🎛️ Bus Channel Strip VST Plugin

A professional multi-module bus channel strip VST3/CLAP plugin built with Rust

Built with NIH-Plug, Airwindows DSP, and vizia GUI framework

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✨ Features

🔊 Signal Chain

[🎚️ API5500 EQ] → [🗜️ ButterComp2] → [📻 Pultec EQ] → [⚡ Dynamic EQ] → [🎭 Transformer] → [💥 Punch]

🎛️ DSP Modules

Module	Type	Description
🎚️ API5500 EQ	Semi-Parametric	5-band equalizer with classic API 5500 character
🗜️ ButterComp2	Compressor	Airwindows bi-polar interleaved compression system
📻 Pultec EQ	Tube EQ	Custom EQP-1A style EQ with tube saturation modeling
⚡ Dynamic EQ	Frequency-Dependent	4-band dynamic EQ with intelligent compression
🎭 Transformer	Saturation	Transformer coloration with 4 vintage models
💥 Punch	Clipper + Transient	Transparent clipping with transient restoration for louder, punchier mixes

🚀 Current Status

✅ PRODUCTION READY - Full CI/CD pipeline with automated releases

Component	Status	Description
🔧 Core DSP	✅ COMPLETE	All 6 modules implemented and functional
🎛️ Parameters	✅ COMPLETE	~90 automation parameters with module reordering
🏗️ Build System	✅ COMPLETE	Successful VST3/CLAP bundle creation
🤖 CI/CD Pipeline	✅ WORKING	Multi-platform builds (Windows/macOS/Linux)
🎨 GUI	✅ INTEGRATED	vizia-plug with Skia graphics rendering
📦 Releases	✅ AUTOMATED	GitHub releases with cross-platform binaries

🚀 Quick Start

📦 Download Ready-to-Use Binaries

Recommended for most users

1. Go to Releases
2. Download the package for your platform:
   • 🪟 Windows: Bus-Channel-Strip-windows.zip
   • 🍎 macOS Intel: Bus-Channel-Strip-macos-intel.tar.gz
   • 🍎 macOS ARM64: Bus-Channel-Strip-macos-arm64.tar.gz
   • 🐧 Linux: Bus-Channel-Strip-linux.tar.gz
3. Extract to your VST3/CLAP plugin directory
4. Restart your DAW and enjoy!

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🛠️ Build From Source

🔧 System Requirements

📋 Dependencies

Requirement	Version	Purpose
🦀 Rust Nightly	1.70+	Required for vizia-plug GUI features
🔨 Build Tools	VS 2022	C++ compilation for FFI modules
🪟 Windows SDK	10/11	Windows target compilation
⚡ LLVM/Clang	Latest	Bindgen and cross-compilation

⚡ Quick Build Commands

# 🦀 Install Rust nightly
rustup toolchain install nightly

# 🏗️ Core build (no GUI)
cargo build --no-default-features --features "api5500,buttercomp2,pultec,transformer"

# 🎨 Full build with GUI
cargo +nightly build --features "api5500,buttercomp2,pultec,transformer,gui"

# 📦 Create production bundles (recommended)
set FORCE_SKIA_BINARIES_DOWNLOAD=1
cargo +nightly run --package xtask -- bundle bus_channel_strip --release --features "api5500,buttercomp2,pultec,transformer,gui"

🪟 Windows Build Scripts

For Windows users, automated build scripts are provided:

# 🚀 Simplified build (recommended)
bin\preflight_build_simple.bat

# 🎯 Full build and install to DAW
bin\debug_plugin_simple.bat

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🧪 Testing & Quality Assurance

🎵 DAW Compatibility Testing

DAW	VST3	CLAP	Status	Notes
🎛️ Reaper	✅	✅	Planned	Industry standard compatibility
🎹 Pro Tools	✅	❌	Planned	VST3 support only
🍎 Logic Pro X	✅	❌	Planned	macOS VST3 + AU planned
🎼 Cubase	✅	❌	Planned	VST3 native support
🎶 FL Studio	✅	❌	Planned	Parameter automation testing
🔄 Bitwig Studio	✅	✅	Planned	CLAP native support

Testing Checklist:

• Parameter automation in each DAW
• Preset save/load functionality
• Plugin scanner compatibility
• Real-time performance optimization

🔊 Audio Quality Verification

Test Category	Metrics	Status
📊 THD+N	< 0.01% @ 1kHz	Planned
📈 Frequency Response	±0.1dB 20Hz-20kHz	Planned
⏱️ Phase Response	Linear phase option	Planned
🔄 Sample Rates	44.1-192kHz support	Planned
🚫 Artifacts	Click/pop detection	Planned

Quality Standards:

• ✅ Lock-free real-time processing
• ✅ Allocation-free audio thread
• ✅ Professional parameter ranges
• 🔄 Reference implementation A/B testing

⚡ Performance Benchmarks

Platform	CPU Usage	Memory	Latency
🪟 Windows 11	TBD	TBD	TBD
🍎 macOS 14+	TBD	TBD	TBD
🐧 Linux	TBD	TBD	TBD

Performance Goals:

• < 5% CPU usage @ 44.1kHz/64 samples
• Zero memory leaks in 24h+ sessions
• Sub-millisecond parameter updates
• Stress testing with 100+ instances

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🏗️ Technical Architecture

🔧 Plugin Framework

Component	Technology	Purpose
🦀 Core Framework	NIH-Plug	Modern Rust plugin framework with ~75 parameters
🎨 GUI System	vizia + Skia	CSS-like styling with hardware-accelerated rendering
🔄 Processing	Lock-free/Allocation-free	Real-time audio thread safety
🎛️ Modularity	Dynamic reordering	User-configurable signal chain

📦 Dependencies

🔑 Core Dependencies

nih_plug = { git = "https://github.com/robbert-vdh/nih-plug.git" }    # Plugin framework
vizia_plug = { git = "https://github.com/vizia/vizia-plug.git" }      # GUI integration
biquad = "0.5.0"                                                      # Filter implementations
fundsp = "0.20.0"                                                     # DSP utilities
realfft = "3.5.0"                                                     # FFT processing
augmented-dsp-filters = "2.5.0"                                       # Additional filters

🎨 GUI Dependencies

atomic_float = "0.1"                    # Thread-safe GUI operations
skia-safe = { version = "0.84" }        # Graphics rendering

🔗 FFI Integration

• C++ Airwindows: extern "C" interfaces in cpp/ directory
• Build System: Custom build.rs for C++ compilation

🌍 Platform Support

Platform	Status	Formats	Notes
🪟 Windows	✅ Production	VST3, CLAP	Primary development platform
🍎 macOS Intel	✅ Production	VST3, CLAP	CI/CD automated builds
🍎 macOS ARM64	✅ Production	VST3, CLAP	Native Apple Silicon support
🐧 Linux	✅ Production	VST3, CLAP	Ubuntu 22.04+ LTS
🍎 Audio Units	🔄 Planned	AU	macOS native format

📁 Project Structure

🎛️ bus_channel_strip/
├── 🦀 src/                 # Rust source code
│   ├── lib.rs              # Plugin entry point & parameter management
│   ├── api5500.rs          # 5-band semi-parametric EQ module
│   ├── buttercomp2.rs      # Airwindows ButterComp2 FFI wrapper
│   ├── pultec.rs           # Pultec EQP-1A tube EQ implementation
│   ├── dynamic_eq.rs       # 4-band dynamic EQ (optional feature)
│   ├── transformer.rs      # Transformer saturation module
│   ├── editor.rs           # vizia GUI implementation
│   ├── components.rs       # Reusable GUI components
│   ├── shaping.rs          # Common DSP math functions
│   └── spectral.rs         # FFT analysis utilities
├── 🔗 cpp/                 # C++ FFI wrappers for Airwindows
├── 🎨 assets/              # GUI resources and themes
├── ⚙️ xtask/               # Custom build tooling
├── 🛠️ bin/                 # Build scripts and utilities
├── 🤖 .github/workflows/   # CI/CD automation
└── 📦 target/bundled/      # Output: VST3/CLAP bundles

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🤝 Contributing & Support

📚 Documentation

CLAUDE.md • Development guidelines and AI assistant context

docs/ • Extended documentation:

• AGENTS.md - Original project specifications and architecture
• GUI_DESIGN.md - Complete GUI specifications and responsive design
• PUNCH_MODULE_SPEC.md - Punch module DSP research and implementation
• VIZIA_AGENT_SPEC.md - vizia GUI specialist documentation
• CLIPPING_INSIGHTS.md - Professional loudness techniques

🐛 Issues & Features

Found a bug? Have a feature request? 🔗 Open an Issue • 💬 Discussions

📄 License

GPL-3.0-or-later • Free and open source

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🎵 Ready for Production • September 2025 • Rust + NIH-Plug + vizia + Airwindows