diff --git a/BACKLOG.md b/BACKLOG.md
index 7c07ba75..470d5fb0 100644
--- a/BACKLOG.md
+++ b/BACKLOG.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ Source: `active/sonic-architect-app` (keep in `active/` as reference). Most of t
 
 ## Shipped — Data
 - ✅ `data/genreProfiles.ts` — 35 EDM genre spectral targets, LUFS/crest factor/PLR ranges. **Landed:** [`apps/ui/src/data/genreProfiles.ts`](apps/ui/src/data/genreProfiles.ts).
-- ✅ `data/abletonDevices.ts` — 14 spectral-band → Ableton Live 12 device mappings + FX rule engine. **Landed:** [`apps/ui/src/data/abletonDevices.ts`](apps/ui/src/data/abletonDevices.ts).
+- ✅ `data/abletonDevices.ts` — 14 spectral-band → Ableton Live 12 device mappings + FX rule engine. **Landed:** [`apps/ui/src/data/abletonDevices.ts`](apps/ui/src/data/abletonDevices.ts). *Ported but demoted to a research-only scoring baseline (owner decision 2026-06-11): imported by no product code, consumed only by the recommendation-eval bridge. See the NEEDS-WIRING decision in [`apps/backend/NEEDS.md`](apps/backend/NEEDS.md).*
 
 ## Shipped — Mix Analysis
 - ✅ `services/mixDoctor.ts` + `components/MixDoctorPanel.tsx` — spectral-balance scoring against genre profiles. **Landed:** [`apps/ui/src/services/mixDoctor.ts`](apps/ui/src/services/mixDoctor.ts), [`apps/ui/src/components/MixDoctorPanel.tsx`](apps/ui/src/components/MixDoctorPanel.tsx).
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index bfac519d..734e5bd1 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -440,7 +440,7 @@ A quick map from intent to the right place to start:
 
 ## Backport Candidates
 
-The full original `sonic-architect-app` backlog is **shipped** — genre profiles, Ableton device mappings, mix doctor, eight detectors, Phase 3 audition-sample generation, and `patchSmith.ts` (Phase 3 Vital preset generation, [`apps/ui/src/services/patchSmith.ts`](apps/ui/src/services/patchSmith.ts)). See [`BACKLOG.md`](BACKLOG.md) for the landed inventory. Consult it before re-implementing genre detection, mix analysis, acid/reverb/vocal/supersaw/bass/kick detection — they're already in [`apps/backend/analyze_detection.py`](apps/backend/analyze_detection.py) and emit fields visible in `EXPECTED_TOP_LEVEL_KEYS`.
+The full original `sonic-architect-app` backlog is **shipped** — genre profiles, Ableton device mappings (`abletonDevices.ts` — ported but **research-only** since the 2026-06-11 demotion decision: a scoring baseline for the recommendation-proof harness, imported by no product code; see the NEEDS-WIRING decision in `apps/backend/NEEDS.md`), mix doctor, eight detectors, Phase 3 audition-sample generation, and `patchSmith.ts` (Phase 3 Vital preset generation, [`apps/ui/src/services/patchSmith.ts`](apps/ui/src/services/patchSmith.ts)). See [`BACKLOG.md`](BACKLOG.md) for the landed inventory. Consult it before re-implementing genre detection, mix analysis, acid/reverb/vocal/supersaw/bass/kick detection — they're already in [`apps/backend/analyze_detection.py`](apps/backend/analyze_detection.py) and emit fields visible in `EXPECTED_TOP_LEVEL_KEYS`.
 
 ## Companion Agent Docs
 
diff --git a/apps/backend/NEEDS.md b/apps/backend/NEEDS.md
index de91b4e0..da8e18da 100644
--- a/apps/backend/NEEDS.md
+++ b/apps/backend/NEEDS.md
@@ -85,8 +85,9 @@ citations**, so the chain-of-custody penalty drives its adjusted aggregate to
    #2). The rules **are** feature-triggered, so attaching the triggering measurement
    as a citation is a concrete, harness-rewarded improvement — a candidate
    sub-goal-3 "score-driven change" (frontend edit to `abletonDevices.ts` →
-   `npm run verify`). But see the dead-code finding under NEEDS-WIRING before
-   investing in this path.
+   `npm run verify`). Moot since 2026-06-11: the NEEDS-WIRING decision below
+   demoted `abletonDevices.ts` to a research-only baseline, so this candidate is
+   no longer a *product* improvement path.
 
 This is the first real signal toward the Gemini verdict — likely Gemini earns its
 place on citation + full-surface coverage. Confirm on real renders; the synthetic
@@ -169,22 +170,23 @@ factor, onset density) is the app's own projection (`analyzer.ts`); reuse it rat
 than re-deriving, and only then is the deterministic score a real verdict input
 rather than the synthetic illustration above.
 
-**FINDING — the deterministic source is currently dead code (affects sub-goal 3
-framing).** `apps/ui/src/data/abletonDevices.ts` is imported **nowhere** in the UI
-(no component, no test) — verified by grep. ASA's product recommendations come
-entirely from Gemini (`Phase2Result`); the deterministic engine is unwired,
-ported-but-unused. Consequence: a "score-driven improvement" to `abletonDevices.ts`
-(e.g. the citation-emit fix flagged above) would **not reach any user** — it would
-raise a harness number for code nobody runs, which is harness-gaming, not a product
-improvement (PURPOSE.md decision #5). So before sub-goal 3 treats the deterministic
-path as a real recommendation source, decide one of:
-1. **Wire `abletonDevices.ts` into the product** (so its recs — and any citation
-   improvement — actually reach users), then score + improve it; or
-2. **Treat it as a research-only baseline** in the three-source comparison (score
-   it, but land score-driven *product* improvements on the **Gemini** path
-   instead — which needs the `chore/...` branch + renders).
-This is the honest reason no score-driven improvement was "landed" this session:
-the only render-free candidate would have improved dead code.
+**FINDING — the deterministic source is dead code on the product path. ✅ DECIDED
+2026-06-11: demoted to research-only baseline (option 2).**
+`apps/ui/src/data/abletonDevices.ts` is imported **nowhere** in the UI (no
+component, no test) — verified by grep. ASA's product recommendations come
+entirely from the Phase 2 providers (`Phase2Result`); the deterministic engine is
+unwired, ported-but-unused. Consequence: a "score-driven improvement" to
+`abletonDevices.ts` (e.g. the citation-emit fix flagged above) would **not reach
+any user** — it would raise a harness number for code nobody runs, which is
+harness-gaming, not a product improvement (PURPOSE.md decision #5). The owner
+resolved the wire-or-demote choice: **demote**. Standing consequences:
+1. The module stays where it is as the scored free baseline in the three-source
+   comparison (its file header now records the status); it is **not** to be
+   wired into the product.
+2. Score-driven *product* improvements land on the **Phase 2 provider** path
+   instead. The citation-emit candidate above is off the table as a product
+   change (it remains a legitimate baseline-fairness tweak if the comparison
+   ever needs it).
 
 ---
 
diff --git a/apps/backend/RECOMMENDATION_VERDICT.md b/apps/backend/RECOMMENDATION_VERDICT.md
index 2587bc9d..04d90a91 100644
--- a/apps/backend/RECOMMENDATION_VERDICT.md
+++ b/apps/backend/RECOMMENDATION_VERDICT.md
@@ -88,4 +88,7 @@ not a synthesis artifact.
 2. **`melodic_techno_arp_124` Gemini 0 recs** — investigate the parse/shape outlier
    on a real render before trusting that fixture's contribution.
 3. The deterministic `AudioFeatures` projection is approximate (not the app's
-   `analyzer.ts`); reconcile when wiring the deterministic path for real.
+   `analyzer.ts`). The wire-or-demote question was resolved 2026-06-11: the
+   deterministic engine is a research-only baseline and will not be wired into
+   the product (see `NEEDS.md`), so reconciling the projection matters only for
+   baseline fairness in this comparison, not for any product path.
diff --git a/apps/backend/scripts/emit_deterministic_recs.ts b/apps/backend/scripts/emit_deterministic_recs.ts
index f295db0c..141868b9 100644
--- a/apps/backend/scripts/emit_deterministic_recs.ts
+++ b/apps/backend/scripts/emit_deterministic_recs.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 /**
  * Deterministic recommendation source bridge (GOAL.md sub-goal 3 inner loop).
  *
- * EVAL / RESEARCH ONLY. Wraps the product's deterministic recommendation engine
- * (`apps/ui/src/data/abletonDevices.ts`) and emits the scorer's normalized rec
+ * EVAL / RESEARCH ONLY. Wraps the deterministic recommendation engine
+ * (`apps/ui/src/data/abletonDevices.ts` — itself research-only since the
+ * 2026-06-11 demotion decision; see apps/backend/NEEDS.md) and emits the
+ * scorer's normalized rec
  * shape so `scripts/evaluate_recommendations.py --source deterministic` can grade
  * the *free* path without a Gemini call. Importing the real module keeps a single
  * source of truth — no Python re-port to drift from the TS.
diff --git a/apps/ui/src/data/abletonDevices.ts b/apps/ui/src/data/abletonDevices.ts
index 1235dc10..bb25559b 100644
--- a/apps/ui/src/data/abletonDevices.ts
+++ b/apps/ui/src/data/abletonDevices.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,17 @@
  *
  * Maps spectral characteristics to specific Ableton device recommendations.
  * This is deterministic — no hallucination possible.
+ *
+ * RESEARCH-ONLY BASELINE — not on the product path (owner decision, 2026-06-11).
+ * No UI component or service imports this module; product recommendations come
+ * from the Phase 2 interpretation providers. Its sole consumer is the eval
+ * bridge `apps/backend/scripts/emit_deterministic_recs.ts`, which scores it as
+ * the free deterministic baseline in GOAL.md sub-goal 3's three-source
+ * comparison. Do NOT wire it into the product, and land score-driven *product*
+ * improvements on the Phase 2 path instead — raising this module's harness
+ * score improves code no user runs (see the NEEDS-WIRING decision in
+ * apps/backend/NEEDS.md). Keep it import-pure: the bridge runs it under Node
+ * native type-stripping with no build step.
  */
 
 export interface DeviceRecommendation {