Recent Press Releases
- Pacamara Ristretto APU — 2.5 X performance boost, 20% lower price, and inter-application audio
- New Pattern Generator for Kyma 7.25
- Kyma 7.1 — More inspiration, more live interaction, new ways to generate sound
- Kyma 7 — Support for LinnStrument and MPE
- Kyma 7 — The Cure for Blank Screen Syndrome
- Press Archives
Reviews
Computer Music Journal, Fall 2015 “Kyma 7: The Search for the Ultimate Sound Creation Instrument”
Perhaps the most innovative and startling new feature is the Multigrid. As a composer who often uses texture and timbre as prime constituents, I have found the Multigrid to be powerful enough that it has, in effect, changed the way I hear and think about music.
Create Digital Music, 27 February 2015 “Kyma 7 Wants You To Discover, And See, New Sounds”
Somewhere apart from the general purpose computer, the standalone electronic instrument, the racks of modulars, there is Kyma…
The buzz around modular often comes back to the same refrain: modular is cool because it’s open ended. … No argument from me, but Kyma can fairly make a similar claim, backed by a somewhat obscenely deep set of sound tools you can patch together.
Future Music, July 2009 “Symbolic Sound Kyma/Pacarana”
You don’t just get total control over audio, you get a brain-expanding education in how to think about sound.
Audio Media, May 2009 “Symbolic Sound Kyma Pacarana”
Kyma specialises in exactly the kinds of sounds that designers live to work on — exotic, strange, unusual, and creative. The morphing possibilities alone are worth the asking price.
Strumenti Musicali, January 2006 “LINGUAGGI DI PROGRAMMAZIONE PER LA COMPUTER MUSIC: Dalle origini a Csound e Max/MSP TEST: Symbolic Sound Kyma X”
Da apprezzare la relazione che Symbolic Sound ha instaurato con i propri clienti, il clima familiare della società, la collaborazione con gli utenti per la programmazione del software: caratteristiche che distinguono il marchio in questo mercato sempre più fitto di strumenti per la ricerca sonora. Un acquisto che vi ripagherà da subito e soprattutto, con la sua lenta obsolescenza, renderà probabilmente inutile comprare decine di software aggiuntivi per progettare il suono nella vostra workstation preferita.
Electronic Musician October 2004: “Symbolic Sound Kyma X (Mac/Win): A super system takes it up a notch”
Kyma remains the most mature, robust, and powerful sound-design workstation anywhere. For its price — about the same as a fully loaded hardware sampler — it’s an unbelievable deal.
Future Music Magazine June 2004 (PDF) “SSC Kyma”
This hardware-meets-software audio construction kit is, quite simply, the Holy Grail of sound design.
Studio Post Pro April 2002 “Kyma — Spezialist für Elektroisches Sounddesign”
Was haben Filme wie Star Wars—Episode 1, Virtuosity, Star Trek: First Contact, Resident Evil und The Mothman Prphecies gemeinsam? Sounds der Sounddesign-Workstations Kyma der amerikanischen Firma Symbolic Sound Corporation.
Electronic Musician May 2001: “Kyma.5 Review”
When you have a product that EM editors already billed as “the most powerful sound-design workstation on the planet,” what do you do for an encore? Symbolic Sound, maker of the Kyma System, faced that challenge. With the recent release of Kyma 5.11, Symbolic Sound found a way to make the system more powerful, easier to use, and less expensive.
About This Particular Macintosh September 2000 Review: “Kyma 5.0” ATPM Rating = EXCELLENT
Kyma 5.0 is an exceptional piece of software… With each version, the people at Symbolic Sound have made the impressive power of the Capybara easier to use. Kyma 5.0 is not an incremental improvement in this area… it is a genuine breakthrough… Kudos to Symbolic Sound. You have truly outdone yourselves.
Keyboard Magazine July 1998: “Keyboard Reports–Symbolic Sound Kyma” by Joel Chadabe
…the most powerful and flexible sound design and performance environment on the market today.
Electronic Musician January 1998: “Symbolic Sound Kyma 4.5 — The world’s finest sound-design tool” by Dennis Miller
It’s not often that a single product totally dominates its class, but in the case of the Kyma sound-design workstation from Symbolic Sound Corporation, nothing else even comes close.
Radio World August 1997: “Kyma: The Ultimate Processor” by Dennis Miller
Kyma is one of the most powerful systems with which I have worked, and continues to amaze me as I discover new features and options.
Sound on Sound May 1997: “Sound Synthesis on a Computer, Part 2”
No matter how fast and powerful our desktop computers become, there will always be a strong case for using dedicated sound hardware.
KEYS January 1997: “Modularer Cyberspace: Portrat Symbolic Sound Kyma 4.1” by Thomas Alker
Audio Media June 1996: “Kyma Sound Design Workstation” by Mike Steer
A synthesizer, sampler, digital sound processor, digital recorder/controller, sound analysis tool, and a re-synthesizer all in one box? Kyma, from Symbolic Sound, can be any or all of these.
Electronic Musician July 1995: “Symbolic Sound Kyma System 4.0: A synthesis workstation with unlimited sound potential” by Dennis Miller
A few minutes with a Kyma system, and you’ll be certain that the future has arrived.
Awards
Electronic Musician Editors’ Choice 2005 for Best Sound Design Workstation
The good folks at Symbolic Sound have been at it again: Kyma X, the newest release of what has been called “the most powerful sound-design workstation on the planet,” is so full of new and updated features that it was the hands-down winner in this year’s voting. Not only does the new version sport a dramatically improved user interface, new sound-processing modules, and a massively updated user’s manual, but it also has enhancements throughout nearly every main area of the program.
Electronic Musician Editors’ Choice 2001
We’ve watched Symbolic Sound’s Kyma system develop into an incredibly powerful sound-design workstation over the years, but version 5.0 really puts it over the top. There are so many new and enhanced features that we have to wonder whether there’s anything this system can’t do!