Fairlight-CMI

Anyone that knows me knows that I have an unhealthy obsession with 
the Fairlight CMI. It started back in the early 80's and is still as 
rampant as it was back then. One day I really do hope to own at least 
a IIx or a III.

However, until that elusive lottery win comes along, or a long lost 
wealthy distant relative leaves me their entire fortune, it's not 
happening anytime soon. So, as is my want, I got to thinking about 
the perennial question of a software Fairlight replica which by 
todays standards would probably be in the VSTi format.

Currently nothing like this exists. The closest we have got is a 
bunch of samples, many of them very good, stored within a couple of 
sample based VSTi's, namely Best Service's "Cult Sampler" and Zero-
G's "Nostalgia". Many of these samples have also turned up in various 
other incarnations, but that's about it really. There's the sample CD 
knocking about by Pro Rec which has a version of the factory library 
for the CMI IIx. I have this disc (what discerning Fairlight wannabe 
owner doesn't) and it's an audio CD of reasonable quality but would 
need work to get the entire library into an authentically usable 
format.

Ask any Fairlight owner, and they will tell you that nothing compares 
to a Fairlight except another Fairlight, and to be fair, they're not 
wrong. Sure, you can sample one, but samples fail to capture the 
unique way that the Fairlight processed these sounds. It's 
technology, prehistoric by today's standards, coloured and tainted 
the sounds in a very unique way that sampling couldn't fully capture. 
Even if you could convert the entire Fairlight library into WAV 
format, they wouldn't sound the same when played through anything 
else.

Some would argue that today's technology is light years in advance of 
what was conjured up in Sydney over 30 years ago, and nobody could 
deny that, but it's the unique way the Fairlight handles it's audio 
that still makes it an object of desire. I wouldn't really want the 
Page R Sequencer to be honest, but the sounds are what defines the 
instrument after all this time. Just like a Stradivarius or Steinway, 
it's the actual sound made by these instruments that sets it apart 
from the rest today.

No, the only real way to sound like a Fairlight is to use a Fairlight.

Apparantly.

Which is where I started to think again. Surely, in this day and age 
of software instrument clones, someone could replicate, in software, 
the unique hardware used in a Fairlight, and then we could have a 
software based version of the system where we could load up those old 
sounds and have them play back in a much closer and realistic fashion 
than ever before.

Many would argue that Arturia's CS80V, MinimoogV, Moog ModularV and 
JupiterV sound nothing like the originals, and many would say 
otherwise. The same is true of Native Instruments replicas and also 
those by GMedia. You will never 100% capture these machines because 
of the way they worked and the volatility of the hardware used in the 
originals that caused variations from one use to another. But surely, 
a piece of digital hardware like the Fairlight could be replicated 
pretty faithfully in software ? I'm no expert in programming and 
wouldn't have the first clue about what goes into a project like 
this, but surely there is a demand for this ? Maybe Fairlight, who 
are still an operating company, albeit in a slightly different way, 
have some hold on copyrights and would block any attempt to recreate 
the CMI. 

Maybe the Fairlight of today are missing an opportunity to recreate 
this instrument themselves. With bands like Coldplay using a CMI on 
their latest (and quite stunning) long player, "Viva La Vida", there 
is still an obvious creative demand. Darren Hayes even made an entire 
double LP using his a short while ago. The perennial threads that 
constantly pop up in other synth forums with people requesting 
Fairlight samples or sounds shows that this interest is at all levels.

Maybe Peter Vogel could shed some light on this as he still interacts 
with the Fairlight community on Yahoo.

All I am wondering is if it would be so difficult to do. Is it 
impossible or financially restrictive ? Is there a simple issue with 
marketing and demand ? Is there a copyright issue ?

If someone came up with a software version of a Fairlight, I for one 
would be up there, waving my cheque book around :)

Your responses, thoughts and ideas would be most welcome.