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Fairlight Instruments Fairlight Pro
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By Francis Preve
The Fairlight CMI debuted in 1980 as the first commercially available
sampler, and throughout the ’80s, dominated the records of anyone who
could aff ord one. A basic unit cost $25,000, with later and expanded
models increasing in price. Since only 300 were made, collectors still
seek out working systems. Can an iPad app really duplicate the CMI
magic? Let’s find out.
Touch the retro-looking on/off knob, and a graphic of a floppy disk
appears, followed by a brief burst of Fairlight music. Only then can
you begin playing. Fairlights were amazingly intuitive in their time, but
today, the UI comes off like the Son of DOS, so if you’re unfamiliar with
the original, prepare yourself for a bit of manual reading and YouTubewatching
to get the hang of it.
There are three levels of interaction: sampling, creating instruments,
and sequencing. In addition, the entire Series IIx sound library and part
of the Series III library come with the Pro version. Cruising through the
more than 500 presets is a traipse down new wave memory lane. There’s
a Depeche Mode sound here, a Thomas Dolby patch there, an ABC stab
over there. It’s astonishing how many signature ’80s sounds were Fairlight
factory patches. If you don’t need user sampling and sequencing, you can
snag the basic Player app for $9.99 and get the whole Series IIx library
Sampling is a breeze. You can import AIFF or WAV audio files
as instruments, or record your own sounds through the iPad mic or
compatible audio hardware. I recommend recording into the app.
Sampling in the original Fairlight added a teeny bit of aliasing that gave
it an extremely distinctive sound. It’s like hearing everything through
a slight mist of mercury vapor—there’s an airy quality that’s hard to
describe but pleasant to the ear.
Once you’ve sampled your sound, there’s not much you can do
except edit the start and end points, add looping, and adjust the attack
and release of the volume envelope. You don’t get filters, LFOs, matrix
modulation, or effects, but that’s fine with me. After all, it’s a Fairlight.
The Page R sequencer paved the way for how we now compose
electronic music, and is faithfully duplicated here. Everything is
realtime and quantized, much like a classic drum machine. Just choose
a note length and tap in your part using one of the instruments. Each
track is monophonic, but again, that’s part of the app’s charm. The
limitations force you to think differently about composition, which can
open vistas of creativity for the open-minded.
Both the Player and Pro apps support CoreMIDI, so iPad interfaces
(
e.g., IK iRig MIDI, Line 6 MIDI Mobilizer, or Akai SynthStation)
mean you can do a lot more than noodle on the subway—if you have
an iPad, you have a Fairlight in your studio! Th e apps also work with
the iPhone and iPod Touch if you can stand some serious squinting
at all the stuff onscreen.
Extended use of our review version (1.1) uncovered two gremlins
we hope get corrected in a future update. First, there’s audible glitching
in sequences if you let them run long enough. Second, when assigning
sounds in Instrument Edit mode, a different sound than what’s shown
onscreen will sometimes (but not consistently) trigger. Leaving the
page and returning fixes this.  | | Page R sequencer. |
Overall, we’re in love with Fairlight Pro. It’s a slice of synth history
that fits in your backpack. Birds versus pigs? Video chat? Pshaw. For
keyboardists with a taste for the ’80s,
this is the killer app for iOS
Specifications
PROS All the sounds and features of the Fairlight CMI Series IIx sampling
workstation. CoreMIDI compatible. Records samples and imports audio
files. Works with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.
CONS It’s so true to the original that every time you load a sound , you
hear brief “disk drive” chatter before you can play.
PRICE $49.99 at Apple App Store
$49.99 at Apple App Store
fairlightinstruments.com.au
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