Anybody tried this Fairlight CMI simulator ? It's quite good fun.

[Rob Flinn]

Whilst I was looking at some Kate Bush Youtube stuff the other day I became aware of this Fairlight CMI simulator software QasarBeach CMI IIz by AdamStrange

Maybe not quite as specced up as an AKAI MPC or other modern systems it seems quite good fun. The best thing the author says you can pay what you like. i.e make a donation.

When I was about 16 years old and the Fairlight CMI had just been released I was fascinated by it & always fancied having a play on one, but was obviously unable to afford one. Now I'm not sure I would want a real one, because it could be a bit of a maintenance liability I downloaded the software more out of curiosity than anything, because I generally prefer music made with real instruments & microphones. it has some modernisation from the original, MIDI, more sample memory etc

 

[sodderboy]

Oh man, I'm totally there. I'll have to update my parallels to get windows running again.

Kate Bush's The Dreaming and Peter Gabriel's Security are the pinnacle Fairlight Diptych for me. "Songs" like Houdini or San Jacinto are truly timeless. Such deep albums. Luckily Gabriel was touring heavily after that record and I got to hear it live many times.
There's some darker CMI works if you venture to COIL's (Peter Christopherson of TG) early stuff or He Said (Edvard Graham Lewis, the Wire bassist's solo work). I think they were all using the same system 'round the clock!
Mike

 

[SIXTYNINER]

Oh man, I'm totally there. I'll have to update my parallels to get windows running again.

Kate Bush's The Dreaming and Peter Gabriel's Security are the pinnacle Fairlight Diptych for me. "Songs" like Houdini or San Jacinto are truly timeless. Such deep albums. Luckily Gabriel was touring heavily after that record and I got to hear it live many times.
There's some darker CMI works if you venture to COIL's (Peter Christopherson of TG) early stuff or He Said (Edvard Graham Lewis, the Wire bassist's solo work). I think they were all using the same system 'round the clock!
Mike

...Only to add the legendary german "Yello" duo as well...
(check the song "Bostich" and the following...)

 

[living sounds]

One (IMO important) thing the software can't replicate is the non-oversampling variable samplerate converters of the Fairlight. No algorithms involved in changing pitch, the clock gets adjusted, like playing a record slower or faster. I've got other samplers from the 80s that work this way, this sounds much better to my ears than any algorithmic transposition I have heard.

 

[ccaudle]

Wow, I just ran across this. I don't usually look through brewery posts, glad I saw this before it scrolled too far down to notice.
I can't believe he actually managed to get full file compatibility with all the old Fairlight variants. Unfortunately my parents could not afford to buy me a Fairlight in the 80's so I don't have any old files to dig out of storage.

 

[ccaudle]

Turns out the listed linux version was a little overly optimistic. I could get it to make sounds with the virtual keyboard, but could never get MIDI configured to work with my synth keyboard driving it. The developer responded to a comment saying essentially that he never got MIDI working properly on Linux, so he gave up on that version.
So you Windows and Mac users have fun, I'll just be watching from over here.