Files
bass-foundry/docs/planish
nvrl c06d193b18 feat(planish): add Planish harmonic OTT
Upward and downward compression in four bands whose edges are harmonic
numbers of the tracked note (default 1, 2-4, 5-16, 17 and up), so the
same setting squashes the same harmonics on every note. A fixed-band
OTT puts harmonic 2 of F1 and of C2 in different bands.

- Three Linkwitz-Riley splits at sqrt(k(k+1)) x f0 with allpass
  compensation; at Depth 0 the bands sum within 0.05 dB.
- Band level is the RMS over one period of the note, so heavy settings
  do not ripple at f0: a 40 Hz sine at Drive +12 dB, Time 10 % gets no
  harmonics above -110 dB.
- At Depth 100 % on a saw, harmonics 1-12 change by the same amount on
  F1, C2 and G2 (within 0.2 dB).
- Depth, Drive (on the detector only), Upward, Downward, Time, a gain
  per band; edges Low 1-8, Mid 2-16, High 3-48 with four splits.
- Pitch from audio with about 67 ms lookahead, or from MIDI.
- Editor: harmonic ruler with draggable edges, level and gain per band.
- Catalog, workflows, editor-check, docs, signal chain and site copy.
2026-11-06 12:51:49 +01:00
..

Planish

Planish is upward and downward compression (OTT) in four bands whose edges are harmonic numbers of the played note. Current version 0.1.0.

Planishing hammers a metal surface smooth and even. OTT does the same to a bass: it pushes loud bands down and lifts quiet ones, and it is on almost every riddim patch. A normal OTT splits the bands at fixed frequencies, though. A split at 88 Hz and 2.5 kHz puts harmonic 2 of F1 in the low band but harmonic 2 of C2 in the mid band, so the same setting squashes different harmonics on every note. Planish moves its band edges with the note: with the default split, band 1 is the fundamental, band 2 harmonics 2–4, band 3 harmonics 5–16 and band 4 everything above, on F1 as on G2.

Planish

Install on Windows

Copy Planish.clap into C:\Program Files\Common Files\CLAP\. In FL Studio 2024.1 or newer, open Options → Manage plugins, enable Verify plugins, and Find installed plugins. Load Planish in a mixer slot of the bass. Keep the font license with redistributed packages.

Work with it

  1. Play the bass. The note readout shows what Planish tracks. The ruler at the top shows harmonics 1–64 and the four bands; the columns below show each band's level (steel) and gain (pink for a cut, blue for a lift).
  2. Choose a split, or drag an edge on the ruler:
    • Classic (1, 2–4, 5–16, 17+, the default): fundamental on its own.
    • Sub + body (1–2, 3–6, 7–24, 25+): the octave stays with the sub.
    • Tight (1, 2, 3–8, 9+): close control of the first harmonics.
    • Wide top (1, 2–3, 4–32, 33+): one big mid band, the top is fizz only.
  3. Set the amount:
    • Depth blends each band with its compressed copy. 0 % is a clean sum of the bands; the default is 50 %.
    • Drive moves the band levels against the thresholds: more drive, more squash. It does not change the level by itself.
    • Upward and Downward scale the two directions. Downward pushes a band above −30 dB down at about 20:1; Upward lifts a band below −42 dB at about 4:1, by at most 24 dB.
    • Time scales every attack and release. Lower bands are slower: at 100 %, attack is 30, 15, 8 and 4 ms and release 200, 160, 120 and 90 ms from band 1 to band 4.
  4. Band 1–4 set each band's gain after its compressor. Like the compression, they are scaled by Depth.

Output trims the level. Bypass crossfades to the delayed dry signal.

Pitch from MIDI

For basses whose fundamental is unclear (heavy FM, formant or noise patches), and when Planish comes after Knurl, select MIDI and route the bass's MIDI notes to Planish. In FL Studio, set the bass channel's MIDI output port and Planish's input port to the same number. Gate sets the input level that counts as a note in AUDIO mode. Snap to semitone rounds the detected pitch; it is off by default, because the level is measured over one period of the pitch in use, and a detuned patch fits its real period better.

Measured

  • At Depth 0 the bands sum flat: sines from 35 Hz to 12 kHz come out within 0.05 dB.
  • The same setting changes the same harmonics on every note. At Depth 100 % on a saw bass, harmonic 1 is cut by 13.6 dB on F1, C2 and G2; harmonics 1–12 differ by less than 0.2 dB between the three notes.
  • No ripple at the fundamental. A 40 Hz sine at Drive +12 dB and Time 10 % gets no harmonics above −110 dB.

Timing and limits

Planish delays the audio by about 67 ms of pitch-detection lookahead and reports it to the host for delay compensation, so the edges are on the new note when its attack leaves the plugin. Pitch range is 30–500 Hz, one note at a time. Before the first note the edges sit on 55 Hz; between notes they hold the last note.

An edge is a slope, not a wall. The crossovers are 24 dB per octave, so the harmonics next to an edge partly reach the next band, by the same amount on every note. Both channels get the same gain per band, so the stereo image does not move. Quiet signals below about −84 dB are not lifted, so noise floors and tails stay down.

Planish detects the pitch like Lathe and Temper. Put it before Knurl, or use MIDI: see Signal chain.

How it works

A note tracker (shared with Anvil, Lathe, Temper and Knurl) detects pitch and note starts ahead of the delayed audio. Three Linkwitz–Riley crossovers split the signal at √(k(k+1)) × f0, halfway in log frequency between harmonic k and k+1, and allpasses keep the lower bands in phase with the upper ones, so the bands sum to an allpass. The crossovers retune every 16 samples and glide with Smooth on bends. Each band's level is the RMS over exactly one period of the note, so a steady note gives a steady level and the gain does not wobble at f0. The level goes through attack and release smoothing, then a static curve with an upward and a downward threshold sets the gain.