Fairlight Series III rackmount

via this auction

"Offered for sale is a very rare, fully functional, vintage classic Fairlight CMI III computer musical instrument workstation in excellent condition. The system is a late model, in a rack case and as such has the latest and best in technical innovations, whilst still retaining the classic legendary sound of the CMI.

The system has the latest 9.34 software, has 16 voices, colour graphics card, and 24 output router. It also comes with the later MFX alpha-numeric keyboard, a beautiful golden mouse, and a 15” LCD screen is included (not the one shown in the pictures). Instead of the usual 14 Mbytes RAM memory fitted as standard from the factory, this unit has a brand new 32 Mbyte card, which is the maximum possible in these systems. There is no music keyboard, however any MIDI keyboard or external computer/sequencer will work brilliantly. The only 'non-standard' aspect of this system is the MIDI module, which is from a later MFX3, and has 2 ports in, and 2 out. However, since all the cards and modules of a series III are plug-in, it would only take two minutes to retro-fit an original module, should one become available. This aspect of the design also makes servicing a breeze. In the unlikely event of a board failure, this can simply be swapped out for a replacement from me. I have a huge amount of other systems and spares, since I bought most of the factories old stock and spare parts. I have been supporting these incredible systems for many years, and hope to continue this for many more…

The libraries supplied with this system are as follows:
Complete Fairlight library, Prosonus Strings, Brass, Percussion, Sound
Genesis strings, plus many libraries collected over the last 20 years
dealing with top producers and musicians. These include libraries from: Pet
Shop Boys, Trevor Horn, Hans Zimmer, Frankie goes to Hollywood, Art of Noise and many, many others. The complete Fairlight IIX library is also included.

An external empty 4 Gbyte hard disc, with spare system softwares can also be supplied for a minimal additional cost.

The system will be serviced, have a full set of manuals, all leads, latest firmware, and come with 3 months warranty.

Please note you’ll see other Fairlight systems advertised, and some might be less expensive. However, do some research before you buy. What may look like a bargain might not look so appealing when its obsolete parts finally give up. This applies specially to earlier systems. This system is complete, fully functional, and will work straight out of the box. I worked as product specialist and studio manager at Fairlight in Sydney during most of the 1980s, and have been involved in re-building Fairlight CMIs for over 25 years. I have sold and supported well over 35 of these classic samplers. If you are in any doubt, please type “Peter Wielk Fairlight” into the worlds favourite search engine and see what comes out.

I have tried to describe this system as accurately as possible. However, please feel free to ask any questions, or if you’re passing through Sydney, you would be very welcome to have an extensive demonstration. Lastly, these systems were designed and built with no compromises, reflected by their US$75,000 price tag when new. The sound is completely awesome. You might buy a sample CD of the Fairlight sounds, it will sound NOTHING like the real thing.

Also, only about 200 systems were built, and they were sold to the most influental musicians and producers in the world. The sounds of the Fairlight CMI formed the soundtrack of the 1980s. So, if you’ve always lusted after one, here’s your chance to own a part of music history!

The pictures in the sequence were taken in my demo studio, which includes an old sign from the factory.

Please note price is in US dollars, and excludes freight. I have an account with TNT couriers here in Sydney and ship many systems every year. I will ship for my cost. Please mail for more exact figures to your location. All shipments can be tracked through TNTs own site."