SpectraDuck

Name: SpectraDuck
Price: 34.05 USD
Author: HoRNet

by HoRNet · Compressor · Spectral sidechain ducker

Not rated yet

SpectraDuck is a sidechain ducker that looks at the spectrum of the sidechain signal and ducks only the frequencies where the two sounds clash.

Controls cover amount, range, sharpness, detector filters, auto timing, lookahead and mid/side modes, for about $34.05.

Best for: Bass, Vocals, Mix Bus, Keys & Synths. Genres: Electronic & EDM, Hip-Hop & Trap, Pop.

Keywords: sidechain input, look-ahead, vocals, kick, spectral, bass, FFT-based, mid/side, bus processing, electric guitar, full mix, mix bus, mixing, musical, perpetual licence, single-band, pads, surgical, wide.

What it does

SpectraDuck is a spectral sidechain ducker: it compares the spectrum of the sidechain with the track it sits on and cuts only the frequencies where the two clash, so a kick or vocal makes room without the whole track being turned down. HoRNet describes it as "pure frequency-domain ducking" with no EQ bands or fixed crossovers.

Amount: 0 to 100% (default 100%), the overall ducking intensity.
Range: the maximum cut in decibels (default 24 dB).
Sharpness: 0 to 100% (default 30%), from a broad, musical spread of the cut to a surgical one.
Detector filter: high-pass and low-pass filters that limit which part of the sidechain spectrum triggers ducking.
Timing: Auto Time estimates attack and release from the sidechain content; optional lookahead adds about 5 ms to catch transients (off by default).
Stereo modes: Linked, Mid Only or Side Only processing.
Listen and display: monitor the sidechain or the delta (what is removed), and watch the input spectrum, the ducked spectrum and the gain-reduction curve in real time.

Processing is FFT-based, with about 5 ms of latency that the DAW compensates. Version 1.0.1 is a stability and sidechain-detection update. It is a one-time purchase with lifetime free updates, an unlimited fully functional demo and a 15-day money-back guarantee.

Source: HoRNet product page

When to use it

SpectraDuck is for carving space between two sources automatically, without setting up EQ bands or crossovers. It follows the same idea as Wavesfactory Trackspacer, and adds Auto Time, lookahead and mid/side options at a lower price. Compared with a volume ducker such as Kickstart 2 or a sidechained Pro-C 3, it leaves the frequencies that don't clash untouched, so a bass keeps its top end while the kick cuts through its lows. Unlike a dynamic EQ with sidechain, such as TDR Nova, it needs no manual band placement, but you also can't see or set exactly which bands move. Its latency is only about 5 ms, though producer.news questioned how fine its frequency resolution can be at that setting.

Best for: kick against bass, vocals over pads and guitars, and voice over music beds.
Genres: electronic, hip-hop and pop, and any dense mix.
Look elsewhere if: you want rhythmic pumping (Kickstart 2 is simpler) or precise control over each ducked band (a sidechained dynamic EQ like TDR Nova).
Tip: set Amount with both sources playing at their final levels, never with either soloed.

What producers say

SpectraDuck is new and has had little independent coverage; one technical write-up liked the approach but wanted more published detail.

producer.news liked that it takes gain off "only where the trigger actually has energy", praised the detector filters, MS mode and unlimited demo, and suggested disabling lookahead on record-enabled tracks.
Criticisms: producer.news argued that 5 ms of latency implies coarse frequency bins, which could limit kick and bass separation, and noted HoRNet doesn't publish its window size; it suggested testing with kick and bass in the same octave.

producer.news article

Where to buy

HoRNet: $34.05 (Listed at €29.99; converted at €1 = $1.1355 (ECB rate, 29 Sep 2026))

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