The Fairlight CMI is based on the architecture of the Qasar M8 (Multimode 8), created by Tony Furse in 1975. In the early 70’s, Tony Furse, a consulting engineer for Motorola, created his first prototype of hybrid analog/digital synthesizer, the Qasar I. In 1972-1973, Furse created his second prototype, the Qasar II, with the financial […]
In 1983, a major CMI update appeared: the Fairlight CMI IIx. Several internal cards were modified. The two 6800 processors were replaced by 6809 processors, the random access memory changed from 64Kb to 256Kb, the control panel of the central unit was modified, a MIDI/SMPTE interface was proposed as an option, as well as a […]
In 1982, the Fairlight CMI II, a slightly improved version of the CMI, was created. The sampling rate turned from 24 to 32Khz, still in 8 bits. The channel cards have been improved. A MIDI card is available as an option. But the main innovation was the inclusion of the Page R, created by Michael […]
The Fairlight CMI I is marketed in 1979.CMI stands for Computer Musical Instrument. It is based on the architecture of the Fairlight Qasar prototype, and it has most of its features: Layout on the CMI-25 motherboard ID DESCRIPTION SLOT CMI-02 Master card: control of 8 channel cards, ADC sampling, timerfunctions for sequencer and MCL 1 […]