The Fairlight

While strictly not a synth in the conventional sense, the Fairlight CMI became something of a must-have in music production, from the mid 80s onwards. Armed with a powerful computer (for the time), a large music keyboard and a light pen attached to a computer monitor (or VDU – Visual Display Unit – as they were known), the Fairlight enabled users to sample sounds, edit them comprehensively, and then sequence them with a screen known as Page R. A Fairlight CMI did admittedly cost about the same as a house, but its influence was everywhere. Famous users included Peter Gabriel, Jean-Michel Jarre, Trevor Horn via his programmer JJ Jeczalik, and Stevie Wonder, and if that’s piqued your interest, check out the Peter Vogel CMI app for iOS. It’s a Fairlight for a few pounds, developed by the inventor of the instrument.