dvdborn

2011-09-28T21:08:00.004+02:00

GusGus live At KenFM

This is the kind of electronic live music that I really enjoy.

2011-07-10T18:08:00.002+02:00

First peek at the Fairlight CMI-30A by Peter Vogel

2011-06-19T14:52:00.003+02:00

GusGus on stage with 2 huge Eurorack modulars

Having a modular on stage always looks great. Having 2 modulars on stage even looks better.

GusGus at the opening ceremony of the Reykjavik Concert Hall "Harpa".

Do check out their latest 2011 album Arabian Horse which is excellent.

2011-06-19T14:37:00.006+02:00

Original Pet Shop Boys Page R sequences for Opportunities live version

David over at the Yahoo Fairlight Group was kind enough to record the original Blue Weaver Page R sequences that came with his Series IIx. These sequences are from the Pet Shop Boys song Opportunities and were used for their live performance on The BBC's Old Grey Whistle Test in 1986.

Being a fan of the 80s Pet Shop Boys songs I find this stuff very interesting.

Here's a blog post from Blue Weaver about the live gig: link

The PSB used 2 Series IIx Fairlights that were running in sync. So, both sequences below are supposed to be played simultaneously.

Sequence #1:

Sequence #2:

Here is the original TV Performance:

2011-05-25T13:53:00.004+02:00

Akai MPC60 original training video featuring Roger Linn

Here it is. The official Akai training video from the late 80s with your host Roger Linn. The whole thing is almost 1 hour long.

Most of the stuff is pretty boring if you already know your way around an MPC. But make sure to view Section 3A: Recording Sequences starting at 07:07: direct link. At that point it becomes pretty hilarious.

2011-03-18T21:08:00.006+01:00

Twitter

I seem to be more active on twitter than on this blog. Click here if you want to follow me: http://www.twitter.com/dvdborn

2011-01-27T18:24:00.004+01:00

Fairlight @ Failedmuso.com

Check out Rob's excellent blog at http://www.failedmuso.com/blog/?tag=fairlight for a nice collection of Fairlight related posts with lots of NAMM 2011 videos.

2011-01-16T16:14:00.003+01:00

Interview with Peter Vogel - Namm 2011 Fairlight CMI-30A

(Via Peter K. on the Yahoo Fairlight Forum)

2011-01-13T14:23:00.006+01:00

Fairlight CMI-30A Press release and NAMM flyer
Click here for the press release.
Click here for the NAMM 2011 flyer.

More info at www.fairlightinstruments.com.au

2011-01-03T18:01:00.007+01:00

First sounds from the CMI-30A
Peter Vogel has posted the first sounds of the new CMI-30A. These sounds hightlight the new 'brew' function. To quote Peter:

"One of these is the ability to 'brew' two or more sounds together, such that they take on each other's flavours. Technically, this is an extension of convolution, which is a method for creating reverberation or ambience."

OOH and a Trumpet just mixed
Here is the 30A's brew: OOH and Trumpet brew

A couple of other examples of the new Fairlight Brews:

Grunt and Piano brew
Truly a piano with grunt!

Shaker and Drum brew
(Try to imagine what this instrument looks like)

Cello and racing car brew
(Imagine a symphony orchestra string section packed into a racing car, approaching then receeding into the distance).

Click here for the post on the Fairlight Instruments forum including the samples.

Here's a close up of the keypad on the new Fairlight keyboard. It's in fact an iPhone docking station.

These are again exciting times in the world of sampling.

2011-01-02T23:57:00.006+01:00

First picture of the new CMI-30A
From the Fairlight forum:

Peter Vogel and the Fairlight Family are proud to announce the arrival of the first CMI-30A. Our new baby has already left the nest and is currently winging its way to the US in readiness for a first performance at NAMM. Its parents are recovering well and are looking forward to receiving visitors in the near future.

Here are a couple of early pics, but more baby photos and recordings of first words will be posted in time. We thank our friends and loved ones for their support during the gestation period.

Happy New Year and Happy Fairlight!

Source: Forum at Fairlightinstruments.com.au

2010-08-04T23:26:00.009+02:00

Inception Live Performance with Hans Zimmer & Johnny Marr (Series III, Buchla, Modular, ...)

On July 14, 2010 Hans Zimmer & Johnny Marr ,together with a large band, played the soundtrack from Inception live.
This performance is brilliant.

It features among other things a Fairlight CMI Series III, a Buchla 100, a VCS3 and a large modular.

The concerts start at 8:00.

2010-07-02T13:18:00.005+02:00

Air live on KCRW

Head on over to KCRW for the Podcast of Morning Becomes Eclectic Video.
For the next 2 weeks you can download a performance of Air live in the studio with lots of analogue stuff.
Synthspotting: Moog Source, Korg MS-20, Roland VP550, Solina String Ensemble, Boss VT, ...

2010-06-10T14:22:00.008+02:00

USB Mouse/CMI Lightpen Interface for Fairlight CMI Series IIx

I'm happy to see that there are still people developing for the Series IIx. In this case Joe Britt.
He has developed an interface to connect a USB mouse to a Series IIx instead of the lightpen. Lots of lightpens aren't working anymore, including mine, and this is a cheap solution to use the IIx back at its fullest potential.

As an extra the interface provides a composite video output connector. So no more looking at the green terminal screen. You can now connect an LCD screen to your IIx.

Here's what Joe has to say about the interface he designed:

Each unit will come with a 5VDC AC adapter. Unfortunately, the CMI doesn't provide power on the monitor/lightpen connector, so the interface has to provide its own supply. The AC adapters I am including operate from 100V-240V, 50/60Hz, so they should be OK regardless of where you live.

I'm also including a short IEC power cable that will connect to the VDU AC power connector on the back of the CMI, and provide a US-style 3-prong outlet. You can plug the interface AC adapter into that cable, then that cable into the CMI's VDU power connector, and the interface will switch on and off with the CMI. This is probably most interesting if you are using the interface to connect the CMI to a modern display, like an LCD, and so don't need the CMI's VDU power connector.

If you want to use the interface with a real Fairlight VDU, you will need a 5-pin XLR male/female cable wired according to the CMI service manual. I'm debating making these and offering them for sale. If you would want one, please let me know. The connectors are fairly expensive, the cable is 3 shielded cores, and they take a while to properly assemble.

If you plan to just use the RCA video out connector on the interface, you'll just need a composite video cable (RCA male to male) and a display with a composite PAL input. Some NTSC monitors/LCDs can deal with the signal from the CMI, since it is monochrome PAL.

You'll need a USB mouse. I've been using Microsoft USB mice, as I have a few on hand, but hope to try some other brands soon.

When the interface is powered on, it defaults to mouse cursor on, and positions it in the center of the screen. You can toggle it off and on with the right mouse button.

If you have a real lightpen fitted as well and bring it to the screen, the mouse cursor is automatically turned off while the lightpen cursor is being displayed. If you take the real lightpen away from the screen and the mouse cursor was previously on, it will reappear.

For more info or if you want to place an order for a unit you can contact Joe Britt at "britt AT shapetable DOT com".
Also take a look at Joe's site at: http://nonmaskable.com

2010-03-08T23:25:00.001+01:00

Fairlight CMI IIx
One good looking unit.

2009-12-05T16:14:00.004+01:00

Inside Air's Atlas Studio in Paris 2009

2009-09-19T13:22:00.000+02:00

Time stretching on a Series IIx
I recently found out about this cool trick on the Series IIx. It's possible to time stretch a sample in real time.

This can be achieved by assigning the loop start point to one of the sliders on the music keyboard and setting the loop length to a very small amount.

Here you can listen to the results:

• This is the original sample that I took from an radio news broadcast. : Listen here
• The same sample played on a single voice while manually changing the loop start point. Loop value = 1: Listen here
• Loop value = 1 - playing chords: Listen here
• Loop value = 2 - single voice: Listen here
• Loop value = 2 - chords: Listen here
• Loop value = 3 - single voice: Listen here
• Loop value = 3 - chords: Listen here
• Loop value = 8 - single voice: Listen here
• Loop value = 8 - chords: Listen here

I like the fact how it can make a voice sound really robotic / vocoder-like when the loop value is at its absolute minimum (1).
The Series IIx still keeps amazing me.

2009-08-09T12:56:00.002+02:00

Mike Oldfield - Live in 1984 with a Fairlight

2009-08-01T11:36:00.004+02:00

Fairlight CMI 30th Anniversary Limited Edition
(Source: failedmuso)

It seems that there's a new Fairlight instrument in the works based on the Series I/II/IIx. Peter Vogel has put this website online: www.fairlightinstruments.com. Check it out.

I'm guessing that the Series 30A will be based on the Fairlight CC-1 card. A while ago Peter was talking on the Yahoo Fairlight Forum about reproducing the Series IIx on the CC-1. And looking at the picture of the Series 30A the CPU unit looks like a PC with a DVD-drive instead of the two 8-inch floppy drives.

2009-07-19T16:28:00.002+02:00

Emulator II+ in a 19-inch rack
I came across this picture on the EIII forum. This is clearly a custom job. Too bad that I didn't found any extra info about it.

2009-06-14T21:44:00.004+02:00

Ryuichi Sakamoto - Neo Geo Live 1988

Spot the Fairlight.

2009-05-20T13:10:00.004+02:00

Vintage Synth ads from 1981
Here's a collection of vintage synth ads from 1981 that I recently scanned. They're all in high resolution. Click on the picture for the high resolution version.

2009-05-14T16:32:00.039+02:00

MOTU Volta - First impressions

Update 29.05.09 - The guys over at MOTU are continually improving Volta. Which means that the bugs reported below will all be history once you read this review. I suggest you head on over to the MuffWiggler forum where you'll find the most recent news and discussions about Volta.

Volta - finally it's here
About a week ago I received Volta V1.0 and I'd like to share my experiences with it that I had the past week.

Just to put this report in perspective: besides my synth & sampler passion I have a daytime job as an Apple system administrator and I was a game debugger in a previous life. All those qualities came together while using and testing Volta.

Power to the analogue users

Volta truly is a great new concept and a new way of working with your analogue gear. If you're not familiar with Volta then check this out first. In short it's a plug-in (Mac only) that let's you use your audio interface as a CV/Gate/Trigger output to control your analogue gear.

The first setup I prepared for use with Volta was a PowerBook G4 1.67Ghz with a MOTU Ultralite (first version) and Ableton Live 7.0.16. All the outputs from the Ultralite were dedicated to Volta. So I didn't use any real audio outputs on the interface. I was planning on using this setup in combination with my MacBook + Ultralite mk III that's dedicated to all the audio stuff. Both setups would be synced by MIDI. However this won't be an ideal setup for the time being considering the bugs that are present.

Installing and configuring Volta

Before receiving Volta I wanted to be prepared as a good as possible so that I would be up and running in no time.
- Minimum system requirements: Mac OS 10.4.9 : Check
- A free USB port for the iLok USB key: Check
- The proper cable type for your interface: Jack - Jack would be OK. No? It was only after reading the manual that I understood what this meant for me. Before getting started I had to make 10 converter cables in order to use the 10 outputs at the back of my Ultralite. I needed to create a converter where the TRS jack connectors would have their Ring disconnected.

So I bough all this stuff:

And after one evening of soldering I had these:

Now I was ready to install and use Volta. Or was I?

This was nowhere mentioned on the website. Anyway, ignoring this warning I pressed continue and I was able to complete the installation without any problems and started to use the plug-in in Ableton Live.

The included CD-ROM has 4 very useful video tutorials to get you started in Live, Digital Performer or Logic, and with the calibration procedure.

Using Volta

It really is a joy to use all my analogue gear in Ableton Live. Most of my testing was done with a Korg Mono/Poly and an MS-10. I also have a MOTM/Encore Electronics modular and some Moogerfooger pedals. But I'll be including them in my setup once I have a stable solution.

Depending on which output you use on the Ultralite you'll get different output voltages. This is all clearly explained in the manual. The manual states that the outputs on the back of the Ultralite have a maximum output voltage of 3.5V. I measured -4.15V - +4.15V on mine. So that's better than expected. The headphones output has the highest output voltage so it's best to use those 2 outputs (left and right) for oscillator tracking. The higher voltages will give you a greater tracking range.

Just make sure that when you start using Volta all the mixer output channels in CueMix are set to 0. This is especially important if you want to use the main outputs as dedicated outputs in Volta. Otherwise you'll get the summing output of all the other channels and the audio from the input channels on the main outputs.

I was able to calibrate my Mono/Poly and MS-10 without any problems. Once the calibration was done the tracking was uncanny accurate. At one point I was playing the MS-10 and the Mono/Poly in unison and it took me a while before it occurred to me that they were both playing together at once. It is that accurate. When I added the Nord Lead 3 in the mix everything still sounded in perfect unison.

If you have multiple oscillators in your system you can even configure Volta as a polyphonic controller for all your voices. Meaning, the first key you press triggers and tunes voice 1, the second key the second voice and so on.

The website mentions that 'the Korg MS-10/20/50 will not pass calibration without a additional bias voltage'. I can confirm that this is not the case for the MS-10 (I don't have the other MS-models to confirm). Volta is able to use both V/oct and Hz/V. I was indeed not able to calibrate the MS-10 using its VCO CV IN in Hz/V mode. But I had no problem calibrating it using the FREQ input, which is an oct/V input in oct/V mode. I just had to turn the FREQ EG/EXT knob to the max and that was that. Brilliant!

Instead of using the MS-10's TRIGGER IN input, I used a Volta envelope module and connected it to the MS-10 INITIAL GAIN input to control the MS-10's VCA. The envelope generated by Volta was much snappier than the one from the MS-10. Giving the MS-10 a nice clickey percussive sound.

The LFO's and MIDI data control signals are as smooth as butter. No zipping noise whatsoever which is to be expected from 24 bit D/A's.

It is a bliss to use tempo synced LFO's. The Mono/Poly is well endowed with CV inputs so I was able to modulate the VCO FM IN, and VCF FcM in with tempo synced LFO's.

I haven't used all the modules extensively yet. So I'll be posting more of my experiences with Volta in the near future.

Bugs and problems

My initial test setup consisted of a PowerBook G4 1.67Ghz, 1.5GB RAM, Mac OS X 10.5.6 and later on 10.5.7, Ableton Live 7.0.16, one MOTU Ultralite mk I with all the outputs used for Volta and a Korg Mono/Poly and MS-10.

With this initial setup I was confronted with the following problems and bugs:
• When I opened the plug-in all the values were set to 0 or -1 (key tracking) or some arbitrary value. This was very confusing at first. Since for each module that I added in the plug-in I had to re-set all the initial values for them to be useful. Update 01: This is fixed in version 1.01
• Even worse, when I saved a project with all the Volta settings and calibration in place, all the settings would be set back to 0 or some other useless value after I reopened that project. None of the values would be saved. Very frustrating... Update 01: This bug is still present in version 1.01
• There are some minor interface bugs. For example, when you choose a calibration input in the calibration window the window would still display the manual calibration settings. It's only changed when you choose another module and than go back to the Voice module that the screen is displaying the correct information. Update 01: This is fixed in version 1.01
• I haven't figured out the Ramp modules yet. But I'm sure I'll 'get it' at one point. Unless they're not working and generating no signals. Update 01: I've figured out the Ramp automation. It's working like a charm.

Just to be sure that my bugs weren't system related I completely reinstalled my PowerBook G4 (OS X, Live, ...). But that didn't solve any of the above mentioned bugs. I also tried to reset permissions on the Volta key component files but again without any luck.

Different setup, different bugs

The next setup I tried consisted of a White MacBook 2.4Ghz, 4GB RAM, Mac OS X 10.5.6, Ableton Live 7.0.15, Logic Pro 8 and one MOTU Ultralite mk I and one Ultralite mk III. Again in combination with the Mono/Poly and the MS-10.

I made an aggregated audio device in OS X so that both Ultralites would be available as one audio interface in Live or Logic.

~~And that's when the real trouble started. I was unable to use Volta at all with this aggregated audio device.~~
Update 02 I tried my setup again with the aggregated audio device and it worked after performing the following steps:

1. created the aggregated audio device
2. restarted MacBook (this is important)
3. Opened Ableton Live 7.0.16 and assigned the aggregated device to the inputs and outputs
4. created my channel setup + Volta plug-ins

Some of the bugs that I had with the PPC version weren't there in the Intel version. It was a blessing to reopen a project and have all the Volta settings back again in their saved state.

I did found some minor bugs with this third setup: The bend down value indicated -12 while in fact is was -2. Changing the value would give the correct result. Assigning Volta to a MIDI track in Ableton Live without configuring any output audio tracks and sending Midi notes to Volta would completely crash Live

Feature requests

• When using LFO's I really miss the possibility to attenuate the outgoing signal within the LFO module itself. It is possible to attenuate the signal with the channel faders in Live or Logic. But, since Volta's output channels work in stereo pairs you'll always be attenuating 2 channels at once. So, please add an extra value in the LFO window to attenuate the outgoing voltages.

• The MIDI module lets you choose among lots of MIDI CC's to control a Volta output channel. But I was frequently missing a key tracking option: MIDI Note Number to Volta output. That way it would be possible to use keyboard tracking on a filter. It is possible to use a Voice module to do this. But the problem with a Voice module is that it always comes with an Envelope, trigger or gate module. And when you delete this extra module the voice module will also be deleted.

• It would be great if the plug-in has the ability to save and load presets. When you open a Volta plug-in, you'll always have to start from scratch.

• If you delete one module of a voice, you delete the whole voice. Eg. if your voice consists of a tuning module, a trigger and a velocity module, deleting the velocity module deletes all the other modules from that voice.

• It'd be nice to have an option that let's you decide when Volta starts sending out its voltages. All the time, like it does now, or only when you're playing your song in your DAW.

Conclusion
Even with all the bugs present in the PPC version I continue to use this stand alone setup dedicated to Volta and all my analogue gear. It actually is my only solution to be able to use my audio workstation (MacBook + Live) and Volta (PowerBook + Live) at once. And using Volta, when it is properly setup, opens up a new world of possibilities and integration.

I really hope that the PPC bugs will be dealt with in a future update so that all the settings will be restored when you reopen a saved project. Update 01: This bug is still present in version 1.01

When using the aggregated audio device in Mac OS X, everything I did in Ableton Live or Logic Pro became very sluggish and unresponsive. Even when I didn't use the Volta plug-in. For example, adding an audio track in Live normally only takes a second. But when I was using the aggregated device it would take about 20 seconds before an extra audio track was created. The CPU's would start working at full capacity and the spinning beach ball would occur. I didn't get any error messages in the Console log. So, my only guess is that OS X isn't handling the aggregated device correctly. And hence Live and Logic have trouble using it.

I hope to hear from other Volta users and see how you're all integrating Volta in your setup. And I'm curious if you're having the same bugs that I'm experiencing.

2009-05-03T16:26:00.004+02:00

Fairlight live on stage
I recently read an interview with Jean-Michel Jarre in the german magazine Keyboards where they published the gear that he'll be using on stage on his new tour in 2009. Among the list of vintage stuff was a Fairlight. I'm glad to see that someone is still brave enough to take this beauty on stage. I'll certainly be looking forward to see him play later this month in Brussels.

Here are some clips of a Fairlight Series II live on stage. This performance from 1984 is by Mecano.

Backstage with Nacho Cano from Mecano:

More Mecano:

And a John Lawry Solo on the Fairlight:

2009-04-29T22:32:00.004+02:00

Great looking Series IIx
Keeping up with the theme of posting vintage Fairlight related stuff. Here's another on eBay.
I wish I had the money to buy this one. It looks to be in great condition.

Link >>

2009-04-27T22:45:00.005+02:00

2 Fairlights for sale from Mike Oldfield's live setup

Too bad that they're non functional. If you're feeling adventurous, get them and restore them. Having, and still restoring, one Fairlight is enough for me.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200335977081

2009-04-16T23:39:00.004+02:00

Metronomy Live

I saw these guys recently perform on Arte and really enjoyed it. 3 guys with a Microkorg, Korg M500 Micropreset and a MacBook.

You can watch their Arte performance here (unfortunately no video embedding) until 25.04.09.

Here's a performance recorded on Live on Couleur3.

2009-04-11T18:51:00.003+02:00

Sherman Restyler

I recently had the chance to play with one of the prototypes and it's an amazing effect box. If you liked the original Filterbank you'll certainly like the Restyler. It certainly isn't a replacement for the original Filterbank, it is a whole new effect box on its own.

Among it's many features it has 3 seperate filter bands (hence the 3 sliders) which can have individual amplitude modulation. This means that you can use it to expand or compress the individual bands.

David Morley made some good video's demonstrating the unit.

Check out the Sherman YouTube channel for more videos: ShermanFilters

2009-02-16T11:25:00.004+01:00

Tokyo Melody - A film about Ryuichi Sakamoto (1985)
A film about Ryuichi Sakamoto by Elizabeth Lennard from 1985.
This 1 hour documentary follows Ryuichi Sakamoto while recording a new studio album. It features a lot of Fairlight C.M.I. footage. (english, french and japanese spoken, french subtitles)

2009-02-15T20:30:00.003+01:00

Sampling explained using the Fairlight Series III
Dan Lacksman, from Telex, explains sampling on belgian TV (circa 1988) using his Series III. French and dutch spoken, with dutch subtitles. Nonetheless interesting even if you don't understand it.

Notice the large Moog modular in the background.

2008-08-20T22:27:00.007+02:00

Space Choruses

I'm an avid user of the Boss Dimension C DC-2. It's a wonderful subtle chorus effect that will turn any mono signal into a spacey stereo image. Unfortunatly the DC-2 hasn't been produced for 10 years and eBay prices are sky high for such a small pedal.

Enter Behringer. This year they've released the Chorus Space-C CC300. A DC-2 'inspired' pedal. Since their pedals are dirt cheap I decided to buy the Chorus Space-C (CC300) and the Chorus Space-D (CD400). The CD400 is their Boss DC-3 knock off. I don't have an original DC-3 to compare it with.

What follows is my comparison of these 3 pedals.

To make a long story short: The CC300 isn't an exact clone, soundwise, of the DC-2. If you want the sound of the DC-2, get a DC-2.
I was kind of hoping that they would sound the same since they both use the same type of BBD chips. The CC300 uses two V3207D's and two V3102D's. The DC-2 uses two MN3102's and two MN3207's.
But I do find the CC300 a very good stereo chorus. Its sound is more pronounced, less subtle, than that of the DC-2. Which for me is not an advantage. It's just different. The CC300 gives you the extra functionality of selecting more than 1 setting. You can combine settings like on the Dimension D giving you in effect 16 different combinations.

I really like the sound of the Space D CC400. It can be very warm sounding especially given the fact that it's a digital pedal.

Here are the internals of the DC-2:

And here's the CC300:

I've recorded my Solina dry (String + Violin), without its ensemble effect activated, through the different chorus pedals. You can here the results here:

The dry Solina sound.

DC2 Setting 1 | Setting 2 | Setting 3 | Setting 4

CC300 Setting 1 |Setting 2 | Setting 3 | Setting 4 | Setting 1+2+3+4 | Setting 1+2

CD400 example 1 | example 2 | example 3

Both Behringer pedals will certainly be used in my studio. The CC400 does add some noisy hiss when it's activated. This is only apparent when there's no signal going through it. The CC300 was as quiet as my DC-2. Which in fact isn't quiet at all...

2008-07-08T21:43:00.005+02:00

Stephan Eicher Live - Fantastic live looping on stage
Stephan Eicher is one of my favorite artists. Each album and tour he does has a unique concept. On his latest tour he is accompanied on stage with 2 other musicians.

The great thing is that they play acoustic and electro acoustic instruments on stage and start looping them. I don't know for sure but I believe they're using Ableton Live. When I went to see him, Stephan had a black MacBook on stage with him. It looked like he was triggering the loop recordings on a foot controller. If anybody knows for sure what he uses to loop please leave a note in the comments.

Once they had built up a whole arrangement with loops, they would start muting and unmuting tracks to great effect. Too bad this is't shown in the videos below. Nonetheless, the clips below are awesome. It's best to play the videos full screen.

The looping bit starts at 2:10

STEPHAN EICHER "COMBIEN DE TEMPS" (VERSION LIVE)
envoyé par Stephan-Eicher

This clip has some onscreen comments:

STEPHAN EICHER "CONFETTIS" (VERSION LIVE)
envoyé par Stephan-Eicher

2008-07-01T13:08:00.005+02:00

Trevor horn video interview
A very interesting interview with Trevor Horn. He talks a lot about the early productions, Fairlight, ...

Part 1
Part 2

2008-06-14T09:54:00.006+02:00

Sampling the sampler

About 10 years ago Heavenly Music Productions released a Fairlight Series IIx Sample CD-ROM (HM-SBK Vol.2) with all the samples from the original IIx library (PDF) as SoundFonts on it. I found this very interesting since it was the only way to listen to Fairlight samples and use them. But when I used the samples, at the time in my Akai S900, they lacked depth and only offered 1 sampled pitch/preset sound. In other words they didn't sound authentic enough.

Now that I have a working Series IIx in my possession. I can try once again to emulate the Fairlight sound but with greater precision.

So, I did a little experiment. I loaded the famous sample Sararr in the IIx, also know as Arr1, and sampled it like it was an acoustic instrument, sampling every 3th note up the scale.

The Sararr sample was made by Tom Stewart with the voice of Sarah Cohen. Click here >> to read what he had to say about recording this sound (you'll have to scroll down to the bottom of the page). This sample has been used on numerous records. It was even one of the preset sounds in Roland synths in the 90's (U-10, U-220, ...)

I made 2 different sample sets. One with the anti-aliasing filter in its original position as defined by the sample settings on Page 7 of the IIx and one with the anti-aliasing filter wide open (value = 127).

So now I present you with 2 different sample sets in NI Kontakt format. These sets also contain the Wav files (24 bit/44.1 kHz).
1. Sararr Filter_20 (12.2 MB) - This is the sound with the original IIx settings except for the Attack/damping and pitch LFO. You can add this in Kontakt.
2. Sararr Filter_127 (12.4MB) - This is the sound without the anti-aliasing filter. I tried to recreate the sound of the IIx's anti-aliasing filter in Kontakt. (And I came rather close).

All looping was done in Kontakt. I kept the IIx looping points. Also, I didn't perform any normalizing on the samples keeping the original volume differences when you play lower/higher on the keyboard.

When I played the 2nd sample set in my Emulator III and used the EIII's own analogue filter I couldn't here a difference between the EIII and IIx. Though, I did have to tweak the filter settings of every note because the filtering on the IIx has key tracking, making the filter more open when you play higher up on the keyboard.

Of course there's more to the sound of the Fairlight than just creating a multi sample set. Sampling a sound in the IIx is what gives it the most character. To make a perfect cloned preset sound you also need to count in the fact that each voice card has it's own different sound and filter calibration (I used the same voice card to create the above sample sets). There's also the sound of the VCA when you play a sample louder or softer. Also, Page R, the sequencer that forces you to be creative with only 8 samples has a certain groove to it.

update 12 march 09: Corrected the name Sarah Conor to Sarah Cohen. Thanks to Joe for the correction.
update 28/08/2011: corrected broken download links.

2008-06-11T20:34:00.015+02:00

Fairlight CMI Series IIx - First impression

Ever since I was a child (I grew up in the 80's) I had an unhealthy fascination with the Fairlight. Buying every record that had "Fairlight programmed by..." in the liner notes and trying to find all the info and sounds of this mythical instrument.

Finally I have a Series IIx in my possession and I've been busy learning it and using it.

Here are my first impressions:

- This instrument really has a sound of its own. Whatever you sample in it will come out sounding, well... like a Fairlight. All sounds have a breathy quality to them. When you transpose a sound on a conventional sampler, the sampler will add or remove samples from the original sound to change the pitch of it. Not the Fairlight, it is one of the rarer samplers that alters its sample clock and always plays all samples of a sound. Just like when you change the speed of a tape recorder. Transposing the sound down will give it lots of bass.

Here's an example of a sound sampled in the IIx:
This is the original sound. A singing indian female voice (Wav 152KB)
This is the sound sampled and looped in the IIx at a sample frequency of 27600Hz (Wav 180KB)
The sampled sound played on the IIx through a Dimension C pedal (Wav 5.1MB)

- Each voice (there are 8 of them) has a whopping 16KB of sample RAM and an analogue filter. You might think that 16KB isn't much but it's actually quite sufficient. Just don't expect to sample long loops in it.

- There is no ADSR for the VCA, only Attack and 2 different release settings called damping. You can choose any of the 2 damping values by assigning a switch to them. There's also a single LFO that's routed to the pitch.

- The analogue filter is only used as an anti aliasing filter. There is no resonance setting or an ADSR to control it. What you can do however is assign key velocity or one of the sliders to the filter.

- The filter has a fixed key tracking value. This means the higher you play on the keyboard the more the filter will open up.

Here's is our sample played on the IIx with the anti aliasing filter wide open. (Wav 1.3MB)

- If you retrigger a voice on the same key the sound will cut off as if you were playing a monophonic instrument. Giving you the ni-ni-ni-nineteen effect. However when you play chords each note will get assigned to a different voice as you would expect from a polyphonic synth/sampler.

- There are 2 ways of creating a sound. Mode 1 and Mode 4. I don't know what happened to Mode 2 & 3 but I'm sure the Fairlight guys had a good reason to call the 2 modes 1 & 4. Mode 4 is sampling as we know it (Jim). Mode 1 lets you use the sample memory as a wave table with additive synthesis. I had high expectations of this but in the end it sounds disappointing. You can convert samples to Mode 1 but the results are pretty useless. It sounds actually the same as when you load a sample in Sounddiver and send it as a wavetable to a Waldorf Microwave. As long as the sound is a continuos tone like in our first example the results will be satisfying. Here is our sample converted to Mode 1 (Wav 172KB).

- It doesn't have sample accurate looping. You have in fact 128 segments that each contain 128 samples. You can only select a segment as a starting point and a segment as an end points for a loop. So, if you want to make good loops your sample frequency needs to be in relationship to the frequency of the sound you sample. That's why Page D (Display) is so useful. This allows you to view the FFT waveform of your sample and judge if your sample frequency was correct. A good sample, like the one I used as an example, will show you an even waveform as can be seen in the picture on the right (click to enlarge).

That's all for now. More to come in the following days.

2008-05-24T19:27:00.008+02:00

First test Fairlight Series IIx + demo's

Lately I've been busy restoring a Series IIx that had sustained serious damage from a leaked battery. Thanks to Peter Wielk at Horizontal Productions I was able to replace the broken cards. And after some extra debugging, the alphanumeric keyboard wasn't working, I'm able to start learning and using this dream machine.

There is a nice 8-inch floppy included with demo songs for Page 9 (Keyboard Sequencer). Here are 3 of them. Recorded from the mix output without any treatment.

1. Prelude
2. Asia
3. Swing

2008-05-15T17:29:00.001+02:00

totally wired

Here is a trailer for a forthcoming documentary called 'Totally Wired', which is about Andreas Schneider and his infamous analogue store in Berlin, Germany, called 'Schneider's Buero'.

The doc explores the relationship between the boutique builders and gear- lusty musicians who make Schneider's Buero an interface in its own right.

Doc features some heavy inventors like Wowa Cwejmann, Dieter Doepfer and Ken Maccbeth as well as musicians like Ricardo Villalobos, Daniel Miller and Junior Boys.

More info here: http://totallywired.tumblr.com

Trailer for 'Totally Wired' from niamhahern on Vimeo.

2008-05-06T11:06:00.003+02:00

Peter Vogel's Fairlight audio archive

Here >> is a collection of audio material including Fairlight demos, radio interviews and CMI pieces from the eighties. There are even a couple of recordings from the Fairlight CMI's predecessor, the Qasar M8, designed by Tony Furse. The M8 did not use sampling, the sounds were generated by additive Fourier synthesis.

2008-04-21T12:28:00.002+02:00

Fairlight video's from the archive of Peter Vogel

2008-02-20T09:25:00.004+01:00

New Emulator III forum online

A new EIII user forum has been setup by Rokuez.
It's located here: EIIIforum.com

2008-01-02T20:35:00.000+01:00

Klaus Schulze live on German television in 1977

Klaus Schulze plays "For Barry Graves" on German television for 13 minutes.
Synth spotting: VCS3, Minimoog, Micromoog, Polymoog, Arp Odyssey, Arp 2600, Moog Modular

You'll need the DivX-plugin to watch the movie.
Here >> is a direct link to the video.

2007-12-30T14:24:00.001+01:00

Jean-Michel Jarre's rehearsal room

Claude Samard is one of the three musicians accompanying Jean-Michel Jarre during his Oxygene concerts. He made a video of their rehearsal room. Lots of analogue heaven stuff...
Click here >> or on the image to go to the video.

Click here >> for the Jean-Michel Jarre channel on YouTube where you can see some clips from the concerts.

2007-11-30T21:25:00.000+01:00

Vince Clark's Fairlight in action

Here >> is a vintage audio recording of Vince Clark demonstrating his Fairlight.
Listening to it now in 2007 this sure sounds cheesy. But back then this was cutting edge technology.

Thanks to Chris Strellis for sharing this recording. The recording was originaly featured on the Electronic Soundmaker and Computer Music Magazine in the early 80's. More info can be found here >>

Vince's Fairlight is still for sale at eBay (ending 5 dec 07) here >>

2007-11-22T17:04:00.000+01:00

Live video of Air in the KCRW Studios

Click here >> to watch the video.
Click here >> to listen to the audio stream.

2007-10-24T20:12:00.000+02:00

New Englang Digital archive

Here's a great site dedicated to the NED Synclavier:
http://ned.synthesizers.fr/

And speaking of ..., I really like this song by Jeans Team featuring a Synclavier in their clip:

2007-10-13T14:04:00.000+02:00

New Order - Fine Time (Live with EIII)
In the spirit of posting an Emulator or Fairlight featuring video, here is New Order performing live on Top of The Pops with an Emulator III

Fine Time is a track from their 1989 album Technique. When listening to that album it always strikes me how many Roland D-10/D-20 sounds there are on there.

2007-09-27T22:40:00.001+02:00

Thomas Dolby - Live on the Tube with 2 Fairlights - 1984

2007-09-19T20:35:00.000+02:00

Fairlight's latest toy
Check out these video's of the Fairlight Xynergi. A new Media Production Centre (MPC) -Hmmm, I tought those 3 letters were already taken...-

It's good to see that there's a lot of innovation going on in the hardware interface industry (see also Dexter)

2007-07-12T15:26:00.000+02:00

3 x EII
I always thought this was a good video just because it features 3 Emulator II's lined up next to each other.
Beats International - Won't talk about it (1990)

I wish that someone would upload their Top of The Pops performance of this song on YouTube. I remember seeing 4 EII's on the stage.

2007-07-10T20:04:00.001+02:00

Some System 100M Synth P*rn
A while ago I had this modular setup. I still have the MOTM/Encore Electronics at the bottom. But the System 100M didn't excite me very much... The choice of modules was rather plain. I much rather prefer the more esoteric modules like the one in the MOTM (which since then has grown a bit).

2007-06-24T17:33:00.000+02:00

EMXP - Emu Sampler Disk and File Utility Software

EMXP is a free software utility primarily designed for use with vintage Emu samplers, especially Emax samplers.
It's not limited to Emax samplers, other vintage Emu samplers are also (partly) supported: Emulator II and Emulator III.

More info and a link to download it can be found here: http://users.skynet.be/emxp/

2007-06-19T13:23:00.000+02:00

Huge monophonic analogue oscillator
Click the image to see the video.

2007-05-28T13:27:00.000+02:00

Having 808 fun in the 80's

2007-04-23T21:49:00.000+02:00

Samplers with analogue filters

I wanted to compile a list of all the samplers that were made with analogue VCF's.
Why? Because they fascinate me.

By sampler I mean a machine on which you can play the samples chromaticaly, like with a synth. So no drum samplers are included, unless they also allow chromatic playing.

Below you'll find the info that I've compiled up until now.
As you can see there weren't that many made. When you want a 16 bit stereo sampler with VCF's, your options are pretty slim. You'll have a choice between the Fairlight CMI Series III, the Emulator III and the Simmons SDX.

Thanks to all the contributors on Analogue Heaven
Feel free to comment, correct me or add to the list. I'll update it periodically.

Manufacturer	Model	Filter	resolution	# voices	# DA converters	extra info
Akai	S612	Lowpass, switched capacitor filter - no resonance	12/12/12	6	1
Akai	S700	Lowpass, switched capacitor filter - no resonance	12/12/12	6	1
Akai	X7000	Lowpass, switched capacitor filter - no resonance	12/12/12	6	1
Akai	X3700	?	12/12/12	4	1
Akai	S900	Lowpass, switched capacitor filter - no resonance	12/12/12	8	8
Akai	S950	Lowpass, switched capacitor filter - no resonance	12/12/12	8	8
Casio	FZ-1/FZ-10M/FZ-20L	Lowpass 24dB/oct	16/16/16	8	2	Filter is a DCF. http://www.buchty.net/casio/dcf.html
E-mu	Emax I	Lowpass 24dB/oct	12/8/12	8	8	Uses a compression algorythm for storing data.
E-mu	Emulator I	Lowpass - no resonance	8/8/8	4/8	4/8
E-mu	Emultator II / II+ / II+ HD	Lowpass 24dB/oct	8/8/8	8	8	Uses a compression algorythm for storing data.
E-mu	Emulator III	Lowpass 24dB/oct	16/16/16	16	16
Ensoniq	Mirage	Lowpass 24dB/oct	8/8/8	8	1
Fairlight	CMI Series I	Lowpass 24dB/oct	8/8/8	8	8
Fairlight	CMI Series II	Lowpass 24dB/oct	8/8/8	8	8
Fairlight	CMI Series IIx	Lowpass 24dB/oct	8/8/8	8	8
Fairlight	CMI Series III	Lowpass 24dB/oct	16/16/16	16	16
Korg	DSS-1	Lowpass 12/24dB/oct	12/12/12	8	1
Korg	DSM-1	Lowpass 24dB/oct - no resonance	12/12/12	16	1
Oberheim	DPX-1	Lowpass 24dB/oct	-/12/12	8	8	Technicaly not a sampler, but a sample playback machine
PPG	Wave 2.2 + Waveterminal	Lowpass 24dB/oct	8/8/8	?	?
PPG	Wave 2.3 + Waveterminal	Lowpass 24dB/oct	12/12/12	?	?
Radikal Technologies	Spectralis	2 global analogue filters 24dB Lowpass + 12 dB multimode	?/?/?	48	?
rsf	SD140	?	12/12/12	?	10?	link Conceived as a drum sampler but can also be used as a chromatic sampler
Sequential	Prophet 2000/2002	Lowpass 24dB/oct	12/12/12	8	8
Sequential	Prophet 3000	Lowpass 24dB/oct	16/16/16	8	8
Sequential	Studio 440	Lowpass 24dB/oct	12/12/12	8	8	Conceived as a drum sampler but can also be used as a chromatic sampler
Simmons	SDX	Lowpass 24dB/oct	16/16/16	16	16	Conceived as a drum sampler but can also be used as a chromatic sampler

2007-03-04T09:50:00.000+01:00

Emulator 2: channel down

Mostly due to a faulty S3528 on the channel board (analog)

If you look attentively, you will notice that the board is arranged in
"vertical" rows (assuming you are in front of the machine), one row for
each channel output.

Change the faulty S3528

Thanks to Dr.C for providing this info.

2007-03-04T09:48:00.000+01:00

Emulator 2 memory error

A "craaak" in the sound, or an erratic behaviour.

Explanation : Some of the sound memory is used as "scratchpad" memory, for the system.

The memory is arranged, if I remember well, in a block of 8x8 chips (unless
you dont have the piggyback additional memory board).

First : take away ALL the memory chips by remembering their location and
intervert them.
Is there a change ?

If the machine boots okay now, just sample music at maximum length (all the
memory).

Listen to it. Is there a "crakkk" sound somewhere ? How long does it take
to come ?

Now, intervert one quarter of the memories to another quarter

Sample again.

The cracckkkk sound has changed, in terme of the moment it occurs ? No ?
This means that the two quarters you have sawpped around are good chips.

Now, locate another quarter of the the (one of the two you didn't move) and
swap the two halves of them. Location of the crackk has changed ? Yes ? You
are close to it. Now, swap the half of the quarter in two halves. Etc...

At last, you will find the faulty chip. In teh WORSE case, it will take six
operations to find a faulty chip out of 64 chips and 16 operations to find
a faulty chip out of for 65536.

Now, finding a chip somewhere is gonna be something else...

Thanks to Dr.C for providing this info.

2007-03-04T09:43:00.000+01:00

Emulator 2 start problem
The floppy reader clicks three times, the machine displays "This will take
a while" or "Boot in progress" and sits there forever.

BE CAREFULL, THIS IS DANGEROUS.

TAKE AWAY the power plug from the machine.

Open it and take the power supply away.

You will see that the connector (the one with the yellow, red wires that
distributes the power to the boards and the floppies) may be brown, burned
at the location of the yellow wires, wich is the +5 volts.

Idealy, this connector shoud be changed. If you cant, just clean it by
putting some contact cleaner.

Power supply, now...

If you take an attentive look to the solder side on the connector pins, you
will find out that the solder is crackeled.

By using a solder pump, take away the bad solder and take away the connector.

Using a blade, scratch the varnish off the board (near the holes of the
connector) in order to increase the surface of the soldering on the copper
layer of the board.

Clean everything.

Clean the pins of the connector.

Solder the connector back in place, put A LOT of solder but be carefull
that the solder doesn't come in contact with the right angle metallic plate
when you put the power supply back in place onto it and as well, be sure
you are not shorting some connector pins !

VERIFY EVERYTHING before soldering, while soldering, after soldering and
verify your verification !!!

Put the power supply back in place, do not forget to put back the two wires
of the voltage selector, neither the connector with the wires.

CAUTION : an "unloaded" E2 power suplply wil BLOW INSTANTLY if you forget
to put back ALL the connectoirs in place.

It will work for years then.

Thanks to Dr.C for providing this info.

2007-03-04T09:41:00.000+01:00

EIII: no more disk? Solution

The disk is Okay but the machine scans SCSI channels, or tells : "No disk",
or whatever...

Go to the processor board, take away and put back the NCR5380 in place. It
works 50% of the time. Or change it.

If the Emu is connected to external SCSI devices, touch the flat cable
(inside) going to the SCSI connector. If its hot, your external devices are
ripping off the emu and this wall happen again !

Thanks to Dr.C for providing this info.

2007-03-04T09:39:00.000+01:00

EIII dead CPU board? Solution
A dead CPU board is very often due to a chip located on the front border of
the CPU board (the second one starting from the top.

Its a 74HCT244, labeled (if I remember well) : IC240. Its anyway easily
recognizable ; it has a few wires modification on the solder side

Change it to an 74LS244, taking great care to take note of the wire
modifications and installing the circuit on TWO HIGH QUALITY tulip single
on line (cutable) connector.

The change from HTC to LS is okay for this chip. Don't change them all !!!!!

Thanks to Dr.C for providing this info.

2007-03-04T09:36:00.000+01:00

EIII won't start up? Solution
If one formats and install a disk in an EIII, or just maybe a system
install, the disk will go round and round, scanning the channels without
being able to boot.

Its a bug.

When you format and install a system, once you have finished and BEFORE
restarting the EIII, just save a bank, even a blank bank, it has no
importance, the idea is to have AT LEAST on bank, even empty, into the
directory, or the machine will never start when you power it up again.

By following these insructions, the machine will find an empty bank, start
on it, and here we go !

Thanks to Dr.C for providing this info.

2007-02-24T09:40:00.000+01:00

Michael Brook live on KCRW
Not really synth related, but he can make his guitar sound like a synth.
Wonderful performance of Michael Brook on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic.

Clicking on the picture takes you to the video (.mp4).

2007-02-22T18:59:00.000+01:00

How to calibrate EIII power supply

Thanks to Dr C., here is the complete calibration procedure for the EIII power supply.

READ CAREFULLY AND COMPLETELY BEFORE ATTEMPTING ANYTHING !!!

IF SOMETHING IS NOT CLEAR OF EVEN OBVIOUS IN OUR EXPLANATION,
JUST STOP !

Required equipment :

a) - Small isolated crewdriver compatible with the power supply adjustable
b) - Digital voltmeter with correct batteries (to be sure the voltage
reading is accurate)
c) - PCB cleaner (KF-F2) for example
d) - Black permanent marker (the kind to be used to write in CDs)
e) - EXTREME PRUDENCE, TAKING YOUR TIME AND THINKING OVER WHAT YOU DO.

PREPARATION

Put the Emu in a very stable position and well lighted

TAKE AWAY THE MAINS PLUG (220V), THE METAL PARTS OF THE POWER SUPPLY ARE ON
LIVE, EVEN IF THE POWER SWITCH IS OFF, AND THESE ARE LETHAL VOLTAGES.

Take off the top cover

See the adjustable on the power supply.

Using the permanent marker, trace a mark to be sure to find how it was
adjusted.

Verify if the screwdriver is compatible.

Set the voltmeter to voltage measurement, continuous current, at 20 V
caliber (for example).
Put a probe on one of the yellow cables of the card cage connector (not on
the power supply connector, see picture) and the other on the chassis, for
example.

Put the power plug on and put the machine on.

You must see a voltage around +5 V on your voltmeter. If not, something is
wrong. Verify where you have plugged the voltmeter and retry.

If yes, shut the machine down and take the power plug off the machine.

STATUS : Machine "OFF" and power plug away.

Put some PCB cleaning product on the adjustable and turn the adjustment
around with the screwdriver (to clean the inside of the adjustable).

Put the adjustable completely leftwise (anti clockwise) or more : like a
volume potentiometer to the minimum).

Go have a beer for 15 minutes, the time it dries.

Put now the cursor of the adjustable half way from the minimum and the
trace you have made with the marker.

Check everything, voltmeter probes in place, cat away, etc...

ADJUSTMENT

Power the Emu. You must read quite a low voltage (around 3 V) and the hard
disk doesn't even start.

This is normal

Gently turn the adjustment, clockwise, and the voltage should climb. If
not, something is WRONG.
As well, if you get to the trace you have done and the voltage is still
low, DO NOT OVERPASS THIS TRACE !!!!

The hard disk should start spinning around 4 - 4,5 V

Increase the adjustment until you read : 5,05 V. Not 5,5V, I say : 5,05 V.

Once you are at it, shut the machine down, do not attempt to perform any
bank load or anything else, the machine didn't start accurately whit its
normal sequence, so it will be crappy and you may even crash everything,
datas and hardware.

Take the screwdriver away, the voltmeter, put the cover and restart your
machine.

2007-02-19T09:07:00.001+01:00

New OS available - Vailixi 3.50- for MPC3000
Mansell Labs has released a new OS for the MPC3000 with a wealth of new and improved features.
It's good to see that this great machine still receives support.

The new OS is available for purchase here.

2006-12-20T22:59:00.000+01:00

Pet Shop Boys Live 1986. 2 x Fairlights, Emulator II, ...
Continuing the Fairlight video theme from the previous posts here our some more. Starting with the Pet Shop Boys performing Opportunities on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1986. They used 2 Fairlight Series II for the backing track together with an Emulator II, Yamaha DX1 & DX7 and a Technics PX-1. If you look closely you'll see that the TV screens in the back are showing Page R.

More Fairlight featured clips:
•Fairlight Lesson 1 by Darren Hayes
•Todd Rundgren - Accapela
•Keith Emmerson scoring a soundtrack
•Revolting Cocks live in 1987 with a Series II on stage.
- Attack ships on Fire
- No devotion
- TV Mind

Peter Vogel's Fairlight page: http://www.anerd.com/fairlight/index.htm
And here's an informative Fairlight related site: http://egrefin.free.fr/eng/fairlight/fairlightE.php

2006-12-10T09:31:00.000+01:00

Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones and a Fairlight

2006-11-28T22:03:00.000+01:00

Ryuichi Sakamoto & his Fairlight - 1984
Ryuichi Sakamoto being interviewed by Jools Holland on The Tube in 1984.
Never mind that the video and audio is out of sync. Still a great clip.

2006-11-22T12:04:00.000+01:00

New OS for MPC3000 coming

A new OS for the MPC3000 is being developed by Rohan Mansell.
Check out his site at www.mansell-labs.com for the latest progressions.

New features will include:

1. MIDI CLOCK can be sent to ALL 4 MIDI output ports simultaneously.
2. MIDI TIME CODE can be sent to ALL 4 MIDI output ports simultaneously.
3. SAMPLE EDIT screen now features a TRUNC SFT ST+END function.
4. Samples can now be real-time edited and/or processed while the sequencer is Playing or Recording.
5. New "Timing Correct / Step Size" options.
6. New BOOT SCREEN shows Software Version and License status then after approximately five seconds; SEQUENCE MEMORY, SAMPLE MEMORY and SMPTE I0055 option IC status.
7. Disk menu now features a robust sector at a time disk copier.

2006-11-03T09:04:00.000+01:00

Japanese clip featuring the Fairlight CMI Series 2
Don't know if the song is also produced on the machine.

More info about Techma: http://techma.d4k.net/

Via Chris Strellis on the Fairlight list.

Update 13.12.06

Arthur L. Luiten kindly provided me with a translation of the lyrics.
Techma certainly isn't singing about the Fairlight.

A woman alone, with long legs, slipped into the taxi
With her long, twisting tongue she murmered: "I love you"
But I know you cannot satisfy me. You just cannot satisfy me.
It's not there.

A nervous man adjusting his wing mirror again and again
The bill of his card came back to his mind, and he looked back at the woman
If you only could satisfy the desire of this fellow here. Will you satisfy my desire?
It's not there.

The girl from the village of Yamada, longing for Daikanyama mountain
While she was lying in the arms of the Blue Bird Man
She murmered: "I want to leave this place."
Once upon a time. A woman from Tokai. An elegant adult woman.
It's not there

2006-10-18T19:30:00.000+02:00

Wireless MIDI on Apple

Imagine the following scenario. You've got a MacBook running Logic Pro, an iBook G4 running NI Kontakt and one MIDI interface.
How can you use the single MIDI interface simultaneously for both computers?

Solution: Use the standard OS X Utility "Audio Midi Setup" and send MIDI through a network connection. In this case through the airport.

In my setup I connected the MIDI interface (Emagic MT4) to the MacBook that's running Logic Pro.

1. Open Audio Midi Setup on the MacBook. Go to Midi Devices and double click Network.

2. Create a session (MacBook) and activate it. Live Routings is patched so that the incoming Midi port (MT4 Port 1) is send to the Network (Network Macbook). Settings for Who may connect to me= Any computer.

3. On the other computer (iBook G4), open Audio Midi Setup, Midi devices and also double click Network. Create a new session (iBook G4) and activate it. In the directory window select the computer to which you want to connect (dvdborn) and click on the connect button. Both computers now share the same MIDI interface. In the black bar, horizontal red lines will show the latency between the 2 computers. I had a latency of 12 ms which is acceptable.

It's essential that the Audio Midi Setup utility is running on both computers. The connection won't work when you quit the application.

In my case all the incoming MIDI data on port 1 is being shared between both computers.
In Logic Pro you'll find an extra MIDI output port (Macbook). Everything that's being transmitted on this port will be sent to the iBook.

And just for the sake of it, here is a lousy video demonstrating the above mumbo jumbo in action. There's no sound on the video. Just me playing the EIII that's connected to the MIDI interface of the MacBook which in turn is controlling Kontakt on the iBook. Only the audio out and power connector are connected on the iBook. You'll notice the level meters moving in the upper right corner. That's a sign Kontakt is playing.

2006-10-09T20:15:00.000+02:00

Keeping the Emulator III alive - Part 5: crashing & locking up

Recently my EIII started acting up again. This time the whole machine would crash. There were 3 kinds of crashes:
1. The EIII would lock up, the display would read "SCSI Hardware failure"
2. The EIII would just lock up. The screen showed junk characters and a random number of led's on the front panel would be active
3. The Hard Disk would shut down, but the EIII kept working. Sometimes the hard disk started spinning again. But most of the time the EIII would lock up.

At first I thought that the hard disk was failing but replacing the hard disk didn't solve the problem.

All the above problems were caused by one thing: The voltages on the power supply output were erraticly changing. Meaning that most of the time it was giving 11.00 Volt on a 12 Volt line (Orange wire), but sometimes the voltage would drop below 11 Volt causing the EIII to crash and the hard disk to shut down.

Solution: cleaning the trimpot on the power supply PCB and adjusting the voltage to the correct level (+12 V).

There's only 1 trimpot on the power supply so you can't go wrong.

I suggest you disconnect everything from the power supply, except the fans and/or the hard disk, when you adjust the voltage. Otherwise you migth fry something when the voltage peaks.

I used one of the fan connectors to read out the voltages.

2006-08-19T09:58:00.000+02:00

Keeping the Emulator III alive - Part 4: Memory

When I first got my EIII it had been in storage for a few years. When I sampled a sound and played it back it sounded all distorted. This was due to the fact that the memory SIMMs didn't make proper contact with the memory sockets.

I took out the top card out of the card cage which contains the SIMMs. Took out all 16 SIMMs and cleaned the contacts with contact cleaner. I did this as well for all the SIMM sockets. Afterwards everything sounded fine.

The EIII comes in 2 memory sizes: 4MB and 8MB. The early 4MB version uses 16 x 'standard' 30 pin 256KB SIMMs. These are the same SIMMs that were used in the Atari ST. Later EIII models had 4 x 1M simms in the first 4 slots.

Rob from the Emulator Archive once let me know that: "EIII upgrades from 4MB to 8MB have become impossible. You can't get the PAL chips that address the extra memory. You need 2 of them and they are long since obsolete and unfortunately no one has managed to recreate them. We have the binaries from the E-mu Systems vault, but they don't work..."

2006-08-12T11:11:00.000+02:00

Keeping the Emulator III alive - Part 3: The Power Supply

I'll try to be short on this one. Just hope that your Power Supply never dies. :-)

While testing all different kind of Hard Disks for my EIII (as explained in Part 1) I must have turned the EIII off and on once too many. At one point the EIII was totally dead. Power Supply had gone.

The Power Supply was made by Power-One, type SPL150-S109. But they have dropped all support for the SPL150-series and refused to provide me details about the power supply.

This is what the technical manual has to say about the power supply: EIII uses a switching power supply. We do not repair these supplies at the factory and do not even have schematics for them.

A technician helped fixing it but we were unable to trace a component, which looks like a transistor and might even be one, labelled Motorola 21407 8835 K. So if anyone knows what this is, please leave a comment.

I was lucky enough to find a second hand EIII power supply, not cheap though, and now my EIII is back up and running.

Here are the voltages from the power supply as described in the technical manual:
Green wire = ground
Orange wire = +12V
Yellow wire = +5V
Black wire = -14.25V to -15.75V
Red wire = +14.25V to +15.75V

Here's a photo of the internal power cable:

As you can see there's also a blue cable which is not described in the technical manual. I can now tell you that this is also a ground wire.

2006-08-11T10:07:00.000+02:00

Keeping the Emulator III alive - Part 2: Disabled outputs

A common problem with aging EIII's are non working stereo outputs. If you test the unit, all 16 individual outputs will work but not the stereo ouput.
This is due to a faulty relay switch on the output board. This relay switch will disable the stereo output when the machine is turned off or on to prevent a popping sound through the speakers.
The relay is labelled Aromat DS2YE-S-DC5V and is in a yellow casing.

Solution: Replace the relay switch or bypass it. When you bypass it you'll hear a small pop when the machine is turned off or on but it's nothing major that can destroy you speakers.

The relay switch is the yellow component:

Here's is an excerpt from the EIII Technical Manual showing the output board schematics. The relay switch is the component in the red circle:

Here's a picture of the relay switched being bypassed:

UPDATE 17.02.07:

Dr C., an experienced EIII technician informs me of the following:

The above diagnosis is wrong.

The +5V transits to the board to power the relay by the leftmost flat
cable. Sometimes, it becomes bad.

In order to repair it, make a joint with a piece of wire (yellow if
possible), from one of the yellow cables of the power connector (the one of
the cards cage) and pin 8 of IC3.

2006-08-10T14:41:00.000+02:00

Keeping the Emulator III alive - part 1: Internal Hard Disk

I own an Emulator III keyboard and although it's one of the best sounding samplers ever made it's also a high maintenance machine.

I am not a trained technician but found out that I have enough technical skills to keep the EIII going to this day. I'll post my EIII repairs/solutions here so other EIII users can benefit of it. Not that there are that many left. Only 1200 Emulator III's were ever made.

A while ago the internal Hard Drive decided it was time to meet its maker. It was still the original 40MB from 1987. The EIII needs its internal HD to operate. You can boot the machine with a OS floppy disk but the OS still requires a HD to be present on the internal SCSI cable.

Googling for a replacement drive only the Seagate ST51080N is mentioned on EIII related pages and forums. A 1GB SCSI drive that is still being sold for $225.

So I started going through all my spare SCSI drives and here's a list of EIII compatible HD's:

Quantum Trailblazer
IBM WDS-L80 (80MB) - As found in the Apple II si
Quantum ProDrive LT 700MB SCSI - As found in the PowerMac PPC6100
Quantum Maverick ProDrive - As found in PowerMac PPC8500

To format the HD I used the standard interleave setting of 2:1.

It took about 2 hours to get the Quantum Maverick HD formatted and verified. It is essential that you don't abort the verification process (like I did at first). When you do so, you won't be able to copy the OS onto the HD. If you try so, you'll get the Error: "Bank does not exists!".

I also tried more recent SCSI Hard Disk models but they don't get recognized by the EIII. If anyone knows why please let me know.

Here's a picture of the internal HD:

2006-08-07T15:04:00.000+02:00

Free Synclavier 9600 only album

Here's a free album made entirely on a Synclavier 9600 system.
The liner notes tells us that:
"This album was performed entirely on the Synclavier Digital Audio System. The output from the Synclavier was recorded straight to DAT via an analogue mixing desk. This is meant to demonstrate the outstanding audio capabilities and depth, clarity and separation of sound on the Synclavier system."

The link was found at this page where you can purchase your own complete Synclavier 9600 system.

All the info was taken from this excellent Synclavier site.
I also suggest this page for an overview of the Synclaviers uniqueness.

2006-07-30T13:43:00.000+02:00

New track for your listening pleasure

Click here to download/listen

My Summer Track for this year. What better to do on a hot summer afternoon than to nick 8 bars from an old french record and make a dance track, Daft Punk Style, with it.
Main instruments used: Akai MPC3000, Korg Prophecy and Sherman Filterbank

BTW, it's been too long since records contained the Orch5 Fairlight hit. MSTRKRFT were brave enough to use the Orch5 sample back again. You can hear it in their remix of Wolfmother - woman (mstrkrft remix).
This track is my contribution to the Orch5 revivement.

Let me know what you think of it.

2006-07-23T13:18:00.000+02:00

Keytek CTS2000

I came across this by accident on a synth trading site. Never heard of this synth before and started googling it.

The Keytek CTS2000 looks interesting on the inside. OTOH, The outside looks very dull. The Keytek line was an attempt at reviving Siel around 1987.

It's a wavetable synth with 2 oscillators/voice, 8 voices and analogue CEM 3389 filters, the same as in the Waldorf Microwave I. Each digital oscillator can read up to three wave tables at a time.

This page has some good info about it.
More info here including the manual and MIDI implementation chart.
Listen to a demo song here.

2006-07-22T15:12:00.000+02:00

SynclavierX
Support for the Synclavier, one of the 3 mythical 80's samplers (Fairlight and Emulator being the other 2), is still very much alive.

SynclavierX is an OS X application to control actual Synclavier voice cards and memory without the need of the obsolete original computer.

More info here.

This is still the beginning since new features are planned. An interface to Mac OS X's Core Audio system is planned for a later release. This interface will allow any OS X audio input device to emulate the Synclavier's Sample-To-Memory device. Additionally, a Core MIDI driver is planned that will allow Synclavier tracks to be triggered by an external sequencer, and will allow the Synclavier sequencer to use external (and virtual) midi devices. Improvements to InterChangeX will provide for simplified exchange of sound files between SynclavierX and other audio applications.

Now if only I had some Synclavier voice cards around.

Some history about the Synclavier can be found here.

Synclavier PDF-manuals:
Volume 1: PostPro
Volume 2: Sound Design
Volume 3: Reference

2006-07-15T01:01:00.000+02:00

Jarre gear p*rn video

This is obvious a playback. But look at the collection of, now, vintage gear.
What's that 70's white design thing on his upper left side? Looks like a sequencer of some sorts.
UPDATE: Jupiter8 let me know that the white thingy is a Eko Computerythm.

2006-07-15T00:31:00.000+02:00

Jean-Michel Jarre demonstrates the AKS

2006-06-26T23:04:00.000+02:00

The Yamaha VP-1

This is an interesting one. It came out in 1994. Apparently only 3 of them were ever sold. One to a Music Store in Cologne, another one to a sonic research center in Isogawa, Japan and a third one to a Robot research center in Nara, Japan. Price: about 30000€.

It never got properly released by Yamaha.

It's a 16 note polyphonic virtual acoustic synth with free running VA oscillators. It's design is in the same fashion as the Yamaha VL-1 and the VL-7.

Here's a good source for more info and sounds.
The Owner's manual can be downloaded here.
The Perfomance Notes are here.

I want one! Only a pity that it's as rare as hens' teeth and that it would cost a fortune...

2006-06-26T22:34:00.000+02:00

Synth Prototypes

A collection of synth prototypes that later on evolved into commercial products.

First up, the Emulator IIIx. This one was revealed to the public in 1991:

Next up, the Oberheim OBMx prototype. This is the first version without the LCD:

The Yamaha CDSX prototype. What was to become the Yamaha DX1:

The Akai VX90 prototype. I'd rather wished they left it like this, than the one they eventually released:

2006-06-26T22:26:00.000+02:00

Synths that never were - Part 3

Here are some synths that never made it past a music fair.

The first one is the Mellotron Digital Workstation III built into a grand piano. Not much is known about this workstation. Googling didn't turn up any usefull info.

The second one isn't really a synth but a Master Keyboard with a built in sequencer, signed Roger Linn. The Akai MWS-76. It was first revealed to the public in 1989, never to be heard of again.

The Akai AX90, at first glance not much different than the AX80:

2006-05-28T23:22:00.000+02:00

Ladytron on KCRW

Clicking on the picture takes you to an in studio live performance of Ladytron on Morning Becomes Eclectic.
Looks like they're using Korg MS2000B's and an MS20's alongside live performers.

2006-05-18T14:52:00.000+02:00

Vangelis in his Studio in Paris

Another one from my VHS synth collection. This is a rather long outtake from the program "Musique au coeur de Vangelis" wich aired on french television somewhere around 1993.

Vangelis is being filmed in his studio in Paris, improvising and playing everything live.
Very impressive.

The movie is in Flash Video format. You'll need Flash Player 8 to play this movie.

click here to open the video on a seperate page.

2006-04-25T12:18:00.000+02:00

Fairlight keyboard signing by Peter Vogel

In via Peter Vogel on the Fairlight Forum:

"Last week I had the honour of affixing my signature to a Fairlight
keyboard which was on its way to the US to be auctioned as a fundraiser
for "Witness", a charity started by Peter Gabriel, which exposes human
rights abuses in countries that don't have free press.

The 43 white keys of the keyboard had previously been signed by
musicians who had prevsiously owned or used the Fairlight. It will be
auctioned in due course."

Clicking on the image will start the video (Quicktime, MP4) or you can dowload the video by clicking here.
The accompanying soundtrack is from a 1980s Fairlight demo cassette.

2006-04-18T09:55:00.000+02:00

Trevor Horn on BBC Radio 2

The first in a series of one-off special BBC2 Radio programmes exploring the work of legendary record producers.

Lots of talk about the technology used on the Trevor Horn hit records (TR808, Lexicon, SSL, Fairlight,...) and interviews with artists, engineers and producers. Highly interesting.

Clicking on the picture takes you to the radio program.

2006-04-14T23:47:00.000+02:00

Discovering Electronic Music part 2

Part 2 of an educational film from 1983 describing some of the history and tools of electronic music.

2006-04-14T23:44:00.000+02:00

Discovering Electronic Music part 1

Part 1 of an educational film from 1983 describing some of the history and tools of electronic music.
Highly interesting for analogue modular gear spotters.

2006-04-14T23:34:00.000+02:00

Discovering Electronic Music - The Fairlight CMI

An educational film from 1983 describing some of the history and tools of electronic music.
This is part 3 with a focus on the Fairlight CMI.

I've mirrored this clip here in MP4.

2006-04-11T13:21:00.000+02:00

Jean-Michel Jarre Studio 1986

This time it's Jean-Michel Jarre showing of his studio. This video was shot in 1986.

We get to see Jarre creating a water sound on the Arp2600 and we'll hear an original recording that was used to create part of the track Ethnicolor I using the Fairlight CMI.

You can download the video (Quicktime MP4) by clicking on the image or here.

2006-03-27T20:10:00.000+02:00

Yamaha DX1

There's a nice looking Yamaha DX1 on ebay.

More DX1 info can be found on this dedicated site

2006-03-11T11:57:00.000+01:00

Synth Stores in NY (2001)
With all the talk on Analogue Heaven about Synth Stores in New York I decided to dig up a few photos I took when I was in NY back in November 2001.

The following photos were taken at Dr.Rogue:

I don't remember the name of the following store. It was located somewhere near Broadway and China Town. UPDATE: This store was Dr. Sound/Two Lines. BTW, the asking price for the Emu Modular was $10000.

2006-03-10T13:08:00.000+01:00

Front 242 - Operating Tracks

A videoclip from Front 242 featuring a lot of close ups from their equipment at that time: Roland MC4, System 100M, TR808,...

Click here to download the video (MP4-format)

2006-02-17T08:48:00.000+01:00

CS 80 - An interactive introduction

Nice website with movies explaining and demonstrating the Yamaha CS 80
http://www.xs4all.nl/~avanheck/

2006-02-07T16:10:00.000+01:00

Fairlight CMI series III - Library demo tape

Marcin 'Rambo' Roguski has uploaded a demo tape demonstrating a sound library for the Series III on his Fairlight CMI Users Group Site

Listen to it here.

2006-02-01T20:04:00.001+01:00

Peter Gabriel and his Fairlight

Peter Garbriel talks about his Fairlight CMI and goes sample hunting at a junk yard. This recording originaly aired in 1982.
Duration: 7 min. 18 sec.

Click here to download

2006-01-23T16:46:00.001+01:00

Kraftwerk - Pocket Calculator Live 1981

Another excerpt from the Kraftwerk TV-special from 1981.
Duration: 2m31s

You'll need Quicktime 7 to watch this video stream. The stream will not be made available for download and will be online for a limited period of time. If you have trouble viewing the stream read this post.

2006-01-19T00:14:00.001+01:00

Old synths and EPROMS
A while ago my Akai S900 died on me because of a corrupt EPROM. For those of you who don't know, the EPROM chips contain the Operating System for your synthesizer/sampler. Once it's corrupt the device won't work anymore.

Since I have some old synths and samplers that contain EPROMs and I want to continue to use them for a long time I ordered an EPROM-programmer. I went for the SPEP plus which I bought here from Futurelec.
This little device permits you to read the contents of an EPROM, save it to disk or program another EPROM with it.
At first I was a bit afraid that I could harm the programmed EPROMS by reading them, but everything went just fine. It's a straightforward process. You put the programmed EPROM in the SPEP, read its content, insert a new EPROM and program it.

I made a backup of the EPROMs from my Akai VX600 and Emulator III. Once tested, I left the new programmed EPROMS in the synths. BTW, each device contains 2 EPROMS.

Here's a picture of the EIII while it's EPROMs are being swapped. I had to take the CPU board (second from above) out of the Card Cage to have access to the EPROMS.

I've put the EPROM images I made online for backup purposes.
You can download them here:

EMULATOR III - Version 2.0
EPROM type: 27128B
Label: IP381A EMU SYSTEMS 4088
Location: Lower left corner of the CPU board
download here

EPROM type: 27128B
Label: IP380A EMU SYSTEMS 4088
Location: To the right of the previous EPROM
download here

Update 19.09.07:
Dr C. notes two points to emphasize :
1. Do not use 27C128, use 27128, without the "C"
2. The eproms shoiuld have a suffix like : -60 or -80, this is the aduisition
time, in nanoseconds, so it should be (for example) :
AM27158-60, or TS27128-80
Any higher value than 80 will not work !

Akai VX600 - Version 1.2
EPROM type 27C256
Label: VX600 (1) V1.2
Location: Right in the middle of the main PCB
download here

EPROM type 27C64
Label: VX600 (2) V1.12
Location: At the right side of the main PCB
download here

Note: all files are in binary format.

update 21.08.2011: download links now point to the new server location.

2006-01-16T23:20:00.001+01:00

Emulator II demonstration by Alan Wilder (Depeche Mode)
Another one from my synth video archive.
This time it's Alan Wilder, formerly of Depeche Mode, demonstrating an Emulator II. This recording was made in 1987.

You'll need Quicktime 7 to watch this video stream. The stream will not be made available for download and will be online for a limited period of time.