KYMA X.82: A Synthesis Engine for Alternative Controllers & Interactive Sound Design
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New software features twenty-one new keyboard-controllable morphing synthesis algorithms, support for 14-bit MIDI controllers, polyphonic aftertouch, & publication of the Kyma OSC protocol for third-party developers
Champaign, Illinois - November 21, 2011 - The culmination of two years of research and development, Kyma X.82, a new software update for the Kyma X/Pacarana sound synthesis engine, is specifically designed to take advantage of the expressive capabilities and extended control offered by today's new crop of alternative controllers and cutting edge musical interface designs.
The recent explosion of interest in new musical interfaces and alternative controllers for sound design and music has created a need for sound synthesis and processing engines that can take full advantage of the increased bandwidths, higher resolution, lower latencies, continuous pitch and velocity values, and subtle expressive capabilities of these new controllers. Symbolic Sound has a long history of support for alternative and extended controllers in Kyma X, and Symbolic Sound's newest release, Kyma X.82, introduces several additional features to support these innovative musical interfaces and alternative controllers.
Features in Kyma X.82 include over 20 new morphing sound synthesis algorithms, support for 14-bit MIDI controllers, and the publication of Kyma's OSC protocol to support and inspire future developments of new instruments and controllers that can exploit Kyma's responsive, high-resolution sound synthesis and processing algorithms in a seamless, plug-and-play manner.
Whether you are a sound designer performing expressive creature voices to picture, an electronic musician performing live on stage with alternative controllers, or a composer using physical controllers to create dense multi-layered textures of sound in the studio, you will be able to take advantage of Kyma X.82's ease of parameter-mapping, low latency, high-resolution parameters, and legendary sound quality. Additional features of the new release include enhanced multichannel panning and effects, higher quality spectral analysis, and a 40\% speedup in the software executing on the host computer.
Sound and Video Examples
Using one of the new Morph3d objects to morph among a re-synthesized Tuva singer, bongo, flute, angry cat, female voice, violin, cat meow, and shakuhachi using Kyma Control on an iPad.
The foreground 'melody' is performed live on a Continuum Fingerboard, using KeyTimbre (near/far) and KeyVelocity (pressure) to morph between re-synthesized violin, trombone and flute. In the background, Kyma is generating the Sax/Flute morph pattern.
The key-mapped spectrum of an organ is re-synthesized through a FormantBank with a slowly changing formant. The voice is a key-mapped spectral analysis/resynthesis using sine wave oscillators.
A key-mapped flute spectrum is re-synthesized with a time-stretched attack and played on the Tonnetz in Kyma Control.
A re-synthesized voice morphing to re-synthesized bowed glass performed on the Kyma Control keyboard. In the background, a key-mapped piano spectrum performed on a standard MIDI keyboard is re-synthesized through a FilterBank with vinyl clicks as the input to the filter.
A key-mapped CloudBank on a set of piano samples, performed on a standard MIDI keyboard.
Key-mapped piano spectra re-synthesized by a FormantBank played on standard MIDI keyboard with ModWheel controlling the formant to create the 'squeals'.
For more sound and video examples from Kyma X.82, please see Sound and Video Clips
Third-party developers
A batch analysis tool included in the release enables Kyma users to create custom Analysis File libraries, giving their own signature sound to the new synthesis algorithms in Kyma X.82.
Publication of the Kyma OSC protocol means that third-party developers can create software interfaces, alternative controllers, and new musical instruments that can take advantage of Kyma's rich library of expressive, responsive algorithms and renowned audio quality. The protocol includes two-way communication of note events, controllers, and graphical control surface layouts over TCP/IP networks (such as Ethernet, Wi-fi, or the Internet):
Kyma X.82 Features
Highlights of the new release include:
- Sound and Timeline download times have been slashed in half (on top of a 20\% speed-up in user interface and downloading made earlier this year adding up to 120\% increase in overall speed since last year at this time).
- Support for 14-bit MIDI controllers, both big endian and little endian
- Support for polyphonic aftertouch
- Increased number of voices for voice-stealing (up to 128 simultaneous key-downs in a 5 ms interval)
- Merging for up to four USB MIDI input devices connected to the Paca(rana) USB ports
- New synthesis algorithms including:
- InterpolateN: a linear or constant power crossfade through any number of inputs
- MultiSampleCloud: granular processing of samples with live switching between sample files
- New family of algorithms for morphing in 1d, 2d, and 3d timbre spaces using 7 different resynthesis techniques: SampleCloud, Psi, OscillatorBank, FilterBank, FormantBank, CloudBank, and GA (group additive)
- Tool for batch analysis (Psi, spectral, and GA)
- 2d faders both in the virtual control surface and in the Kyma Control iPad app
- Display score and other instructions to performers on the Kyma virtual control surface as .png images.
- Other virtual control surface enhancements include buttons with different labels for on/off states, resizing to fit iPad, and other resizing/fitting tools.
- More multichannel panning and processing in real time (due to increased efficiency of the multichannel algorithms)
- Improved dynamic range in the spectral analyses. The SNR of spectral analysis has been increased by 48 dB on the Paca(rana) and the GA (group additive) analysis has been improved by 48 dB on the Capybara and 96 dB on the Paca(rana).
- Timelines with WaitUntils for live performance can now be recorded to disk. Additional Timeline enhancements include: Track renaming, deleting, inserting, and reordering
- Smalltalk and CapyTalk code assistance in the form of syntax coloring; colors and type face in the parameter fields help organize code and indicate syntax errors
- New data sonification tools
- Publication of the Kyma OSC protocol for third-party musical interface developers
- Kyma X also works under the Apple Lion operating system for Macintosh.
Availability
Kyma X.82 is immediately available as a free download for registered Kyma X users.
More info
For more information on the Kyma X, the Pacarana sound synthesis and processing engine, its smaller cousin, the Paca, or the Kyma X.82 software update, please visit the Symbolic Sound web site
or contact Symbolic Sound by telephone +1-217-355-6273 or ]
Kyma Background
Kyma is a language for creating, transforming, combining, and interacting with sound. Kyma runs under the Macintosh and Windows operating systems and uses the Pacarana (or its smaller cousin, the Paca), as a co-processor dedicated to generating and processing sound.
Company background
Symbolic Sound has been a leading supporter of live audio performance with expressive controllers for over 20 years, as the first to support two-way communication with CM Labs Motormix, and the first sound synthesis engine to work with the Haken Audio Continuum Fingerboard and with Camille Troillard's OSCulator; they also work closely with Delora Software, a software development company offering an extensive line of controllers for multi-touch devices and connectivity solutions for Kyma.
Symbolic Sound ignited the software synthesis and effects revolution in the 1990s with the Capybara and reinvented the portable sound computation engine in 2009 with the introduction of the Paca(rana). Symbolic Sound continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning Kyma sound design environment, favored by sound designers for film, games, advertising, music production, and live performances.
Summary
Kyma X.82 is a synthesis engine specifically designed to take advantage of the expressiveness and extended control offered by the new crop of alternative controllers and new musical interfaces used by sound designers and musicians.
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