KiMiASound Design
Level 1 · Foundations›Module 2 · Meet KiMiA
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Module 2 · Lesson 3 of 6

The sound library

The sound library is where every sound lives: KiMiA’s own, the banks you import, and the sounds you save. Here is how to find a sound fast, compare your changes with the original, and bring in the course banks.

10 minHeadphones or studio monitorsKiMiA and your keyboard
In this lesson you will
  • Find, load and compare sounds
  • Save your own and keep the original
  • Import the course banks

01Finding a sound

The Sound library runs down the left of the window. Click a sound and it loads into the patch in focus. The row above the list shows that patch and its sound, with its power switch at the right; click P1 and the focus moves to Patch 2 (it then reads P2), so you can load both without leaving the library. The o key does the same.

Figure 2.3.1

The Sound library

The Sound library column showing the Module 22 course bank
  1. ••• banks, import, export, backups
  2. Search part of a name
  3. Collection KiMiA’s, a bank, Your sounds, All
  4. Category keys, pads, basses and more
  5. The patch in focus P1 or P2, and its power
  6. A category and how many sounds
  7. Loaded the number of the patch it plays in
  8. Favorite the star
The library showing the Module 22 course bank. At the foot of the column, the count of sounds shown and the button for Patch selection.

Three choices decide what the list shows:

  • The search: type part of a name.
  • The collection: KiMiA’s own sounds, one of your banks, Your sounds, Deleted sounds, or All sounds.
  • The category: keys, pads, basses and so on. The course banks use the category Course.

The star at the top shows your favorites only. With the list in front, the up and down arrow keys load the sound above or below, the quickest way to audition a bank while you play.

At the keyboard

Press p for Patch selection: every sound as a card, filling the screen. Tab jumps to its search box and the arrow keys move between the cards. It is the view to use on stage, at a glance and from a distance.

Figure 2.3.2

Patch selection (p)

KiMiA’s Patch selection with the Module 21 course bank: eleven sounds as cards, the bank menu, the search box, Master and the arrows
Patch selection with the Module 21 bank: every sound as a large card, the one playing marked. At the top, the patch it loads into and its power, the bank, the search, Master, and the arrows that step through the sounds.

02Saving, and the original

Under the patch in focus sits a row of small controls:

Figure 2.3.3

Under the patch in focus

The row under the patch: the star, the arrows, No edit, Save, Save As, Lock and Clear
ControlWhat it does
The starMarks the sound as a favorite
The arrowsLoad the sound before or after in its category
No edit · Listen to originalReads No edit until you change something; then Listen to original switches to the saved sound, your edits kept, and the button reads Back to edit
Save (⌘S)Saves your changes into the sound
Save As (⌘⇧S)Saves a copy under a new name, the original untouched
LockKeeps the layer strips at the top while you scroll
ClearEmpties the patch and switches it off
Pro tip

Use Listen to original constantly while you design. After twenty minutes of small changes your ears get used to the sound; two clicks tell you whether you made it better or just different. And use Save As for course patches: the course bank stays as it was, ready for the next lesson.

03Banks and backups

A bank is a file of sounds that travels as one: the course gives you one bank per module. The library’s menu, at its top right (the ••• button), holds everything about files:

  • Import a bank: add a bank file, such as a course bank. KiMiA checks every sound as it imports. Import a newer version of the same bank and KiMiA offers to replace the older one, keeping your favorites and Set pads working.
  • Banks: the banks you have, each with its version, its number of sounds and a Readme that describes them.
  • Importing and exporting single sounds, Back up everything, Restore a backup, and Undo Delete.
Figure 2.3.4

Banks

KiMiA’s Banks sheet listing the course banks, each with its version, its number of sounds, Readme, Show and Remove, and Make a bank below
The course banks, imported: each with its version and number of sounds. Readme describes the bank, Show lists it in the library. Below, Make a bank picks your own sounds and exports them as a bank file.
Watch out

Back up everything before a gig and after a long design session. It saves one file with your sounds, Set pads, keyboards, MIDI mappings, settings and banks, which you can restore on this Mac or another.

04Try it

  1. Import. If you haven’t yet, import this module’s bank (the module page shows how) and find its four sounds with the search box: type “02”.
  2. Audition. Choose the collection All sounds and a category you like, click the first sound, and step through them with the arrow keys while you play.
  3. Compare. Load 02 · Course Init, change a few controls in Edit, then click Listen to original and Back to edit in turn.
  4. Keep a copy. Save your changed sound with Save As under your own name, and find it in Your sounds.
Your notes · the categories you visit most

05Check yourself

Q1You click a sound in the library. Where does it load?
The patch in focus is the one the library loads into; the P1 or P2 button above the list switches it.
Q2You have changed a course patch and want to keep both versions. What do you use?
Save As writes a copy under a new name and leaves the original as it was.
Q3What does Listen to original do with your edits?
It is a comparison, not an undo: one click on Back to edit and your changes are back.
Q4The course updates a bank. How do you get the new version?
Importing a newer version of a bank replaces the old one, and your favorites and Set pads keep working.