Fairlight-CMI

VEMIA, the well known vintage instrument auction, is listing a IIx for
auction.  Current bid is 1830 British Pounds.  (about 3450 US Dollars). 

Link is http://www.spheremusic.com.  Then click on VEMIA auction.

1830 British Pounds for a Fairlight IIx without MIDI.
What do you guys think. Is this a 'cheap' price for a IIx? What's the current rate for a IIx.

Is the Midi/SMPTE card still available somewhere? And what would be the cost?

Best,
David

Akai VX600: http://kunst.phlimburg.be/vx600


--- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, "Matt" <nycpartyguy@y...> wrote:

> 
> VEMIA, the well known vintage instrument auction, is listing a IIx for
> auction.  Current bid is 1830 British Pounds.  (about 3450 US Dollars). 
> 
> Link is http://www.spheremusic.com.  Then click on VEMIA auction.

There's also a NED Synclavier (PSMT) for 13950 GBP ... Looks really 
over-priced to me !!!

http://www.spheremusic.com./Bargaindtl.asp?Item=4258

On 13 avr. 05, at 21:26, Matt wrote:

>
>  VEMIA, the well known vintage instrument auction, is listing a IIx for
>  auction.  Current bid is 1830 British Pounds.  (about 3450 US 
> Dollars).
>
>  Link is http://www.spheremusic.com.  Then click on VEMIA auction.
>
>

Hi Guys,

 I am amazed that they can't even bother to provide and pictures of the
Fairlights for sale. Not very good in my opinion ! No wonder Ebay is so
successful !

Cheers,


James Thomson

Magic Audio Co.
The Studio
West Hampstead
London NW2 3RJ
U.K.

On 13/4/05 8:26 pm, "Matt" <nycpartyguy@yahoo.com> wrote:

> 
> 
> VEMIA, the well known vintage instrument auction, is listing a IIx for
> auction.  Current bid is 1830 British Pounds.  (about 3450 US Dollars).
> 
> Link is http://www.spheremusic.com.  Then click on VEMIA auction.
> 
>

The last IIx i saw for sale did have smpte/midi and it sold for a
little over USD6000.  So I think GBP1830 (USD3450) is quite reasonable
and woouldn't be surprised to see it go a little higher. 

I would check with Peter Wielk in Sydney to see if he still has the
parts for the midi upgrade.  I think I remember someone telling me the
cost would be roughly USD1000.

--- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, "dvdborn" <dvdborn@p...> wrote:
> 
> 1830 British Pounds for a Fairlight IIx without MIDI.
> What do you guys think. Is this a 'cheap' price for a IIx? What's
the current rate for a IIx.
> 
> Is the Midi/SMPTE card still available somewhere? And what would be
the cost?
> 
> Best,
> David
> 
> Akai VX600: http://kunst.phlimburg.be/vx600
> 
> 
> --- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, "Matt" <nycpartyguy@y...> wrote:
> > 
> > VEMIA, the well known vintage instrument auction, is listing a IIx for
> > auction.  Current bid is 1830 British Pounds.  (about 3450 US
Dollars). 
> > 
> > Link is http://www.spheremusic.com.  Then click on VEMIA auction.

Hi James and all.
eBay is generally wonderful but it occasionally has its problems of a 
different nature.
At least with VEMIA people who bid know that the items exist; that 
they are from sellers VEMIA consider reputable, and that their money 
is safe until they receive goods which are as described.  In other 
words, in the cosmetic condition stated, fully working unless 
specified otherwise, and sensibly packed and shipped.  
 
But... yes, it is incredibly frustrating to have a massive section of 
a massive collection entered, with only very sketchy information and 
no pics.  
I've been trying to get these, but because the owner is jetting round 
the world at an alarming rate, it isn't easy.
You probably know more about Fairlight prices than I do, but I would 
think the IIx is a pretty good buy at that price.
I hope to add more info if and when it comes from the owner, but of 
course time is running short.
 
Peter Forrest and Pascal Escoyez



--- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, James Thomson 
<jamesthomson@m...> wrote:
> Hi Guys,
> 
>  I am amazed that they can't even bother to provide and pictures of 
the
> Fairlights for sale. Not very good in my opinion ! No wonder Ebay 
is so
> successful !
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> 
> James Thomson
> 
> Magic Audio Co.
> The Studio
> West Hampstead
> London NW2 3RJ
> U.K.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 13/4/05 8:26 pm, "Matt" <nycpartyguy@y...> wrote:
> 
> > 
> > 
> > VEMIA, the well known vintage instrument auction, is listing a 
IIx for
> > auction.  Current bid is 1830 British Pounds.  (about 3450 US 
Dollars).

> > 
> > Link is http://www.spheremusic.com.  Then click on VEMIA auction.
> > 
> >

Hi James
I agree that it is silly not to have pics, but that is up to the seller to sort out. Vemia have 
been great on all my transactions, including sorting out problems they didn't have to 
(couriers smashing things, postal services losing things and someone who was dishonest 
in the item he sold ( a modular), who was barred and I ended up refunded part of the 
price). 
This is unlike ebay who don't sort ANY problems out. Ebay is great for certain things, but 
Vemia really is a safe place to buy & sell.
Concerning the CMI IIx there, I think it is a good price. I have a Series I and love it. The 
lack of midi is actually not so important to me. Playing the sounds over midi is Also, 
syncing even with the midi interface isn't perfect (no midi sync as such)
Having said that I only paid £250 for my series I (one of the first built) as it wasn't working 
and no midi. The cables were the problem. Fixed in 1 hour and I was a VERY happy 
camper. I guess if I didn't have a IIX w Midi as well, I'd probably want midi, but to be 
honest, I rarely use it.
So maybe I should shut up and say "YOU NEED MIDI"
That way the price will remain low....

--- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, James Thomson <jamesthomson@m...> wrote:

> Hi Guys,
> 
>  I am amazed that they can't even bother to provide and pictures of the
> Fairlights for sale. Not very good in my opinion ! No wonder Ebay is so
> successful !
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> 
> James Thomson
> 
> Magic Audio Co.
> The Studio
> West Hampstead
> London NW2 3RJ
> U.K.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 13/4/05 8:26 pm, "Matt" <nycpartyguy@y...> wrote:
> 
> > 
> > 
> > VEMIA, the well known vintage instrument auction, is listing a IIx for
> > auction.  Current bid is 1830 British Pounds.  (about 3450 US Dollars).
> > 
> > Link is http://www.spheremusic.com.  Then click on VEMIA auction.
> > 
> >

--- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, Laurent Lemaire <llemaire1@f...>
wrote:
> There's also a NED Synclavier (PSMT) for 13950 GBP ... Looks really 
> over-priced to me !!!
> 
> http://www.spheremusic.com./Bargaindtl.asp?Item=4258



I'm sorry - I can't agree with this statement!  Mainly because it's
*my* Synclavier ;-)

Seriously - ths system is one of the very few that work *perfectly*. 
I bought the original system from a dealer in the US - it's Chick
Corea's old studio system (I also bought his road system at the same
time) - in a non-working condition.

It cost around £8,000 to make the system work the way it does - 
replacing many of the defunct PSV cards, install the newer switch mode
power supplies, upgrade the memory to modern 'fast' memory, replace
all internal system cabling with newer long life parts.  

The system *also* comes with the PCI interface cards - which cost a
cool £6,000 from Demas inc. enabling the system to run 'natively' from
a modern Macintosh with an umbilicle cable - this means you have GUI
and file management - as well as native sample swapping - on your Mac
desktop NOT the old fashioned terminal interface. - Yes, you can back
up onto CD / DVD not Sync. floppy!

ALSO, the price includes the entire Synclavier sound library,
installed on a dedicated 10Gb drive located in the host Mac and is
running the very latest OS release.

Finally, the system comes with the second revision of VP/K keyboard -
which is in mint condition, originating from my 'other' system ex. the
BBC - which has also been completely overhauled. All this is wrapped
into Sting's flightcase (which is liftable by two people and only
stands three 1/2 feet tall) and the keyboard is flightcased in an
original NED case.

To reproduce this system would cost considerably more than £20,000 - I
know because that's what I paid.

In summary, it's a 48 voice (that's *stereo* voices - not mono) with
the very latest revision of software, host mac (G4/500, 512mb, 40GB)
PCI interface, entire NED sound libraries all completely overhauled by
the best expert on these sytems and comes fully working - which not
many do.

BTW, this system cost around £330,000 originally - does it still sound
expensive?

Rant mode off :-)

Philip

--- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, James Thomson
<jamesthomson@m...> wrote:
>  I am amazed that they can't even bother to provide and pictures of
> the Fairlights for sale. Not very good in my opinion ! No wonder 
> Ebay is so successful !


This isn't fair on VEMIA.  There were no pictures because the pieces
were locked in the studio store room and I was in the Middle East on
business for much longer than I originally planned - sorry to all who
would have liked pictures.

Not many people understand VEMIA - and that's a terrible shame because
eBay is a farce in comparison.

Firstly, VEMIA is run by Peter Forest - for those who've never heard
of Peter, he's the author of the two volumes of 'A-Z of Analogue
Synthesisers' - and generally reputed to be the best source of
information on all things analogue.  As a lucky addition - he's also
one of the nicest people you'll ever have the fortune to deal with.

Secondly, buyers and sellers are, discretely, vetted by Peter - so you
know that at least 'someone' know's both parties in the transaction.

Thirdly, VEMIA take the cash from the buyer and hold it until the unit
is sent by the seller - this way, there's no risk of fraud - and as a
victim of multiple frauds on eBay, totalling around £15,000 - this is
a HUGE comfort.

Finally, the buyers on VEMIA are serious collectors or musicians - so
the gear is always top quality and the transactions painless.  I've
bought a very large amount of equipment through Peter / VEMIA and been
over the moon each time - something I could never say about eBay!

Don't take it from me - try it - it only runs twice a year though...

Philip

--- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, Laurent Lemaire <llemaire1@f...>
wrote:
> I understand your position... But you're the seller
> and therefore not in a "neutral" situation.

Hehe - that's true :-)

> Personaly, when I buy stuff in auctions, I do it
> only if it is a really good deal for me. I'll never
> pay something the market price in an auction. So, I
> agree, Vemia is a much better way to deal machines
> as a Synclavier, but I've never seen any great deal
> there... as I did made on eBay.

This is true - on eBay you can often get bargains - all 
I was saying is that VEMIA is a great place if you want
rare items in great working order - which is not what 
often happens on eBay.

> I wish you good luck for the auction.

Thank you - but it didn't sell - just in case anyone's 
interested :-)

Philip

Hi Philip,

I understand your position... But you're the seller
and therefore not in a "neutral" situation.

Personaly, when I buy stuff in auctions, I do it
only if it is a really good deal for me. I'll never
pay something the market price in an auction. So, I
agree, Vemia is a much better way to deal machines
as a Synclavier, but I've never seen any great deal
there... as I did made on eBay.

I wish you good luck for the auction.

   Laurent.

If I had that sort of cash lying about, I would certainly have bought 
it... Wish I was filthy rich :-(

P

--- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, "pmjtaysom" <philip@t...> wrote:
> 
> --- In Fairlight-CMI@yahoogroups.com, Laurent Lemaire 
<llemaire1@f...>

> wrote:
> > I understand your position... But you're the seller
> > and therefore not in a "neutral" situation.
> 
> Hehe - that's true :-)
> 
> > Personaly, when I buy stuff in auctions, I do it
> > only if it is a really good deal for me. I'll never
> > pay something the market price in an auction. So, I
> > agree, Vemia is a much better way to deal machines
> > as a Synclavier, but I've never seen any great deal
> > there... as I did made on eBay.
> 
> This is true - on eBay you can often get bargains - all 
> I was saying is that VEMIA is a great place if you want
> rare items in great working order - which is not what 
> often happens on eBay.
> 
> > I wish you good luck for the auction.
> 
> Thank you - but it didn't sell - just in case anyone's 
> interested :-)
> 
> Philip