The breakthrough of sampling: 1985

[selig]

For me, the breakthrough of sampling WAS 1985 when I had a CMI dropped in my lap and my day job was to learn it (with Clive Smith personally training me for 3 days)!
The music I was listening to for inspiration as I was learning the CMI in early 1985 was all from before 1985 of course:
Yes, Drama
Thomas Dolby, Golden Age of Wireless
Peter Gabriel, Security
Kate Bush, The Dreaming
Art of Noise, Who's Afraid…
Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Relax single

[bxbrkrz]

Laurie Anderson - O Superman - Was that a tape, or a sample loop?

Maybe it was an Eventide, or an Infernal Machine?

[miyaru]

Laurie Anderson - O Superman - Was that a tape, or a sample loop?

Maybe it was an Eventide, or an Infernal Machine?

Don't know how she made it, but is beautifull!!!!!

[Billy+]

And you are telling that to me? Seriously.

I guess it wasn't directly at you, but now I realise that you're behind way beyond fairlight I guess I do have a question without derailing the discussion to much.

Q) if fairlight was samples what exactly is WBF1&2.

I can see that you clearly built a lot of patches and I'm guessing that it's way beyond just the samples, but I assume that the content is based off/around the fairlight samples inside Reason devices?

I could never make my mind up to get them or the vst / app, I'm assuming that there's a difference between the products.

[bitley]

Huge difference but all Fairlight based software solutions are fun to combine as then you can have the fun audio tweaking possibilites these expensive (£80,000 in today's money) machines had. The refill contains the world's largest Fairlight sample collection and adds a lot more than that, thus the name Way Beyond Fairlight. It doesn't have the original Fairlight limitations so that's also another Way Beyond aspect, and as Reason has sampling too Reason and WBF R2 is like having a modern day Fairlight. Combine it with Arturia's Fairlight later on to get the CMI like audio manipulation. The iPhone & iPad apps are more in the "just for fun" category and the open CMI software project (which is free) doesn't mean much in practical musical use either really.

[bxbrkrz]

Laurie Anderson - O Superman - Was that a tape, or a sample loop?

Maybe it was an Eventide, or an Infernal Machine?

Don't know how she made it, but is beautifull!!!!!

I was mesmerized the first time I heard it.

[Billy+]

Thanks for the reply

Amazing to think that it's moved from this

IMG_2785.PNG (137.84 KiB) Viewed 3030 times

To a device you can put in your pocket

[bitley]

Yes, in ways. In another way the first greeting cards with samples were modern day Fairlights too. But to create great music (like Art Of Noise) you need to use what inspires you. Some people still prefer the original CMIs. Akin to, perhaps, running a tank simulator vs a real one

[miscend]

Today I learned the NN-19 was named after a song I had completely forgotten. I've not heard that song in decades.

[bitley]

Classic.

[BRIGGS]

1985 5th grade

Someone brought one of these to school:

Fun times resulted from this event.

[platzangst]

I owned a Mirage keyboard starting in the early 90s; bought it at a pawnshop. Somewhere in the 2000s some part of the bootup procedure went belly-up and I moved it into a storage unit for possible later repair or sale for parts - alas, the unit was broken into and the Mirage was taken as something that, I guess, might conceivably be sold. My only consolation is that unless they tried selling it to someone well-versed in old sampling equipment, they wouldn't get much for a keyboard that didn't work, especially with no sample discs.

[raymondh]

Nice! Oh yeah I think I had heard Prodigy used a W-30. Very cool!

Their first EP was made with 2-W30's and nothing else.

That's awesome!!!

[raymondh]

Thomas Dolby, Golden Age of Wireless

Let me replace my whole list with this one item. This was my first album, had the most profound impact on my love for synthesizers. I didn't know there was a bunch of sampling on it.

And to pick a particular song from the album.....

[Futz]

I love my old Casio FZ-1.
They were 1987s Poor Mans Fairlight.
Digital Oscillators + Grungy Resonant Analogue Filter + Additive Synthesis + 2 meg of Samples.
First LCD Screen on a keyboard - You can draw your own waveforms
Worlds first 3.5 inch floppy drive - which is also the reason they are so rare these days - replacement of the very early floppy drive is impossible. And they were not that reliable.

All over early Coldcut, Aphex Twin, EMF and eighties Beatboy tracks.
The video for "Groove is in the Heart" features one.

While every other early sampler has some form of modern emulation, this one has gone under the radar.
Pity. I cross my fingers every time I turn mine on. It is only a matter of time before the dreaded "Disc Load Error" takes it.
Although I understand there is some kind of Floppy emulator solution now.

[bitley]

Yeah, the Gotek is a fantastic solution and very cheap too. Gives you a USB memory socket so you can drop libraries from your computer very easily. I have this for my Akai S2000. I've just not found any disk images with sounds but I guess that's ok, but it would be fun sometimes to get some Akai-produced choirs, strings etc.

[miyaru]

Yeah, the Gotek is a fantastic solution and very cheap too. Gives you a USB memory socket so you can drop libraries from your computer very easily. I have this for my Akai S2000. I've just not found any disk images with sounds but I guess that's ok, but it would be fun sometimes to get some Akai-produced choirs, strings etc.

Here you go in in an one stop solution.......

https://www.ebay.com/itm/164056074869

[bitley]

Um no I have one already mate

[miyaru]

OK. should have read some better, but maybe these guys can sell you the stick with the images though.......

[fullforce]

Although I understand there is some kind of Floppy emulator solution now.

I got one of those in my Amiga 1200, they're amazing.