boxofrules/bass-betterer

Bass Better-er is an audio plugin for bass guitar that turns a plain direct-input recording into a fully produced, studio-ready sound without needing a physical amplifier, microphone setup, or complex routing. You drop it onto a bass track in your recording software and it does the heavy lifting automatically. The plugin works by splitting your single bass signal into five parallel layers, each responsible for a different frequency range and sonic character. The SUB layer handles the deep foundation you feel in your chest. LOW CLEAN adds warmth and body. LOW FX brings grit and aggression, with an optional fuzz effect. ROOM wraps everything in a sense of space. A fifth strip lets you blend the original dry signal back in if you want it. Each of these layers was built from real studio recordings, not simulated approximations, so the result has a natural quality that is difficult to fake with standard effects. Every layer has its own set of controls: volume, mute, solo, stereo placement, and a phase flip switch. There is also a sidechain option that ducks one layer automatically when the grit hits, so the low frequencies do not fight the distortion. A master input knob drives the overall signal (and also affects how hard the fuzz responds), a GLUE knob applies gentle compression to blend all the layers into one coherent sound, and an output knob sets the final level. A spectrum display lets you see what the plugin is adding compared to the raw input. The plugin supports AU, VST3, and standalone formats on macOS, Windows, and Linux. It reports zero latency to the host, runs on very little CPU (around one to two percent of a single core in typical use on Apple Silicon), and works automatically in mono or stereo depending on your track. Settings save with your project, and a small preset menu includes factory starting points like Hysterical, Subby, and Clean Stack. The project is aimed at musicians and producers who want a finished bass tone quickly, without studying signal chains or buying hardware. The influence list (Royal Blood, Tool, Muse) gives a clear sense of the target sound: big, harmonically rich low end. The source code and a benchmark tool are included for those who want to look under the hood.