Avid Pro Tools
“I first learned Pro Tools in art school. I spent many hours there trying to make music that sounded like Boards of Canada.
“Pro Tools is linear, but doesn’t make you work on a grid, which I like. I use it for both mixing and for composing with MIDI, and I’ve also used it for live performances. Yes, it does have a tendency to crash, but if you haven’t got too much going on, you can play virtual instruments, play back samples and control them live.”
Rogue Amoeba Audio Hijack
“Very handy for sampling - I use it every day in the studio. It allows you to record whatever audio is playing on your computer, so it’s great for putting together odd combinations-– basically, I use it to record audio from the internet, often from multiple browser windows simultaneously.
“I’ve also used it as an aid, to build sample libraries and categorise sounds.”
Paul’s Extreme Sound Stretch
“Paulstretch is a fantastic piece of open-source timestretching software created by Paul Nasca. It seriously slows down sound, but doesn’t change pitch.
“Lately, I’ve been using it when I want an ultra-slow fade-out at the end of a track or a really long reverb tail. Made famous, of course, by U Smile 800% Slower and the Chorus of Crickets.”
Eventide H3000 Band Delays
“I got to know the hardware H3000 Harmonizer - the one that this plugin is derived from - while working with Francesco Donadello at Vox-Ton Studio in Berlin. We used it to sort out pitch changes on strings. The front panel’s main knob, which controls the parameter of the effects, was refreshing to discover.
“Although it can’t compete with the hardware rack, I got the plugin to help mix my new album, No. 4. There’s a preset called Jungle that I ended up using a lot. When we did the final mixes, we ended up keeping the plugin because, interestingly, the Jungle preset is not on the hardware version.”
Read more about Eventide H3000 Band Delays
Christina Vantzou’s album, No. 4, is out now on Kranky.
