Fairlight-CMI

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