diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 8f6f2d2..7ff4ea5 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -119,6 +119,18 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
   `_gp_drum_arrs_to_parts` (covered by `tests/test_gp_multidrum_split.py`); the
   frontend adopts the extras via the existing `adoptDrumParts` load path. This
   brings the GP create-import to parity with the MIDI drum auto-split.
+- **An auto-sync import no longer deletes the front of the chart.** A Guitar
+  Pro import aligned to a recording with a lead-in (the audio starts before the
+  tab's bar 1) used to lose its opening notes: the scalar-offset path baked the
+  offset into the converted XML, pushing that pre-roll to a negative time that
+  core's `parse_arrangement` then sliced off at `t ≥ 0` — silently dropping, in
+  one report, the first 16 notes. Guitar Pro is now always converted at offset 0
+  and the shift is applied to the parsed arrangement **in memory** (the same
+  in-place retime the per-bar warp path already used), so a lead-in's notes,
+  beats, sections and keys notation all survive. The per-bar warp path was
+  already immune; this repairs the scalar-offset fallback it hands off to (GP5
+  with repeats, degenerate or absent sync points, or an older core). Tests:
+  `tests/test_gp_import_offset.py`.
 
 - **A drum edit no longer strips another tool's authored keys from drum-part
   manifest entries.** Saving with drum changes rebuilds the `type: drums`
diff --git a/routes.py b/routes.py
index 2df781e..02cc82f 100644
--- a/routes.py
+++ b/routes.py
@@ -2260,6 +2260,34 @@ def _tones(t):
     song.offset = 0.0
 
 
+def _apply_gp_import_offset(song, xml_paths, provided_offset: float) -> None:
+    """Apply a scalar GP-import audio offset to an ALREADY-PARSED ``song`` (and
+    its on-disk notation sidecars) in memory — never baked into the converted
+    XML.
+
+    ``convert_file`` adds ``audio_offset`` to every note time, so any lead-in
+    (a negative resolved offset) lands the front of the chart at a NEGATIVE XML
+    time. Core's ``parse_arrangement`` then slices each level at ``t >= 0`` and
+    silently drops those notes — the reported "auto-sync deleted the front 16
+    notes" data loss. Converting at ``audio_offset=0.0`` and shifting the parsed
+    Song here keeps the pre-roll: ``_apply_chart_offset`` rewrites absolute
+    times only and preserves negatives (the same in-memory retime the per-bar
+    warp path already relies on).
+
+    ``convert_file`` adds the offset, whereas ``_apply_chart_offset`` subtracts
+    its delta, so the delta is ``-provided_offset``. Zero offset is a no-op.
+    Module-level so pytest can reach it.
+    """
+    if not provided_offset:
+        return
+    _apply_chart_offset(song, -provided_offset)
+    # Sidecars were written by convert_file on the unshifted (0.0) timeline;
+    # move them by the same amount the notes moved so _attach_gp_notation reads
+    # times consistent with the shifted notes.
+    for _xp in xml_paths:
+        _warp_notation_sidecar(_xp, lambda t: round(t + provided_offset, 6))
+
+
 def _arrangement_xml_candidates(tmp_dir):
     """Return the source XMLs that represent playable arrangements.
 
@@ -7740,11 +7768,15 @@ def _convert():
                         "offset-only sync"
                     )
 
-            # Convert GP to XMLs
+            # Convert GP to XMLs. Always at offset 0.0 — the per-bar warp and
+            # the scalar-offset fallback both retime the PARSED Song below
+            # instead of baking the shift into the XML, whose negative lead-in
+            # times core's parse_arrangement would slice off at t>=0 (dropping
+            # the front of the chart).
             xml_paths = convert_file(
                 gp_path, tmp,
                 track_indices=indices,
-                audio_offset=0.0 if _warp_anchors else _provided_offset,
+                audio_offset=0.0,
                 arrangement_names=names_map,
             )
 
@@ -7789,11 +7821,14 @@ def _convert():
                             start_time=float(s.get("startTime", "0")),
                         ))
 
-            # Apply the per-bar warp: retime every note/beat/section from the
-            # tab's authored timeline onto the recording's (Songsterr-style
-            # piecewise mapping — the recording's tempo drift is followed
-            # instead of accumulating).
+            # Retime the parsed Song onto the recording's timeline. Both paths
+            # converted at offset 0.0 (above) and apply the shift here, in
+            # memory, so a lead-in's negative pre-roll survives parse.
             if _warp_anchors:
+                # Per-bar warp: retime every note/beat/section from the tab's
+                # authored timeline onto the recording's (Songsterr-style
+                # piecewise mapping — the recording's tempo drift is followed
+                # instead of accumulating).
                 from lib.gp_autosync import warp_song_times, warp_time
                 warp_song_times(song, lambda t: warp_time(t, _warp_anchors))
                 # The GP notation sidecars (keys tracks) were written by
@@ -7803,6 +7838,11 @@ def _convert():
                 for _xp in xml_paths:
                     _warp_notation_sidecar(
                         _xp, lambda t: warp_time(t, _warp_anchors))
+            else:
+                # Scalar-offset fallback (per-bar warp unavailable: GP5 repeats,
+                # degenerate/absent sync points, or an older core). Applied to
+                # the parsed Song so the front of the chart is never dropped.
+                _apply_gp_import_offset(song, xml_paths, _provided_offset)
 
             # If we have a local audio file path, copy to static
             if audio_path and Path(audio_path).exists():
diff --git a/tests/test_gp_import_offset.py b/tests/test_gp_import_offset.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cb05e54
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_gp_import_offset.py
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+"""Regression: a GP import with an audio-sync lead-in must NOT drop the front
+of the chart.
+
+The scalar-offset import path used to bake the offset into the converted XML
+(``convert_file(audio_offset=...)``). For any lead-in the resolved offset is
+negative, so the front notes land at a NEGATIVE XML time — and core's
+``parse_arrangement`` slices each level at ``t >= 0``, silently discarding
+them (the reported "auto-sync deleted the front 16 notes" bug).
+
+The fix converts at ``audio_offset=0.0`` and applies the offset to the PARSED
+Song in memory via ``_apply_gp_import_offset`` (built on ``_apply_chart_offset``,
+which preserves negative times). These assert the front notes survive and the
+notation sidecars are retimed by the same amount. They fail on main, where
+``_apply_gp_import_offset`` does not exist.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+from types import SimpleNamespace as NS
+
+sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent))
+
+import routes  # noqa: E402
+from routes import _apply_gp_import_offset  # noqa: E402
+
+
+def _note(t):
+    return NS(time=t)
+
+
+def _song(note_times):
+    """A minimal but structurally complete Song for _apply_chart_offset."""
+    arr = NS(
+        notes=[_note(t) for t in note_times],
+        chords=[],
+        anchors=[],
+        hand_shapes=[],
+        phrases=[],
+        tones=None,
+    )
+    return NS(arrangements=[arr], beats=[_note(0.0)],
+              sections=[NS(start_time=0.0)], offset=0.0, song_length=10.0)
+
+
+def test_leadin_offset_keeps_the_front_notes_at_negative_time():
+    # A 1.0s lead-in: GP-sign negation resolves to provided_offset = -1.0.
+    # convert_file would ADD that, so notes near t=0 go negative and were
+    # dropped. The in-memory shift keeps every one.
+    song = _song([0.0, 0.2, 1.5, 3.0])
+    _apply_gp_import_offset(song, [], provided_offset=-1.0)
+    times = [n.time for n in song.arrangements[0].notes]
+    # Nothing dropped, and the front notes are preserved at negative time.
+    assert len(times) == 4
+    assert times == [-1.0, -0.8, 0.5, 2.0]
+    # Beats and sections ride along; the residual chart offset is cleared.
+    assert song.beats[0].time == -1.0
+    assert song.sections[0].start_time == -1.0
+    assert song.offset == 0.0
+
+
+def test_positive_offset_shifts_forward_and_drops_nothing():
+    song = _song([0.0, 1.0])
+    _apply_gp_import_offset(song, [], provided_offset=0.5)
+    assert [n.time for n in song.arrangements[0].notes] == [0.5, 1.5]
+
+
+def test_zero_offset_is_a_noop():
+    song = _song([0.0, 1.0])
+    _apply_gp_import_offset(song, [], provided_offset=0.0)
+    assert [n.time for n in song.arrangements[0].notes] == [0.0, 1.0]
+    # song_length and offset untouched on the no-op path.
+    assert song.song_length == 10.0
+
+
+def test_sidecars_are_retimed_by_the_same_offset(monkeypatch):
+    # Prove the sidecar path actually uses provided_offset (not just the notes):
+    # capture the mapping callable handed to _warp_notation_sidecar.
+    captured = {}
+
+    def _fake_sidecar(xml_path, warp):
+        captured[xml_path] = warp
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(routes, "_warp_notation_sidecar", _fake_sidecar)
+    song = _song([0.0])
+    _apply_gp_import_offset(song, ["a.xml", "b.xml"], provided_offset=-1.0)
+    assert set(captured) == {"a.xml", "b.xml"}
+    # convert_file ADDS the offset, so the sidecar remap is t -> t + offset.
+    assert captured["a.xml"](5.0) == 4.0
+    assert captured["b.xml"](0.0) == -1.0