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"Legendary and rare late model Fairlight IIX CMI with MIDI interface.











The stand is not included in this sale, however I can supply the system with EITHER the original series I channel cards (the sound of Jean-Michel Jarre, early Peter Gabriel etc, or the later series II channel cards, as used by the Art of Noise, Thomas Dolby etc.
The system is fitted with an SD card device which emulates both of the original 8" floppy drives that were originally fitted. This means that as well as the system software, the entire sound libraries (of which there are a few), plus diagnostics, reside on an SD card that is also PC compatible. Originally, one would have to swap floppies around to access the 32 disk Fairlight sound library, whereas now the user can simply scroll through these disk images to select sounds. An 8" floppy drive is still fitted to enable old 8" disks to be read and transferred to SD.
The system was originally built in January 1982 as a Series I, however it has been upgraded to the latest and best Series IIX, which entails replacing the original 6800 Motorola processors with their later 6809 counterparts. All later software (MIDI of example) was developed for the 6809 equipped CMI IIX. The monitor has been completely re-capped, and the original ancient fans replaced by super silent Noctua items.
Sadly, there is no lightpen, and no original alpha-numeric keyboard for this system. My colleagues and I will be re-manufacturing lightpens, however for now, this system works perfectly fine without one. In fact, there are only a few functions that actually require a lightpen, such as waveform drawing. As regards the alpha keyboard, this is replaced by a standard USB keyboard with a professional conversion box. Once, again, should an original alpha keyboard show up, it would be instantly plug and play.
The system has been fully serviced, and comes with 3 months warranty, plus ongoing support. The general physical condition of the unit is very good, especially considering it is a 40 year old instrument. It has no evidence of any hard knocks, or a hard life! The monitor screen has been professionally treated, and there is not a hint of the “bloom” that plagues other CMI systems of this age. Hopefully the pictures will convey this.
As background, I worked as product specialist and studio manager at Fairlight in Sydney during most of the 1980s, and subsequently bought most of the factories spare parts when the company sadly went bust. I have been involved in re-building and supporting Fairlight CMIs for over 40 years. I have sold and supported well over 65 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$28,000 price tag when new in 1983, when you could buy a nice house for the same money. 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 300 of the "Beige Beauty" systems were built, and they were sold to the most influential 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!
***** THIS SYSTEM WILL WORK ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD *****
It’s no exaggeration to say the early Fairlight systems defined the music of the 1980s. They were the very first commercially available samplers, and one of the composition pages, Page R, was the worlds first screen based sequencer. Little wonder that some of the most innovative musicians of the time embraced the CMI so passionately. Peter Gabriel, Kate bush, Stevie Wonder, Tears for Fears, Yello, Thomas Dolby, and many others used the CMI to define their sound. Check out “Fairlight CMI” in Wikipedia for a full run-down.
The system is recently serviced, and will have a full set of manuals, full library, all leads, latest software, and come with 3 months warranty.
Please note you may see other Fairlight systems advertised on ebay, and many will less expensive (although sometimes much more!). 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 fully functional, and will work straight out of the box."
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