What is Quance?
Quance (pronounced kew-ants) is a resonance suppressor plugin from CodWaves. It analyses incoming audio, finds the narrow peaks and harsh build-ups that make a recording tiring to hear, and reduces them in real time. Tone and transient protection keep the source character intact while reducing harshness.
What does a resonance suppressor do?
A resonance suppressor tames frequencies that stick out of the spectrum, such as vocal harshness, cymbal fizz, snare ring or low-mid mud. Quance uses hundreds of fast spectral filters that move only where the spectrum misbehaves, and only while it misbehaves. That keeps the result far more transparent than a fixed EQ cut.
How is Quance different from a dynamic EQ?
With a dynamic EQ you choose the bands, frequencies and thresholds yourself. Quance finds the problem frequencies on its own and re-evaluates them every few milliseconds. You can still steer it by hand with up to eight focus points and four detection ranges when you want precise control.
Can Quance run with zero latency?
Yes. The Live Zero grade applies reduction through a bank of 48 minimum-phase filters on a causal, sample-aligned path, so Quance reports zero samples of latency. That makes it suitable for tracking, live monitoring, streaming and stage work. Studio grades offer higher frequency resolution for mixing and mastering.
Which plugin formats and DAWs does Quance support?
Quance runs as VST3 and AAX on Windows, and VST3, AU and AAX on macOS. It works in any DAW that supports one of those formats, including Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Cubase, Ableton Live, Studio One and REAPER, on mono and stereo tracks.
Does Quance run natively on Apple Silicon?
Yes. Quance supports macOS 10.15 or newer on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. On Windows it requires Windows 10 or newer, 64-bit.
How does the Learn function work?
Press Learn while a representative section plays. Quance listens, places up to four focus points on the most prominent stable resonances and narrows the detection range around them. A single click keeps listening until you stop it, which suits problems that appear only occasionally. A double-click runs a fixed eight-second pass.
Will Quance make my vocals sound dull or thin?
Quance is designed to avoid that. Tone Protect tracks fundamentals, harmonics and vocal formants and holds reduction back where a cut would damage them. Vocal mode raises tone protection further. You can also place Protect points over any region you want left completely untouched.
Can I use Quance as a de-esser?
Yes. Load the Sibilance detection range (4 to 14 kHz) or one of the Vocal Sibilance presets, then raise Amount. Because Quance targets the exact frequencies of each sibilant rather than a fixed band, the rest of the vocal stays open and natural.
Can I use Quance on the mix bus or master?
Yes. Mix mode is slower and broader with a lower reduction ceiling, built for buses and full mixes. Switch on the optional Max Cut ceiling to guarantee no single frequency drops by more than the amount you set, typically 2 to 4 dB on a master.
Does Quance support mid/side processing?
Yes. Quance offers four stereo modes: Linked, Dual, Mid-Side and M-S Link. Mid-Side treats the centre and sides independently, and M-S Link applies mid/side targeting with one shared reduction so the stereo image never moves.
What is sidechain unmasking?
Arm the sidechain and Quance detects resonances in an external signal while reducing them on the track it sits on. Send a lead vocal into Quance on a guitar bus, and the guitars dip only at the frequencies the vocal needs, with no overall level drop.
Why does processed audio sound quieter, and how does Loudness Match help?
Removing resonances lowers the level, and quieter audio often sounds worse in a quick comparison. Engage Match and Quance compensates using a psychoacoustically weighted loudness measurement, so bypass and A/B comparisons tell you about tone rather than volume.
How many presets come with Quance?
Quance ships with 53 factory presets across Vocal, Instruments, Drums, Mix and Creative categories. Each is named for its purpose, such as Bright Mic Tamer, Podcast Room Ring, Cymbal Harshness, and Streaming Polish.
Does Quance use a lot of CPU?
CPU use depends on the quality grade. The Live grades are the lightest, and Studio Ultra is the most demanding because it doubles the analysis windows. When the input falls silent, Quance pauses analysis to save CPU.
How do I activate Quance? Can I activate offline?
Activation runs through your CodWaves account in the browser, with no serial number to type. Studio machines without internet can use offline activation by exchanging a device file through another computer. If a machine goes offline after activation, Quance keeps working for 14 days.
