CMI V

The CMI V is a powerful sound design virtual instrument

It is noisy, it's a natural bitcrusher, you can put any sample in and at the end have something totally different. The spectral synth, that is a new added feature, is an easy way to use the additive synthesis whithout too much programming. It also opens more modulation possibilities.

To start off with I was afraid that the CMI could be limited but at the end with the three synthesis modes I've not finished exploring it at. I was thinking that it would only be useful for smashing samples but I've spent most of my time on the synthesis mode.

It can turn even seemingly mundane things into incredible sounds.

The Fairlight CMI is special to me because it's the first piece of gear to merge ‘sampling and sequencing’. Sampling is the foundation of many genres: Hip-hop, Jazz Fusion, Psychedelic rock etc, and some of the finest recording artists of all time used the Fairlight in their productions. Without the original, we wouldn't have the likes of the Akai MPC, Boss SP303, and ASR10. I can't imagine where music would be today or how I would have been influenced without that technology.

My approach to designing with the CMI V was quite lengthy. I've only been around a handful of Fairlights in my lifetime and not for very long. With the aid of Garey Kennebrew, I was enlightened to the ways of CMI, and started creating my own sounds. I created a loop in my DAW, and started experimenting with found sounds from around my house. The sound shaping tools in CMI V are so powerful, it can turn even seemingly mundane things into incredible sounds. Even if I went into a project where I have specific sounds I'm aiming for, I would always find inspiration from "happy accidents".

It's powerful, and the automations are easily assigned.

The main strength of the CMI V is that everything is very legible and user-friendly – the interface is well-designed. The FX are particularly powerful and the automations are easily assigned.

I worked on my own machines to produce the sounds I used to create the presets. Once these sounds had been generated, I integrated them into CMI V, which let me layer up to 8 sounds in each slots.

If you are a bit imaginative, you can emulate granular and FM synthesis.

I love the fact that it was the first sampler, and that it features the Fourier synthesis inherited from his predecessor the Quasar M8. The time synth is very deep, and if you are a bit imaginative, you can emulate granular synthesis or even FM synthesis with it.

My approach to sound design with the CMI V was shared between making classic VA sounds, coupled with the Fairlight tone, and deep time synth explorations. So I would say, all methods!

I think it was one of the first “all in one” electronic instruments, a kind of ancestor of the modern groovebox/workstation with synthesis/sampling and sequencing inside. The CMI V has the same cool approach, you can hear your sounds in context, musically, without leaving the software and its somewhat limited workflow, but it helps creativity.

The first thing I do when I get a new instrument is to create patches or sequences that remind me of my favorite bands and tracks to get inspired. The CMI V was a perfect match for this kind of work because of it’s sampling abilities.

I finally have the chance to see what the hype was all about.

I was very interested in experimenting with the Fairlight CMI's sampling capabilities back in the early 80's but gave up on that due to the high price tag. Now that Arturia made the CMI V, I finally have the chance to see what the hype was all about. The feature I use the most is probably the sample evolution section, since some very interesting things can happen when its parameters are modulated.

When designing sounds for the factory bank, I often started with a small looped section of a sample and modulated its starting point. Then depending on the results after adjusting the speed, I might add another layer with a different sample at a different speed, and maybe add a spectral synth layer to add some 'flavor'.

You can create full sounds in different ways

It is already based on an instrument that is at the origin of the first samplers. The CMI left its mark on the music world, and was used by all the greats: Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Stevie Wonder, Tears for fears, Jean-Michel Jarre, Mike Oldfield, and Art of Noise. It's a joy to rediscover all these sounds that were used so creatively and intensively by all these artists at this period. I'm also happy that Arturia did not just offer the sampling part of the Fairlight, but also integrated the Spectral Synth part too. Indeed, the ancestor of Fairlight, the Quasar M8 CMI produced between 1975 and 1977 already integrated additive synthesis.

You can create full sounds in different ways with the CMI V. We can start from a sample that we will easily edit and loop, or by using the Spectral Synth section. We can then work tuning, filtering, envelope, vibrato, We can assign functions to destinations. We can also work from the sequence of Fairlight V and sync with a DAW.

It's very inspirational.

The Fairlight is one of the first samplers; it opened a fresh new door to music creation. I'm really impressed by the capabilities of the instrument. The way it transformed the samples was unique and allowed for new types of sound at the time where numerical audio effects were just stammering. The CMI V takes these features and brings them to the modern world, extending possibilities of the original synth.

Testing the CMI V inspires me a lot. I had many sounds in mind and I tried to create them in a few presets. I wanted to use all of the features of it. Sometimes I knew which sound I wanted and how to make it, sometimes it was superposition of various CMI V techniques.