Description | In 1982 Fairlight introduced the Series II CMI (Computer Musical Instrument) with needed improvements over the CMI Series I such as a variable sampling rate up to 35 kHz over the Series I's 25 kHz limit. The software for the instrument was also improved but it still has the 8 bit audio limitation of the previous model.
Inside the Fairlight case are 8 Smart Audio cards with 16 kb of RAM however all samples are of the same length once loaded. A Low Pass Filter is used to cover the "scratchy" artifact noise that early sampling presented. |
| Brand | Fairlight CMI |
| Model | Fairlight II |
| Device | Sampler |
| Type | Keys |
| Engine Type | Digital |
| Engine | Sample |
| Voices (max) | 8 |
| Engine Detailed | Fast Fourier Transforming, Waveform Editing, Graphics Tablet Waveform Drawing |
| Sampler | 8-bit at 2100 Hz to 30.2 kHz (mono) |
| Memory | 16 KB per voice, System: 64 KB |
| Recording | Page R, Basic keyboard sequencer, Musical Composition Language (MCL) |
| Keys | 73 |
| Key type | Keys (Option 2x) |
| Velocity | Y |
| Aftertouch | No |
| CV-gate | CV/GATE Optional |
| Extra info | Two 8-inch floppy drives |
|
Produced: | 1982 - 1983 |
| Legend: |
Obvious |
Y: Yes, N: No, N/A: Not Applicable |
| VCO |
Voltage Controlled Oscillator |
DCO |
Digital Controlled Oscillator |
| LFO |
Low Frequency Oscillator |
Sub |
Sub Oscillator |
| VCF |
Voltage Controlled Filter |
VCA |
Voltage Controlled Amplifier |
| Velocity |
As with a piano, the harder you hit a key, the louder the sound, unlike most organs which always produce the same loudness no matter how hard you hit a key. |
Aftertouch |
Pressing a key after you activated it. Channel Aftertouch, no matter which key, it will send a Channel message. Poly Aftertouch, sends the pressure per key instead of the whole channel. |
| Values for OSC, LFO, Filter, Envelope are per voice unless stated otherwise. |
