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Bones Group: Members Posts: 38 Joined: Oct. 2003 Posted: May 05 2004, 11:02 I'm curious as to how the Fairlight computer was/is used, particulaly in the live performances.  Do you have to key in the notes on a keyboard attached to the computer and then edit them to your liking ?  As you can probably tell I am a total beginner in the world of music technology, so any info would be great   -------------- Amarokin' All Over the World "Music is at its best when listened to in the dark" Back to top

Jammer Group: Members Posts: 643 Joined: April 2000 Posted: May 05 2004, 12:52 Someone else will give you a definitive answer I think the different sounds that were previously editted were stored allowing the performer to play one sound (or patch) at a time live on the keyboard However, Fairlight Mixes for the Viareggio 1984 concert exist, indicating that multitimbral sequences could have just been played back as a backing and time-keeping reference A good bit of info on it can be found here: http://www.obsolete.com/120_years/machines/fairlight/ Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: May 05 2004, 16:18 The notes could be input from the keyboard, or using a light pen on the screen (together with the computer keyboard. The Series III substituted the light pen for a graphics tablet type controller on the computer keyboard) - either using the keyboard sequencer on Page 9 (for recording sequences from the piano keyboard), the graphical sequencer on Page R (a rhythm-based sequencer - Series II onwards) or a kind of music programming language on Page C. The piano keyboard had a small calculator type keypad on it for live performance - the idea was that it could then be used without the monitor and computer keyboard, using the keypad to call up patch names. However, the bulky part of the system was the mainframe, so removing the monitor and computer keyboard didn't really help much as far as portability was concerned! There was also an optional second keyboard. It was polyphonic/multitimbral, but only up to 8 voices (Series III had 16). An interface could also be added to allow it to control analogue synthesisers and on later models, MIDI was available as well. Sounds could be sampled (at 8 bit, 10kHz - upgraded to 32kHz on the Series II and 16 bit/100kHz mono/50kHz stereo on the Series III) or they could be synthesised from scratch, either by drawing waveforms, entering in values by setting the level of each of 32 harmonics using on-screen sliders (a bit like organ drawbars, just a lot more!)  or by drawing 'harmonic profiles' (an amplitude envelope for each of the 32 available harmonics) with the light pen. You can find more information at the following sites: http://www.ghservices.com/gregh/fairligh/ http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr99/articles/fairlight.htm http://comp_sounds.tripod.com/fairlight.html - a review of the Series I Back to top

Thea Cochrane Group: Musicians Posts: 445 Joined: Nov. 1999 Posted: May 10 2004, 09:56 Chances are that the Fairlight was being played live (to trigger samples, etc.) and pre-programmed sequences and other bits that couldn't be played live were coming from a tape of some sort. This was often done where the Fairlight sounds in the studio had effects applied (the Fairlight had no effects board but it could do a form of chorus/ flanging). So, the Fairlight Mix would be playing back from a reel-to-reel tape - much in the same way as someone like Britney Spears will use pre-recorded elements live now - and mixed with that would be the sound of the band, including the live Fairlight playing. The other thing is that Fairlights weren't really designed to be toured and played live, so relying on them for a lot of important musical parts in a show would have been a bad idea, so having elements on  tape was a good backup. Btw, later versions of the Series III Fairlight could actually sample up to 48kHz, but with a very small hard disc by todays standards not many people did this. The largest drive you can put on a Fairlight is sort of 2-3GB, which is a lot of Fairlight samples! Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: May 10 2004, 11:05 I would tend to agree about the parts coming off tape - I have a feeling there are two many elements in the mixes for the Discovery tour for it to be a single sequence. I'd imagine that's the origins of the 'Fairlight Mixes' recordings. I've not heard any of those for a long time though, so I'd not like to comment for certain. There were perhaps more parts played live on the earlier tours where the music wasn't quite so demanding. It was Harald Zuschrader who did the Fairlight work on Mike's tours - he'd be able to shed more light on this. Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: May 10 2004, 12:45 Quote (Mat Cochrane @ May 10 2004, 09:56) much in the same way as someone like Britney Spears will use pre-recorded elements live now Like her own voice. (this was my useless, sneering contribution to the thread) -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

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