Fairlight-CMI

Hi Peter,

This sounds interesting. 

Do you mean to say you would replicate the CMI digital logic in the FPGA but that the analogue 
parts would be emulated using DSP? Or would there be an extra board with the analogue filters etc 
on it? What about the CMI light pen, would that be emulated in some way on the PC?

What is be the intended market life of the CMI IV? Although the existing CMI models have been 
kept working many decades after being discontinued, what will happen when the CC-1 card is 
discontinued and PC hardware and Windows software versions change? Will the CMI IV continue to 
be updated and supported?

Would you be looking to extend and improve on the CMI design? Could we expect larger memory 
sizes and other added processing/synthesis features in addition to the authentic CMI sound, UI and 
mojo?

/Tristan

Quoting peter.vogel@vogelfamily.net:

> 
> There have been discussions from time to time about replicating the
> CMI
> using a software emulation. These efforts will have limited success
> because
> the "Fairlight sound" relies on the peculiarities of the hardware
> used in
> the original design.
> 
> In the days when I was the designing CMI hardware, my greatest
> challenge was
> to minimise the distortions and artifacts that were inherent aspects
> of the
> hardware available at that time. In effect, we struggled to make the
> Fairlight sound less "Fairlight". So the intimate details of what
> makes a
> Fairlight sound like a Fairlight are indelibly etched in my brain.
> 
> When Fairlight brought out the Crystal Core Engine last year, my
> imagination
> ran wild. Here was a tiny board with enormous capabilities that could
> be
> configured to faithfully reproduce the CMI hardware in its FPGA
> (Field
> Programmable Gate Array). Every bit of the 1980's CMI hardware, the
> essence
> of its sound, could be reconstructed faithfully in digital hardware
> form. 
> 
> To fully appreciate the astounding potential of the CC-1, download
> the
> brochure here:
> http://www.fairlightau.com/downloads/public/Fairlight%20NEW%20CC-1%20Brochur
> e%20for%20WEB%20VIEW.pdf
> 
> I also recently discovered that ALL the IP relating to the original
> Fairlight CMI including all of the hardware and filter designs,
> sample
> libraries etc are still retained by Fairlight.au in Sydney.
> 
> So I have been wondering if it would be worthwhile to develop a
> faithful
> reproduction of the CMI on the "Virtual Hardware" of the CC-1?
> 
> This would perform identically to the original CMI series II or III,
> but run
> on a PC fitted with the Crystal Core card. The MIDI input would come
> directly into the CC-1 so there would be no problem of latency
> introduced by
> the PC.
> 
> At this stage I'd like to "feel out" the market to assess the level
> of
> interest in this project and whether the significant investment in
> R&D will
> be worthwhile.
> 
> The Fairlight Series IV (CC-1, I/O box and software) might be sold
> for
> approximately $US5,000.00.
> 
> So my question is, what do you think of this idea? How would a
> Fairlight CMI
> at this sort of price be received by the market? Who would the buyers
> be and
> how would I tap into them?
> 
> What do you think?
> 
> Peter Vogel
> 
>