking the slower scoring path too. I’m waiting it out so we don’t mix partial artifacts with the current best.
Feedback 0.22 is worse than the current 0.23 at delay mix 0.130. I’m rejecting that and checking the opposite side at 0.24 before leaving feedback.
The 0.24 feedback score is still active. I’m waiting for its completed loss report before deciding, because the recent scorer latency is variable but has been finishing cleanly.
Feedback 0.24 beats the current best slightly, at 0.680594. I’m accepting it; the gain is small, so the next feedback bracket will check 0.25 once before moving on.
The report is updated to 0.680594. I’m checking feedback 0.25 as the upper bracket, changing only the two delay feedback fields.
The feedback 0.25 candidate is still scoring; I’m continuing to wait for the loss report rather than interrupting a potentially valid run.
Feedback 0.25 improves again to 0.680652, with diminishing but positive returns. I’m accepting it and will test one more upper step, since feedback is still moving final in the right direction.
The accepted best is 0.680652. I’m testing feedback 0.26 now, still changing only the two feedback values.
The 0.26 feedback score is still running. These later candidates have consistently taken longer, so I’m waiting for a normal completion.
Feedback 0.26 improves again to 0.680690, though the step size is now very small. I’m accepting it and recording the state; after that I’ll need to move to a different parameter family unless one more upper bracket still justifies itself.
The run is consistent at 0.680690. I’m doing one last feedback bracket at 0.27; if it is not a clear gain, feedback is done.
Feedback 0.27 is effectively flat but slightly worse than 0.26, so I’m rejecting it and leaving the current best at 0.680690. I’ll record that cutoff and check the worktree before reporting the current state.
Current best is now 0.6806895389055243 in text2fx_gemini/ui_runs/20260511_170540_goal_first5/reconstruction_report.json.
Accepted improvements this pass:
- candidate 71 through 73: initial gain floor improved to
-8.5 dB - candidate 75: Juno chorus
0.052, chorus_mix0.102 - candidate 79 through 82: delay mix optimized to
0.130 - candidate 85 through 87: delay feedback optimized to
0.26
Rejected and logged: candidates 74, 76, 77, 78, 83, 84, and 88. The latest local peak appears to be delay mix 0.130 and feedback 0.26; next useful area is filter/EQ/timbre, not more delay feedback.
I did not commit or push because git status --short is clean; the run directory is ignored (!! text2fx_gemini/ui_runs/20260511_170540_goal_first5/). The 0.8 target is not met yet.
I’m continuing the same ignored UI run and will avoid redoing the completed delay/chorus brackets. I’ll refresh the current run state, then make one focused next change in the filter/EQ/timbre area as the last log recommended.
The current best is 0.680690, still below 0.8. Delay parameters are locally bracketed, and the weakest high-weight area is spectral timbre, so I’m going to try one focused EQ/timbre adjustment: slightly less aggressive high cut on both layers to recover spectral/global match without touching MIDI or rhythm.
Less high cut made spectral/global worse, so that direction is rejected. I’ll log it and test the opposite small step, a slightly stronger high cut, because the current timbre remains a high-weight bottleneck.