Clarity Module — Dynamic Mud, Mid & Air Reduction

Reduces low-mid mud (~350 Hz), boxes mids (~1.2 kHz), and tames harshness (~4 kHz) using three parallel bandpass filters feeding independent compressors, mixed back with the dry signal via clarityAmount.

Files

static/js/synth/modules/clarity.js (~260 lines)

Signal Flow

input ──→ split ──→ [SC HPF]? ──→ mudBPF → mudComp → mudMakeup → mudPhase → mudListen →┐
                               ├──→ midBPF → midComp → midMakeup → midPhase → midListen →├→ wetSum → wetGain → output
                               ├──→ airBPF → airComp → airMakeup → airPhase → airListen →┘         → dryGain → output
                               └──→ dry path (muted when any listen solo or wet-only on)

When clarityAmount <= 0 and no listen/solo band is active, the module is completely bypassed — returns input unchanged.

Parameters

Master controls

Param	Range	Default	Description
`clarityAmount`	0–1	0	Wet/dry mix. 0 = bypassed
`clarityWetOnly`	off/on	off	Mute dry signal, hear only processed bands
`claritySCFreq`	20–500 Hz	100	HPF before each band's compressor (prevents low-frequency triggering)

Mud band (low-mid)

Param	Range	Default	Description
`mudFreq`	200–800 Hz	350 Hz	Bandpass centre frequency
`mudQ`	0.5–5	2	Bandpass filter Q (bandwidth)
`mudThresh`	–40–0 dB	–18 dB	Compressor threshold
`mudRatio`	1–10	3	Compression ratio
`mudAttack`	0.001–0.1 s	0.01 s	Compressor attack
`mudRelease`	0.01–0.5 s	0.05 s	Compressor release
`mudMakeup`	0–12 dB	0	Post-compression gain boost
`mudListen`	off/on	off	Solo this band
`mudPhase`	normal/invert	normal	Polarity invert (fixes phase cancellation)
`mudBypass`	off/on	off	Bypass processing for this band

Mid band

Param	Range	Default	Description
`midFreq`	500–3000 Hz	1200 Hz	Bandpass centre frequency
`midQ`	0.5–5	1	Bandpass filter Q
`midThresh`	–40–0 dB	–18 dB	Compressor threshold
`midRatio`	1–10	3	Compression ratio
`midAttack`	0.001–0.1 s	0.008 s	Compressor attack
`midRelease`	0.01–0.5 s	0.04 s	Compressor release
`midMakeup`	0–12 dB	0	Post-compression gain boost
`midListen`	off/on	off	Solo this band
`midPhase`	normal/invert	normal	Polarity invert
`midBypass`	off/on	off	Bypass processing

Air band (high-mid)

Param	Range	Default	Description
`airFreq`	2000–8000 Hz	4000 Hz	Bandpass centre frequency
`airQ`	0.5–5	1	Bandpass filter Q
`airThresh`	–40–0 dB	–15 dB	Compressor threshold
`airRatio`	1–10	4	Compression ratio
`airAttack`	0.001–0.05 s	0.005 s	Compressor attack
`airRelease`	0.01–0.3 s	0.03 s	Compressor release
`airMakeup`	0–12 dB	0	Post-compression gain boost
`airListen`	off/on	off	Solo this band
`airPhase`	normal/invert	normal	Polarity invert
`airBypass`	off/on	off	Bypass processing

Listen/solo logic: When any band has Listen: on, all other bands and the dry signal are muted — only that band passes through to the output. Multiple bands can be listened to simultaneously (acts as a solo-group).

Phase invert: Inverts the polarity of the band's output by inserting a GainNode with gain −1 before the wet sum. Useful when bandpass filters introduce phase shifts that cause cancellation when mixed back with the dry signal.

Bypass: Routes the split input directly to the band's output, skipping the BPF and compressor. The band's signal still passes through, just unprocessed.

Exports

Export	Signature	Purpose
`paramDefs`	—	30 parameter definitions for UI generation
`build`	`(ctx, params, chainInput, dur)`	Create clarity chain or return `chainInput` if bypassed
`update`	`(nodes, params)`	Update all compressor, filter, gain, listen, phase, and bypass parameters

Integration

Added to any engine's modules array as a processor type. The backward loop in buildLiveChain wires it automatically between the previous processor and masterGain.

{
  id: 'clarity', label: 'Clarity', colour: '#2ecc71', type: 'processor',
  description: 'Reduces low-mid mud and high-mid harshness using band-specific compression.',
  noSeqRandomise: true,
  noSectionLock: true,
  params: clarityMod.paramDefs,
  build: function (ctx, params, input, dur) { return clarityMod.build(ctx, params, input, dur); },
}

Flags

noSeqRandomise: true — protected from sequencer randomise
noSectionLock: true — no lock icon in UI (mix-critical settings)
All params have lockable: false — individual lock icons hidden