diff --git a/cmake/reasampler_targets.cmake b/cmake/reasampler_targets.cmake
index dfffd1a..561301a 100644
--- a/cmake/reasampler_targets.cmake
+++ b/cmake/reasampler_targets.cmake
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ function(reasampler_pure_library name)
     # A default-less switch missing an enumerator: MSVC's C4062 is off by its /W1 default;
     # GCC/Clang's -Wswitch is on by default but only warns without -Werror, and this repo
     # sets no -Wall/-Werror/-W4/-WX anywhere. Promoted to an error only here, on our own
-    # pure libraries, so a deliberately default-less switch (e.g. isLiveDeckParam,
+    # pure libraries, so a deliberately default-less switch (e.g. deckParamCommit,
     # deck_groups.cpp) is a compile error on every toolchain. NOT C4061 (fires even with
     # a default: present) — that would light up every defensive switch in the tree.
     if(MSVC)
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/CLAUDE.md b/src/core/instrument/CLAUDE.md
index a852599..0fdadbe 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/src/core/instrument/CLAUDE.md
@@ -171,9 +171,10 @@ Daniel's ruling, verbatim: *"hell no, I was going to bring that up for the other
 must live compute, latching the parameters at note on is not acceptable. long term these will be
 automatable parameters."* It rejects the precedent, not one instance of it.
 
-- **Which controls are live is ONE decision, recorded in ONE place** — `isLiveDeckParam` and
-  `liveCommitFor` (`ui/deck_groups`), whose header is THE home for which controls are live and
-  why each exclusion is excluded — see there rather than restating the list here.
+- **How a control reaches the audio is ONE decision, recorded in ONE place** — `deckParamCommit`
+  and `liveCommitFor` (`ui/deck_groups`), a THREE-state classification (`Live` /
+  `NoteOnLatched` / `Reload`) whose header is THE home for where each control sits and why —
+  see there rather than restating the list here.
 - **Ownership sits ABOVE every snapshot.** `SampleData::live` is a NON-OWNING pointer to the one
   block the shell owns per instance. The member-ordering constraint that enforces it, and why,
   are recorded at `liveParams_` in `shell/instrument/reasampler_processor.h`. A drain voice
@@ -316,7 +317,7 @@ anything for a trigger shape.
 
 - `sample_map` — the bank blob → selected capture resolve, the channel policy (downmix / dual-mono / L-R split), `InstrumentParams` (the ONE parameter set: root/loop/start overrides, keyTrack, velocity curve, `PlaySeconds`), the single override-beats-intrinsic fold (`resolveCapture`, shared by the bank and refs paths so they cannot drift), and the `SampleData` build. **Wall-clock times stored as rate-free SECONDS, resolved against the live project rate — NO hardcoded sample rates in `src/`** (Daniel's standing ruling, load-bearing). Deliberately does NOT link the voice engine: the build's product is plain `SampleData`.
 - `play_seconds` — the stored, wall-clock-SECONDS value layer (`PlaySeconds` + `AdsrSeconds` / `AhdSeconds` / `PitchEnvSeconds` / `FilterSeconds`), header-only and split from `sample_map` so a consumer that only edits those values reaches them without the bank model and the WAV codec. `resolvePlay`, which turns them into the engine's frame domain, stays with the rest of the mapping.
-- `component_state_io` (`core/instrument/map`) — the `ComponentState` envelope + params-payload binary codec (envelope v1…v11, params payload v1…v15), split out of `sample_map` (Q-W2v, T4-13 ≡ T2-07) so BOTH artifacts can link the codec without the extension pulling in the whole voice engine to serialize one preset blob — the extension's `instrument_drop` and the instrument's processor read/write the identical bytes, so the cross-artifact contract cannot drift. Payload v1…v7 are the RETIRED per-zone lists: still read, lifting by adopting zone one's capture + parameters (that first zone is what the old first-match resolve actually played, so it is also what supersedes the envelope's stored selection id). Payload v9 appends the per-voice filter tail; a v8 blob is a strict prefix of it and lifts to the off/neutral filter default. Every tail since is a strict suffix on the same discipline — v10 the staged curves, v11 the loop crossfade, v12 the velocity→pitch curve, v13 the dual Staged/Spline state (the three contours, plus hard-flag tails for the three velocity curves — their v7/v9/v12 blocks are frozen at 16 bytes/point and had no room for a per-point flag), v14 the resample bake's Hold division, v15 the master-bus limiter enable. v12 also RE-TAGS the y DOMAIN of one frozen slot inside the v9 filter tail — its velocity curve reads bipolar from v12 on, unipolar before — which needs no version branch, because a pre-v12 curve's y values are already valid bipolar ones; every other filter slot, `velAmount` included, keeps its meaning.
+- `component_state_io` (`core/instrument/map`) — the `ComponentState` envelope + params-payload binary codec (envelope v1…v11, params payload v1…v16), split out of `sample_map` (Q-W2v, T4-13 ≡ T2-07) so BOTH artifacts can link the codec without the extension pulling in the whole voice engine to serialize one preset blob — the extension's `instrument_drop` and the instrument's processor read/write the identical bytes, so the cross-artifact contract cannot drift. Payload v1…v7 are the RETIRED per-zone lists: still read, lifting by adopting zone one's capture + parameters (that first zone is what the old first-match resolve actually played, so it is also what supersedes the envelope's stored selection id). Payload v9 appends the per-voice filter tail; a v8 blob is a strict prefix of it and lifts to the off/neutral filter default. Every tail since is a strict suffix on the same discipline — v10 the staged curves, v11 the loop crossfade, v12 the velocity→pitch curve, v13 the dual Staged/Spline state (the three contours, plus hard-flag tails for the three velocity curves — their v7/v9/v12 blocks are frozen at 16 bytes/point and had no room for a per-point flag), v14 the resample bake's Hold division, v15 the master-bus limiter enable, v16 the playback rate + the baseline pitch offset. v12 also RE-TAGS the y DOMAIN of one frozen slot inside the v9 filter tail — its velocity curve reads bipolar from v12 on, unipolar before — which needs no version branch, because a pre-v12 curve's y values are already valid bipolar ones; every other filter slot, `velAmount` included, keeps its meaning.
 - `params_payload` — the PARAMS-PAYLOAD half of that codec, split from the envelope half on the axis the format already has: the payload carries its own version and grows independently, so the two version ladders are two responsibilities. An INTERNAL seam — the public entry points stay `serialize`/`deserializeComponentState`. The prose ladder and every version constant stay in `component_state_io.h`, their one home.
 - `bank_sync` — generation change-detection + assignment-request consume: owns the yes/no decision logic so the rules are provable without a host. The processor shell owns cadence and side effects.
 - `bridge_marshal` — pure marshalling helper for the REAPER VST-host bridge read: interprets the `GetProjExtState` int return against its filled buffer.
@@ -354,7 +355,7 @@ anything for a trigger shape.
   drag the bank model and the WAV codec in behind it. The shell keeps only the controls the
   parameter set does not carry (key-track, voice count, master gain, preview velocity) and the
   labels for them.
-- `deck_groups` — also home to `isLiveDeckParam` and `liveCommitFor`, the editor's whole commit-tier routing decision (see "Live parameter delivery" above), and to `OverlayEnv` + `nextOverlaySelection`/`overlayEnvEnabled`/`overlayEnvInert`, the whole overlay-selection state machine (exclusivity, the none resting state, and which selections a disabled or DRAWN group makes inert); WHICH groups the Sample face's deck carries, split from `knob_deck`'s HOW they lay out: the `DeckParam` control-id space (the editor's `ParamControl` is an alias of it), the `DeckGroupId` list, `sampleDeckGroups` in signal-flow order (**pitch → filter → amp**, then velocity/voice/master), and the deck's bipolar-knob law. Reads `PlayMode` for the AMP group's Gate/Trigger face, which is why this and not `knob_deck` is the module that touches the engine's value layer. Also home to `CurveTarget` + `curveTargetFor` — the VELOCITY group's three cells are popup openers, not dials, and that predicate is the ONE place they are named, so paint, hit-test routing and the popup's title all agree. MASTER is reserved for post-voice-mixer concerns, which is why the curves sit in their own group immediately left of VOICE rather than there.
+- `deck_groups` — also home to `deckParamCommit` and `liveCommitFor`, the editor's whole commit-tier routing decision (see "Live parameter delivery" above), and to `OverlayEnv` + `nextOverlaySelection`/`overlayEnvEnabled`/`overlayEnvInert`, the whole overlay-selection state machine (exclusivity, the none resting state, and which selections a disabled or DRAWN group makes inert); WHICH groups the Sample face's deck carries, split from `knob_deck`'s HOW they lay out: the `DeckParam` control-id space (the editor's `ParamControl` is an alias of it), the `DeckGroupId` list, `sampleDeckGroups` in signal-flow order (**pitch → filter → amp**, then velocity/voice/master), and the deck's bipolar-knob law. Reads `PlayMode` for the AMP group's Gate/Trigger face, which is why this and not `knob_deck` is the module that touches the engine's value layer. Also home to `CurveTarget` + `curveTargetFor` — the VELOCITY group's three cells are popup openers, not dials, and that predicate is the ONE place they are named, so paint, hit-test routing and the popup's title all agree. MASTER is reserved for post-voice-mixer concerns, which is why the curves sit in their own group immediately left of VOICE rather than there.
 - `spline_edit` — THE point-editing grammar, and the one place it is written down: left-click grabs a node and adds one in empty space, right-click deletes, control-click toggles hard/smooth. Both spline consumers — the velocity-curve popup and the spline EG overlay — route their mouse-down through `resolveSplineEdit`, so the two cannot drift into two grammars. The endpoint and point-count rules are NOT restated here: `deletePoint` and `addPoint` own them, and the caller applies the resolved action to the curve. Also home to `splineOverlayBox`, the contour's mapping box inside the waveform overlay — the FULL area, no inset, so the drawn contour stays 1:1 with the sample's time axis. Spline points are excluded from `param_taper`'s Shift/Ctrl modifier law like waveform markers are: a point is a normalized position with no displayed unit, and control-click there is already claimed by the hard/smooth toggle above.
 - `curve_popup` — pure curve-popup geometry + dismissal test (FB1): centered sheet over the Sample face — width/height clamps, title row, Close button rect, curve-box rect, outside-sheet dismissal test. Mirror of `overflow_menu`; no LICE or REAPER types.
 - `envelope_overlay` — pure staged-envelope→polyline geometry for the Sample-view overlay (read from `envelope_overlay.h`): maps a `StageEnvelope` to a polyline inside a rect under whichever of TWO layout policies its `EnvKind` selects — an AHDSR draws a bounded param-domain schematic with its release RIGHT-ANCHORED to the canvas edge, an AHD draws 1:1 over the waveform's own time axis — plus a round mid-segment knot on every sloped stage that has a duration. Every vertex clamped in-canvas. Shares the `EnvNode`/`StageEnvelope`/`timeToX`/`levelToY` vocabulary with `envelope_edit` so the drawn handle and its grab region agree pixel-for-pixel. No VST3/REAPER/LICE types at the boundary.
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/engine/live_params.cpp b/src/core/instrument/engine/live_params.cpp
index c1412a8..2153782 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/engine/live_params.cpp
+++ b/src/core/instrument/engine/live_params.cpp
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ LiveValues foldLive(const PlayParams& params) {
     v.adsr = params.adsr;
     v.ampAhd = params.trigAhd;
     v.pitchEnv = params.pitchEnv;
+    v.playRate = params.playRate;
+    v.pitchOffsetSemitones = params.pitchOffsetSemitones;
     return v;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/engine/live_params.h b/src/core/instrument/engine/live_params.h
index f2e2da3..7874011 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/engine/live_params.h
+++ b/src/core/instrument/engine/live_params.h
@@ -44,6 +44,14 @@ struct LiveValues {
     AdsrParams   adsr{};
     AhdParams    ampAhd{};
     PitchEnvParams pitchEnv{};
+    // The block's THIRD commit class, and the reason this comment is here rather than at the
+    // predicate: playRate is published like any live control but read ONLY at note-on, by
+    // Voice::start via VoiceEngine::startVoice — never by applyLive on a sounding voice. A live
+    // rate would mean re-folding an already-resolved sustain loop and re-mapping a contour
+    // mid-note, both of which are note-on folds. pitchOffsetSemitones has no such tie and is
+    // ordinarily live.
+    double       playRate = 1.0;
+    double       pitchOffsetSemitones = 0.0;
 };
 
 // The seqlock copies the block as raw bytes, which is only defensible for a plain value type.
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/engine/period_detect.h b/src/core/instrument/engine/period_detect.h
index c2605f7..610b93b 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/engine/period_detect.h
+++ b/src/core/instrument/engine/period_detect.h
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ PeriodEstimate detectPeriod(const std::vector<AudioSample>& pcm, int sampleRate)
 // It takes NO play mode, deliberately, even though loop_span's resolveLoop does and refuses the
 // loop outright under Trigger. A loop edit is structurally reload-bound — it moves the PCM span
 // this cache was derived from — whereas play mode's exclusion from live delivery is a listed,
-// reversible decision (deck_groups' isLiveDeckParam). Keying a load-time cache on it would work
+// reversible decision (deck_groups' deckParamCommit). Keying a load-time cache on it would work
 // today and silently serve a stale period the day that decision is revisited.
 //
 // The read path's loop-validity authority is loop_span's resolveLoop; the bounds check here is
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/engine/play_params.h b/src/core/instrument/engine/play_params.h
index 6fd2af8..8851210 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/engine/play_params.h
+++ b/src/core/instrument/engine/play_params.h
@@ -158,6 +158,15 @@ struct PlayParams {
     TriggerParams  trigger;   // Trigger play span
     AhdParams      trigAhd;   // Trigger amp
     PitchEngine    pitchEngine = PitchEngine::Varispeed;
+    // Playback RATE, as source frames consumed per output frame. Under Varispeed it is one more
+    // factor of the read increment, so it moves pitch and duration together; under Preserve it
+    // drives duration alone and the shifter holds the pitch. Latched at note-on either way (the
+    // loop fold and the contour scale it composes with are both note-on folds), and clamped by
+    // the stretcher's own clampStretchRate — never here. 1.0 is the bare engine, bit for bit.
+    double         playRate = 1.0;
+    // A baseline pitch offset in semitones, folded into the note's ratio beside key-tracking and
+    // the velocity->pitch transpose. Live on a sounding voice under both engines.
+    double         pitchOffsetSemitones = 0.0;
     PitchEnvParams pitchEnv;
     // Velocity -> pitch offset, scaled by kVelocityPitchRangeSemitones. Bipolar and flat at 0
     // by default, so it transposes nothing until a curve is drawn. Folded into the voice's
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/engine/voice.cpp b/src/core/instrument/engine/voice.cpp
index 7da8710..eb0e5cc 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/engine/voice.cpp
+++ b/src/core/instrument/engine/voice.cpp
@@ -53,16 +53,26 @@ void Voice::start(int note, int velocity, const SampleData& sample, bool declick
     sample_ = &sample;
 
     const PlayParams& p = sample.play;
-    // Velocity->pitch is fixed for the note's lifetime, so it folds into baseRatio_ here rather
-    // than costing a per-frame multiply. Feeds both engines through baseRatio_ (Varispeed
-    // read-rate bias and Preserve shift amount both derive from it below).
+    // Velocity->pitch is fixed for the note's lifetime, so it folds into baseRatio_ rather than
+    // costing a per-frame multiply. Feeds both engines through baseRatio_ (Varispeed read-rate
+    // bias and Preserve shift amount both derive from it below).
     velPitchRatio_ = velocityPitchRatio(p.pitchVelocityCurve, velocity);
-    baseRatio_ = keyTrackedRatio(note, sample.rootNote, sample.keyTrack) * velPitchRatio_;
+    pitchOffsetRatio_ = semitoneRatio(p.pitchOffsetSemitones);
     playMode_ = p.playMode;
     pitchEngine_ = p.pitchEngine;
-    // Clamped once here so the read head's increment and the feed cursor's debt accumulate the
-    // SAME value — they must stay exactly one window apart for the note's whole life.
+    // THE clamp for both engines — the taper's ends are these bounds, so a knob can never ask for
+    // a rate this moves. Clamped once here so the read head's increment and the feed cursor's
+    // debt accumulate the SAME value: they must stay exactly one window apart for the note's
+    // whole life.
     stretchRate_ = instrument::engine::clampStretchRate(stretchRate);
+    // Keyed on the read path this note will ACTUALLY take, which is not the same question as
+    // the stored engine: advanceFrame runs the Preserve branch only while the shifters are
+    // configured, and a Preserve voice whose shifters were never sized falls back to the
+    // varispeed read. Rate has to reach the increment there too, or that fallback would ignore
+    // the control outright — the predicate is spelled the same way advanceFrame spells it.
+    const bool preserveRead = (pitchEngine_ == PitchEngine::Preserve) && shiftL_.configured();
+    rateRatio_ = preserveRead ? 1.0 : stretchRate_;
+    recomputeBaseRatio();
 
     // Clamp into [0, frames): a start at or past the end degrades to 0 (play from the top)
     // rather than starting a voice already off the end.
@@ -119,22 +129,19 @@ void Voice::start(int note, int velocity, const SampleData& sample, bool declick
         if (playLen > postStart) playLen = postStart;
         playEnd_ = start + playLen;
         trigSpan = playLen;
-        ampAhd_.configure(playLen, p.trigAhd);
+        ampAhd_.configure(playLen, rateFittedAhd(p.trigAhd));
     }
 
     // The pitch AHD's Hold fraction is taken against the whole playable span, so its three
     // stages lay 1:1 over the waveform from the start point. postStart is a SOURCE-frame count
-    // and this envelope counts OUTPUT frames (envelopes.h), so Varispeed — which consumes
-    // baseRatio_ source frames per output frame — needs the span converted, or a transposed
-    // note's envelope outruns (or outlives) the note it shapes. Preserve reads at the source
-    // rate, so its two domains already coincide.
-    // Divides by baseRatio_ alone, though the actual Varispeed read rate is baseRatio_ x
-    // envFactor — a deep pitch envelope makes this a first-order approximation, not exact.
-    // Strictly better than the un-converted source-frame span it replaced.
-    const double pitchSpan =
-        (pitchEngine_ == PitchEngine::Preserve || !(baseRatio_ > 0.0))
-            ? static_cast<double>(postStart)
-            : static_cast<double>(postStart) / baseRatio_;
+    // and this envelope counts OUTPUT frames (envelopes.h), so the span has to be divided by the
+    // rate the read head consumes source at — baseRatio_ under Varispeed, the stretch rate under
+    // Preserve — or a transposed (or re-rated) note's envelope outruns the note it shapes.
+    // Divides by baseRatio_ alone under Varispeed, though the actual read rate is baseRatio_ x
+    // envFactor — a deep pitch envelope makes that a first-order approximation, not exact.
+    const double readRate = preserveRead ? stretchRate_ : baseRatio_;
+    const double pitchSpan = (readRate > 0.0) ? static_cast<double>(postStart) / readRate
+                                              : static_cast<double>(postStart);
     pitchEnv_.configure(static_cast<std::int64_t>(pitchSpan + 0.5), p.pitchEnv);
     pitchEnv_.noteOn();
 
@@ -169,7 +176,7 @@ void Voice::start(int note, int velocity, const SampleData& sample, bool declick
             filterEnv_.configure(p.filter.env);
             filterEnv_.noteOn();
         } else {
-            filterAhd_.configure(trigSpan, p.filter.trigEnv);
+            filterAhd_.configure(trigSpan, rateFittedAhd(p.filter.trigEnv));
         }
         filter_.reset();
         updateFilterCutoffBase(note);
@@ -263,16 +270,25 @@ void Voice::applyLive(const instrument::engine::LiveValues& live, bool snap) {
     // A fresh note and a sounding one take DIFFERENT envelope entry points, never one with a
     // flag: a voice that has rendered nothing has no phase to hold and nothing to be
     // continuous with, and the mid-stage rule misreads its stage-0 position (envelopes.h).
+    //
+    // live.playRate is deliberately NOT read on either path: Rate is the note-on-latched class,
+    // delivered as start()'s argument by VoiceEngine::startVoice (live_params.h owns why). The
+    // latched stretchRate_ is what rateFittedAhd converts a live AHD against, so a stage-time
+    // move mid-note lands in this note's own rate domain rather than resetting it.
     const bool gate = (playMode_ == PlayMode::Gate);
     if (snap) {
         if (gate) env_.snapLive(live.adsr);
-        else ampAhd_.snapLive(live.ampAhd);
+        else ampAhd_.snapLive(rateFittedAhd(live.ampAhd));
         pitchEnv_.snapLive(live.pitchEnv);
     } else {
         if (gate) env_.applyLive(live.adsr);
-        else ampAhd_.applyLive(sourceOffset(), live.ampAhd);
+        else ampAhd_.applyLive(sourceOffset(), rateFittedAhd(live.ampAhd));
         pitchEnv_.applyLive(live.pitchEnv);
     }
+    // The baseline Pitch offset IS live, under both engines: Varispeed picks the new baseRatio_
+    // up as one more factor of next frame's read increment, Preserve as the shifter's transpose.
+    pitchOffsetRatio_ = semitoneRatio(live.pitchOffsetSemitones);
+    recomputeBaseRatio();
     // The pitch DEPTH knob stays live under a spline (core/instrument/CLAUDE.md), but
     // pitchSplineDepth_ is a plain member latched at note-on — unlike filter's modAmount_,
     // which already glides through rModAmount_'s live ramp regardless of spline state (below),
@@ -283,10 +299,10 @@ void Voice::applyLive(const instrument::engine::LiveValues& live, bool snap) {
 
     if (snap) {
         if (gate) filterEnv_.snapLive(live.filterEnv);
-        else filterAhd_.snapLive(live.filterAhd);
+        else filterAhd_.snapLive(rateFittedAhd(live.filterAhd));
     } else {
         if (gate) filterEnv_.applyLive(live.filterEnv);
-        else filterAhd_.applyLive(sourceOffset(), live.filterAhd);
+        else filterAhd_.applyLive(sourceOffset(), rateFittedAhd(live.filterAhd));
     }
     filterCutoffNorm_ = static_cast<double>(live.filterSettings.cutoffNorm);
     filterKeyTrack_ = live.filterKeyTrack;
@@ -328,8 +344,8 @@ void Voice::retune(int note) {
     // baseRatio_ division in the note-on setup above), so a slide leaves that envelope on the
     // first note's domain — consistent with "touch nothing else," but the drift lives here.
     // The velocity->pitch factor rides through the slide unchanged, matching velocityGain_ —
-    // one gesture, one strike.
-    baseRatio_ = keyTrackedRatio(note, sample_->rootNote, sample_->keyTrack) * velPitchRatio_;
+    // one gesture, one strike. Rate and the Pitch offset ride through too: only the note moved.
+    recomputeBaseRatio();
     // Filter key-tracking follows the pitch: it is a function of the note, so a slide moves it
     // too. The velocity offset deliberately stays the first note's, matching velocityGain_.
     if (filterOn_) updateFilterCutoffBase(note);
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/engine/voice.h b/src/core/instrument/engine/voice.h
index 1349f9d..7c119ee 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/engine/voice.h
+++ b/src/core/instrument/engine/voice.h
@@ -50,12 +50,17 @@ inline double keyTrackedRatio(int note, int rootNote, double keyTrack) {
     return std::pow(2.0, semis / 12.0);
 }
 
-// 2^(curve(velocity) * kVelocityPitchRangeSemitones / 12): the velocity->pitch transpose, which
-// the voice folds into baseRatio_ once at note-on. A curve flat at 0 — the default — yields
-// EXACTLY 1.0 at every velocity and skips the pow, so an undrawn curve transposes nothing.
+// 2^(semitones/12). Exactly 1.0 at zero — and it SKIPS the pow there, so an unset offset
+// transposes nothing and costs nothing.
+inline double semitoneRatio(double semitones) {
+    return (semitones == 0.0) ? 1.0 : std::pow(2.0, semitones / 12.0);
+}
+
+// The velocity->pitch transpose, which the voice folds into baseRatio_ once at note-on. A curve
+// flat at 0 — the default — yields EXACTLY 1.0 at every velocity.
 inline double velocityPitchRatio(const VelocityCurve& curve, int velocity) {
-    const double semis = curve.eval(static_cast<double>(velocity)) * kVelocityPitchRangeSemitones;
-    return (semis == 0.0) ? 1.0 : std::pow(2.0, semis / 12.0);
+    return semitoneRatio(curve.eval(static_cast<double>(velocity)) *
+                         kVelocityPitchRangeSemitones);
 }
 
 // One octave expressed in the cutoff control's normalized domain, read out of the filter
@@ -110,11 +115,15 @@ public:
     // the difference-seeded declick compensation on the first frame after the restart (see
     // kDeclickDecay above). A fresh start never declicks.
     //
-    // `stretchRate` is the PRESERVE playback rate — source frames consumed per output frame,
-    // clamped to [kStretchRateMin, kStretchRateMax]. It is a note-on latch by construction (an
-    // argument, not a member set separately) because the loop fold and the contour scale it
-    // composes with are both note-on folds. Varispeed ignores it: there, rate is a factor of the
-    // read increment, not a second rate. 1.0 is the shipped Preserve read, bit for bit.
+    // `stretchRate` is the playback rate — source frames consumed per output frame, clamped to
+    // [kStretchRateMin, kStretchRateMax]. It is a note-on latch by construction (an argument, not
+    // a member set separately) because the loop fold and the contour scale it composes with are
+    // both note-on folds. Under Preserve it is the stretcher's feed rate and duration alone moves;
+    // under Varispeed it folds into the read increment beside key-tracking, so pitch moves with
+    // it. 1.0 is the bare engine, bit for bit, in both. Defaulted so a caller with no live block
+    // to consult gets exactly that; VoiceEngine::startVoice is what resolves the real value —
+    // sample.play.playRate is NOT read here, because the published block outranks the snapshot's
+    // possibly-stale copy of it.
     void start(int note, int velocity, const SampleData& sample, bool declickTakeover = false,
                double stretchRate = 1.0);
 
@@ -184,6 +193,34 @@ public:
     }
 
 private:
+    // THE fold of every pitch factor that is constant for the note into one number, so
+    // advanceFrame's read increment stays the single multiply `baseRatio_ * envFactor` it has
+    // always been: key-tracked repitch, the velocity->pitch transpose, the baseline Pitch offset,
+    // and the Rate ratio — which start() zeroes out of this product when the note is running the
+    // Preserve read, since Rate feeds stretch_ (duration) there and must never reach the
+    // shifter's transpose. Cold: note-on, legato retune, and a live block, never per frame.
+    void recomputeBaseRatio() {
+        if (sample_ == nullptr) return;
+        baseRatio_ = keyTrackedRatio(note_, sample_->rootNote, sample_->keyTrack) *
+                     velPitchRatio_ * pitchOffsetRatio_ * rateRatio_;
+    }
+
+    // A staged AHD's wall-clock stage frames converted into the SOURCE-offset domain the
+    // sustain-less envelopes are evaluated in (sourceOffset()). Rate stretches the source span
+    // those envelopes are fitted over, but a 30 ms attack is 30 ms at any rate — multiplying by
+    // the read rate is exactly that conversion. The Varispeed PITCH coupling is deliberately NOT
+    // compensated here: it predates Rate and is the shipped behaviour. Rate 1.0 returns the
+    // argument untouched, which is what keeps the unity render bit-identical.
+    AhdParams rateFittedAhd(const AhdParams& a) const {
+        if (stretchRate_ == 1.0) return a;
+        AhdParams out = a;
+        out.attackFrames =
+            static_cast<std::int64_t>(static_cast<double>(a.attackFrames) * stretchRate_ + 0.5);
+        out.decayFrames =
+            static_cast<std::int64_t>(static_cast<double>(a.decayFrames) * stretchRate_ + 0.5);
+        return out;
+    }
+
     // The read head as a fraction of the whole sample — the domain every spline EG is a pure
     // function of. Zero-length sample leaves splineScale_ at 0, which parks every contour on
     // its opening value.
@@ -192,9 +229,9 @@ private:
     // This frame's amplitude in [0,1] from the active envelope. Spline: the drawn contour read
     // at the normalized position (one cached-segment compare per frame). Gate: AHDSR ticks once
     // per output frame (envelope time is wall-clock, independent of read rate). Trigger: the AHD
-    // is evaluated at the source offset (readPos - startFrame) — see the `ratio_ = stretchRate_`
-    // note below for what that means for Preserve's stage-time/rate coupling. Sets
-    // amplitudeDone_ on finish so advanceFrame frees the voice.
+    // is evaluated at the source offset (readPos - startFrame), which is why its stage frames are
+    // fitted to the read rate at configure time (rateFittedAhd). Sets amplitudeDone_ on finish so
+    // advanceFrame frees the voice.
     double tickAmplitude() {
         double amp;
         // playMode_ is Trigger whenever a spline is genuinely reachable (resolvePlay forces it —
@@ -532,15 +569,8 @@ private:
             // Everything downstream of it (the loop wrap, the Trigger span, the spline phase)
             // therefore stays a source-frame fact and scales by construction.
             //
-            // Consequence (§2.4 of instrument-control-surface.md is explicit that staged
-            // envelopes' stage times are wall-clock and do NOT scale with rate): Trigger's amp
-            // AHD and filter AHD are both evaluated at sourceOffset() = readPos_ - startFrame_
-            // (tickAmplitude/tickFilterCutoff above), which now advances at stretchRate_ instead
-            // of always 1.0 — so those two envelopes will scale with a future non-unity Rate.
-            // This is NEW here: Preserve's ratio_ was pinned at 1.0 before this track, so those
-            // stage times were exact wall-clock. It is latent (nothing publishes a non-unity
-            // rate yet) and owned by the track that adds the Rate control, not this one — Gate's
-            // AHDSR (env_.tick(), per-output-frame) and every spline contour are unaffected.
+            // The two sustain-less envelopes are evaluated at sourceOffset(), which advances at
+            // this rate — rateFittedAhd is what keeps their stage times wall-clock anyway.
             ratio_ = stretchRate_;
         } else {
             // VARISPEED: pitch and duration coupled. The read rate carries the repitch; the
@@ -645,8 +675,10 @@ private:
     bool releasing_ = false;
     int note_ = 0;
     double velocityGain_ = 1.0;
-    double baseRatio_ = 1.0;     // key-tracked repitch ratio, with velocity->pitch folded in
+    double baseRatio_ = 1.0;     // recomputeBaseRatio's product: every constant pitch factor
     double velPitchRatio_ = 1.0; // the velocity->pitch factor alone; retune re-applies it
+    double pitchOffsetRatio_ = 1.0;  // the Pitch knob's factor — LIVE, re-applied by applyLive
+    double rateRatio_ = 1.0;     // Rate's factor of the read increment; start() owns when it is 1
     double ratio_ = 1.0;         // fractional source frames advanced per output frame (this frame)
     double readPos_ = 0.0;       // fractional frame index into the sample
     const SampleData* sample_ = nullptr;
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/engine/voice_engine.cpp b/src/core/instrument/engine/voice_engine.cpp
index 9c106c5..2417d57 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/engine/voice_engine.cpp
+++ b/src/core/instrument/engine/voice_engine.cpp
@@ -54,7 +54,11 @@ void VoiceEngine::applyLiveToActive() {
 
 void VoiceEngine::startVoice(Voice& voice, int note, int velocity) {
     refreshLive();
-    voice.start(note, velocity, sample_, /*declickTakeover=*/takeoverDeclick_);
+    // THE read of the note-on-latched commit class, and the only one: a published block outranks
+    // the snapshot's own copy (a live edit deliberately leaves that stale), and applyLive below
+    // never touches the rate — so a Rate move reaches the next note and no sounding one.
+    const double rate = haveLive_ ? live_.playRate : sample_.play.playRate;
+    voice.start(note, velocity, sample_, /*declickTakeover=*/takeoverDeclick_, rate);
     if (haveLive_) voice.applyLive(live_, /*snap=*/true);
     voice.setStartOrder(nextStartOrder_++);
 }
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/map/component_state_io.h b/src/core/instrument/map/component_state_io.h
index 287d616..59eaaf1 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/map/component_state_io.h
+++ b/src/core/instrument/map/component_state_io.h
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 // own links are velocity_curve + master_gain (wire value validation), never the engine.
 //
 // EVERY wire format below is FROZEN; the full version ladders (envelope v1..v11, params
-// payload v1..v15) must be preserved exactly. This header is the ONE home for both ladders
+// payload v1..v16) must be preserved exactly. This header is the ONE home for both ladders
 // and every version constant; the payload half is IMPLEMENTED in params_payload.
 
 #include <cstdint>
@@ -129,13 +129,23 @@ namespace reasampler::instrument::map {
 // A blob truncated INSIDE this tail costs the Hold alone rather than resetting the record —
 // the same revive discipline the v13 hard-flag tails follow, and for the same reason.
 //
-// v15 (CURRENT WRITE FORMAT) is v14 PLUS ONE byte: the master-bus limiter's enable, appended
-// after the Hold division. A v14-or-older blob is a strict prefix and lifts to 0 — bypassed,
+// v15 is v14 PLUS ONE byte: the master-bus limiter's enable, appended after the Hold
+// division. A v14-or-older blob is a strict prefix and lifts to 0 — bypassed,
 // which is also the field's product default, so a project saved before the limiter existed
 // reopens with the limiter off and sounding identical. It carries the Hold's revive
 // discipline too: now that it, not the Hold, is the last tail, a truncation inside this byte
 // would otherwise reset the record the Hold's own revive just preserved.
 //
+// v16 (CURRENT WRITE FORMAT) is v15 PLUS TWO 8-byte LE doubles, appended after the limiter
+// byte: the playback RATE as a ratio, then the baseline PITCH offset in semitones. A v15-or-
+// older blob is a strict prefix and lifts to 1.0 / 0.0 — unity rate and no offset, which is
+// what every instance before them played, so it reopens bit-identical. Both are rate-free
+// values, so nothing about them is resolved against the project rate. Same revive-and-drain
+// discipline as the two tails above. The two wire GUARDS deliberately differ, and
+// readRateAndPitchOffset owns why: the offset is range-checked here because nothing downstream
+// bounds it, while the rate is only checked for usability because its range belongs to the
+// engine's own clamp.
+//
 // The two int64 slots the v5 play tail spends on the RETIRED Trigger fade pair are frozen in
 // shape and still read: a pre-v10 blob's fade-in/fade-out become the Trigger AHD that replaced
 // them (attack <- fade-in, decay <- fade-out, hold <- the whole remainder), converted to
@@ -167,7 +177,7 @@ inline constexpr std::uint32_t kPerformanceStateVersion = 2;
 // The params-payload format version and its detection marker. The marker is a high sentinel
 // no legitimate v1 zone count (bounded by 128 MIDI zones, always tiny) could ever equal, so
 // a reader detects record shape independent of the envelope version.
-inline constexpr std::uint32_t kParamsPayloadVersion = 15;  // v14 + the limiter enable
+inline constexpr std::uint32_t kParamsPayloadVersion = 16;  // v15 + Rate and the pitch offset
 inline constexpr std::uint32_t kParamsFormatMarker = 0xFFFFFF00u;
 
 // The first SINGLE-RECORD payload version. Everything below it is a retired zone list and
@@ -203,6 +213,10 @@ inline constexpr std::uint32_t kParamsBakeHoldVersion = 14;
 // kParamsPayloadVersion.
 inline constexpr std::uint32_t kParamsLimiterVersion = 15;
 
+// v15 + the playback rate and the baseline pitch offset; the appended pair branches on THIS,
+// never on kParamsPayloadVersion.
+inline constexpr std::uint32_t kParamsRateVersion = 16;
+
 // (No nominal-rate constant.) The legacy v3 payload's wall-clock frame counts convert to
 // seconds at the v3 read boundary using the PROJECT sample rate threaded in as a parameter
 // (frames / projectRate = seconds) — the same rate the build already receives, so the
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/map/params_payload.cpp b/src/core/instrument/map/params_payload.cpp
index 1aa523b..60081e9 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/map/params_payload.cpp
+++ b/src/core/instrument/map/params_payload.cpp
@@ -263,6 +263,30 @@ void readLimiterEnable(ByteReader& r, InstrumentParams& p) {
     p.limiterEnabled = (flag != 0);
 }
 
+// Read the v16 rate + pitch-offset pair. A truncation, or either value unusable, leaves the
+// neutral the field already holds — unity rate, no offset — which is exactly what a pre-v16
+// blob means and what every instance before them played.
+//
+// The two guards are deliberately DIFFERENT. Rate gets finiteness only, because its range is the
+// stretcher's and clampStretchRate is the one authority on it — a second range test here is
+// exactly the second clamp that could disagree. The offset gets a real range test, because
+// nothing downstream bounds it: it reaches 2^(x/12) and then a read increment, and a wild
+// exponent there is UB on the per-sample path.
+void readRateAndPitchOffset(ByteReader& r, InstrumentParams& p) {
+    const bool enteredOk = r.ok;
+    const double rate = bitsToDouble(r.u64());
+    const double offset = bitsToDouble(r.u64());
+    if (reviveTruncatedTail(r, enteredOk)) return;
+    if (std::isfinite(rate) && rate > 0.0) p.play.playRate = rate;
+    // The throw is kVelocityPitchRangeSemitones — the SAME +/-24 the pitch envelope's depth and
+    // the velocity->pitch curve speak (play_params.h), reached directly rather than through the
+    // deck's alias of it.
+    if (std::isfinite(offset) && offset >= -kVelocityPitchRangeSemitones &&
+        offset <= kVelocityPitchRangeSemitones) {
+        p.play.pitchOffsetSemitones = offset;
+    }
+}
+
 // Read the v9 filter tail into `p`. A blob that stops short leaves the off/neutral default,
 // which is what makes a v8 blob play bit-identically under the new codec. The curve reads as
 // bipolar at EVERY version — a pre-v12 blob's y values are already valid bipolar ones, so its
@@ -501,6 +525,9 @@ void putParamsPayload(std::vector<std::uint8_t>& out, const InstrumentParams& p)
     out.push_back(static_cast<std::uint8_t>(p.bakeHold.modifier()));
     // v15: the master-bus limiter enable.
     out.push_back(p.limiterEnabled ? 1 : 0);
+    // v16: the playback rate (a ratio) and the baseline pitch offset (semitones), both rate-free.
+    putLE(out, doubleToBits(pp.playRate));
+    putLE(out, doubleToBits(pp.pitchOffsetSemitones));
 }
 
 // Read whichever payload shape follows: the single-record shape (v8 onward, growing by
@@ -556,6 +583,7 @@ PayloadRead readParamsPayload(ByteReader& r, double projectRate) {
     }
     if (pv >= kParamsBakeHoldVersion) readBakeHold(r, p);
     if (pv >= kParamsLimiterVersion) readLimiterEnable(r, p);
+    if (pv >= kParamsRateVersion) readRateAndPitchOffset(r, p);
     // A truncated record leaves whatever parsed plus construction defaults for the rest —
     // the same degrade-don't-throw contract the zone ladder always had.
     if (!r.ok) return PayloadRead{};
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/map/params_payload.h b/src/core/instrument/map/params_payload.h
index 99a291b..95c69f1 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/map/params_payload.h
+++ b/src/core/instrument/map/params_payload.h
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 // responsibilities. An INTERNAL seam of `component_state_io` — the public entry points stay
 // serialize/deserializeComponentState; nothing outside the codec calls these.
 //
-// The format ladder (payload v1..v11) is documented in component_state_io.h, which stays its
+// The format ladder (payload v1..v16) is documented in component_state_io.h, which stays its
 // one home. EVERY wire format is FROZEN.
 
 #include <cstdint>
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/map/play_seconds.h b/src/core/instrument/map/play_seconds.h
index b91cd78..61e9dcb 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/map/play_seconds.h
+++ b/src/core/instrument/map/play_seconds.h
@@ -74,6 +74,10 @@ struct PlaySeconds {
     TriggerParams   trigger;                              // Trigger play span (%-length)
     AhdSeconds      trigAhd;                              // Trigger amp: AHD (seconds + fraction)
     PitchEngine     pitchEngine = kDefaultPitchEngine;    // product default: Preserve
+    // Rate and the baseline pitch offset are both rate-FREE (a ratio and a semitone count), so
+    // they carry through resolvePlay untouched; play_params.h owns what each one means.
+    double          playRate = 1.0;
+    double          pitchOffsetSemitones = 0.0;
     PitchEnvSeconds pitchEnv;                             // AHD pitch modulation, off by default
     VelocityCurve   pitchVelocityCurve = VelocityCurve::zero();  // velocity -> pitch, off by default
     FilterSeconds   filter;                               // per-voice filter, off by default
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/map/sample_map.cpp b/src/core/instrument/map/sample_map.cpp
index 96ceb14..417eb30 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/map/sample_map.cpp
+++ b/src/core/instrument/map/sample_map.cpp
@@ -237,6 +237,8 @@ PlayParams resolvePlay(const PlaySeconds& stored, int sampleRate) {
     out.trigger = stored.trigger;                        // fraction, unchanged
     out.trigAhd = resolveAhd(stored.trigAhd);
     out.pitchEngine = stored.pitchEngine;
+    out.playRate               = stored.playRate;             // a ratio, rate-free
+    out.pitchOffsetSemitones   = stored.pitchOffsetSemitones; // semitones, rate-free
     out.pitchEnv.enabled       = stored.pitchEnv.enabled;
     out.pitchEnv.peakSemitones = stored.pitchEnv.peakSemitones;  // depth, not a time
     out.pitchEnv.shape         = resolveAhd(stored.pitchEnv.shape);
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/ui/CMakeLists.txt b/src/core/instrument/ui/CMakeLists.txt
index 9c428ed..e1cef5a 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/ui/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/core/instrument/ui/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -80,9 +80,11 @@ reasampler_test(spline_edit LINK spline_edit waveform_view sample_bands)
 # from knob_deck. Links the header-only play_seconds, NOT sample_map: PlaySeconds is all a deck
 # knob edits, and sample_map would drag the bank model and the WAV codec in behind it. Same for
 # the filter's MorphLaw — an enum, so no filter symbol is linked.
+# time_stretch carries Rate's range — the stretcher's own measured bounds, aliased here rather
+# than restated so the knob's ends and the engine's clamp cannot disagree.
 reasampler_pure_library(deck_values
     SOURCES deck_values.cpp
-    LINK PUBLIC deck_groups play_seconds envelope_overlay param_taper master_gain)
+    LINK PUBLIC deck_groups play_seconds envelope_overlay param_taper master_gain time_stretch)
 reasampler_test(deck_values LINK deck_values)
 
 # The bake Hold knob's value domain. Links the ladder alone — it computes no geometry, so it
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/ui/deck_groups.cpp b/src/core/instrument/ui/deck_groups.cpp
index 0c32e5e..a005612 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/ui/deck_groups.cpp
+++ b/src/core/instrument/ui/deck_groups.cpp
@@ -23,11 +23,16 @@ std::vector<DeckGroupDesc> sampleDeckGroups(PlayMode playMode) {
     const bool trigger = (playMode == PlayMode::Trigger);
     std::vector<DeckGroupDesc> out;
     {
+        // PITCH/RATE. The three cells make the knob row 180, which is what the group measures
+        // from; the caption row (caption + gap + two 48px segments) must stay under it, so the
+        // caption reserve has a hard ceiling of 80 — past that the caption row overtakes the knob
+        // row and the group grows past 192. Widening the group is not the answer if the text ever
+        // outgrows 80: narrow the Varisp|Presrv segments to 44 instead.
         DeckGroupDesc pitch;
         pitch.id = kGroupPitch;
-        pitch.captionWidth = 38;
+        pitch.captionWidth = 70;
         pitch.captionToggle = {id(DeckParam::kPitchEngine), 48};
-        pitch.cellIds = {id(DeckParam::kKeyTrack)};
+        pitch.cellIds = {id(DeckParam::kKeyTrack), id(DeckParam::kRate), id(DeckParam::kPitch)};
         out.push_back(std::move(pitch));
     }
     {
@@ -131,7 +136,7 @@ std::vector<DeckGroupDesc> sampleDeckGroups(PlayMode playMode) {
 }
 
 DeckRow deckRowFor(DeckGroupId group) {
-    // Every enumerator listed and no default, on the same gate isLiveDeckParam below relies on.
+    // Every enumerator listed and no default, on the same gate deckParamCommit below relies on.
     switch (group) {
         case kGroupPitch:
         case kGroupFilter:
@@ -180,8 +185,12 @@ DeckParam curveParamFor(DeckParam knob) {
     }
 }
 
-bool isLiveDeckParam(DeckParam id) {
+LiveCommit deckParamCommit(DeckParam id) {
     switch (id) {
+        // The one note-on-latched control; the header owns why.
+        case DeckParam::kRate:
+            return LiveCommit::NoteOnLatched;
+        case DeckParam::kPitch:
         case DeckParam::kAttack:
         case DeckParam::kHold:
         case DeckParam::kDecay:
@@ -221,7 +230,7 @@ bool isLiveDeckParam(DeckParam id) {
         case DeckParam::kFilterEnvReleaseCurve:
         case DeckParam::kFilterTrigAttackCurve:
         case DeckParam::kFilterTrigDecayCurve:
-            return true;
+            return LiveCommit::Live;
         // Listed rather than defaulted so a newly added control is a COMPILE error here on
         // every toolchain — /we4062 on MSVC, -Werror=switch on GCC/Clang, both set on this
         // library alone in cmake/reasampler_targets.cmake — instead of silently defaulting
@@ -249,9 +258,9 @@ bool isLiveDeckParam(DeckParam id) {
         case DeckParam::kMonoTrigger:
         case DeckParam::kMasterGain:
         case DeckParam::kCount:  // not a control
-            return false;
+            return LiveCommit::Reload;
     }
-    return false;  // unreachable for a valid enumerator; silences a warning.
+    return LiveCommit::Reload;  // unreachable for a valid enumerator; silences a warning.
 }
 
 OverlayEnv overlayEnvForRadio(int radioId) {
@@ -349,17 +358,18 @@ bool deckKnobInert(DeckParam id, const DeckEnableState& state) {
     }
 }
 
-bool liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind kind, int paramId) {
+LiveCommit liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind kind, int paramId) {
     switch (kind) {
         case LiveDragKind::kDeckKnob:
-            return paramId >= 0 && paramId < static_cast<int>(DeckParam::kCount) &&
-                   isLiveDeckParam(static_cast<DeckParam>(paramId));
+            return (paramId >= 0 && paramId < static_cast<int>(DeckParam::kCount))
+                       ? deckParamCommit(static_cast<DeckParam>(paramId))
+                       : LiveCommit::Reload;
         case LiveDragKind::kEnvNode:
-            return true;
+            return LiveCommit::Live;
         case LiveDragKind::kOther:
-            return false;
+            return LiveCommit::Reload;
     }
-    return false;
+    return LiveCommit::Reload;
 }
 
 }  // namespace reasampler::instrument::ui
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/ui/deck_groups.h b/src/core/instrument/ui/deck_groups.h
index 6a76cbf..c93cbb8 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/ui/deck_groups.h
+++ b/src/core/instrument/ui/deck_groups.h
@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@ enum class DeckParam {
     kPitchEnvDecay,
     kPitchEnvDepth,  // AHD pitch depth in +/- semitones
     kKeyTrack,       // key-tracking 0..200% (lives on InstrumentParams, not PlaySeconds)
+    kRate,           // playback rate 50..200%, linear in semitones over +/-12
+    kPitch,          // baseline pitch offset, +/-kPitchDepthMaxSemis, centre-expanded
     // Filter. The four control positions map through filter_params' own laws; the three
     // depths are bipolar and centred at zero.
     kFilterEnable,   // filter on|off caption toggle
@@ -131,15 +133,24 @@ std::vector<DeckGroupDesc> sampleDeckGroups(PlayMode playMode);
 // ordinary knob grab.
 DeckParam curveParamFor(DeckParam knob);
 
-// Whether control `id` is delivered LIVE — straight to the voices that are already sounding —
-// rather than through an instrument reload. The line is drawn at continuously-valued playback
-// controls, so this is a routing decision at the editor's commit site rather than a property
-// of any one knob; moving a control across the line is a change here and nowhere else.
+// How an edit to a control reaches the audio — THE one decision, and the home for why each
+// control sits where it does. Moving a control across a line is a change here and nowhere else,
+// and Γ-W4-T1 derives the host-exposed parameter set from this same predicate, so a
+// misclassification here is a mis-declared parameter there.
 //
-// THE home for why each excluded control is excluded. Three continuous controls are outside
-// the live set, plus every discrete toggle and the overlay radios:
-//   - the discrete toggles (play mode, pitch engine, filter enable/law, pitch-envelope enable)
-//     name a different sound rather than a different setting of one;
+//   Live          — straight to the voices already sounding. Continuously-valued playback
+//                   controls, and the default for anything that is a SETTING of a note rather
+//                   than a fact about it.
+//   NoteOnLatched — published into the live block like a live control, but read only at
+//                   note-on: a sounding voice keeps the value it started with, the next one
+//                   takes the new one. NOT the reload tier — a swept knob must never trigger a
+//                   WAV re-decode.
+//   Reload        — a bridge read, a re-decode and a fresh engine.
+//
+// The exclusions from Live, each with its reason:
+//   - the discrete toggles (play mode, pitch engine, filter enable/law, pitch-envelope enable,
+//     the three Staged|Spline mode toggles) name a different sound rather than a different
+//     setting of one;
 //   - the three capture-anchored overrides (root, loop span, start frame) name positions in
 //     the decoded PCM;
 //   - kKeyTrack and the three velocity-curve cells feed values a voice latches at note-on by
@@ -151,18 +162,30 @@ DeckParam curveParamFor(DeckParam knob);
 //   - the overlay radios select what the editor DRAWS and reach no parameter at all.
 // Both amp shapes are live: the Trigger fade pair that used to reload folded into the AHD and
 // inherited its routing, so a Trigger-mode instance now tracks its amplitude knobs too.
-bool isLiveDeckParam(DeckParam id);
+//
+// kRate is the one NoteOnLatched control, and the reason is a real feature rather than a
+// plumbing detail: loop points and contours both scale with rate, and both are note-on folds —
+// resolveLoop runs once per note-on and a contour resolves against the note's own span. A live
+// rate would mean re-folding an already-resolved loop and re-mapping a contour mid-note without
+// a discontinuity. kPitch is not implicated and is ordinarily Live.
+enum class LiveCommit { Live, NoteOnLatched, Reload };
+LiveCommit deckParamCommit(DeckParam id);
 
 // The editor drag kinds that can commit live, in this pure module's own vocabulary (the
 // shell's DragKind maps onto it) so the WHOLE routing decision — not just the predicate — is
 // testable without a host.
 enum class LiveDragKind { kOther, kDeckKnob, kEnvNode };
 
-// Whether a drag of `kind` commits live. A deck knob is live per isLiveDeckParam (negative ids
-// are the shell's processor-side sentinels and out-of-range ids are not controls, so neither
-// reaches the enum); an envelope-node drag is live in either mode, since every stage value it
-// can reach — AHDSR or AHD, on any of the three envelopes — is itself live.
-bool liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind kind, int paramId);
+// How a drag of `kind` commits. A deck knob answers per deckParamCommit (negative ids are the
+// shell's processor-side sentinels and out-of-range ids are not controls, so neither reaches the
+// enum); an envelope-node drag is Live in either mode, since every stage value it can reach —
+// AHDSR or AHD, on any of the three envelopes — is itself Live.
+//
+// Live and NoteOnLatched take the SAME route out of the editor — one publish of the live block,
+// no reload, no engine rebuild. They differ only in who reads the published value, which is the
+// engine's business (live_params.h), so the shell needs the distinction only to know that
+// neither reloads.
+LiveCommit liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind kind, int paramId);
 
 // Which envelope the waveform overlay draws and edits. Exclusive across the three envelope
 // decks, and kNone is a valid resting state — the editor opens there. Transient view state:
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/ui/deck_values.cpp b/src/core/instrument/ui/deck_values.cpp
index 782ea2f..47d911e 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/ui/deck_values.cpp
+++ b/src/core/instrument/ui/deck_values.cpp
@@ -23,6 +23,10 @@ double deckParamNorm(DeckParam id, const PlaySeconds& play) {
         case DeckParam::kPitchEnvMode:  return play.pitchSpline.mode == EnvMode::Spline ? 1.0 : 0.0;
         case DeckParam::kFilterEnvMode: return play.filterSpline.mode == EnvMode::Spline ? 1.0 : 0.0;
         case DeckParam::kPitchEngine:   return play.pitchEngine == PitchEngine::Preserve ? 1.0 : 0.0;
+        case DeckParam::kRate:
+            return rateNormFromRatio(play.playRate, kRateMinRatio, kRateMaxRatio);
+        case DeckParam::kPitch:
+            return depthNormFromSemitones(play.pitchOffsetSemitones, kPitchDepthMaxSemis);
         case DeckParam::kAttack:        return timeNormFromSeconds(play.adsr.attackSeconds);
         case DeckParam::kHold:          return timeNormFromSeconds(play.adsr.holdSeconds);
         case DeckParam::kDecay:         return timeNormFromSeconds(play.adsr.decaySeconds);
@@ -109,6 +113,10 @@ void setDeckParam(DeckParam id, PlaySeconds& play, double value, int segment) {
         case DeckParam::kPitchEngine:
             play.pitchEngine = (segment == 1) ? PitchEngine::Preserve : PitchEngine::Varispeed;
             break;
+        case DeckParam::kRate:
+            play.playRate = rateRatioFromNorm(value, kRateMinRatio, kRateMaxRatio); break;
+        case DeckParam::kPitch:
+            play.pitchOffsetSemitones = depthSemitonesFromNorm(value, kPitchDepthMaxSemis); break;
         case DeckParam::kAttack:  play.adsr.attackSeconds = timeSecondsFromNorm(value); break;
         case DeckParam::kHold:    play.adsr.holdSeconds = timeSecondsFromNorm(value); break;
         case DeckParam::kDecay:   play.adsr.decaySeconds = timeSecondsFromNorm(value); break;
@@ -202,6 +210,8 @@ void setDeckParam(DeckParam id, PlaySeconds& play, double value, int segment) {
 // and resolves to null.
 double* deckDoubleField(DeckParam id, PlaySeconds& p) {
     switch (id) {
+        case DeckParam::kRate:                  return &p.playRate;
+        case DeckParam::kPitch:                 return &p.pitchOffsetSemitones;
         case DeckParam::kAttack:                return &p.adsr.attackSeconds;
         case DeckParam::kHold:                  return &p.adsr.holdSeconds;
         case DeckParam::kDecay:                 return &p.adsr.decaySeconds;
@@ -280,6 +290,10 @@ UnitCategory deckParamUnit(DeckParam id) {
         case DeckParam::kFilterTrigAttack:
         case DeckParam::kFilterTrigDecay:
             return UnitCategory::Milliseconds;
+        // Rate DISPLAYS as a percent but its unit is the semitone — that is what puts an octave
+        // and a fifth under Shift, which a whole-percent snap could not reach.
+        case DeckParam::kRate:
+        case DeckParam::kPitch:
         case DeckParam::kPitchEnvDepth:
             return UnitCategory::Semitones;
         // The filter's four tone controls read out in Hz / Q / drive depth but snap in whole
@@ -325,6 +339,14 @@ double snapDeckParamNorm(DeckParam id, double norm) {
         case UnitCategory::Milliseconds:
             return timeNormFromSeconds(snapSecondsToWholeMs(timeSecondsFromNorm(norm)));
         case UnitCategory::Semitones:
+            // Rate's semitones live in the ratio domain, so its snap round-trips through the rate
+            // taper rather than the depth one; the other two share the depth throw.
+            if (id == DeckParam::kRate) {
+                return rateNormFromRatio(
+                    snapRateRatioToWholeSemitone(
+                        rateRatioFromNorm(norm, kRateMinRatio, kRateMaxRatio)),
+                    kRateMinRatio, kRateMaxRatio);
+            }
             return depthNormFromSemitones(
                 snapSemitonesToWhole(depthSemitonesFromNorm(norm, kPitchDepthMaxSemis)),
                 kPitchDepthMaxSemis);
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/ui/deck_values.h b/src/core/instrument/ui/deck_values.h
index b27b46f..4e52258 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/ui/deck_values.h
+++ b/src/core/instrument/ui/deck_values.h
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 
 #include <cstddef>
 
+#include "core/instrument/engine/time_stretch.h"   // kStretchRateMin/Max (Rate's own range)
 #include "core/instrument/map/play_seconds.h"      // PlaySeconds (the deck's edit target)
 #include "core/instrument/ui/deck_groups.h"        // DeckParam
 #include "core/instrument/ui/envelope_overlay.h"   // kGateStageMaxSeconds
@@ -29,6 +30,12 @@ inline constexpr double kPitchDepthMaxSemis = kVelocityPitchRangeSemitones;
 // Key-track knob ceiling (0..200%), shared by the pitch and filter key-track controls.
 inline constexpr double kKeyTrackMax = 2.0;
 
+// Rate's range: ALIASES of the stretcher's own measured ratio bounds, so the knob's ends are the
+// engine's clamp rather than a second opinion of it. The taper takes them as arguments for the
+// same reason the depth taper takes its throw — engine/time_stretch.h owns the numbers.
+inline constexpr double kRateMinRatio = engine::kStretchRateMin;
+inline constexpr double kRateMaxRatio = engine::kStretchRateMax;
+
 // The normalized [0,1] a control shows: stage times through the shared time taper, levels and
 // fractions as-is, signed depths through the centre-expanded depth taper, curve exponents over
 // their logarithmic travel. Controls backed by per-instance state rather than the parameter set
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/ui/param_taper.cpp b/src/core/instrument/ui/param_taper.cpp
index 59cc49f..cec5549 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/ui/param_taper.cpp
+++ b/src/core/instrument/ui/param_taper.cpp
@@ -32,6 +32,10 @@ double depthSpan(double maxSemitones) {
     return std::log1p(maxSemitones / kDepthOffsetSemitones);
 }
 
+double rateSpanOctaves(double minRatio, double maxRatio) {
+    return std::log2(maxRatio / minRatio);
+}
+
 }  // namespace
 
 double timeNormFromSeconds(double seconds) {
@@ -66,6 +70,27 @@ double depthSemitonesFromNorm(double norm, double maxSemitones) {
     return norm > 0.5 ? mag : -mag;
 }
 
+double rateNormFromRatio(double ratio, double minRatio, double maxRatio) {
+    if (!(maxRatio > minRatio && minRatio > 0.0)) return 0.5;  // degenerate bounds: park at unity
+    if (!(ratio > minRatio)) return 0.0;                       // also catches NaN
+    if (ratio >= maxRatio) return 1.0;
+    if (ratio == 1.0) return 0.5;  // the centre detent is EXACT, so unity persists as unity
+    return std::log2(ratio / minRatio) / rateSpanOctaves(minRatio, maxRatio);
+}
+
+double rateRatioFromNorm(double norm, double minRatio, double maxRatio) {
+    if (!(maxRatio > minRatio && minRatio > 0.0)) return 1.0;
+    if (!(norm > 0.0)) return minRatio;  // also catches NaN
+    if (norm >= 1.0) return maxRatio;
+    if (norm == 0.5) return 1.0;
+    // NOT resolved onto a decimal quantum, unlike the two maps above, and the difference is
+    // principled rather than an omission: this control's only default is unity, which the exact
+    // centre case above already delivers bitwise, so a grid would buy no preimage it does not
+    // already have — while costing accuracy at every whole semitone, none of which is a decimal
+    // ratio. Left as the plain exponential, accurate to an ulp.
+    return minRatio * std::exp2(norm * rateSpanOctaves(minRatio, maxRatio));
+}
+
 double snapSecondsToWholeMs(double seconds) {
     if (!(seconds > 0.0)) return 0.0;
     return std::round(seconds * 1000.0) / 1000.0;
@@ -83,4 +108,12 @@ double snapExponentToWhole(double exponent) {
     return util::clampCurve(std::round(util::clampCurve(exponent)));
 }
 
+double snapRateRatioToWholeSemitone(double ratio) {
+    if (!(ratio > 0.0)) return 1.0;  // also catches NaN: an unusable rate snaps to unity
+    // exp2 of a whole number of twelfths: 0 gives exactly 1.0 and +/-12 exactly halving/doubling,
+    // so a snap to the detent or to either end lands on the taper's own endpoint doubles. An
+    // in-range input stays in range, which is why this takes no bounds.
+    return std::exp2(std::round(12.0 * std::log2(ratio)) / 12.0);
+}
+
 }  // namespace reasampler::instrument::ui
diff --git a/src/core/instrument/ui/param_taper.h b/src/core/instrument/ui/param_taper.h
index cbfc703..a0f7f22 100644
--- a/src/core/instrument/ui/param_taper.h
+++ b/src/core/instrument/ui/param_taper.h
@@ -73,6 +73,20 @@ double timeSecondsFromNorm(double norm);
 double depthNormFromSemitones(double semitones, double maxSemitones);
 double depthSemitonesFromNorm(double norm, double maxSemitones);
 
+// Playback RATE as a ratio, exponential across the travel — i.e. LINEAR IN SEMITONES, the one
+// exception to the centre expansion above. Centre expansion applies to a semitone knob whose
+// throw exceeds +/-12; this throw IS +/-12 (half rate to double rate), already 0.19 st per drag
+// pixel, so expanding it would buy resolution nothing needs and cost the extremes.
+//
+// The bounds are PARAMETERS for the same reason the depth throw is: they belong to the engine's
+// stretcher, which owns the measurement they came from, and a second copy here could drift from
+// it. The map is monotone and hits them exactly at norm 0 and 1, so a norm in [0,1] cannot reach
+// a ratio the engine's own clamp would then move — ONE clamp, at the stretcher, not two.
+// Exactly 1.0 at norm 0.5 whenever the bounds bracket it, which is this control's whole
+// preimage obligation — see rateRatioFromNorm for why it carries no output quantum.
+double rateNormFromRatio(double ratio, double minRatio, double maxRatio);
+double rateRatioFromNorm(double norm, double minRatio, double maxRatio);
+
 // --- Shift's whole-unit snaps, in the VALUE domain -------------------------------------------
 //
 // Stated over values rather than norms because "whole unit" means whole unit of what the control
@@ -83,5 +97,9 @@ double snapSecondsToWholeMs(double seconds);
 double snapFractionToWholePercent(double fraction);  // 1.0 == 100 %
 double snapSemitonesToWhole(double semitones);
 double snapExponentToWhole(double exponent);         // clamped into curve_law's own domain
+// Rate's unit is the SEMITONE even though it displays as a percent, so its whole unit is one of
+// the 25 semitone steps between the bounds — which is what puts an octave and a fifth under the
+// hand. Stated over the ratio because that is what the control stores.
+double snapRateRatioToWholeSemitone(double ratio);
 
 }  // namespace reasampler::instrument::ui
diff --git a/src/shell/instrument/CLAUDE.md b/src/shell/instrument/CLAUDE.md
index 1802e8c..449dac3 100644
--- a/src/shell/instrument/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/src/shell/instrument/CLAUDE.md
@@ -69,14 +69,16 @@ scattered `#ifdef`s in the VST shell, except the one described below).
   (`DEF_CLASS2` / `INLINE_UID` / `FUID` from `pluginfactory.h` + `funknown.h`).
 
 **The three commit tiers (Θ-W3).** An edit reaches the audio by exactly one of three routes, and
-which route a control takes is decided once, by the pure `isLiveDeckParam` / `liveCommitFor` pair
+which route a control takes is decided once, by the pure `deckParamCommit` / `liveCommitFor` pair
 (`core/instrument/ui/deck_groups`) that the editor's `dragCommitsLive` only maps onto — see
 `core/instrument/CLAUDE.md`'s "Live parameter delivery" for the rule and its rationale.
 1. **Full reload** — `reloadInstrument`: bridge read, WAV re-decode, fresh engine, snapshot swap.
 2. **Engine rebuild** — `rebuildVoiceEngine`: same drain-slot swap around the already-decoded
    `SampleData`. Voice count / mode / mono trigger.
 3. **Live** — `publishLiveParams` (and `masterGain_`, the original of the shape): a lock-free
-   publish the audio thread observes at block boundaries. No rebuild, no snapshot, no disk.
+   publish the audio thread observes at block boundaries. No rebuild, no snapshot, no disk. The
+   pure predicate splits this tier by WHO READS the published value (`Live` vs `NoteOnLatched`);
+   the route out of the editor is the same one either way.
 
 The editor's `commitLive` is the tier-3 peer of `commitAndReload`; why it still writes the
 parameter set is recorded at its declaration in `reasampler_editor.h`, and why `liveParams_` is
diff --git a/src/shell/instrument/editor_controls.cpp b/src/shell/instrument/editor_controls.cpp
index 6d623db..16c0052 100644
--- a/src/shell/instrument/editor_controls.cpp
+++ b/src/shell/instrument/editor_controls.cpp
@@ -211,6 +211,16 @@ std::string ReaSamplerEditor::deckValueLabel(int id) const {
             snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), "%+.1fst", play.pitchEnv.peakSemitones); break;
         case ParamControl::kKeyTrack:
             snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), "%.0f%%", params_.keyTrack * 100.0); break;
+        case ParamControl::kRate: {
+            // One decimal below 100 % only: the taper is linear in semitones, so the lower half
+            // spends 50 percentage points on the same twelve semitones the upper half spends
+            // 100 on — a whole percent is twice as coarse a step down there.
+            const double pct = play.playRate * 100.0;
+            snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), pct < 100.0 ? "%.1f%%" : "%.0f%%", pct);
+            break;
+        }
+        case ParamControl::kPitch:
+            snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), "%+.1fst", play.pitchOffsetSemitones); break;
         case ParamControl::kVoiceCount:
             snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), "%d", voiceCount_); break;
         case ParamControl::kMasterGain:
diff --git a/src/shell/instrument/editor_paint_deck.cpp b/src/shell/instrument/editor_paint_deck.cpp
index 3a7bfbf..96af2d5 100644
--- a/src/shell/instrument/editor_paint_deck.cpp
+++ b/src/shell/instrument/editor_paint_deck.cpp
@@ -73,6 +73,8 @@ void ReaSamplerEditor::paintDeck(LICE_IBitmap* bmp, const FaceLayout& fl) {
             case ParamControl::kTrigHold:       return "Hold";
             case ParamControl::kTrigDecay:      return "Decay";
             case ParamControl::kKeyTrack:       return "Key Trk";
+            case ParamControl::kRate:           return "Rate";
+            case ParamControl::kPitch:          return "Pitch";
             case ParamControl::kPitchEnvAttack: return "P.Att";
             case ParamControl::kPitchEnvHold:   return "P.Hold";
             case ParamControl::kPitchEnvDecay:  return "P.Dec";
@@ -109,7 +111,7 @@ void ReaSamplerEditor::paintDeck(LICE_IBitmap* bmp, const FaceLayout& fl) {
         const char* caption = "";
         switch (g.id) {
             case kGroupAmpEnv:    caption = "AMP ENVELOPE"; break;
-            case kGroupPitch:     caption = "PITCH"; break;
+            case kGroupPitch:     caption = "PITCH/RATE"; break;
             case kGroupPitchEnv:  caption = "PITCH ENV"; break;
             case kGroupFilter:    caption = "FILTER"; break;
             case kGroupFilterEnv: caption = "FILTER ENV"; break;
diff --git a/src/shell/instrument/editor_session.cpp b/src/shell/instrument/editor_session.cpp
index 7c51cad..e6b0ec4 100644
--- a/src/shell/instrument/editor_session.cpp
+++ b/src/shell/instrument/editor_session.cpp
@@ -190,7 +190,10 @@ bool ReaSamplerEditor::dragCommitsLive(DragKind kind, int paramId) const {
     const LiveDragKind k = kind == DragKind::kDeckKnob ? LiveDragKind::kDeckKnob
                          : kind == DragKind::kEnvNode  ? LiveDragKind::kEnvNode
                                                        : LiveDragKind::kOther;
-    return instrument::ui::liveCommitFor(k, paramId);
+    // Live and NoteOnLatched take the SAME route out of here — one publish, no reload — so the
+    // shell's question is only "does this reload?". Which voices then read the published value
+    // is the engine's business (deck_groups.h).
+    return instrument::ui::liveCommitFor(k, paramId) != instrument::ui::LiveCommit::Reload;
 }
 
 void ReaSamplerEditor::closeCurvePopup() {
diff --git a/src/shell/instrument/reasampler_editor.h b/src/shell/instrument/reasampler_editor.h
index df050eb..b16f0ce 100644
--- a/src/shell/instrument/reasampler_editor.h
+++ b/src/shell/instrument/reasampler_editor.h
@@ -276,14 +276,14 @@ private:
     // instrument off the audio thread. UI thread only.
     void commitAndReload();
 
-    // The live peer of commitAndReload for a continuously-valued control (isLiveDeckParam):
+    // The live peer of commitAndReload for a continuously-valued control (deckParamCommit):
     // the same parameter-set write — so a saved project carries the edit exactly as before —
     // followed by a live publish instead of a rebuild, so the note already sounding follows
     // the knob. Does not repaint; callers already do. UI thread only.
     void commitLive();
 
     // Whether an in-flight drag commits live rather than through a reload. A deck knob is
-    // live per isLiveDeckParam; an envelope-node drag is live in EITHER mode — see
+    // live per deckParamCommit; an envelope-node drag is live in EITHER mode — see
     // liveCommitFor (deck_groups.h) for why.
     bool dragCommitsLive(DragKind kind, int paramId = -1) const;
 
diff --git a/tests/test_component_state_io.cpp b/tests/test_component_state_io.cpp
index 276734c..5bc8ae9 100644
--- a/tests/test_component_state_io.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_component_state_io.cpp
@@ -453,7 +453,7 @@ static void testGoldenFullBlobFixture() {
         0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x01,0x00,0x00,
         0x00,0x05,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x53,0x6e,0x61,0x72,0x65,0x13,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x67,0x75,
         0x69,0x64,0x2d,0x31,0x32,0x33,0x34,0x2d,0x35,0x36,0x37,0x38,0x2d,0x61,0x62,0x63,
-        0x64,0x04,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x6b,0x69,0x63,0x6b,0x00,0xff,0xff,0xff,0x0f,0x00,0x00,
+        0x64,0x04,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x6b,0x69,0x63,0x6b,0x00,0xff,0xff,0xff,0x10,0x00,0x00,
         0x00,0x01,0x24,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x01,0x01,0xe8,0x03,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,
         0x88,0x13,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x01,0xfa,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,
         0x00,0x01,0x9a,0x99,0x99,0x99,0x99,0x99,0xa9,0x3f,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,
@@ -551,6 +551,9 @@ static void testGoldenFullBlobFixture() {
         0x00,                                            // Straight
         // --- payload v15 limiter enable ---
         0x00,                                            // bypassed (the default)
+        // --- payload v16 rate + baseline pitch offset ---
+        0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0xf0,0x3f,         // playRate 1.0
+        0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,0x00,         // pitchOffsetSemitones 0.0
     };
     // clang-format on
     CHECK(bytes.size() == sizeof(kGolden));
@@ -598,10 +601,10 @@ static void testEnvelopePrefixBytesFrozen() {
         CHECK(bytes[4] == 0);  // ChannelMode::Mono
     }
     CHECK(kComponentStateVersion == 11);
-    CHECK(kParamsPayloadVersion == 15);
+    CHECK(kParamsPayloadVersion == 16);
     CHECK(kParamsSingleRecordVersion == 8);
     CHECK(kParamsFormatMarker == 0xFFFFFF00u);
-    // The filter, staged-curve, loop, velocity, spline, bake-Hold and limiter tails rode
+    // The filter, staged-curve, loop, velocity, spline, bake-Hold, limiter and rate tails rode
     // PAYLOAD bumps, not envelope ones — the two axes stay independent, so a future envelope
     // field cannot collide with any of them on one number. This pins the NUMBERS only; that
     // each tail's bytes sit in the order its number implies is
@@ -613,7 +616,8 @@ static void testEnvelopePrefixBytesFrozen() {
     CHECK(kParamsSplineVersion > kParamsVelocityVersion);
     CHECK(kParamsBakeHoldVersion > kParamsSplineVersion);
     CHECK(kParamsLimiterVersion > kParamsBakeHoldVersion);
-    CHECK(kParamsPayloadVersion == kParamsLimiterVersion);
+    CHECK(kParamsRateVersion > kParamsLimiterVersion);
+    CHECK(kParamsPayloadVersion == kParamsRateVersion);
 }
 
 // --- The filter tail (payload v9) --------------------------------------------
@@ -798,9 +802,14 @@ static void testNonFiniteAhdSecondsLiftToZero() {
 static constexpr std::size_t kHardFlagTailBytes = 4 + 2 + 4 + 2 + 4 + 2;
 static constexpr std::size_t kBakeHoldTailBytes = 4 + 1;
 static constexpr std::size_t kLimiterTailBytes = 1;
+static constexpr std::size_t kRateTailBytes = 8 + 8;  // v16: rate + pitch offset, two doubles
+// Everything past the hard flags, as ONE unit — the splice tests cut back over all of it, so a
+// new rung is one edit here rather than a hand-counted sum at each of them.
+static constexpr std::size_t kTrailingTailBytes =
+    kBakeHoldTailBytes + kLimiterTailBytes + kRateTailBytes;
 
-// The v14/v15 tails, re-appended after a splice so the record still ends where the reader
-// expects. They go back in wire order: Hold first, then the limiter byte.
+// The v14/v15/v16 tails, re-appended after a splice so the record still ends where the reader
+// expects. They go back in wire order: Hold, then the limiter byte, then the rate pair.
 static void putBakeHoldTail(std::vector<std::uint8_t>& out, int quarterExponent,
                             note::DivisionModifier modifier) {
     legacy::u32v(out, static_cast<std::uint32_t>(static_cast<std::int32_t>(quarterExponent)));
@@ -811,9 +820,15 @@ static void putLimiterTail(std::vector<std::uint8_t>& out, bool enabled) {
     legacy::u8v(out, enabled ? 1 : 0);
 }
 
+static void putRateTail(std::vector<std::uint8_t>& out, double rate, double pitchOffset) {
+    legacy::f64v(out, rate);
+    legacy::f64v(out, pitchOffset);
+}
+
 static void putDefaultTrailingTails(std::vector<std::uint8_t>& out) {
     putBakeHoldTail(out, 2, note::DivisionModifier::Straight);  // 1/1, the field's default
     putLimiterTail(out, false);                                 // bypassed, the field's default
+    putRateTail(out, 1.0, 0.0);                                 // unity rate, no offset
 }
 
 // A hard-flag COUNT that disagrees with the curve fromPoints already built, but is still
@@ -848,8 +863,8 @@ static void testV13HardFlagInBoundsMismatchDropsFlagsOnly() {
     // order in params_payload.cpp) is deterministic and this test can splice it exactly.
 
     std::vector<std::uint8_t> bytes = serializeComponentState(in);
-    CHECK(bytes.size() >= kHardFlagTailBytes + kBakeHoldTailBytes + kLimiterTailBytes);
-    bytes.resize(bytes.size() - kHardFlagTailBytes - kBakeHoldTailBytes - kLimiterTailBytes);
+    CHECK(bytes.size() >= kHardFlagTailBytes + kTrailingTailBytes);
+    bytes.resize(bytes.size() - kHardFlagTailBytes - kTrailingTailBytes);
     legacy::u32v(bytes, 5);                    // amp: bogus count...
     for (int i = 0; i < 5; ++i) legacy::u8v(bytes, 0);  // ...with 5 REAL bytes, so nothing shifts
     legacy::u32v(bytes, 2);                    // filter: correct count, unchanged
@@ -896,8 +911,8 @@ static void testV13HardFlagOutOfBoundsCountSurvivesWithoutWipingTheRecord() {
     in.params.loopCrossfadeFrames = 321;
 
     std::vector<std::uint8_t> bytes = serializeComponentState(in);
-    CHECK(bytes.size() >= kHardFlagTailBytes + kBakeHoldTailBytes + kLimiterTailBytes);
-    bytes.resize(bytes.size() - kHardFlagTailBytes - kBakeHoldTailBytes - kLimiterTailBytes);
+    CHECK(bytes.size() >= kHardFlagTailBytes + kTrailingTailBytes);
+    bytes.resize(bytes.size() - kHardFlagTailBytes - kTrailingTailBytes);
     legacy::u32v(bytes, 1000);            // amp: a count its own tail cannot possibly carry
     // …and nothing at all after it, so the blob simply ends inside the v13 tail.
 
@@ -947,7 +962,7 @@ static void testV13HardFlagCountThatStrandsAlignmentLeavesTheHoldAbsentNotFabric
     // Everything after it — the amp flags, both well-formed neighbour blocks, the Hold and the
     // limiter byte — is exactly what the serializer wrote, which is the whole hazard.
     constexpr std::size_t kThreePointFlagTail = (4 + 3) + (4 + 2) + (4 + 2);
-    constexpr std::size_t kTrailingTails = kBakeHoldTailBytes + kLimiterTailBytes;
+    constexpr std::size_t kTrailingTails = kTrailingTailBytes;
     std::vector<std::uint8_t> bytes = serializeComponentState(in);
     CHECK(bytes.size() >= kThreePointFlagTail + kTrailingTails);
     const std::size_t ampCountAt = bytes.size() - kThreePointFlagTail - kTrailingTails;
@@ -1044,10 +1059,10 @@ static void testV13HardFlagTailTruncatedMidCountSurvivesWithoutWipingTheRecord()
     in.params.loopCrossfadeFrames = 5;
 
     std::vector<std::uint8_t> bytes = serializeComponentState(in);
-    CHECK(bytes.size() >= kHardFlagTailBytes + kBakeHoldTailBytes + kLimiterTailBytes);
+    CHECK(bytes.size() >= kHardFlagTailBytes + kTrailingTailBytes);
     // Drops the bake-Hold and limiter tails with the flags: the truncation strands everything
     // after it, which is the whole point — both lift to their defaults alongside the flags.
-    bytes.resize(bytes.size() - kHardFlagTailBytes - kBakeHoldTailBytes - kLimiterTailBytes);
+    bytes.resize(bytes.size() - kHardFlagTailBytes - kTrailingTailBytes);
     legacy::u8v(bytes, 0x02);         // half of the amp tail's 4-byte LE count, then nothing
     legacy::u8v(bytes, 0x00);
 
@@ -1255,18 +1270,18 @@ static void testLimiterEnableRoundTripsAndV14LiftsToBypassedWithItsHoldIntact()
     CHECK(out.params.keyTrack == 0.25);
     CHECK(out.params.bakeHold == note::makeDivision(-1, note::DivisionModifier::Dotted));
 
-    // The same state stamped v14, with exactly the one appended byte cut away: byte-for-byte
+    // The same state stamped v14, with the two rungs appended after it cut away: byte-for-byte
     // what the Ξ binary wrote. Its Hold must survive in full.
     const ComponentState v14 = deserializeComponentState(
-        payloadDowngradedTo(in, kParamsBakeHoldVersion, kLimiterTailBytes), 48000.0);
+        payloadDowngradedTo(in, kParamsBakeHoldVersion, kLimiterTailBytes + kRateTailBytes),
+        48000.0);
     CHECK(!v14.params.limiterEnabled);
     CHECK(v14.params.bakeHold == note::makeDivision(-1, note::DivisionModifier::Dotted));
     CHECK(v14.params.keyTrack == 0.25);
 
     // And a v13 blob, one rung further back, lifts to BOTH defaults.
     const ComponentState v13 = deserializeComponentState(
-        payloadDowngradedTo(in, kParamsSplineVersion, kBakeHoldTailBytes + kLimiterTailBytes),
-        48000.0);
+        payloadDowngradedTo(in, kParamsSplineVersion, kTrailingTailBytes), 48000.0);
     CHECK(!v13.params.limiterEnabled);
     CHECK(v13.params.bakeHold == InstrumentParams{}.bakeHold);
     CHECK(v13.params.keyTrack == 0.25);
@@ -1280,37 +1295,49 @@ static void testLimiterEnableRoundTripsAndV14LiftsToBypassedWithItsHoldIntact()
 
 // The ORDERING proof at the WRITER, stated in bytes rather than in prose: the payload's whole
 // discipline is that each version's fields are a strict suffix on the previous version's, so
-// v14's Hold pair must be emitted BEFORE v15's limiter byte or every v14 blob already saved
-// mis-parses. Asserted at absolute offsets from the end of the blob, with both fields off
-// their defaults, so transposing the two writes fails on the values and not just the layout.
+// v14's Hold pair must be emitted BEFORE v15's limiter byte, and both before v16's rate pair,
+// or every blob already saved at those rungs mis-parses. Asserted at absolute offsets from the
+// end of the blob, with every field off its default, so transposing any two writes fails on the
+// values and not just the layout.
 static void testAppendedTailsSitInVersionOrderOnTheWire() {
     ComponentState in;
     in.selectionId = "pad";
     in.params.bakeHold = note::makeDivision(-2, note::DivisionModifier::Triplet);
     in.params.limiterEnabled = true;
+    in.params.play.playRate = 2.0;                  // 0x4000000000000000 LE
+    in.params.play.pitchOffsetSemitones = -12.0;    // 0xC028000000000000 LE
 
     const std::vector<std::uint8_t> bytes = serializeComponentState(in);
-    CHECK(bytes.size() > kBakeHoldTailBytes + kLimiterTailBytes);
+    CHECK(bytes.size() > kTrailingTailBytes);
 
-    // The last six bytes are, in order: the v14 Hold's 4-byte LE exponent, its 1-byte
-    // modifier, then the v15 limiter byte.
-    const std::size_t holdAt = bytes.size() - kBakeHoldTailBytes - kLimiterTailBytes;
+    // In order: the v14 Hold's 4-byte LE exponent, its 1-byte modifier, the v15 limiter byte,
+    // then the v16 rate and pitch-offset doubles.
+    const std::size_t holdAt = bytes.size() - kTrailingTailBytes;
     CHECK(bytes[holdAt + 0] == 0xfe);  // -2 as int32 LE two's-complement
     CHECK(bytes[holdAt + 1] == 0xff);
     CHECK(bytes[holdAt + 2] == 0xff);
     CHECK(bytes[holdAt + 3] == 0xff);
     CHECK(bytes[holdAt + 4] == static_cast<std::uint8_t>(note::DivisionModifier::Triplet));
-    CHECK(bytes[bytes.size() - 1] == 0x01);  // the limiter enable, last
+    CHECK(bytes[holdAt + 5] == 0x01);  // the limiter enable
+    const std::size_t rateAt = holdAt + kBakeHoldTailBytes + kLimiterTailBytes;
+    const std::uint8_t wantRate[8] = {0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x40};
+    const std::uint8_t wantOffset[8] = {0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x28, 0xc0};
+    for (std::size_t i = 0; i < 8; ++i) {
+        CHECK(bytes[rateAt + i] == wantRate[i]);
+        CHECK(bytes[rateAt + 8 + i] == wantOffset[i]);
+    }
 
-    // The same claim from the other side: flipping only the limiter changes only the LAST
-    // byte, so the byte the limiter owns cannot be one the Hold also writes.
+    // The same claim from the other side: flipping only the limiter changes only the byte the
+    // limiter owns, so it cannot be one the Hold or the rate pair also writes.
     ComponentState off = in;
     off.params.limiterEnabled = false;
     const std::vector<std::uint8_t> offBytes = serializeComponentState(off);
     CHECK(offBytes.size() == bytes.size());
     if (offBytes.size() == bytes.size()) {
-        for (std::size_t i = 0; i + 1 < bytes.size(); ++i) CHECK(offBytes[i] == bytes[i]);
-        CHECK(offBytes[bytes.size() - 1] == 0x00);
+        for (std::size_t i = 0; i < bytes.size(); ++i) {
+            if (i == holdAt + 5) CHECK(offBytes[i] == 0x00);
+            else CHECK(offBytes[i] == bytes[i]);
+        }
     }
 }
 
@@ -1408,10 +1435,10 @@ static void testV13BlobLiftsToTheDefaultHold() {
     in.params.loopCrossfadeFrames = 128;
     in.params.bakeHold = note::makeDivision(5, note::DivisionModifier::Dotted);
 
-    // Stamp the payload back to v13 and drop the v14 and v15 tails both: byte-for-byte what
-    // the v13 binary would have written.
-    const std::vector<std::uint8_t> v13 = payloadDowngradedTo(
-        in, kParamsSplineVersion, kBakeHoldTailBytes + kLimiterTailBytes);
+    // Stamp the payload back to v13 and drop every tail appended since: byte-for-byte what the
+    // v13 binary would have written.
+    const std::vector<std::uint8_t> v13 =
+        payloadDowngradedTo(in, kParamsSplineVersion, kTrailingTailBytes);
     const ComponentState out = deserializeComponentState(v13, 48000.0);
     CHECK(out.params.bakeHold == InstrumentParams{}.bakeHold);
     CHECK(out.selectionId == "pad");
@@ -1427,18 +1454,22 @@ static void testBakeHoldCorruptPairClampsToTheLadder() {
     ComponentState in;
     in.selectionId = "pad";
     std::vector<std::uint8_t> bytes = serializeComponentState(in);
-    CHECK(bytes.size() >= kBakeHoldTailBytes + kLimiterTailBytes);
-    bytes.resize(bytes.size() - kBakeHoldTailBytes - kLimiterTailBytes);
+    CHECK(bytes.size() >= kTrailingTailBytes);
+    bytes.resize(bytes.size() - kTrailingTailBytes);
     legacy::u32v(bytes, static_cast<std::uint32_t>(static_cast<std::int32_t>(9999)));
     legacy::u8v(bytes, 200);  // an unnamed modifier byte
-    putLimiterTail(bytes, true);  // a well-formed byte after it, so the clamp is the only fault
+    // Well-formed, off-default tails after it, so the clamp is the only fault in the blob.
+    putLimiterTail(bytes, true);
+    putRateTail(bytes, 0.5, 7.0);
 
     const ComponentState out = deserializeComponentState(bytes, 48000.0);
     CHECK(out.params.bakeHold ==
           note::makeDivision(note::kMaxQuarterExponent, note::DivisionModifier::Straight));
-    // The tail behind the corrupt pair still lands on its own field: the clamp consumed exactly
-    // the five bytes it was owed, so the limiter byte was not read out of the Hold's modifier.
+    // The tails behind the corrupt pair still land on their own fields: the clamp consumed
+    // exactly the five bytes it was owed, so nothing after it was read out of alignment.
     CHECK(out.params.limiterEnabled);
+    CHECK(out.params.play.playRate == 0.5);
+    CHECK(out.params.play.pitchOffsetSemitones == 7.0);
 }
 
 // A blob truncated INSIDE the v14 tail costs the Hold alone — and, with the v15 byte stranded
@@ -1451,22 +1482,98 @@ static void testBakeHoldTruncatedTailSurvivesWithoutWipingTheRecord() {
     in.params.loopCrossfadeFrames = 96;
     in.params.bakeHold = note::makeDivision(4, note::DivisionModifier::Triplet);
     in.params.limiterEnabled = true;
+    in.params.play.playRate = 0.75;
+    in.params.play.pitchOffsetSemitones = -5.0;
 
     std::vector<std::uint8_t> bytes = serializeComponentState(in);
-    CHECK(bytes.size() >= kBakeHoldTailBytes + kLimiterTailBytes);
-    bytes.resize(bytes.size() - kBakeHoldTailBytes - kLimiterTailBytes);
+    CHECK(bytes.size() >= kTrailingTailBytes);
+    bytes.resize(bytes.size() - kTrailingTailBytes);
     legacy::u8v(bytes, 0x02);  // two of the exponent's four bytes, then nothing
     legacy::u8v(bytes, 0x00);
 
     const ComponentState out = deserializeComponentState(bytes, 48000.0);
     CHECK(out.params.bakeHold == InstrumentParams{}.bakeHold);
     CHECK(!out.params.limiterEnabled);  // stranded behind the Hold, and revived not wiped
+    // The rate pair is stranded two rungs behind the damage and must reach its own neutral
+    // rather than fabricating one out of the drained bytes.
+    CHECK(out.params.play.playRate == 1.0);
+    CHECK(out.params.play.pitchOffsetSemitones == 0.0);
     CHECK(out.selectionId == "pad");
     CHECK(out.params.rootOverride && *out.params.rootOverride == 71);
     CHECK(out.params.play.adsr.attackSeconds == 0.017);
     CHECK(out.params.loopCrossfadeFrames == 96);
 }
 
+// --- The rate + pitch-offset tail (payload v16) ------------------------------
+
+// The rung's whole contract in one test: a v16 blob round-trips BOTH fields exactly, and a v15
+// blob — a strict prefix of it, byte-for-byte what the shipped binary wrote — lifts to unity
+// rate and zero offset, which is what every instance before them played. The neighbours ahead of
+// the pair are checked too, so a misread that shifted the record shows up here rather than as a
+// silent retune.
+static void testRateAndPitchOffsetRoundTripAndV15LiftsToUnity() {
+    ComponentState in;
+    in.selectionId = "pad";
+    in.params.keyTrack = 0.75;
+    in.params.limiterEnabled = true;
+    in.params.bakeHold = note::makeDivision(3, note::DivisionModifier::Dotted);
+    // Both off their defaults, and both exactly representable, so == is the right comparison:
+    // the codec stores raw doubles and must not round either one.
+    in.params.play.playRate = 0.75;
+    in.params.play.pitchOffsetSemitones = -7.5;
+
+    const ComponentState out = deserializeComponentState(serializeComponentState(in), 48000.0);
+    CHECK(out.params.play.playRate == 0.75);
+    CHECK(out.params.play.pitchOffsetSemitones == -7.5);
+    CHECK(out.params.limiterEnabled);
+    CHECK(out.params.bakeHold == note::makeDivision(3, note::DivisionModifier::Dotted));
+    CHECK(out.params.keyTrack == 0.75);
+
+    const ComponentState v15 = deserializeComponentState(
+        payloadDowngradedTo(in, kParamsLimiterVersion, kRateTailBytes), 48000.0);
+    CHECK(v15.params.play.playRate == 1.0);
+    CHECK(v15.params.play.pitchOffsetSemitones == 0.0);
+    // Everything the v15 binary DID write survives the lift untouched.
+    CHECK(v15.params.limiterEnabled);
+    CHECK(v15.params.bakeHold == note::makeDivision(3, note::DivisionModifier::Dotted));
+    CHECK(v15.params.keyTrack == 0.75);
+
+    // Unity/zero is the default at the struct as well as on the wire, so a fresh instance and a
+    // lifted v15 one are the same sound.
+    CHECK(PlaySeconds{}.playRate == 1.0);
+    CHECK(PlaySeconds{}.pitchOffsetSemitones == 0.0);
+}
+
+// Neither field has a clamp of its own downstream that could rescue a corrupt blob: the rate
+// multiplies a read increment (the engine's own clampStretchRate is the one authority on its
+// RANGE, so the codec only refuses the unusable) and the offset feeds a 2^(x/12) whose result
+// reaches a per-sample cast. Both degrade to their neutral rather than through.
+static void testCorruptRateOrOffsetDegradesToTheNeutral() {
+    const double nan = std::numeric_limits<double>::quiet_NaN();
+    const struct { double rate; double offset; double wantRate; double wantOffset; } cases[] = {
+        {nan, 3.0, 1.0, 3.0},
+        {0.75, nan, 0.75, 0.0},
+        {0.0, 3.0, 1.0, 3.0},                      // a zero rate would stall the read head
+        {-1.0, 3.0, 1.0, 3.0},                     // and a negative one would run it backwards
+        {std::numeric_limits<double>::infinity(), 3.0, 1.0, 3.0},
+        {0.75, 1e9, 0.75, 0.0},                    // past the +/-24 st throw
+        {0.75, -1e9, 0.75, 0.0},
+        {0.75, 24.0, 0.75, 24.0},                  // the throw itself is IN range
+        {0.75, -24.0, 0.75, -24.0},
+    };
+    for (const auto& c : cases) {
+        ComponentState in;
+        in.selectionId = "pad";
+        std::vector<std::uint8_t> bytes = serializeComponentState(in);
+        CHECK(bytes.size() >= kRateTailBytes);
+        bytes.resize(bytes.size() - kRateTailBytes);
+        putRateTail(bytes, c.rate, c.offset);
+        const ComponentState out = deserializeComponentState(bytes, 48000.0);
+        CHECK(out.params.play.playRate == c.wantRate);
+        CHECK(out.params.play.pitchOffsetSemitones == c.wantOffset);
+    }
+}
+
 // The WRITER emits the CURRENT payload version, and the marker + version sit at the head of
 // the payload — the self-describing property every legacy branch depends on. Asserted
 // against the semantic constants, not literals.
@@ -2079,6 +2186,8 @@ int main() {
     testV13BlobLiftsToTheDefaultHold();
     testBakeHoldCorruptPairClampsToTheLadder();
     testBakeHoldTruncatedTailSurvivesWithoutWipingTheRecord();
+    testRateAndPitchOffsetRoundTripAndV15LiftsToUnity();
+    testCorruptRateOrOffsetDegradesToTheNeutral();
     if (failures == 0) {
         std::printf("component_state_io_tests: all tests passed\n");
         return 0;
diff --git a/tests/test_deck_groups.cpp b/tests/test_deck_groups.cpp
index 5069705..6fa95b9 100644
--- a/tests/test_deck_groups.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_deck_groups.cpp
@@ -412,10 +412,12 @@ static void testBipolarKnobLawRoundTripsAndIsExactAtCentre() {
     CHECK(deckNormFromBipolar(3.0) == 1.0);
 }
 
-static void testEveryDeckControlIsClassifiedLiveOrReloading() {
-    // The live set: the seven filter tone/modulation knobs, plus every stage time, stage level,
-    // hold fraction and curve exponent on all three envelopes — in BOTH mode shapes.
+static void testEveryDeckControlIsClassifiedIntoOneOfTheThreeCommitTiers() {
+    // The live set: the seven filter tone/modulation knobs, the baseline pitch offset, plus
+    // every stage time, stage level, hold fraction and curve exponent on all three envelopes —
+    // in BOTH mode shapes.
     const DeckParam live[] = {
+        DeckParam::kPitch,
         DeckParam::kFilterMorph, DeckParam::kFilterCutoff, DeckParam::kFilterQ,
         DeckParam::kFilterDrive, DeckParam::kFilterModAmt, DeckParam::kFilterVel,
         DeckParam::kFilterKeyTrack,
@@ -434,7 +436,14 @@ static void testEveryDeckControlIsClassifiedLiveOrReloading() {
         DeckParam::kFilterEnvReleaseCurve,
         DeckParam::kFilterTrigAttackCurve, DeckParam::kFilterTrigDecayCurve,
     };
-    for (DeckParam p : live) CHECK(isLiveDeckParam(p));
+    for (DeckParam p : live) CHECK(deckParamCommit(p) == LiveCommit::Live);
+
+    // The note-on-latched tier: published like a live control, read only at note-on. Asserted as
+    // its OWN state rather than as "not Reload" — the whole point of widening the predicate is
+    // that Rate must not fall back into either neighbour, and Γ-W4-T1 reads this classification
+    // to decide what it exposes to the host.
+    const DeckParam latched[] = {DeckParam::kRate};
+    for (DeckParam p : latched) CHECK(deckParamCommit(p) == LiveCommit::NoteOnLatched);
 
     // Everything else reloads or rebuilds; deck_groups.h is the home for why each exclusion
     // is excluded.
@@ -448,15 +457,16 @@ static void testEveryDeckControlIsClassifiedLiveOrReloading() {
         DeckParam::kVoiceCount, DeckParam::kVoiceMode,
         DeckParam::kMonoTrigger, DeckParam::kMasterGain,
     };
-    for (DeckParam p : reloads) CHECK(!isLiveDeckParam(p));
+    for (DeckParam p : reloads) CHECK(deckParamCommit(p) == LiveCommit::Reload);
 
-    // COVERAGE, not cardinality: every id appears in EXACTLY ONE of the two lists. A sum check
+    // COVERAGE, not cardinality: every id appears in EXACTLY ONE of the three lists. A sum check
     // would stay green if an edit duplicated one id and dropped another, leaving that one
     // unclassified.
     for (int i = 0; i < static_cast<int>(DeckParam::kCount); ++i) {
         const DeckParam p = static_cast<DeckParam>(i);
         int seen = 0;
         for (DeckParam q : live) if (q == p) ++seen;
+        for (DeckParam q : latched) if (q == p) ++seen;
         for (DeckParam q : reloads) if (q == p) ++seen;
         if (seen != 1) std::printf("  (deck id %d classified %d times)\n", i, seen);
         CHECK(seen == 1);
@@ -464,26 +474,34 @@ static void testEveryDeckControlIsClassifiedLiveOrReloading() {
 }
 
 static void testOnlyALiveControlsDragTakesTheLiveTier() {
-    // isLiveDeckParam alone is not what a user experiences — liveCommitFor is, at the editor's
+    // deckParamCommit alone is not what a user experiences — liveCommitFor is, at the editor's
     // commit site. Inverting it has to FAIL a test rather than merely read wrong.
-    CHECK(liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind::kDeckKnob, static_cast<int>(DeckParam::kFilterCutoff)));
-    CHECK(liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind::kDeckKnob, static_cast<int>(DeckParam::kAttack)));
+    const auto knob = [](DeckParam p) {
+        return liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind::kDeckKnob, static_cast<int>(p));
+    };
+    CHECK(knob(DeckParam::kFilterCutoff) == LiveCommit::Live);
+    CHECK(knob(DeckParam::kAttack) == LiveCommit::Live);
+    CHECK(knob(DeckParam::kPitch) == LiveCommit::Live);
     // The Trigger amp is live now that the fade pair folded into the AHD — the one behavioural
     // consequence of that consolidation.
-    CHECK(liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind::kDeckKnob, static_cast<int>(DeckParam::kTrigAttack)));
-    CHECK(liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind::kDeckKnob, static_cast<int>(DeckParam::kTrigDecayCurve)));
-    CHECK(!liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind::kDeckKnob, static_cast<int>(DeckParam::kTrigLength)));
-    CHECK(!liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind::kDeckKnob, static_cast<int>(DeckParam::kMasterGain)));
-    CHECK(!liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind::kDeckKnob, static_cast<int>(DeckParam::kAmpEnvSelect)));
+    CHECK(knob(DeckParam::kTrigAttack) == LiveCommit::Live);
+    CHECK(knob(DeckParam::kTrigDecayCurve) == LiveCommit::Live);
+    // Rate keeps its own tier through the drag site: it must not arrive as Live (which would let
+    // it move a sounding note) nor as Reload (which would re-decode the WAV under a swept knob).
+    CHECK(knob(DeckParam::kRate) == LiveCommit::NoteOnLatched);
+    CHECK(knob(DeckParam::kTrigLength) == LiveCommit::Reload);
+    CHECK(knob(DeckParam::kMasterGain) == LiveCommit::Reload);
+    CHECK(knob(DeckParam::kAmpEnvSelect) == LiveCommit::Reload);
     // The shell's processor-side sentinels (preview velocity is -2) and any out-of-range id
     // are not parameter-set controls, so they must never reach the enum.
-    CHECK(!liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind::kDeckKnob, -2));
-    CHECK(!liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind::kDeckKnob, -1));
-    CHECK(!liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind::kDeckKnob, static_cast<int>(DeckParam::kCount)));
+    CHECK(liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind::kDeckKnob, -2) == LiveCommit::Reload);
+    CHECK(liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind::kDeckKnob, -1) == LiveCommit::Reload);
+    CHECK(knob(DeckParam::kCount) == LiveCommit::Reload);
     // Every stage value an envelope node can reach is live, in either mode shape.
-    CHECK(liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind::kEnvNode, -1));
+    CHECK(liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind::kEnvNode, -1) == LiveCommit::Live);
     // Every other drag (markers, scrollbar, curve nodes) commits through a reload.
-    CHECK(!liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind::kOther, static_cast<int>(DeckParam::kFilterCutoff)));
+    CHECK(liveCommitFor(LiveDragKind::kOther, static_cast<int>(DeckParam::kFilterCutoff)) ==
+          LiveCommit::Reload);
 }
 
 // --- The overlay selection state machine ---------------------------------------
@@ -582,9 +600,9 @@ static void testDeckKnobIsInertExactlyWithItsGroupsEnableToggle() {
 // that scale either shape stay live. (Which segment knobs, per envelope, is pinned in
 // spline_egs_tests alongside the rest of the spline rules.)
 static void testAModeToggleIsNeitherLiveNorAnOverlayRadio() {
-    CHECK(!isLiveDeckParam(DeckParam::kAmpEnvMode));
-    CHECK(!isLiveDeckParam(DeckParam::kPitchEnvMode));
-    CHECK(!isLiveDeckParam(DeckParam::kFilterEnvMode));
+    CHECK(deckParamCommit(DeckParam::kAmpEnvMode) == LiveCommit::Reload);
+    CHECK(deckParamCommit(DeckParam::kPitchEnvMode) == LiveCommit::Reload);
+    CHECK(deckParamCommit(DeckParam::kFilterEnvMode) == LiveCommit::Reload);
     CHECK(overlayEnvForModeToggle(radio(DeckParam::kAmpEnvMode)) == OverlayEnv::kAmp);
     CHECK(overlayEnvForModeToggle(radio(DeckParam::kPitchEnvMode)) == OverlayEnv::kPitch);
     CHECK(overlayEnvForModeToggle(radio(DeckParam::kFilterEnvMode)) == OverlayEnv::kFilter);
@@ -644,6 +662,31 @@ static void testNoFaceLeavesSlackWhereItsDroppedControlsWere() {
 // The "residue lands in symmetric end margins" rule is knob_deck's own (layoutGroup), pinned
 // once by its synthetic residue>=2 fixture in test_knob_deck.cpp rather than restated here.
 
+// PITCH/RATE carries three cells and measures exactly 192 — the KNOB row (3 x kDeckCellW plus
+// padding) is what it measures from, and the caption row must stay under that. The ceiling is
+// asserted by construction rather than as a comment: at a caption reserve of 80 the group is
+// still 192, and at 81 it is not, which is the whole content of "hard ceiling 80". Widening the
+// group is not the remedy if the caption text ever outgrows it — narrowing the mode toggle is.
+static void testThePitchRateGroupIsKnobRowDrivenAtExactlyOneNinetyTwo() {
+    const std::vector<DeckGroupDesc> g = sampleDeckGroups(PlayMode::Gate);
+    const DeckGroupDesc* pitch = nullptr;
+    for (const DeckGroupDesc& d : g) if (d.id == kGroupPitch) pitch = &d;
+    CHECK(pitch != nullptr);
+    if (!pitch) return;
+    CHECK(pitch->cellIds.size() == 3);
+    CHECK(pitch->cellIds[0] == static_cast<int>(DeckParam::kKeyTrack));
+    CHECK(pitch->cellIds[1] == static_cast<int>(DeckParam::kRate));
+    CHECK(pitch->cellIds[2] == static_cast<int>(DeckParam::kPitch));
+    CHECK(deckGroupWidth(*pitch) == 192);
+    CHECK(3 * kDeckCellW + 2 * kDeckGroupPadX == 192);  // the knob row IS the measurement
+
+    DeckGroupDesc probe = *pitch;
+    probe.captionWidth = 80;
+    CHECK(deckGroupWidth(probe) == 192);  // at the ceiling the caption row still fits under it
+    probe.captionWidth = 81;
+    CHECK(deckGroupWidth(probe) > 192);   // one past it, the caption row takes over
+}
+
 // Gate is the common face and its group widths are what the width budget is spent against:
 // pin them at the floor so a later edit anywhere in the deck cannot move one silently.
 // (Measured from the shipped descriptors, not copied out of a failing run.) The WRAP row a
@@ -652,7 +695,7 @@ static void testNoFaceLeavesSlackWhereItsDroppedControlsWere() {
 static void testGateModeGroupWidthsAreUnchanged() {
     const std::vector<DeckGroupDesc> g = sampleDeckGroups(PlayMode::Gate);
     const struct { int id; int width; } want[] = {
-        {kGroupPitch, 150}, {kGroupPitchEnv, 252}, {kGroupFilter, 524},
+        {kGroupPitch, 192}, {kGroupPitchEnv, 252}, {kGroupFilter, 524},
         {kGroupFilterEnv, 312}, {kGroupAmpEnv, 312}, {kGroupVelocity, 192},
         {kGroupVoice, 164}, {kGroupMaster, 72},
     };
@@ -736,7 +779,7 @@ int main() {
     testDeckKnobIsInertExactlyWithItsGroupsEnableToggle();
     testAModeToggleIsNeitherLiveNorAnOverlayRadio();
     testTheModeTogglesCostNoGroupWidth();
-    testEveryDeckControlIsClassifiedLiveOrReloading();
+    testEveryDeckControlIsClassifiedIntoOneOfTheThreeCommitTiers();
     testOnlyALiveControlsDragTakesTheLiveTier();
     testDeckReadsPitchThenFilterThenAmpLeftToRight();
     testVelocityGroupOwnsTheThreeCurvesExclusively();
@@ -750,6 +793,7 @@ int main() {
     testWrappedDeckHeightAtTheEditorFloorWidth();
     testDeckFitsInsideTheEnforcedMinimumWindow();
     testNoFaceLeavesSlackWhereItsDroppedControlsWere();
+    testThePitchRateGroupIsKnobRowDrivenAtExactlyOneNinetyTwo();
     testGateModeGroupWidthsAreUnchanged();
     testGateSplineGateRoundTripsToTheSameLayout();
     testTheEditorFloorIsDerivedFromTheDeckWidthBudget();
diff --git a/tests/test_deck_values.cpp b/tests/test_deck_values.cpp
index d82090b..ab2a3d4 100644
--- a/tests/test_deck_values.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_deck_values.cpp
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 
 using namespace reasampler;
 using namespace reasampler::instrument::ui;
+namespace engine = reasampler::instrument::engine;  // the stretcher's own rate bounds + clamp
 
 static int g_fail = 0;
 #define CHECK(cond) do { if(!(cond)) { \
@@ -88,6 +89,88 @@ static void testNormRoundTripsThroughEveryValueDomain() {
     CHECK(p.adsr.decaySeconds == 0.0);
 }
 
+// Rate's range is the STRETCHER's, aliased rather than restated, so the knob's two ends and the
+// engine's clamp cannot become two opinions. Asserted against the engine constants themselves.
+static void testRateKnobEndsAreTheStretchersOwnBounds() {
+    CHECK(kRateMinRatio == engine::kStretchRateMin);
+    CHECK(kRateMaxRatio == engine::kStretchRateMax);
+    PlaySeconds p;
+    setDeckParam(DeckParam::kRate, p, 0.0, 0);
+    CHECK(p.playRate == engine::kStretchRateMin);
+    CHECK(engine::clampStretchRate(p.playRate) == p.playRate);  // the clamp has nothing to do
+    setDeckParam(DeckParam::kRate, p, 1.0, 0);
+    CHECK(p.playRate == engine::kStretchRateMax);
+    CHECK(engine::clampStretchRate(p.playRate) == p.playRate);
+    // And nowhere on the travel does the knob produce a rate the engine would move.
+    for (int i = 0; i <= 1000; ++i) {
+        setDeckParam(DeckParam::kRate, p, static_cast<double>(i) / 1000.0, 0);
+        CHECK(engine::clampStretchRate(p.playRate) == p.playRate);
+        if (engine::clampStretchRate(p.playRate) != p.playRate) return;
+    }
+}
+
+// The two new bindings write the two new fields and nothing else — both are doubles on
+// PlaySeconds with adjacent homes, so a getter/setter pair that crossed them would still
+// round-trip. The centre detent is exact on both, which is what lets an untouched knob persist
+// unity rate and zero transposition.
+static void testRateAndPitchBindTheirOwnFields() {
+    PlaySeconds p;
+    setDeckParam(DeckParam::kRate, p, 0.5, 0);
+    CHECK(p.playRate == 1.0);
+    CHECK(p.pitchOffsetSemitones == 0.0);
+    CHECK(deckParamNorm(DeckParam::kRate, p) == 0.5);
+
+    setDeckParam(DeckParam::kPitch, p, 0.5, 0);
+    CHECK(p.pitchOffsetSemitones == 0.0);
+    CHECK(p.playRate == 1.0);
+    CHECK(deckParamNorm(DeckParam::kPitch, p) == 0.5);
+
+    // Pitch rides the SAME centre-expanded depth taper as the pitch envelope's own depth, over
+    // the SAME throw — a second constant here would be the defect the spec names.
+    setDeckParam(DeckParam::kPitch, p, 1.0, 0);
+    CHECK(p.pitchOffsetSemitones == kPitchDepthMaxSemis);
+    CHECK(kPitchDepthMaxSemis == kVelocityPitchRangeSemitones);
+    setDeckParam(DeckParam::kPitch, p, 0.0, 0);
+    CHECK(p.pitchOffsetSemitones == -kPitchDepthMaxSemis);
+    CHECK(p.playRate == 1.0);  // untouched by every write above but its own
+
+    // A move on Rate leaves the offset alone, in the other direction.
+    setDeckParam(DeckParam::kPitch, p, 0.5, 0);
+    setDeckParam(DeckParam::kRate, p, 0.0, 0);
+    CHECK(p.pitchOffsetSemitones == 0.0);
+}
+
+// Shift's whole unit on BOTH new knobs is the semitone, not the percent their labels read in.
+// Asserted through the deck's own snap entry point (the shell calls nothing else), and in
+// semitones, which is the unit the rule is stated in.
+static void testShiftSnapsBothNewKnobsToWholeSemitones() {
+    CHECK(deckParamUnit(DeckParam::kRate) == UnitCategory::Semitones);
+    CHECK(deckParamUnit(DeckParam::kPitch) == UnitCategory::Semitones);
+
+    PlaySeconds p;
+    // Rate: a norm a third of the way up is 8 semitones below unity — snapping must land on a
+    // whole one, and the knob must still be able to reach an octave and a fifth by hand.
+    for (double norm : {0.13, 0.37, 0.5, 0.62, 0.88}) {
+        setDeckParam(DeckParam::kRate, p, snapDeckParamNorm(DeckParam::kRate, norm), 0);
+        const double semis = 12.0 * std::log2(p.playRate);
+        CHECK(std::fabs(semis - std::round(semis)) < 1e-9);
+        if (!(std::fabs(semis - std::round(semis)) < 1e-9)) return;
+    }
+    // The two landmarks by name: unity, and a fifth up.
+    setDeckParam(DeckParam::kRate, p, snapDeckParamNorm(DeckParam::kRate, 0.5), 0);
+    CHECK(p.playRate == 1.0);
+    setDeckParam(DeckParam::kRate, p, snapDeckParamNorm(DeckParam::kRate, 0.5 + 7.0 / 24.0), 0);
+    CHECK(std::fabs(12.0 * std::log2(p.playRate) - 7.0) < 1e-9);
+
+    // Pitch: whole semitones on the centre-expanded taper, exactly (its taper resolves onto a
+    // micro-semitone grid, so a whole semitone is ON that grid).
+    for (double norm : {0.17, 0.33, 0.71, 0.94}) {
+        setDeckParam(DeckParam::kPitch, p, snapDeckParamNorm(DeckParam::kPitch, norm), 0);
+        CHECK(p.pitchOffsetSemitones == std::round(p.pitchOffsetSemitones));
+        if (p.pitchOffsetSemitones != std::round(p.pitchOffsetSemitones)) return;
+    }
+}
+
 // The dual-ring reset contract: the outer ring resets the stage VALUE and the inner dial resets
 // the EXPONENT, each leaving the other exactly as it was. Both fields are asserted in both
 // directions — checking only the field that changed would pass even if the reset clobbered its
@@ -342,6 +425,9 @@ static void testTimeConstantsAlwaysReadInMilliseconds() {
 int main() {
     testTheTwoCeilingNamesAreOneNumber();
     testNormRoundTripsThroughEveryValueDomain();
+    testRateKnobEndsAreTheStretchersOwnBounds();
+    testRateAndPitchBindTheirOwnFields();
+    testShiftSnapsBothNewKnobsToWholeSemitones();
     testResetTouchesOnlyItsOwnRingOnADualRingKnob();
     testInnerResetLandsOnTheExactLinearNeutral();
     testResetLandsOnTheStoredDefaultOfEachControl();
diff --git a/tests/test_live_delivery.cpp b/tests/test_live_delivery.cpp
index 8cfdf6b..7705d36 100644
--- a/tests/test_live_delivery.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_live_delivery.cpp
@@ -720,6 +720,136 @@ static void testOneBlockServesTwoIndependentObservers() {
     CHECK(seen.filterSettings.cutoffNorm == 0.2f);
 }
 
+// --- The third commit class: published live, read only at note-on -------------------------
+
+// A ramp source read under Varispeed, so every output frame IS the read position — a moved read
+// increment shows up directly rather than as a timbre change. The claim has two halves and both
+// are asserted: the sounding note is byte-identical to one that never saw the publish, AND the
+// next note-on takes the new rate. Asserting only the first would pass on a rate that never
+// arrived at all.
+static SampleData rampForReadRate() {
+    SampleData s;
+    s.frames.resize(200000);
+    for (std::size_t i = 0; i < s.frames.size(); ++i) {
+        s.frames[i] = static_cast<float>(static_cast<double>(i) / 200000.0);
+    }
+    s.sampleRate = kRate;
+    s.rootNote = 60;
+    s.play.adsr.sustainLevel = 1.0;
+    return s;
+}
+
+// A one-voice engine with its Preserve shifters actually SIZED, unlike renderWithLive's — the
+// shared harness leaves them unconfigured, which silently routes a Preserve voice down the
+// varispeed read and would make "in both engines" mean one engine twice.
+static std::vector<AudioSample> renderPreserveCapable(SampleData& s, LiveParams& block,
+                                                      const LiveValues* changed, int changeAfter,
+                                                      int note) {
+    s.live = &block;
+    block.publish(foldLive(s.play));
+    VoiceEngine engine(1, s, /*preserveVoiceCap=*/0, /*preserveWindowFrames=*/2048);
+    engine.noteOn(note, 100);
+    std::vector<AudioSample> out;
+    for (int b = 0; b < 24; ++b) {
+        if (changed && b == changeAfter) block.publish(*changed);
+        engine.render(out, 512);
+    }
+    return out;
+}
+
+static void testARateChangeSpareTheSoundingNoteAndReachesTheNextOne() {
+    for (PitchEngine eng : {PitchEngine::Varispeed, PitchEngine::Preserve}) {
+        SampleData still = rampForReadRate();
+        SampleData moved = rampForReadRate();
+        still.play.pitchEngine = eng;
+        moved.play.pitchEngine = eng;
+
+        LiveParams blockA, blockB;
+        LiveValues halfRate = foldLive(moved.play);
+        halfRate.playRate = 0.5;
+
+        // At the ROOT note, so Preserve's shifter runs at shift 1.0 and never splices — the
+        // output is then the source at the read head under both engines, which is what makes
+        // the ramp readable as a read rate at all.
+        const std::vector<AudioSample> baseline =
+            renderPreserveCapable(still, blockA, nullptr, -1, 60);
+        const std::vector<AudioSample> swept =
+            renderPreserveCapable(moved, blockB, &halfRate, 8, 60);
+
+        // BYTE-identical, not merely close: the sounding voice never reads the field.
+        CHECK(baseline.size() == swept.size());
+        bool untouched = true;
+        for (std::size_t i = 0; i < baseline.size() && i < swept.size(); ++i) {
+            if (baseline[i] != swept[i]) { untouched = false; break; }
+        }
+        CHECK(untouched);
+
+        // The next note-on takes it — measured as the note's LIFETIME, which is what Rate
+        // controls in both engines. (The ramp's instantaneous value is a read-position probe
+        // under Varispeed only: under Preserve the shifter's tap sits behind the feed and
+        // relocates at every splice, so the value at a given output frame is not the source
+        // there.) The rate is carried ONLY by the published block — sample.play keeps unity —
+        // so a lifetime that doubles can only have come from the block.
+        auto blocksAlive = [&](double rate) {
+            SampleData fresh = rampForReadRate();
+            fresh.play.pitchEngine = eng;
+            LiveParams block;
+            fresh.live = &block;
+            LiveValues published = foldLive(fresh.play);
+            published.playRate = rate;
+            block.publish(published);
+            VoiceEngine engine(1, fresh, /*preserveVoiceCap=*/0, /*preserveWindowFrames=*/2048);
+            engine.noteOn(60, 100);
+            std::vector<AudioSample> out;
+            int blocks = 0;
+            while (engine.activeVoiceCount() > 0 && blocks < 4000) {
+                engine.render(out, 512);
+                ++blocks;
+            }
+            return blocks;
+        };
+        const int atUnity = blocksAlive(1.0);
+        const int atHalf = blocksAlive(0.5);
+        CHECK(atUnity > 100 && atUnity < 4000);  // the note really did run to its own end
+        CHECK(std::fabs(static_cast<double>(atHalf) - 2.0 * atUnity) < 0.05 * atUnity);
+    }
+}
+
+// Pitch is the other side of the same coin: it DOES move the note already sounding, under both
+// engines — one more factor of the read increment under Varispeed, an addend to the shift under
+// Preserve. Measured as a tail that departs from the untouched render while the frames before
+// the publish stay byte-identical.
+static void testAPitchOffsetChangeMovesTheSoundingNoteInBothEngines() {
+    for (PitchEngine eng : {PitchEngine::Varispeed, PitchEngine::Preserve}) {
+        SampleData still = periodicSine(200000, 64.0);
+        SampleData moved = periodicSine(200000, 64.0);
+        still.play.pitchEngine = eng;
+        moved.play.pitchEngine = eng;
+
+        LiveParams blockA, blockB;
+        LiveValues target = foldLive(moved.play);
+        target.pitchOffsetSemitones = -12.0;
+
+        const std::vector<AudioSample> baseline =
+            renderPreserveCapable(still, blockA, nullptr, -1, kTestNote);
+        const std::vector<AudioSample> swept =
+            renderPreserveCapable(moved, blockB, &target, 8, kTestNote);
+
+        double tailDiff = 0.0;
+        for (std::size_t i = 512 * 12; i < baseline.size(); ++i) {
+            tailDiff += std::fabs(static_cast<double>(swept[i]) -
+                                  static_cast<double>(baseline[i]));
+        }
+        CHECK(tailDiff > 1.0);
+
+        bool preChangeIdentical = true;
+        for (std::size_t i = 0; i < 512 * 8; ++i) {
+            if (swept[i] != baseline[i]) { preChangeIdentical = false; break; }
+        }
+        CHECK(preChangeIdentical);
+    }
+}
+
 // --- What stays latched at note-on -------------------------------------------------------
 
 static void testPitchRatioAndVelocityGainStayLatched() {
@@ -859,6 +989,8 @@ int main() {
     testEveryEnvelopeStageTimeAndLevelMovesTheSoundingNote();
     testEveryLiveFilterControlMovesTheSoundingNote();
     testOneBlockServesTwoIndependentObservers();
+    testARateChangeSpareTheSoundingNoteAndReachesTheNextOne();
+    testAPitchOffsetChangeMovesTheSoundingNoteInBothEngines();
     testPitchRatioAndVelocityGainStayLatched();
     testVelocityGainSurvivesAHostilePublishThatReallyLands();
     if (g_fail == 0) std::printf("live_delivery tests passed\n");
diff --git a/tests/test_param_taper.cpp b/tests/test_param_taper.cpp
index 4cf38f5..61b35d3 100644
--- a/tests/test_param_taper.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_param_taper.cpp
@@ -24,6 +24,11 @@ static int g_fail = 0;
     std::printf("FAIL line %d: %s\n", __LINE__, #cond); ++g_fail; } } while(0)
 
 static constexpr double kDepth = 24.0;  // the pitch-depth throw the deck passes in today
+// Rate's bounds, as the deck passes them in — the stretcher's own measured range. Written as
+// literals HERE on purpose: this is the module's test, and reading the engine constant would
+// make the test agree with the taper by construction rather than pin the numbers.
+static constexpr double kRateMin = 0.5;
+static constexpr double kRateMax = 2.0;
 
 // --- modifiers -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
@@ -227,6 +232,76 @@ static void testDegenerateThrowCollapsesToCentre() {
     CHECK(depthSemitonesFromNorm(0.9, 0.0) == 0.0);
 }
 
+// --- the rate taper -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+// The three landmarks the range is specified by, all EXACT: half rate at norm 0, double at norm
+// 1, and unity at TRUE knob centre — the last is what a detent has to be, and a map that merely
+// came close to 1.0 there would persist a hair of transposition on an untouched knob.
+static void testRateEndpointsAndCentreAreExact() {
+    CHECK(rateRatioFromNorm(0.0, kRateMin, kRateMax) == 0.5);
+    CHECK(rateRatioFromNorm(1.0, kRateMin, kRateMax) == 2.0);
+    CHECK(rateRatioFromNorm(0.5, kRateMin, kRateMax) == 1.0);
+    CHECK(rateNormFromRatio(0.5, kRateMin, kRateMax) == 0.0);
+    CHECK(rateNormFromRatio(2.0, kRateMin, kRateMax) == 1.0);
+    CHECK(rateNormFromRatio(1.0, kRateMin, kRateMax) == 0.5);
+    // Out of domain clamps rather than extrapolating — the map cannot reach a ratio the
+    // engine's own clamp would then have to move.
+    CHECK(rateRatioFromNorm(-1.0, kRateMin, kRateMax) == 0.5);
+    CHECK(rateRatioFromNorm(2.0, kRateMin, kRateMax) == 2.0);
+    CHECK(rateNormFromRatio(0.1, kRateMin, kRateMax) == 0.0);
+    CHECK(rateNormFromRatio(9.0, kRateMin, kRateMax) == 1.0);
+}
+
+// The taper's defining property, and the reason it is the exception to centre expansion: equal
+// travel buys equal SEMITONES, everywhere. Checked as a constant ratio-of-ratios across the
+// travel rather than at the two ends, which a centre-expanded map would also pass.
+static void testRateIsLinearInSemitonesAcrossTheWholeTravel() {
+    const double step = 1.0 / 24.0;  // 24 equal steps over 24 semitones
+    for (int i = 0; i < 24; ++i) {
+        const double lo = rateRatioFromNorm(static_cast<double>(i) * step, kRateMin, kRateMax);
+        const double hi = rateRatioFromNorm(static_cast<double>(i + 1) * step, kRateMin, kRateMax);
+        CHECK(std::fabs(hi / lo - std::exp2(1.0 / 12.0)) < 1e-12);
+        if (!(std::fabs(hi / lo - std::exp2(1.0 / 12.0)) < 1e-12)) return;
+    }
+    // The named musical landmarks that buys: an octave at each end, a fifth seven steps out.
+    CHECK(std::fabs(rateRatioFromNorm(0.5 + 7.0 / 24.0, kRateMin, kRateMax) -
+                    std::exp2(7.0 / 12.0)) < 1e-12);
+}
+
+static void testRateIsMonotone() {
+    double prev = -1.0;
+    for (int i = 0; i <= 200000; ++i) {
+        const double v = rateRatioFromNorm(static_cast<double>(i) / 200000.0, kRateMin, kRateMax);
+        CHECK(v >= prev);
+        if (v < prev) return;
+        prev = v;
+    }
+}
+
+// The preimage obligation this control actually carries: its ONE default, bitwise, because a
+// host's reset-to-default arrives as toPlain(defaultNorm) with no editor bypass to intercept it.
+// Both endpoints are exact for the same reason. Everything between round-trips to within an ulp
+// rather than bitwise — the map carries no output quantum, and the header says why.
+static void testRateDefaultAndEndpointsRoundTripBitwise() {
+    CHECK(rateRatioFromNorm(rateNormFromRatio(1.0, kRateMin, kRateMax), kRateMin, kRateMax) == 1.0);
+    CHECK(rateRatioFromNorm(rateNormFromRatio(0.5, kRateMin, kRateMax), kRateMin, kRateMax) == 0.5);
+    CHECK(rateRatioFromNorm(rateNormFromRatio(2.0, kRateMin, kRateMax), kRateMin, kRateMax) == 2.0);
+    for (int milli = 500; milli <= 2000; milli += 7) {
+        const double ratio = static_cast<double>(milli) / 1000.0;
+        const double back =
+            rateRatioFromNorm(rateNormFromRatio(ratio, kRateMin, kRateMax), kRateMin, kRateMax);
+        CHECK(std::fabs(back - ratio) < 1e-14 * ratio);
+        if (!(std::fabs(back - ratio) < 1e-14 * ratio)) return;
+    }
+}
+
+// Degenerate bounds are a caller bug, not a crash: the map collapses to unity.
+static void testDegenerateRateBoundsCollapseToUnity() {
+    CHECK(rateRatioFromNorm(0.3, 2.0, 0.5) == 1.0);
+    CHECK(rateNormFromRatio(0.9, 2.0, 0.5) == 0.5);
+    CHECK(rateRatioFromNorm(0.3, 0.0, 2.0) == 1.0);
+}
+
 // --- the whole-unit snaps -------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 static void testMillisecondSnap() {
@@ -255,6 +330,36 @@ static void testSemitoneSnap() {
                                  kDepth) == 7.0);
 }
 
+// Rate's unit is the semitone though it displays as a percent, so Shift lands on the 25 steps
+// between the bounds — which is what puts an octave and a fifth under the hand. The detent and
+// both ends are reached EXACTLY, so a snap cannot leave the knob a hair off its own endpoint.
+static void testRateSemitoneSnap() {
+    CHECK(snapRateRatioToWholeSemitone(1.0) == 1.0);
+    CHECK(snapRateRatioToWholeSemitone(0.5) == 0.5);
+    CHECK(snapRateRatioToWholeSemitone(2.0) == 2.0);
+    CHECK(std::fabs(snapRateRatioToWholeSemitone(1.5) - std::exp2(7.0 / 12.0)) < 1e-15);
+    // Just off a step in each direction resolves back onto it.
+    CHECK(std::fabs(snapRateRatioToWholeSemitone(std::exp2(7.0 / 12.0) * 1.005) -
+                    std::exp2(7.0 / 12.0)) < 1e-15);
+    CHECK(std::fabs(snapRateRatioToWholeSemitone(std::exp2(7.0 / 12.0) * 0.995) -
+                    std::exp2(7.0 / 12.0)) < 1e-15);
+    // Within a quarter-semitone of unity snaps to unity, not to a neighbouring step.
+    CHECK(snapRateRatioToWholeSemitone(std::exp2(0.25 / 12.0)) == 1.0);
+    CHECK(snapRateRatioToWholeSemitone(0.0) == 1.0);   // unusable input parks at unity
+    CHECK(snapRateRatioToWholeSemitone(-1.0) == 1.0);
+    // What the knob actually stores after a Shift-drag is the snapped norm mapped back through
+    // the taper — so the property that matters is that THAT value is still a whole semitone.
+    // Measured in semitones, which is the unit the criterion is stated in.
+    for (int st = -12; st <= 12; ++st) {
+        const double norm =
+            rateNormFromRatio(std::exp2(static_cast<double>(st) / 12.0), kRateMin, kRateMax);
+        const double stored = rateRatioFromNorm(norm, kRateMin, kRateMax);
+        const double semis = 12.0 * std::log2(stored);
+        CHECK(std::fabs(semis - static_cast<double>(st)) < 1e-9);
+        if (!(std::fabs(semis - static_cast<double>(st)) < 1e-9)) return;
+    }
+}
+
 // The exponent snap reaches 1.0, the linear neutral — one snap from the dial's centre — and
 // clamps into curve_law's own domain rather than rounding to a zero that is not an exponent.
 static void testExponentSnap() {
@@ -285,9 +390,16 @@ int main() {
     testEveryWholeSemitoneRoundTripsExactly();
     testDegenerateThrowCollapsesToCentre();
 
+    testRateEndpointsAndCentreAreExact();
+    testRateIsLinearInSemitonesAcrossTheWholeTravel();
+    testRateIsMonotone();
+    testRateDefaultAndEndpointsRoundTripBitwise();
+    testDegenerateRateBoundsCollapseToUnity();
+
     testMillisecondSnap();
     testPercentSnap();
     testSemitoneSnap();
+    testRateSemitoneSnap();
     testExponentSnap();
 
     if (g_fail == 0) std::printf("param_taper: all tests passed\n");
diff --git a/tests/test_sampler_core.cpp b/tests/test_sampler_core.cpp
index 3ab30ef..3294b89 100644
--- a/tests/test_sampler_core.cpp
+++ b/tests/test_sampler_core.cpp
@@ -3070,12 +3070,14 @@ static void testPreserveStretchChangesDurationNotPitch() {
     CHECK(approx(period(slow, 2000, 9000), srcPeriod, 8.0));
     CHECK(approx(period(fast, 2000, 9000), srcPeriod, 8.0));
 
-    // The non-tautology witness: VARISPEED is the engine that couples them. Reaching the same
-    // durations there costs exactly the pitch change Preserve refuses to make — so the three
-    // equal periods above are a property of the stretcher, not of the measurement.
+    // The non-tautology witness: VARISPEED is the engine that couples them. The SAME rate 0.5
+    // reaches the same doubled duration there, and pays for it with exactly the octave Preserve
+    // refuses to drop — so the three equal periods above are a property of the stretcher, not of
+    // the measurement.
     std::size_t lifeVari = 0;
     const std::vector<AudioSample> vari = run(0.5, PitchEngine::Varispeed, lifeVari);
-    CHECK(approx(static_cast<double>(lifeVari), 24000.0, 200.0));  // rate ignored under Varispeed
+    CHECK(approx(static_cast<double>(lifeVari), 48000.0, 400.0));
+    CHECK(approx(period(vari, 2000, 9000), srcPeriod * 2.0, 16.0));
     SampleData down = s;
     down.play.pitchEngine = PitchEngine::Varispeed;
     Voice vv;
@@ -3091,6 +3093,200 @@ static void testPreserveStretchChangesDurationNotPitch() {
     CHECK(approx(period(variDown, 2000, 9000), srcPeriod * 2.0, 16.0));    // ...at half pitch
 }
 
+// --- Rate, the Pitch offset and key-tracking compound into ONE read increment. ---
+
+// Proved by IDENTITY rather than by measurement: under Varispeed the three factors land in one
+// multiply, so three different ways of asking for the same total ratio must render BYTE for
+// BYTE the same. A per-sample stage added for either new control, or one of them applied at a
+// different point in the chain, breaks this equality even where a measured pitch still looks
+// right — which a period measurement alone would not catch.
+static void testKeyTrackRateAndPitchOffsetResolveToOneMultiply() {
+    SampleData base = sineSample(20000, 100.0);
+    base.play.adsr = flatAdsr();
+    base.play.pitchEngine = PitchEngine::Varispeed;
+
+    const std::size_t n = 8000;
+    auto render = [&](int note, double rate, double offsetSemis) {
+        SampleData s = base;
+        s.play.playRate = rate;
+        s.play.pitchOffsetSemitones = offsetSemis;
+        Voice v;
+        v.start(note, 127, s, /*declickTakeover=*/false, rate);
+        std::vector<AudioSample> out(n, 0.0f);
+        for (std::size_t i = 0; i < n; ++i) out[i] = v.renderFrame();
+        return out;
+    };
+
+    // Three routes to a half-speed, octave-down read: through the keyboard, through Rate, and
+    // through the Pitch offset.
+    const std::vector<AudioSample> viaNote = render(48, 1.0, 0.0);
+    const std::vector<AudioSample> viaRate = render(60, 0.5, 0.0);
+    const std::vector<AudioSample> viaOffset = render(60, 1.0, -12.0);
+    CHECK(hashStream(viaNote) == hashStream(viaRate));
+    CHECK(hashStream(viaNote) == hashStream(viaOffset));
+    // And they are not all trivially silent or all trivially unity — the route below differs.
+    CHECK(hashStream(viaNote) != hashStream(render(60, 1.0, 0.0)));
+
+    // They MULTIPLY rather than accumulate anywhere else: an octave down at the keyboard and a
+    // doubled Rate cancel exactly, back to the untransposed read.
+    CHECK(hashStream(render(48, 2.0, 0.0)) == hashStream(render(60, 1.0, 0.0)));
+    // Same cancellation across the other pair, so no factor is privileged.
+    CHECK(hashStream(render(60, 2.0, -12.0)) == hashStream(render(60, 1.0, 0.0)));
+}
+
+// Under PRESERVE the same three factors SPLIT: key-tracking and the Pitch offset drive the
+// shifter's transpose, Rate drives duration alone. Asserted both ways round — the offset must
+// move pitch WITHOUT moving duration, which is the mirror of the rate case beside it.
+static void testPreserveRoutesRateToDurationAndTheOffsetToPitch() {
+    const std::int64_t w = 1024;
+    const std::size_t frames = 24000;
+    const double srcPeriod = 160.0;
+    SampleData s;
+    s.frames.resize(frames);
+    for (std::size_t i = 0; i < frames; ++i) {
+        s.frames[i] = static_cast<float>(std::sin(2.0 * kPi * static_cast<double>(i) / srcPeriod));
+    }
+    s.rootNote = 60;
+    s.play.adsr = flatAdsr();
+    s.play.pitchEngine = PitchEngine::Preserve;
+
+    auto run = [&](int note, double rate, double offsetSemis, std::size_t& life) {
+        SampleData local = s;
+        local.play.playRate = rate;
+        local.play.pitchOffsetSemitones = offsetSemis;
+        Voice v;
+        v.presizePreserveShifters(w);
+        v.start(note, 127, local, /*declickTakeover=*/false, rate);
+        std::vector<AudioSample> out;
+        out.reserve(frames * 3);
+        life = 0;
+        for (std::size_t i = 0; i < frames * 3 && v.active(); ++i) {
+            out.push_back(v.renderFrame());
+            ++life;
+        }
+        return out;
+    };
+    auto period = [](const std::vector<AudioSample>& v, std::size_t from, std::size_t to) {
+        double sum = 0.0;
+        std::size_t prev = 0, count = 0;
+        for (std::size_t i = from + 1; i < to && i < v.size(); ++i) {
+            if (v[i - 1] <= 0.0f && v[i] > 0.0f) {
+                if (count > 0) sum += static_cast<double>(i - prev);
+                prev = i;
+                ++count;
+            }
+        }
+        return count > 1 ? sum / static_cast<double>(count - 1) : 0.0;
+    };
+
+    std::size_t lifeFlat = 0, lifeDown = 0;
+    const std::vector<AudioSample> flat = run(60, 1.0, 0.0, lifeFlat);
+    const std::vector<AudioSample> down = run(60, 1.0, -12.0, lifeDown);
+    // Duration is untouched by the offset — only the transpose moved.
+    CHECK(approx(static_cast<double>(lifeFlat), 24000.0, 200.0));
+    CHECK(approx(static_cast<double>(lifeDown), 24000.0, 200.0));
+    CHECK(approx(period(flat, 2000, 9000), srcPeriod, 8.0));
+    CHECK(approx(period(down, 2000, 9000), srcPeriod * 2.0, 16.0));
+
+    // The offset and the keyboard reach the shifter through the SAME factor, so an octave down
+    // from either is the identical render.
+    std::size_t lifeNote = 0;
+    const std::vector<AudioSample> viaNote = run(48, 1.0, 0.0, lifeNote);
+    CHECK(hashStream(viaNote) == hashStream(down));
+    // …and Rate does not reach it at all: a rate change moves duration and leaves the period.
+    std::size_t lifeSlow = 0;
+    const std::vector<AudioSample> slow = run(60, 0.5, 0.0, lifeSlow);
+    CHECK(approx(static_cast<double>(lifeSlow), 48000.0, 400.0));
+    CHECK(approx(period(slow, 2000, 9000), srcPeriod, 8.0));
+}
+
+// The loop's AUDIBLE period scales with Rate while its stored frames — the marks the waveform
+// draws — are never rewritten. The source is a ramp confined to the loop span, so the rendered
+// stream is a sawtooth whose period IS the loop traversed once.
+static void testRateScalesTheLoopPeriodWithoutMovingItsStoredFrames() {
+    constexpr std::int64_t kLoopStart = 4000;
+    constexpr std::int64_t kLoopEnd = 8000;
+    SampleData base;
+    base.frames.assign(20000, 0.0f);
+    for (std::int64_t i = kLoopStart; i < kLoopEnd; ++i) {
+        base.frames[static_cast<std::size_t>(i)] =
+            static_cast<float>(i - kLoopStart) / static_cast<float>(kLoopEnd - kLoopStart);
+    }
+    base.rootNote = 60;
+    base.startFrame = kLoopStart;
+    base.loop = SampleLoop{true, kLoopStart, kLoopEnd};
+    base.play.adsr = flatAdsr();
+    base.play.pitchEngine = PitchEngine::Varispeed;
+
+    // Output frames between successive mid-ramp crossings — the loop's audible period. Measured
+    // on the RISING half rather than on the seam: at a fractional read position the seam frame is
+    // interpolated across the wrap, so the drop arrives as two half-steps and an edge detector
+    // either misses it or counts it twice. The ramp crosses its midpoint exactly once per cycle.
+    auto sawPeriod = [](const std::vector<AudioSample>& v) {
+        double sum = 0.0;
+        std::size_t prev = 0, count = 0;
+        for (std::size_t i = 1; i < v.size(); ++i) {
+            if (v[i - 1] <= 0.5f && v[i] > 0.5f) {
+                if (count > 0) sum += static_cast<double>(i - prev);
+                prev = i;
+                ++count;
+            }
+        }
+        return count > 1 ? sum / static_cast<double>(count - 1) : 0.0;
+    };
+
+    for (double rate : {1.0, 0.5, 2.0}) {
+        SampleData s = base;
+        s.play.playRate = rate;
+        Voice v;
+        v.start(60, 127, s, /*declickTakeover=*/false, rate);
+        std::vector<AudioSample> out(30000, 0.0f);
+        for (std::size_t i = 0; i < out.size(); ++i) out[i] = v.renderFrame();
+        CHECK(approx(sawPeriod(out), 4000.0 / rate, 2.0));
+        // The stored span is a source-frame FACT: the engine reads it and never writes it, so
+        // the two waveform markers sit where they sat.
+        CHECK(s.loop.start == kLoopStart);
+        CHECK(s.loop.end == kLoopEnd);
+        CHECK(s.startFrame == kLoopStart);
+    }
+}
+
+// The asymmetry the spec is explicit about: a contour is OF THE SAMPLE and scales with Rate, a
+// staged envelope is OF THE PERFORMANCE and does not. Trigger's AHD is the case that could go
+// wrong — it is evaluated at the SOURCE offset, which advances at the rate — so its stage frames
+// are fitted to that rate at note-on. Measured as the OUTPUT frame the attack completes on.
+static void testStagedStageTimesDoNotScaleWithRateWhileTheSpanDoes() {
+    constexpr std::int64_t kAttack = 2000;
+    SampleData base = dcSample(24000);
+    base.play.playMode = PlayMode::Trigger;
+    base.play.trigAhd = AhdParams{kAttack, 0, 1.0, util::kCurveNeutral, util::kCurveNeutral};
+
+    for (PitchEngine eng : {PitchEngine::Varispeed, PitchEngine::Preserve}) {
+        std::size_t lifeAtUnity = 0;
+        for (double rate : {1.0, 2.0, 0.5}) {
+            SampleData s = base;
+            s.play.pitchEngine = eng;
+            s.play.playRate = rate;
+            Voice v;
+            v.presizePreserveShifters(1024);
+            v.start(60, 127, s, /*declickTakeover=*/false, rate);
+            std::size_t life = 0, reachedFull = 0;
+            for (std::size_t i = 0; i < 80000 && v.active(); ++i) {
+                const double y = static_cast<double>(v.renderFrame());
+                if (reachedFull == 0 && y > 0.99) reachedFull = i;
+                ++life;
+            }
+            // The attack is wall clock: the same OUTPUT frame at every rate.
+            CHECK(approx(static_cast<double>(reachedFull), static_cast<double>(kAttack), 40.0));
+            // …while the play span itself is source frames, so the note's length DOES scale.
+            if (rate == 1.0) lifeAtUnity = life;
+            else CHECK(approx(static_cast<double>(life),
+                              static_cast<double>(lifeAtUnity) / rate,
+                              static_cast<double>(lifeAtUnity) * 0.02));
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 // --- The onset is a regression surface: no added latency at ANY rate. ---
 static void testPreserveStretchSpeaksOnFrameZeroAtEveryRate() {
     const std::int64_t w = 2048;
@@ -3440,6 +3636,10 @@ int main() {
     testPreserveUnityRateIsBitIdenticalToTheShippedRead();
     testSourcePeriodChangesTheRenderedStream();
     testPreserveStretchChangesDurationNotPitch();
+    testKeyTrackRateAndPitchOffsetResolveToOneMultiply();
+    testPreserveRoutesRateToDurationAndTheOffsetToPitch();
+    testRateScalesTheLoopPeriodWithoutMovingItsStoredFrames();
+    testStagedStageTimesDoNotScaleWithRateWhileTheSpanDoes();
     testPreserveStretchSpeaksOnFrameZeroAtEveryRate();
     testPreserveStretchLoopsTheSourceSpan();
     testPreserveStretchThirtyTwoVoicesHoldUp();