Bonfire Bass

Shipped

Genre-aware bassline synthesizer + sequencer plugin with intelligent pattern generation and groove humanization.

Domain→GitHub→
Bonfire Bass screenshot 1

Overview

Bonfire Bass is a professional VST3/AU synthesizer that generates genre-aware bassline patterns through a sophisticated rule-based engine, renders them via a subtractive + wavetable + FM synthesis engine, and humanizes playback with a research-tuned groove engine. 18 locked genre modes, deterministic seeding, and a React WebView UI embedded in JUCE.

Tech Stack

Language: C++20 (ISO, no extensions)Framework: JUCE 8.0.12 (FetchContent)Build: CMake 3.22+UI: React 18 + Vite 5 + Tailwind CSS 3, embedded via JUCE WebBrowserComponentVisualization: Three.js + React Three Fiber (Orb with BPM-reactive pulsing)State: Zustand (React) synced bidirectionally with JUCE AudioProcessorValueTreeStateTesting: Catch2 v3.5.3 — 225+ assertions across 10 test modulesCI/CD: GitHub Actions — macOS (AU + VST3 + Standalone) + Windows (VST3 + Standalone)Signing: Apple Developer ID codesigning + notarization, Windows NSIS installerLicense: Commercial — RSA signature verification, Stripe webhook provisioning, demo mute

Engineering Highlights

  1. 01All DSP from scratch — No external DSP libraries. Huovilainen ladder filter, PolyBLEP oscillators, wavetable morphing, groove humanization, effects chain — all hand-written C++20.
  2. 02Deterministic pattern generation — Seeded PRNG (std::mt19937) ensures reproducible patterns. Genre rules are locked constants, not learned — predictable, reliable workflow.
  3. 03Bidirectional JUCE-React bridge — Audio-thread-safe JSON messaging between C++ and React via WebBrowserComponent. APVTS changes propagate to JS in real-time; UI changes queue back to audio thread via CriticalSection.
  4. 04Huovilainen ladder filter — 4-pole resonant filter stable at 0.99+ resonance without NaN/Inf. Switchable to SVF LP/HP/BP/Notch, Comb, and Formant modes.
  5. 05Full release pipeline — GitHub Actions builds AU/VST3/Standalone on macOS + Windows, codesigns, notarizes with Apple, creates DMG + NSIS installer, publishes GitHub Release.
  6. 06Comprehensive test coverage — 10 test modules covering sequencer math, groove determinism, filter stability, generator scale conformance, state persistence, effects, and full integration pipeline.

Stats

~5,500 LOC core C++ + ~2,200 LOC tests
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225+ Catch2 assertions across 10 test modules
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47 commits (2 weeks of development)
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18 genre modes, 40+ factory presets
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~80 automatable parameters
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Zero plugin latency
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