# Quance

Resonance control that knows what to leave alone.

- Canonical URL: https://codwaves.com/quance/
- Publisher: CodWaves (https://codwaves.com/)
- Category: Resonance suppression
- Plugin formats: VST3 and AAX on Windows; VST3, AU and AAX on macOS
- Operating systems: macOS 10.15+ (Apple Silicon & Intel), Windows 10 64-bit
- Price: EUR 49.99 (offer price valid until 2026-11-30). Prices are advertised in EUR; checkout displays the equivalent in the local currency.
- Trial: Free 7-day trial
- Current version: 1.0.0
- User manual (PDF): https://codwaves.com/assets/Quance-User-Manual.pdf

Quance is a resonance suppressor plugin that finds the harsh peaks making a recording tiring to hear and reduces them in real time, with hundreds of self-adjusting spectral filters and protection for tone and transients.

## Problems Quance solves

- Harshness, sibilance, cymbal fizz, snare ring and low-mid mud reduced only while they misbehave
- Resonance control without hand-tuned static EQ notches
- Cleanup that leaves vowels, harmonics and transient attacks where they were
- Resonance control in the monitor path with no added latency
- Bypass and A/B comparisons that compare tone rather than level

## Best for

- Vocals, dialogue and bright microphones
- Drums with ringing snares, fizzy cymbals and boxy room mics
- Guitars, keys and strings with fizz, pick edge or scratch
- Buses and masters that wear out the ear
- Tracking, live monitoring, streaming and stage work

## Key features

- Intelligent Learn places up to four focus points from your own audio
- Open-ended Learn pass, or a fixed eight-second pass on a double-click
- Tone Protect holds reduction back on fundamentals, overtones and vocal formants
- Transient Protect eases reduction while an attack passes
- Up to eight focus points, each set to Tame or Protect with its own width
- Up to four detection ranges, with seven range presets
- Five quality grades, from zero-latency Live Zero to Studio Ultra
- Automatic Loudness Matching for fair bypass and A/B comparisons
- Six modes: Default, Vocal, Instrument, Drums, Mix and Hard
- Detection threshold that follows the material's long-term spectrum
- Sidechain unmasking that dips only the frequencies the lead needs
- Four stereo modes: Linked, Dual, Mid-Side and M-S Link
- Delta monitoring of only what is being removed
- Detail and Speed, from broad build-ups to needle-thin peaks
- Optional Max Cut ceiling for a guaranteed worst case
- 53 task-named factory presets
- A/B snapshots and an independent undo history
- Linear or minimum phase
- Resizable interface from 50% to 200%, with optional tooltips

## Compatibility

- Formats: VST3 and AAX on Windows; VST3, AU and AAX on macOS
- Operating systems: macOS 10.15+ (Apple Silicon & Intel), Windows 10 64-bit
- Hosts: Works in any DAW that supports VST3, AU or AAX, including Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Cubase, Ableton Live, Studio One and REAPER.
- Requirements: Internet for activation, offline activation available

## Licensing

- You can buy with just your email address; CodWaves creates your account at payment and you set a password afterwards, from the confirmation page or the purchase email. Downloads and plugin access are handled through that account.
- Licenses allow up to three active activations at a time; activations can be revoked from the account panel. Offline activation via license file is available and permanently binds the license to that device.
- One-time purchase, no subscription; free updates; 14-day money-back guarantee.

## Frequently asked questions

### 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.

## Testimonials

- Dom Morley, Grammy-winning producer and mixer: “Straight away it sounds better to me than the industry leader - it dealt with the harshness completely, and the vocal is now warmer and rounder. ... It does that thing the best I’ve heard. It’s now my goto plugin for removing harshness”
- Steve DeMott, Audio engineer: “Let’s be honest, when you need a tool like Quance you’re already dealing with issues from a less than perfect recording. The last thing you want is a tool that adds its own sets of problems. In my use of Quance I have found it to be exceptionally transparent while still able to tackle some egregious sonic problems. The true test is when you toggle between bypass & active and can hear things get better when Quance is active, but you don’t actually hear it working.”
- Michael Costa, Audio Engineer: “Quance is one of those processors that does its cool thing but doesn’t make your audio suffer because of it. It makes tracks sound like they were recorded better than they were.”
- Ashton Parsons, Sound Engineer: “Quance is now permanently on my guitar bus, I can’t believe how it so precisely cleans up the signal without any hassle or needing to do a second learn pass, it’s right from the start! A+ tool!”
- Scott Yahney, New York-based producer, writer and keyboard player: “Quance is incredible at smoothing out harsh high frequencies and transient peaks. An amazing plugin at a fantastic price. Every producer should have this in their toolbox! Another must-have from Codwaves. Highly recommended! 5 STARS!”

## Related CodWaves plugins

- [WaveBalance](https://codwaves.com/wavebalance/): Quance manages narrow resonances; WaveBalance manages operating level.

## More

- Product page (HTML): https://codwaves.com/quance/
- All CodWaves resources for agents: https://codwaves.com/llms.txt
- Machine-readable catalog: https://codwaves.com/products.json
- Support: https://codwaves.com/support/