KiMiASound Design
Level 1 · Foundations›Module 2 · Meet KiMiA
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Module 2 · Lesson 1 of 6

Four screens and the top bar

KiMiA is one window with four screens and one bar across the top of all of them. Ten minutes here, and you will never wonder where a control lives.

10 minHeadphones or studio monitorsKiMiA and your keyboard
In this lesson you will
  • Move between Play, Edit, Matrix and Routing
  • Know what the top bar does
  • Find help on any control

01One window, made for the stage

KiMiA was designed for the stage first. It is one window, always full screen, laid out so that everything you need in a song is one click or one key away. Four screens share that window, and three things stay put whichever screen you are on: the top bar, the Sound library on the left, and the two patches with their layer strips.

Figure 2.1.1

Play: the screen you perform on

KiMiA’s Play screen: the top bar, the sound library on the left, Patch 1 and Patch 2 with their layer strips, the Set pads and the song, the macros, the effects and EQ rows and the live output
  1. Top bar screens, tempo, Master, Panic
  2. Sound library every sound, by collection and category
  3. Patch 1 its sound, On, Level and Pan
  4. Patch 2 a second sound, playing at the same time
  5. Sound controls favorite, step, compare, save
  6. Layer strips layers A to D of the patch in focus
  7. Set pads whole setups, the song and the recent sounds
  8. Macros and the Super Knob
  9. FX each layer’s inserts, the Delay
  10. EQ and stage switches house EQ, Fade, Hold, Split, Chord
  11. Live output the sound as you play it
KiMiA as it opens, with 22 · Piano + Pad in Patch 1 and 21 · Saw Lead in Patch 2, a song’s Set pads and the chord the displays show. Every screenshot in this course is KiMiA’s own interface, drawn by its own code; click one to see it larger.

This is Play, the screen KiMiA opens on and the one you will use on stage. Everything on it is built for playing: no menus to dig through, big targets, and every switch you might need in a song in plain sight. The other three screens are where you prepare: Edit to design a sound, Matrix to wire its movement, Routing to set up your keyboards and your audio.

02Four screens

Each screen has a key on the Mac’s keyboard, so you can move without the mouse:

ScreenKeyWhat you do thereIn this course
PlayzPlay: Set pads and songs, the macros, the effects’ switches, the house EQ, the looper, the XY pad, the live displays and the on-screen keyboardLesson 2.5, Module 22
EditxSound design: everything that shapes the layer in focus, from the oscillators to the effectsLesson 2.4, Modules 3 to 19
MatrixcModulation: the Sound Matrix (what moves the layer’s controls) and the Performance Matrix (what your playing moves)Modules 8 and 14
RoutingvYour setup: Stage Settings, the audio output, your keyboards and MIDI LearnModules 12 and 22
Figure 2.1.2

Edit: one page for the layer in focus

KiMiA’s Edit screen: the live output strip, the sound path of layer A and the first panels
Edit with 14 · Macro Lead loaded: the live displays at the top, then the sound path, then a panel for every stage, all for layer A.

Edit is one long page for the layer in focus, in the order the sound travels: the live displays, the sound path, then a panel for every stage. You will spend most of this course here, and Lesson 2.4 shows how to find your way in it.

Figure 2.1.3

Matrix: what moves the sound

KiMiA’s Matrix screen with the three Sound Matrix routes of 14 · Touch Brass and an empty Performance Matrix
  1. On the route works or rests
  2. Source what moves
  3. Destination what it moves
  4. Add or Range how it moves it
  5. Amount how far
  6. The reach in the control’s own units
  7. × a second source that scales it
  8. Curve gentle or steep at first
  9. Lag slides instead of jumping
  10. Add route up to 16 per layer
  11. Performance Matrix your wheels, pedals and touch
14 · Touch Brass: velocity opens the cutoff up to 1.6 octaves, the mod envelope bends the pitch at the start of each note, and Modulator 1 adds a little vibrato.

Matrix is where a sound comes alive. Its Sound Matrix lets a modulator or an envelope move any control of the layer; its Performance Matrix lets your wheels, pedals and touch move it. Each route is one row: a source, a destination and an amount.

Figure 2.1.4

Routing: your setup

KiMiA’s Routing screen: Stage Settings, Audio output, Your keyboards and MIDI Learn
  1. Stage Settings tuning, macros, MIDI, the gig
  2. Audio output the device, voices, Crackle guard
  3. Your keyboards what each one plays
  4. MIDI Learn the knobs you have learned
Routing: Stage Settings, the audio output, each keyboard and what it plays, and the knobs you have learned.

Routing is set up once and then left alone: which audio output KiMiA plays through, which layers each of your keyboards plays, how your controller’s knobs take over, and the switches for the gig.

03The top bar

Whatever screen you are on, the top bar holds the controls you may need at any moment:

Figure 2.1.5

The top bar

The left half of KiMiA’s top bar: the KiMiA name, the four screens, the output scope, the tempo, Tap, transpose, undo and redo
  1. KiMiA opens Help and About
  2. Play · Edit · Matrix · Routing the four screens (z, x, c, v)
  3. Output scope the sound as it leaves KiMiA
  4. Tempo for synced delays, modulators and the arpeggiator
  5. Tap click it in time to set the tempo
Figure 2.1.6

The top bar, continued

The right half of KiMiA’s top bar: transpose, undo and redo, Master, the audio switch, Panic, the DSP load and the voices
  1. Transpose everything up or down in semitones
  2. Undo and Redo ⌘Z and ⌘⇧Z, every change
  3. Master the overall level ([ and ])
  4. Audio switch KiMiA’s sound on or off (m)
  5. Panic stops every note and tail (⌘.)
  6. DSP how much of the Mac’s time the sound takes
  7. Voices the notes sounding now
Watch out

KiMiA makes no sound at all while the audio switch beside Master is off; it shows a crossed-out speaker. If nothing sounds, check it first, then Master, then the audio output in Routing. KiMiA’s Help lists the full checklist under “When something goes wrong”.

Pro tip

Keep an eye on the DSP reading while you design. It is the share of the Mac’s time the sound takes. A big pad with many voices and effects can climb quickly, and Module 22 shows how to keep a whole set comfortably below the limit.

04Help on every control

Three ways to find out what something does, without leaving KiMiA:

  • Hover: hold the pointer over any button or slider and a short text explains it, often with the numbers behind it.
  • Hold ⌘ on its own: every keyboard shortcut appears over the screen until you let go.
  • KiMiA Help (click the KiMiA name at the top left, or ⌘?): a reference by screen, with the safeguards for the gig, the Korg nanoKONTROL2 layout and what to do when something goes wrong.
Figure 2.1.7

Hold ⌘: every shortcut

KiMiA’s shortcut sheet over the Play screen, shown while ⌘ is held
Hold ⌘ on its own and the shortcuts appear over the screen; let go and they disappear.
Figure 2.1.8

KiMiA Help

KiMiA’s Help sheet open over the Play screen, with its list of sections on the left
Help, open on its Play page. Its sections: About, a page for each screen, Set pads and the library, Gig mode and its safeguards, the keyboard shortcuts, the Korg nanoKONTROL2 and When something goes wrong.

Dimmed and folded controls tell you something too: a dimmed control waits on another setting, and a folded row says why it is not in use. Lesson 2.4 shows both.

05Try it

  1. Tour. Press z, x, c and v in turn, and look at each screen for ten seconds. Find the four things that never move.
  2. Shortcuts. Hold ⌘ and read the overlay. Find the key that opens Patch selection.
  3. Hover. In Edit, hold the pointer over three controls you don’t know yet and read what they do.
  4. Safety. Play a long chord with the sustain pedal down and press ⌘. (Panic).
  5. Help. Click the KiMiA name and read the page for the screen you will use most.
Your notes · the three shortcuts you will use most

06Check yourself

Q1Which screen do you open to change a sound’s filter?
Edit holds everything that shapes the layer in focus; the filters are among its first panels.
Q2What does Panic (⌘.) do?
Panic is the emergency stop: notes, delay and reverb tails, everything goes quiet.
Q3Nothing sounds when you play. What do you check first?
With the audio switch off, KiMiA makes no sound at all. It is the first thing on KiMiA’s own checklist.
Q4How do you see every keyboard shortcut at once?
Held alone, ⌘ shows the shortcuts over the screen until you let go.
Q5Which screen holds your audio output and your keyboards?
Routing is your setup: the output, the keyboards, Stage Settings and MIDI Learn.