http://au.fairlight.com.au/product/xynergi/

Crazy good.. Fairlight have a long history and some important peeps involved in it's history (Bruce Jackson from memory)... had some influence over the years.

This expanded product line has my interest.

Cheers.

Come on now that is not a Fairlight. This is a Fairlight!

http://petervogelinstruments.com.au/specs

or this vid:

http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/fairlight-cmi-30a-video-preview-476722

They are close to 20 grand here in Australia and I think they are only going to remake 100 so it might be hard to get your hands on one. Very interesting article in the latest Audio Technology mag. They say when you sit down behind this thing you really feel you are in command of a very powerful instrument and not a computer like we have today. It makes you want to play it and make music on it. It does work very well too and you are not wasting any time getting things to work, that has already been done.

Yes I was in love with it for a while in the early 80's when the series III came out but it was $91,000 and my wife would not agree to me buying one! Hans Zimmer says the page R sequencer is the best on the planet.

So guys, I just got X2 (well paid for it but grappling with download...)
To those of you wanting to buy something new exactly what functions are you unable to do without that will niot operate with X2?
Frankly I still use the mose and keyboard but I do want transport save pan sliders etc.
They all seem OK with X1.
Oh and I want the Fantom to work with X2 and I assume it will.
Cheers
WSS

Hiya Steve... the main gripe form me really is not faders and the 'usual controls' such as transport etc. For me the total botch of the eq and plug in control is a painski, and a genuine one at that. The 700C will still give you the basic stuff as mentioned but after having excellent integration under 8.5, it does now feel like you have a Ferrari that is missing a few gears or is running on the wrong fuel or something. It's just broken and a disappointment when mixing.

X2 is looking so far to be good enough to stay on board with Sonar still but the surface issue is now past old so personally I'm giving it a little longer and then will jump to something else, possibly an MCU again because function wise, that's pretty much what I have now (except with a much bigger footprint AND the lack of fader expansion as an option) and the only thing that stopped me doing this already was the hope of better integration with X2 (hasn't happened) and the lack of level meters on the surface which was always one thing I missed with the MCU previously.

I don't want to sound -ve but I'm of the sound (pun?) belief that the 700C will not return to it's dizzying heights of awesomeness. It would have happened already and NOwhere will you find information to support a hope for Cake 700C fixes. It would be fantastic but they have moved on...all the way to X2.

Hope this helps answer your query a bit?

Hey Jeff I remember the Zimmer man and his Fairchild in some ancient article somewhere in the distant past... can not believe your wife could deny you such greatness... harsh indeed bud. Trade her in? <gulp>

Cheers.

So this is for Mully and I am sorry to be chiming in here about the Fairlight but I do have a bit of a soft spot for it LOL!

No Mully my wife was right and I am glad I did not get in the end because we bought a house instead!!!  And only a few years later I ended up with EMU stuff which was WAY cheaper and it was equivalent to 10 Fairlights! 

Not even sure about spending 20K on the new on either. You know that sort of money would set you up with a serious setup. I think it is just a matter of that owning the Fairlight thing that will entice people to buy one now. And it is still not ultra powerful either. The screen is still green and very large and cumbersome. 

Sorry you guys are having issues with getting the V700C controller to work with X1 or X2. I really don't think it is going to happen. I would be looking into another option if it is a controller you are after. 

But if you are going to keep the V700C I think it is going to be a situation where you just work with what things it does control and that is still basic tracks and buses etc and the transport. Seems like e.Blue is getting some things to happen so I wish you all good luck on that one. 

Maybe buy a Fairlight instead. 

Haha.... Fairlight or a house?? Hmmmm.... let's pick the house because it comes with a wife? Quite possibly the right choice Jeff. At least the house can have a range of colors as opposed to the Fairlight only providing green.

I agree 100% with you regarding the 700C too. It still bites with X2 and I can't be bothered with the pain of it... looking at best options again before that beard grows and the newer MCU is looking the go still but I will surely miss the 700 gear as it was exciting when it arrived and amazing to use....for a while.

Thought a bit about a one stop option also. You were using a digital Tascam desk or similar weren't you if I remember right?

Cheers

Hi Mully! OK now we know we cant have a Fairlight then the next best thing is back to our setups. Actually I was reading last night in SOS that someone has actually released a VST that does all the Failrlight sounds now and they have all been sampled from the big beast itself. That would be a great compromise if you really wanted that sound I suppose. Apparently it sounds amazing.

Yes I am into the digital mixer concept. I use a Yamaha 01V. Here are some reasons why digital mixers are pretty cool:

Lot of inputs can be connected. (32 in the case of a Yamaha 01V 96) Analog and Digital eg 8 or 16 digital channels from Sonar and back. I think now for the 96i it is 32 channels each way!

Small footprint

EQ and Dynamics on every input and output. (Nice transperant stereo compressor can be applied to your stereo mix during mixdown if required, great pre mastering technique)

2 (4 for the 01v 96) serious time based effects processors on board. SPX quality, very nice reverbs!

All A to D and D to A conversion all taken care of.

16 High quality Mic Pres

Faders can control tracks and busses in Sonar. Mixer moves can be recorded and edited as midi data on a midi track in Sonar

Full monitoring taken care of.

External sends for any outboard processing

Input sources can be heard and monitored without computer even turning on.

Endless processing before recording if needed and headphones and effects for tracking all at zero latency

Stems can be easliy sent from Sonar to mixer during mixdown allowing manual control and further processing if required. Less demand on your CPU as a result of this.

The 01V 96 can handle 24 bit and 96K sample rates if required.

Easy to set up external (VU)  K system metering on main stereo buss.

Unlimited signal routing options, Sonar can record from any input, output of mixer etc.. Allows Sonar tracks and busses to easily feed new audio track inputs without any external patching required.

Spare buttons can be programmed for transport operations (01V96)

Huge complex mix setups can be stored and recalled and stored easily with Sonar projects as well. (midi dumps etc)

Motorised faders

The one to get now is the 01V96i

http://www.yamahaproaudio.com/global/en/products/mixers/01v96i/ 

The only thing is that if you have all your interface and A to D taken care of then the mixer might be unnecessary. It is a better option for those wanting to start out and get all that sorted at once.

Jeff this is exactly the detail I need right now thank you. I'm serious about getting surface control without the commitment of any dedicated button to any particular software again. Obviously this was a risk with the 700 but I'm still surprised just how quick Cake have left it in the wake of the X platforms. The mouse lives!

I've got MOTU I/O still but a desk like the 01 may be a serious option.... will go do some reading.

Cheers!

A yamaha 02R96 would be awesome, but I think a Tascam D3200 should work nicely as well.

I switched from a Tascam DM4800 to the VS system. Tascam is absolute rubbish. They provide no support for their products at all and their "fixes" are a bit of a joke.