Please check the Frequently Asked Questions below to see if your issue is addressed there. Also try the CMI App Help Pages.
If the FAQ and help pages don’t cover what you need, you can use the support request page to ask for help or report a bug.
Privacy policy: we will never give your personal details to anyone without your consent.
Other bugs and problems
Music keyboard on iPhone – some keys are unresponsive
Sadly, this is an Apple bug that has been around since iOS 7 arrived, and is still not fixed. I’m afraid we can’t do anything about it, although you may find that turning your phone 180 degrees may help.
Here are some more details:
iOS 7 and 8 have a strange feature that interferes with touches on the bottom left corner of the iPhone screen. That means the left three white keys in the on-screen keyboard don’t work properly. To successfully play those keys, you have to move your finger slightly when you touch the key. Apple have not yet responded to a number of developer complaints, nor to our bug reports.
Sometimes my selection fails with a strange sound.
Welcome to 1980. See the info/settings screen for solutions.
Player vs. Pro
Is MIDI input included in the basic Player App?
Yes, live MIDI input is included.You don’t need the Pro upgrade to be able to use the Fairlight App as a MIDI-controlled sample module, playing genuine Fairlight voices. This works for any Core MIDI compatible devices, including MIDI over Bluetooth Low Energy (MIDI BLE).
Just to be clear, you can use a MIDI keyboard to play CMI voices in the $9.99 basic Fairlight Player App.
The Fairlight Apps do not yet have any live MIDI-out capability.
With the Pro upgrade, you gain the ability to import and export MIDI files.
Should I buy The Fairlight App or Fairlight Pro?
If you know that you want the Pro features, you can buy the Fairlight Pro App INSTEAD OF the Fairlight App. The Fairlight Pro App behaves just like the Fairlight app with the Pro upgrade, but has the word “Pro” on its icon. The cost of the Fairlight Pro App is the same as the Fairlight App plus the in-App Pro upgrade.
If you are not sure whether you want the Pro features, you can buy the Fairlight App and upgrade later. This was your only option if you bought version 1.0. The only disadvantage of this approach is that your App will not show “Pro” on its icon even after you upgraded to the Pro features.
Although it is possible to buy BOTH Apps, there is no benefit in doing that– unless you want to show off to your friends that you have two Fairlight Apps, or you want two independent workspaces (each App has its own database and files). Or maybe you are having so much fun with your Fairlight App that you want to pay us twice!
How do I get the Pro version of the App?
In version 1.0.1 and later, there are two versions of the Fairlight App: the upgradeable Fairlight App and the pre-upgraded Fairlight Pro App.
The Fairlight (non-Pro) App can be upgraded to the Pro features. You can tap the upgrade button on many pages. This will allow you to use your iTunes account for an in-App purchase of the Pro upgrade.
If you know that you want the Pro features, you can buy the Fairlight Pro App INSTEAD OF the non-Pro Fairlight App. The Fairlight Pro App behaves just like the Fairlight App with the Pro upgrade, but has the word “Pro” on its icon. The cost of the Pro App is the same as the non-Pro App plus the in-App Pro upgrade.
If you are not sure whether you want the Pro features, you can buy the Fairlight App and upgrade later. The only disadvantage of this approach is that your App will not show “Pro” on its icon even after you upgraded to the Pro features.
Does the Pro upgrade work on all my iOS devices?
Yes, your Pro upgrade is valid for all of your devices. As long as your device is logged in to your iTunes account, and you have already paid for the upgrade, you will not be charged for an in-App upgrade on that device.
The “Check for Upgrades” button in the App’s upgrade screen will check your upgrade status with your iTunes account and will performa an in-App upgrade on that device without charge. But even if you tapped the in-App ‘upgrade’ button, you would not be charged a second time.
This applies to all your devices: for new devices as well as devices where you have deleted the App, you will only ever have to pay for one upgrade as long as you use the in-App upgrade button and you are logged in to the same iTunes account.
NOTE: the upgrade process will only work if your device is connected to the internet. You can test this by loading any web page in Safari.
Can’t upgrade to pro: “In-app purchases are not allowed.”
Do you perhaps have the in-app purchases restricted? When you have restricted in-app purchases the error message “In-app purchases are not allowed” pops up.
To disable this restriction, tap on the Settings icon of your device (not the Fairlight App) -> General -> Restrictions.
This section will prompt for you to enter a passcode or create one if you already haven’t. Once you have entered your passcode, scroll down to “Allowed Content.”
Next to In-App Purchases, if the button says ON, it means in-app purchases are allowed. If it’s off it means it’s restricted.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my device work with Audiobus?
The CMI App will work on any device running iOS 7 or later, and will work with Audiobus with the same restriction. However, if you want to use Audiobus or do heavy performance and composing work, we recommend a minimum of iPod Touch 4G, iPhone 5 or iPad 3. You can use earlier devices, but the composing will be slower and the Audiobus latency will be longer.
Is MIDI input included in the basic Player App?
Yes, live MIDI input is included.You don’t need the Pro upgrade to be able to use the Fairlight App as a MIDI-controlled sample module, playing genuine Fairlight voices. This works for any Core MIDI compatible devices, including MIDI over Bluetooth Low Energy (MIDI BLE).
Just to be clear, you can use a MIDI keyboard to play CMI voices in the $9.99 basic Fairlight Player App.
The Fairlight Apps do not yet have any live MIDI-out capability.
With the Pro upgrade, you gain the ability to import and export MIDI files.
How do I access all 560 CMI IIX voices?
In the top right of Page 2, in the Voices column, is a button “All Voices.” Tap that and you can see all the CMI IIX floppy disks and all their voices. Selecting a voice lets you play it with the on-screen keyboard or from a MIDI keyboard.
My Line 6 Midi Mobilizer doesn’t work
Unfortunately, Apple’s requirement of 64-bit compatibility from February 2015 onwards means devices without 64-bit drivers, like the MIDI Mobilizer and the Akai SynthStation, don’t work directly with the CMI App. However, you can use another app such as MidiBridge to convert MIDI Mobilizer to Core MIDI, which the CMI app can use.
A pop sounds when the App starts playing
Have a look in your device’s Settings > iPod > Sound Check. This may be suddenly changing the volume when you start playing. Turn it off for working with the Fairlight App, but don’t forget to turn to back on again to protect your ears from loud music.
Does the Fairlight App work with AirPlay?
Whoops. On iOS 8 the answer seems to be no. We’re working on it.
The short answer is: yes, but…
If you have selected an AirPlay destination in any other App (e.g. iPod or Movies), that audio destination applies to all Apps, including Fairlight. If the AirPlay destination has become unavailable (e.g. being used by some other device), not only will the Fairlight App audio not be heard anywhere, but it may stop altogether until you select an available destination, such as the device itself.
Airplay also has a long delay (can be many seconds) between the audio being transmitted and being played on the destination. This may be confusing, with audio feedback and Page R audio sounding seconds after the action or pattern is displayed.
Finally, it seems that the “old” Airport Express (firmware version 6.3) does not work as an AirPlay destination for iOS devices, despite being available for selection. The Fairlight App will stop while it is selected.
How much does the App cost?
The price for the basic App in the USA is $9.99. The in-app upgrade to the Pro version (see the feature comparison) is $39.99. The prices in other countries are somewhat comparable, but in all cases the Pro upgrade costs around four times the initial App price.
Does the Pro upgrade work on all my iOS devices?
Yes, your Pro upgrade is valid for all of your devices. As long as your device is logged in to your iTunes account, and you have already paid for the upgrade, you will not be charged for an in-App upgrade on that device.
The “Check for Upgrades” button in the App’s upgrade screen will check your upgrade status with your iTunes account and will performa an in-App upgrade on that device without charge. But even if you tapped the in-App ‘upgrade’ button, you would not be charged a second time.
This applies to all your devices: for new devices as well as devices where you have deleted the App, you will only ever have to pay for one upgrade as long as you use the in-App upgrade button and you are logged in to the same iTunes account.
NOTE: the upgrade process will only work if your device is connected to the internet. You can test this by loading any web page in Safari.
What MIDI devices are supported?
The basic Fairlight App supports Core MIDI, so it can receive MIDI events via WiFi or (for the iPad) many MIDI USB devices via the Apple Camera Connection Kit. See the Live MIDI Help for details.
Any device that sends Core MIDI via MIDI Bluetooth Low Energy (MIDI BLE) will also work.
Some devices that we have tested with the Camera Connection Kit, and we know work, are:
- AKAI LPK25 keyboard
- ESI Midimate II
- M-Audio Oxygen 8
- Cakewalk UM-1G
Note that due to WiFi latency on a busy network, we recommended that for real-time performance or recording you should use a dedicated WiFi network with just your iOS device(s) and the Mac.
The floppy disk noise is too loud.
Yes, it is. In our recording studio, we had to build a separate soundproof area to isolate the CMI from the performers. But, fortunately for you, in the App you can adjust the floppy disk volume in the info/settings screen.
When will [my favourite feature] be available?
If the Fairlight App is missing something you would like, please let us know via the feedback form. We have a list, but your input will help us prioritise it.
Bugs Fixed in 1.5 to 1.6
iOS 6 – First visit to Page R quits App
This was an iOS 6 incompatibility problem, and is fixed in version 1.1.11.
App crashes when editing instrument in Page 3
In release 1.1.11, when you tap the edit button on an instrument voice in Page 3, the App quits. This applies to the Pro and non-Pro Apps, but apparently not to the non-Pro App if it has been upgraded to Pro.
This bug is fixed in release 1.1.12, which we hope will be approved by mid-January.
Sampler Page crashes in version 1.1.12
Sorry about that. A bug crept in during final updates. This is fixed in version 1.1.13, which is now submitted to the App Store for approval.
Metronome is missing
Whoops. Version 1.5 had so many changes, we missed this one. It will be fixed in 1.5.1.
Crash when importing voices
It seems there are some audio files our code can’t handle, and instead of saying so, we just quit the App. Sorry about that– it is already fixed for 1.5.1. The workaround is not to select the offending files in the voice import page, preferably by removing them from your device using iTunes.
Silent Page R
Some people are reporting that the only way to get their new songs to play back is to use the “pattern repeat” mode. We are investigating. In the meantime, your workaround is to go back to Page 2 them open Page R again.
Deleted or changed notes still play unchanged
When you delete a note in Page R, or change its pitch, it still plays unchanged. Whoops!
There are three possible workarounds:
– play in pattern repeat mode (the green arrow in the button)
– go to page 2, select a different song, go to Page R, back to Page 2, select your song again, then Page R. That will clear and reload all the notes.
– use the clear command to clear the track then replace the notes you want.
This bug is fixed in release 1.5.2.
New notes don’t play in iOS 5 devices
In iOS 5 devices, new notes are recorded with a volume of 9, which is greater than the maximum CMI volume of 8. In iOS 6 these notes play at 8, but in iOS 5 devices they are rejected by Core Audio.
There are two possible workarounds:
– edit every new note;
– use an external music keyboard to record notes.
This bug is fixed in release 1.5.3.
iPad top panel goes black
This is a very rare and hard to catch bug. If it happens to you, we’d really like to hear about it. Please tell us your iOS version, your iPad version, what you were doing when it happened, and what other Apps were running at the time.
We believe that this is caused by running out of memory. If you don’t mind helping us track down the problem, or you just want to fix it right now, please do the following:
– Tap your home button. Then double-tap it.
– Hold an App in the bottom row, tap the (-) button for all those Apps you think might use a lot of memory, especially 3D games and heavy-duty audio processing Apps.
– Launch the CMI App again, and see if that removes or reduces the problem.
– If you feel like being a detective, launch your other apps one by one and see which one causes or worsens the problem– and let us know!
Addendum: We believe that we have fixed this in release 1.6. Please tell us if it still happens!
iOS 7 Audio Bugs
Sadly, the release version of iOS 7 has some new audio bugs that were not in the beta versions. This has broken the CMI Apps in iOS 7. The Audiobus guys are saying that serious musicians should NOT upgrade to iOS 7 yet because it has too many audio bugs.
The symptoms in release 1.5.4 and earlier are that most of the voices are silent, and there is an error trying to connect to Audiobus.
CMI release 1.5.5 has fixes for these bugs, and is in the App Store waiting for approval.
In the meantime, enjoy the “LOCUST” sample song– it just happens to have voices that all work in iOS 7.
Crash on iOS 5
Unfortunately, the extensive changes needed for iOS 7 compatibility caused a problem with iOS 5, where the App crashes when you select pages. This has been fixed in Pro version 1.5.6 and non-Pro version 1.5.7.
Page 3 Crash in 1.5.7 and 1.5.8
Sorry, in our rush to fix the iOS 5 crash we deployed a version that wasn’t ready. It crashes when you select Page 3. Instruments work but cannot be edited. We have already submitted a new version that fixes the problem. It should be approved by about the 18th.
Stuck keys in on-screen keyboard
Releases from 1.5.6 to 1.5.9 have a bug where keys sometimes get stuck in the on-screen keyboard. You have to quit the App to clear the keys.
This is already fixed for the next release. In the meantime, the workaround is to tap the octave selector rather tan drag it, so that the C key is always to the left.
Green screen in sampler page on iPad
Yet another unexpected consequence of the changes we made for iOS 7 compatibility. Unfortunately, this makes the sampler unusable and there is no workaround. It is fixed in 1.5.10, which should be available by the end of October.
Crash when deleting a pattern
When you delete a pattern in the patterns screen by sliding sideways, then return to Page R, the app crashes. This will be fixed in 1.5.12, but in the meantime avoid deleting patterns. You can re-use patterns by using the clear button to clear all tracks in the pattern.
Bugs fixed in 1.1.8 to 1.1.11
Stuck notes with Alesis IO Dock MIDI
Some customers are reporting stuck notes and missed notes when using an external MIDI keyboard through the Alesis IO Dock. Now that we have an IO Dock for testing, we also see this problem, not just in the Fairlight App but in other MIDI Apps as well. It seems that this is both an IO Dock problem and a problem with the Fairlight App.
Note that the problem is very bad in IO Dock firmware version 1.0, somewhat improved in 1.05 and (if you have Fairlight App 1.1.9) fixed in 1.07. You can find the latest Alesis firmware at http://www.alesis.com/iodock under Docs and Downloads.
In Fairlight App version 1.1.8 the problem will still occur occasionally, but is completely fixed in 1.1.9 with the latest IO Dock firmware.
iOS 5 – Akai SynthStation not working
Unfortunately, the Synthstation API software is incompatible with iOS 5. Akai have just released a new version compatible with iOS 5, but too late to be included in Fairlight App 1.1.7. It is fixed in 1.1.8, which was submitted to the App Store on 13th of November 2011.
iOS 5 – App quits when instrument first selected
If you launch the App and then select an instrument, it will quit.
The workaround is to select a song first, then select an instrument.
Imported songs don’t play
When imported, a song displays all the notes, but plays silently.
This bug is fixed for release 1.5.11, coming soon.
Audiobus doesn’t work
Unfortunately, we misconfigured Audiobus in the 1.6 release of the non-Pro version of the CMI App when submitting it to the App Store. This is fixed in 1.6.1, which should be released in the last week of September.
My App quits as soon as it launches
This can happen if you have Apps in the background using all the memory. 3D games are particularly memory-hungry. Try quitting other Apps:
(before iOS 7) Tap home, double-tap home, tap and hold an App in the bottom row, tap the (-) button for those you want to quit.
(iOS 7) Double-tap home then slide the App upwards to quit it.
If that doesn’t work, please send your crash logs, looking for files that start with Vogel CMI_:
http://www.chromium.org/developers/how-tos/retrieving-crash-reports-on-ios
Happily, this problem happens much less often on newer devices and on iOS 6 and 7.
Bugs fixed in 1.1.6 and 1.1.7
iOS 5 – iPad crashes
Sorry, this didn’t happen in the iOS 5 betas. We are investigating and will release a fix ASAP. In the meantime, if you have an iPad, you might want to consider not upgrading to iOS 5 yet…
iOS 5 – voice preview does not play
Sorry, this didn’t happen in the iOS 5 betas. We are investigating and will release a fix ASAP.
Page R repeats one pattern
When you select a pattern (not a step) in the pattern/step selection screen, Page R goes into pattern-repeat mode as expected. However, tapping the repeat mode button to continue playing does not work.
The workaround for now is to keep tapping the repeat mode button to cycle through pattern repeat mode again. Page R will now proceed to the next step.
IMPORTANT: 1.1.6 crashes on iOS 4.x
Unfortunately, a last-minute bug addition got past our testing process, and so version 1.1.6 crashes in any version of iOS before 5.0.
This is fixed in version 1.1.7, which should be out in a week or so, but in the meantime there are two possible solutions to this problem if you are running iOS 4.x:
- Don’t update to 1.1.6. Wait for 1.1.7 to be released
- Update to iOS 5. Apple are strongly encouraging all customers to update to iOS 5.
Bugs fixed in 1.1.5
IMPORTANT: export your sampled voices
Version 1.1, in some circumstances, can lose track of the audio data for sampled voices. A workaround for this: after you have set the trim and loop points for a voice you just sampled, export it (button on bottom right of the voice page). Then re-import it in Page 2. After checking that the imported voice is as you expect it, delete the original voice in Page 2.
If you already have a sampled voice with misplaced data (unfortunately the symptom of this is a crash when you try to view it), please use the support form and we will help you fix it.
There is one other case in 1.1.1 that can be worse: if you cancel from the sampler page after sampling a voice, all of your voice data will be deleted and cannot be recovered. So please don’t cancel if you have tapped the record button, and always export your voices.
Other bugs in 1.1
- Page 2 new song does not display the new song
- Oscilloscope / waterfall breaks up on loud sounds
- Page 3 instrument voice adjustments sometimes slow
- Voice waveform display is incorrect at low amplitude in the Retina display
Crash when selecting a sampled voice
If you have a sampled voice with misplaced audio data (see the FAQ about exporting sampled voices), it will crash when you try to view it. Either delete the voice (losing the sample), or if you want to recover it, please use the support form and we will help you fix it.
I have some bug that comes and goes
It seems that for 0.1% of customers, the song database gets corrupted for some reason. If you have some problem, please try the following remedies, only going as far as is necessary to fix the problem:
– quit and restart your App (tap home, double-tap home, tap and hold Fairlight in the bottom row, tap the (-) button)
– export your song, then delete it, then re-import it from the export file
– export all your songs, instruments and voices, copy the export files from iTunes to somewhere safe, then delete the app from your device and reinstall from iTunes, then re-import your files.
If all that fails, please submit a bug report in the feedback page, and include your crash logs (see instructions here).
Bugs fixed in 1.1
My iPad has no sound
Some customers have reported this problem, and have fixed it like this:
"It was the new OS’s change of the side switch being a landscape lock or mute. Changed it BACK to a mute, changed it to full volume (even though it was working with every other app) and then set it back to landscape lock and it brought the sound back."
Another possible cause is AirPlay. If you have selected AirPlay as a destination in another App (e.g. iPod or Movies), that audio destination applies to all Apps. If the AirPlay destination has become unavailable (e.g. being used by some other device), not only will the Fairlight App audio not be heard anywhere, but it may stop altogether until you select an available destination, such as the device itself.
Bugs fixed in 1.0.1
iPad – Page 2 song selection problems
If you change the song in Page 2, then tap the [Page R] button below the list of songs, your selected song does not load.
Workaround: after selecting a song, use the [Page R] button at the top of the screen.
This is fixed in 1.0.1, which is not yet released.
My iPad shows a black screen at the top sometimes
This intermittent bug has appeared for a couple of customers, and we are tracking down the cause. It seems to be caused by memory contention with other Apps.
If it does happen to you, a workaround is to quit the App: First tap the home button to show the apps, then double-tap the home button. Tap and hold the Fairlight icon in the bottom bar, then tap the red (-) button. Then relaunch the app and it will run.
If it keeps happening, quit other Apps, especially those that use a lot of memory, like 3D games.
We would really appreciate some help in tracking down this elusive bug. If it happens, please use the support form to tell us:
- What are the exact steps needed to make it happen?
- If it happened when tapping a navigation button at the top, which button was it? Page 1? Page 2? Page 3? etc…
- Does it happen often or rarely?
- Do you have a lot of other apps running? If so try quitting all the apps you don’t need and see if that helps
Community
If you want to send feedback, report a bug or submit a feature request, please use the feedback form.
If you want to discuss your experiences with the CMI App, read the threads and/or leave your own comment on the Apps Overview page.
For a discussion on using the CMI App, read the threads and/or leave your own comment below.
To see all comments on this web site, you can bookmark the Comments RSS Feed.
Everything was going smooth at the beginning.Suddenly Page R plays only the currently selected pattern even though i do NOT have any of the 2 loop modes selected!Am i doing something wrong?
This will happen if you select a pattern that is not attached to a step. But if that is not the problem, try selecting a different song then reselecting this song. If that fails, try quitting and restarting the App– see the FAQ for how to do this if you don’t know how to quit an app.
When is coming the version 1.1?
Really soon. The few issues raised by the beta testing are being addressed, and it will be submitted to the App Store for approval when that is done.
…version 1.1… The timing in Page R… Any improvment for more “rock solid” sequenses..?
Tip.. I think “Garage Band” use some sort of clever “hidden” rendering for rock solid timing overall…
Jesper, yes the timing engine is considerably improved in version 1.1. We have considered rendering each pattern to audio, but that will have to wait for a much later version when we’ll combine it with audio copy and paste.
Nice!!
…but don’t wait toooo looong for audio copy and paste 🙂
I was wondering whether the coming update will allow the changing of time signatures and the varying of sample attacks. Thanks.
Mike, version 1.1 has voice sampling and adjustable attack, but does not have variable time signatures.
Version 1.1 has variable voice attack, but time signatures other than 4/4 are not yet implemented. But 1.1 does have voice sampling!
Well, sort of like the old song, I guess that one out of two ain’t bad. Variable attack will at least make the app much more useful as a sound source. Hopefully the time signature issue will be dealt with at a later time. Thanks.
Add my vote for page 4 and 6.
Just upgraded to Pro!
The app crashes a lot on editing in Page R, a shame, hope you guys fix it soon, awesome machine 🙂
Version 1.1, with lots of bug fixes, is in beta test now.
Does it send or receive Midi clock?
Sorry, I didn’t realise my reply to this question was private. No, the App does not yet respond to MIDI clock.
I am interested in buying but I cannot spend 10 bucks on an app no matter how legendary, that will not export my music. I’m affraid that spending 50 bucks for this priviledge is out of the question.
I love the app so far guys. I love all its clicks and quirks. Not so sure about the “simulation ” aspects of the software such as disk noise and voltage settings, but educational none the less.
All I need now is a 8 analogue output option for my iPhone 😉
What is the possibility of developing Page 6?
Dave, you can turn down the noises in the settings. Page 6 is a popular feature request. I’ve added your vote.
I don’t know whether it’s it’s my bad luck, but I’ve found it impossible to get the Pro app to work properly with a midi device. I just bought a little Akai 25 keyboard, which I’d heard worked with the camera connection kit. And it does work with the Fairlight app, but any time I play more than 4 notes at a time, one of the notes starts to sustain indefinitely. Is this a known issue? Thanks
Same problem, stuck notes, using midi over WIFI (direct! no router)….
Unfortunately, and particularly with iPad music apps, it seems that software actually working has become merely icing on the cake. I found it impossible to get this app to work over wifi, and had only slightly better luck with the camera connection kit. Therefore, when you add the inability to change pattern key signatures, the Farlight app has become a fun little toy.
Is there a way to reset the app so I can show someone else the dangers of setting it to the wrong voltage? 🙂
Thanks,
-Bryan
Bryan, just quit the App. Tap home, double-tap home, tap and hold any icon in the bottom row, tap the (-) on the Fairlight App.
Will there be an update in the future with the ability to draw waveforms and harmonic profiles like the original CMI
Thanks again
Kirk, that would be Page 4 and Page 6. Your vote has been added.
Hi Great app just like to know if you will you be posting a PDF users manual for the full version? The help is very informative on the Touch, but a full manual to reference against with out leaving the screen you are on would be a great help.
Kirk, we won’t be publishing a PDF because the help page content changes from time to time, and these updates are shown on your device automatically. But you can view the latest help pages in any web browser.
Loving the app- I’m using the player version with the Akai synthstation 25 and I was wondering was there a way I could switch off velocity sensitivity? I have very little MIDI experience so apologies if there is some blatantly obvious solution to this!
Sorry, there’s no way to disable velocity sensitivity.
Just a little suggestion…
I don’t know if this was possible with the original machine, but it would be great if it were possible to change the number of steps in a pattern.
Also, I’ve been having trouble getting midi over wifi to work even after reading some help pages. Is this normally a difficult task? Or is it a better idea to get the iPad camera connection kit (to avoid latency issues, etc.)?
Mike, I’ve added your vote for time signatures other than 4/4, like the original CMI.
Wifi latency appears to be a serious problem on a busy WiFi network, especially if you have Bluetooth turned on. It can be pretty much solved by using a dedicated WiFi network with only your computer and device using that network.
However, as you guessed, the lowest latency of all is using direct USB interface via the CCK.
Thanks again for your quick response.
I would just like to add that it would be great if your company offered a Fairlight sound libraries sample player for the Mac. I mean just the sounds (no sequencer) with something like a simple Kontakt Player-like interface with modest sound editing features. I don’t know whether something like this would compete too much with the actual instrument you’re releasing, but perhaps it would work as a simple sample player. In any case, this is just a humble suggestion. Thanks.
Mike, I’ve added your vote to the Mac App feature request.
Love the app, upgraded it from Player for iPhone to Pro. Two problems though, and you may have an answer for that.
1. Stuck in play mode as the app only repeats a pattern instead of playing the whole song, when I am on the R page, tried all 3 different play modes at the center upper button. What is wrong here?
2. Not able to upload own sounds, although they are AIF, do they need to have .AIFF as an extension or does AIF work as well?
Thanks, and: The app just made a boy dream come true. So happy to have this on my phone, really…
Harald
1. Try quitting the app using the task bar, see the FAQ.
2. Change the extension to AIFF.
I’m glad you’re enjoying it!
I love the app. Does the fairlight have any audio recording if i wanted to sample something straight from the mic?
Ronald, not yet. I’ll add your vote for it.
Either my iPad has gone bad or after just buying this app it shuts down immediately after opening. This is a first. No other apps are shit like this? For a synth so well known I didn’t expect this. Maybe someone will develop a fender Rhodes or an EMS VSC3, that will crap out upon first use. I sincerely apologize hopefully it’s either operator error or something else’? I saw a bunch of bad posts on iTunes talking about player or pro versions of it or something. I don’t know why, but the app just won’t fire up? Until the $9.99 version works I won’t even consider spending more. Like I said I apoligize just work already.
Sorry you are having problems. This one happens sometimes when there are a lot of memory-intensive apps running in the background. 3D games are especially bad for this. Try quitting any apps you don’t need right now: double tap the home button, press and hold an app in the row that pops up, then tap the (-) button on the apps you want to quit.
Hi Thomas
Just an opinion,
I think the Fairlight Pro app should be a couple of dollars cheaper for the good of everyone.
(P.S. Fairlight RULES!!!)
I finally did upgrade to the pro app and find it to be fun and very interesting. I’ve also just been reading about the Akai Synthstation 49 that seems to be the perfect companion to the iPad/Fairlight app. I just wanted to know if the app is already compatible with this larger Akai controller.
P. S. I think the app is worth it for the tin whistle sound alone. Thanks.
Mike, I’m glad you’re enjoying the Fairlight App.
I can’t see any reason why the Synthstation 49 wouldn’t work– it is Core MIDI compatible (which our App supports) and also connects via the AkaiConnect API, which our App also supports. But we have not yet got hold of one for testing.
I am just about ready to upgrade to the pro version. Just 1 questions. Do you think that the headphone output of the iPad 2 will provide reasonably professional audio when recording to a DAW?
Also, I wonder why some of the users who like the app (and clearly some do) don’t post positive reviews to the iTunes store. It seems like the earlier negative reviews have merely been replaced by another negative one.
Mike, the headphone output is 44.1 KHz 16 bit. You can test that in the Player version– the output quality is the same as the Pro version.
Maybe the people who like the App are too busy playing with it to write reviews? Also, the reviews are only available in the reviewer’s region. So please, those who like the app: go to the App Store and rate it and review it!
Thanks for replying so quickly. I’m going to upgrade now. I think it will be interesting to compose with the app, record what I’ve done onto a DAW track, and then layer parts on top of it. Thanks again.
Also consider that you can only review the Pro version if you bought it directly.
If you used the in-app purchase to upgrade, you have to review the Player app.
If not available, it would be nice for there to be sound design options on a per-patch basis. For example, if I was to play a vocal sound in the app, it would be great to edit filters, wave shapes (additive synthesis), envelopes, etc. If it is available, well, I had no idea. =)
It seems logical for there to be sound sculpting capabilities if you can view the sound itself from different planes by tilting the iPad. I wouldn’t mind if this were even part of a third version for the app… after player and pro, comes “studio” or “suite.”
Cam, that would be Page 4, Page 5 and Page 6. You’re not alone in asking for those features. I’ve added your vote.
Without audio copy and paste, I assume that I would have to use the headphone out port to record audio from the Fairlight app into my workstation. Is that correct? Thanks.
Yes, that’s correct. Audio copy and paste is a fairly popular feature request, as is audio file export.
Dear Thomas,
Thanks again for that bit of help. I look forward to implementing a Fairlight in my studio. =)
The great “lure” for me is the sound heard on the Art of Noise’s “Moments in Love.” That’s my entry sound… all other Fairlight-related sonic wealth is a great complement.
… hmm, the app does in fact have that sound, right? =)
Cheers,
Cam.
Cam, I know that the CMI IIX library contains many voices used by Art of Noise, but I don’t know the answer to your question. Can anybody out there help?
Thanks Thomas. Let’s see if someone knows the answer. My friend told me the patch could be called something like FairVox. Anyway, cheers and best of luck to you and the rest of the company. I’m about to have drink… illtoast to the Fairlight!
Best regards,
Cam.
The “Moments on Love”sound you seek is called “SARARR” and it can be found on Disc #22 “Humans 1”.
A bout The Art Of Noise sounds
you can found some goods sound they useds .
Especialy the SARRAR sound used in the greatest song ever ‘Moment In Love’.
And other sound like PingPong used in ‘Eye Of A Needle’ .But remember that AON make an huge work to build here own samples.
And a lote of here sounds are not on the original CMI libs.
But thas App whorst it anyway because all the sounds give the AON sounds like.!
Hello,
Welcome back to synthesis!
I do not own an ipad but would buy one for this app. Now, if I either connect it to my MacBook pro by USB or wifi, only MIDI will be transmitted, correct? And to get audio to my laptop or interface, I assume that I need to connect the headphone or whatever audio output on the ipad to the interface, right?
Correct. The Fairlight App uses Core MIDI, which can connect via USB (with the Camera Connection Kit) or via WiFi. See the “MIDI live input” help page for details.
Yes, at the moment the headphone or dock audio are the only way to get audio out. There have been a number of requests for audio file export and/or audio copy and paste. We are currently prioritising future modules.
Thanks Thomas. One more thing…
Do you think the headphone/built-in audio out on the iPad does the app justice? Either way, is it possible to connect and install an audio interface with MIDI in/out as well to the iPad? If the standard audio out on the iPad is no good, I even thought of maybe connecting one of those Allen & Heath mixers with MIDI that runs on CoreMIDI. Nevertheless, the out should do the job, right?
Again, thanks. =)
Cam, when you send the iPad or iPhone headphone or dock line out through a good amp and speakers, it sounds absolutely awesome. I don’t think you’re going to get much better than that using digital data transmission.
Note that MIDI sends commands, not audio data. You can’t use Core MIDI to send the audio. But there’s no need– the analogue output is plenty good enough.
Re: Fairlight Update and Pro App
« Reply #4 on: Today at 03:03:15 AM »
Quote Modify Remove
First thanks for the reply but…
I bouth the app the next week and i upgrad it to pro.
Friday i load the update at the AppStore then my version became a player.
What can i do?
See the FAQ “I Upgraded to Pro, but the icon says Player.” You still have your Pro features.
For clarity, I’ve removed the long series of exchanges while debugging this problem. It turned out that Franck’s WiFi was not working. It’s still not clear why the App forgot that it was upgraded, but the Fairlight App needs a working internet connection to check for upgrades.
Franck was able to restore his Pro upgrade without charge.
Should an in-app Pro upgrade transfer between devices? I upgraded on my iPad but after syncing my iPhone 3GS is still non-Pro.
See the FAQ “Does the Pro upgrade work on all my iOS devices?” The answer is yes. Use the check for upgrades button.
I recently browsed Apple’s App store and seen that the Fairlight App as been updated and that the Pro version has been now released as a separate App instead of having to do the In-App upgrade. I already have the Pro update which I updated via the In-App upgrade process for an extra £23.99 but I would like the actual separate Pro version which saves me having to rely on an Internet connection every time I reinstall the App to get the Pro version. However, I don’t want to spend extra £29.99 just to get the separate app version when I have already paid for the Pro. is there any way to get the Pro separate app as a free update or am I stuck with having to rely on an Internet connection every time I reinstall?
Arthur, unfortunately the App Store does not have any mechanism to transfer purchases from one App to another. If you have deleted the basic App from your device, you will need an internet connection to check in to the App Store to verify that you have already upgraded.
But I’m curious: why would you want to delete and reinstall the App?
Franke Newbie is actually myself Arthur Crichton lol. [Now fixed – editor.] Anyway, the reason is that if there was any trouble with my iPad and I had to restore I would have to rely on an internet connection every time I wanted the Pro version where anyone who has spent the same money as me on the seperate Pro app has the benefit of not having to rely on an internet connection every time he/she wants the Pro app reinstalled.
Arthur, I’m sorry you have been a little left behind. But here’s another way to think about it: if you ignore the Pro version of the App, you are no worse off than you were, and you have a new version with a few bug fixes and performance improvements.
I hope that if you ever have a problem with your iPad, an internet connection is near.
No problem then even though I find it a bit inconvenient. BTW it looks like my original enquiry has been credited to franc newbie when in fact it was myself (Artmuzz) who wrote it. I think Mr Vogal made a mistake there lol. [No, it was my mistake, transcribing some emails sent to admin instead of support. Now fixed – Thomas]
Hi Thomas, I know it’s a quibble, but I really dont like the new icon. i paid for the pro upgrade and would like the pro icon. Also, is it tru then that those who get the pro version now don’t have to pay for the basic app? Feels a bit like a double loss. Any thoughts?
Depreys, it’s a shame that early adopters like you get stuck with the “Player” icon, but after all the complaints from people who bought the $10 app without reading the description, we decided we had to spell it out in the icon, and add a pre-upgraded Pro version just to make it clear.
As it says in the FAQ page: Unfortunately Apple won’t let us change the icon for an App when we do an in-app upgrade. Once you pay for the Pro upgrade, you have all the Pro features. The only difference between the Player App upgraded to Pro, and the Pro App, is the word “Player” or “Pro” on the icon.
And no, the people who buy the Pro app don’t get the basic App for free. The cost of the Pro App is the same as the cost of the Player App plus the Pro upgrade.
Hi Thomas, thanks for the promt reply. It really is remarkable how quickly you respond. Here’s he rub: I am one of those customenrs of the app who have always dreamed of owning the real thing. As a result, I would probably buy just about any additional features you released. In other words, people like me are a much more important customer to keep happy than occasional, griping, player only purchasers. I know it seems petty, but the fact that I might spend lots more money on upgades but be stuck with a player icon is a big deal simply becuase it feels ‘less than’ somehow. And for some of us this app is as close as we will get, and we want it to be a bit special. God this is petty 🙂 but all I am saying is that it is the people who will be happy to pay lots more money to your company are those who are worth keeping happy as future revenue streams when the initial interest runs out, and in a small but significant way, the icon thing annoys me. Anyway, maybe you will find a way round it in the end to keep us, the greater revenue stream, happy.
Depreys, thanks for the feedback. Because the development of new features will be funded by sales, it would be in your interest for us to sell as many Apps as possible. Since more people buy the Player App than the Pro App or Pro upgrade, Player sales help you. We believe that sales of both were suffering because of the bad reviews caused by lack of understanding of the in-App upgrade process. It’s too soon to tell if the separate Pro App has resolved the problem, and to what extent the word “Player” on the icon contributes to this. Perhaps in a future release we can remove the word “Player” from the non-Pro App if the separate Pro App is enough of a message.
The bottom line is that we are trying to keep all of our customers happy, and we hope to find ways that we can do that.
In the meantime, there is only one way for you to get the Fairlight App without the “Player” word on it: buy the Pro App. I know you are keen, but I doubt you would be that keen.
Thanks, Thomas. And yes, not quite that keen! Returning the icon / making it not say player would work.
I should read things more carefully before I post. Correct email and website are included this time!
I read through all the request, but I don’t believe anyone mentioned wavform interpolation. I remember the demo at Intermedia in Boston in 1980 (?) and that was one of the features I thought was most powerful, the ability to change one sound seamlessly to another. Is there any chance that might be added in the future? (or is it already there and I’m too thick to find it?)
Jeff, that is one of the functions in Page 6 Waveform Drawing, which is not yet implemented. I’ll add your vote to this feature request.
Thanks. Just so you know I’m really on-board (and to make my vote count just a little more), I upgraded to Pro.
Oh one more thing… Any interest/possibility in a desktop version for OS X, for sale via the Mac App Store?
The CoreAudio work should port over pretty easily, but you might need to reimplement the UI.
Jonathan, again you are exactly right. But sadly, the user interface is 2/3 of the work, so we are talking about a serious development project. But that doesn’t mean it won’t happen! We are still carefully watching the sales of the App to help indicate if there would be enough interest. Again, your vote for this has been added.
Understood. Well, if it ever comes up I’d be glad to assist, if you wouldn’t mind working with a Mac developer in Boston.
Really enjoying the app, especially since it’s unlikely I’ll ever be able to own a real CMI.
My only major request is that it would be great if you added audio file output for compositions. It’d be fine with me if that meant playing through and dumping the audio to a file. It’d be even better if it could write each voice to an individual file, even if that meant playing through 8 times.
Waveform editing would be nice, of course, but I can’t say I know what I’m missing, having never used the original.
Thanks!
Jonathan, thanks for your feedback. Given the architecture of the CMI, playing through to disk is exactly how we would export. I’ve added your vote to that feature request.
I bought the original light version of Fairlight and upgraded it to the Pro version in-app. I have just installed the update to version 1.0.1 and my app now shows the light (player) version icon… How do I get the pro version?
Simon, if you bought the in-app upgrade, you already have all the Pro features. Here is some information from the FAQ page:
Unfortunately Apple won’t let us change the icon for an App depending on the in-app upgrades. If you have previously upgraded to the Pro features, you still have them. Only the icon has changed.
If you know that you want the Pro features, you can buy the Pro version of the Fairlight App INSTEAD OF the Player App. The Pro App behaves just like the Player app with the Pro upgrade, but has the word “Pro” on its icon. The cost of the Pro App is the same as the Player App plus the in-App Pro upgrade.
If you are not sure whether you want the Pro features, you can buy the Player App and upgrade later. The only disadvantage of this approach is that your App will still show “Player” on its icon even after you upgraded to the Pro features.
Although it is possible to buy BOTH Apps, there is no benefit in doing that– unless you want to show off to your friends that you have two Fairlight Apps, or you want two independent workspaces (each App has its own database and files). Or maybe you are having so much fun with your Fairlight App that you want to pay us twice!
Hello,
I must admit that I’m amused after using this app for a little while. Honestly, while the iPad is a great reading/gaming device, in my humble opinion it’s a toy where music is concerned. Most of us musicians have laptops for real music making, and we use sequencers and (among other things) wonderful sample playing software. I don’t understand why people are trying to force the Fairlight app and iPad into being true/serious music making tools. In particular, the only thing you can do with the $10 app is have fun listening to the example songs and sounds. Without looping, most of the sounds are useless for music making anyway. And I’m not sure it’s worthwhile paying $50 to have a toy that’s a little more fun.
While I really respect the Fairlight legacy and think it’s interesting that the company is releasing a modern iteration of the legendary instrument, I don’t feel that the iPad app is much more than a look at days gone by.
Lastly, I really don’t think it’s fair to ask people to pay $50 dollars for an app, and then express that new features will only be added if enough people buy the app. How are the first buyers supposed to feel. Just my opinion.
Mike, you are not the only one to be disappointed at the lack of loop editing in the basic version. Well, we listen to our customers, and in update 1.0.1 (in review now), loop editing is available. 1.0.1 also fixes the bug stopping the basic App from editing the default instrument. I think that addresses your first paragraph above, making it a useful instrument, with one huge extra: the basic App is a MIDI-controlled sample player with your choice of up to 8 voices.
As for sales funding development, that is commercial reality. Fairlight is a commercial organisation, not a charity, and the App project can’t continue if it runs at a loss. As for how the early adopters feel– I think they already have got their money’s worth, and will be hoping the App sells well so that they can get some more features.
Fair enough. And perhaps I need to think more about actually using the iPad and this app in a midi set up, as I do really like the way the Fairlight app sounds (and I look forward to looping). And I suppose I will upgrade to the pro version since $50 is not that much to pay for a piece of history and at least a portable music sketch pad. Thanks.
To Mike and all those waiting patiently, 1.0.1 is now released, with these changes:
– Player App without Pro upgrade can now:
— edit loop settings of Fairlight voices
— edit the default instrument (as intended – this was a bug)
– Improvement in Page R note drawing speed
– Some minor improvements to MIDI status display
– New option to disable sleeping
– Extra, more obvious, “All voices” button on Page 2
– “Player” added to the icon
– (Pro only) Able to export personal voices as .VCX (CMI extended) voice files
– (Pro only) Able to import .VC and .VCX CMI voice files
BUG FIXES
– MIDI pitch bend fixed in instrument page and Page R
– In-app feature matrix MIDI fixed
– iPad occasional green-dot-on-black-screen fixed
– corrections to some voice info
– Fix playback stopping mid-note when using Page R onscreen keyboard
Well, i don’t agree about that. I’m a professional producer, 20 years working and living doing this, and, let me tell you, it really woth it, the workflow with the iPad is very enjoyable, the time that it takes to build up the program take it to R page, do the patterns and finally the song gives me a clearer view of all the song and helps me to find or modifie the song arrangements.
And always find myself happy by Connecting the mini plug to my protools interfaces because what fairlight pro app gives to my proyects its what usually makes me feel the mix complete. I’m using it everywhere and every time. 🙂
Thanks Fairlight people, update us ASAP!!!
Hello Thomas,
I’ve seen you asking people for requests so I decided to drop a list in order of importance:
1 – Emulation of the analog I/O path of the CMI IIx, especially the A/D conversion, I want at least to mimic that 8 bit sound on my own samples,
it could be an option when importing new samples to pre process the A/D emulation, than it won’t use CPU power after importing
2 – MIDI clock sync for Page R, with pattern selection by MIDI
3 – Audio copy/paste or export of patterns, where I can select wich pattern and voice I want to copy or export
4 – Page 6, let us draw waveforms
5 – Page 4, envelopes
6 – Performance mode with no fancy disk loading stuff, no keyboard on screen, straight to the point
7 – Allow 2 of the 8 voices in Page R to be polyphonic, let’s say you could make voices 7 and 8 have 4 voices of polyphony each, making it avaliable for MIDI control as well
8 – Song export in WAV format
That’s it, I hope that you guys are looking forward to make the Fairlight App a killer, IMHO that’s what it takes, you could charge me $ 100,00 for this…
Thanks for listening…
Bill, thanks for the comprehensive list. We’ll add them to the feature request list.
A comment on number 7: the user interface of Page R wouldn’t make much sense if any track was polyphonic. The Fairlight App already has polyphony if you give the same voice to more than one track, and give them the same MIDI channel. And you need the equivalent of a channel card for each simultaneously playing voice, so what you are really asking for is more voices in the instrument, and a corresponding number of tracks in Page R. The only thing stopping us from doing that is that it requires proportionally more CPU, which means that a 16-channel CMI App would really only work on an iPad, or maybe just barely on an iPhone 4. But it’s certainly in the list!
One last quibble is that the CMI IIX .IN and .RS file formats that we use only have space for 8 voices. We’d have to support the CMI III file format, which opens a huge can of worms.
I see, so there’s a workaround for polyphony within the sequencer, like using 3 or 4 voices to create chords, that’s great, anyways if there where 12 voices avaliable it would be super.
About the app running on iPhones and iPods I have to say that it’s not the best strategy to keep leveling the App resources to thouse devices, come on guys your history tells me that you guys are pros, so make it a pro app for the iPad and if you believe that there’s a market on the slower devices make a version for them, KORG did it with the iElectribe and the iMS-20 Apps and I’m prety sure they are doing well.
To open the architecture of the Fairlight App to run CMI III files would be more than welcome, the library could grow a lot, you could even sell packages of CMI III voices,
anyways I do like the 8 bit sound of the CMI IIx better and don’t want to loose it, but as I said before there could be an option when importing samples, do you want it 16 bit regular or 8 bit lofi?
Sory to bug you Thomas, I do speak a lot, believe me, I wouldn’t be speaking that much if I had no fate in you guys, go Fairlight go!!!
Hi,
First, you are right – tha fact that the sound aren’t resamples is kind of cool – like i said – i like the style behind the Cmi and the old fashioned sounds.
I use more than one “App” when i’m producing on the iOS and yes, i really “produce” on it, use my ipod or ipad as a standalone workstation – every App have it’s unique features, for instance i use “ielectibe” to program a drumloop, than export it to nanostudio as single loops (Basedrum, Snaredrum…) in Nanostudio, i do the baseline and some synth, than i export it as Loops in beatmaker 2, Chop them, and use the FX like the compressor ect. to do the Mix and arange all loops..
The only “special features” in fairchild i would pay more money for,
are Page 4 the HARMONIC ENVELOPES, Page 5 WAVEFORM GENERATION and Page 6 the WAVEFORM DRAWING… and, of couse, like in evey good iOS Music app – the Sonoma Pasteboard support – as a user you NEED the possibility to copy your content into other music apps..
Yes – do that and you will be surprised, how many people will pay 30-40 bucks for it 😉
Thanks, Kamu. Your requests for features have been added. Others have also asked for pages 4, 5 and 6.
We could certainly add copy/paste support, but by the nature of the CMI, audio copy would be limited to one or more tracks of one or more patterns in Page R (or one of your own voices), and paste would be limited to creating new voices.
Hi.
Fairlight is for me a very stylish app, beacause of some missing features, it is useless.
The fact, that i have a “8” Track Seqencer, witch arent even Poly, and noFX, no recording feature, makes me gettin angry about spendin 7 euro for it.
you have to see the big picture – on the ios you have programms like Nanostudio, or Beatmaker 2, which have alot more features and are much more userfriendly than Fairlight, and all that for a MUCH lower price…
I don’t wanna say, that Fairlight is a bad app – i could be – if you just let the “standard version” be an usable app.
you tell us that you will implement more features in the future, but “it will depend on whether the App sales, that are enough to fund the development”… but you will not have much sales, if you want the user to pay 40 EUROS for less things that i would get for only 6 Euros from other apps…
I hope you understand me as a Music Producer.
Have luck and fun finalizing your app 😉
The Fairlight App can have up to 8 voice polyphony in the Page R Sequencer. Have a look at the Page R help pages. But like the original CMI IIX, the total number of channel cards (voice players) is 8.
Version 1.0 has a bug where you can’t edit the default instrument. That is fixed in version 1.0.1, which was submitted for approval a while ago and should be available very soon.
Keep in mind that the basic version of the App includes over 560 genuine CMI voices. You can pay $100 for a CD of many fewer “CMI” sounds, which are resampled and not the genuine, original Fairlight CMI sounds– never mind the copyright. $10 for all of those seems like a good deal to me.
Perhaps you would like to spell out exactly how you would like to use the App, so we can see what is missing for you?
Hi there,
I just bought the player version for my iPad and would like to ask some questions before going PRO:
1 – I tried MIDI over WIFI and it works for only 1 channel, if I send 1 note at the same time to 2 diferent MIDI channels one note kills the other, is it a problem with MIDI over WIFI or the Fairlight App can’t deal with more than 1 MIDI input at the same time? Will it handle 8 inputs with an USB MIDI adapter?
2 – As metioned somewhere in the foruns, Thomas said that the lowpass filter of the original CMI is not emulated but also said that convolution is used at the output of the voices, this means that you guys made an impulse response from an original CMI and use it to simulate character of the original? If so, is there 1 impulse response for each voice or only 1 impulse response at the final mono mix?
3 – Can I input chords using MIDI as I can using the App keyboard and play other voices at the same time, all triggered by MIDI?
4 – How could you guys make such an amazing App with no WAV export feature? Makes it a pain to put all the channels back in sync if you want to mix it in a DAW…
That’s it for now,
Thanks,
1. See the MIDI input help page for details. The App, like the CMI, has two modes: 8-channel monophonic (Page R and Page 3 All Voices) and 8-channel single-voice polyphonic. In the monophonic mode, there is only one “channel card” per MIDI channel, so no polyphony is possible. This has nothing to do with the MIDI delivery mechanism, and only depends on the channel for each note.
2. Convolution is a mathematical term that does not just mean multiplying two different sounds together. The way you describe it is not how it is used in Core MIDI. At a very simplistic level, just consider it as weighted averaging over a number of samples, and that’s where the low-pass filtering comes in.
3. No. Like the CMI, it is either single-voice polyphonic or multi-voice monophonic. However, if (as described in the MIDI help page) you give the same MIDI channel to more than one instrument voice, you can get some polyphony in multi-voice mode.
4. There is no spoon. Seriously, like in the original CMI, there is nowhere in the system that stores the audio output. The sounds are all generated on the fly. The only way to get the song output is to play the song. Maybe in the future we will add the ability to save the audio while playing the song, but that will add more CPU and memory load and may make the App unusable for those with lower-preformance devices. We’ll see. In the meantime, you can record it on an external device using the audio output.
Question 2 remain unclear to me, what I really want to know, as I’m not a programmer, is there any kind of emulation of the original sound of the machine? I use a lot of impulse responses to emulate hardware like guitar amps, pre amps… so I know it’s possible to load a white noise sample to a real CMI, record it back and than use it as a reference for an emulation of the real thing… is that the way you did it, or there’s no emulation at all? It just plays back the samples as they are, only recalculating sample rates to match pitch?
Another question, how many new voices are inclued with the PRO upgrade?
You guys are doing an amazing job supporting costumers like this, there are companies out there that makes us wait a month to get an answer, I mean, when they even answer any question.
Thanks in advanced…
Although there was an awful lot of electronics in each of the eight channel cards in the original CMI, the way they worked was essentially simple: the voice samples were stored in RAM and clocked out at a variable clock rate, then a voltage-controlled tracking low-pass filter was applied to remove the clock-frequency aliasing.
The first part of this is faithfully reproduced by the App: the samples are held in RAM and clocked out at a variable rate. The difference is that the App has no tracking filter, because the output is first sample-rate-converted to the iOS device’s hardware clock rate, which is so high that it is inaudible. The sample rate conversion itself provides a certain amount of low-pass filtering, but the filter frequency does not track the voice’s playback rate.
Because the App functions almost the same way as the original CMI, it sounds almost the same. The only difference is the lack of the tracking filter, which would require so much CPU that it would make the App inaccessible for those with lower-end devices.
There are 118 CMI III voices in the upgrade. Because this App is a CMI IIX architecture, they do not have subvoices like the CMI III.
So as far as my knowledge goes it’s not emulating anything, as most of the samplers I know works exactly the same way, including my loved AKAI S5000, and yes I know the Fairlight CMI did it before any other company… you guys should seriously think about creating a version for the iPad only, or even a VSTi or AU, you see, the lack of the emulation of the VCF or any kind of impulse response emulation makes the PRO upgrade unusable to me, as the most importat thing to me is the sound character of the CMI, I thought that with the PRO upgrade I could load my own samples and hear they sound close to the distinct and unique sound of the CMI. I don’t need the sequencer, the only plus of the PRO version to me is the 118 CMI III voices, but as I paid $ 10,00 for the initial 560 voices wich I believe is fair enough, that makes no sense to pay another $ 40,00 for another 118. Even knowing that most of the character of the CMI came from the onboard A/D conversion, that’s exactly why the provided voices sound so close to the real thing, you guys should create a mechanism that processes the samples when imported to the APP simulating the A/D conversion and than emulate the D/A conversion and the analog VFC within the CMI, this will make it worth the extra $ 40,00, or even more. I realy don’t care about the experience, I do care about the sound results, as far as I can see you guys are only providing the experience plus the original sound bank, wich is worth the $ 10,00 but not the extra $ 40,00.
Bill, I can understand you wanting the exact sound of the original CMI. That’s one of the reasons we are building the CMI 30A. But as you can tell from the price of the 30A, there is a huge amount of development work required to achieve that, regardless of the platform.
CPU requirements aside, I personally don’t think that there are enough iPad (or iOS in general) owners out there to justify the expense of developing a more faithful reproduction of the CMI on iOS. But I’m happy to be proven wrong! So everybody please chime in here: how important to you are the exact qualities of the analogue components of the channel cards? Which qualities are most important?
Sorry to extend the thread like this, but I do believe we are in healthy discusion here…
I know that software will never sound as good as hardware, not by today’s standards, I do have some hardware here like a Juno-106, an AKAI S5000, a microKORG and so on… and I tell you this, there’s no def producer here, I hear the diference and it’s huge…
But, at the same time I know that are software components that can mimic electronics in an usable fashion, as an example have a look to the KORG iMS-20, there’s no way it will sound like a real MS-20 but it do mimic the heart of the machine and do it very well, still it don’t cost thousands of dollars. My point is, if you want the real thing go for the CMI-30A, but if you want a piece of software that mimics this machine you could go for a, let’s say, $ 100,00 Fairlight App that emulates the real thing, I would pay for it and I’m sure there are many others.
at the moment there ist NO midi status panel visible (though it was yesterday…strange^^)…
i´ve connected my m-audio keystation 61 es via wifi-port 5004 (audio/midi-setup, mac mini, newest osx)
when connected, i can hear sound artefacts like bombs/gunfire in ancient videogames….the “normal” sounds are shorter and generally distracted by this….
don´t know how to explain it further^^
by the way….the disk loading sound sometimes doesn´t stop on page R…
Niels, I think this is consistent with what we’ve found, but I need the info from the MIDI status panel to be sure. What device are you using? If it’s an iPad, the music keyboard will always display. If not, you have to shake the device to get the keyboard.
BTW, if you reply, please reply to my reply rather than starting a new thread.
hey thomas,
found the midi-window!
had to turn my ipad!
its not visible the other way round….it reads:
MIDI own i
chan 4
pitch 55
vel 68
Curiouser and curiouser. Does the text in the MIDI window change when the strange noises are happening?
no…not immediately…
but it has changed after a while…..
now it reads:
MIDI chan 3
pitch 0
vel 111
are there any further soundsets being planned?
it would be real nice to use some famous other sounds….
there must be tons of it out there…somewhere^^
Thanks, we’re investigating this one.
We have some ideas about other sound sets, but nothing definite. Would anyone be interested in a sound exchange on the web site?
Yes!
hi!
i got a problem with the pro app:
when i connect my keyboard via wifi and play a song, the sounds are kind of destroyed (strange bassdrum…sounds pitched down)!
the moment i disconnect wifi in the audio/midi-tool on my mac, everythings fine again….
what could that be??
Niels, after a bit of experimentation we’ve run into a problem that might be what you describe, but could you please give more details of your setup and the exact problem?
When you get the strange sounds, does the MIDI status panel (on the top left of the keyboard) show MIDI events that you didn’t command?
I bought the Fairlight App then bought the Pro upgrade and I am loving this app. the Fairlight App is pure nostalgia heaven and it’s a dream to have on the iPad and iPod Touch. However I was a bit disappointed that there in no record function so I can record my own samples through my iPad mic. is there any plans to put the record function in futures updates of the Fairlight App?
Cheers
Arthur, this is a very popular request, and your vote has been added. We hope to add lots of modules in the future, but that will depend on whether the App revenue will support the development costs.
In the meantime, you can use any audio recording tool to generate a file, then create a CMI voice from that file.
Hi, just thinking it would be nice to have a bit more range for the onscreen keyboard for non-midi play. Also, any chance of the original Fi logo being added to the downloads page for iPad backgrounds?
Core Audio only allows a sample rate change of +/- 3 octaves, which coincidentally is the same number of notes as the original CMI Keyboard.
If you mean you would like to see more keys in the on-screen keyboard, we hope to make a lot of improvements to that in a future release, including more keys visible on the iPad.
Yes, the latter (more keys on the ipad on screennkeyboard) ta.
Hi!
due to my stupidity, I deleted all patterns of octagonalle while creating a new song…it displayed my song, but strangely i was on the ocatgonalle song, and yeah…
Will a new installation cure this problem, and will I have to pay it again?
bests
Rich
That’s not stupidity, that’s a bug. It’s supposed to be impossible to edit the demo songs.
Recovery is easy and costs nothing. If you have any songs or instruments you want to keep, export them. Then quit the App and delete the .sqlite database file in iTunes (see the Sharing help page for where it is). The next time you launch the App it will create a clean database and you can import your files.
Glad to have the fairlight on my iPad.
I must report the black screen popping up with a little green square in the middle , this happen from time to time, same on 2 different iPads. My opinion is that this must be a memory issue. It works again when I do a cold reboot. I suppose this will not happen with the iPad 2 that has double memory.
No MIDI KB works on the USB-iPad connection, needs too much power! I tried everything.
I also hope you can bring up some more possibilities and page 6.
Anyway, it is good to have it and satisfy my curiosity once for all. Great blast from the past. Thank you
You are absolutely right about the memory problem. I wish we’d worked it out so quickly! But that bug is fixed in version 1.0.1, which should be released in the next few days. The Fairlight App will never work well with memory-hoggers like 3D games, so we’ve adopted the 3D game solution, which is to start from Page 1 when we don’t have enough memory.
Try a powered USB hub. That solved the problem for some of the USB MIDI devices we’ve tried.
Page 6 is a popular request. We’ll see if we get enough revenue to fund the development.
Ok, it is working now. Last night, when I tried it, after I had just upgraded to ios4.2 and installed the app, it did not show up in audiomidi setup or in RTPmidi on my Pc. I guess rebooting the iPhone did the trick.
Thanks so much for creating this !
How do I set up the midi over wifi? I don’t have a problem using midi over wifi on my Mac and Pc with RTPMidi, or between macs but I can’t find the configuration page in the system preferences on my iPhone or in the app.
There is no need for a setup in the App. It will respond to any MIDI events it receives, either via WiFi, via the Camera Connection Kit, or from the Midi Mobilizer or SynthStation.
In your Mac, with the Fairlight App running on your device, use Audio Midi Setup to connect the output of your software to the input of your device. One way to do that is with the MIDI Network Setup window.
A big thanks to you Fairlight people for bringing this lovely app to us CMI fans!! Love it!
…Will à future realise bring variable envelope attack on voices?
LFO?
variable Sample start?
We would love to implement more of the original CMI features in the App, such as tremolo and vibrato and variable sample start. Attack editing is a popular feature request, and we’ve added your vote. Whether new features are added will depend on whether the App revenue can fund the development cost.
I’m able to switch between all of the instrument sounds, but I only hear them with my iPod’s onscreen keyboard.
I’ve been unable to get it to work with my Line6 MIDI Mobilizer (which I love by the way). Do I need to configure something in the App to turn MIDI on? It works with my other 3 supported MIDI apps without any configuration.
Thanks for any help
We haven’t seen this problem.
When MIDI input is detected, the top left of the on-screen music keyboard will show a mini-screen with the MIDI message values. When the Line6 red light comes on, the note or pitch wheel message will be displayed. If this is not happening for you, try quitting the App and relaunching. Try unplugging and plugging the Line6 before and after launching the app. There may be a delay after you plug in the Line6 before it starts sending messages.
Hi, thanks for creating a Fairlight for my iPad. It truly is a wonderful thing! Any plans to let us draw our own waveforms?
Barry x
Barry, this is a popular request. It’s certainly on the list of things we’d like to do, but it will depend on whether the App sales are enough to fund the development. Your vote has been added.