Recreating the Fairlight

Ok, so most of you that know me know that I have an unhealthy obsession with the Fairlight CMI. It started back in the early 80's and is still as rampant as it was back then. One day I really do hope to own at least a IIx or a III.

However, until that elusive lottery win comes along, or a long lost wealthy distant relative leaves me their entire fortune, it's not happening anytime soon. So, as is my want, I got to thinking about the perennial question of a software Fairlight replica which by todays standards would probably be in the VSTi format.

Currently nothing like this exists. The closest we have got is a bunch of samples, many of them very good, stored within a couple of sample based VSTi's, namely Best Service's "Cult Sampler" and Zero-G's "Nostalgia". Many of these samples have also turned up in various other incarnations, but that's about it really. There's a sample CD knocking about by Pro Rec which has a version of the factory library for the CMI IIx. I have this disc (what discerning Fairlight wannabe owner doesn't) and it's an audio CD of reasonable quality but would need work to get the entire library into a usable format.

Ask any Fairlight owner, and they will tell you that nothing compares to a Fairlight except another Fairlight, and to be fair, they're not wrong. Sure, you can sample one, but samples fail to capture the unique way that the Fairlight processed these sounds. It's technology, prehistoric by today's standards, coloured and tainted the sounds in a very unique way that sampling couldn't fully capture. Even if you could convert the entire Fairlight library into WAV format, they wouldn't sound the same when played through anything else.

Some would argue that today's technology is light years in advance of what was conjured up in Sydney over 30 years ago, and nobody could deny that, but it's the unique way the Fairlight handles it's audio that still makes it an object of desire. I wouldn't really want the Page R Sequencer to be honest, but the sounds are what defines the instrument after all this time. Just like a Stradivarius or Steinway, it's the actual sound made by these instruments that sets it apart from the rest today.

No, the only real way to sound like a Fairlight is to use a Fairlight.

Apparantly.

Which is where I started to think again. Surely, in this day and age of software instrument clones, someone could replicate, in software, the unique hardware used in a Fairlight, and then we could have a software based version of the system where we could load up those old sounds and have them play back in a much closer and realistic fashion than ever before.

Many would argue that Arturia's CS80V, MinimoogV, Moog ModularV and JupiterV sound nothing like the originals, and many would say otherwise. The same is true of Native Instruments replicas and also those by GMedia. You will never 100% capture these machines because of the way they worked and the volatility of the hardware used in the originals that caused variations from one use to another. But surely, a piece of digital hardware like the Fairlight could be replicated pretty faithfully in software ? I'm no expert in programming and wouldn't have the first clue about what goes into a project like this, but surely there is a demand for this ? Maybe Fairlight, who are still an operating company, albeit in a slightly different way, have some hold on copyrights and would block any attempt to recreate the CMI.

Maybe the Fairlight of today are missing an opportunity to recreate this instrument themselves. With bands like Coldplay using a CMI on their latest (and quite stunning) long player, "Viva La Vida", there is still an obvious creative demand. Darren Hayes even made an entire double LP using his a short while ago. The perennial threads that constantly pop up in other synth forums with people requesting Fairlight samples or sounds shows that this interest is at all levels.

Maybe Peter Vogel could shed some light on this as he still interacts with the Fairlight community on Yahoo.

All I am wondering is if it would be so difficult to do. Is it impossible or financially restrictive ? Is there a simple issue with marketing and demand ? Is there a copyright issue ?

If someone came up with a software version of a Fairlight, I for one would be up there, waving my cheque book around :)

Your responses, thoughts and ideas would be most welcome.