Fairlight-CMI

Yes, a studio in a box should be possible for $5K. I will have to have
further discussions with Fairlight, but I don't see why the CC-1 can't run
say 64 tracks of sound/sequncer/mixer.  The question is, what would make it
more attractive than what's already available? I would need to sell several
hundred just to recoup the development cost.


  _____  

From: Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of Al Curatolo
Sent: Wednesday, 5 November 2008 7:38 AM
To: Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Fairlight-CMI] Fairlight CMI series IV?




Intriguing. 

If it were going to be $5k it would have to bring significantly more to the
table than the original Series III for me to be interested.  At $5K I'd
expect hundreds of voices of Fairlight sounding sampling/synthesis,
sequencing, lots of tracks of hard disk recording and some DSP processing
(EQ, delay, possibly reverb), basically a studio in a box.  

I would pay up to $1500-2000 for something equivalent to CMI III/MFX II
functionality.  For just sampling emulation with nothing else it would have
to be well under $1k. When people were talking software emulation I'm
guessing they were thinking of something in the under $500 range. 


Thanks for posting Peter, I'd like to see something like this happen but I
also understand that to make it happen at a price point that folks will jump
onboard is probably going to be difficult, especially if it's going to be a
PC card. 

Al 


------ Original Message ------ 
Received: Tue, 04 Nov 2008 04:58:40 AM MST 
From: <peter.vogel@vogelfamily.net> 
To: <Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com> 
Subject: [Fairlight-CMI] Fairlight CMI series IV? 





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.fairligh
<http://www.fairlightau.com/downloads/public/Fairlight%20NEW%20CC-1%20Brochu
r> tau.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