Fairlight CMI

A handful of sampling computers were built during the 1970s, but these devices – among them the EMS MUSYS system, Computer Music Melodian and Synclavier – tended either to be incredibly expensive, incredibly rare, or both. The Fairlight CMI is widely considered to be the first (relatively) affordable commercially available sampler. Even so, it cost around $25,000 when it went on sale in 1979, the equivalent of about $77,000 in today’s money.

The CMI isn’t just a sampler but a full computer-based instrument with sequencing and synthesis features. It was incredibly advanced for its time, but its price meant it was only really used by the most wealthy musicians of the day. Artists including Stevie Wonder, Kate Bush and Jean-Michel Jarre were early adopters, expanding their sonic palettes with digital sounds as soon as the Fairlight came on the scene.

In reality, the Fairlight was quite a limited device by modern standards, but at the time its power was astonishing. Even the ability to record a sound and play it back immediately at a different pitch was shockingly exciting in the early days of sampling hardware. Search the internet and you’ll find a great clip of jazz legend Herbie Hancock on

SesameStreet demonstrating his Fairlight to a group of delighted kids.

If you want to try out Fairlight sounds today, a plugin emulation such as UVI’s Darklight IIx or Arturia’s CMI V is probably the easiest option.