■The Australian Fairlight Computer Music Instrument (CMI) is a cult Synthesizer/Sampler workstation, the first digital sampler to hit the market back in 1979. At the time it boasted an incredible amount of 28 megabytes (expandable). It can be played with a 73 note velocity sensitive keyboards (The Series III added keyboard aftertouch) pitch/mod wheels, an 82-key alphanumeric keyboard+ 15 function ones, a Graphics Tablet for drawing sounds on the famous green CRT.
■ Sequencers and storage to various disk mediums including winchesters HD
■ Sync Three different on-board SMPTE for clock timing (no Midi before IIX)
■ From 1979 to 1985 different version Fairlight were released:
-The Fairlight 1 and 2 had only 16 kByte of Memory per voice, and only eight voices but expanded to several megabytes and double the polyphony by the Fairlight III.
■ Sampling is a 16-bit resolution digital sampler with variable sample-rates up to very high frequency 100kHz rate. Early Fairlight models used twice 8 bit 6800 CPU, updated to amiga /atari CPU to more powerful 16 bit Motorola 68000.
■ Samples can be looped, mixed and re-sampled with various audio processing including addictive Fast Fourier Transform and Waveform editing functions directly drawn on the sreen
■ Various sequencers:
- CAPS (Composer, Arranger, Performer Sequencer), an 80-track polyphonic sequencer.
- MCL (Music Composition Language) is like a text-based step time sequencer.
- RS (Rhythm Sequencer) dedicated to drum-machine grid like.