PLN, asked whether a `Tidal 12` parked at -inf was a mistake or intent:
"tidal 12 -inf is random i might turn on/off any fader its not signal
throughout perf it mioves always and i save random". So the question was wrong.
Whatever gain Ardour saved is wherever a hand left it mid-set; a session's
at-rest mix is noise, and there is nothing to diagnose.

Which is why the readiness gate could only ever REPORT it. Measured just now,
the drift is not one fader but NINE of twelve, five of them at -inf: 02 03 04
05 08 12 fully silent, 06 07 10 down 40+ dB. A mix that scatters every set
needs a mechanism, not a warning.

So restore it, in the window the source sweep already owns — Ardour closed.
fader-baseline REFUSES while Ardour runs (writing under a live session desyncs
it from the desk, and the desk wins on next touch), which makes "post-close"
and "pre-launch" the same safe moment. Full restore to the 2026-08-02 baseline
per PLN's call, not just a rescue of dead faders: it keeps a .prefader.bak, is
idempotent, and holds a 0.5 dB tolerance so it never churns.

Verified both branches against the live rig: --check reports the 9-fader drift,
and --restore correctly refuses with Ardour open.