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How to get the Continuum to reliably work with Kyma 7?

0 votes
1,146 views
I am having trouble getting the continuum to work with Kyma.  Kyma connect and the Contiuum editor all show that its sending properly and the also on the DSP status window the midi "m" sees when i sending midi data to pacarana.  But sounds seem to be unresponsive almost entirely.  almost.  I can get it to work for seconds every minute at best.  It works great with an ipad and kyma control and also an xkey midi keyboard, but not the continnum.  I have been trying with sounds from the slipstick.kym that are set up to work with the continuum.  Is there anyone out there that can assist in troubleshooting?

running on osx 10.10.5 with ProTools 12.3.1HD running (avid core audio driver removed)

many thanks!
asked Jul 2, 2016 in Controllers, OSC & MIDI by davesparza (150 points)

2 Answers

0 votes

Are you using the most recent version of Kyma?

Under DSP>Configure MIDI, do you have MPE Continuum enabled?

answered Jul 2, 2016 by ssc (Savant) (127,080 points)
+2 votes

Make sure that you have the most recent version of Continuum firmware installed. The Continuum's Kyma and MPE support has been undergoing active development in the recent firmware releases. Firmware 7.52 is the current version, available since March 2016. Also update the Continuum Editor at the same time.

You have to have Kyma's preferences with the setting "Continuum and MPE compatible" set to YES (see other answer from SSC for additional detail). 

In the Continuum Editor set it to "Kyma Mode". This is available in the Velocity Menu. When set, and the communications between the Continuum and Kyma is working correctly, the values of the X, Y, and Z settings will turn blue to signify that those are now working in the special Kyma mode.

I recommend using the Kyma mode instead of the MPE mode for use with Kyma unless you have a specific reason to do otherwise. The Kyma mode has some additional feature that MPE does not offer, such as automatically setting the Continuum's polyphony setting to whatever the loaded Kyma sound requires.

If you are using KymaConnect then there is one other detail. You need to choose how to route Continuum MIDI to the Pacarana. You have two options (pick only one):

1. Let the Continuum Editor handle this for you.

2. Use one of KymaConnect's Ext. MIDI.

Most people use option 1; option 2 is useful in some situations, especially if you sometimes what or need to use the Continuum and Kyma without the Continuum Editor active.

I've done a blog post http://drk.delora.com/musings_blog/?post_id=614&title=what-is-the-best-way-to-connect-the-continuum-fingerboard-with-kymaconnect that discusses this in further detail.

The most important thing is just choose one method. If Continuum MIDI is routed by both the Continuum Editor and KymaConnect to the Paca(rana), or a Capybara for that matter, then Kyma sounds end up getting all of the MIDI information twice.

Once you have correctly configured your set up, and chosen Kyma mode in the Continuum Editor (or by selecting a Continuum User patch that was save with the setting), the Continuum Editor will look like this if everything is working properly:

The important detail to notice is that a number of the Continuum settings are now shown in blue. Those are now under the direct control of Kyma. For example Polyphony is now in blue because Kyma has set the polyphony to the polyphony value of the active Kyma sound. If those settings are not showing in blue then there is still a communication problem between the Continuum and Kyma that will need to be corrected.

answered Jul 3, 2016 by delora-software (Master) (5,660 points)
Perfect! Got it all working now.  Thank You so much for your clear and thorough explanation.
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