Merge pS-ga3-tail: Preserve tail wind-down — freeze SOLA writer at source end so the tail + release play clean (no DC-splice chop)

src/vst/pitch_shift.cpp

@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ void PitchShifter::configure(std::int64_t windowFrames) {
         fadeFrames_ = fadeLen_ = maxLag_ = corrFrames_ = dLow_ = dHigh_ = 0;
         filled_ = 0;
         ratio_ = 1.0;
+        tailFrozen_ = false;
         return;
     }
     // 2x-window ring: one window of splice-jump span plus search + fade headroom on each side.
@@ -95,6 +96,37 @@ void PitchShifter::reset() {
     }
     filled_ = 0;
     ratio_ = 1.0;
+    tailFrozen_ = false;
+}
+
+void PitchShifter::freezeTail() {
+    if (window_ <= 1 || tailFrozen_) return;
+    tailFrozen_ = true;
+    // An in-flight crossfade was sized for a RETREATING writer (outgoing tap drains at
+    // ratio-1 per frame); frozen, the outgoing tap closes at the full ratio. Cap the live
+    // fade so it completes before tap B reaches the parked writer and reads lapped (oldest-
+    // window) content mid-fade. fadePos_ is re-anchored to the same fractional t so gNew is
+    // continuous at the freeze frame (no gain step); see the re-anchor block below.
+    if (fading_) {
+        // Preserve t = fadePos_/fadeLen_ across the shortening so gNew is continuous at the
+        // freeze frame (no gain step). Compute tOld BEFORE overwriting fadeLen_, then
+        // re-anchor fadePos_ to the same fractional position in the new (shorter) fade.
+        const double tOld =
+            static_cast<double>(fadePos_) / static_cast<double>(fadeLen_);
+        double dB = static_cast<double>(writePos_) - posB_;
+        const double len = static_cast<double>(ringLen_);
+        while (dB < 0.0) dB += len;
+        while (dB >= len) dB -= len;
+        // Clamp in double before the int64 cast (matches splice() pattern; guards against UB
+        // when dB/ratio_ is very large, e.g. near-unity ratio at a high sample rate).
+        double left = (dB - 2.0) / ratio_;
+        if (left > static_cast<double>(fadeFrames_)) left = static_cast<double>(fadeFrames_);
+        const std::int64_t leftFrames = left > 1.0 ? static_cast<std::int64_t>(left) : 1;
+        const std::int64_t newFadeLen = std::min(fadeLen_, fadePos_ + leftFrames);
+        // Re-anchor: tOld < 1 because we are mid-fade, so newFadePos < newFadeLen (still fading).
+        fadePos_ = static_cast<std::int64_t>(tOld * static_cast<double>(newFadeLen));
+        fadeLen_ = newFadeLen;
+    }
 }
 
 void PitchShifter::prime(const AudioSample* src, std::int64_t count) {
@@ -113,6 +145,7 @@ void PitchShifter::prime(const AudioSample* src, std::int64_t count) {
     fadePos_ = 0;
     fadeLen_ = 0;
     filled_ = count;
+    tailFrozen_ = false;  // a fresh note-on always starts with a live writer
     // ratio_ deliberately untouched: the voice sets it per frame around the prime.
 }
 
@@ -129,6 +162,7 @@ void PitchShifter::warm() {
     fadePos_ = 0;
     fadeLen_ = 0;
     filled_ = window_;
+    tailFrozen_ = false;
 }
 
 void PitchShifter::setShiftRatio(double ratio) {
@@ -259,13 +293,19 @@ void PitchShifter::splice(std::int64_t nominalJump, double delay) {
     // outgoing delay at (1 - ratio) < 1 per frame and cannot reach the ring end within
     // window/4 frames, so they always keep the full fade. A pitch-envelope ratio slew
     // mid-fade is covered by the same margin for any realistic per-frame bias.
+    //
+    // TAIL-FROZEN (GA3): with the writer parked, the outgoing tap closes on it at the FULL
+    // ratio (there is no retreating write head), in EITHER shift direction — so the drain
+    // rate is ratio_ instead of (ratio_ - 1), and the cap applies at every ratio (unity
+    // included: splices fire in the frozen tail because the delay now drains at unity too).
     fadeLen_ = fadeFrames_;
-    if (ratio_ > 1.0) {
+    const double drainRate = tailFrozen_ ? ratio_ : (ratio_ - 1.0);
-        const double headroom = static_cast<double>(dLow_) - (ratio_ - 1.0) - 2.0;
+    if (drainRate > 0.0) {
+        const double headroom = static_cast<double>(dLow_) - drainRate - 2.0;
         // Clamp in double before the int64 cast to avoid UB at pathological near-unity ratios
-        // at very high sample rates (where headroom/(ratio_-1.0) could overflow int64).
+        // at very high sample rates (where headroom/drainRate could overflow int64).
         const double safeDbl = headroom > 0.0
-            ? std::min(headroom / (ratio_ - 1.0), static_cast<double>(fadeFrames_))
+            ? std::min(headroom / drainRate, static_cast<double>(fadeFrames_))
             : 1.0;
         fadeLen_ = std::max<std::int64_t>(1, static_cast<std::int64_t>(safeDbl));
     }
@@ -278,8 +318,13 @@ AudioSample PitchShifter::process(AudioSample in) {
 
     // 1. Write the incoming sample at the write head (source rate). One more slot of the
     //    ring now holds valid history (capped at the ring length once it has wrapped).
-    ring_[static_cast<std::size_t>(writePos_)] = in;
+    //    TAIL-FROZEN (GA3): the source is exhausted — `in` is padding, not stream. Write
-    if (filled_ < ringLen_) ++filled_;
+    //    NOTHING (the ring keeps its all-real final two windows) and hold the write head;
+    //    the read/splice/fade machinery below runs unchanged over the frozen content.
+    if (!tailFrozen_) {
+        ring_[static_cast<std::size_t>(writePos_)] = in;
+        if (filled_ < ringLen_) ++filled_;
+    }
 
     // 2. Read the active tap; while a splice fade is live, crossfade against the outgoing tap.
     //    Raised-cosine COMPLEMENTARY gains (gNew + gOld == 1): correlation-aligned content is
@@ -306,9 +351,12 @@ AudioSample PitchShifter::process(AudioSample in) {
         }
     }
 
-    // 4. Advance heads: write head one frame (source rate), tap(s) by the shift ratio.
+    // 4. Advance heads: write head one frame (source rate; parked while tail-frozen),
-    ++writePos_;
+    //    tap(s) by the shift ratio.
-    if (writePos_ >= ringLen_) writePos_ = 0;
+    if (!tailFrozen_) {
+        ++writePos_;
+        if (writePos_ >= ringLen_) writePos_ = 0;
+    }
     const double len = static_cast<double>(ringLen_);
     posA_ += ratio_;
     while (posA_ >= len) posA_ -= len;

src/vst/pitch_shift.h

@@ -40,6 +40,17 @@
 // ratio), and `splice()` clamps its jump to the really-filled span so no splice can ever
 // land in unwritten silence.
 //
+// WHY FREEZE THE TAIL (GA3-Preserve tail fix, 2026-07). GA2's prime fixed the ONSET; the
+// mirror problem lived at the note END. When the source ran out, the caller held the LAST
+// REAL SAMPLE as the feed — a DC plateau with no waveform for the correlation to align on.
+// Splices landing in or referenced against it were unalignable, so the tap alternated
+// real-tone / dead-DC at the splice cadence, the dead fraction growing as the plateau
+// displaced real ring history (the DAW report: periodic troughs "almost like ring
+// modulation", ~1:20 tone-to-silence at the very end). freezeTail() removes the padding at
+// the source: the WRITER parks, the ring keeps its all-real final two windows, and the
+// aligned-splice machinery recycles that frozen tail — a continuous tone until the caller's
+// own note end. See freezeTail() below.
+//
 // PURE MODULE: NO VST3, NO REAPER, NO SWELL, NO vendor/ includes. Standard library only.
 // Shares the `AudioSample` float alias from peaks (the one house precedent — sampler_core /
 // wav_trim do the same).
@@ -107,6 +118,23 @@ public:
     // active tap leaves its safe delay band, a correlation-aligned splice is scheduled.
     AudioSample process(AudioSample in);
 
+    // TAIL WIND-DOWN (GA3, 2026-07). Call when the SOURCE STREAM IS EXHAUSTED — no real frame
+    // remains to feed process(). Freezes the WRITE head: subsequent process() calls ignore
+    // their input and write nothing, but read, splice, and crossfade exactly as before over
+    // the ring's frozen (all-real) final two windows. WHY: the pre-GA3 tail held the last
+    // real sample as the feed — a DC plateau with no waveform to correlate on. Splices
+    // landing in or referenced against it were unalignable, so the tap alternated real-tone /
+    // dead-DC at the splice cadence (the DAW "ring modulation" troughs, growing toward the
+    // note end as the plateau displaced real history). With the writer frozen the padding
+    // never enters the ring: every splice stays waveform-aligned against real content and
+    // the output remains a continuous tone — the final <= one window recycles the frozen
+    // tail (correlation-aligned, crossfaded) instead of decaying into chopped DC, and the
+    // caller's own note end (its output-frame anchor) bounds how long that lasts. Idempotent;
+    // RT-safe (flag + bounded arithmetic, no allocation); cleared by reset()/prime()/warm().
+    void freezeTail();
+
+    bool tailFrozen() const { return tailFrozen_; }
+
     // Reset running state to silence (ring zeroed, heads re-seeded mid-band, fill count zeroed)
     // WITHOUT reallocating — for voice reuse without a re-configure. Keeps the current window.
     // Follow with prime() (or warm()) before streaming: a bare reset has no declared history,
@@ -148,6 +176,11 @@ private:
                                      // its up-jump to this so no splice lands in unwritten
                                      // silence — the GA2 onset-gap fix.
     double ratio_ = 1.0;             // current shift ratio (>0)
+    bool tailFrozen_ = false;        // GA3 wind-down: writer frozen (source exhausted); the tap
+                                     // recycles the ring's frozen real tail, splices still
+                                     // aligned. With the writer parked, a tap drains toward it
+                                     // at ratio_ (not ratio_-1) per frame — splice() scales the
+                                     // live fade by that rate.
 };
 
 }  // namespace reasampler

src/vst/sampler_core.cpp

@@ -562,29 +562,30 @@ AudioSample Voice::advanceFrame(bool stereo, AudioSample& outR) {
         // contract). The feed runs one window AHEAD of readPos_ (the rings were primed with
         // that window at start()), under the SAME sustain-loop wrap rule as the anchor, and
         // reads integer source frames (readPos_ advances by exactly 1.0 under Preserve, so
-        // there is nothing to interpolate). Past the sample end the stream is silence — the
+        // there is nothing to interpolate). Past the last real frame the shifter's writer is
-        // shifter keeps transposing the real tail it already holds.
+        // FROZEN (GA3 wind-down below) — it recycles the real tail it already holds.
         if (loopUsable) {
             const std::int64_t loopLen = loop.end - loop.start;
             while (feedPos_ >= loop.end) feedPos_ -= loopLen;
         }
-        // validThrough_ tail clamp (symmetric with the onset filled_ clamp in pitch_shift).
+        // GA3 tail wind-down (supersedes the GA2 hold-last-sample clamp). feedPos_ runs one
-        // feedPos_ runs one window AHEAD of readPos_; past the last real source frame the feed
+        // window AHEAD of readPos_; the last real source frame is playEnd_-1 for Trigger (the
-        // would write zeros into the ring, letting splices land in a silent tail — the same
+        // user's chosen stop) or frameCount-1 for Gate (the sample's own end). Once feedPos_
-        // burst/gap/burst stutter as the onset zero-gap (just at note END for up-shifts).
+        // reaches that bound the source is EXHAUSTED — GA2 fed the held last sample from here,
-        // For Trigger mode the last real frame is playEnd_-1 (the user's chosen stop); for Gate
+        // a DC plateau the splice correlation cannot align on (the DAW tail chop: periodic
-        // it is frameCount-1 (the sample's own end). When feedPos_ overruns this bound, clamp
+        // troughs at the splice cadence, growing toward the note end as the plateau displaced
-        // to the last real frame — the shifter holds that frame's content rather than ingesting
+        // real ring history). Instead FREEZE the shifter's writer: no padding ever enters the
-        // silence, so splices always land in real-content history at BOTH ends of the note.
+        // ring, and the splice machinery keeps recycling the frozen all-real tail, every jump
+        // still waveform-aligned — a continuous tone through the final window and the release,
+        // bounded by the voice's own end (readPos_ >= frameCount / playEnd_ frees it). The
+        // sustain-loop path never gets here: the wrap above keeps feedPos_ < loop.end forever.
         const std::int64_t feedBound =
             (playMode_ == PlayMode::Trigger && playEnd_ > 0 && playEnd_ < frameCount)
                 ? playEnd_ : frameCount;
-        // Clamped read position: feedPos_ may legitimately exceed feedBound (it just tracks
+        const bool exhausted = feedPos_ >= feedBound;
-        // where we "would" be), so clamp only the read, not the counter itself.
+        if (exhausted) shiftL_.freezeTail();  // idempotent; input below is ignored while frozen
-        const std::int64_t clampedFeedPos =
+        const bool feedOk = (!exhausted && feedPos_ >= 0 && feedPos_ < frameCount);
-            (feedPos_ < feedBound) ? feedPos_ : (feedBound - 1);
+        const AudioSample feedL = feedOk ? pcm[static_cast<std::size_t>(feedPos_)] : 0.0f;
-        const bool feedOk = (clampedFeedPos >= 0 && clampedFeedPos < frameCount);
-        const AudioSample feedL = feedOk ? pcm[static_cast<std::size_t>(clampedFeedPos)] : 0.0f;
         const double shift = baseRatio_ * envFactor;
         shiftL_.setShiftRatio(shift);
         const double shiftedL = static_cast<double>(shiftL_.process(feedL));
@@ -596,7 +597,8 @@ AudioSample Voice::advanceFrame(bool stereo, AudioSample& outR) {
                 // heads twice and corrupt the OLA state). Gated on haveR so a MONO sample never
                 // touches shiftR_ — start() only primes it for genuinely stereo samples, and a
                 // stale un-primed ring must not leak a previous note into this one.
-                const AudioSample feedR = feedOk ? pcmR[static_cast<std::size_t>(clampedFeedPos)] : 0.0f;
+                if (exhausted) shiftR_.freezeTail();
+                const AudioSample feedR = feedOk ? pcmR[static_cast<std::size_t>(feedPos_)] : 0.0f;
                 shiftR_.setShiftRatio(shift);
                 outRlocal = static_cast<double>(shiftR_.process(feedR)) * gain;
             } else {

src/vst/sampler_core.h

@@ -568,8 +568,11 @@ private:
     // frame `start`, no ring-fill silence, and splices always land in real history. feedPos_
     // is the integer SOURCE frame the shifters are fed next; it runs exactly one window AHEAD
     // of readPos_ (the wall-clock output anchor) under the same sustain-loop wrap rule.
-    // primeBuf_ is the presized scratch the prime stream is assembled into (never touched
+    // GA3 tail wind-down: once feedPos_ passes the last real frame (Gate: sample end;
-    // outside start()).
+    // Trigger: playEnd_) the shifters' writers are FROZEN — no padding enters the rings and
+    // the splice machinery recycles the frozen real tail through the note end (see
+    // advanceFrame). primeBuf_ is the presized scratch the prime stream is assembled into
+    // (never touched outside start()).
     PitchEngine pitchEngine_ = PitchEngine::Varispeed;
     PitchEnvelope pitchEnv_;
     PitchShifter shiftL_;

tests/test_pitch_shift.cpp

@@ -342,6 +342,155 @@ static void testUnityBitExactAndLatency() {
     }
 }
 
+// --- 7. Tail wind-down (GA3): freezeTail() at source exhaustion keeps the output a
+//        continuous, full-amplitude tone at the shifted frequency — the splice machinery
+//        recycles the ring's frozen ALL-REAL tail instead of chopping against held-DC
+//        padding (the DAW "ring modulation" troughs growing toward the note end). ---
+static void testFreezeTailContinuousTone() {
+    const std::int64_t w = 2205;
+    const double f0 = 1.0 / 196.37;   // non-integer period (the test-5 adversarial tone)
+    const std::size_t stream = 20000; // frames fed before exhaustion (several splice cycles)
+    const double ratios[] = {std::pow(2.0, 7.0 / 12.0),    // +7 st (the DAW report regime)
+                             2.0,                          // octave up
+                             std::pow(2.0, 24.0 / 12.0),   // +24 st: fast frozen drain
+                             std::pow(2.0, -5.0 / 12.0),   // -5 st (down-shift tail)
+                             1.0};                         // unity: frozen delay drains at 1 —
+                                                           // splices NOW fire even at unity
+    for (double r : ratios) {
+        PitchShifter ps;
+        ps.configure(w);
+        std::vector<AudioSample> src(stream + static_cast<std::size_t>(w));
+        for (std::size_t i = 0; i < src.size(); ++i) {
+            src[i] = static_cast<AudioSample>(
+                std::sin(2.0 * kPi * f0 * static_cast<double>(i)));
+        }
+        ps.prime(src.data(), w);
+        ps.setShiftRatio(r);
+        for (std::size_t i = 0; i < stream; ++i) {
+            (void)ps.process(src[i + static_cast<std::size_t>(w)]);
+        }
+        // Source exhausted: freeze (idempotent) and keep producing for one full window — the
+        // longest a Voice runs frozen (its own note end lands within a window of exhaustion).
+        CHECK(!ps.tailFrozen());
+        ps.freezeTail();
+        ps.freezeTail();   // double-freeze harmless
+        CHECK(ps.tailFrozen());
+        const std::size_t tail = static_cast<std::size_t>(w);
+        std::vector<double> out(tail);
+        for (std::size_t i = 0; i < tail; ++i) {
+            out[i] = static_cast<double>(ps.process(0.0f));  // input ignored while frozen
+            CHECK(std::isfinite(out[i]));
+        }
+        // (a) No dead stretches: a unit-amplitude tone dwells below 0.05 only a few frames
+        //     per zero crossing; the pre-GA3 DC chop ran hundreds.
+        std::size_t worstGap = 0, run = 0;
+        for (std::size_t i = 0; i < tail; ++i) {
+            if (std::fabs(out[i]) < 0.05) {
+                ++run;
+                if (run > worstGap) worstGap = run;
+            } else {
+                run = 0;
+            }
+        }
+        CHECK(worstGap < 24);
+        // (b) Full amplitude throughout: every 256-frame block spans > a half period at all
+        //     tested ratios, so a continuous tone peaks near 1.0 in each.
+        for (std::size_t b = 0; b + 256 <= tail; b += 256) {
+            double peak = 0.0;
+            for (std::size_t i = b; i < b + 256; ++i) {
+                if (std::fabs(out[i]) > peak) peak = std::fabs(out[i]);
+            }
+            CHECK(peak > 0.5);
+            CHECK(peak < 1.1);   // aligned complementary fades: no cancellation, no bulge
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Freeze landing MID-CROSSFADE: at ratio 2 from a fresh prime the tap drains from delay
+    // w at 1/frame, splices at w/4 (frame 3w/4), then fades for w/4 frames — so frame
+    // 3w/4 + w/8 is deterministically mid-fade. The frozen writer makes the outgoing tap
+    // close at the FULL ratio; the transition caps the live fade so it completes before
+    // reading lapped content — output must stay finite, gap-free, and bounded.
+    {
+        PitchShifter ps;
+        ps.configure(w);
+        std::vector<AudioSample> src(4 * static_cast<std::size_t>(w));
+        for (std::size_t i = 0; i < src.size(); ++i) {
+            src[i] = static_cast<AudioSample>(
+                std::sin(2.0 * kPi * f0 * static_cast<double>(i)));
+        }
+        ps.prime(src.data(), w);
+        ps.setShiftRatio(2.0);
+        const std::size_t preFreeze = static_cast<std::size_t>(3 * w / 4 + w / 8);
+        double lastPre = 0.0;
+        for (std::size_t i = 0; i < preFreeze; ++i) {
+            lastPre = static_cast<double>(ps.process(src[i + static_cast<std::size_t>(w)]));
+        }
+        ps.freezeTail();
+        std::size_t worstGap = 0, run = 0;
+        for (std::size_t i = 0; i < static_cast<std::size_t>(w); ++i) {
+            const double o = static_cast<double>(ps.process(0.0f));
+            CHECK(std::isfinite(o));
+            CHECK(std::fabs(o) < 1.1);
+            if (std::fabs(o) < 0.05) {
+                ++run;
+                if (run > worstGap) worstGap = run;
+            } else {
+                run = 0;
+            }
+        }
+        CHECK(worstGap < 24);
+        // reset()/prime() clear the freeze: the shifter is fully reusable for the next
+        // note-on, and a primed unity run is STILL bit-exact zero-latency (no stale state).
+        ps.reset();
+        CHECK(!ps.tailFrozen());
+        ps.prime(src.data(), w);
+        ps.setShiftRatio(1.0);
+        std::size_t badZeroLat = 0;
+        for (std::size_t i = 0; i < 2000; ++i) {
+            if (ps.process(src[i + static_cast<std::size_t>(w)]) != src[i]) ++badZeroLat;
+        }
+        CHECK(badZeroLat == 0);
+    }
+
+    // STEP-DETECTOR: freeze-transition continuity using a ramp source where tapA and tapB
+    // read values that differ by a predictable constant (≈ A * w / N), making the crossfade
+    // gain step directly visible in the output. With a ramp, the per-frame natural change is
+    // A/(N) * ratio ≈ 0.0002 per frame; the un-fixed gain step is ~0.247 * (w/N) ≈ 0.062 —
+    // roughly 300x the natural rate. A threshold of 0.02 clearly separates fixed from unfixed.
+    //
+    // The ramp also defeats correlation-alignment (all lags score equally on a linear ramp),
+    // so the splice jump of one window guarantees tapA - tapB = −A*w/N regardless of lag.
+    {
+        PitchShifter ps;
+        ps.configure(w);
+        // Ramp from 0.0 to 1.0 over 4*w frames (same buffer size as the mid-crossfade case).
+        const std::size_t rampLen = 4 * static_cast<std::size_t>(w);
+        std::vector<AudioSample> ramp(rampLen);
+        for (std::size_t i = 0; i < rampLen; ++i) {
+            ramp[i] = static_cast<AudioSample>(static_cast<double>(i) /
+                                               static_cast<double>(rampLen - 1));
+        }
+        ps.prime(ramp.data(), w);
+        ps.setShiftRatio(2.0);
+        // Drive to the deterministic mid-fade freeze point: same preFreeze offset as above.
+        const std::size_t preFreeze = static_cast<std::size_t>(3 * w / 4 + w / 8);
+        double lastPre = 0.0;
+        for (std::size_t i = 0; i < preFreeze; ++i) {
+            lastPre = static_cast<double>(
+                ps.process(ramp[i + static_cast<std::size_t>(w)]));
+        }
+        ps.freezeTail();
+        // First frozen frame — if gNew steps at the freeze boundary the output jumps by
+        // ~deltaGain * (tapA - tapB) ≈ 0.247 * 0.25 = 0.062.
+        const double firstFrozen = static_cast<double>(ps.process(0.0f));
+        CHECK(std::isfinite(firstFrozen));
+        // Natural per-frame ramp advance at ratio 2 ≈ 2/(4*w - 1) ≈ 0.0002; the un-fixed
+        // step is ~0.062. Threshold 0.02 is 100x the natural rate but well below the step.
+        const double transitionStep = std::fabs(firstFrozen - lastPre);
+        CHECK(transitionStep < 0.02);
+    }
+}
+
 int main() {
     testDurationInvariance();
     testUnityRoughlyReproduces();
@@ -349,6 +498,7 @@ int main() {
     testRtDisciplineAndPassthrough();
     testRepitchSpectralPurityAndOnset();
     testUnityBitExactAndLatency();
+    testFreezeTailContinuousTone();
 
     if (g_fail == 0) {
         std::printf("all pitch_shift tests passed\n");

tests/test_sampler_core.cpp

@@ -1318,6 +1318,16 @@ static void testPreserveGateStereoLoopComposes() {
     }
     CHECK(maxL > 0.05);
     CHECK(maxR > 0.02);  // R present (half amplitude), distinct from L -> stereo preserved
+    // Loop-never-freezes regression: the Preserve voice must NOT spuriously freeze when the
+    // read tap hits the sample end and the loop wraps it back. A spuriously frozen voice
+    // stops writing to the ring and the looped tail would go silent past the sample end.
+    // Check a block far past the sample end (sample = 400 frames; window = 512; well past
+    // any single-pass tail region) to catch any wrap-before-exhaustion ordering error.
+    double maxLFar = 0.0;
+    for (std::size_t i = 1800; i < 2000; ++i) {
+        if (std::fabs(left[i]) > maxLFar) maxLFar = std::fabs(left[i]);
+    }
+    CHECK(maxLFar > 0.05);  // still alive at frame 1800 (4.5× the 400-frame sample length)
 }
 
 // --- Preserve voice cap: a Preserve note-on past the cap is dropped; Varispeed unaffected. ---
@@ -2389,6 +2399,141 @@ static void testDeclickBoundedBlendNoOvershoot() {
     CHECK(std::fabs(static_cast<double>(post[0]) - static_cast<double>(pre.back())) < 0.01);
 }
 
+// ===========================================================================
+// GA3 — Preserve tail wind-down: the final window (and the release riding over it) must be
+// a gap-free tone. The GA2 tail clamp HELD THE LAST REAL SAMPLE as the shifter feed once the
+// source ran out — a DC plateau with no waveform to correlate on. Splices landing in (or
+// referenced against) that region were unalignable, so the tap alternated real-tone / dead-DC
+// at the splice cadence: the DAW "periodic troughs, almost like ring modulation, stronger
+// toward the end, ~1:20 tone-to-silence at the very end". GA3 freezes the WRITER instead
+// (padding never enters the ring) and lets the aligned-splice machinery recycle the frozen
+// real tail — these tests render to the natural end and assert the tone survives.
+// ===========================================================================
+
+// A sine at explicit per-index frequency f0 (cycles/frame). Period is chosen NON-INTEGER
+// (splice alignment must earn the sub-sample fit) but dividing `frames` exactly, so the
+// source ENDS at a zero crossing — the held-DC value the GA2 clamp would feed is ~0, making
+// the pre-GA3 dead stretches measurable as near-silence.
+static SampleData tailSine(std::size_t frames, double f0, int rootNote = 60) {
+    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 * f0 * static_cast<double>(i)));
+    }
+    s.rootNote = rootNote;
+    return s;
+}
+
+// Longest run of consecutive frames with |x| < thresh in [from, to).
+static std::size_t worstQuietRun(const std::vector<AudioSample>& out, std::size_t from,
+                                 std::size_t to, double thresh) {
+    std::size_t worst = 0, run = 0;
+    for (std::size_t i = from; i < to && i < out.size(); ++i) {
+        if (std::fabs(static_cast<double>(out[i])) < thresh) {
+            ++run;
+            if (run > worst) worst = run;
+        } else {
+            run = 0;
+        }
+    }
+    return worst;
+}
+
+// Peak |x| over [from, from+len).
+static double blockPeak(const std::vector<AudioSample>& out, std::size_t from, std::size_t len) {
+    double peak = 0.0;
+    for (std::size_t i = from; i < from + len && i < out.size(); ++i) {
+        const double a = std::fabs(static_cast<double>(out[i]));
+        if (a > peak) peak = a;
+    }
+    return peak;
+}
+
+// --- Gate no-loop, held to the natural end: the FINAL WINDOW carries the full-amplitude
+//     tone with no gaps, at up- AND down-shifts. Pre-GA3 this window chopped (RED without
+//     the writer freeze: quiet runs of hundreds of frames, block peaks collapsing to ~0.04). ---
+static void testPreserveTailFinalWindowGapFree() {
+    const std::size_t frames = 8192;
+    const std::size_t w = 1024;
+    const double f0 = 1.0 / 163.84;   // 50 exact cycles over 8192: ends at a zero crossing
+    const int notes[] = {67, 55};     // +7 st (ratio ~1.50) and -5 st (ratio ~0.75)
+    for (int note : notes) {
+        SampleData s = tailSine(frames, f0, 60);
+        s.play.pitchEngine = PitchEngine::Preserve;   // Gate, no loop -> runs to the sample end
+        s.play.adsr = flatAdsr();                     // held: amp 1 to the end (isolates the DSP)
+        Keymap km = Keymap::singleSampleChromatic(std::move(s));
+        VoiceEngine eng(1, km, /*preserveCap=*/0, static_cast<std::int64_t>(w));
+        eng.noteOn(note, 127);
+        std::vector<AudioSample> out;
+        eng.render(out, frames);      // the voice frees exactly at the natural end
+
+        // (a) No dead stretches: a unit sine at period ~164/ratio dwells below 0.05 for only
+        //     a few frames per zero crossing; the pre-GA3 DC stretches ran hundreds.
+        CHECK(worstQuietRun(out, frames - w, frames, 0.05) < 24);
+        // (b) Full amplitude to the very end: every 128-frame block in the final window spans
+        //     more than a half period at both ratios, so a clean tone peaks near 1.0 in each.
+        for (std::size_t b = frames - w; b + 128 <= frames; b += 128) {
+            CHECK(blockPeak(out, b, 128) > 0.5);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+// --- Gate release OVER the final window: the envelope scales amplitude smoothly; the
+//     underlying tone must stay continuous (no chop) while it fades. Adjacent-block peaks
+//     may only decay envelope-fast, never gap-fast. ---
+static void testPreserveTailReleaseContinuous() {
+    const std::size_t frames = 8192;
+    const std::size_t w = 1024;
+    const double f0 = 1.0 / 163.84;
+    SampleData s = tailSine(frames, f0, 60);
+    s.play.pitchEngine = PitchEngine::Preserve;
+    s.play.adsr = flatAdsr();
+    s.play.adsr.releaseFrames = static_cast<std::int64_t>(w);  // release spans the final window
+    Keymap km = Keymap::singleSampleChromatic(std::move(s));
+    VoiceEngine eng(1, km, /*preserveCap=*/0, static_cast<std::int64_t>(w));
+    eng.noteOn(67, 127);
+    std::vector<AudioSample> out;
+    eng.render(out, frames - w);      // sustain up to one window before the end...
+    eng.noteOff(67);                  // ...then release exactly over the final window
+    eng.render(out, w);
+
+    // First release block still near full level; thereafter each 128-frame block may lose at
+    // most envelope-rate level vs its predecessor (linear release loses 12.5% of full scale
+    // per block). A pre-GA3 chop collapses a mid-release block toward zero and fails the
+    // ratio bound; assert down to a floor where the fade itself bottoms out.
+    const std::size_t r0 = frames - w;
+    CHECK(blockPeak(out, r0, 128) > 0.5);
+    double prev = blockPeak(out, r0, 128);
+    for (std::size_t b = r0 + 128; b + 128 <= frames; b += 128) {
+        const double cur = blockPeak(out, b, 128);
+        if (prev >= 0.15) CHECK(cur >= 0.3 * prev);
+        prev = cur;
+    }
+}
+
+// --- Trigger one-shot to its play end (lengthFraction < 1 exercises the playEnd_ feed bound):
+//     the final window BEFORE the stop point is gap-free at an off-root pitch. ---
+static void testPreserveTriggerTailGapFree() {
+    const std::size_t frames = 8192;
+    const std::size_t w = 1024;
+    const double f0 = 1.0 / 163.84;
+    SampleData s = tailSine(frames, f0, 60);
+    s.play.pitchEngine = PitchEngine::Preserve;
+    s.play.playMode = PlayMode::Trigger;
+    s.play.trigger.lengthFraction = 0.8;   // playEnd = 6554 (~40 exact cycles: ends near zero)
+    Keymap km = Keymap::singleSampleChromatic(std::move(s));
+    VoiceEngine eng(1, km, /*preserveCap=*/0, static_cast<std::int64_t>(w));
+    eng.noteOn(67, 127);
+    const std::size_t playEnd = 6554;      // round(0.8 * 8192)
+    std::vector<AudioSample> out;
+    eng.render(out, playEnd);
+
+    CHECK(worstQuietRun(out, playEnd - w, playEnd, 0.05) < 24);
+    for (std::size_t b = playEnd - w; b + 128 <= playEnd; b += 128) {
+        CHECK(blockPeak(out, b, 128) > 0.5);
+    }
+}
+
 int main() {
     testChromaticSingleRoot();
     testZonedRangesBoundaries();
@@ -2497,6 +2642,11 @@ int main() {
     testPreviewCardIsolatedFromPool();
     testPreviewCardReplaceStaleOffAndOutOfZone();
 
+    // GA3 — Preserve tail wind-down (writer freeze at source exhaustion).
+    testPreserveTailFinalWindowGapFree();
+    testPreserveTailReleaseContinuous();
+    testPreserveTriggerTailGapFree();
+
     if (g_fail == 0) {
         std::printf("all sampler_core tests passed\n");
         return 0;