existential-engineering · jeffreylouden · Sep 19, 2026 · Sep 19, 2026 · Sep 19, 2026 · Sep 19, 2026
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+---
+"catalog": patch
+---
+
+Correct 154 software prices that wrongly read as free. Every Joey Sturgis
+Tones entry but one carried a zero amount while the store charged for all
+of them, and ujam, WA Production, Dear Reality and Tritik carried the same
+thing, clustered on vendors whose product page leads with a free trial.
+Prices are re-read from each maker's own page: 124 entries gain a real
+amount, 30 whose maker page is retired or serves its price client-side
+carry none rather than a wrong one, and the 10 that really are free keep
+their zero with source and asOf. Adds E127, a hard error on a negative or
+non-finite amount, and W133, an advisory on a zero carrying no provenance.
@@ -662,6 +662,38 @@ silence a duplicate-price review finding: add the term instead.
 `prices[].type`, `prices[].note`, `prices[].label` and similar keys are not
 schema and are silently dropped (see Unknown Keys).
 
+**A zero amount is a claim that the product is free, and it is load-bearing
+in Studio.** `isFreeProduct` reads it to render "Free" instead of "$0.00",
+to keep the item out of the G.A.S. spend ratio, and to suppress affiliate
+purchase links entirely. So a zero written by an import that could not read
+a price does not merely mis-state a number: it tells a reader a paid plugin
+costs nothing and removes the link they would buy it through.
+
+That is what made it the catalog's largest price defect. Every Joey Sturgis
+Tones entry but one read `amount: 0` while the store charged for all of
+them (JST Heat $199, Toneforge Jeff Loomis $149), and ujam, WA Production,
+Dear Reality and Tritik carried the same thing: 154 entries in all,
+clustered on the vendors whose product page leads with a free trial or a
+demo. catalog#857 shipped 60 of them in one PR.
+
+- **Zero and "unread" are the same value, so provenance is what separates
+  them.** A verified free product carries `source` and `asOf` like any other
+  price; `pnpm validate` warns (W133) on a zero missing either of them. It is
+  advisory, not an error, because 286 entries predate the rule, the same
+  staging E121 took through W132. Do not read a green run as proof a zero
+  was checked.
+- **A negative or non-finite amount is a hard error (E127).** Nothing
+  legitimate produces one, so there is no corpus to stage behind.
+- **An unverifiable price is dropped, never guessed.** Absent prices mean
+  "unknown", which is honest; a zero left in place asserts free. Dear
+  Reality's pages now redirect to a Sennheiser hub and Tritik injects its
+  prices client-side under `data-nosnippet`, so those 20 entries carry no
+  price rather than a wrong one.
+- **The Shopify lane already refuses this and the agent lane does not.**
+  `regularPrice` in the racks repo's `shopify-bulk-extract.ts` filters
+  `n > 0`, so the fast runner cannot write a zero. Every entry in this
+  defect came through the agent path, which has no equivalent check.
+
 ## Unknown Keys
 
 Zod strips every key a schema does not declare, so an entry carrying

@@ -14,9 +14,6 @@ platforms:
   - mac
   - windows
 url: https://www.dear-reality.com/en-us/products/dearvr-ambi-micro
-prices:
-  - amount: 0
-    currency: USD
 description: Mix, monitor, and render Ambisonics tracks up to 3rd order right out of the box. Easy-to-use sound field controls and accurate Ambisonics to headphone rendering. Essential plugin with optimized A-to-B conversion for the Sennheiser AMBEO VR microphone.
 details: |-
   Accurate Ambisonics to headphone rendering. Optimized A-to-B conversion for the Sennheiser AMBEO VR microphone. HRTF selection (dearVR, YouTube VR, Facebook360, KU100). Binaural and Ambisonics output (B-format up to 3rd order). Head tracking for VR video production.

@@ -14,9 +14,6 @@ platforms:
   - mac
   - windows
 url: https://www.dear-reality.com/en-us/products/dearvr-micro
-prices:
-  - amount: 0
-    currency: USD
 description: Easy-to-use spatializer plugin. Fully immerse your listener with mind-blowing binaural tracks.
 details: |-
   Spatializer plugin with room simulation featuring 5 different acoustic materials and Sennheiser's patented AMBEO focus parameter. Supports both stereo and mono input with HRTF set selection.

@@ -13,9 +13,6 @@ platforms:
   - mac
   - windows
 url: https://www.dear-reality.com/en-us/products/dearvr-mix-se
-prices:
-  - amount: 0
-    currency: USD
 description: Ultimate mixing environment for your HD 490 PRO reference studio headphones. Simulating the carefully designed acoustics of mixing studios to turn your audio workstation into a reference listening environment.
 details: |-
   3 adjustable virtual reference mix rooms with reduced spectral colorization. 6 additional, non-studio listening environments. Spatial Headphone Compensation for all Sennheiser professional headphones. Support for OSC head trackers.

@@ -13,9 +13,6 @@ platforms:
   - mac
   - windows
 url: https://www.dear-reality.com/en-us/products/dearvr-mix
-prices:
-  - amount: 0
-    currency: USD
 description: Monitoring plugin to turn any studio headphones into a world-class stereo mix room. Carefully designed acoustics to gain confidence monitoring your session in multiple virtual reference rooms. Spatial Headphone Compensation supporting 55 professional studio headphone models from different manufacturers.
 details: |-
   3 adjustable virtual reference mix rooms with 4 mono & stereo loudspeaker positions. 6 additional, non-studio, listening environments. Spatial Headphone Compensation, supporting 55 models. Support for OSC head trackers.

@@ -16,9 +16,6 @@ platforms:
   - mac
   - windows
 url: https://www.dear-reality.com/en-us/products/dearvr-music
-prices:
-  - amount: 0
-    currency: USD
 description: Turn your DAW into a 3D audio powerhouse. Start creating stunningly realistic 3D music productions and go beyond the limitations of stereo sound.
 details: |-
   360-degree immersive panner with 18 reverb scenes, available to existing owners through Plugin Alliance. No longer actively developed or maintained.

@@ -14,9 +14,6 @@ platforms:
   - mac
   - windows
 url: https://www.dear-reality.com/en-us/products/dearvr-pro-2
-prices:
-  - amount: 0
-    currency: USD
 description: A state-of-the-art spatializer plugin whether mixing in stereo, multi-channel up to 9.1.6, binaural, or Ambisonics. dearVR PRO 2's ultra-precise early reflection and reverb engine adds another layer of spatial experience, leading to true-to-life sounding productions with natural depth.
 details: |-
   35 multi-channel output formats up to 9.1.6. Up to third-order Ambisonics output. 46 pristine acoustic environments. Support of third-party OSC head-trackers. Native Apple Silicon Support.

@@ -11,9 +11,6 @@ platforms:
   - mac
   - windows
 url: https://www.dear-reality.com/en-us/products/dearvr-spatial-connect
-prices:
-  - amount: 0
-    currency: USD
 description: A revolutionary and intuitive VR controller for spatial audio productions. Mixing in a fully accessible 360° space by connecting a VR headset to your DAW session and dearVR PRO 2 spatializer.
 details: |-
   VR controller companion application for spatial audio mixing. Visualize and position audio tracks in a 360° space while connected to a VR headset, working alongside dearVR PRO 2.

@@ -10,9 +10,6 @@ platforms:
   - mac
   - windows
 url: https://www.dear-reality.com/en-us/products/dearvr-unity
-prices:
-  - amount: 0
-    currency: USD
 description: Create ultra-realistic acoustic environments in Unity with a true perception of direction, distance, reflections, and reverb. dearVR UNITY, tested as the number one spatializer plugin for Unity with the best sound and the best externalization, offers positional 3D audio and true-to-life acoustic room virtualization.
 details: |-
   Enhanced spatialization for Unity. 45 virtual acoustic room presets. Efficient reverb bus structure. Multiple reverbs on one audio source. Real-time room analyzer for auralization. Simulation of acoustic occlusion. Simulation of acoustic obstruction. Performance mode.

@@ -14,9 +14,6 @@ platforms:
   - mac
   - windows
 url: https://www.dear-reality.com/en-us/products/exoverb-micro
-prices:
-  - amount: 0
-    currency: USD
 description: Compact reverb plugin powered by the same proprietary reverb engine as its bigger brother, EXOVERB. Choose from 8 expertly crafted acoustic scenes for a truly authentic sound.
 details: |-
   8 expertly crafted acoustic scenes. Powered by EXOVERB's reverb engine with synthesized multi-IRs. Intuitive triangle pad control for adjusting acoustic scene.

@@ -14,9 +14,6 @@ platforms:
   - mac
   - windows
 url: https://www.dear-reality.com/en-us/products/exoverb
-prices:
-  - amount: 0
-    currency: USD
 description: Most natural stereo reverb plugin offering 50 true-to-life sounding acoustic scenes with unheard three-dimensional depth and width. Achieve cleaned-up stereo mixes with more space for your tracks, relying on EXOVERB's proprietary reverb engine with synthesized spatial multi-IRs.
 details: |-
   50 acoustic scenes with three-dimensional depth and width

@@ -9,9 +9,6 @@ platforms:
   - mac
   - windows
 url: https://www.dear-reality.com/en-us/products/miya
-prices:
-  - amount: 0
-    currency: USD
 description: Creative re-synthesizer plugin using adjustable harmonics. Going from slight alterations to a complete aggressive reconstruction, MIYA creates a wide range of permutations of the original input, ranging from subtle textures to gnarly distortion and even massive sub-harmonics.
 details: |-
   Versatile re-synthesizer for all kinds of audio tracks. Adjustable harmonics. Dynamic range controls. Real-time audio visualizer. Range from subtle textures to aggressive distortion.

@@ -14,8 +14,10 @@ platforms:
   - windows
 url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/bassforge-bonecrusher
 prices:
-  - amount: 0
+  - amount: 99
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: "About Bassforge Bonecrusher — Bass Amp Sim Plugin Bassforge
   Bonecrusher is a bass amplifier simulation plugin that streamlines bass tone
   creation and delivers powerful tools for producers, mixers, and bassists to

@@ -14,8 +14,10 @@ platforms:
   - windows
 url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/bassforge-hellraiser
 prices:
-  - amount: 0
+  - amount: 99
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: "Bassforge™️ Hellraiser is an audio plugin developed from Joey
   Sturgis' popular bass tones as heard in over a hundred hard-hitting albums.
   Designed by Joey Sturgis and based on the heaviest bass tones from his body of

@@ -13,8 +13,10 @@ platforms:
   - windows
 url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/billy-decker-bus-glue-vocals
 prices:
-  - amount: 0
+  - amount: 89
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: "Bus Glue Billy Decker Vocals is an audio plugin made in
   collaboration with chart-topping mixer Billy Decker. With this plugin, you’ll
   be able to add Billy’s entire dynamic vocal signal chain to your mix — EQ,

@@ -13,8 +13,10 @@ platforms:
   - windows
 url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/bus-glue-andrew-wade-bass
 prices:
-  - amount: 0
+  - amount: 89
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: "JST Andrew Wade Bus Glue Bass - Powerful, Professional Bass Bus
   Processing. Introducing Bus Glue Andrew Wade Bass, the dedicated bass bus
   processor designed by platinum producer Andrew Wade. This plugin delivers

@@ -13,8 +13,10 @@ platforms:
   - windows
 url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/bus-glue-andrew-wade-drums
 prices:
-  - amount: 0
+  - amount: 89
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: "JST Bus Glue Andrew Wade Drums - Massive, Punchy Drum Bus
   Processing Introducing Bus Glue Andrew Wade Drums: a dedicated drum bus
   processor designed to deliver power, punch, and musical glue to your drum

@@ -13,8 +13,10 @@ platforms:
   - windows
 url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/bus-glue-andrew-wade-guitars
 prices:
-  - amount: 0
+  - amount: 89
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: "JST Bus Glue Andrew Wade Guitars - Defined, Clear Guitar Bus
   Processing Introducing Bus Glue Andrew Wade Guitars: a dedicated bus processor
   engineered to bring cohesion, clarity, and impact to your entire guitar

@@ -13,8 +13,10 @@ platforms:
   - windows
 url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/bus-glue-andrew-wade-keys
 prices:
-  - amount: 0
+  - amount: 89
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: "JST Bus Glue Andrew Wade Keys - Balanced, Vibrant Synth Bus
   Processing Introducing Bus Glue Andrew Wade Keys, the dedicated synth bus
   processor that delivers atmospheric, three dimensional, and huge-sounding

@@ -13,8 +13,10 @@ platforms:
   - windows
 url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/bus-glue-andrew-wade-mix
 prices:
-  - amount: 0
+  - amount: 89
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: "Bus Glue Andrew Wade Mix: Professional Finishing Touch for Your
   Production Introducing Bus Glue Andrew Wade Mix, a precision-crafted processor
   built to shape your mix with weight, movement, and musical glue. Whether

@@ -13,8 +13,10 @@ platforms:
   - windows
 url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/bus-glue-andrew-wade-vocals
 prices:
-  - amount: 0
+  - amount: 89
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: "Bus Glue Andrew Wade Vocals: Powerful, Present Vocal Bus
   Processing Introducing Bus Glue Andrew Wade Vocals, the streamlined vocal bus
   processor that delivers Andrew Wade's renowned approach to creating upfront,

@@ -13,8 +13,10 @@ platforms:
   - windows
 url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/bus-glue-billy-decker-acoustic
 prices:
-  - amount: 0
+  - amount: 89
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: "Bus Glue Billy Decker Acoustic is an audio plugin made in
   collaboration with chart-topping mixer Billy Decker. With this plugin, you’ll
   be able to add Billy’s entire dynamic signal chain for acoustic instruments to

@@ -13,8 +13,10 @@ platforms:
   - windows
 url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/bus-glue-billy-decker-bass
 prices:
-  - amount: 0
+  - amount: 89
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: "Bus Glue Billy Decker Bass is an audio plugin made in
   collaboration with chart-topping mixer Billy Decker. With this plugin, you’ll
   be able to add Billy’s entire dynamic signal chain for bass guitar to your mix

@@ -13,8 +13,10 @@ platforms:
   - windows
 url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/bus-glue-billy-decker-drums
 prices:
-  - amount: 0
+  - amount: 89
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: "Bus Glue Billy Decker Drums is an audio plugin made in
   collaboration with chart-topping mixer Billy Decker. With this plugin, you’ll
   be able to add Billy’s entire dynamic signal chain for drum processing to your

@@ -13,8 +13,10 @@ platforms:
   - windows
 url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/bus-glue-billy-decker-electric-guitar
 prices:
-  - amount: 0
+  - amount: 89
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: "Bus Glue Billy Decker Electric Guitar is an audio plugin made in
   collaboration with chart-topping mixer Billy Decker. With this plugin, you’ll
   be able to add Billy’s entire dynamic signal chain for electric guitar bus

@@ -13,8 +13,10 @@ platforms:
   - windows
 url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/bus-glue-billy-decker-keys
 prices:
-  - amount: 0
+  - amount: 89
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: "Bus Glue Billy Decker Keys is an audio plugin made in
   collaboration with chart-topping mixer Billy Decker. With this plugin, you’ll
   be able to add Billy’s entire dynamic signal chain for pianos, organs, and

@@ -13,8 +13,10 @@ platforms:
   - windows
 url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/bus-glue-billy-decker-master
 prices:
-  - amount: 0
+  - amount: 89
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: "Bus Glue Billy Decker Master is an audio plugin made in
   collaboration with chart-topping mixer Billy Decker. With this plugin, you’ll
   be able to add Billy’s master bus processing to your mixes — EQ, compression,

@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/deathcore-soundboard
 prices:
   - amount: 0
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: A sample-triggering plugin from Joey Sturgis Tones and Drumforge
   featuring 16 signature deathcore vocal phrases from the vocalists of Face
   Yourself, playable via MIDI or automation to drop vocal hits into breakdowns

@@ -14,8 +14,10 @@ platforms:
   - windows
 url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/finality
 prices:
-  - amount: 0
+  - amount: 49
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: "Finality is a limiter designed from the ground up to be both
   powerful and versatile. Whether your source is very dynamic like drums and
   vocals, or more flat like distorted rhythm guitars and synth, Finality can be

@@ -14,8 +14,10 @@ platforms:
   - windows
 url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/gain-reduction-2
 prices:
-  - amount: 0
+  - amount: 99
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: "Gain Reduction 2 is unmatched control of your vocals in one audio
   plugin. Choose between heavy or light compression to fit your style and genre.
   Light Mode: Delivers softer compression and less saturation than the heavy

@@ -14,8 +14,10 @@ platforms:
   - windows
 url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/gain-reduction-deluxe
 prices:
-  - amount: 0
+  - amount: 59
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: "JST Gain Reduction Deluxe: Vocal Compression Redefined Achieve
   in-your-face, mix-ready vocals with JST Gain Reduction Deluxe, the definitive
   compression plugin for making rock and metal vocals larger than life. This

@@ -13,8 +13,10 @@ platforms:
   - windows
 url: https://joeysturgistones.com/products/gemini-twin
 prices:
-  - amount: 0
+  - amount: 129
     currency: USD
+    asOf: 2026-09-19
+    source: official-website
 description: "Gemini Twin - Two Sonic Personalities. One Button. Introducing
   Gemini Twin, the virtual instrument that delivers professional synth sounds
   with a cosmic twist. Created by Joey Sturgis Tones in collaboration with