Fairlight-CMI

Well said Rob.

  I completely agree with your point of view. A recreation of the
Fairlight is not such an outlandish idea. I too do not have an extra
£5000 to drop for one at the moment or in the near future. Then there
is the cost of upkeep etc. I would happily settle for a nice clone at
this point.

-Dustin 

 
 


--- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, "Rob Puricelli" <rob@...> wrote:
>
> Hi Tim,
> 
> I couldn't disagree more. Let me explain why.
> 
> There are countless clones of countless items out there. If all of
them had
> said the same as you, we wouldn't have half the products we do today.
> 
> I agree that whilst the uniqueness of the components and circuitry would
> indeed make an original Fairlight the only thing to sound like an
original
> Fairlight, to say it's impossible to recreate is a very blinkered
view. I
> could reel off numerous examples of where clones do indeed match the
> original. Take a look at the Nord C1. Even the most hardened Hammond
fans
> gasp in awe at how exact a match it is for the real thing. 
> 
> http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=lAqjAcSvxzE
> 
> That guy in the video above has built, rebuilt and restored more
Hammonds
> than I've had hot dinners and he positively wets himself at how good
the C1
> is.
> 
> And the C1 shares none of the original circuits, components or
software of
> the original (not that the original had any software !) ;o)
> 
> But ultimately, in isolation, I'm sure a Fairlight clone would
certainly not
> match an original, but how often do we play and record any of our
> instruments in isolation ? Once they're buried in a mix, no one
could tell
> the difference. I'd place good money on that. Do you sit there and
listen to
> a tune and say, "You know what ? That's not a real XYZ instrument,
it's a
> poor clone." Of course not. All we are searching for is a way to
access the
> library and possibly to recreate the sampling environment in a
modern and
> convenient method. Whilst this recreation may not pass muster
against a real
> one, it would be as close as dammit and until I have a spare £5000
burning a
> hole in my pocket, that will do for me :o)
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Rob.
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com]
> On Behalf Of Tim Curtis
> Sent: 14 July 2008 05:48
> To: Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: RE: [Fairlight-CMI] Re: Recreating the Fairlight
> 
> There is ONE way to recreate the Fairlight.
> 
>  
> 
> -Clone the circuits using identical components
> 
> -Use the same software
> 
>  
> 
> Anything else simply won't do it.
> 
>  
> 
> Sorry.
> 
>  
> 
> -Tim
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> ________________________________
> 
> From: Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of antonyp69
> Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2008 10:12 PM
> To: Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [Fairlight-CMI] Re: Recreating the Fairlight
> 
>  
> 
> Like the original poster of this thread, I too would be interested 
> in a recreated Fairlight CMI.
> 
> The idea that has been floated is a VST type virtual Fairlight CMI.
> 
> However due to major advances in microtechnology and processing 
> power and mega storage capacities, I believe the best solution would 
> be to rereate the Fairlight CMI as a computer soundcard. A software 
> package with all the Fairlight CMI functions such for example, Page 
> 6 Waveform Drawing, Page 7 Control Parameters etc.. should also 
> be included. To enable waveform drawing, an input device such as a 
> usb optical mouse or usb optical pen could be used. Of course the 
> soundcard would have a microphone input for sampling. 
> 
> A modern day personal computer with dual/quad core processors, 
> gigabytes of memory and storage would be ample to host a "Fairlight 
> soundcard".
> 
> I am not a computer board designer or electrical engineer, however I 
> have assembled many computer systems and owned dozens of soundcards 
> over the last 17 years.
> 
> In previous posts to this thread, the posters have stated that the 
> goal is to obtain the "Fairlight" sound. Peter Vogel stated there 
> were various nuances such as "birdies" and other quirks that gave the
> Fairlight its sound.
> 
> As mentioned there have been major advances in computer technology 
> over the last 30 years since the Fairlight CMI has been around. I am 
> pretty sure there are modern day components that could mimic the 
> circuitry of the CMI. Probably even software could emulate the 
> circuitry as well, however a hardware soundcard version of the 
> Fairlight CMI would do it justice.
> 
> How would I design a Fairlight CMI soundcard?
> 
> I would look at the Creative Labs Soundblaster cards that support 
> Soundfonts as a starting point. The Soundfont is similar in that it 
> spans the sound sample along the music keyboard. However although 
> the Soundfont sounds great, it is not a Fairlight. The Creative Labs 
> Soundblaster cards do not have the processing filters of the CMI. 
> 
> A CMI soundcard would ideally have sampling and processing qualities 
> like a the original Fairlight CMI.
> 
> I would even put the original factory libraries of the Series IIx 
> and Series III on a rom chip on the soundcard.
> 
> What I would love to see....
> 
> Because he knows the Fairlight back to front, he is very clever, and 
> on a patriotic note, Australian, it would be great if Peter Vogel 
> designed and produced this card. Maybe a 'Vogelight CSCI (Computer 
> Soud Card Instrument)' ?????
> 
> This maybe a pipe-dream, but it maybe a thing that will keep the 
> Fairlight legacy going a lot longer and introduce a new generation 
> to the wonders of the CMI.
> 
> Antony
> Melbourne, Australia
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> 
>  
> 
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