The hydrofoil named
"Fairlight"
The hydrofoil that used to pass the offices where the
Fairlight CMI was originally developed. Circa 1975.
A special thank you to
David who wrote the original text below and provided the
images. His original text about the Fairlight CMI and Mellotron can be found on
his WEB site "Candor Chasma"
by clicking
here
In
1976, Fairlight created a first prototype, that included the
concept and the architecture of Furse's M8. This prototype, which was simply
called Qasar, was a complicated and bulky machine, with a poor
sound quality. Ryrie and Vogel's initial aim was to create a totally digital
synthesizer, that would be able to generate sounds that were very close to
acoustic instruments, and with a total control over the different sound
parameters - exactly like a musician's control over his instrument's sound. It
was a kind of acoustic modelisation before its time. Disappointed as they were
by the poor sound quality and the lack of variety of the Qasar's sounds, they
had the idea of recording natural sounds digitally, in order to get richer and
more complex sounds. The idea of sampling was born. Ironically, for Vogel and
Ryrie, the sampling technique that would give birth to a revolution of music and
sound creation in the '80s, was only, at that time, a very limited alternative
to their original concept. Indeed, although the sampled sounds were richer than
simple digital waveforms, they couldn't be controlled as easily as those
waveforms. Only a few parameters (attack, sustain, vibrato and decay) could be
modified. According to Vogel and Ryrie themselves, the sampling technique was
only a roundabout way to get richer sounds out of their instrument :
"We wanted to digitally create sounds that were very
similar to acoustic musical instruments, and that had the same amount of control
as a player of an acoustic instrument has over his or her instrument. Sampling
gave us the complexity of sound that we had failed to create digitally, but not
the control we were looking for. We could only control things like the attack,
sustain, vibrato, and decay of a sample, and this was a very, very severe
limitation of the original goal that we had set ourselves. We regarded using
recorded real-life sounds as a compromise - as cheating - and we didn't feel
particularly proud of it." (Kim Ryrie - Audio Media magazine, January 1996)
However, they decided that the conception
of their machine should now include the sampling technique. In order to raise
funds for this project, Fairlight produced about 120 office computers for
Remington Office Machines. These computers were based on the bi-processor
architecture of the Qasar.
In
1979, their work resulted in the creation of the Fairlight
CMI I (CMI for Computer Musical Instrument). Based on the architecture
of the Qasar M8 (two 8-bit 6800 Motorola processors with 8 voices of polyphony),
the CMI I featured a 73 note keyboard, a central unit with two 8" floppy disk
players, an alphanumeric keyboard, a monochrome monitor, and a lightpen. The
operating system was the QDOS, a variant of the MDOS Motorola system. The CMI I
was the first machine featuring the sampling technique, a graphic representation
of waveforms, additive synthesis, and a sequencer. It was the first workstation.
In spite if the poor sampling quality (8 bits - 24 kHz maximum), the Fairlight
was presented as a machine that was able to perfectly reproduce the sound of
real instruments. It featured a floppy disk with a sound bank that included
various samples of acoustic instruments.
Peter Vogel went looking for clients and
distributors, traveling around the world with a CMI. In the summer of 1979, he
met Peter Gabriel, who was recording his third album in his studio. Vogel showed
a demo of the CMI to Gabriel, Stephen Paine (a close relation of Gabriel), Hugh
Padham and Steve Lillywhite. Quite impressed by the possibilities of the
machine, Peter Gabriel used the CMI during the whole week of Peter Vogel's stay.
Peter Gabriel eventually bought a CMI, and created Syco Systems with Stephen
Payne. It was the first company to import and distribute Fairlight In Europe.
John-Paul Jones was the second buyer (he wanted to replace his Mellotron !),
followed by Richard Burgess (Landscape), Kate Bush, Geoff Downes, Trevor Horn,
Alan Parsons, Rick Wright, Thomas Dolby, Stewart Copland, J.J. Jeczalik (Art of
Noise), Mike Oldfield... In the USA, the CMI was successful too : it was used by
Stevie Wonder (first customer), Herbie Hancock, Jan Hammer, Joni Mitchell... In
Austria, Hubert Bognermayr (Eela Craig), in France, Jean-Michel Jarre,
Indochine, Daniel Balavoine, Louis Chédid... were among the CMI users.
Because of the poor quality of the CMI's
initial sounds, many users created their own samples. Some of them would later
be included in Fairlight's official sound bank.
In
1982, the CMI II, a slightly improved version
of the CMI, was created. The sampling rate turned from 24 to 32 kHz, still in 8
bits ; but the main innovation was the inclusion of the "R page", the first
sequencer with a graphic representation of the 8 tracks and notes. It was based
on a system of patterns (sets of bars) that you could repeat, copy, paste... You
could also quantify the notes. The R page was a revolution in the use of
sequencers. Some musicians bought a CMI only for this graphic sequencers. 1982
also saw the release of "Shock The Monkey" by Peter Gabriel, the first hit
single featuring a Fairlight.
In 1983, a major CMI
update appeared : the Fairlight CMI IIx. Several internal cards
were modified. The two 6800 processors were replaced by 6809 processors, and a
MIDI/SMPTE interface was added.
In
1985, the Fairlight CMI III was a new step
forward. Although it had the same architecture as the CMI I, the CMI III was the
first 16 bit sampler with a sample rate of 50 kHz max in stereo, or 100 kHz in
mono. The polyphony turned from 8 to 16 voices. A hard disk drive was added. A
new operating system (OS 9) was created. The lightpen was replaced by a graphic
tablet. The R page was replaced by a new sequencer, the CAPS (Composer,
Arranger, Performer, Sequencer).
A
few months later, the Voice Tracker (a Pitch-to-Midi converter
for the voice or acoustic instruments) and the CVI
(Computer Video Instrument, a picture and video processing machine), were
released.
In
1987, Fairlight turns to the post-production market with the
MFX ("Music and effects"). Basically, the MFX, which was also called
MFX III, was a CMI III with a new control keyboard that fitted the new Cue List
sequencer.
At the same time, other manufacturers
released cheap priced samplers : Akai with the S612, the S900, and then the
S1000 ; Ensoniq with the Mirage. Sequencers also appeared on computers such as
the Atari ST or the Macintosh. Fairlight was slowly losing its supremacy in
these two sectors (sampling and "graphic" sequencing). Moreover, with about 50
CMI sold in England, the market was saturated.
Fairlight ESP decided to work exclusively
on the post-production market, with machines such as the
MFX1 (1990), MFX2 (1992),
MFX3 (1994), MFX3plus (1996),
MFX3.48 (2000) or, more recently, the
DREAM
(2003). Up until the MFX3 model, the MFX were always based on the CMI III
system, and still had these functions. It was only from the MFX3plus that the
CMI III compatibility was given up.
Qasar (I) (1970-1971,
digital/analog hybrid synthesizer): (prototype, by Tony Furse (Creative
Strategies, Sydney).)
Qasar II (1972-1973, duo-phonic
digital/analog hybrid synthesizer): (prototype, by Tony Furse (Creative
Strategies, Sydney), supported by Federal government funding from the Australia
Council, The Canberra School of Electronic Music, and especially Don Banks.)
QASAR M8 (also "M8" or "Multimode
8", 1975, digital synthesizer, 8 Bit, 8 channels, 4KB shared sound data RAM):
(by Tony Furse (Creative Strategies), wire-wrap STTL technology, reworked (with
PCBs) by Fairlight and released as the Fairlight QASAR M8 in 1976, direct
ancestor of the Fairlight CMI) dual-6800 Main CPU, 2slot/8Bit/16Bit QASAR Bus,
combined channel processing (8 channels with 4KB shared memory), light-pen
CMI (Series I) ("Computer Musical
Instrument", 1979, sampler + additive synthesizer, 8 Bit, 8 channels, 8x
separate 16KB waveform RAM, max. 24kHz sampling, pitch by variable sample clock
rate, based upon the QASAR M8 which gave the name "QASAR" for the control
computer part of the CMI): dual-6800 Main CPU (running QDOS, Q026 + Q032),
2slot/8Bit/16Bit QASAR Bus, 64KB system RAM (Q096), 512x256 B/W graphics (Q045 +
Q025), light-pen interface (Q148), 8 channel boards (with 16KB private waveform
RAM, CMI-01), channel master board (main sample clock, sample in, CMI-02),
optional analog interface board (CMI-07)
CMI Series II (1982, max. 30.2kHz
sampling): (Improved CMI Series I) new channel boards (CMI-01-A), optional MIDI
(68B09, CMI-08)
CMI Series IIx (also called
"CMI-09", 1983): (improved Series II with new dual-6809 computer; typically
Q2xx, CMI-2x) new main board (CMI-25), new front panel (Q137), dual-6809 Main
CPU (running 6809-QDOS or OS-9/6809 Level 2, Q209 + Q133), 256 KB system RAM
with MMU (Q256), 512x256 B/W graphics + light pen interface (Q219), optional
MIDI (68B09, CMI-08), later optional 68000 general interface (CMI-28, for
MIDI/SMPTE, output board: CMI-29), optional DMA hard disk interface (Q077)
CMI Series III (1985, 16 Bit, 16
channels standard, max. 14 MB shared waveform RAM, max. 50/100kHz sampling,
pitch by variable sample clock rate): (Basically, the main computer parts of the
Series IIx and the Series III are the same: Q209, Q133, Q256, QFC9, Q219, Q014,
Q137; and even some CMI parts: CMI-28, CMI-07. The waveform processing with
shared waveform memory is a new design: CMI-3x, CMI-3xx, software Rev6 and
below) dual-6809 Main CPU (running OS-9/6809 Level 2, Q209 + Q133),
2slot/8Bit/16Bit QASAR Bus, system RAM with paging hardware (2xQ256/1xQ356:
512KB/1MB), 512x256 B/W graphics (Q219, light-pen interface not used: graphics
pen integrated into Preh Alpha-keyboard), general interface (68000 CPU,CMI-28,
for MIDI/SMPTE, output boards: CMI-332, CMI-333), SCSI board (Q777), waveform
processor (68000 CPU, CMI-33), 8slot/16Bit/23Bit waveform Bus (14MB waveform
address space), waveform RAM boards (2MB, CMI-39, 7 slots for max. 14MB),
channel support board (CMI-32), 8x channel cards (2 channels per card: clock +
address generators, 6 DACs for CVs (for VCFs/VCAs on analog board), 68B09
control CPU, later optional alternating looping, CMI-31), 8x analog output
boards (2 audio channels per card, VCFs/VCAs/Main DACs, CMI-331), sample input
board (2 channels, CMI-337)
MFX sound design console (also
"MFX III" (not to be confused with MFX3), MFX="Music and Effects", 1987, audio
post-production option) (special control keyboard for CMI Series III, for use
with Cue List timecode sequencer and DTM (later: MDR) harddisk recording
software) MFX keyboard "generation 0" (68000 master CPU, 6809 slave CPU for
trigger keys, built-in: Alpha-keyboard, trigger-keys, mode/transport-keys,
jogger-wheel, character LCD-display, mouse-port)
Waveform Supervisor, etc. (1988, max.
32MB waveform RAM) (upgrades for CMI Series III; typically CMI-4x, CMI-34x,
software Rev7) waveform supervisor (replaces waveform processor CMI-33,
68020+68881+68450 CPU+FPU+DMA, on-board NCR5380 SCSI controller, CMI-41),
8slot/16Bit/24Bit waveform Bus (32MB waveform address space), new waveform RAM
board (4MB, CMI-40, 7 slots for max. 28MB), new sample input module (digital +
analog, CMI-346+347)
XDR ("Extended Disk Recorder",
1989, now Fairlight ESP): (upgrade package for Series III, software Rev8 with
dynamic channel allocation, preliminary 8(16)-track version of MDR harddisk
recording software; typically ESP-xxx) waveform supervisor (see above, CMI-41),
new waveform RAM board (8MB, CMI-43D, now 32MB possible with 7 slots), 24(12)
channel output router (arbitrary dynamic mapping/mixing of the 16 channel
outputs to 24(12) extra outputs, ESP-RT1), new 2-channel analog + digital sample
input + digital output module (56001 24-Bit DSP, sample-rate conversion,
ESP-348+349)
MFX1 (also called "MFX" or
"MFX.DR", 1990, hard disk recording system/sampler) (CMI Series III XDR and new
MFX keyboard, 2/24 channels in/out with 16 simultaneous and 8 tracks sustained
output, software Rev9, full CMI functionality, MDR hard disk recording software,
support for 2-channel digital audio output) new "Mini-Floppy" controller (for
PC-type floppy drives), color graphics controller card (ESP-CG1, and new
monitor), MFX keyboard (generation 1)
MFX2 (1992) (improved MFX1, 2/24
channels in/out with 16 tracks sustained output, software Rev10 and Rev11, full
CMI functionality) 8slot/16Bit/25Bit waveform bus (64MB waveform+extension
address space), TurboSCSI card (NCR53C94 SCSI controller, higher SCSI transfer
rate for 16 tracks simultaneous and sustained output, contains CMI-32
functionality, ESP-TS1), improved graphics card (ESP-CG2/CG3), optional waveform
accelerator card (96002 32-Bit DSP, multiple banks of SRAM and WRAM, ESP-96K),
MFX keyboard (generation 1)
MFX3 (1994, digital audio
workstation/hard disk recording system, not to be confused with "MFX III"
console) (24 channels analog+digital 16-Bit in/out, software Rev12 and Rev13,
CMI functionality still supported in Rev12) QASAR CPU (Q256, Q133, Q209),
2slot/8Bit/16Bit QASAR Bus, Waveform Supervisor (CMI-41 or CMI-41R w/o CMI
sample input), 8slot/16Bit/25Bit waveform bus, SMPTE/MIDI (CMI-28), color
graphics (ESP-CG3), TurboSCSI card (ESP-TS1 or ESP-TSR w/o CMI-32
functionality), digital channel cards (ADSP-21020 SHARC 32/40-Bit floating point
DSP, multiple banks of SRAM and WRAM, 4 channels audio I/O per card, ESP-DCC),
8Bit timesliced bus, digital audio I/O cards (4 channels per card, 68HC11
control CPU, ESP-DIO), optional analog audio I/O (ESP-AIO, daughter board for
ESP-DIO), SYNC card (68030+68882 CPU+FPU, AES/EBU I/O, ESP-SYN), Digital MFX
Synchronization I/O (front-end to SYNC, ESP-MIDI + ESP-PLL + ESP-9PIN +
ESP-LTC), optional CMI channel + WRAM cards, MFX keyboard (generation 1)
MFX3plus (1996)
(improved MFX3, revised MFX keyboard, 24 channels analog+digital 16...24-Bit
in/out, no CMI functionality anymore, software Rev14) Wave Executive (68040
control CPU, running OS-9/68K, PCI-Bus interface, ESP-WX and ESP-RIO frontend,
replacing: QASAR CPU + CMI-28 + CMI-41) with new color graphics (ESP-CG4,
replacing ESP-CG3), PCI bus interface (PCI interface, 56002 DSP as
PCI-to-waveform-bus DMA bridge, ESP-PCI), optional TurboSCSI controller
(ESP-TSR), optional PCI SCSI controller, optional PCI 100MBit/s Ethernet
controller, MFX keyboard (generation 2)
MFX3.48 (2000) (improved MFX3plus,
48 channels analog+digital 24-Bit @48-96kHz in/out, software Rev15) QDC channel
cards (8x ADSP-21061 SHARC 32/40-Bit floating point DSP, 128MB private waveform
RAM, 24 channels audio I/O per card, max. 8 QDCs in system), MFX keyboard
(generation 2
CC-1 (2006) Crystal-Core
technology takes over from DSP's. 1 x Altera FPGA now takes over what a fully
loaded QDC used to do (64 x DSP's). System now runs on Windows XP. Nothing from
the original QDC used except I/O cards if you use the SX-48.
