Sonic State Studio / Virtual/Soft synths /
 symbolic sound kyma.5 At a Glance  
Picture needed
arrowReleased: Oct. 2000  arrowVersion:
arrowRated: Not Reviewedarrow Add review:  (0)
arrowLinksarrowsubmit a link
arrowSoftware: Win 95/98, Win XP, Mac, OSX,
bob seiple aka squidpop writes:
Kyma is the software which drives a standalone sound computation engine, the Capybara. Kyma can run on Mac or PC. You want a big, fast computer, even with the power of Capybara, especially if you plan to store a lot of samples (you can sample into Kyma and resample or record to your hard-drive). You can easily save sounds as presets, or record them to your drive. A preset tells Capybara what to play.

This is basically a sound design machine, but also includes a sequencer-like timeline, on which you can organize songs or layer sounds. It is well organized for both stoodio and for live use.

Kyma also includes wave and spectrum editors as well as remarkable signal flow editing capabilities.

Kyma includes all the synthesis possibilities, including subtractive, additive, FM, RE, GA and granular.

Good Points
I can turn my trumpet into a synthezer with Kyma, and do this real time. The sound possibilities for the horn are unbelievable--I would say endless. I have also experimented with using audio into Kyma from an electric bass with astounding results. And it was made for voice. Single sound patches can provide endless possibilities and the resultant sounds are usually subtle even when wild and cutting through the mix. What you can do with samples is so powerful--you just cannot believe the possibilities. Looping granulating, sequencing (great drum machine potential), etc. You really have to hear it--in terms of tweaking your samples, it leaves my E4XTUltra in the dust. I cannot imagine a synth with better vocoding. Unbelievable! And morphing is another strong point. You might think this an esoteric, intellectual machine--and it can be. It can also get-down in a hurry. It is easy to begin using, even with its amazing depth of possibilities (it will take me years to fully grasp). Its sounds stretch from electronic and dance, through experimental and classic. Remember, it has excellent sampling possibilities and unlimited rhythmic potential. This is an excellent tool for playing with formants and harmonics via its spectral analysis and fft capabilities. Finally, if you are interested in the study of sound and music, then this is an indispensible tool. BUT, let me stress again, it can put out some killer sounds, far beyond my Q (which I dearly love), or really any synth I know of. Lots of powerful effects which are easy to employ, edit and control. Wonderful and personal support. Very timely and considerate, as well as knowledgable. This machine has been under development for 15 years, and it shows.
Bad Points
Cost. You will need a fast computer, a good MIDI controller and something like Motor Mix would not hurt. The extra cards for the Capybara are very desirable and expensive. I have two extra cards and everything is cool, but a couple of more would help. You can easily push even the powerful Capybara to its limits, with a single complex sound or sound layer.
 

 symbolic sound kyma.5 Specifications:

Digital IOs:

Max tracks: depends on capybara and hard drive sizes
Maximum Resolution:96@24
Filetypes supported:
wav aif sdI sdII IRCAM LIME MIDI
Upgrades/Extras:
up to 28 DSPs and 672 of smple RAM

 kyma.5 Links

Home of Kyma & Capybara systems

Try the Virtual/Soft synths links page for more..