Symbolic Sound Kyma: Products AncillaryEquipment

Aside from the Kyma system and the computer, what other equipment is required?

The only requirement is that you have an amplifier and speakers, powered speakers, or headphone amplifier and headphones.

There are several other pieces of equipment that would be very useful (though not essential):

Multiple speakers: The basic Capybara has four outputs and you can upgrade that to eight outputs. That means you can have 4 to 8 speakers (or a standard surround sound setup). If you've never worked in the center of 4 or more speakers before, it's hard to describe just how it feels to find yourself immersed in the sound like that. Completely apart from the panning "effects", just playing back four independent channels is a powerful way to completely envelope your audience in the sound!

Microphone & preamp: Live audio processing is one of Kyma's strong points. You will enjoy Kyma all the more if you have a microphone already set up and can process your voice or your instrument. For acoustic instruments, a contact microphone may work even better, since it can help you avoid audio feedback from the monitors. The Capybara expects line level inputs, so you have to run the output of the microphone through a preamp before sending it to the Capybara. Most mixing boards have preamps built-in. Or you can use a small standalone preamp. (By the way, the Capybara has four (or 8) inputs as well as outputs, so you could process your whole band (or all the soloists for your next orchestra piece).

MIDI keyboard, MIDI faders: You can control the parameters of your sounds by using the mouse to move the controls of a Virtual Control Surface on the computer screen. However, there is nothing like getting your hands on some physical knobs and faders. It gives you a finer degree of control and you can move more than fader at a time. Any fader box that has MIDI output will work with Kyma. The CM Automation MotorMix? has 2-way communication with the Capybara, so Kyma can display the parameter names on the MotorMix? LCD and move its motorized faders in response to changing a preset in Kyma. A MIDI keyboard is also useful, not only for generating pitches but also for generating triggers.