18 thoughts on “Peter Vogel Demos The Fairlight CMI 30A, “The Sound Of The 80’s””

1. “you shouldn’t have to look at a screen to play music”

   1. Chris, I extend you my apologies. I just watched the video, and yes you’re right he does. I thought you were making an generalisation about synths. I love my synths, and I love their screens. Don’t need it to play it, yet I DO NOT NEED THEM!

      1. so you don’t watch the video posted in the article, which in reality the video is the article. then decide to comment with an assumption…which we all know what happens when you assume things. 😉 only to proceed to call me an idiot because of my “assumed generalization” and apparent lack of attention to i would guess spelling and grammar in an otherwise grammatically correct and properly spelled post.

         do the rest of us a favor and save yourself some energy by no longer commenting on synthtopia. or you could actually read and or watch all of the content in an article before word vomiting all over this site. i’ve been a long time lover of synthtopia. ignorant people like you make me hate it.

2. Admin: User banned for multiple personal attacks, spamming the site with multiple user IDs (AmandaL, LindaT, LindaMinimal, Modern3, etc).

   1. peter vogel says it in the video…clearly you need to pay more attention Amanda 😉

3. Not Chris’s words – Peter Vogel’s.

4. May have to listen to some old Kate bush albums after watching this. I think I still have my issue of KEYBOARD with her and her Fairlight on the cover.

5. I hated her for balancing a CMI mainframe that close to the radiator under her window. From the same photo session:

   http://howgoodisthat.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/20061030-k310.jpg?w=1500&h=

6. That Michael Jackson sound actually came out of a Synclavier, but anyway…
   This was too painful to watch.
   That wanker presenter banging the keyboard while Peter is still trying to tell his story.
   Peter talking about the Art of Noise and playing it really badly.
   They must have really run out of topics for the breakfast show.

7. I love how Mr. Vogel is talking all this boring techie shit that most of us here can appreciate. But come on, having this guy on a TV show for the rest of them, who the hell’s bright idea was that? Talk about a borefest for the common person. Very uncomfortable to watch, do you honestly think anyone on that stage gave a flying fuck about his story and all that?

   1. I beleive the female presenter used the term “synth nerds”. She was right. I appreciate synths, they way they work and sound etc. But that was a pretty boring interview, especially for brekkie tv. Im not surprised the male presenter was pressing keys. After all, like him, i just wanted to hear the thing!

8. How can you not look at the screen when using this machine? How’s this machine’s screen different that my PC laptop?

   1. as the great ron popeil would say in regrinds to his showtime rotisserie….
      “set it….and forget it!”

      in all seriousness though, i get where you’re coming from. i think what he’s getting at is a lot of the time we get so involved in editing and tweaking that we shift focus from just playing. the fairlight combines unprecedented tweak ability while still retaining that “real instrument” feel. unlike so many flimsy lackluster keyboards/controllers in todays market.

9. Sample or brick-and-mortar instrument, you still have to write a good melody.

   1. i couldn’t agree with you more… at least until skynet becomes self aware.

10. The real question is “How do I apply this antique to modern work?” Those sounds are doubly dated and newer tools are the result of learning from the struggles and expense of the Fairlight’s initial era. I’m only interested in nodding TO a few notables, not seriously emulating Art of Noise. Electronic music covers and ‘tributes’ bore me silly. They’re too easy. Its hard to imagine why anyone would buy a full Fairlight now when its available as an iPad app. If anything shows the wide range of disparity and tech-quirkiness, that does! 😛 If Vogel wants to ride the curve better, he’ll need a $5k synth to do it and that’s no casual project. He also can’t help to introduce sampling as a new thing a second time; it’d be asking an enormous amount to devise the new ‘orchestra hit’ that sent us in fresh directions by example. IMHO, he should be drawing the new Solaris-level Fairlight design on yellow pads. Stewart Copeland might have 3 Fairlights in storage, but he might just go for a potent Fairlight-II.

11. Vogel mentioned that his company (still named Fairlight?) is going to, in a year, release a new instrument that follows the idea of no need to look at the screen/not look at all. The video is over a year old, but I haven’t heard of anything new from Fairlight. Any ideas?

12. Its a great sounding machine, and there’s much room for its sound as there is for all else musically.
    I like the stravinsky orhestra hit its fine by me, I wish people would be a bit less snobby, and just accept it for what it is.

    I’d love one, I wouldn’t love an ap, an ap has No appeal to me at all.
    The Fairlight cmi however, Does have much appeal!
    and I think it still sounds modern enough today.